Baja Mexico: Magdalena Bay, Baja Sur & East Cape.
Capt. Gary Graham
February 13, 2004
Baja Sur - Saltwater Fishing Report
Bonanza to Bluster
REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: [email protected]; USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Fri., February 13, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Thurs. (2/6 – 2/13)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND IZTAPA, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Cold and cloudy conditions put a damper on last weeks beach and inshore bite, even the water has cooled down to a chilly 68°. Sierra early in the morning at gray light are still the best bet. Before it cooled down the skipjack bite was sizzling.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 66-68
Air temperature 62 - 69
Humidity about 45%
Wind West at 9 mph
Conditions Partly Cloudy (FEW) : 5000 ft
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 6:52 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:13 p.m. MST
Feb. 13 Last Quarter Feb. 20 New, Feb. 27 First Quarter, Mar. 6 Full
o OFFSHORE: Not many players this week with most hotels hosting just a few clients, who seem to prefer the pool to getting beat up on a boat.
o INSHORE: Cold and windy conditions aren’t helping.
o BEACH: Get out early and use wire for the sierra.
BILLFISH – Not much to talk about this week
YELLOWFIN TUNA - Nope.
DORADO – Shark buoys have a few beneath them if you can find the right one.
ROOSTERFISH – Roosters in fur coats don’t look like roosters.
JACK CREVALLE –Wind shut them down as well.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK – Should pick back up when the wind backs off.
PARGO AND CABRILLA - Quiet
SIERRA - Gray light just at dawn is best before the sun gets too high.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
Puerto San Carlos:
IN GENERAL: With the continued influx of whales at Magdalena Bay most of the fleet’s focus is on whale watching trips. The fishing at the Entrada has been fair to good for some firecracker yellowtail. Rumors of large tuna at Tasco sucked a few down there to check it out. Turned out to be a long ride for very little. Devils curve provided steady action for corvina and pompano and few small snook for the ones willing to put in their time. For the boatless, under the bridge at the entrance to Puerto San Carlos provided a mixed bag of action early morning.
Water Temperature 66-74
Air Temperature 59- 69
Humidity 36%
Wind North at 2 mph
Conditions Clear
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:14 p.m. MST
Feb. 13 Last Quarter Feb. 20 New, Feb. 27 First Quarter, Mar. 6 Full,
YELLOWTAIL – A few smaller fish at the Entrada.
CORVINA – Devils Curve or the Pier was the best bet.
SNOOK – Found a few smaller ones but no grandes.
HALIBUT – Try the sandy beach across from Puerto San Carlos to the West.
SIERRA – Bird schools but remember wire.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The sailfish bite has been steady, but not up to expected standards for this time of the year. The 78º blue water is still about 12 miles, but we are only averaging a couple of sailfish per day for each boat. A few blue marlin are being caught also.
George Thomas of Chicago got a 50 pound bull dorado while fishing on the cruiser Yellowfin II with Captain Ruben.
Fly fishing has been slow in the blue water, but the beach fishing has been exciting and a lot of fun. In my Suburban, I have been taking my clients about 45 minutes North of Zihuatanejo to a 2-mile long beach called Saladitas. There are at least a thousand birds, plus another 500 pelicans working the huge concentrations on sardines there. We have been getting sierras, jack crevalle, black skipjack tuna to 6 pounds, and green jacks. The beach has only about 2 foot waves and reminds me of the East Cape of Baja. It is an ideal situation for an 8 or 9wt rod. If you are interested in booking one of the Beach Trips give Yvonne a call at 877 772 2252 for more details.
Ed Kunze
Water Temperature 73-86
Air Temperature 73 - 86
Humidity 83%
Wind Calm
Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 25,000 ft
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:46 p.m. CST
Feb. 13 Last Quarter Feb. 20 New, Feb. 27 First Quarter, Mar. 6 Full
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
San Jose, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: The exploratory trip is completed and I can only say that I am overwhelmed by the volume of fish that we saw during the trip. Our old time client Ray Barker Smith and Marlene Whitehead joined me for the trip and their reaction was similar to mine. “I have fished around the world and Guatemala is the best sail fishing grounds I have ever fished” Ray enthused. Our stats for the trip were remarkable, in four days of fishing we raised multiple fish behind the boat 142 times or 38 times a day, 91 fish were hooked and 36 released. It is easy to understand Ray’s excitement. I am already looking forward to my Flyrod Sailfish 101 Series in April. We have a few slots left if you want to cash in on the Sailfish Bonanza in Guatemala.
http://www.guatemalaflyfishing.com
Water Temperature 80-83
Air Temperature 78-82
Humidity 78 %
Wind SSE 13 mph
Conditions Clear
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 6:27 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:07 p.m. CST
Feb. 13 Last Quarter Feb. 20 New, Feb. 27 First Quarter, Mar. 6 Full
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa M. McFarlin.
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