Baja Mexico: Magdalena Bay, Baja Sur & East Cape.
Capt. Gary Graham
May 8, 2004
Baja Sur - Saltwater Fishing Report
Roosters Invade East Cape; Dorado Begin to Show
REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR SOUTH OF THE BORDER.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: [email protected]; USA toll-free (800)
919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Fri., May 07, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (5/1-5/6)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: There is a tremendous amount of bait on the beach and as one might expect, the game fish have been on the prowl. We’ve been getting a good number of shots at roosters in the high teens and beyond, however they are not easy to deceive. There is often so much bait that one’s fly gets lost in the crowd. Nevertheless, my fellow guide Josh Dickenson and I fished hard for many hours yesterday (testing the waters, so to speak) and must have run and walked miles chasing fish. I hooked a rooster in the teens and had a repeat of my last hook up . . . tight line followed by solid strip strikes followed by the hook coming free! Moments later, Josh had the same thing happen. We sharpened our hooks big time and went back at it. I had some heart stopping follows, but no more hook ups. But Josh hooked a gorgeous rooster of 18 pounds. Photos taken, of course.
The weather is becoming warmer by the day and chasing roosters is definitely becoming a pursuit for the physically and mentally fit. They certainly make you work for every bite!
Not too many boats going out of the hotels, but those returning are flying some flags: a few dorado, and a good number of marlin flags. The marlin bite has been quite close to La Ribera. We could easily see the fleet offshore as we beach fished. Inshore, there has been a mixed bag of fish out there early a.m.: roosters, sierra, and a few skipjack. (Report by Baja on the Fly guide Lance Peterson.)
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 69-77
Air temperature 71-80
Humidity about 46%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 6:41 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:49 p.m. MST
May 11 Last Quarter, May 18 New, May 27 First Quarter, June 2, Full,
• OFFSHORE: In a short 10 minutes you can be in the heart of the billfish action in front of La Ribera.
• INSHORE: Keeps getting better as the water warms up.
• BEACH: Word’s out – even the Cabo guys are showing up to try their luck.
BILLFISH – Close yes, but lots of boats
YELLOWFIN TUNA – Still waiting for the big bite.
DORADO – Here and there, but still waiting for the bite to begin in earnest.
ROOSTERFISH\ JACK CREVALLE – Plenty of bait and action to go with it.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK – Still around.
PARGO AND CABRILLA – Try the rocky points or the arroyos
SIERRA – Hmm, winter fish? Don’t think so.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
Puerto San Carlos:
IN GENERAL: Slow but steady would describe both the mangroves and the entrada, with few exotics biting. Everything seems to be filling up on red crabs, so a red fly might be in order.
Lopez Mateos: Capt. Ruben Duran on the “Wendy” took Bob Hoyt and Regio out for inshore fishing. They had one grouper and limits of sand bass with many releases of sand bass.
Water Temperature 64-70
Air Temperature 68-77
Humidity 59%
Wind Calm
Conditions Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:00 p.m. MST
May 11 Last Quarter, May 18 New, May 27 First Quarter, June 2, Full,
YELLOWTAIL – Couldn’t even find them down deep this week
CORVINA – Definitely the go-to fish this week.
SNOOK – None to be found this week
HALIBUT – A few throughout the bay on the sandy beaches.
SIERRA – Look under the bird schools near Belcher’s.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The 78º blue water has moved out beyond the 20 mile mark and the fishing has slowed considerably.
Gary and Yvonne Graham were here to make the final arrangements for their upcoming two tournaments. The October 6-10 Jacks or Better Roosterfish fly-fishing tournament is the first of its type in the world. The December 3-8 Sails and Tales is fly-fishing for sailfish.
Even the yellowfin tuna, which were looking promising last week, disappeared. Santiago, on the panga "Gitana" took his Southern California client, Mike Resnick out twice. The first day they got a couple of sails, went 50 miles, and never saw a tuna. The second day, chasing a radio report they went 35 miles, found out the action was over by the time they got there, and did not get anything.
Arturo, on the panga "Janeth," hooked 3 sailfish for his clients at the 25 mile mark.
Most of the other boats are averaging between 1 and 2 sailfish a day each.
Water Temperature 72-78
Air Temperature 78-93
Humidity 65%
Wind Calm
Conditions Scattered Clouds (SCT) : 25,000 ft
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:16 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:08 p.m. CST
May 11 Last Quarter, May 18 New, May 27 First Quarter, June 2, Full,
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: This past week the burning question has been, “Where have all the anglers gone?” The fish are still here in great numbers, the conditions are nice, but the boats are not going out. The few that did get out averaged 17 releases of 22 hooked for sails on conventional gear, and 8 releases of 22 hooked on fly tackle. The dorado have shown up in huge numbers with 3 boats reporting a total of 170 hooked, which makes the sailfishing a little tough. Marlin also continue to show up with a steady frequency of a couple per week. Be sure to check out the current story on ESPN Outdoors about Guatemala on the Fly:
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/s/f_fea_AA_Guatemala_sailfish_fly_Mintz.html
Water Temperature 79-85
Air Temperature 82-86
Humidity 70 %
Wind SSE 11 mph.
Conditions Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:38 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:20 p.m. CST
May 11 Last Quarter, May 18 New, May 27 First Quarter, June 2, Full,
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa M. McFarlin.
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