Baja Mexico: Magdalena Bay, Baja Sur & East Cape.
Capt. Gary Graham
July 3, 2004
Baja Sur - Saltwater Fishing Report
Knuckle-Busters at the Cape; Roosters, Tuna and Billfish all Over
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
Sat., July 3, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (6/27-7/02)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Aside from a windy day here and there (Mon. and yesterday) it was another spectacular week. Dave Kuykendall of Mill Creek, Wash., along with Linda Patterson found out why they needed to have their tackle rigged when they boarded the boat. In the first 10 minutes Linda had her first yellowfin tuna and a dorado. Dave was right behind with one dorado. Even though the wind came up in mid-morning, their incredible score included dorado, tuna, jacks and skipjack for a double digit total between them. They finished up the day in front of the hotel trying to sucker one of the roosters streaking about grabbing every sardina that hit the water as the boats emptied their bait tanks into taking a fly. Tomorrow is ATV day and they are both hoping for a Bubba event. We will see.
Kris Kapinski, a school teacher from Aspen, Colo., along his girlfriend Heather on his second-ever saltwater trip took to the salt like an ice cold margarita and had a flat calm day mid-week landing jacks, dorado and skipjack on the fly. His smile was brighter that the Baja sun as he came off the “Mosca 3.”
My week had its highs and lows. The 30-pound rooster in front of hotel Rancho Leonero first thing in the morning was definitely an exciting 45 minutes. Losing my digital camera on the beach was not quite as much fun.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 74-84
Air temperature 80-93
Humidity about 45%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 12 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:08 p.m. MDT
July 9 Last Quarter, July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full
+ OFFSHORE: Blue marlin, striped marlin and a few sailfish as the water heats up, tuna under the porpoise are tough to find.
+ INSHORE: lots of jack crevalle and green jacks at Punta Colorado hanging around the sardina schools that have taken up residence there for the summer.
+ BEACH: It has been good for over a month and seems to be getting better as the schools of sardina settle in.
BILLFISH – The blue count continues to climb so it is a good time for a shot with the fly if you are patient. A good stripey bite along with a few sails kept the bill-seekers happy.
YELLOWFIN TUNA – Found a few footballs under the shark buoys within a few miles of the hotel.
DORADO – Same shark buoys also holding lots of the smaller variety dorado, still a kick on the fly.
ROOSTERFISH\JACK CREVALLE – Roosters showed in front of the hotel as the boats came in. Discarded chum got them all excited and I did see a couple of near misses on the fly.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK – Mixed in with the dorado between the lighthouse and Punta Colorado.
PARGO AND CABRILLA – Rock reefs holding plenty of critters. We found a few amberjack this week in front of the sticks.
SIERRA –Every once and a while a few come slashing through.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The entrada (entrance to the ocean) produced a few yellowtail earlier this week along with some quality leopard grouper to 15 pounds. Windy conditions prevailed late this week preventing the boats to return to see if the bite held up. Devil’s Curve produced a few corvina, pompano and cabrilla for the few using chartreuse Clousers and Baja Deep Divers deep in the channel.
Water Temperature 60-65
Air Temperature 75-84
Humidity 25%
Wind 10 mph from the NW
Conditions Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:41 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:20 p.m. MDT
July 9 Last Quarter, July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full
YELLOWTAIL – Good catches early in the week.
CORVINA – Devil’s Curve and the pier produced a few.
SNOOK – It has been a slow start this season
HALIBUT – Sandy beaches always will produce a few.
SIERRA – Quiet.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: There is very little change from the last several weeks. The 80º blue water is holding a mile off the beach and we are averaging about 2 to 3 sailfish per day per boat.
The roosterfish action is still the best, with 5 fish a day per boat being the average. These are not small fish, either. The average size is running between 30 and 42 pounds.
Yellowfin tuna and marlin are no-shows, but the dorado action is starting to pick up.
Water Temperature 80-89
Air Temperature 78-91
Humidity 66%
Wind 5 mph from the West
Conditions Thunder Storms
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:15 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT
July 9 Last Quarter, July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: For the last couple of weeks there have been very few boats out. The weather the last week has been nice with no rain during the day, and good overall conditions. The water condition close to shore has not been cooperating, so the runs to the fish have been long. The big news for the week is that 4 boats went out 45-50 miles and got into the tuna in a big way, reporting more than 220 hook-ups that were larger than the average the football-size tuna we normally see.
Water Temperature 79-85
Air Temperature 80-84
Humidity 89 %
Wind 12 mph from the North
Scattered Clouds
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:39 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:35 p.m. CST
July 9 Last Quarter, July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa M. McFarlin.
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