Squid Float…Stops the Boat
Capt. Gary Graham
April 20, 2008
Baja Sur - Saltwater Fishing Report
Endless Season Update 04/16/2008
REPORT #1110 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
The week began with 12" squid floating about eighteen miles offshore. That was enough to get some fatty skipjack all worked up. There were multiple spots making it tough to choose which one to run for. Pick the right one and some ‘sluggo' dorado were the prize. Another one might be mixed dorado and toad skipjack and farther outside, there were a few marlin to spice things up.
Meanwhile back at the beach: The small roosters and jacks put on a show snapping at "this and that" fly.
Just when we thought we were on a roll, a humbling bout of north wind rolled everything over- slowing the action down to a much slower pace.
Monday, eighty-six year old R.E. (Togo) Hazard, well known San Diego businessman, hopped on Dottie B with some friends from La Jolla to give them a lesson in marlin fishing. When the bell rang, Lamar Major, Kevin Kelly, Don McReynolds and Togo had racked up the highest single day's count in this early season. ..an impressive eleven fish!
In the meantime part of the fleet found some tuna schools up toward Cerralvo that has yielded good catches for the past two days.
Warmer weather, hotter bite! Maybe spring is coming early.
Tip: Change flies often until you find the right combination of color and size for the day.
Water temperature 66-73
Air temperature 66-93
Humidity 45 %
Wind: ENE 5 knts
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 14 miles
Sunrise 7:12 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:02 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
With a break from the wind, the yellowtail action for small to medium fish returned both at the Entrada and a few miles above Cabo San Lazzero.
In the Esteros, sierra and corvina provided the best surface action and down deeper there were a few grouper (to ten pounds) with an occasional snapper.
Along the sandy beaches the small halibut snapped up any chartreuse Clouser that came near them.
Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 63 -93
Humidity 37%
Wind: NNW 17 to 23 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:50 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The action has been holding at about 1 or 2 sailfish per boat per day average, however there are lots of fish seen every day. They just do not seem to be hungry. The tuna are still off the charts and out of range. A few blue marlin are also still showing up in the weekly counts.
This last Sunday, while talking with Captain Mecate of the cruiser Aqua Azul, we felt the slow fishing must be attributed to squid having moved in. The game fish are gorging on them down deep, which will definitely hurt the surface action.
The very next day I fished down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero with fly fishing clients Warren and Maureen Bates of Toronto Canada, and confirmed it. Warren caught a black skipjack tuna, which disgorged squid when I held the fish to remove the fly. What was incredible is the fish was caught only a couple of hundred yards off the beach and in water less than 200 feet deep. There must be tonnage of squid out there if they are that close to the beach.
Warren and Maureen had a great day on the water. They got a total of 6 species, and hooked three roosters. The roosters sure were a pleasant surprise. They must be making their annual migration back, and the fishing will only improve in the following weeks.
Maureen's rooster would have been the women's world record for the line class (16 pound) for a fly caught rooster, but the engine was in gear and the rooster hit before the cast was made. This is essentially trolling, so we just took photos and made the release.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 69-101
Humidity 79%
Wind: NNE 3mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:39 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:00 p.m. CST
Target Species:
Dorado, tuna, billfish
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