Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report and Baja Fishing
Capt. Jerry Chapman
April 29, 2013
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Jc Sportfishing Weekly Fish Report.
As the Admiral Seas It
Fishing Report: 4/22/13 to 4/29/13
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Now is the time to come to Cabo as the fishing is still really good and not only that there is some really good deals on airfares lately as Spirit Airlines has some really good deals. You might want to look into this and also if you are in LA or San Diego you might think about flying out of Tijuana as the rates are much cheaper for TJ to Cabo, just something to think about.
Jc Sportfishing Charters is a family owned and operated business and has been fishing in Cabo San Lucas for the past 18 years. Jerry, explains that his charter business is geared more for families and novice anglers, making sure everyone who charters a boat with him has a great time and lots of fun. We welcome families and groups. We want everyone who fishes with us to take all the sites in and have memorable experience. This is what is most important to us. We have and do a few tournaments each year and can cater to fisherman who might be interested in tournament fishing. Lets get on with the report for this past week.
WATER: Well the water has been sporadic as far as temperatures goes. Down in Los Frailes its 77 and we are getting temperatures off Solmar beach in the 64 to 65 range. So who knows? Swells on the Pacific side are 2 to 4 feet and on the Sea of Cortez side about 1 to 3 feet. Definitely it plays a major part in fishing here in Los Cabos.
WEATHER: The weather has been really good. We have been getting an afternoon and evening breeze some days. Temperatures in the day time are in the ladder 80,s to low 90,s dropping down to low 60,s to mid 60,s at night.
BILLFISHING: What a turnaround, this past week we had a moon coming , with full moon on Thursday the 25th, which is when we had the best catches of the week. It just show you that there are rules when it comes to fishing. It is generally thought, full moon at night, fish feed at night, less hungry during the day.
Well lots of marlin being taken down at the Gordo Banks most fish being taken on live bait. Seems like one day is wide open and the next day they wont take a thing. Lots of squid in th water and the marlin are pigging out on them at night during the full moon. We have picked up a few Striped Marlin on the Bob Marlin but not the numbers were seeing a couple weeks ago. Over all the marlin fishing was pretty good this past week.
YELLOWTAIL: Lots of Yellowtail on the pacific side most are being caught on Rapalas and Hootchies. This year has been strange most of the Yellowtail seem to be smaller ones. Some of the Yellowtail are 2 to 5 pounds, pretty small. Most of the Sierra we are catching are bigger than the Yellowtail. The Light House up to Migrano has been good.
BAIT: Bait is the standard 3.00 dollares a piece and there has been plenty around. DORADO: Very few Dorado and the ones we are catching are very small ones not even keepers.
Dorado Tackle
Any medium weight conventional set up should work fine. A Shimano Trinidad 16N is a good reel for casting. Unfortunately, Dorado are often hooked when trolling with heavy tackle meant for larger fish such as Marlin and so they are totally outmatched and really don't get a chance to show what they are made of. This is one of the great tragedies of sportfishing. If you hook a 30lb+ Dorado on a lighter saltwater baitcasting rod and reel you are in for quite a fight.
Dorado Techniques
Dorado are an open water species that often associates with floating debris such as logs. If you are in an area with Dorado any floating object is worth a look as it may concentrate the fish. If you have anything to chum with that can really get them going. They are considered a pelagic fish but I have seen them caught from shore on rare occasions.
Dorado Lures
Most Dorado are caught on trolling lures such as rubber skirts meant for Marlin or Sailfish or feathers meant for Tuna. They also hit trolled plugs such as Rapalas.
If Dorado are concentrated in an area, either through chumming or because there is a piece of floating debris, a wide variety of lures may be cast to them. My favorite is a popper, which they will readily eat. If they are fired up they will pretty much eat anything. Whatever you cast to them, make sure you watch out with heavier lures as Dorado jump wildly when hooked and the lure could come flying back at you at a high rate of speed.
Dorado Baits
Dorado mostly eat fish so traditional baitfish such as sardines and Pacific Mackerel work well. Larger fish will eat larger baits. Dorado have relatively small mouths but it always amazes me how they can somehow still engulf relatively large baits. When they are fired up they will eat almost anything, alive or dead.
Where to get the big Dorado
Some world-record fish have been caught in the Cabo San Lucas area so that would be a good bet. After rain flushes debris in the water is a good time to go Dorado hunting as the debris will concentrate them.
INSHORE: Rapalas and Hootchies are producing some Sierras and Yellowtail. They are being caught from Solmar up to the Light House and off the Pedregal rocks. Some guys have been catching Snappers in the rocks using cut bait and dropping in 30 to 50 feet of water. Just be sure to watch out for any swells as this could get dangerous. We have had reports of Roosterfish also this past week.
TUNA: I have not heard of any Tuna bite this past week.
WAHOO: I did hear of another fleet landing 2 nice Wahoo one was 60 pounds and another was 65 pounds. Pretty good score for the day.
BEWARE: Remember if your not renting charter boats from companies who have been established in Cabo for the past 20 years ( Jc sport Fishing, Pisces Sport Fishing, Minervas, Redrum, Picante Fleet) you might have problems. There are many sportfishing fleets on the internet who are really not established business, who are operating illegally. Lots of these outfits are renting you a boat they have never even looked at and don't even know where you would board the boat, leaving you the task of trying to find the boat. They don't even have an office you can go and confirm your charter boat. You do not want to spend a day walking around looking for the boat and where you board. If you wait till the day you are fishing and go to the dock where your boat is many times people will mislead you to another boat or dock trying to put you on a boat that was not meant for you. You need to have a person guide you to your boat, who is from a reputable charter company. This way there is no confusion or misleading. Lots of vendors renting boats in the hotels are not reputable and don't care about your interest and care more about a commission . 75% of the Cabo Fishing websites on Google are not even in business anymore or might be just brokers who don't have an office in Cabo. Some of the Google websites are misleading and not established .Please remember when renting Sport fishing boats in Cabo that you rent your boat from reputable and established business. Walk into a fishing fleet office and ask questions about what you are getting and what are the costs. You dont want to rent boats from vendors in the streets and you do not want to book through shady websites offering you the world. You need to go to the fishing fleet office, while in Cabo and book your boat. Check through travel forums about reputable fishing fleets to deal with. Look for testimonials about the fleet your booking your charter with. Ask about what will the boat be supplying? Will it include beverages or lunches? How much does it cost to fillet your catch? Check to see if charter boat is insured? Ask about getting your catch smoked? Check cost of fishing license. These are just a few things to consider when booking your charter boat. We will be talking more about this in next weeks fishing report. Until next time good fishing and we hope to see you in Cabo soon. Come by the office here in Cabo and get all the latest up to date fishing report.http://www.jcsportfishing.com http://youtu.be/AkA6VO5B6iY
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Forecast:
Fishing did pick up this past week. Lots of Marlin and we expect it to stay good.
Target Species:
dorado,marlin,sailfish,wahoo,tuna,grouper,sierra,yellowtail
More Fishing Reports:
