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Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
July 2, 2001
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
"Fly Hooker" Daily Fish Report
“FLY HOOKER” DAILY CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 25 JUNE 2001
Gene Hildebrand and his son Brett were the anglers aboard the “Fly Hooker” today and this is a new experience for them. Gene thought it would be really nice for his son to have a chance to catch a Marlin and there was also the possibility of going home with a cooler of fillets. Unfortunately you can’t always just order up the fish you want. There were plenty of Marlin out there but the boys were unable to find one that was hungry. All the fish that they tossed bait to snubbed the offering. They even found a Turtle that had a Dorado swimming under it, and the Dorado refused the offering of a nice live Caballito. With the lack of interest shown by the offshore fish and the need to get Brett hooked up to a fish, Juan and Manuel decided to give the near shore a try for a little bit. They were able to hook up to an Amberjack, and they almost got the fish to the boat before they lost the fish. Gene and Brett were very disappointed when they returned to the dock without any flags flying, but perhaps next time they try the offshore game they will have better luck. Until tomorrow, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” DAILY CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 26 JUNE 2001
Ed and Brian Koehler and their friends Dave and Alex have booked the “Fly Hooker” for today and the 28th. They are from Philadelphia and are fishing fanatics! With lots of experience under their belts they are excited to be giving Cabo a shot and would really like a chance at a Striped Marlin. Of course, they let us know that they would not refuse another type of fish if the opportunity arose. With this knowledge Juan and Manuel were ready to go to work! Off they went and they worked the area 20 miles to the east of Cabo, an area where there has been a clarity break, from blue to green water, for the past week. Lots of Marlin around again, but mostly the same old story. They just needed to find a fish that was hungry! After baiting 11 Marlin they were able to find one that showed some interest. The surprising thing was that it showed an interest in a lure instead of a live bait. Not only that, but it was a lure run off a planer for Wahoo! And it was on a short wire leader! Unbelievable! You just never know, especially when fishing! Ed got first shot at this fish, after Dave had set the hook when the fish struck. FYI, Ed’s nickname by the guys is “Queen” and they say it is because he thinks he is royalty or something, hahaha! Ed got on this fish in good order. The strike and hookup was on one of the Tiagra 50’s and the fish got well into the Bigwater Braid backing on its initial run. The reason was that the drag was set up for Wahoo, and they have been running in the 35-pound class. This Marlin was 150 pounds, a bit larger than they were expecting! It took Ed about 45 minutes to get the fish to the boat and it had expired during the fight. They had some of the fish smoked and let the crew keep the rest. Now that Ed has caught his fish he is relegated to the job of cheerleader and heckler, the other guys want a chance on Thursday! Let’s keep our fingers crossed for them! Until tomorrow, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” DAILY CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 27 JUNE 2001
Rick and Gene have booked the “Fly Hooker” for a half-day of fishing because they are bringing along Rick’s son Matt and Gene’s daughter Nichole. They think that the kids might get bored on a full day trip! They would like for Matt and Nichole to get a chance to fight some of our fish and they want them to be fish that won’t wear the kids out. With this in mind Manuel and Juan head up the Sea of Cortez to the beach area off of Chileno to try for Roosterfish, Pargo, Amberjack, Jack Crevalle or Sierra. They worked the area for two hours and never received a bite so they decided to head offshore and try for Marlin. They saw plenty of Marlin but none of them wanted to bite! That has been the story lately, the Marlin bite has started early in the day due to the tides. They returned to the Marina without any fish having been caught but having had a good day on the water. Thanks guys, and we hope your fishing is better next time. Until then, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” DAILY CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 28 JUNE 2001
Ed (the “Queen”), Brian, Dave and Alex are out on their second day of fishing on the “Fly Hooker”. Since “Queen” caught a Marlin on the trip the day before yesterday and the other Marlin they baited were not too hungry, they decided to try for smaller inshore fish first. With a full day to go in search of Roosterfish, Jacks and Pargo, they headed further north on the Sea of Cortez than they were able to reach on yesterdays trip. It was not until they got outside the beach on the north side of San Jose del Cabo that they finally found fish. Once they did find them they had a blast! The Roosterfish were not large but they were concentrated and in an hour of fishing they managed to catch and release 9 nice fish between 9 and 20 pounds! These fish were caught by casting and slow trolling small live Caballito close to shore. I was told as they left the dock in the morning that the “Queen” was being relegated to the position of coach but it appears that the guys took pity on him and let him share in the fishing action! All the fish were caught on the Shimano 6500 spinning reels loaded with 20-pound Ande line and they were able to put up quite a fight on the tackle. It was not until they realized that the live bait was about gone that they decided to head offshore to try for Marlin with the two remaining baits. Well, the situation had not changed much between the day before and today and the 12 Marlin that they sighted had their mouths zipped shut. No mater how the baits were presented the Marlin refused to bite. When the guys returned to the dock they returned happy and excited about their Roosterfish, and bound and determined to try another visit for the Striped Marlin of Cabo. Thanks guys, it is really nice to have a group like you on board the boat and we know for a fact the Juan and Manuel enjoyed taking you out. Until we see you here again we wish you tight lines on every trip! Adios!
“FLY HOOKER” DAILY CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 29 JUNE 2001
Ernie Sandover booked today’s fishing trip for himself, his two sons Steven and Christopher and his nephew Mark and Mark’s wife Marguerite. Ernie has fished Cabo twice before, fished Hawaii, fished Costa Rica and been skunked each and every time. He let us know that he would really appreciate it if the sons were able to hook into something and get a chance to fight a fish. Juan and Manuel discussed with him what had been going on for the past two days and since it was a choice between cruising north two hours for Roosterfish or 30 minutes east for Marlin they decided to try for the Marlin first. It appeared that the Marlin bite had been pretty good early in the day yesterday. They saw over 20 Striped Marlin tailing on the surface during the trip and a few minutes after 9 in the morning they found one that was hungry. Everyone got to fight this fish, estimated at 140 pounds by Juan and the fight lasted 20 minutes. They fish did not jump much but came to the boat fairly easily. Juan was able to place the tag in the fish and release it while it was still full of energy. The next bit of action did not occur until a little past 11 and again they found a tailing Marlin that was hungry. This fish was a bit more active than the first one and the fight lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. Again everyone on board had a hand in the battle and they decided that since this fish was a bit smaller that they would keep this one and have the meat smoked. As long as it does not go to waste I do not mind and they also decided to get a mount made of this fish. Finally, after all the fishing trips Ernie had been on, he had managed to get hooked up! Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing you here in Cabo again for another round with the fighting fish of Cabo! Until then, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 30 JUNE 2001
Emery, Dan, Dave, Mark, Scott and Scott’s son Brady were the anglers that were booked for the “Fly Hooker” today. They booked the boat only a few days ago and were looking forward to a good day on the water. After discussing the fishing for the previous few days they decided to give the Roosterfish a try first thing in the morning. We explained to them that the Roosterfish and the Marlin were not in the same area and that if they decided to target one species they would have to keep their fingers crossed to catch the other. Emery really was focused on the chance to get Dorado and appeared to think that going home with a boatload of fish was a commonplace event. Sigh. Juan and Manuel made sure that the bait fit the focus for the day and that the ones that they got were Roosterfish size. The reason that they decided to try Roosterfish today was that they were planning to go on Monday and try again if they were happy with today’s trip. Everyone got a chance to fight a Roosterfish once they arrived in the area, about 26 miles from Cabo. With the bite dying off they decided to try offshore, and the fact that Emery wanted Dorado may have had something to do with it. Anyway, offshore they went and they were lucky to hookup with a nice Striped Marlin estimated at 100 pounds. Dave got to fight the fish since he was the only one to not get a Roosterfish, and it took him only 10 minutes to get the Marlin to the boat. The “Fly Hooker” returned to the Marina having caught four Roosterfish and one Striped Marlin but without a boatload of fish. Good luck on Monday guys. Until tomorrow, Tight Lines from the older guy (45 today, thank you very much!).
“FLY HOOKER” CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 1 JULY 2001
All right, maybe it’s not fair, but this fish report is on a private trip on the “Fly Hooker”. Yesterday was my birthday and about a month ago my scheduled day off at Epic Cabo Villas was on Sundays. Mary made sure that the boat remained open so I got a chance to go fishing for my birthday! It was Manuel’s day off (he gets Sundays) so Juan and I ran the boat. Aboard for the birthday trip were my wife Mary (wearing the patch since she gets seasick) and our friends Ina, Sandy, Mike and Linda. Mike and Linda are from Arizona and the rest of us live here. Linda has never caught a Billfish so I decided that the goal for the day would be to try and get her a Marlin and I wanted a chance to try a little bit of bottom fishing at 600+ feet, just to see what was there. Wow, there was so much food on the boat it was unbelievable! When we were done at the end of the day I think Juan went home with a cooler full! We started off heading out towards the 95 spot, which was where Juan said the fish had been concentrated yesterday. The water temperature dropped from 76 degrees in front of town to 66 degrees by the time we were 11 miles out so I decided to head north towards Gordo Banks, at least the water was warmer there. We had only made it half way when we received a call on the radio of some good Marlin action happening right in front of town, just a little outside of Cabo bay. As we turned to head that direction Mary spotted a tail sticking out of the water. By the time I had a bait rigged to toss the Marlin had gone down. In front of town we had a couple of baby Dorado try and attack the Marlin lures. One of them managed to knock an outrigger line from the clip but that was all. With the action slow for us I thought it might be a good time to try the bottom fishing in the deep water. That was a mistake! The water was not exactly calm and the action of the boat rocking back and forth made several people a bit queasy. Enough of that and we started trolling again. At two in the afternoon I was getting ready to call it a day when a very nice Marlin appeared behind the lure on the starboard rigger. Juan ran down the ladder to drop back a live bait but before he got there the Marlin grabbed the lure and took out about 20 feet of line. He let go and I worked the throttle back and forth to try and tease him up again. By then Juan had a bait in the water and as I slowed the boat when the bait reached the area the lure was at the Marlin appeared again, totally lit up in bright blue, and attacked the lure again! There was Juan on the deck with the live bait out and the rod in his right hand and the Marlin was hooked up on the rod to his left! Juan grabbed the rod out of the holder with his left hand and placed the butt between his arm and chest and torqued his body about 12 times to set the hook, meantime he was hoping nothing grabbed the live bait. He was still holding that outfit in his right hand. Linda got into the chair and held the rod as the Marlin took line and jumped. The rest of us were clearing the other lines from the water. As soon as that was done we had three coaches on deck holding cameras and telling Linda how to fight the fish. It didn’t take her too long to get the technique down but by then she was a bit tired. Mike assisted by holding the rod for her and she decided to use both hands to turn the reel handle! In about two minutes the reel had been free spooled three times! The Marlin was tired by this time and with Linda focusing on just picking up line as it came under less pressure we managed to get the Marlin to the side of the boat. Mary placed the tag in the shoulder of the fish and Juan grabbed the bill. I came down the ladder to unhook the fish and discovered why the fight was so short for the size of the fish. We run two hooks on our lures and one had hooked the top jaw and the other had hooked the lower jaw, effectively wiring his mouth closed! Without enough water passing over his gills the fish tired quickly. I removed the hooks and Juan held the Marlin alongside the boat until it had revived and then we watched it swim off. Linda, congratulations on the catch and release of the 150-pound Striped Marlin, you made my birthday trip a happy one. Later in the evening we talked over the trip while having a few cold Pacifico beers on the patio at the Viva Cabo Hotel. That sure was a nice day and I hope the next group of people to go out on the “Fly Hooker” have as much fun as we did! Until then, tight lines!
George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, The “Fly Hooker” Crew
Cabo San Lucas Fish Report
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 25TH TO JULY 1ST 2001
Capt. George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
WEATHER: It looked like summertime this week as the temperature remained in the 90’s during the day and the 80’s at night. There was a very light breeze almost every day, just enough to keep it from getting muggy. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we returned to the pattern of having evening breezes and we were able to sleep without the air conditioners on. Of course we received no rain and for the most part the skies remained clear, although we did have a couple of days with overcast mornings. All in all I would have to describe it as just about perfect.
WATER: The surface conditions were beautiful on both the Pacific side and the Sea of Cortez side of the cape all week until Friday. That is when the evening breezes started and the Pacific side got pretty choppy in the afternoons. The water was clear and blue up towards the north side of Gordo banks at the beginning of the week and as the time passed the blue water got closer until on Sunday it was just a few miles north of town. We no longer have the really dirty green water that was outside last week. As far as water temperatures go, the Pacific side is still pretty cold, as low as 64 degrees in most areas; the Sea of Cortez temperatures are running from 84+ degrees up outside the East Cape to 68-70 degrees outside the lighthouse. Later in the week the near shore, 1-6 miles out on the Cortez side up to San Jose, water was a lot warmer than the cold-water bulge forced in from the Pacific side.
BAIT: The standard price of $2 per bait with mostly Caballito but an occasional Mackerel in the mix. No Sardinas locally but more of the Pangas have Mullet available now if you want Roosterfish action. If there are no Mullet available then the small Caballito have been working well.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Lots of Striped Marlin spotted early in the week with the numbers seen dropping as the week progressed. Many of the boats were able to get multiple hookups and a lot of the boats just went fish watching. There have been a few Blue Marlin caught this week and as the water continues to warm and clear up those numbers should increase. A mix of both lures and live bait fooled the Striped Marlin that bit. Solid green, blue/pink, bleeding mackerel and blue/silver seemed to be the “hot” colors for the week. The fish have seemed to be pretty lazy and full so we found that the best results with the lures were using flat faced ones that would produce a lot of activity at slow trolling speeds, about 5-6 knots. On the other side of the coin, a lot of the boats were using high speed lures to cover ground, mostly working Marlin spotted tailing, tossing out live bait when these fish were found.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: We are still waiting for the Yellowfin to show up again. There have been some caught among Dolphin up to the north on the Cortez side, but nothing like the two day bite last week.
DORADO: There are Dorado being caught but the sizes are starting to drop. Last week we were seeing them in the 50+pound range, this week the ones we were seeing were in the 35-pound size and quite a few of them were in the 10-pound and smaller category. Looking over my records, this happens every year and seems to be the beginning of the Dorado season. In a short while we should have plenty of Dorado in the 15-20 pound class, enough action for everybody! Can’t happen soon enough for me, I like it when everybody catch’s fish! Most of the fish this week were hooked on lures trolled for other species; they haven’t been thick enough yet to make them a targeted fish.
WAHOO: This week I continued to see Wahoo flags flying and every time I stopped to ask about them I was told that they were caught as an incidental catch while searching for Marlin. There have not been a lot of them, but regularly enough that I feel the chance of someone getting hooked up to a Wahoo this week had they decided to target them would have been fairly good. Absolutely no predictions from me about what happens in the future!
NEARSHORE: This has been very much a hit and miss fishing experience this week. The Roosterfish are much further up the Cortez side and were being found outside San Jose. There were a few caught closer but the concentrations were to the north. Not many Sierras this week but a few nice Pargo were landed. There have been large schools of Jack Crevalle out about 1 mile from the arch and they have been in the 5-6 pound range.
NOTES: The Dorado action should heat up soon; the Roosterfish should be moving into our area soon and there should be a lot more Blue Marlin being caught. We just have to keep our fingers crossed on the Yellowfin Tuna. The flat summertime water conditions are upon us and that makes for a very comfortable fishing experience. If you are looking forward to giving it a try, or are experienced anglers returning to Cabo I hope you have a safe and enjoyable experience. Until next week, Tight Lines!
Capt. George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
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