 |
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
January 7, 2002
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo San Lucas Fish Report
Capt. George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 30-JANUARY 6, 2002
WEATHER: Mostly sunny all week with only a few scattered clouds midweek. Daytime highs
in the mid to low 70’s and nighttime lows in the low to mid 60’s. Occasionally it felt as though
we had reached the mid 50’s, I felt as if it was time to dress in layers. Then you glance around
and see everyone from the north walking around in shorts and T-shirts and realize just how nice it
really is! (Desperation Samba)
WATER: Water temperatures have continued to drop and as of today the warmest we were able
to find was 77 degrees. The warm water eddy That was forming last week has pushed up against
the cape and is working it’s way up the Sea of Cortez side as I write this. Temperatures on the
Pacific side have fallen to the 72-74 degree range. Just to the north of San Jose, off of the east
cape area the is a beautiful temperature break forming with a difference of 5 degrees within a
couple of miles. The surface conditions have remained good as there has been limited winds this
week. The winds that we have had have been in the 4 to 12 knot range and are prevailing from
the north-west with an occasional switch to the south. (They Don’t Dance Like Carmen No
More)
BAIT: This week we were getting mostly small Mackerel in the 8 inch range. There were small
Sardinas available at $20 a scoop but they were mostly used as chum since they were so small.
The Mackerel were going for the usual $2 per bait. (The Great Filling Station Holdup)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The bite defiantly dropped off on the Striped Marlin, I think they are still out there
but have moved a bit and we haven’t found the concentrations again. Boats trying the Golden
gate Bank this week were reporting very slow action. With the water on the Pacific side getting
cooler the fish seemed to have moved back over to the Sea of Cortez side. Some boats were
beginning to report good action off of the 95 spot and the Gordo banks in the last two days.
Most of the fish that have been caught have been fooled with live bait. (Fins)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There has been a steady bite of football Tuna this week in the abundant
dolphin pods holding 10 miles off the point. There has also been a school working off the arches
right in front of town for the last three days. These fish are also footballs but are not biting as
well as the fish in the dolphin. Most boats have been able to hook up at least a half dozen of the
20-30 pound fish and a few of the boats have gotten a dozen or more with an occasional 50+
pounder in the mix. Natural cedar plugs trolled in the dolphin have worked well and nearer to
shore at the arches the live Sardinas have been the most productive. (The Weather Is Here, Wish
You Were Beautiful)
DORADO: As usual with these fish the key to a large catch has been to find the floating debris.
For the boats able to find the Debris, the reward has been constant action on fish in the 20-30
pound range. The bits has lasted a while until eventually the word gets out and there are 30 boats
working the same 2x4. Live bait, live bait, live bait! No matter if on the debris off shore or
working the beach slow trolling, the key to success this week has been the use of live bait.
(Cuban Crime Of Passion)
WAHOO: A few fish have popped up in the mix but there has been no concentration. Those fish
found have been incidental catches but have ranged in size from 15 pounds up to 50 pounds.
Most of the catch has been on Marauder plugs. The best area has been the sharp drop off at any
of the banks or the edge of the ledge at the lighthouse. (Pencil Thin Mustache)
INSHORE: Most of the action has been focused on Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado. There has been
a fair bite on small Roosterfish but nothing to crow about! The Sierras are biting early in the
morning, after that the bite has been shutting down. (Elvis Imitators)
NOTES: This report marks the end of the second year without missing a week on reporting the
fishing conditions here in Cabo San Lucas. I spend a lot of time on research for these weekly
reports and then there is the time spent writing them and the hours that the auto spell check
spends correcting all the misprints my four thumbs cause. Then I receive a letter from a reader
that says I should check out another web site because it looks like the guy is lifting large sections
of my report and placing them in his own but not giving me any credit as author. Now, I don’t
mind at all if someone wants to place my work where others can see it, but don’t try to pass it off
as your own work, at least let people know where you are getting it. Otherwise it’s known as
plagiarism and only shows folks that you have no personal knowledge of what is going on down
here. Or maybe that you are just too lazy to do one of your own. You know who you are and I’ll
check this week when you post “yours” later on. For the rest of you, hey, use it all you want but
please acknowledge authorship. Written to the music (for the second week, by special request) of
gentleman Jimmy Buffet on the 4 CD collection entitled “Beaches, Boats, Bars and Ballads”,
1992, MCA. This weeks CD is “Bars”!
"Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 31 DECEMBER 2001
Bob, his wife Manny and their 13 year old son Gabby were the anglers on the “Fly Hooker”
today and the target species was Marlin. This was a trip for Gabby as he is a dedicated serious
fisherman. He has already caught Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado and Wahoo but has never hooked up
to a Marlin. It took Juan and Manuel a while to find a fish that would co-operate but eventually
at around 11 am they had a hungry fish respond to the offering. It took Gabby about 45 minutes
to get the fish to the boat and it was a hard fought fight. Bob and Manny were so proud of his
achievement that they went ahead and ordered a mount made of the 120 pound striped Marlin.
Way to go Gabby! Next time, Blue Marlin! Until then, tight lines from everybody here at “Fly
Hooker” Sportfishing.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 1, 2002
Happy new year! We got the new one off to a great start with a productive fishing trip with
Paul Schilling and his son Burns. I got a chance to take them out and we went with the mind
frame of having fun, not targeting a specific species. There had been reports yesterday of Dolphin
that were holding Tuna off the lighthouse about ten miles so that is where I decided to start the
trip. We got to the area and there were a lot of black porpoise there, not the kind that normally
hold Yellowfin. There were a few birds working the area so we tried for a while anyway and then
left and headed towards the east. About 20 minutes later we started to come across the Dolphin
and the farther east we went the thicker they became. We worked back and forth knowing that
eventually something was going to happen. After no results for about a half hour I changed the
lures and that must have done the trick. I replaced a green/yellow cedar plug to one that was
natural wood and less than 30 seconds later Paul was fighting a 20 pound Yellowfin. After it was
in the boat we headed back to the Dolphin. All of a sudden they were off to the races and fish
started busting. I put the boat into a hard right turn and gunned the engines and the port
outrigger lure and the short line both went off. It was probably my fault but as the fish were
worked to the boat and I grabbed leader, the hooks fell out and the fish swam away. Pauls fish
would have gone about 30+ pounds and Burn’s fish about 20. Now that we knew the size the fish
were running we took out the light tackle! Baitrunner spinning reels with 17 pound test and my
Penn 12T with 17 pound test were all run directly from the rod holders and each carried a natural
cedar plug. I left the Tiagra 50WRLS in the stinger position off the bridge with a blue/white
Illander lure. The fish had traveled a little way off by the time we got everything changed and
sorted out but eventually we got into the action. This pass resulted in three hook-ups, all on the
cedar plugs! While Paul and Burns worked their fish I readied the cockpit and maintained tension
on the third fish. Paul was able to bring his fish to the boat fairly quickly, a nice 30 pound
Yellowfin that took the plug deep into the throat. As soon as it was in the boat and he had set the
rod down he was back into working on the third fish. Meanwhile, still 15 minutes into the fight
with his fish, Burns was wondering if perhaps it had been snagged. There was not a lot of weight
to work against but the fish would not give up. Paul got his second fish, this one a 20 pound
Yellowfin, into the boat and we both took up the enjoying job of jeering (oops, I may have meant
cheering!) Burns on. When he eventually got the fish to the boat it was a 20 pound Yellowfin
hooked in the corner of the jaw. That fish just had plenty of heart! Fighting these fish had taken
us a long time and the Dolphin were nowhere to be seen so we just continued in an easterly
direction hoping to come across them again. About 4 mile farther on we found them spread all
over the place taking a siesta. We worked them for a while and with the action having
disappeared we decided to go inshore off of Punta Ballena and try for Dorado, Roosterfish and
Jack Crevalle. As soon as we got into 100 feet of water I set up the two spinning rods with single
hooks and sliding sinkers. I needed to fillet out the Tuna and while I was off the wheel taking
care of that business the guys could try a bit of bottom fishing, perhaps a chance at a nice Grouper
or a Snapper. They made their drops and I started filleting. Of course the bits and pieces went
over the side and we formed a fairly good chum line! About halfway through the third Tuna Paul
got a bite and set the hook. Dorado! They had found the chunk line and followed it in. We kept
working the fish and eventually hooked up another one that had followed the first in but it broke
line very quickly. We brought in Pauls fish and Burns said he was still seeing flashes of blue
behind the boat so we continued to work the chunks. After catching two large Triggerfish and no
more Dorado strikes we decided to slow troll live Mackerel for Roosterfish. No Roosterfish
resulted but we did pick up two more Dorado before we ran out of bait. I filleted the Dorado and
we were back at the marina in just a few minutes. A great day on the water and a lot of fun with
two guys who really enjoy the sport! We just wished that there had been a chance at a Marlin or
some action with the Fly Rod, but maybe next time! Until then, Tight Lines and fishy dreams!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 2 JANUARY 2002
Mark McLeod was back today with four friends and again he just wants to go out and have
fun. This means looking for Tuna and Dorado. On the 30th they got 7 Dorado and today they
start off with a couple of Dorado on the troll. Later on in the morning they found a sunken log
and along with one other boat were able to work the log and get 7 Dorado in the 20-30 pound
class using live bait. That was enough fish for them and they came back to the marina with
enough fish to fill the cooler! A good trip with nice weather and good friends, what else could
you ask for? Thanks Mark, until next time, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 3 JANUARY 2002
Don Noble and his friend Mike fished aboard the “Fly Hooker” today. Don is a repeat client
and last year his fished this time frame and caught 14 Yellowfin Tuna! He was really looking
forward to more Tuna action this trip but it did not work out that way. They started out the
morning looking for Marlin, as that was another species on the want list, but after 3 hours of
trolling with nothing sighted they decided it was time to change the target species. Juan and
Manuel turned the boat and headed towards the area where they had found the sunken log
yesterday. They were no far from the area when it became apparent that the log had already been
found by the fleet! There were 30 boats working the one log and most of them were too late on
the scene to get any fish. Don and Mike must have had luck on their side as they were able to get
three Dorado in the 20-25 pound class. Don said they saw one boat with a very small Marlin tied
off to the swim step. Must have been someone who did not know better or with a greedy crew.
With a good bag of fillets to take home both Don and Mike thanked Juan and Manuel for the
efforts and headed off to their resort. Thanks for the fishing and tight lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 5 JANUARY 2002
Our good friend Brad, the owner of Tang-Tanga here in Cabo booked the “Fly Hooker” for the
day and is fishing with his friends Leon and Rod. Juan and Manuel know that they just want to
have a good time and catch fish so they headed out towards the area the dolphin have been in to
look for Tuna. Brad said that there were Dolphin all over the place, he had never seen so many in
one place at one time, but the bite on Yellowfin was slow. They did manage to scratch out two
football fish. With the action slow there they decided to head farther offshore in hopes of finding
more fish. At a distance of 20 miles they came across a piece of debris that was holding Dorado.
They hooked up 10 nice size fish, only landing 4 of them. Using the Baitrunner Spinning reels
they managed to break off the other 6! They came back to the marina with a bag full of fillets and
another of heads (for a neighbor to make soup with). A good day on the water with no one
getting sick and good action! Thanks Brad!
Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, The “Fly Hooker” Crew!
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
