Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
July 29, 2002
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JULY 22-28, 2002
WEATHER: It’s summertime in Cabo. That means that it is hot and sometimes very humid.
This past week we had the humidity! The passing of hurricane Elida brought us cloud cover that
trapped the moisture, and when you were outside (at least on land), the least exertion brought on
a sheen. As an idea of the humidity, we actually had some rain (sprinkles really!) on Wednesday.
Since then the cloud cover has moved off and we have returned to 35-40% humidity instead of
the 80% we had earlier. Daytime the thermometer has read 88-90 degrees by 9:30 in the
morning, at mid-afternoon has read 96-98 and at night has dropped down to 80. (Rock and Roll
Nights)
WATER: We have been waiting for the warm water to show up and now it has finally arrived.
The coldest water we have had around this week has been 76 degrees and our warm spots have
been as high as 85. The cooler water has been on the Pacific side and the area between the 95
spot and the 1150 spot on the Cortez side has held warm water all week. Mid week we had a
band of warm water extending from the shore to a distance of 15 miles out and it ran from east to
west across the Cape, extending out into the Pacific well past the Jaime banks. The approach and
passing of Hurricane (now tropical storm) Elida brought us some large swells. They began from
the southeast and are now coming in from the southwest. The size ranges from 4-6 feet offshore
but they are storm swells, not packed close together and actually make for a very good ride. They
have caused large surf on the beach though, making it hard to do any surfcasting on the Pacific
side but the surfers are loving it! (Let It Ride)
BAIT: This week there have been both Caballito and Mackerel available at the usual $2 per bait.
I have not heard of any Sardinas being available. (Hey You)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The warm water has definitely brought in the Blue Marlin. Almost every trip has
resulted is strikes from these powerhouse billfish and they are not a long run away! Less than five
miles out before lines in and then keep your fingers crossed. The sizes I have seen and had
reported to me have been fish from 200 to 700 pounds. Unfortunately we are still seeing a lot of
these nice fish being brought back to the dock dead. I saw one on the back of a boat yesterday
that was maybe 250 pounds that the crew said they kept because it came to the boat dead.
Excuse me, do I look stupid? I don’t think a flying gaff into the middle of the fish is needed on a
dead Marlin, and I don’t think a dead Marlin would thrash so much that it rips the gaff hole open
so the fish is almost gutted, sigh. Regardless, the Blues are out there and all it takes is patience,
persistence and sharp hooks with good drags. There have been a lot of Striped Marlin caught as
well. For some reason we are seeing a lot of small Stripers right now, most of them less than 100
pounds. Also there have been quite a few Sailfish found, and they are normally a sign that the
Dorado are here! Best lures for the Blues have been either purple/black swimmers or pink/white
straight runners. Best for the Striped Marlin have been bleeding mackerel. Live baits for the
Striped Marlin have been responsible for about 70% of the hookups. Most of the fish have been
found either south or south-east of Cabo, from 5 to 20 miles out. (You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: I really hate to say this, but there have been few Yellowfin caught this past
week. The ones that were found were smaller fish close to shore or medium fish associated with
one of the two Dolphin pods that passed through. Sure hope they show up again! The
government here doesn’t care if we can find Yellowfin or not. According to officials, the
Yellowfin Tuna are not considered a sport fish, that is why they allow the Purse Seiners to work
the banks. Wow, we must be missing something here! (Can We All Come Together)
DORADO: Some good size fish are showing up in the catches! It looks like we have finally
started to get some of the fish that were staying up north! The Cortez side is kicking out fish up
to 70 pounds, with most of them in the 25-40 pound range. Last week (before this report) there
were only a few boats getting Dorado, this week almost every boat that went out came in with
flags, and the pace has picked up every day. Marlin lures have gotten most of the bigger fish,
with live baits dropped back behind the first fish accounting for a lot of the doubles that have been
landed. Best areas, same as those accounting for the Marlin! Must be the reason so many boats
have been coming in flying both Marlin and Dorado flags! (Roll On Down The Highway)
WAHOO: I have seen a few Wahoo flags this week but the guys I have talked to all say that these
have been incidental fish caught out in the open, not around and bottom structure or floating
debris. These must be fish that are moving through, so it is a matter of luck rather than focus.
They have been caught on the Marlin lures and more have gotten away than have been caught.
(Seems to happen when you have a Wahoo on mono leader!) (Freeways)
INSHORE: Slow inshore fishing due to the swells brought to us by Hurricane Elida. These
swells have stirred up the sand inshore and discolored the water out to about 100 feet. The
Pangas that have been working inshore have mostly been focusing on Snapper and Grouper, but
few of them are doing that. With the Pelagics so close, less than 10 miles out, the Pangas have
been taking anglers willing to go out there in a small boat offshore for Marlin and Dorado.
(Lookin’ Out for No. 1)
NOTES: Improved fishing! It just keeps getting better every week! This is what we have been
waiting for all year, thank goodness it is finally happening. Most of the boats here have had a
slow week, the fishing was slow the last few months and that resulted in fewer bookings. With
the improvement in the catch, and the fact that there are BIG fish out there, everyone is looking at
a busy summer from now on. The only thing that we are holding our breath on is the arrival of
the big Yellowfin Tuna. For those of you that have already made your plans to come on down in
the next few weeks, it looks like your timing is good! Keep checking in every week for an
updated report, and if it busts wide open, I will post a special report the next day. For those of
you on my special contact list, I’ll give you a call for your short notice trip. This weeks music
was listened to specially for my friends Chris and Bosun Golden. Bachman-Turner Overdrive on
their 1986 Polygram “BTO’s Greatest” CD.
“FLY HOOKER” FISHING REPORT FOR JULY 22, 2002
Dan and Greg Baker are father and son and would really like to hook up to a Marlin. They
have had a little experience fishing the saltwater, deep sea style and want to feel the pull of a big
fish. Today Juan and Manuel decided to go the Pacific side, the bite on the Cortez side has
seemed to slow down a bit. They ended up 23 miles offshore, to the south of the San Jaime
banks. During the trip they had a Blue Marlin grab the lure on the bridge rod and run off a bit of
line, but by the time the rod made it to the cockpit the fish was gone. They did manage to get
hooked up to a beautiful 43 pound Dorado and hooked it’s mate, a cow of about 35 pounds, but
she escaped at the boat. The area they were in was putting some fish out so if we get a trip
tomorrow, perhaps that is where they will go. Anyway, they had some nice fillets to take back for
dinner! Thanks guys, next time maybe the Marlin will stay hooked up!
“FLY HOOKER” FISHING REPORT FOR 24 JULY, 2002
Today is pretty much a last minute trip for us. Last night a friend called and asked if the boat
was available for today, we were open so this morning I met Don and his son Marty at the dock
and introduced them to Juan and Manuel. Don and Marty know that the fishing has been a bit
sketchy for the past week but also know that it has been getting better every day, so they have the
optimism needed! I let them know that I was not going to be there this afternoon to meet them
when they came in, I have to pick Mary up at the airport. So, the report I got from Juan was
pretty brief. They did have some action today, Juan said that he lost two Blue Marlin. Now when
Juan says he “lost” fish, that could mean that they struck at the lure but didn’t hook up or it could
mean that they fought it for hours until it came off. In this case it meant that they had strikes that
took a lot of line. Don and Marty got to hold the rod for a brief bit, long enough to feel the
power. later in the day they got onto a Sailfish that was tagged and released. Juan said the
Sailfish was about 90 pounds and the fight lasted about 15 minutes. The fishing today was out
around the 95 spot and to the west. The rest of the week looks slow for us, not many bookings
until the first week of August, but the fishing is improving every day. I am going to spend some
time doing up new rigs for the Blue Marlin lures, sharpening hooks and changing line! When you
come down to fish, everything will be ready! Until then, tight lines!
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