Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
October 29, 2002
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo San Lucas fishing Report for Oct 20-27
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
[email protected]
WWW.FLYHOOKER.COM
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT OCTOBER 21-27, 2002
WEATHER: This week has been a windy one. Strong northwest winds have lowered our
average temperatures so our daytime highs have been in the low to mid 80’s and our nighttime
lows have been in the low 70’s to high 60’s. We were worried that Hurricane Kenna might have
been heading right for us, at least until it took of to the northeast on Friday. It was packing winds
to 160mph when it veered away, striking at Puerto Vallerta with 144mph winds instead. I believe
that the jet stream across the top of us helped out, but I guess we’d really rather have the winds
we are getting now than the winds the Hurricane would have brought us! A little cloud cover, no
rain and cooler temps sum it up for the week here in Cabo. (The Wonder of it All)
WATER: Let me start by saying that everyone here is going to be happy when the A.P.E.C.
conference is over and they re-open the waters on the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape, in where
there is a bit of protection from the wind. We have been fishing on the Pacific side all week, or
out deep into the Sea of Cortez, outside the lee. On the Pacific the water has been a bit tamer
version of “Victory at Sea”, at least for the most part. Storm swells from the south, currents from
the southeast and wind chop from the northeast have resulted in more than a few early returns.
Seas from 5-8 feet and a foot or two of chop in there, short spaced, uncomfortable ride. The
water temperatures have been good though, with most of it in the 81-82 degree range. We still
have a finger of warm water wrapping around the Cape, extending up the Pacific coast to the
Golden Gate Banks. The Sea of Cortez is showing temperatures in the mid 80’s. (Alberta’s
Child)
BAIT: Caballito and a few scattered misc. fish were available this week. With very few boats
going out due to the conditions as well as the APEC events, not a lot of the bait Pangas were
working. One day we got 8 Caballito, a small Black Jack and a little bitty Permit as baits, and
there were only five bait boats out there. The prices have remained the same, at $2 per bait. No
word on the Sardinas, and I doubt if there were many available since they seem to normally come
from the area just off the beach between us and San Jose, an area that has been off limits for the
week. (Navajo Rug)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: If you were able to stand the conditions, there were plenty of Striped Marlin
available just to the north side of the light house later in the week. They were in small groups of
three or four fish and seemed to be hungry. The difficulty was to get a live bait tossed in front of
them! Most of the fish were running right around 100 pounds and the live bait was definitely the
way to go. A few Blue Marlin were hooked up as well, but not many were brought to the boats.
Most of them were caught on lures, but a few were hooked on lighter gear while slow trolling live
Caballito for Dorado. When the Sea of Cortez restrictions are lifted this week the catch reports
should start to show a few more Blue as well as Black Marlin since the water is a bit warmer
there. (Barrel Racing Angel)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: They are there, it is just difficult to find them. Almost all the Yellowfin
caught this week were Dolphin associated, and the sheep farm on the Pacific made it difficult to
spot them from a distance. A lot of fish in the 20-20 pound ranges were caught, as well as a few
up to 100 pounds. Again, most of this was on the Pacific side, and happened anywhere from 3
miles out to as far as the San Jaime Banks. The bigger fish were hooked on live bait tossed out
after a lure strike, and the smaller fish were eating small feathers in dark colors and small
Marauders in purple/black run on #300 mono. (Magpie)
DORADO: It seems that the Dorado bite improves with rough water, and this week was a case in
point. If you could stand getting bounced around and could get to the north side of Cabo Falso,
there were Dorado in abundance. There was a color break most of the week on the north side
and just up hill in the blue water were schools of fish in the 15-25 pound class. After a hookup on
lures, almost every live bait dropped back was hit. Live bait was definitely the ticket though. On
this side of Cabo Falso there were Dorado as well, but they were scattered a bit more and seemed
to be a bit smaller as well. Many of the Pangas were getting outside the lighthouse early in the
morning then spending the rest of the trip slowly drifting down and cross swell back to the Friars,
hooking up Dorado and the occasional Marlin on the drift. (The Gift)
WAHOO: A few boats did well on Wahoo this week, with the best catch being one of six Wahoo
off of one piece of floating wood. The first boat to the debris got the Wahoo every time.
Marauders trolled on wire leader were the best method, and a lot of Dorado were caught on them
as well. Again, the action took place on the Pacific side of the Cape. (Alcohol in the
Bloodstream)
INSHORE: Due to the rough conditions the water close to shore was very discolored. Most of
the boats that normally fish there were working a few miles off shore instead, fishing for Dorado
and Marlin. It was reported that a few Sierra were caught and I saw some large needlefish
hooked, but for the most part the inshore was non-existent. (The Old Double Diamond)
NOTES: Everyone here is going to be happy when things return to normal this coming week.
APEC gives us a lot of exposure but it has put the damper on local business with all the security
and the lack of tourist traffic for the week. Next weeks report should let us know if the 12 day
closure on the Sea of Cortez side has had any affect on the fishing. Oh yeah, fishing licenses.
According to Luis, at the license office, he is no longer accepting a cash payment for the license,
even if it is correct change, unless the banks are closed, which means after 4pm. This means that
you now have to go to the office to fill out the paperwork then to the bank to make the payment
and return to the office with your form 5 and copies, in order to get your license. He informed us
of this on Friday the 26th. He did not say why this had changed as he had to leave the office
because he needed to be in Constitution by 2pm. This weeks music is Ian Tyson on his CD “All
The Good’uns”, 1996, Vanguard. A little bit different than the ones I have been listening to, Ian
is a mix of western, folk, and a bit of something else, basically call it cowboy music. A great
voice with great stories to tell.
no daily report this week due to the APEC convention
Will return next week with lots of action!
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