Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
May 5, 2003
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo Bite Report for April 28- May 4th, 2003
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2003
WEATHER: No change in the weather from last week’s report. Partly overcast most of the
week with an occasional clear day. Daytime highs in the high 80’s and nighttime lows in the high
60’s to low 70’s. Mostly calm mornings with the wind from the northwest starting around noon
every day and blowing at 10-15 knots until 3-4 AM. A good, stiff westerly started on Saturday
afternoon and left us little or no lee for the day but did not affect us on Sunday. (Los Brazos del
Mar)
WATER: The water on the Pacific side remained uncomfortable this last week as the wind
never really disappeared. Four to six foot swells with whitecaps were the norm by 10 AM. The
Sea of Cortez remained fairly calm until the afternoons. Surface temperatures on the Pacific were
in the 67-68 degree range and the water was a slightly off- color blue-green while on the Cortez
side we had areas that occasionally reached 79 degrees and beautiful blue in the higher
temperatures. There was no defined temperature break but the water did climb by several degrees
over a two mile wide band off of Grey Rock and to the east. (Biggest Fishing Hole In The
World)
BAIT: Same as last week, Caballito was available at $2 per bait. (Bluegill Boogie)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: I am reading over last weeks report and this week it seems almost identical. The
bite has picked up on Striped Marlin and there was some great action to be had outside of both
Gray Rock and Red Hill this week with an evenly mixed bite on both lures and live bait. The fish
continue to move along the coast and can be found just off the arch now. Almost all the boats
were finding at least a few fish to toss bait to, but not all the fish found were hungry. There were
Blue Marlin hooked this week and there was a 416 pound Swordfish landed as well. (The Only
Time I Saw Him Smile)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again there is no change from last weeks report. Yellowfin
continue to be fish of the week as there was a good bite at the 1150 spot, the 1000 fathom drop
east of the Gorda Banks and from 8-12 miles south of the arch. On Sunday there were football
fish found as close as two miles from the arch! The fish were both in the blind and with Porpoise
and the majority of them were in the 15-20 pound class. Dark feathers and cedar plugs got most
of the action. As normal, the first few boats to the fish got most of the action and there were
quite a few boats having 10-15 fish days. (Breathin’ Room)
DORADO: I should just post last weeks report for this week as very little has changed. There
have still been nice fish in the 35 pound + range being caught but the average size has been 15-20
pounds. Dropping a live bait back after the initial hook-up has resulted in multiple fish days for
many boats. The fish have been scattered but this week the best results were to be had in the
warmer water on the Sea of Cortez. (Bad To The Bonefish)
WAHOO: Repeating last weeks report on Wahoo, we had a few really good days this week and
pretty close to home as well! Just off of Gray Rock and around Red Hill boats were getting bit
off on lures with mono leaders but still getting 25% of the strikes. Some boats were getting two
or three Wahoo a trip and they were good sized fish, most of them 40-60 pounds. I heard a
report that one boat caught 13 Wahoo between the inner and outer Gorda Bank. Sure wish it was
a predictable bite! (Why’s Everybody Getting Bit Except Me?)
INSHORE: A few Sierra were found this week on the Pacific side of the Cape but most of the
Pangas stayed on the Cortez side and worked just offshore for both Dorado and Marlin. I heard a
report of some good action just off the beach up in the Palmilla area for boats slow trolling live
bait. It appears that the Pargo (snapper) have been schooling and some of the guys were getting
very nice 10-20 pound fish on the live bait. (King Of The Surf)
NOTES: The fishing continues to improve but the wind needs to stop for more than a day or
two! The warm water continues to move into the area and as it does we are getting more action
on Blue Marlin. Just wait until it gets into the 82-85 degree range! This weeks report was
written to the music of “The Dorados” on their 2000 Flying Fish records release “Papa Was A
Fishin’ Man”.
Fly Hooker Daily Catch Report for April 2 - May 4, 2003
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 29, 2003
Jim Mariana and his wife Lorelei fished aboard the “Fly Hooker” today and Juan and Manuel
were able to put them on to the fish! Working the ledge off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side,
they were able to put 13 Tuna in the boat. The four largest were in the 20 pound class and the
rest were footballs. A small Dorado of about 10 pounds was in the mix as well. Juan said the
Tuna all fell for dark colored feathers. After that action (first boat on the scene) Lorelei was not
feeling very good so they began working downswell. Shortly after getting sick over the side of
the boat (it was a bit rough) a Wahoo came into the pattern and struck every lure before getting
hooked up. Jim worked the fish and eventually Juan was able to put the gaff in a very nice 80
pound fish! Way to go guys, and thanks for the Wahoo dinner!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 30, 2003
The Bob New party of four was supposed to be a party of five, but one guy had to cancel.
These guys have fished Cabo four times without catching a fish and decided to try someone
different this time. Lucky for us and them, Juan and Manuel were able to put them on the fish this
trip. They ended up fishing just 8 miles out straight south and worked their way toward the red
hill area. During the trip they caught two Dorado in the 15 pound class and one that would tip
the scale between 30 and 35 pounds. There was one Tuna caught, just a football fish. A good
time was had and they were finally able to catch their own dinner!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 1, 2003
Michael Henstra is back and he has a couple of friends fishing with him today. Juan and
Manuel were able to find Yellowfin Tuna for them about the same area as the day before
yesterday, 12 miles out on the Pacific side. Once they got into the fish, they bit well, but that was
the only action for the day. Juan said the bite happened at 8:30 and they ended up with 9 fish
ranging in size from 25 pounds to 12 pounds. Dark colored lures were what worked best again.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 2, 2003
Today we had the Mark Mathis party on board the “Fly Hooker” and these guys brought their
own gear to target the Yellowfin with. Once again we were very lucky that Manuel has such
good eyes! The first pod of Porpoise was found 8 miles out at a 150 degree heading but there
were no Tuna feeding with them. Staying the same course, it was not until out at a distance of 20
miles that they found Porpoise again, and they were the first boat on the scene. The water was
rough and sloppy but the guys managed to get 15 Tuna to the boat. The largest was around
25-30 pounds and most of the fish were in the 20 pound range. Juan said that they also has a
Blue Marlin strike on the bridge rod but it did not hook up, just pulled line for a moment. After
the other boats began to show up the bite stopped and they headed back to the leeward side of the
Cape for smoother, warmer water and a chance at Dorado and a Striped Marlin. They found
smoother water but no Dorado or Marlin. All in all, ‘twas a good day for the boat. The guys are
fishing again on the 5th with a couple of Pangas, we hope they have good luck!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 3, 2003
Paul Stasser and Judge Dave Murphy are from the East coast of the U.S. and would have been
happy to just catch a few Yellowfin Tuna. They had been cruising for just 5 minutes when Juan
came jumping down to the deck from the bridge and Manuel slowed the boat. Juan pinned on a
bait and tossed it out and they were hooked up to a Striped Marlin! That is sort of how the day
went for them. A grand total of three Striped Marlin, two on live bait and one on a lure (all
released, with two of them tagged), three football Yellowfin Tuna and one Dorado about 35
pounds. Yep, they had fun and good fishing! The fish were close and they were biting, we sure
like it when that happens. Thanks guys, and we look forward to seeing you again. (and the Judge
is going to send me a CD, he has a band as well as a judgeship!)
More Fishing Reports:
