 |
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
June 30, 2003
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Reports for June 23-29, 2003
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 23 TO JUNE 29, 2003
WEATHER: The wind picked up again this week and was from the southwest, giving us almost
nowhere to hide once it started blowing hard at 14-16 knots with gusts to 22 knots. Fortunately
it did not really get going until past noon and everyone was already on the way in. This started on
Tuesday and continued throughout the week. Our nighttime lows were warmer this week, most
evenings it did not drop into the high 70’s but stayed in the low 80’s. Our daytime highs were in
the mid to high 90’s, but cooler offshore. (Now That You Know)
WATER: The winds we have been getting have made for some choppy conditions in the
afternoons on the Sea of Cortez but on the Pacific side it has been choppy all the time. The
beginning of the week had water as warm as 80 degrees out front but as of this morning we were
reading 72 degrees. The wind combined with the increased flow of the California current pushed
the cooler water around the Cape again. Right now you need to go either 30 miles south and get
your butt kicked on the way back in or go 25 miles east to the 1150 area in order to find 78
degree water. (I’m Gone)
BAIT: Most of the bait available has been Caballito caught by boats snagging them in the Marina
or Mackerel that they have bought from the bait barge out in front. There have been lots of
Mullet available as well for those seeking Roosterfish inshore. All these baits have been the usual
$2 per bait. (Bailando/Aquatic Park)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Lots of Striped Marlin were spotted early in the week as they packed up at the Cape
getting ready to follow the warm water north. Not many of them were hungry but a few boats
were able to get more than one fish to bite. Most boats just had an experience in futility in getting
these fish to bite. As the cool water moved in the fish moved back up the Sea of Cortez and by
the end of the week the fish were scattered again but the bite was a bit better. A few Blue Marlin
were hooked early in the week, but not many of them were landed and they were not large fish,
most less than 250 pounds. The Striped Marlin bite was best on live bait and the Blues were
striking lures in blue/black and green/black. (Bella)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Good news and bad news here. The good news is that there was a
concentration of fish holding on the 1150 spot this week and there were some nice ones in there.
Fish to 200+ pounds were landed and there were quite a few in the 35 pound class as well as a
few in between. The bad news is that it was a late bite and by the time the action had started to
pick up most of the fleet boats had to leave, and the wind started to kick in as well, making it a
rough ride home. The key to success was slow trolling live Mackerel in among the Porpoise and
then being in the right place at the right time. Many boats were skunked but a few were coming
up with some nice fish. There was also action 25 miles to the south of the Marina on football
Tuna in among Porpoise, and these fish were running 20-25 pounds. As normal, the early boats
to the fish got the best action. feathers and Cedar plugs were working well on these fish.
(Deeper, Dig Deeper)
DORADO: The fish were scattered for the most part. Some nice fish were found in among the
Tuna at the 1150, some more nice ones were found from Punta Ballena to San Jose out to a
distance of three miles. Pangas fishing off the beach for Roosterfish were picking up one or two
smaller fish, most of them less than 15 pounds in size. (‘Trane’)
WAHOO: There were a few nice fish found this week and almost all the action was within three
miles of the beach on the Sea of Cortez side. Not all fish were getting hits but I saw fish to 100
pounds and quite a few in the 40-50 pound class as well. Best lures were dark colored 9’ straight
runners, and a few lucky fishermen caught Wahoo on slow trolled live bait. (Mingus)
NEARSHORE: Roosterfishing was just starting to take off great at the beginning of the week
with quite a few fish in the 30-50 pound class being found on the Pacific side of the Cape, up
around the Sunset Beach area to the lighthouse. The cool water moved in and the bite dropped
off a bit. The fish were still there later in the week, but were not biting as well. Some nice sized
Sierra were being caught in the same area, and there were also some big Jack Crevalle cruising the
beach. On the Sea of Cortez side the bite was on for big Sierra in the vicinity of the Hacienda Del
Mar Resort, a lot of large 10 pound Sierra were found there. With the wind kicking up the way it
did, not a lot of bottom fishing was going on, but a few boats were hooking up with some large
grouper on live baits dropped on rockpiles in 150-200 feet of water. (Hannibal)
NOTES: With the ebb and flow of the cold water across our area, I just don’t know what to
expect anymore. I just postponed two days of charter clients we had early this coming week until
later in the week, hoping that the weather lays down and the fishing picks up. There are good fish
out there but timing is everything, and since I like repeat clients we decided to wait a few days.
Let’s see what happens! This weeks report was written to one of the best albums ever put out by
Carlos Santana, his “Blues For Salvador” album, released in 1987 by CBS/Columbia Records.
My favorite cut on the album is the live 1983 take of “Now That You Know”. Listen and enjoy,
and until next week, I hope you have “Tight Lines”!
Fly Hooker Daily Catch Reports for June 23-29, 2003
“FLY HOOKER” FISH TOTALS FOR THE WEEK:
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 25, 2003
We had a great group on the boat today and I was along as well. Mary grew up in Seattle and
this week she has her girlfriends and their husbands visiting, Chrissy and Ritchie, Michelle and
Lorrie, Sue, and Michelle and Lorries neighbors Donna and Richard. Fishing today were
Michelle, Lorrie, Chrissy, Sue, Richard and myself. Juan and Manuel took us 12 miles to the
southeast and while the actin was not red hot, it was steady with some quality fish. Fist off the
bat we saw Porpoise and mixed in with them were some very large Tuna, they looked like 100
pound fish to me. We made a lot of passes around them but could not get them to bite. The girls
had a blast watching them and Sue almost lost her voice (again)! It was not until after leaving
them and being about a mile away that we had the first strike of the day, a nice 30 pound
Yellowfin Tuna that Richard brought in. Sashimi in the boat! It was a blind strike however, and
we did not get another one there. About thirty minutes later we had a Striped Marlin come in and
hit the bridge rod lure and take some line. Juan quickly dropped back a bait but the fish must
have taken off after feeling the hook in the lure. It was shortly after that the next strike occurred
and this time it was Michelle’s turn in the chair. She made short work of a 15 pound Dorado and
we now had two different species of fish in the box. We continued on for a while before the next
strike and it was Sue’s turn in the chair. This fish made a great long run at the beginning, enough
of a run that I was thinking “Marlin”, but then it turned and ran at the boat. Sue cranked as fast
as she could and eventually caught up with the fish, then it turned and made another run. No
jumps, and fighting on the surface, I began to have an idea of what she was hooked up to. When
the rod tip started bouncing when she had the fish close to the boat the next time, I was sure!
Sure enough, Juan was able to put the gaff into the 60 pound Wahoo! Hooked right at the tip of
the jaw, the fish did not have a chance to chew through the mono leader, now that’s what I call
“good luck”! With a third off the Wahoo sticking out of the fish box and now able to fly three
different flags when we returned, we continued to troll. A little bit later it was Chrissy’s turn to
fight a fish as we hooked up to a very nice bull Dorado. This fish jumped all over the place and
she really had her work cut out for her. It took about 15 minutes to get the fish to the boat and
Juan gaffed it as soon as he could. The gaff started to pull out just after the hook fell out of the
Dorado’s mouth and he had to bring it in the boat while still very much alive. Everyone jumped
up on the engine covers as Juan danced the deck with the big bull, trying to get in a good swing
with the bat to subdue the fish before he was able to bounce himself back out of the boat. I
looked up at Manuel as this was going on and he was laughing his head off! Juan finally got a
good swing in and the fish was placed in the fish box. We now had a 30 pound Yellowfin, a 60
pound Wahoo, a 15 pound Dorado and a 40 pound Dorado in the box! Juan spent the next 15
minutes cleaning up the mess on the deck as we continued to troll. About an hour later we had
another Marlin appear in the lures and Juan again dropped a live bait back. I was excited because
this was to be Lorries fish, and he had been very patient, hoping for a shot at a Marlin. The fish
was excited and lit up, but would just not eat! The bait was dropped back again, tossed in front
of the fish, a dead bait was tossed out to entice the Marlin, basically everything we could do, we
did, and still the fish refused to eat. Oh well, that’s fishing. We continued on and a little later we
were in front of the bay, getting ready to pull in the lines when up popped three Marlin tails!
Another chance at the fish, but we had the same luck, they just did not want to eat. Everyone was
excited, seeing the fish and trying to catch them, but it was not to be. As a consolation prize,
Lorrie fed the leftover bait to the Pelicans on the way in, getting them to take the fish from his
hand. Thanks guys, I had a great time with you!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 27 JUNE, 2003
Today the “Fly Hooker” had a half day trip, from 10 am to 2 p.m., a group of four anglers that
were part of a larger group, fishing a total of four boats. The mid-day, half day trip resulted in a
skunk, but the anglers were happy just to get out on the water. One of the four boats managed to
get a Dorado, so the group had fish for dinner.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 28 JUNE, 2003
Steve Ellis and his wife Lisa, son Tyler and Tyler’s friend Justin fished the “Fly Hooker” today.
The trip was to get Tyler a big fish, as the family has fished a number of places in search of a “big
one” for him. The water was a bit on the rough side as Juan and Manuel took the boat to an area
about 20 miles to the southeast of the arches. There were Porpoise in the area and they did hook
up two Yellowfin Tuna. Steve got one of them to the boat, around 20 pounds, and the other one
came off. No Marlin were sighted on the trip, and a lot of boats returned to the Marina without
flags today, thank goodness they caught fish! Nothing big, sorry about that Tyler, but one of
these days it will happen!
GEORGE’S FISH REPORT FOR 26 JUNE, 2003
Can’t help it, I have to give a report on my fishing for the day! My friend Tom Berry, his
girlfriend Jackie, brother-in-law Paul and sister Gina are in town until Monday, they arrived last
night. I keep Tom’s 21 foot Pro-Line in my driveway and we put the boat in the water last night,
getting it ready to fish today. Tom, Paul and myself left the Marina at about 6:30 this morning,
wanting to get Tom and Paul hooked up to some big fish. I started out on a southeast heading,
hoping to be able to make it to the area where we saw the big Tuna with the Porpoise while on
the “Fly Hooker” yesterday. With the water as rough as it was we turned and headed to the
northeast instead! We worked out way to the 95 spot and had no action at all. Next target was
going to be either the 1150 area of the coast off of Red Hill, depending on the reports on the
radio. Hearing about a few fish being found off the 1150 spot, we ended up going there. There
were about 30 boats scattered around, half of them trolling and half of the pulling live bait. None
of the trolling boats were stopping and the information coming over the radio was that the few
fish that had been caught were taking live bait. Tom and Paul quickly pinned on live bait, Paul a
Mackerel and Tom a Caballito. They were using some 3X circle hooks with Pauls tied directly to
doubled #30 test line and Tom’s to a short 2’ flouro-carbon #80 leader. Both of them were using
Trinidad 30’s on Calstar roller rods. It took a while, but the first fish was Pauls. We were hoping
for a Tuna but were not too disappointed when the 25 pound Dorado began jumping all over the
place. Looking around, none of the other boats around us had hooked up, so we were doing
good! As soon as that fish was in the box, the baits went out again. Every once in a while you
could see the Porpoise get excited and the Tuna would bust the surface for a few seconds. As
long as I was seeing meter marks on the depth sounder I stayed in the area. At about 12:30 the
fleet boats started to leave, the wind started to pick up a bit and the bite started to get better. The
next strike was Paul again, and this time we knew it was a Tuna. Tom quickly changed his bait to
a Mackerel and we were quickly hooked up to a double. These fish had the rods bent over and
both guys into the harnesses and belts. It took about 25 minutes before Pauls fish came to color
and a few minutes later I placed the gaff in a very nice 35 pound Yellowfin. As Tom continued to
fight his fish Paul checked his leader and dropped back another bait. A few minutes later Tom
had his fish to color and again I gaffed the Tuna, a fish that was the twin to Pauls. At this time
the wind and water was starting to pick up and there were only three boats still in the area, it was
2 p.m.. Tuna busting to the right, and there were some big ones in there! I turned the boat, Tom
pinned on another Mackerel and then as he was holding the bait in freespool with the clicker on,
talking to us about the fight with the last fish, he got slammed, and slammed hard! The line was
screaming off the reel when he put the drag lever to the on position and there was absolutely no
change in speed! Now we had a big fish on! This fish was a nice one, but by the way it was
acting, I was not sure it was a Tuna. A few minutes before the strike, we had seen a shark pass
behind us and I thought he may have hooked up. The first run was a screamer on the surface,
then the fish charged the boat. Another screaming surface run and another charge to the boat.
Tom said that he was getting spooled, I said not to worry, he had plenty of line on the reel. Then
I looked at the spool and turned the boat, putting it into gear. The water was rough and we could
not do much more than 2 1/2 knots into the seas, and it was a little while before the fish stopped
taking line. This was the strangest fight and after an hour we were able to see why. Tom’s fish
came to the surface, tail towards us and he pumped him in. When he was close enough I put the
gaff in the shoulder and Paul and I pulled the 100 pound Yellowfin into the boat! The line had
dug into the tail during the first or second run and Tom had been fighting the fish from the
backside the whole time! Great job Tom, and on #30 test line! Paul still had a bait in the water
and as we were admiring Tom’s fish, his got slammed! To make a long story short, it was a
repeat of the action on Tom’s fish, and Paul said he could feel the tail beating as he applied
pressure. After 45 minutes he had the fish about 50 feet from the boat and had the drag maxed
out. Applying just a bit more thumb pressure, the line parted. We checked it when he reeled it on
and it appeared that there had been a weak spot, probable caused by the tail against the line.
Unfortunately, he had changed from the double line to single after the 35 pounder, if he had still
been running a double line, perhaps he would have gotten the fish in the boat. Then again, maybe
he would not have gotten bit. Oh well, that’s fishing. It was time to go home and the wind was
howling, the seas were breaking, with curlers. Gusts to 22 knots, 3-5 foot breaking seas and it
was impossible to head directly back to Cabo against this type of water. We were 22 miles from
the Marina and instead we headed quartering downswell towards Punta Gorda, hoping that as we
neared shore the seas would die down and we would be able to turn towards home. We were
soaked, the prop only came out of the water once though, and eventually we were in calmer water
and able to do better than 4 knots of speed. We had planned to be in by 4 p.m. but it was 8 p.m.
when we arrived at the fuel dock, tired, sore, safe and happy! A great experience and some great
fishing! Thanks for letting me share it with you!
GEORGE’S FISH REPORT FOR 27 JUNE, 2003
Today it was Paul, Gina and myself on the Pro-Line and we were out to get Gina hooked up to
a nice fish. After our experience returning yesterday afternoon we were a little gun shy about
venturing offshore right away and decided to work inshore for the first few hours in the morning,
waiting to see what developed. I started us out by getting five Mackerel and five Mullet as live
baits, hoping that we would be able to hook into one of those nice Roosterfish I had been hearing
about. We turned towards the lighthouse on the Pacific side as we passed the arch and we made
it as far as outside Playa Grande Resort before I turned the boat around. We headed down to
Punta Ballena instead, the water was a lot calmer there and we did not want Gina to get seasick.
Two Mullet went out and after about 30 minutes of slow trolling mine took a hit. Line screamed
off the reel, then it went slack. I reeled the bait in and we saw that it had been sliced almost in
half by a big Sierra. Out went a new bait and later on, just past Chileno beach, Paul had the same
thing happen to him. A few minutes after that we saw a few splashes just out a way and turned the
boat out. As we did that we got another hit. This time the fish took the bait and left us a bare
hook. All right, enough of the dilly-dallying around, the water looked flat outside and we wanted
a big fish so in came the lines and we powered the boat up and cruised out to the 1150 spot.
When we arrived 45 minutes later there were about 25 boats scattered out and working the area.
We spotted the Porpoise and put out two live baits. Just like yesterday, we did not see any boats
hook up while trolling, but we did hear the reel on one of the boats go off for a short second or
two as they took a strike on a lure. It was beautiful water but the action was very slow, we did
not see anyone fighting a fish. After three hours we finally thought we were going to get lucky
when Tuna erupted only 30 yards off of our port stern! No luck though, and we were marking
fish on the sounder. Instead, about 15 minutes later we had a big bull Dorado come in and try to
eat both baits, tangling the lines up. We got that straightened out and reset the baits and a few
minutes later hooked up to a slightly smaller bull. It took Gina about 15 minutes to get the fish to
the boat and we finally had her a nice fish, this one about 20 pounds. The wind had started to
pick up and Paul and I looked at each other, nodded, brought all the lines in and cruised back to
shore. Gina got her fish, did not get sick, we did not get beat up and were back in at 4 p.m.! A
nice day of fishing all the way around. Thanks for letting me share it with you!
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
