Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
June 20, 2005
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo Bite Report
Capt. George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 13-19, 2005
WEATHER: Things have been improving a little bit on the weather scene here in Cabo. The wind that has been plaguing us for the past month seems to be slowly dying down. It is still blowing in the afternoons but it is starting later and is not quite as strong. This is not to say it has disappeared, but it is getting better out there. Our day time highs have been right around 90 degrees this week and out night time lows in the low 70’s. It is starting to look and feel a little like summer!
WATER: The Pacific side of the Cape is cold and very windy. I went 10 miles out yesterday at 170 degrees and in the 50’ there was no way I was going to turn back up-swell. The wind is slowly dying down but it is still victory at sea out past a mile anywhere north of the light house. With water temperatures ranging from 57 to 67 degrees, why get beat up and break a boat? The only fishing on the Pacific has been close in and close to home. The Sea of Cortez side has been wonderful, especially in the morning before the wind shifts and picks up. The warmer water we have been waiting for is moving in and while there are some swells to deal with, having water up to 79 degrees has meant that there are fish out there! While there has been no strong temperature break, there has been a slight one accompanied by a current line running east-west around 5 miles past the 95 spot and the 1150.
BAIT: Caballito at $2 per bait with a few Mullet in the mix. Very few Mackerel and no Sardinas that I heard of.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Fish of the week was Striped Marlin, no doubt about it. They were concentrated along the current line out past the 95 and 1150 and most boats were having no problem finding the fish, getting them to bite was another story. While some boats have it down to a science and consistently come in with two to six flags flying, others just aren’t able to find the right fish and tossed baits at dozens without a bite. Down-size the leader and hooks, it might work. There were fish between 100 pounds and up to 180 pounds caught this week, and you could see free jumping fish all over the place. The current line was not the only place to find them either, we worked off of Punta Gorda a few day ago and they were all over the place out 12 miles. Listening to the radio I am hearing guys up at the East Cape talk about finding fish within a mile of the beach. It sure is good to hear the action! Live bait worked well and fast trolled lures; in excess of 9 knots did the trick as well. Most of the fish caught and brought to the side of the boat were stuffed with foot long squid, tossing out fresh squid as they thrashed. On a side note, there were two Swordfish reported caught this week, one of them was released by the angler and was reported at around #250, I am not sure of the size on the other fish. And folks, these are fish sighted on the surface during the day, not drifting at night.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin Tuna were a close runner-up for fish of the week Lets see, there are plenty of football size fish south of the arch, and most of them are fairly close to shore and the water is not too bad, but how many fish around 8 pounds so you really need? They are not associated with Porpoise, and the farther out you go the more you get beat up. I did see my first few large fish of the year, but I was not the one who caught it. A Yellowfin in excess of #200 was caught outside the Gorda Banks by a boat working the warm water and Black Porpoise looking for a Blue Marlin. The fish grabbed a blue/white lure (think “flying fish”) and took the first time lady angler 30 minutes to bring to the boat on #80 class line. One other fish weighed in at #280 and was caught by Mark Austin on #40 line, taking him 2 hours and 10 minutes to land. He was fishing in the Lucas Billfish Challenge, a charity tournament raising funds for S.I.D. research. There were a few other reported hook ups on large fish as well but I am not sure if any of them made it back to the dock.
DORADO: The water is warming up so make sure you keep those fingers crossed.
WAHOO: Again, keep those fingers crossed, the fish should show up, at least a few of them as the water warms up.
INSHORE: Some Sierra were still showing up in the catch from the Pacific side as well as a few Yellowtail, but there was no wide open bite on them. Small football Yellowfin showed in quite a few Panga fish boxes and there was the occasional nice Pargo as well. Most of the effort was concentrated on Roosterfish, and they have been making a good showing off the beaches on the Cortez side of the Cape. I have talked to a few anglers who have had luck with them off the beach while surf casting.
NOTES: It is getting more like summer, thank goodness. Before you know it things will bust wide open. I can’t wait! The big Tuna showing up is just a start, at least we hope so! An apology for last weeks music listing, it should have been David Grismon instead of John Grishman on the “Dawgs” album. I listened to it again this week! Until next time, tight lines!
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