Quality Grade of Yellowfin Tuna on Iman Bank
Capt. Eric Brictson
August 23, 2009
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
August 23, 2009
Anglers –
The parched Southern Baja landscape is suffering through a drought, in desperate need of rainfall and at this time there are new tropical storm systems that have developed, so we will have to see what develops during the remainder of the summer season, hopefully we do not get too much rain all at once, but it will be a serious situation of low water tables if the moisture does not arrive. Despite a lack of rainfall there has been plenty heat and humidity, heat index has been over 100 degrees daily, with very few clouds in the sky this past week.
On Wednesday afternoon and through the evening all of the local fire departments joined forces to battle and control a major blaze that burnt a large percentage of the San Jose Estuary area. Embers from the thousands of palm trees were being carried long distances by gusty winds and boat owners in the Puerto Los Cabos Marina were forced to move their vessels to safer waters near the marina channel entrance, it was quite the spectacle watching flames reach as high as 100 feet at times and lasting until midnight.
With slight crowds visiting the Los Cabos region recently everyone is hoping that the busy fall season arrives quickly. In the mean time anglers have found some good offshore action spread out through the area. Ocean conditions have been calmer in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, blue water being found less than one mile from shore, water temperatures averaging 80 to 85 degrees.
Supplies of live sardinas have become a bit scarcer this past week, but boats launching early did find sufficient supplies. Also the bolito baitfish on the fishing grounds were finicky and would bite best early in the morning on the smallest size hoochie skirted lures, they proved to be great baits for a variety of larger sized gamefish.
The incredibly swift current that has been running towards the south finally seemed to ease up some mid week and this should help to improve option for anglers. Local fleets were finding the most consistent action from La Fortuna to San Luis Bank, with the Iman Bank being the top producer for yellowfin tuna. These tuna were averaging 60 to 80 pounds, but there were much larger yellowfin tuna in the area, the fish could seen feeding on the surface and would come up to the chummed sardinas, but were also on the finicky side and anglers using lighter fluorocarbon leaders were accounting for more strikes. Main line weights of 40,50,60 pound were most commonly used with leaders of 50 to 80 pound, though using 40 pound on these fish meant longer fight times and higher chance of losing the larger sized fish. Charters averaged one to five tuna per trip.
Good numbers of dorado were mixed in with the tuna and were found in other areas closer to shore, striking best on the same baits, but a percentage were hitting lures. Dorado sizes averaged 10 to 20 pounds, but again there were a handful of impressive sized bulls from 30 to 45 pounds accounted for. Quite a few sailfish were also found now in the warmer blue waters, weighing up to 100 pounds and provided fun sport and variety for anglers. Rounding out the offshore action were scattered hook ups on blue and striped marlin, though most panga charters were opting to target the tuna and dorado bite.
Not much action found close to shore now, as schools of mullet have scattered. Bottom fishing was a difficult option this past week due to the strong current, when the currents allowed, anglers had opportunities to drop baits or yo-yo jigs over the rock piles for a chance at amberjack, pargo, dogtooth snapper and cabrilla.
There were a few more reports of wahoo being seen or hooked up on the local high spots, so hopefully this is a sign that develops into a productive option for anglers wishing to troll their specialized higher speed lures.
The combined panga fleets launching from La Playita/Puerto Los Cabos sent out approximately 49 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
1 blue marlin, 4 striped marlin, 16 sailfish, 8 hammerhead shark, 3 wahoo, 174 dorado, 92 yellowfin tuna, 4 dogtooth snapper, 9 cabrilla, 2 grouper, 8 huachinango, 12 amberjack, 8 roosterfish, 20 bonito and 8 rainbow runners.
Good Fishing, Eric
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