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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
December 30, 2001
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers -
December 30, 2001
While much of the United States had white snowy conditions for Christmas Los Cabos enjoyed the usual temperate sunny climate and many tourists were taking advantage and deciding on the Holiday season option of traveling to Baja for some fun in the sun. Daytime temperatures were reaching 80 degrees and the skies were clear, only a few scattered clouds. Sportfishing fishing fleets were busy, with anglers enjoying world class wintertime saltwater fishing action. The big talk out of Cabo San Lucas was the striped marlin that were now being caught in quantity off of the old lighthouse on the Pacific side and for the pangas out of San Jose del Cabo the hot spot has been on the Gordo Banks, where in recent days the yellowfin tuna bite was wide open. Bait has been plentiful, with live mackerel the preferred choice for marlin and the smaller sardinas and chunk bait being the best bet for the tuna on the Banks.
After several cool and breezy days over the last weekend period, since Christmas day the weather has been on a warming trend and the wind has lain down. The improved conditions seemed to be the combination that the fish were waiting for, because throughout the week the bite has been very strong and everyday there are yellowfin tuna being weighed in that tip the scales to 70 or 80 pounds. Many of the fish are ranged from 20 to 60 pounds, despite the heavy fishing pressure the pangas have averaged from 2 to 8 of these quality sized tuna per boat each morning. The bite would go on and off, there was a strong current running at times and this seemed to slow the action some, but not for too long, as it then would turn back on. Anglers had the best success while using either sardinas or chunk bait from skipjack, some fish were also hitting on yo-yo type lures and rapalas.
With the water dipping down to the 74-degree range dorado have become more scattered, though they were being caught in limited numbers each day. Some anglers were luckier than others and encountered schools of them, where they quickly accounted for five or six fish in the 15 to 20 pound class. There were more dorado caught during the mid-day, when the surface of the water would be slightly warmer, and one of the most productive areas was close along the shoreline, same places where roosterfish, sierra and jack crevalle have been providing additional action, especially for light tackle enthusiasts. Anglers fishing off the beach reported good catches of jacks, croaker, sierra, roosters, pompano, halibut and even a couple of dorado were taken by persons fishing off the beaches between La Playita and Punta Gorda. The influx of more baitfish has attracted more fish and swells have been minimal, which is easier for beach casters.
Other catches included a variety of bottomfish, pargo, cabrilla, and amberjack being the most common. These fish ranged up to 35 pounds, though most were less than 10 pounds, hitting on various baits, but more so on the fast retrieved yo-yo style lures. The powerful current did make this type of fishing difficult at times, hard to reach the desired depth, but when the current allowed anglers to affectively reach the bottom this bite proved to be very good.
Good Fishing, Eric
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