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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
September 8, 2002
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers -
September 8, 2002
The Eastern Pacific tropical storm season has been an active one so far, this past week there was Hurricane Hernan that passed within 400 miles of Cabo San Lucas before moving on towards the northwest. Hernan became a category 5 storm and it was very fortunate that it did not come any closer to land, the only effects felt was some scattered rain showers and high storm surf for several days. On Thursday tropical Depression 11 E formed just south of the tip of Baja, this was a small system, but it was enough to kick the swells up once again, before it started to weaken. All this swell activity stirred the water up and made it somewhat off colored, especially into the lower part of the Sea of Cortez. Water temperatures continued to average above 80 degrees and daytime highs were in the low 90's, with the humidity also being very high, making for hot and muggy conditions. Baitfish were scattered, but there were mullet available in the mornings off of the
La Playita beach.
Overall fishing action was not up to Cabo standards, with the dorado providing the majority of the catch. No big concentrations of fish, they were spread out throughout the region, once blue water was found this was where the best action was found. Dorado ranged in sizes up to 35 pounds, but more of the fish were now of the smaller schooling variety, 8 to 15 pounds. Medium sized feathers and cedar plugs worked well, as did live and strip bait. No tuna bite to speak of, just some smaller football sized yellowfin found on Inner Gordo Bank, which made good baits for those wishing to troll for marlin. These bait-sized tuna could be easily caught early in the morning, but then as the sun came up they became increasingly difficult to find. So the key was to get an early start and find a healthy bait that would last a while. Skipjack were also abundant on the Banks, but most of them were too big to use for live baits, running 15 pounds or larger. The panga fleets accounted for marlin up to 300 pounds this week, other larger fish were hooked and reportedly lost. Striped marlin action was reported to be good on the Pacific side, at least on the days when the weather allowed.
Other catches included a mix of bottomfish and a handful of wahoo, which were taken from the Gordo Banks to the San Luis Bank. The bite did drop off some due to the dirty water, but now that conditions are once again improving the bite could switch back on any day. This is the time of year when things can change rapidly, which includes both the weather and the fishing. Off the
San Jose Estuary surf fishermen enjoyed some world class action for snook towards the end of the week, fish to over 40 pounds were caught, and with the hot lures being the rubber tailed fish traps. This bite coincided with the opened of the Estuary ( by tractor), and lasted for a couple of days. There were also a few sierra and small roosterfish working along he shoreline.
Good fishing, Eric
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