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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
November 10, 2002
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers -
November 10, 2002
Crowds of anglers swarmed to Los Cabos for what has become an annual tradition for this peak period of the fall season. Particularly so this past week, with all of the participants in town for the WON Tuna Tournament, sportfishing fleets were operating at full capacities. The weather has continued to be paradise like, sunny and warm, with high temperatures in the upper 80s. The wind from the northeast blew seriously for the first half of the week, during this same period the Pacific side of Cabo was very calm, but this was not the case for charters fishing in the direction of the Gordo Banks and to the north, choppy seas contributed to tough times in this direction. During the windy period fleets were finding somewhat more protected waters closer to shore and in the direction of Cabo San Lucas. By the weekend the weather had settled down, with only slight breezes in the afternoon and the fishing was showing signs of breaking wide open. There was heavy angling pressure, with so many boats going everyday, but most everyone has been catching fish, the most common species being yellowfin tuna, dorado, wahoo, skipjack, grouper, amberjack, pargo, sierra, striped and blue marlin, sailfish and roosterfish. Live sardinas were the common bait of choice for targeting medium sized baitfish, the supplies were holding steady, but some extra patience was needed due to the numbers of charter boats.
As was proven in the WON tuna tournament, there are definitely big tuna in these local waters. Most of the larger tuna are being found further offshore on the Pacific and associated with porpoise. For panga anglers, the inshore areas such as Iman, Red Hill, Chileno and the Hyatt have been producing good numbers of yellowfin tuna in the 10 to 20 pound range. These fish were striking on sardinas, at times they were very finicky and anglers using the lighter tackle were having the most success. Skipjack and needlefish were mixed in the same areas and at times dominated the action. Average daily catches ranging from three to fifteen fish in combination, with the counts improving substantially over the weekend.
Just like clockwork the wahoo went on the bite throughout the region, many or the larger fish were found spread out on the Pacific side and the hot spots over the weekend turned out to be closer to shore off of Red Hill and San Luis Bank. Pangas reported landing as many as eight wahoo in a morning and many boats were bringing in two or three, average sized 'hoo was ranging 30 to 40 pounds, with the biggest topping 80 pounds. Striking on rapalas, marauders, feathers and skirted lead heads, many multiple strikes were reported and wahoo fever was running high. With the ideal moon phase coming, and as long as the weather holds, we anticipate some world class action in the coming days.
Grouper, amberjack and pargo have been targeted off the bottom, using small live skipjack for bait anglers landed fish to over 100 pounds, though many more hook ups were lost than were actually caught. These monster grouper are not easy to initially turn away from the rocks, anglers that were serious were using 80-pound tackle and heavier mono leaders. Best technique was to drift fish over rocky areas and use little or no weight at all, sending the bait down towards the bottom, for this anglers needed a day with no wind and minimal drift.
Good Fishing, Eric
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