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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
January 5, 2003
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers -
January 5, 2003
Happy New Year!
After having a cold weather front sweep through the area during Christmas time, the first week of
the New Year was very mild, the days were clear and sunny, with high temperatures reaching 80 degrees. Ocean conditions were very pleasant, only slight breezes on certain days, minimal swells, clarity varied, but blue water was reportedly found on the Pacific. The water temperature remained in the 74 to 75 degree range and combined with an influx of baitfish such as mackerel, flying fish and sardinas, anglers witnessed an increase in overall activity, enjoying some quality wintertime fishing action. Holiday crowds were moderate, down from previous years, the people that did make the trip and go out fishing took advantage of daily catches that included dorado, yellowfin tuna, striped marlin, skipjack, cabrilla, pargo and sierra.
Fleets were covering a wide area, searching for the best action, striped marlin were only reported in limited numbers on the Sea of Cortez, but for boats traveling further on the Pacific side, to places like the Jamie or Golden Gate Banks, they found some good billfish action, but it was hit or miss, striped marlin could be seen tailing on the surface, as well as feeding, it was a matter of being at the right place when it happened. Dorado were the most common targeted offshore species being found, though they were also being located close to shore, especially off Palmilla and La Playita, sizes ranged from 15 to 35 pounds, striking on a wide assortment of lures, though trolling with bait accounted for a higher percentage of hook ups. Dorado had been found in greater numbers on the Pacific, but this last week there were dorado found more frequently in areas from Cabo San Lucas to the Gordo Banks. Charters reported daily catches that included as many as 6 to 8 dorado, but most boats accounted for an average of 1 to 4 of these golden gamefish. Mixed in was some swallow water rockfish action for pargo, cabrilla and triggerfish, all very good tasting. Sierra continued to provide inshore sport for anglers interested in light tackle action, they hit best early in the mornings on live sardinas, very tricky to hook due to the lightning fast strike, hoochies and rapalas also accounted for many strikes. The numbers of sierra found off San Jose del Cabo noticeably declined in recent weeks due to persistent gill netting by commercial pangueros.
Yellowfin tuna made their first appearance on the Gordo Banks for quite some time, the Inner Banks was the place where tuna ranging from 40 to 100 pounds were found over the weekend. Pangas trolling for dorado initially noticed these larger tuna feeding on the bank, not in huge numbers, but enough where several were landed each day by the handful of pangas working the spot and other hooked fish were lost. The yellowfin tuna were seen coming up on chummed skipjack and sardinas and most of the reported strikes came on chunk bait, though others did hit on sardinas. This has everyone excited about the possibilities of a consistent yellowfin tuna bite returning to the Gordo Banks.
Good Fishing, Eric
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