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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
February 19, 2006
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
February 19, 2006
Anglers –
The weather this past week actually felt like a hint of spring, as the days warmed up to 80 degrees and the skies were virtually cloudless. Not much problem with the wind either, as the there was only moderate breezes reported from the north. Along with the air temperature, the water was also on a warming trend, now averaging 69 to 71 degrees. Supplies of live bait was adequate, with mullet, sardina and caballito all available, but there was a problem with the preferred offshore bait of mackerel being very scarce at this time.
The cruiser fleet found striped marlin scattered from the Pacific to Chileno and off of Red Hill, though during the recent passing of the full moon the action did slow down compared to the previous week, and the lack of the preferred bait also contributed to lower billfish counts. The stripers were located anywhere from 5 to 20 miles offshore, striking best on live bait, but also hitting trolled lures, weights averaged from 90 to 140 pounds. Very few dorado were found offshore, just an occasional fish or two, and yellowfin tuna were not being found in any numbers to speak about. We look for this warming to trend to help the offshore action become steadier and we expect that the more productive action will start to swift in the direction of the Sea of Cortez.
For the panga fleets out of La Playita the best bite in recent days was for a combination of shallow water species in the areas from the Estuary to Palmilla. It was not unusual for anglers to catch eight or more species per charter. The most common species were yellowtail snapper, mullet snapper, island jack, golden jack, flag cabrilla, sierra, triggerfish, porgy and gafftopsail pompano. None of these fish were very large, with only a small percentage being over ten pounds, though they have provided excellent sport on lighter tackle and were providing fine eating fillets. Sierra counts increased substantially in the Sea of Cortez this past week, with boats targeting them landing a dozen fish with no problem at all, they were striking sardinas, trolled lures and flies.
On the Gordo Banks the action was exclusively for Mexican Bonito, these fish were basically wide open for anglers using yo-yo jigs, rapalas and hoochies. The average size was ranging 3 to 8 pounds, these strong fighting fish have light colored flesh and are good table fare. There were also plenty of whales throughout the region to entertain everyone.
The combined La Playita panga fleet sent out approximately 78 pangas for the week and anglers accounted for a total catch of 14 amberjack, 26 cabrilla, 175 sierra, 40 yellowtail snapper, 22 pompano, 36 jacks (golden & island), 380 bonito, 28 triggerfish and 34 pargo.
Good fishing, Eric
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