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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
March 11, 2007
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
March 11, 2007
Anglers -
The first wave of spring breakers are now arriving in the Los Cabos area and they were enjoying ideal weather, as this week the skies were clear with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures averaging in the mid 80s. The northerly winds diminished and anglers encountered very pleasant ocean conditions throughout the region. Water clarity fluctuated from day to day, but generally was improving, with the water temperatures also on the rise, now ranging from 70 to 74 degrees. Baitfish became more scattered during the recent full moon phase, though on most mornings there were sufficient supplies available, with a mix of sardinas, mullet and mackerel obtainable. Off of San Jose anglers were able to jig up mackerel early in the morning, but as the sun came up the action would shut down. Sportfishing Fleets found the most consistent action from Chileno to San Luis, most consistent catches were for inshore species and various rockfish, but with the warming currents we anticipate improved offshore action soon.
Billfish action was concentrated around the 95 and 1150 high spots, many striped marlin were seen free jumping and tailing on the surface, but they were not always eager to strike, with squid and other favorite bait now abundant on the fishing grounds, the fish have been gorging down deep and crews were working hard to average one billfish per boat, of course there were exception of several fish being accounted for. The marlin were coming up to strike lures, but often these did not result in solid hook ups, this is when a dropped back bait was effective. There were also a few more reports of yellowfin tuna being found traveling with porpoise, anywhere from 20 to 30 miles offshore, but this was not consistent, the fish that were found averaged 20 to 30 pounds. Typically in the coming months the majority of the yellowfin action encountered is found further offshore traveling with pods of porpoise, so we will be looking for that same pattern to unfold.
Tuna were schooling and seen rolling on the surface of the Gordo Banks, but these fish had lock jaw and simply would not bite on any baits or lures offered, apparently gorged on red crabs and smaller squids that were holding deep. There were reports of red crabs floating up to the surface, but so far nothing consistent on this, it is the season for huachinango and with the appearance of these red crabs the action on these true red snapper could break loose at any time. Early in the week there were decent counts of dorado found along the inshore stretch from La Playita to Cardon, very close to shore, attracted by baitfish holding in the same areas. Most of the action would take place later on in the morning and birds circling overhead were often the clue that dorado were near by, pangas skippers would quickly race to the spot and cast baits, often resulting in hook ups with quality sized dorado of 15 to 30 pounds. The numbers of fish accounted for was not huge as in the warmer months, but many charters accounted for one to four dorado per morning, this bite did fade out by the weekend.
Most common panga catches were a mix of various pargo, cabrilla and sierra, most of the fish weighing an average of 2 to 5 pounds, though some pargo and grouper to 20 pounds were landed. Best success was found on either whole or cut baits.
In recent days there many reports of wahoo being spotted along these same inshore areas, they were seen slowly free swimming and several did strike on cast lures or baits, but all of the reported hook ups ended up being lost for some reason or another. Perhaps the best fish story for the week was one that local panga skipper Chame Pino told, he apparently seen a free swimming wahoo that appeared disorientated and was barely moving on the surface near his boat, he quickly grabbed his gaff and motored along side the fish, hooking it in the back of the head, but this sluggish wahoo that was estimated to be in the 70 to 80 pound class, instantly lit up and exploded, nearly pulling Chame overboard and at the same time ripping the gaff from his grasp, a lesson learned, better to use a flying gaff the next time that happens.
The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita sent out approximately 58 charters for the week, with accounting for a fish count of: 2 striped marlin, 68
dorado, 2 hammerhead shark, 205 sierra, 38 Mexican bonito, 260 pargo (various species), 28 amberjack, 6 yellowtail, 66 cabrilla, 1 yellowfin tuna, 16 pompano, 15 surgeonfish, 22 roosterfish and 72 triggerfish.
Good fishing, Eric
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