Wahoo, Dorado and Tuna off of San Jose del Cabo
Capt. Eric Brictson
February 4, 2010
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
February 4, 2010
Anglers –
The rain front that had been predicted to arrive over last weekend did finally arrive on Tuesday and throughout the day left steady rainfall over a wide portion of Southern Baja. Enough to mess the roads up and put the cleanup crews into overtime action. Unusual to receive rain fall in this area during mid winter, so this was a welcome bonus for the local landscape. Skies are now mostly clear with scattered clouds and high temperatures are reaching the mid to upper 70s. Water temperatures have fluctuated from 70 to 75 degrees, in recent days as the variable winds weakened, the ocean temperatures returned with a slight warming trend. Outside of the Gordo Banks, towards the Cabrillo Sea Mount there was a current line of about 77 degrees.
Anglers were finding a variety of live bait available on most days, sardinas, caballito and some mackerel. Sardinetas were also found and have been productive baits, rigged up dead with trap hooks. Dorado were the main species striking these baits, but also a few wahoo and striped marlin are being attracted. Dorado are being found in small schools, sizes ranging from 5 to 25 pounds, most charters were landing two to four of them per morning. Currents have been swift, causing rapidly fluctuating clarity, not uncommon to see murky green water turn blue in a matter of a couple of hours, this has affected the fishing action accordingly.
With water temperatures running warmer than normal, fleets are continuing to have better results for offshore surface species, rather than bottom dwellers, which have not been consistent. Most charters are targeting dorado, yellowfin tuna, striped marlin, wahoo, with maybe some brief inshore trolling and bottom drops added as an option. The majority of the more consistent fishing action has been found within five miles of shore. Anglers using live sardinas for bait along the shoreline have found scattered action for sierra and a few smaller sized roosterfish.
Early in the week there were some yellowfin tuna of 40 to150 pounds found on the Gordo Banks, these fish hit on chunk baits and sardinas, most of the time later in the day, only a handful of them were brought in, but enough to say that these nicer grade tuna are still in the area. Other tuna were located schooling with porpoise, ranging from footballs to over 100 pounds, on some days these yellowfin did hit live sardinas, most of these biters being fish in the 10 to 20 pound class, but other times when the larger sized tuna were seen breezing among porpoise on the surface anglers were not even able to entice a strike. That can be a common trait of yellowfin, if they do not feel like striking a certain offering at a particular time then anglers will simple have to rely on some old fashioned luck.
Wahoo action had been very good early last week, then south winds shut that action down, now in recent days as the winds have quieted some, the wahoo have again become more active, Chileno Bay, Palmilla Point and the Gordo Banks all had reports of wahoo being encountered, particularly early in the day, at first light before the congregation of charter boats arrived. The wahoo were striking on rigged ballyhoo, mackerel, sadinetas, sardinas, yo-yo jigs, Yo-Zuri, Rapala and skirted lead heads. The wahoo that were accounted for had mostly been juvenile fish under 20 pounds, but this past week a group of larger fish moved into this region and some wahoo of 30 to 50 pounds were landed.
The combined panga fleets launching from La Playita/Puerto Los Cabos sent out approximately 75 charters for the past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
2 sailfish, 8 striped marlin, 4 hammerhead shark, 5 mako shark, 29 bonito, 68 yellowfin tuna, 146 dorado, 16 wahoo, 104 sierra, 14 roosterfish, 10 amberjack, 13 cabrilla, 2 yellowtail and 48 miscellaneous pargo species.
Good fishing, Eric
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