Baja Bytes – July 6, 2021
Wesley Brough – aka Cabosurfcaster shares his story of recent catch of a potential IGFA All-Tackle World Record White Snook on the Pacific side of a Cabo San Lucas beach.
Tijuana Bull Ring
The top story once again is the exceptionally good sand bass fishing. The squid are drawing in the bass which are helping the anglers to make good scores. Live or fresh dead are working best, but they are biting sardine, anchovy, and green plastics, too. …Fish Dope
The East Cape Dorado Shoot Out is the largest fishing tournament in Southern Baja with an average turnout of 130 teams each year. What makes this event so popular is the low entry fee, along with a big payout.
It is now easier than ever to sign up for this tournament. Just click here.
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
Some yellowtail were reported caught near the Rockpile on slow-trolled sardine. There was no great volume of fish but at least it was something. The guys also caught barracuda.
The barracuda were also caught by guys slow-trolling sardines for yellows in the area from Ribbon Kelp to SKR.
Calico bass fishing has been good in the kelp below South Island and at the Boiler Rocks in the Middle Islands area as well. Many of these are big “bull” bass weighing up to seven pounds. …Fish Dope
Border / Coronado Canyon / 226-302 / 230
Anglers on boats in this zone reported finding scattered spots of bluefin tuna. Almost all of the 226 guys reported finding bluefin on tern birds, although sometimes just a single bird was spotted dipping down. Right on the 302 Proper, lots of bluefin were seen scattered over several miles. …Fish Dope
Ensenada
Limits of white seabass inshore and bluefin farther offshore offered visitors some of the best Baja has to offer!
San Quintin
Visiting anglers are continuing to fill their coolers with halibut and other great bottom fish. …Garcia’s Pangas Sportfishing
Bahía Asunción
Another beautiful but breezy day with temps in the 70s. Plus, the arrival of my favorite birds, the brown pelicans, have been picking at the shoals of small sardine or anchovy over the last couple of days. The numbers have gone from a few birds to squadrons cruising the surf line just outside the surf. I dig how they can fly along with their wingtips seemingly feeling the crest of the wave.
Our toes are cold from our beach walk and cast. There were no biters this morning, but with the tide phase improving this coming week, summer and warm water is beginning to look promising. The water is still cold, so much so that a couple of the pelicans looked hesitant about getting their feet wet. At the same time, they were tempted to go into the icy plunge by the opportunity to fill their gular sacs with wriggling eats…Daniel Powell
Cedros Island
I just got back from the island with Jeff! We had excellent weather & fishing.
Calico bass were plenty on the SP Minnow and weedless plastics First time kayak angler Jakob Eichor caught a 60# black sea bass Yellowtail couldn’t stay away from the mint green surface iron…Katie Schmidt
Bahia de Los Angeles
7/4/21 One: Bahia de Los Angeles: Out fishing with my friends Dr. Mike, his son Winston, and Dr. Carlo and his son Olin. We fished near Animas Bay. It was nice morning weather with some wind, and in the afternoon, the bait had been a little tough to make, but it was doable. It took an hour or so to get it done and then we opted to fish jigs only … no bait needed! We used the Pro Hunter Rankaru Stick Bait and the Cyclops 230 Grain on Pro Hunter Safari Short Jigging Rods – an awesome combination and deadly to the fish! We are going again tomorrow, and we will need no bait.
7/5/21 Day Two: The fish were big and somewhat plentiful. We had from six to eight break-offs. Some of these big fish were unstoppable! They pulled us into the rocks and “that was that!” We were done by 9.30 a.m., off to San Juan Cove for a swim to cool down some, then we headed for home! fishonnn&onnn. …Captain Juan Cook
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
DORADO SHOOTOUT
The East Cape Dorado Shoot Out is the largest fishing tournament in Southern Baja with an average turnout of 130 teams each year. What makes this event so popular is the low entry fee, along with a big payout.
It is now easier than ever to sign up for this tournament. Just click here.
Loreto
We need a few more boats on the water to find out where the bite is happening and where we might find the bite tomorrow!
A few weeks ago the “tomorrow bite” might have been out in the Lobo area. It’s a historic spot so why don’t we try there? If you don’t score and you are not too fried by the sun, why not drop a line down to check for random yellowtail, a red snapper, or a baqueta?
The dorado have moved which is not surprising. After a few days, one should not count on “the one that got away” would still be hanging in the same patch of water.
Captain Tony Davis came in a few days ago with a zero count in the fish box. I was very surprised to hear that after the previous day’s big score! “Where did you fish?” I asked. “Out by Lobo.” Was the response.
Question mark! Question mark!
The client wanted to fish Lobo for unknown reasons, possibly not knowing the past week’s score for that destination.
The dorado have been absent from the Carmen and Danzante Triangle, too. (Small- to medium-sized roosterfish are still slashing through the sardina bait schools along the coastline. A kayak and a fly rod could put a big hurt on those shallow-water brawlers!)
The best dorado bite that has crossed my radar was up north at Almejas Bay. “Huge patches of sargasso with dorado everywhere and no other boats nearby,” explained Captain Tony.
More boats, more eyeballs, por favor! There are lots of boats doing Coronado Island and scuba but that’s not in the right zone for dorado and billfish.
Escapees from the golf and tennis resort down south came up north to whack dorado at Almeja Bay. Quick limits and back by noon…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Lopez Mateos
Well, another incredible trip up to Mag Bay with Salvaje Sportfishing! Jim and Todd Dor came up for two days’ of fishing … well, it seems Jim caught the jackpot with a 49-pound baretta – a grouper that is great to eat and fights hardy. …Brian Solomon
La Paz\Muertos Bay
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of June 24 -July 1, 2021
Bahia De Los Sueños, Baja Mexico
My amigo and fishing partner Phi Perrone with a Jurassic Park Pompano (24 kilos). In all of my years of fishing here in southern BCS, I’ve never seen a Pompano this size before…Keith Williams
East Cape
The water was rough Tuesday and Wednesday, 83- to 84 degrees, but flat and clear the rest of the week.
It was nice weather most days. The storm Tuesday night cooled the weather down, so there were highs in the mid-80s with afternoon breezes.
There was good fishing again this week, with limits on yellowfin, lots, and lots of striped marlin in close. Also, there were big roosters, some big pargo, nice-sized pompano, and whopper Almaco jack to 60 pounds. A couple of nice wahoo were taken this week as well.
Yellowfin were found under the porpoise around 20 miles offshore. There were limits for all anglers, footballs to 40-pounds. Bright Hoochies worked the best.
Unbelievable numbers of stripers were hooked close inside from two to four miles off the beach. Fishing was best from La Ribera to the Lighthouse. A few sails and blues were also showing up. All boats targeting billfish are enjoying multiple releases. Ballyhoo seem to be working best, though some were taken on plastic.
Larger bait is the ticket for the big roosterfish. Mullet is the best bait for the big guys, though sardina was also working well. The water is clearer and the Gallos are more plentiful from Punta Colorado up to Punta Pescadero.
On the bottom, there are big Almaco jack, nice pompano, pargo, and a few big grouper. A couple of wahoo were taken off the bottom as well. The best fishing was off the Lighthouse and the first drop-off in front of Punta Colorado. LIVE sardina worked the best…John Ireland, Rancho Leonero
This week flyfishing has been good overall. The tuna bite continues. The roosters also continue to produce. A few smaller dorado are showing inside, and the marlin bite has been very good close to shore from lighthouse to La Ribera. There continues to be good fishing from the beach for those who are patient…Jeff DeBrown, Reel Baja
Puerto Los Cabos
Another active week for weather patterns in Los Cabos. First, we were following the development of Hurricane Enrique. This system had once been forecast to take a path directly towards the Los Cabos region, but fortunately, the storm weakened and moved further east and never amounted to much at all. Local Ports were closed for two days as a precaution, however, but little rain was recorded, only isolated showers were reported, with some areas feeling none at all. Ocean swells did increase, but also quickly dropped. After the storm had swept by, on Wednesday, we had a major blow from the south, with gusts to 40 mph – definitely a good day not to be on the water. On Thursday morning, winds subsided and Ports reopened. That first day out, the ocean conditions were stirred up and much cooler once again. Though by week’s end, the ocean was back up near 80 degrees and clarity had improved.
Fleets were scouting out in different directions to find the best possible action. There were now opportunities from along the beach stretches to off the bottom rock piles, as well as farther offshore.
Most consistent action remained over the bottom structure, often in as shallow as 60 feet. Using bait and yo-yo jigs there was a variety of species accounted for. Most impressive were a few Almaco jack ranging to over 50 pounds, and a handful of nice leopard grouper, yellow snapper, pompano, barred pargo, pargo colorado, bonito, island jack, flag cabrilla, rose snapper, and others, all excellent table fare.
The best opportunity for catching yellowfin tuna has been near Vinorama, close to shore. It has been spotty action, but at times they would come up and bite with sardina being the best bait. Other tuna were found 15 to 25 miles offshore from the San Jose del Cabo region, traveling with porpoise, and striking on lures and bait. Most of the tuna we saw this past week were in the 15- to 25-class. This is the month when we normally see some larger size yellowfin on the local grounds.
Dorado continued to be scarce, though this week we had a couple of true 50-pound monster bulls show up on the fillet tables. We have not seen such large dorado in a while. They are not as common as in years past. It is nice to see the big bulls as they are very impressive fish. A few other dorado were found scattered throughout the zone, and as summer conditions continue to warm we should see more of the school-sized dorado move into local fishing grounds.
The billfish action was mainly for striped marlin, a few sailfish, and one small blue marlin. We have seen smaller juvenile-sized stripers, some as small as 40-pounds and others up to 120-pounds. They were found a bit farther offshore in greater numbers where water was cleaner, though some marlin were also inshore, near the Iman and San Luis Banks.
A couple of reports of wahoo seen free swimming around, but they have not been interested in biting. There were still a few sierra hanging around, most of them good-sized, up to 14-pounds. Roosterfish were also now showing in more quantity, mixed sizes, also lots of jack crevalle, many of these 25-pound-plus hogs. Bait supplies now consist of sardina, caballito, and mullet.
Surf anglers accounted for a handful of snook, tripletail, and even totoaba, though there was more jack crevalle than anything else. They were even wide open at times. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
Good bite for striped marlin, marlin between 80 to 100 pounds at the Herradura and Cabeza Ballena, they are biting on lures and ballyhoo. Dorado starting to show at La Herradura on lures. There have been football sized yellowfin tuna biting 12 miles out on cedar plugs. Few reports of wahoo and roosterfish bites at the Lighthouse,
Inshore fishing has remained constant, white bonita, small grouper and snapper caught this week at the Herradura, Gray rock, Chileno and Santa Maria.
The best fishing locations in the Los Cabos area have been Afuera faro 20 millas, Migrino, 11:50, Afuera punta gorda, Ojo del Carca, 17 millas al 120, Afuera 95 spot, 25 millas al 190, Orilla pueblo bonito y Hot Rock hotel,
The sea temps have been from 67- to 80-degrees, clear and calm, with 2- to 3-foot swells and light winds in the afternoon. The afternoon air temps have been 91-degrees.
The best bait or lures were alive or dead caballito, mackerel, ballyhoo, sardina, and a variety of large, brightly-colored pushers, and Rapala-style lures, as well as Hoochies.
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
