By That Baja Guy-Gary GrahamApr 15, 2020 at 7:11 AM
Baja Bytes Fishing – Tuesday, April 14, 2020
April 14, 2020… There are 5014 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mexico with 332 deaths. Baja California Sur. In Baja California, there are 368 confirmed cases and 562 suspected cases and 25 deaths.
Que Pasa
Tijuana
According to the Governor of Baja California, Jaime Bonilla Valdez, as of Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tijuana is now up to 240. Twenty-one people have died, and the city has 190 suspected cases.
Monday in a press conference, Baja’s governor admitted some of the shortages at that hospital, saying federal facilities were not properly prepared. Governor Bonilla Valdez also said that as a result of not being ready, “Doctors are dropping like flies,” but did not say how many doctors or nurses are sick.
Doctors in Mexicali told 10News there is a great need for supplies in Baja, as soon as possible.
Our reporting partner, Televisa, reports that officials statewide have announced that there are eight (8) doctors and four (4) nurses that have tested positive for COVID-19, and two of them are in serious condition. Officials did not say where those doctors and nurses worked.
Tijuana does have a social distancing order in place until at least April 30.
Ensenada Port Closed
Locals on their boats may fish to provide food for families….Mara’s Sportfishing Ensenada
San Quintin Closed
Locals are shore fishing with kids, day out picnic stuff, fill up buckets. This has been going on for years; it’s a big bay, with lots of places to hide out. It’s almost impossible to fish except possibly in a kayak? Bonefish and other fun fish there are getting bigger. Sooo… I can’t wait to get back, and do a little wandering around…Leslie Christensen, El Chivito
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/grope-a-grouper-in-san-quintin.742759/#post-5088204
Bahía Asunción
I took “the wingman” out to the beach for some Vitamin D and a walk – 4x’s only getting to this spot, and out of over fifty trips, I have only seen other humans twice. So, I figured it would be socially distanced enough. Corbina were biting crabs, though the water was cold, maybe 60, and the wind was in your face while the tide was flat and a bit low for the spot. Still, it was a constant bite on small-to-medium-sized ‘barbitos’…Daniel Powell
Guerrero Negro (California)
Baja roadblock
In a historical and unilateral measure, the Municipal President Felipe Prado Bautista decided to close the entrance roads to the municipality of Mulegé, with the elements of the Municipal Police not allowing the entry of anyone, except those who carry food or have an emergency medical situation.
A checkpoint was installed by Municipal Police Officers and civil protection personnel in this town of Guerrero Negro where North American tourists who regularly transit this route have already begun to return.
In an interview with SAL GUERRERO, Mayor Felipe Prado Bautista said that in the face of the emergence of the coronavirus epidemic, where Mulegé is still free of infections, it was decided to close the way to all people in transit, including tourists.
Although the mayor says it is a controversial measure, he only seeks to protect communities from this disease that is transmitted from person to person as it will cause serious problems if it arrives in this town which does not have enough health infrastructure.
He added that residents of the municipality of Mulegé who goes on vacation, will not be able to re-enter without a thorough medical review. They will be regarded as carriers of COVID-19.
He asked the Muleginos not to leave the territorial limits. If they leave, they will no longer be able to return. Furthermore, passenger transport trucks will not be able to drop off or pick up tickets in any of the Mulegina towns and those who wish to travel north, do better by plane.
Felipe Prado Bautista asked the population to remain in their homes. He confirmed that instructions were issued to the Municipal Police so that no vehicle can circulate at night. “Those who do so will be detained and subjected to a thorough inspection, and if they have alcoholic beverages, they will be sent to the impound area where heavy sanctions/penalties will be applied.”
Mulegé
In Mulegé, a town of about 3,000 located midway up the Baja Peninsula, the mayor warned that residents CLOSE MULEGÉ BORDERS… NO ONE LEAVE OR ENTER!!!
Mulegé BCS transpeninsular highway is closed! “If they leave, they don’t come back,” warned the Mayor Felipe Prado.
Loreto Marina Closed
Not a lot of fishing to report as most people are staying home waiting out the conclusion of the pandemic that hopefully will happen soon.
Down at the Marina, the chain is back up blocking the boat ramp. A few boats have been launching at the beach in Zaragosa and “Negrita.”
Another week has passed and we should see more people out fishing to put food on the table. Most businesses are closed, putting a halt on income and paychecks.
The seasonal changes seem to be on schedule as far as we can see from shore. Water temperatures must be rising, judging from the sargasso mountains that the recent north winds blew up on our beaches.
The sea birds are diving into bait schools making me eager to get back to socializing with some hungry fish…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Sargasso littered beach
Why would the cutoff of kiddie toys be a plus in this situation? ( Kiddie toys for the 3 to 6-year-old range?)(Luckily, I was shopping for crayons, coloring books and paper to keep the little ones from climbing the walls!)
Marina Puerto Escondido
Robert Ross Second Annual Tournament Postponed
Scheduled in May at the Marina Puerto Escondido. The already much anticipated event was put on hold because of current Covid-19 shelter in place orders throughout Baja.
Registration without payment is available at the both the Marina office or Pisces Yachts, Cabo San Lucas contact Tracy Ehrenberg at 1-877-2867938. For more information please visit https://www.robertrossfishingtournament.com/
La Paz Marina Closed
Erik Holthouse was with his brother, Juan, from La Paz. They were out at Bahia Muertos with Captain Moncho and found a nice school of dorado.
Not many, if anyone was fishing at all except gringos who live in the area, or locals. And even then, the waters are empty. However, the few reports we got this week showed there are still slugger yellowtail around, especially around the rocky areas – Espirito Santo Island and Cerralvo Island on the northeast side. More schools of dorado in the 5-to 15-pound class also becoming more prevalent as the waters warm. There’s a nice spawn of those big mullet snapper (pargo liso) that have shown up – if you can get one of these horses to the boat in the shallow water. They’ve been 15- to 20 pounders in the school.
All hotels are still closed until at least April 30th. Police and military are enforcing the closure of the Malecon and all beaches, especially during Holy Week/ Easter Week which has traditionally been a big beach week for Mexico with many people still ignoring the “shelter-in-place” laws. Authorities are now posting signs, but the local population has also started unilaterally blocking entrances into their areas for tourists, visitors and even some of their own residents, if the residents have been out’ve the area.
Eastside of Cerralvo Island continues to be a good spot to find big yellowtail like this one caught by Miles Wagner from Colorado Springs, Color.
To block the spread of the virus, Mulege, Loreto, San Xavier, Todos Santos, and others have all blocked their roads. Around La Paz, the road to Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay with entrances to the pueblitos where many of the fishermen and their families live including, Aguamarga, San Pedro, Bahia Muertos, Punta Arenas, and Los Alamos have blocked their roads. They’re asking everyone to please stay away. If you leave, they might not let you back in.
Todos Santos
Farther south on the peninsula, residents of Todos Santos took it upon themselves to close both northern and southern access roads into their town, blocking the roads with vehicles and hazard tape. Food and other supplies are still welcome in this Pueblo Mágico, or Magical Town. Tourists are clearly not.
Things are shut tight down here! We are hunkered in at the house like everyone else. The town’s entrances are blocked, preventing people from La Paz and Cabo San Lucas from entering. Beaches and ports are all closed here in BCS. So I have not been fishing. I could not take it anymore, and I snuck out a couple of mornings ago at “Zero Dark Thirty,” to a beach South without another soul. Good call! Two bites and two fish. Be safe everyone!…BK
One huge sierra over 10.5 pounds.
One yellowtail, about 7 pounds
East Cape Closed
The local Police Chief and Paramedics have been working hand-in-hand to set up a checkpoint with roadblocks. Our community is now closed off. If you live here, you will be asked to show your ID. Otherwise, you will need a permission note. All roads entering town have police checkpoints and the beaches are well-patrolled with dozens of police from La Paz. The roads leading to Cabo are also blocked and the police are preventing passage to San Jose and Cabo without a permission slip. If anyone needs to travel, for any reason, we can provide a note.
We have not seen anyone even suspicious with COVID-19, but we are prepared. In the event we see someone who needs hospitalization, we now have proper transport chambers and PPE, thanks to a 24-hour drive spearheaded by Brittany Baker, Megan O’Leary, and Laurel Eastman. Medical, Dental and Pharmacy will remain OPEN to serve your needs. Help us keep our doors open. It takes a village!! Charlene Wenger
**Los Barriles Food Bank** We are delivering food parcels. To see heartwarming videos and pictures of the day, please go to our dedicated Facebook page Los Barriles Food Bank. Here, you can also find out how to donate if you haven’t done so already. You can also see our THANK YOU list featuring all of our donors.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who has helped so far. Any questions, please email emma.nicholson@kwmexico.mx.
Puerto Los Cabos Closed
Los Cabos, Baja California Sur (BCS). The Director-General of Public Security, Preventive Police and Municipal Traffic, Captain Juan José Zamorano Martínez, reported that in conjunction with the National Guard, Semar, Sedena, Federal Police, State Police, Zofemat and Civic Court, a joint operation was carried out for supervision on the beaches of the municipality of Los Cabos.
He explained that federal, state, and municipal institutions are supervising the beaches, ensuring that they were kept clear of visitors, as one of the preventive measures that the Health authorities have dictated is the closure of beaches since quarantine requires that people remain at home.
As a result of this operation, just over a hundred people who went to beaches in areas such as La Ribera, Miramontes, and Cabo Pulmo, some of them for camping purposes, were asked to leave.
In this sense, the captain of the ship thanked the willingness of the institutions that participated, since each one, within the scope of its competence, is contributing to the health and safety of all.
To finish, he assured that the operations would continue; Likewise, he reiterated the call that the Municipal Government has been making – asking people to stay in their homes and heeding all the recommendations of the Health sector.
Cabo San Lucas
Amid shutdown, Los Cabos aims to ‘be ready whenever the market is ready.’
Los Cabos has taken the strictest measures of all: The entire destination has been shuttered to tourism until April 30.
“We decided the way to control everything is to suspend all nonessential activity,” said Rodrigo Esponda, managing director for the Los Cabos Tourism Board. “This means hotels will be closed, bars, casinos, beaches – everything will be completely closed.”
4-12-20 Dr. Kadota, who unfortunately became part of the statistic as the fifth COVID-19 death in the state, was NOT part of the patients in the at-risk group; he had no chronic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension, he was not obese, he was not an older man, and he did not smoke.
The only risk factor he had is one that all government health workers in the country have, which is working for an indolent health system, which is more concerned with giving a “good image” to the media and general public and does not care about the integrity of its personnel, nor the well-being of the population. That proclaims to the four winds that it has the best equipment when the reality is that it is not capable of providing the minimum essential safety equipment of good quality to its employees. That until now, it has not been able to implement adequate and standardized protocols to care for infected patients and to safeguard the health personnel in charge and prevent it from being infected by the SARS COV-2 virus, causing this pandemic…Jorge C Larrinaga
Rest in Peace, Dr. Kadota.
4-10-20 Good morning my friends…Gricelda
Be careful because starting today, as a preventive measure and stemming from people’s contempt of not staying home, any person out on the streets will be detained.
And in case you are in a vehicle, only one person per vehicle is allowed. All people detained will be transported to the barandilla (police station) where a fine must be paid. And ALL must Obey the instructions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that is rapidly increasing in the municipality of Los Cabos. STAY HOME!
Mainland México
San Carlos Closed
Costa Rica
The evolution of the “Hero Shot” and the evolution of the ‘Fishing Wall of Fame’ at Crocodile Bay in Costa Rica:
Costa Rica continues to lead the way in sustainable practices. Ten years ago, a regulation made it illegal for the sports fishing sector to take a billfish, sailfish, or marlin, out of the water for a “hero shot” photo of their prized catch.
People think a couple of minutes out of the water is not harmful to the fish, but any amount of time out of the water is not good for the fish. It stresses the fish and removes the protective slime by dragging it onboard, making them susceptible to life-threatening bacteria.
Guatemala
2019 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout- Sportsman’s Adventures
(305) 854-4665
