Baja Bytes Fishing – Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Que Pasa Baja California
Baja summer is heating up as more and more dorado and yellowfin tuna arrive. There are plenty of billfish at East Cape for the Bisbee ECO Tournament scheduled for next week while the beach patrol chases the grande roosters and jacks.
Tijuana Bull Ring
Conditions for bass fishing along the kelp line continue to be a little better in the afternoon when the water ticks up half a degree or so and the current gets pushing along a little better. There are mostly rockfish otherwise, which has been fair but not outstanding..… Fish Dope
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
The wind picked up and it got a little breezy and snotty from around 11 a.m. ‘til around noon yesterday. There were 12- to 20-pound yellowtail again through the Middle Grounds from the lee of South Island to the north end of South Island. Pukey Point is also worth a look when the current runs down from the north. The Mexican Navy was nowhere to be seen… Fish Dope
425 / Upper Hidden Bank
The Upper Hidden Bank is the new hot zone for 20- to 40- pound bluefin. There are a few kelps in the area with some 12- to 25-pound yellowtail and a dorado or two, and there are also some small yellowfin in the area.
The sinker rig was the dope early in the day. Boats were stopping on sonar marks in the grey light and getting bit by bluefin. There were a few flat fall fish but most came on the sardine. Fly line sardine on 25- to 30-pound were working best after 9 a.m.…Fish Dope
Popotla
We went down on an exploratory trip to Popotla with a few buddies to get the lines wet and have some tacos. We hooked up with Verdugo’s Sportfishing. Great people! We went out with rockfish expectations and ended up with four yellowtail and with six lost to structure. We fished the tuna pens near the Coronados, which was fun yet quite a different experience…Dad and kid yellows
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/popotla.751760/
Ensenada
Ensenada is open. It’s time to go fishing. Tuna, bass, yellowtail, white seabass, barracuda, and dorado are starting to show. Let’s go…It’s 4 Reel!
San Quintin
I’m just back from BOLA; the word is there are white seabass a mile or two off the point … halibut are at San Martin and there’s a good chance at tuna on the outside. There are not many anglers fishing there at the moment. I’ll be on the water in a few days to see what is out there. …Juan Cook
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/whats-happening-at-san-quintin.751494/
Bahía Asunción
This was a 24-inch noontime catch. After giving me the high sign when they saw it flopping in the sand, the guys slid down the beach. One helped me find the Kroc that the halibut flung. He “kharmatically” caught a decent one before I got back to the house…Daniel Powell
Bahía de Los Ángeles
Still good fishing for yellowtail and grouper. – Tapia family Good times!
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Los Cabos makes face masks mandatory
The wearing of face masks in businesses and public spaces has been deemed mandatory in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, municipal health director Adán Monroy Justo said after the popular tourist destination saw a spike in coronavirus cases. In Cabo San Lucas, one government hospital is 81% full and the other is at 30% occupancy, but authorities fear a severe outbreak could test the limits of medical personnel.
The initiative was approved by municipal council members with a vote of 11 to 1, with a lone Morena councilor objecting to what he called an “authoritarian” measure. It is unclear if there will be sanctions for those who refuse to wear a mask, but warnings will be issued. The mandate, which went into effect Monday, will last for 15 days and has the support of union leaders and businesspeople in the popular tourist destination.
Los Cabos Mayor Armida Castro urged residents to follow health protocols and stay home as much as possible, warning that a return to lockdown could be possible if cases continue to surge. “We need to raise awareness among citizens. A few days ago we talked with doctors, and they told us that we had to make an extra effort, that they were receiving between 15 and 20 patients a day and if something was not done, we could be like La Paz, with 110 patients a day,” the mayor said.
Councilors cautioned that many people who have contracted coronavirus are asymptomatic. Last week Los Cabos Police Chief Celso Filemón Lázaro Pérez died of coronavirus. Some 40,000 free masks will be made available, especially at bus stops so that those who use public transportation can be protected in an initiative backed by state and municipal authorities. Distribution of the masks began over the weekend in the 10 most vulnerable neighborhoods of San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, among them Lomas del Sol, Los Venados and Auroras where high rates of infection have occurred.
Los Cabos coordinating council executive president Julio Castillo Gómez said that despite the increased rate of infections and deaths, around 20% of the population still does not believe in wearing masks as a preventative measure, and he hoped that the free mask distribution program will help raise awareness. “We are going for a small sector, 10% or 20% that have not yet caught on, but I am sure that with this they will understand, and they will join, even if they do not believe, out of respect for others,” Castillo said.
Loreto
Good news for summer fishing in Loreto! Big dorado from 20- to 30-pounds are hitting sardina up north around the current corners near Punta Colorado.
Huge schools of bonito are hitting feathers and trolled goodies almost everywhere around the area. A mixed emotion with the bonito bite – the version with the sharp spiked teeth are not only good for extreme exercise but they have a tasty pink fillet. The other bonito version is good entertainment and exercise but their eating value is another issue.
The great thing about so many bonito is the big drain they will make on the seemingly endless bait supply. With the bait schools thinned out, the bloated 40-pound dorado will be a little more eager to chase a hooked bait!
I have some messages out seeking photos, but few clients are tuned into my needs which seems to always be the case! One trip out today and two lined up for tomorrow and the next day, too. Looks like the wait for the dodos to show up has been worth it…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
La Paz
East Cape.
Water- 84-86 – The water is very warm for July, and it’s even warmer farther north and outside; much cooler water drops into the 70s south of Los Frailes where there is clear, clean blue water and afternoon SE breezes.
Air- Clear skies, cool mornings, warm afternoons, highs in the low 90s.
Another very good week of fishing! Similar to last week. Good news! The dorado showed up late in the week and we are now enjoying wide-open yellowfin, striped marlin, and roosterfish bites. With the dorado finally on the scene and biting aggressively, this coming week should bring us some exceptional fishing!
The tuna is still under the porpoise, but closer inside and bigger. Stripers are abundant – one boat released five in a day. The average roosterfish is around 40 pounds and several dorado were in the 20- to 40-pound range…John Ireland, Rancho Leonero
https://bisbees.catchstat.com/Default/Tournament/TeamListing?TournamentID=100
Puerto Los Cabos
Anglers have been finding bait sources mainly consisting of caballito and mullet, which is kind of the normal situation during the warm summer months. Other bait can be found at times on the offshore fishing grounds when conditions are favorable. Ocean temperatures have been averaging in the mid-70s, with currents continuing to push in greenish water. Clean blue water has been found much farther offshore, but winds were a factor, and going 25 miles or more offshore has not been practical, although a few larger private boats did report finding good numbers of yellowfin tuna associated with the moving porpoise.
At San Luis Bank there has been a handful of tuna in the 50- to 70-pound class caught. These fish hit on live caballito, though with the green water this was a very “hit or miss” option.
The most consistent action found was red snapper (huachinango) to 12 pounds, and Mexican bonito to 10 p0unds, striking on yo-yo jigs – best earlier in the morning. Also, there were a few varieties of cabrilla, Almaco jack, tilefish, and others mixed in. Closer to shore there were a few dogtooth snapper to 30 pounds and pargo Colorado to 15 pounds found.
Along the sandier beach stretches there continues to be some great action for roosterfish up to 50 pounds as well as large schools of hog-sized jack crevalle. Some charters caught and released up to twenty roosterfish, basically fishing until they ran through all their live bait. Off the shoreline, the hard-core beach anglers have landed a few halibut, snook, and tripletail …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Lots of action and mostly doubles on roosterfish. It was hard to take pictures with that much action and more with just one client on board; we release over 30 roosters and eight jacks on morning and afternoon trips; this is all our clients want on these days…Jaqueline sportfishing
Cabo San Lucas
However, the dorado didn’t seem to notice and as predicted, the volume grew. In addition to the schoolies, there were several bulls in the mix weighing in over 40-pounds.
The yellowfin tuna also slowed somewhat, as they, too, seemed to be scarcer. Find the right porpoise school and the bites were sure to follow. Fewer limits but still good fishing.
A few boats were still looking for action inshore in the afternoons and were rewarded with some BIG roosterfish in the 50-pound class as well as a few jacks and black skipjack.
Speaking of big jacks, several anglers fishing from shore scored a couple of the tough fighters from the beach in the 20- to 35-pound class.
LOCATION: 120 Spot, Herradura, 30 – to 40-miles South of the Old Lighthouse.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Mostly calm days, sunny, with some 3- to 4-feet swell.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 75- to 80-degrees F.
BEST LURES: Caballito live and dead, cedar plugs, feathers, guacamayo lures…Rebecca Ehrenberg, Pisces Sportfishing
