Baja Bytes Fishing – Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Que Pasa Baja California
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Tijuana Bull Ring
Fishing is not nearly as wide open as late last week but you can still find some good flurries here and there. It’s fairly good fishing for smaller bonito around the Whistler Buoy today with some slightly bigger fish and occasional small yellowtail between the Whistler and International Reef off IB.
Schools are moving around a little bit so you may need to search but keep your eyes open for birds working general areas as well as bunched up spots of birds over bonito actively feeding at the surface. When you get into a fishy area, slow down, drop some small feathers and Rapalas or other plugs back, and troll around to locate willing schools. There have been some nice quality 4- to 8-pound bones in the area, with some smaller and a few bigger. They’re also eating fly-lined fin bait or small chrome jigs cast into breaking or breezing fish, or after a jig strike on small feathers and trolling plugs…Fish Dope
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
The water has been beautiful though there has been an early fog. Bonito and calico have been at the Middle Grounds, soon followed by lots of sea lions. Drifting fly-lined sardine while moving around; got steady fish and sea lions all day. Then went to the weather side of North Island and it kept going. Fun day…Fish Dope
371 / 425 to Upper Hidden Bank and into the 475 Knuckle
The occasional kelps in here are holding yellowtail, dorado, and/or yellowfin but it’s hit or miss with lots of misses. Might also stumble across some open-water dorado or yellowfin, but again, odds are low. Still, it seems better than most other areas within 40 miles of San Diego right now. There’s been a little more life along the color break way – inshore from the 475 Knuckle down to just outside Salsipuedes so that might be a good zone to focus your efforts – and you can always work back up to the northwest below the 101 to the 425 / 371 zone throughout the day…Fish Dope
Ensenada
Photo
They are killing it on dorado this week. Only 6- to 8-miles past the island…blowncar
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/ensenada-9-28.757723/#post-5245359
Outside Ensenada / Inner Banks to Banda Bank
Still some good kelps with yellowfin, dorado, skipjack, and some yellowtail around. Mostly the same small grade as everywhere else but there have been a few bigger 10- to 12-pound dorado showing this weekend… Fish Dope.
San Quintin
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/san-quintin-biting-nails-10-2-10-3.758126/
Bahía Asunción
Last two weeks of September: Excellent yellowtail bite close to town for easy limits on most days with fish between 15- and 35-pounds and lots of calico – now all we need are some anglers!! They also saw marlin, wahoo, and some small dorado. My daughter was so stoked to get out there and bend a rod! Our season is just cranking up … and October should be fantastic!… Shari Bondy
Bahía de Los Ángeles
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
COVID-19 TRAFFIC LIGHT LEVELS
Loreto
After this past weekend, the big story in Loreto is that the recent average size of the dorado has increased from 18 inches to almost 32 inches. The Loreto boats, run by the local multi-generational fishermen, know the area thoroughly and can almost feel where today’s fishing should be the best. The driving factor in the Loreto fishing scene for the past six months of covid-19 has revolved around how many fish you can put on ice for the least amount of gasoline!
This was always a huge factor for many, but now it’s especially important! It was a big deal when the visiting sport fishermen came back to the marina ramp with some 32-inch dorado! It was a ninety-mile round trip, $200 in gas (USD), and 8-to 10-hours in a panga (on a smooth day).
Lately, the same scene is sitting on your favorite rock pile as close to home as possible. Pintos, whitefish, and triggers for the underemployed. The commercial hand-line guys are doing great on snapper, cabrilla, and yellowtail.
Stellar fishing can be found in the nearby waters and they are amplified by all the other amazing things you will see every trip out past the break wall. The dorado grow fast, so maybe by Thanksgiving, we will see the 48-inch dorado, (and close to town )!! …Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Marina Puerto Escondido
Outpost Charters landed this wahoo 14 miles from the harbor in 15 minutes on a purple Zucker “pusher” lure.
I wish I could say everybody in town is talking about the big marlin caught last week. The location of the catch for the Loreto boats could just as well have been in Cabo.
Big fast boats out of Puerto Escondido can make the run to these distant spots daily. The Loreto panga and sportfishing boats would need a four-hour run just to get there, then fishing an hour or two, and four hours back would take at least a ten-hour day.
There are some great fishing spots around Catalana Island and at the southern tip of the island, one might be able to hit the annual arrival of wahoo. Roosters, tuna, and all the different billfish can be nailed there for the boats that can manage to get there …Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Magdalena Bay
Puerto San Carlos
The water has become quite fishy. No bait balls yet, but we are starting to see higher numbers of marlin. The wahoo have shown up out at the ridge in decent numbers and there are large schools of dorado that are easy to find. Water temps are back down to the low 80s. Bottom fishing continues to be good for grouper and yellowtail as well…MagBay Lodge
Lopez Mateos
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Sept.25-Oct 2, 2020
East Cape
The water has been at 86 degrees. It has been clear and flat in the mornings with afternoon southeasterly breezes.
The air has been very cool and pleasant for early October with highs in the low 90s.
Fishing has been all about the tuna! Limits of yellowfin from 10- to 40-pounds for all anglers. Lots of billfish and roosterfish around with light fishing pressure, along with a few smaller dorado and wahoo mixed in. The bottom fishing has been stellar with lots of pargo, Almaco jack, and pompano for anglers going deep. All anglers are targeting the tuna and pretty much ignoring the billfish and roosters.
Nice-sized tuna were found close to shore from the lighthouse South. Rincon Bay has been producing limits of good-sized yellowfin from 10- to 40-pounds. All were taken on live sardina and chunk squid, mixed with lots of skipjack. A couple of skippies were taken for every yellowfin. Anglers are pulling on fish all day.
The occasional dorado and wahoo are mixed in with the tuna. All anglers are staying on the tuna piles.
As usual, there has been exceptionally good bottom fishing – nice Almaco jack to 50 pounds, lots of pargo and pompano being taken on sardina, chunked squid, and skipjack.
Big roosterfish are cruising the beaches with light pressure. Lots around…. John Ireland, Rancho Leonero
Puerto Los Cabos
October is the time of year when the Los Cabos area typically begins to become busy with visiting anglers. This year has been a completely different story, as the “crowds of tourists and anglers” remain light and the situation looks like it will not change much throughout the rest of the year. The weather has remained very stable with no new threatening storms developing at this time, though with ocean temperatures still averaging 86 degrees or higher – you never know what could happen. Early mornings are just now starting to feel that slight fall chill, with light offshore breezes; it’s the ideal time now with anglers enjoying calm conditions almost every day.
Sardina are schooling near the marina entrance, although not many caballito are around, slabs of squid are being offered. Most fishing activity has been concentrated from the Gordo Banks to Iman Bank. Iman and La Fortuna are producing the most consistent action.
The most common gamefish that were being targeted successfully was the yellowfin tuna and wahoo. The tuna are ranging in sizes from 15 to 70 pounds; we did see one fish well over 100 pounds landed by a team of local anglers on an afternoon trip. The yellowfin were striking mainly on sardina, but a percentage was taken on strips of squid as well. The wahoo became more active recently on these same grounds, and most strikes for these speedsters were taken on trolled Rapalas, with sizes ranging up to 40 pounds and some boats landing as many as five in a morning. Average tuna catches were a bit down this week; the numbers varied from day to day, with one, two, or three fish per boat being the normal catch.
Very few dorado were seen and most of those that were caught were small. A handful of sailfish was hooked, as well as a few black marlin in the 200- to 300-pound class. Not much bottom action was happening, though on the same grounds where anglers were drift fishing for tuna, there were some nice-sized dogtooth snapper caught, up to 50-pounds, and though there were no big numbers, it was nice to see a few of these fish as they have been scarce in recent years.… Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
Amazing fishing this week with 96% of Pisces Sportfishing Fleet that were out catching fish, and lots of them! We caught 447 dorado(of course all catch and size limits respected),41 tuna, 34 billfish were released and only a handful of other species were caught, including a few wahooand a surprise 20-pound roosterfishon the Pisces 31’Ruthless. Even big yellowfin showed up this week, too – three awesome back to back days on the Pisces 35- and 32-foot Bill Collectors with the largest one caughtweighing in at 193-pounds. Others ranged between 50 and 100 pounds! Pisces 38’ C Rod also landed a decent-sized, 100-pound tuna this week.
As for billfish, the highlight of the week was the Pisces 35’ Valerie’s Billfish GRAND SLAM. That’s three different species of billfish in only 8 hours of fishing for anglers Aaron Callahan, Christopher Wooten, and Mark Koehler aboard. The billfish caught: blue marlin, sailfish, and striped marlin, plus they caught a 20-pound dorado.
The dorado catches have been out of control! The Top Dorado Boat this week, Pisces 42’ Sea Senora caught a whopping 27 dorado (with 15 released) plus a released sailfish.
The most productive fishing this week was between San Jaime (more so for billfish) and the Pacific side in general for dorado from 5 to 20 miles up the Coast. Only a few boats headed to the Iman and some areas of the East Cape. Water temperatures are still high, reaching temps between 84 degrees and 87 degrees F.
LOCATION: San Jaime, Pacific Coast: Margaritas to Migrino, plus or minus 30 miles south for tuna.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Overall calm seas with some swell at the beginning of the week. Sunny skies.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 84- to 87-degrees.
BEST LURES: Caballito bait, cedar plugs, feathers, hoochis, green/yellow, guacamayo lures, Rapala.…Rebecca Ehrenberg, Pisces Sportfishing
Los Cabos Billfish Tournament with Los Cabos Tourism.
Where the desert meets two bodies of water (the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean), there lies a town that was built on sport fishing. The nutrient-rich waters produce record-breaking billfish (marlin – blue, black and striped), dorado, wahoo, and tuna, all of which attract anglers and fishing teams from across the globe, bringing them to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to compete in one of Bisbee’s’ best of the best! Join us for the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament, Sunday, October 11 – Thursday, October 15.
Photojournalist
http://www.thatbajaguy.com/
Cellular (760) 522 3710