Baja Bytes – February 2, 2021
Our Baja Bytes reporters have been providing information about their individual sites, some for many years … trusted information that has led you to the best of the fishing spots week after week, season after season, with little or no thanks. Baja Bytes has found a way to put them in the spotlight, allowing them to provide insight and insider information, answer our questions about the different sportfishing destinations, and give you a chance to see them face to face.
One by one, and sometimes, more than one, their verbal reports will be covered in our weekly reports.
Today, say hello to our … Masked Angler from East Cape. Following this report, email us with questions about the East Cape, and the Masked Angler will answer you.
If you have a particular reporter you would like to see next week, drop us a line! We look forward to this and we plan to have a lot of fun with it.
Tijuana Bull Ring
The IB Pipe and hardbottom spots around Imperial Beach are still biting well for sand bass and sculpin. As with the other areas, squid on a leadhead or tipped on a swimbait or scampi and crawled along the bottom will work best…Fish Dope.
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
Reports from the South 9 were slower for rockfish over the weekend but there are still plenty of biting bottomfish around the Coronados. Might still find some bonito around but not much in the way of yellowtail activity this time of year…Fish Dope
Ensenada
February surprise as rain fades and yellows shine! … Maras Sportfishing
Colonet
Good for rockfish and lingcod but only a few yellowtail around the high spot this weekend…Fish Dope
San Quintin
Fished with my friends Rosarito jimmy, Joe Zuniga and Gill Lopez…aka…Los Pochos, weather was awesome, crispy cold in the morn and nice warm days, the catching was a bit tough but the fishing was great. We looked for yellowtail. They were tough to find and when we did hook a fish, we lost them.
However, there good vermillion reds, big ones at that, so we did what we had to do and bottom fished…Captain Juan Cook
Bahía Asunción
Did it ‘sparkplugger style’ on a lazy gray afternoon in the front yard. Had a couple miles of beach mostly to myself, but chose to park instead of walk. Kept a limit of 17″-22″ corbina that bit the best between 2 and 3:30 or so. All on crabs, including a hog the size of my lower leg. Gotta love it.… Daniel Powell
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Guerrero Negro
Whale camp or bust!— with Mike McMullen and Sirena Bondy at Whale Magic Tours…Shari Bondy
Loreto
http://webcamsdemexico.net/loreto1/live.jpg
As weather north of the border turned to “winter-bad” the climate of Baja has happily evolved into our normal winter mode. Tourism is in the slowest few weeks of the year but will be picking up with the hardy whale watching crowd arriving.
It’s a little early to tell what the covid travel situation will do to the world’s worst tourism year in history. The grey whales are on schedule at the Pacific bays and lagoons. Our Cortez side of Baja is seeing the change to green water and the arrival of the largest whales, the blues and fins.
Our first blue whale of the 2021 season was spotted at the most visited fishing spots just north of Coronado Island this past Tuesday. There might be more whales in Loreto than visiting fishermen this week.
Most of the fishing boats are actually the commercial handline fishermen close to Coronado Island. The sportfishing yellowtail hunters have been coming out on the weekends and spread out a little more than the commercial guys.
San Bruno reef and north to Pulpito the yellows have been hitting small mackerel on lighter lines. Forty-to-fifty-pound line has been doing the trick on 15 pound average fish with bigger fish breaking off.Pargo and cabrilla in smaller versions are biting in the same areas with sardina and chrome spoons being your best bet. Plentiful live bait and 4 good fishable days per week have been the “norm”. Finding fish with eager appetites remains the never ending challenge. Winter in Baja…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Magdalena Bay
Adolfo López Mateos
My heart wanted to go out, I thought it would go away as usual but today was a very good day of fishing with Salvaje Sportfishing Thank you, and I finally got bigger fish yeah! Those seconds of pure adrenaline are unique hehe (no wonder men like to fish so much)…Judith Logan
La Paz
TAILHUNTER TACO TOUR PROMO VIDEO – TACO CART CRAWL!
It was another cold and windy week in the La Paz area. We did have folks scheduled to fish on two different days, but all wanted to cancel when they say the winds and waves. One family had kids and I had warned them it would be really rough, but they initially didn’t believe me. Town is rather quiet actually in terms of tourists. Mostly, we’ve been taking folks on day tours to the mountains or beaches or evening taco tours. We did have some folks we took out to the Bahia Magdalena for whale watching. But, that was it, this past week. No other fishing…Jonathan Ro;dan, Tailhunter International
East Cape
East Cape Health Center’s Covid Update – January 2021
https://shoutout.wix.com/so/1eNSc2ab4?languageTag=en&cid=29916a04-f619-4770-97d1-c725292b4554#/main
February 1, 2021
Hello Fishers of Men!
We now have official dates for both our 17th Annual Invitational Tournament and our 14th Casting4Souls event, both is Los Barriles, Baja.
The 17th Annual Invitational Tournament will be August 4-8, 2021 and you can get more info on our website.
Additionally, as we were unable to hold a Casting4Souls event in 2020, we now have a date for 2021. The next Los Barriles Casting4Souls event will be held a little earlier this year than normally. The dates are September 22-26 with the actual giveaway being held on September 25, 2021.
More details will follow for both of these events. Please let us know if you’d like to attend or have any other questions. As always, thank you for your support and patience and we pray that you and your families are staying safe.
Thanks,
Graham
Puerto Los Cabos
Ocean conditions showed improvement from the Gordo Banks and towards San Luis Bank, water temperatures averaged 70 to 72 degrees and clarity was now cleaner than the previous week, there were also more signs of baitfish schools on the same fishing grounds. In the marina area bait vendors are offering sardina, some caballito, mackerel and ballyhoo.
There was a lack of anglers though, not much activity for charters now. Most of the charters have been concentrating on the areas from straight offshore and north to Gordo and San Luis Banks. The highlight of the week was a few quality grade yellowfin tuna landed that weighed in the 80 to 100 lb. class. A lot of patience and persistent was needed, because these tuna were elusive, but at least a few more than previous weeks were accounted for. Many local skippers who do not have charter work now are giving these yellowfin a try. It is not always the normal time of year to find these tuna n these high spots, but every year can vary.
Not much activity reported for billfish, water has been green on the normal grounds, but we do see conditions improving now, winds were a contributing factor and then there is also a lack of anglers. A handful of dorado were found scattered throughout the region, a couple of them over 20 lb. Limited numbers of sierra now along the shoreline, a mix of various snappers, pompano, bonito, triggerfish, cabrilla, almaco jack, yellowtail found off of the rocky piles, though wind made this tough many days. We look forward to some more steady weather and a warming trend, this should help to improve the all-around action. February can be a very unpredictable month… Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
Weather this week took a bit of a toll on fishing, with some strong winds and choppy seas. Plus, the Marlin bite slowed dramatically compared to previous days in the last week where we saw up to 15 Striped Marlin released by one boat (Pisces 58’ Tag Team). The weekend came and the water temperature changed, 79 F at Golden Gate Bank, and got a bit greener. Still, the crews did good to try for Marlin in those conditions, and we had a few boats find luck, like the 32’ and 35’ Bill Collectors. Both released 4 Striped Marlin each, making for the most Marlin released in the week. Others preferred to stick inshore and did well with Sierra Mackerel (many with limits of fish) and some other small game like Snapper.
Top Marlin boats this week, Pisces 32’ Bill Collector had 4 Striped Marlin, enduring the winds, and even managing a triple hook up. Most fish averaged 130 lbs, with one even estimated at 170 lbs, at Golden Gate on dead mackerel bait. Then they headed inshore for Sierra Mackerel, landing 10 total.
A few Wahoo this week too, Pisces 31’ La Brisa had one of about 15 lbs, which hit on a pink lure close to Golden. Seventeen Sierra Mackerel on hoochis closer to shore too, for anglers from Minnesota.
Pisces 45’ Chasin Tail also had 2 Wahoo of about 20 lbs, which took rapalas at Margaritas for Jim and Ann Anderson. They also kept 18 Sierra Mackerel and released 10 Skipjack.
New to the fleet Pisces 48’ Viking Friday Bank had a fun day inshore with 10 Sierra Mackerel on rapala at Migrino plus 2 Red Snapper of about 10 lbs.
Other small game caught included ladyfish, sheepshead, triggerfish, grouper, amongst others.
LOCATION: Pacific side: Margaritas, Migrino, Golden Gate.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Windy and some chop, especially in early morning/afternoon.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 68- 71 F.
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Photojournalist
https://bajabytes.com/about/