Baja Bytes – April 6, 2021
Que Pasa
The IGFA Great Marlin Race – Beyond Tracking Billfish
Did you know that data from the IGFA Great Marlin Race (IGMR) was instrumental in accomplishing perhaps the most important piece of billfish legislation in history – the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012?
Learn more about the IGMR’s involvement in this historical milestone for billfish by clicking on the video image below:
The campaign is ending soon so act now!
Tijuana Bull Ring
The boats reported good weather conditions this Tuesday morning, the 6th– glassy seas and no wind. Not many signs of fish, bait, birds, or mammals like there have been. …Fish Dope
There are plenty of yellowtail around right now but they are far from a sure thing as not only are they being finicky and touchy, but they are also somewhat boat-shy.
Also, this morning, the San Diego called in at 9:30 a.m. with 27 yellows. This is certainly an improvement over what they have been seeing the past several days.
A lot more surface signs now. It isn’t all yoyo fish anymore; spots of breezers and yellows under birds are becoming more common. …Fish Dope
Ensenada
There’s been generally good yellowtail fishing as well as some bigger-grade bonito and a decent number of legal-size barracuda in this area.
Most of the yellows are coming on yoyo iron while dropping down on sonar marks all around Todos Santos Island. These yellows are running mainly in the 5- to 15-pound class.
Anglers have also been catching some big bonito. The guys are saying most of the bonito are bigger than the yellows! They are picking away at barracuda as well. The bones and the ‘cudas are coming off bird schools, most of which are being found in the bay in the lee of the Island. Surface iron and cast Colt Snipers are working.
Many are also scoring some of all three by slow trolling mag Rapalas around. This is a common tactic by the panga fleets in this area.
If you want rockfish there are plenty at the San Miguel Reef to the north of Todos Santos. …Fish Dope
Colonet
It has been windy out here this weekend, and it didn’t sound like any boats were making the trip down to fish inshore. The next week is looking windy as well so there probably won’t be any new reports coming in the next few days.
It has been a week since we’ve heard anything. Last weekend a handful of yellows were caught on heavy irons, but that’s it aside from good rock fishing like always. …Fish Dope
Gonzaga Bay
A few days back, I fished with my friends Randy Champion and Mike Turner. You’ve seen the photos BUT here are a few more from my perspective…fishonnn&onnn. …Captain Juan Cook
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Loreto
If my calculations are close to accurate, we had almost every boat in town on the water for the busiest days of the Easter holiday. Of the possible activities, fishing made up only about 4% of the total, with pleasure boating to Coronado Island being #1. That limits the fishing fact-gathering abilities with so few boats looking lower than the horizon!
The local boats that did hit the high spots averaged only one yellowtail per boat. Soaking cut bait for snapper and pinto bass scored better if one wanted to put fillets on ice. On a positive note the water temperatures are sliding up and the green sargasso patches are easy to spot along the coastline south of town.
It looks like an early summer for Baja saltwater enthusiasts! Dorado and billfish will be following the yellowtail and cabrilla spawn which should start in a week or two.
Captain Tony took some clients to his favorite cabrilla store and loaded up on four nice fillet donors. A few were also lost along with some terminal tackle. Pargo hang out in the same rock piles as the big cabrilla, and it takes experience to know if you got rolled and robbed by a bass type or an angry dog tooth snapper. …Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Photo
Well, I finally got out and wet a line. Headed out down south to the Carlin’s and trolled. Hooked up 4 and landed 1 yellowtail and 1 hammerhead shark that we let go. It was a beautiful day on the fishing grounds, although it was windy going back north. All in all, a great day! Hope to head out again soon. …JAK
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/loreto-marina-puerto-escondido.769690/#post-5368451
Marina Puerto Escondido
The second MPE Sportfishing Tournament dates are May 14-16, 2021 at the Marina.
https://www.mpefishingtournament.com/
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of March 28-April 4, 2021
East Cape
An up-to-date overview of local fishing from Cindy Kirkwood at East Cape Tackle.
Again this week, it’s all about the yellowtail. Yellowtail from 15- to 45-pounds are being taken within a mile of the hotel. The best fishing, however, is off Cerralvo Island. Striped marlin have started biting this week. The sierra have been abundant right off the reef in front of the hotel and white skipjack are thick throughout Palmas Bay. The water is a couple of degrees warmer this week, around 70 degrees, and will continue to warm up through spring. Big sardina are by far the best bait, with most fish taken on the sardina.
Nice yellowtail from 15 pounds and up are being taken on the high spots right off the hotel. The bite off Cerralvo Island has been wide open with fish to 60 pounds. Ranch boats are making the run to the Island and limiting daily. Bouncing iron is working, but live sardina is the bait of choice.
The spring striped marlin bite is on! Stripers in the 100- to the 150-pound range are being released very close to the hotel. The drop-offs in front of La Ribera are producing lots of tailers. They are hitting darker trolled lures, but live sardina and caballito are working best.
As usual, in spring the sierra are biting aggressively right off the hotel reef. That first hour of sunrise is by far the most productive. Trolled bright Hoochies are the ticket. Lots and lots of white skipjack are spread throughout the bay and they are taking Hoochies and sardina. …John Ireland, Rancho Leonero
Puerto Los Cabos
Easter weekend meant very large beach crowds. The authorities were supposed to control capacity levels, but it seemed to get a bit out of their means to do so. This is always a hugely popular traditional holiday and families swarm to enjoy themselves on the local beaches. The weather was great, with highs of 85 degrees, light winds, and the swells increased some, so surfers were happy.
We also saw more numbers of anglers arriving this past week. Water conditions were a bit up and down – ocean temperatures warmed up to the 72/73-degree range, though currents were pushing off-colored waters in different directions. The main bait source was caballito, though sardina were also being found along the shoreline near San Luis; it was a matter of getting the bait netters to travel this distance and then have to negotiate with the higher surf conditions. Some people were also using slabs of squid and there were still a lot of yo-yo jigs being used over the bottom structure.
Most consistent fishing grounds were found near Cardon, La Fortuna, Iman, San Luis, and Vinorama. A wide variety of species were accounted for, the most common being the bonito, with leopard grouper and amberjack found in decent numbers as well. There was a handful of 40+ pound yellowfin tuna landed from the La Fortuna area. These tuna hit on caballito, sardina, and strips of squid. Anglers were lucky to land one, as they were still scarce, but as conditions improve, we should see more of these yellowfin being hooked into.
Offshore the striped marlin action was picking up, especially around the 1150 Spot. Many boats caught multiple fish while using trolled lures, caballito, or ballyhoo. We also heard of a couple of sailfish, which is not a normal catch in the cooler water.
Along the shoreline, the main catch was jack crevalle and sierra. As water continues to warm, we should see more roosterfish.
Lots of sea life is being seen, as people were commonly spotting whales, porpoises, manta rays, sea lions, turtles, and a variety of sea birds.Good fishing. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
Awesome swordfish catch today for Roger Lewis caught aboard his son Greg’s boat, a 60’ Bertram “Cloud Nine.” This was a bucket list fish for Lewis that he had sought since 1978 fishing in Cabo. He finally landed this prized catch at age 76 in the company of his grandkids.
BIG SNAPPER on Pisces 28’ Andrea plus some great days aboard Pisces 28’ Andrea! Today, this awesome daughter and father duo, Hannah and Larry Simmons had five of these nice snappers! On previous days they’ve released multiple striped marlin and some roosters…Pisces Sportfishing.
LOCATION: The best location was on the1150 Spot, the 95 Spot, the Migrino, and the Gasparino.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Temperatures have remained in the 75- to 84-degree range with overall calm seas, sunny skies with afternoon breezes up to 10-mph.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: The water temp has been from 69- to 71-degrees.
BEST LURES: The best bait or lures were live or dead caballito, mackerel, ballyhoo, sardina, and hoochies.
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham