Baja Bytes – May 25, 2021
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) recently announced the release of the highly anticipated 2021 World Record Game Fishes book, the world’s most definitive publication of recreational angling records, and the organization’s signature membership benefit.
The first thing to catch your eye with the 2021 IGFA World Record Game Fishes book is the beautiful wrap-around cover of a Trophy Tarpon, from renowned South African marine artist Craig Bertram Smith.
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/fishing/igfa-2021-world-record-book-released/
Tijuana Bull Ring
Calico bass fishing continues to be the best in this area. Afternoon hours are better but some good scores are happening in the mornings as well. The bite is happening in the kelp along the shore.
Anchovy, both chummed and fly-lined on light line with small hooks are working best but plastics are working as well, especially if you have plenty of anchovy for chum.
Birds continue to work spots of bait but most are just mackerel and small bonito. No reports of any bigger gamefish on them, although yellows could likely be on any bird school you happen to find in the flats toward South Island.
Little rockfish continue to bite at all the usual locations with some stones holding bigger fish, but it’s mainly the small stuff. …Fish Dope
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
Good yellowtail fishing can be found just south of South Island in the late morning. The full-day fleet got back into more yellowtail action today at the Islands with the San Diego catching 30 yellowtail and the Liberty taking 37 yellowtail. Both boats got a fair number of calico as well as some bonito.
The fish caught ranged from 12- to 20-pounds with a few larger fish in the mix. They were eating fly-lined sardine and surface irons. There was a lot of bi-catch coming in the form of legal-sized barracuda and the occasional calico bass. Also, there were lots of hungry sea lions in the zone. …Fish Dope
Ensenada
Reds on the bottom and calicos on the surface. …Sammy Susarrey Amador
San Quintin
Bluefin tuna offshore in the zone … just needed a few boats to go out and look for them. …Oscar Catian
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/san-quintin.771698/#post-5389946
Bahía Asunción
Had a pretty good rolling swell the past couple of days with some breaks big enough to rattle the door in its frame — up to 9 – or 10-foot faces. …Daniel Powell.
Bahia de Los Angeles
Two great days of fishing! We caught all good-quality fish in just a few hours on both days. We used Tito’s Pangas which were very reasonable and put us on great fishing…Papa J
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/san-quintin.771698/
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Loreto
The springtime bite continues near town at a slow pace. A few boats are picking away at all the favorite spots with limited success. The boats working San Bruno caught yellowtail averaging 15 pounds. “One or two” yellows for half the boats on the “rock” was the story.
Cabrilla and pargo have been attentive to the trolled hard bait. Sargasso in small patches has been the problem with that routine. Anyone wanting to score some taco fillets has had to deal with a constant catch of “lettuce” on their trebles.
On a positive note, I spotted a striped marlin taking an afternoon siesta one hundred yards off the coastline at “Tintarera.” Tintarera is a good bass spot on Carmen Island before you arrive at Punta Lobo.
Striped marlin tolerate the cooler water better than the hardiest dorado, but that’s a great sign of “Los dorados around the corner.”
Assorted catches are always happening even if the yellowtail or dorado are not on the schedule…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
López Mateos
Well, we just got back from another epic fishing and party trip with Jim Holmes, his girlfriend, Judy, Todd, Allen, my sweetheart Michelle, and me, of course! It was Judy’s first-time saltwater fishing and she caught two snook, one 17- and one 18-pounder; Jim caught a 20-pounder, and I had one weighing 18 pounds. There were lots of pargo, grouper, corvina, and halibut! …Brian Solomon
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from TAILHUNTER SPORTFISHING for Week of May 15-22, 2021
East Cape
Clear, flat beautiful water in the 79- to 81-degree range all week.
Air has been warming with clear skies and highs in the 80s.
Nice-sized yellowfin have shown in good numbers under the porpoise. A wide-open marlin bite and big roosterfish are abundant and biting aggressively. The bottom fishing for pompano and pargo has been very productive with lots of good, live bait available again this week. The steady 80-degree water is helping the fishing.
Bruce Borggreve hosted a two-day ranch tournament with 9 boats. The two winning teams released 6 marlin each and weighed in limits of yellowfin. All boats released marlin and kept tuna.
Roosterfish in the 30- to 60-pound range are common. All anglers targeting them are releasing lots of fish. Best south, but all of the beaches are producing fish. Live sardina are the best bait, but they are also taking flies.
There are lots and lots of good-sized African pompano to 10-pounds mixed with some nice pargo. All are taken on live sardina!
With the tuna showing up, we are into our prime fishing season. …John Ireland, Rancho Leonero
Puerto Los Cabos
We are still seeing limited numbers of anglers, probably more surfers in town than fishermen. There have been good supplies of both sardina and caballito, a few mullet and moonfish mixed in. We do expect to see the main migration of mullet soon as this is the time of year. This will also bring in the run of larger-sized roosterfish.
Recently, the billfish action became more scattered, and the offshore wind did not help. Most local charter boats were concentrated on inshore areas and the high spots to the north near San Luis and La Fortuna where anglers found an assortment of bottom species while drift fishing with yo-yo jigs and various baitfish. The most common fish they were hooking into were red snapper, yellow snapper, spotted rose snapper, bonito, amberjack, leopard grouper, pompano, and triggerfish. Some of the amberjack were well over 40 pounds. Most boats were bringing in about a dozen fish in combination, all good eating.
Only a few yellowfin tuna were seen during the week — one weighed in at 83-pounds. The same with dorado. Only a scattering of these fish was brought in, and a couple of these were over 20 pounds.
Closer to shore there were still decent numbers of sierra; they were nicer-sized specimens, ranging from 5 to 12-pounds. Also, good numbers of jack crevalle and the season’s first wave of roosterfish started to appear. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
This 240-pound swordfish at the Official Certified Weigh Station, according to my friends the Abaroa’s aboard the ‘What a Journey.’ Javier, Jr. called me after the almost two-and-a-half-hour fight ended. They had made it happen for angler Evan Pritchett and his son from Texas. Evan was proud to have landed one this season after sighting and trying to land at least twenty fish without success. He fought the fish on a Shimano 30 Tiagra with 60# line and 200# leader. This was another surface sword that took a live cast bait. Congratulations to the anglers and crew! …Rebecca Ehrenberg, Weighmaster
Striped marlin action has been off the charts with many double-digit releases throughout the fleet. Plus a few more dorado with a few larger ones up in the mid-twenty-pound range.
Inshore has only produced a few sierra, Kawa-Kawa, grouper, and a few snapper caught on various pinnacles close to shore. …Pisces Sportfishing
LOCATION: The best locations have been the Lighthouse, Gray rock, Chileno, Santa Maria, Cabrillo 115, Herradura, Destiladeras, Palmilla, and the 95 Spot.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: The weather has been clear and calm with 3- to 5-foot swells and 10- to 15-mph winds in the afternoon. The air temps have been from 71- to 84-degrees with sea temps from 70- to 75-degrees
BEST LURES: The best bait has been alive or dead caballito, mackerel, ballyhoo, sardina, Petrolero and the best lures have been Hoochies.
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
