A 50-pound bull dorado on PISCES SPORTFISHING 66’ Reels n Dirt
Baja Bytes – August 17, 2021
Tijuana Bull Ring
Anglers fishing the kelp beds are finding decent picks on short calico bass; they are also finding barracuda that are 95% shorts.
Sand bass fishing down in the IB area is getting better and better. Some are scoring limits. Green plastics, along with live and fresh dead squid, are working best, but the “sandies” seem to be biting the dropper-loop sardine. …Fish Dope
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
We took three friends out today who had never fished before to the northwest portion of the Rockpile to fish with the fleet. Unfortunately, the water temp stayed around 74 degrees, and the bite shut down around 11-a.m. We ended up putting 13 yellowtail on the boat through a combination of fly-lined sardines and dropper loops. However, we probably missed just as many. Although we fished a variety of lines, it seems they were eager to chew the 15- and 20-pound tests. The fish ranged from 10 to 15 pounds. Stopped by the islands on the way home where the water was 70° at South Island, and it came back to 74 degrees at North Island. There were no signs of yellowtail, but there were plenty of barracuda and calico.
There is a squid bed due east of Pukey Point. Last night there was a light boat on it. There are yellowtail on this squid bed now. You can catch yellows here or at the Rockpile.
If planning on this squid spot, plan on getting there early enough to make some squid for bait. You’ll need it to catch these yellows. The yellows at the Rockpile are chomping on sardines just fine.
Speaking of the Rockpile, this is where the bite has been for several days now. Boat traffic is getting heavy, but the yellows are still biting. Up at the Islands proper, the yellowtail bite is slow. However, there are plenty of barracuda, and the calico bass bite is going strong. …Fish Dope
Ensenada
There are some yellowtail at the north end of Todo Santos Island, along with plenty of barracuda and calico bass in the lee of the Island. There are also nice calico bass on the high spot between the Island and Punta San Miguel.
Sardines are for sale in Ensenada Harbor, and reports are that they are good-quality bait! … It’s 4 Reels Sportfishing
San Quintin
Great fishing, great weekend! …Garcia’s Pangas
Cedros Island
Take your pick! Big yellowtail and white seabass over 30 pounds, trophy-grade calico bass, fat halibut, chunky California sheepshead, or even huge, black sea bass. They are all on the chew in the rich waters surrounding Isla Cedros right now, and they are all waiting to be caught by one of the lucky anglers visiting the Island. …Baja Tommy
Bahía Asunción
It is Dorado City wherever you go – a rare opportunity to have an afternoon and evening fishing session on Lago Pacifico. We caught them in 200 fathoms of water and 2 fathoms of water and every depth in between; generally, hooking one dorado would mean an entire posse would follow it to the boat. If the hooked dorado came unbuttoned, another fish almost immediately picked up the dropped bait or lure.
The storms to the Southwest are generating some warm and humid conditions and rainstorms in some nearby communities, but not Asuncion. …Ross Zoerhof
Bahia de Los Angeles
No Report
Baja Sur
Que Pasa
Loreto
The story for the week is still “easy limits for most boats.” However, we did have some storm forecasts during this time that cut down the “numbers.” In addition, summer rain in Baja drenched many areas along the Cortez coast, bringing needed relief to domestic and wild desert residents.
As is typical, unless it is a hurricane, central Loreto only receives a lame patch of sprinkles.
Dorado battles have spread out beyond the Punta Colorado current lines. Straight east of the Loreto Marina kicked out a mix of dorado on Friday.
Punta Lobo turned out to be an excellent stop-off point for 20-pound dorado but only solo fish, no schools or patches of sargasso.
Most dorado are being caught by sight casting along the north/south current lines.
The boats trolling farther offshore on current lines often have the bigger dorado coming up on blind strikes.
Mostly peanuts and dorado to 10 pounds make up the fish count. No word on billfish and roosterfish will be getting the attention as the dorado boils slack off. …Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Aug. 11-18, 2019
East Cape
Wind and rain for two days midweek with clear flat water the rest. Cooler water inside at 84˚and outside at 87- to 90˚.
It has been much cooler than average. Very pleasant.
The afternoon rains have been happening daily in the Sierras, and the East Cape is Green! Highs have been in the low 90˚.
Consistently, the billfish have been biting all week, with almost all boats releasing one fish and most releasing multiples. Dorado are coming to the cleaning table daily, and yellowfin fishing has improved with anglers bringing in 20 to 30-pound YTs. Bottom fishing has been good with some big pargo and pompano.
For those targeting them, there have been lots of striped marlin mixed with a few sails and blues, and all are very close from the hotel to the lighthouse – no more than four miles off the beach. Boats are releasing at least one, but most targeting billfish releasing multiples. The billfish are taking lures, but most are taking ballyhoo.
Some anglers caught larger tuna to 40-pounds off the white cliffs (Vinaramas) on sardina and squid. Nice tuna in the 20- to 30-pound range, most on squid, but some on sardina.
Some nice pargo to 25-pounds, lots of good-sized pompano, and the occasional big Almaco jacks – all on squid, chunk skipjack, and live sardina.
The occasional big bull was taken while trolling for marlin. Smaller schooling dorado mixed with the tuna. Most on sardina.
Puerto Los Cabos
Tropical conditions continue. On Tuesday, the areas along the coastline received the season’s first significant rainfall and even had sporadic heavy thundershowers. There were no powerful high winds, so that was nice, and the rain was welcome, although it caused some moderate flooding, but overall, not too bad. Hurricane Linda was the latest storm this weekend, following a path far off towards the west, with some increased ocean swells, scattered cloud cover, higher humidity, though not much else in the way of more precipitation. This is the time of year when local weather patterns form and afternoon rainstorms happen almost daily, most of these over the mountainous region north of the international airport. Unfortunately, the rainstorm shut down all Port activities on Tuesday, not reopening until Wednesday at 10 a.m.
After the passing of the storm system, baitfish became more scattered, as surf conditions made it tougher for the netters to find the schools. Though as the week progressed, the bait situation did rebound, mainly sardina and caballito. The San Jose del Cabo Estuary opened to the ocean, sweeping a vast population of tilapia into saltwater and creating a major kill off, with these dead fish ending up on the beaches as well as jammed into the marina, creating a stinky mess.
Recent fishing action – centered from the Gordo Banks and north near Vinorama. Anglers on the Gordo Banks were reporting football-sized schools of yellowfin tuna and catching up to 15-pounders. Though they reported black skipjack are even more prevalent, especially near the high spot, tuna have been more consistent in the deeper drop-offs. Boats reported a few nice snapper and cabrilla on these grounds, and a couple of larger marlin were striking the trolled tuna, but there were also reports of lost hookups.
Boats only see a few smaller-sized dorado, but they should soon see some more schoolies attracted by floating debri
Farther north near Vinorama, boats were seeing yellowfin tuna to 50 pounds. Most of the action is early morning with the bite hit or miss. Lots of boat pressure here since East Cape fleets are now on these same grounds every day. Also, this is a long run for typical charters, and if you are fortunate, there may be a chance at one or two fish. Off the shallow Rockpiles, triggerfish have dominated. Anglers landed a few roosterfish on offshore grounds rather than closer to the beach stretches; this happens more frequently now; after the baitfish scatter along the beaches, the roosterfish go deeper looking for food…Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
SLOW WEEK but starting to pick up a bit more this weekend – a 50-bull dorado on PISCES SPORTFISHING 66’ Reels n Dirt; – two blue marlin released on Pisces 45’ Chasin Tail; plus some nice tuna catches overall.
LOCATION: The best fishing locations have been outside the 95 Spot, the Cabrillo Mt, the Old Lighthouse on the Shore, to outside Herradura, the Gordo Banks, and outside Cerro.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: The sea temps have been from 78 to 83 degrees, clear and calm with two to four-foot swells and wind SE 11-mph in the afternoons. The air temps have been from 74 to 86 degrees, with winds in the afternoon at 15 mph.
BEST LURES: The best bait or lures were live or dead caballito, mackerel, ballyhoo, sardina, and a variety of large pushers; lemon/green or red, along with cedar plugs, plastic squid, and Rapala-style lures. …Pisces Sportfishing
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
