Baja Bytes – September 21, 2021
Que Pasa
Tijuana Bull Ring
Although boats are catching sand bass, they are not catching large numbers of them. The fish are right on the bottom, and the lead head and squid or plastics are the ticket.
Then outside in the flats, there are a few legal halibut caught while drifting. …Fish Dope
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
Bonito are all over the Islands, and you can have all you want! Just pick a spot, any spot, and the odds are good it has bonito and – sea lions!
However, if you want to catch them and not have an extreme issue with sea lions, try trolling using heavy tackle. Feathers or Rapalas should get you all you want.
Not many signs of yellowtail, but they are probably around and could start to bite again with the much-improved water conditions.
Lingcod fishing at the Rockpile is likely still excellent. They have been biting well for about a week now, and they are showing no signs of slowing down. …Fish Dope
Ensenada
There are good reports of yellowfin this week! …Mara’s Sportfishing Ensenada
San Felipe
I have a friend fishing south of town but (mostly) working on his place. The fishing can be pretty good if expectations are realistic for this area; spotted bass, corvina, croaker, pargo, etc. Even though this is primarily a cut-bait kind of program, a gulp on a jig head can work. Bring frozen shrimp but avoid new and full moons because of the extreme tides.
Usually, you can catch enough of these for dinner if you are on a decent spot which the locals have down pat.Good luck! …surf launch
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/san-felipe-fishing.781156/
San Quintín
Calm seas with plenty of variety is a welcome sign for an early fall season! …Garcias Pangas Sportfishing
Cedros Island
Eve Mynk reported that her son, 12-year-old Evan, was treated to his first fishing adventure on Cedros Island by his aunt Dee, and it turned out to be the trip of a lifetime for the young angler!
She commented, “They caught several large yellowtail using fresh-caught mackerel as bait. The fish were all caught outside the Island on a boat called ‘Fish & Chips’ and their guide was amazing!”…Baja Tommy
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Rancho Buenavista FIRE!
“Hi Gary, We had a FIRE here at Rancho Buenavista! It started in the kitchen and spread to the palapa roof – just as it did back in the ’60s. We are presently cleaning up the mess and will begin to rebuild soon. Thankfully nobody was injured, and the local firefighters did a great job! Regards.”… Mark Walters
Loreto
The best change has been happening this week with temperatures coming down. We have had consistent mid-ninety-degree temperatures since June, and the ten-degree drop is welcome!
Dorado action is unchanged, with many spots kicking out easy limits of peanut- to 20-pound fish. Most of the action this season has been focused north of Coronado, but there are fish caught directly east of town at La Cholla, along with more good catches down south.
Most anglers are still ignoring roosterfish, and the billfish seem to have bypassed Loreto.
That zone farther out on the blue water, east of Punta Lobo, has been a constant mystery. Nine out of every ten boats chasing dorado were stuck close to town on a sure thing, so why spend the time and gas on a mystery adventure!
Although fish in the frying pan is significant, every day on the ocean is full of lifelong memories (that is, if we can find our way back to the launch ramp!)…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Puerto San Carlos
Plenty of wahoo, dorado and tuna out there, marlin also in decent numbers. Yellowtail seems to still be very good. Water temp 77-80 degrees offshore. Pelagic season definitely has kicked off. Most trips wahoo, dorado and marlin now. Mag Bay Lodge, Toby
La Paz
Each day, post-Olaf, it seems to get a little better.
Dorado, especially for our Tailhunter La Paz fleet, are 90% of the catch, with most fish weighing about 10 pounds, but if you find the right spot, fish weighing up to 20 or even 30 pounds are not uncommon. Quite a few fish are getting lost, but that’s part of the fun.
The dorado are not quite up-to-speed for our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet. One day, the dorado are there. Next day not so much. It’s up-and-down. Or one boat finds a few dorado, and others scratch to find even one.
However, for both of our fleets, thankfully, other species are willing to bite.
Healthy-sized cabrilla, jack crevalle, and some toad bonito provide lots of action, pargo, snapper, and even some sierra, pompano, palometa, and amberjack. However, it is very unusual to catch sierra and amberjack this time of year as those are cooler-water fish. We don’t usually see them until November or December, which makes me believe that maybe the waters are getting cooler.
Surprisingly, we still have roosterfish around, which is quite late in the season. On light tackle, you can have fun all day along the beaches and rocky areas with 2 to 10-pound fish. However, some of the legit 30 to 50-pound fish are still cruising as well.
Additionally, marlin and sailfish are still getting hooked in numbers I have not seen in decades. It’s been like that all year. Most are getting released, but there’s sailfish, striped and blue marlin still biting, most getting hooked on light tackle. …Jonathan Roldan, Tailhunter Sportfishing
East Cape
There has been a hint of fall in the air as, once again, East Cape fishing was outstanding for Buena Vista boats, crews, and anglers. Water temps were in the mid-80s, along with a few clouds, a bit of rain, and some wind, which created a perfect mix for a great week of fishing. Tuna, marlin, dorado, and roosterfish were on a hot bite, chasing live sardina, a variety of colorful lures, and ballyhoo.
Marlin catch-and-release was at its very best! Our boats and anglers experienced numerous double-hookups with either live sardina or lures; you could see them jump and jump in front of
you, making for an awesome experience.
Glenn Davis and Tim were very busy catching dorado and tuna aboard the Yanet with Captain and friend Felipe Ruiz.
Scott Kays and Manny Bocardo did it again! This time they nailed tuna and sailfish while trolling live bait just south of the lighthouse. Good job, guys!
David and Kay Gaspari, visiting from Florida via CCA, had a fantastic fishing trip aboard Calereste with Capt. Santiago Cota and mate Daniel Sandez. They reported having a great time after they landed tuna and released marlin! …Axel Valdez, BUENA VISTA Oceanfront & Hot Springs Resort
Puerto Los Cabos
The tropical storm moved out and left the ocean stirred up at the beginning of the week as flooded arroyos washed out tons of debris into the sea. However, as the week progressed, the sea cleaned back up. Initially, after the storm, the ocean temperature had cooled down into the low 80s, this enticed the wahoo into becoming more active, and there was a day or two where we saw some of these gamefish brought in. Quickly though, water temperatures rose back up into the 86 or higher range.
After the storm, we had a busy week for anglers; the highlight was the yellowfin tuna action found on the Iman, San Luis, and Vinorama areas. So finally, we are seeing a larger grade of tuna, average-size yellowfin in the 40 to 70-pound class, though quite a few fish over 100 pounds were in the mix, and at least one we know of over 200 pounds.
Anglers were most often using slabs of squid or sardina, though bolito and chihuil were other possibilities. The tuna were a bit finicky as usual and would not always come and show on the surface, but some very impressive fish were landed with persistence and patience.
Dorado were limited, scattered, and most of the few we saw were under 15 pounds. Also, there were fair numbers of sailfish and smaller-sized striped marlin in the area. Black and blue marlin are also hanging on high spots now; these need to be specifically targeted, with even more persistence and patience required.
Not much was going on off the bottom or inshore now, mainly triggerfish, bonito, misc. pargo, snapper, cabrilla, and at least a couple of 30-pound yellowtail, taken from the deeper, cooler rock piles. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
In the company of Homero Davis Castro, Secretary-General of the Government; José Alfredo Bermúdez Beltrán, Secretary of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Agricultural Development; Martín Inzunza Tamayo, Technical Director of FONMAR; Marcelo Armenta, Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture; and Gonzalo Alamea Camacho, Bisbee’s Tournament Advisor; Governor Víctor Castro Cosio, valued the importance of this event due to the economic impact it represented for the town, through the consumption of goods and services and expressed his commitment to strengthening the promotion of sport fishing in the State, congratulating Clicerio Mercado for the years of impeccable organization of this event, in addition to congratulating him on his birthday, which is today! …Fonmar BCS
Bisbee’s Black & Blue, the largest sportfishing tournament in the world, is based in Baja California Sur.
The Governor of the State, Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío, received Clicerio Mercado Hernández, Representative in Mexico of the Bisbee’s Tournaments, at the Government Palace recently. Mercado gave the Governor the formal invitation to fire the starting shot at the 41st annual Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament, which will take place in Cabo San Lucas on October 20 of this year.
Bisbee’s Black & Blue is recognized as the largest sportfishing tournament globally, with a $4.5 Million jackpot. More than 125 boats are expected to be in the three-day Black and Blue Marlin event.
The registration of teams for the Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament will begin on Tuesday, October 19, with three days of fishing to follow, closing the event on Saturday, October 23.
Boats have had limits of 10 to 18-pound dorado on lures, ballyhoo, and yellowfin tuna in the 25 to 100-plus-pound class on cedar plugs and pusher-style lures.
There were few billfish, including sailfish and striped marlin, as well as little inshore activity recently.
LOCATION: The best fishing locations have been 36 miles, 130 degrees, 40 miles south, 30 miles 150, 32 miles to 130, outside Horseshoe.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: The sea temps have been from 81 to 86 degrees, clear and calm with two- to three-foot swells and light breezes in the afternoons. The air temps have been from 74 to 86 degrees.
BEST LURES: The best bait or lures were alive or dead caballito, mackerel, ballyhoo, sardina, and various large pushers in multiple colors, along with cedar plugs, plastic squid, and Rapala-style lures…Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
