Baja Bytes – October 5, 2021
Baja Bytes Podcasts
FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE DORADO caught in this last week for the fleet! Top boats, like Pisces 42′ Sea Señora had 28 dorado were caught in one day, plus marlin were released and Pisces 45′ Chasin Tail, for example, had 24 dorado, marlin, and sailfish released too. We are proud to respect catch limits and sizes on all these mahi-mahi, keeping only what we must, releasing well over 300 of these fish, and releasing all billfish caught this week too. We also had a few nice-grade tuna of around 70- to 80-pounds, and we even released blue marlin. For those preferring to remain closer to shore, bonito, sierra, jack crevalle, and a few roosterfish provide surface action.…Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
Tijuana Bull Ring
Although boats are catching sand bass in the flats between the shore and South Island, they are not catching large numbers. The fish are right on the bottom, and the leadheads, squid, or plastics are the ticket; a few legal halibut have been caught while drift fishing. …Fish Dope
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
The water is still off-color, the fishing for yellowtail is slow, and bonito fishing is only slightly better.
Overall, it is poor fishing, just like it is out west in the Canyon.
Rockfish and lingcod at the Pile is the sole bright spot! …Fish Dope
Ensenada
What a good Saturday it has been. Not only because of the unique climate in Ensenada but also because of the fishing in general. And, of course, especially for the yellowfin tuna fishing! …Victor Mendez, International Gamefish Association Baja Representative.
San Quintín
Bottom fishing has been excellent with Eduardo Garcia Gonzalez and Garcias Pangas Sportfishing San Quintin.
Cedros Island
The opportunities for “rod and reel” anglers fishing from local pangas are seemingly endless, with a plethora of species that thrive in this truly unique region. So much attention is focused on the boats fishing around Cedros Island that it is easy to forget the free-diving, spearfishing enthusiasts. These clear, azure waters provide the perfect venue for divers who pursue their targets below rather than above the ocean’s surface. …Baja Tommy
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/cedros-island-a-divers-dream.781935/
Bahía de la Ascensión
So here’s the deal on the postponed lobster season in Asunción told to me by someone who knows a thing or two about a thing or two. Ensenada can accept some live lobster for processing. The lobster they cannot handle, the Co-ops, including those at Asunción, can process and flash freeze the tails. Marketable, but at a steep discount from the live lobster market price. Asunción Co-op decided to take the live lobster price when Ensenada could handle the volume. …Ross Zoerhof
Bahía de Los Ángeles
Just back from a great trip to BoLA and fishing with Joel Sportfishing. There were lots of dorado off of La Guarda south, but while trolling for them, we got a surprise! We performed CPR (catch, photo, release), and off it swam. Many others in the area were coming after our lures, but no other hookups. Seeing them cutting through the water was good enough for me! Add some yellowtail, gold spotted bass, and bonito, and it was another great trip with Joel. We stopped at Coco’s on the way back, and he is doing great. He has some new kitties, so bring a bag of kitten food if you head that way! (and Coco will never turn down a steak, but don’t offer fish). Love Baja. …Ken Jones
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Loreto
The tourist season is winding down with the corresponding decline in the fish count numbers!
Along the coastline north to Punta Colorado, there has been a solid bite for the past two months, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. This will probably last into November when the water turns green and slides to a colder temperature. After that, it’s the normal cycle along the Baja coast.
Farther north at Almeja, anglers are landing yellowtail and some fat red snapper. Cut dead bait is the easy ticket for the snappers. The yellowtail are hitting live sardina with the bigger yellows falling to the hooks with mackerel attached! Most of the yellows are averaging 14 pounds
Down south of the airport, one of our kayak enthusiasts hit a double on dorado 100 yards off the beach. One dorado broke off while “Ernie” was battling the other. A quick 10-minute paddle put a 20-pound dorado in the keeper bag.
Sierra mackerel are starting to make their annual appearance. Anything shiny with a hook in it can put these toothy creatures on ice. If you can’t afford to lose Rapalas, try dragging a one-ounce torpedo sinker with silver mylar wrapped around the middle. (Sierra are famous for doing serious damage, so introduce them to some repurposed potato chip bag scraps tied or glued to a sinker).
Cooler weather is around the corner in Baja. …Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
La Paz
Mexican Minute La Paz Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 2021
East Cape
It has been ideal, early fall weather with cool mornings – pleasant. The flat blue water has been clear and clean, with highs in the mid-80s.
Dorado (average-size fish 10 to 15-pounds) have been biting from the Lighthouse South. They are taking trolled feathers, but most are on live sardina.
Some good-sized, 40 to 50-pound yellowfin are being taken daily from the Lighthouse to Rincon. Almost all were taken drift-fishing with sardina.
And as usual, it has been an excellent billfish bite. Mostly striped marlin mixed with a few sails taking trolled lures, but most taken on slow-trolled ballyhoo. The bite has moved south, and most were released outside the Pulmo Park boundary to Frailes. Every other boat landed one or two.
In addition, there has been stellar, wide-open bottom fishing for grouper, cabrilla, pargo, pompano, some whopper 70 to 80-pound Amalco jack, all coming off the bottom. Directly off Punta Colorado, around two miles, is the spot producing the most fish. In addition, live sardina, chunk squid, and skipjack are working.
Roosterfish fishing improved with the water clearing and not much fishing pressure. Some nice fish in the 50-pound class are being released daily. Very spread out with them moving up and down the beaches. …John Ireland-Rancho Leonero
Puerto Los Cabos
Ocean conditions have been favorable, with very light breezes and moderate swells. The ocean temperature has been warm, even very warm, up in the 85 to 88-degree range. Perhaps this contributed to the slowing down of the surface activity. The water should steadily cool into the low 80-degree range, which is usually more suitable for the all-around action. The sardina schools are found near the local marina jetty’s now. With the supplies becoming limited during the higher pressure, they had scattered. Slabs of squid have been the other main option, particularly for the chance of getting lucky for the yellowfin tuna. Chihuil became more active on these same grounds and will be yet another bait during the upcoming weeks.
The yellowfin tuna became very scarce, not showing as they had been. Anglers were lucky to hook tuna on the grounds from Iman to San Luis Banks and brought in a handful daily in the 50 to 70-pound range. There were limited smaller dorado in this same area, but reports of better dorado were on the Pacific grounds. Changing conditions should help push these fish in the direction of San Jose del Cabo. Again, there were spots of wahoo seen, and cooling water temperatures should be favorable for these elusive fish to become more active.
Strong currents were running, which never helped anything, especially the bottom opportunities. Boats caught more triggerfish and bonito than anything else. However, they took at least one 60-pound grouper, a handful of nice dogtooth snapper weighing over 40-pounds, and a few miscellaneous pompano, snapper, and cabrilla.
Billfish action was limited, with a mix of striped, blue, and black marlin and sailfish. Although these fish are in the area, not that many anglers are interested in targeting them. There is no inshore action, as is usual when the fishing is on offshore high spots. Good Fishing! …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE DORADO caught in this last week for the fleet! Top boats, like Pisces 42′ Sea Señora had 28 dorado were caught in one day, plus marlin were released and Pisces 45′ Chasin Tail, for example, had 24 dorado, marlin, and sailfish released too. We are proud to respect catch limits and sizes on all these mahi-mahi, keeping only what we must, releasing well over 300 of these fish, and releasing all billfish caught this week too. We also had a few nice-grade tuna of around 70- to 80-pounds, and we even released blue marlin. For those preferring to remain closer to shore, bonito, sierra, jack crevalle, and a few roosterfish provide surface action.
In the meantime, others are finding the bottom fishing for grouper, cabrilla, and pargo more to their liking. Plus, they can take fillets back to their hotel restaurants to have them prepared in various ways for dinner.
LOCATION: The best fishing locations have been from the Lighthouse up to Rancho Migrino, with a few on the 95 Spot and the 1150. Cerro Golden, 35 miles to the 180° to Afuera Faro, Pozo Cota, Afuera Herradura, Los Arcos and Margarita, 30 miles to 170° as well as outside Herradura, Los Arcos, and Pozo Cota.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: The sea temps have been clear and calm from 79 to 85 degrees. There have been two to three-foot swells and winds SE/5 mph in the afternoons. The air temps have been around 89 degrees.
BEST LURES: The best bait has been live or dead caballito, mackerel, ballyhoo, sardina, or cedar plugs; feathers, lures – in all kinds of colors, Morado, Tigrillo, along with plastic squid, and Rapala-style lures. …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
