Baja Bytes – October 12, 2021
Que Pasa
October 8th, 2021, we had a shock! About 9:00 a.m., a little-known species was discovered on the beach near Los Frailes in Baja Sur. It was a crocodile, and though it was already dead, it was fresh; its temperature reading was perfect and complete. The discovery was reported to PROFEPA, who immediately came for the unique find. They took the 9-foot reptile for an autopsy to confirm the species. It is the first time that a crocodile has appeared on local beaches in recent history….Pepe Murrieta 50, a lifelong area resident CABO PULMO NATIONAL PARK.10.08.21
Tijuana Bull Ring
This morning, guys on the water reported slow surface fishing – a few short bass in the kelp, but nothing exciting. That means rockfish remains the best bet here.
The best fishing for reds is up north at Del Mar. Reds and some other mixed red rockfish and whitefish are biting at the 32 and the 270. In addition, whitefish, treefish, barber poles, and other assorted less red type rockfish are biting at the Drop Off and the Whistler Hard Bottom. In addition, a few guys are catching the big sand bass here too.
A little bit of sheepshead action is happening off the beach in 60-tp 120-feet of water from Mission Beach up to La Jolla on ghost shrimp.
There are sculpin down on the IB Pipe with a bit of rockfish mixed in, and fresh-cut squid on dropper loops will work for them…Fish Dope
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
It is far from good fishing, but yellowtail are around. You’ll have to work for what you get, and you’ll have to get the fish in quickly, or a sea lion will steal it. Sea lions are brutal right now!
Some nice-size bonito are around the Islands, too, especially at the Rockpile.
For both yellowtail and bonito, we recommend slow-trolling sardines on 30 to 40-pound gear. Using heavy tackle will aid you in getting those fish in quickly…Fish Dope
Ensenada
Excellent fishing! The bonito are thick and fun to catch. Cocos Sportfishing.
Cedros Island
Dylan Staak, from Kentucky, and a couple of his friends from Arizona and California, managed to catch early limits of school-size yellowtail on each day of their trip. Most of the fish inhaled surface iron in either a blue and white or scrambled egg pattern. They also caught and released so many calico bass in the 2 to 5- pound class on brown and green plastics that they lost count.
Cedros veteran Roberto Chavez, and his fishing buddies, Andy Wand and Mark Fineman, were able to catch a few of the illusive dorado that have been swimming around the Island lately. They took dorado in the 10 to 12-pound class while trolling off the west end of Cedros using purple feathers.
It was the seventh trip to Cedros Island for Chavez. He commented, “We were on the boat ‘Fish and Chips’ with Captain Balam and targeted yellowtail, calico bass, sheepshead, and dorado.”…Cedros Outdoor Adventures
Bahía de la Ascensión
I have been enjoying the warm, windless mornings for the last four days by heading offshore in search of tuna and maybe a wahoo. The conditions are perfect with warm, 79-degree, clean water, but it has been “Dorado City” out there. Most are the three-pound models, but a few of the 8 to 10-pound variety are considered “keepers” in this area—any dorado hookup results in a posse of hundreds charging the boat. It hurts me to say this, but I can’t get away from these pests!
Today I decided to stay inshore and look for some yellowtail. On the water at 7 a.m. and off the water at 10 a.m. with these nice fish, releasing three more mid-sized ones. I made a cruise through the Pueblo, and gave them all away, so no fish processing for me!…Ross Zoerhof
Baja Sur-Que Pasa
Los Cabos Billfish Day One
Epic 1st Day of the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament! Very happy to see two of our Pisces Vessels winning in the Wahoo and Tuna Divisions and having an All Cabo Local Winners circle!! 1st Place Billfish For Day 1 went to Sneak Attack with a 554lbs Black Marlin caught by Angler Steven Perry under Captain Vicente Bojorquez. 2nd Place For Day 1 went to Team Hooray with a 343 Lbs Black Marlin caught by Angler Eric Dunn and Captain Pancho Bojorquez. Pisces 35’ Bill Collector 2 took Day One Wahoo with a 38.9 Lbs for our Wahoo King Captain Gil Castro and angler Scott Kindseth. Pisces 32’ Bill Collector had the only Tuna weighed of the tourney by angler Mitch M , Captained by Juan Lopez. 28 pounds was all they needed to take 1st Place. Boat El Torito took the Dorado Division with a 37 pounder. Unfortunately because of storm approaching Cabo tomorrow’s fishing is postponed and we will see if fishing resumes for Thursday. WWW.PISCESSPORTFISHING.COM1st image courtesy of @loscabosbillfishtournament & @outyourfrontdoor All others by @pisces_sportfishing
Pamela Threatens!
http://www.bajainsider.com/weather/tropical-storm-watch-posted-tip-baja-peninsula
Loreto
. “Ye olde fishin’ hole” has been working it’s magic for the entire dorado season and only the coming cold north winds will be changing that soon.My outside air temperature sensor was in a range this morning that I haven’t seen since May!Down from the 80’s and 90’s the 73 degree ready was a welcome sight .Fishing is still consistent with dorado for anyone in the mood. The same spot along the coastline north in the Punta Colorado area and the same routine has almost gotten boring. Half the fishing boats have ventured off to other areas adding some new seasonal visitors to the weekly fish count.The trolling crowd has been catching sierra averaging 30 inches off the west side of Coronado.
Yellowtail at both Lobo and Almeja with most fish under 12 pounds. Outside of Lobo, at the “50 spot” baqueta and some big red snapper hopped into the ice chest this past Thursday for one lucky boat.”Mixed bag and fewer fishing trips” can summarize this past week’s fishing and should be the same song until Christmas.
Great weather and the water is crystal clear and still comfortable. ( The scuba crowd is living it- the best time of year for diving in Baja!)…Rick Hill, Pinchy Sportfishing
Lopez Mateos
We had a good day today on the banks just outside the entrada. We went looking for the dorado and tuna that were six or seven miles out front for nothing. The water was green (due to wind, I assume), but I came inside and had a good day on the banks outside the entrada.
The boys in the mangroves did well with catches of nice snapper, bonefish, grouper, and a few catfish. We also found a school of white bonito willing to play outside the entrada, but we didn’t take any photos. We will stay inside for the next couple of days as the wind is coming. Monday, I hope to get out the entrada of Magdalena as I hear that’s where to find the marlin. I hear they are also down by Tosca, at least that’s where the big boats are hanging out. I also heard of some marlin closer to us, so we will see…Jeff DeBrown, Reel Baja…
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Oct. 2-9, 2021
East Cape
October 8th, 2021, we had a shock! About 9:00 a.m., a little-known species was discovered on the beach near Los Frailes in Baja Sur. It was a crocodile, and though it was already dead, it was fresh; its temperature reading was perfect and complete. The discovery was reported to PROFEPA, who immediately came for the unique find. They took the 9-foot reptile for an autopsy to confirm the species. It is the first time that a crocodile has appeared on local beaches in recent history….Pepe Murrieta 50, a lifelong area resident CABO PULMO NATIONAL PARK.10.08.21
Congratulations to El Regalo on their 1st place finish in the 2021 Buds & Suds tournament!!! Always proud of Capitan Arturo, deckhand Fabrizzio and the Scorpion Sportfishing team
Puerto Los Cabos
We are seeing larger numbers of anglers arriving and expect to see more from now through Thanksgiving, as this is always the season’s most popular time. Although the weather is still quite warm during the heat of the day, averaging 90 degrees, early mornings are just starting to have a bit of a chill. Late morning winds are beginning to blow from the north, and weather patterns are going through a transition into the fall season.
Anglers have obtained sardina near the marina entrance, though schools are not as abundant as in previous weeks. Option options have been the slabs of squid and ballyhoo, which have proved to be productive when trolling for wahoo, dorado, and billfish. Earlier this week, we saw sailfish, striped, blue, and black marlin landed all on the same day. One black marlin that hit on a rigged ballyhoo and skirt weighed over 350 pounds. The most productive action was found on the grounds off Punta Gorda north towards La Fortuna, Iman, and San Luis Banks, with most charters doing a mix of drift fishing and trolling.
Yellowfin tuna came to a standstill, with only an occasional hookup reported. Ocean water temperatures have been high in the 84 to 88-degree range. As cooling trends continue to develop, this usually helps the overall bite on local grounds.
The wahoo have started to become more active, and we are seeing a handful of these fish brought in. There are no significant numbers yet; some anglers are getting lucky and have accounted for a couple of fish. Sizes have ranged from 30 to 50-pounds. Rigged ballyhoo and chihuil was the best bet, though Rapalas should start to work as well.
This week we also saw more dorado than previously, fish up to 15-pounds. Some boats landed limits, and we heard of even better action for the dorado off the Pacific side.
The highlight off the bottom has been dogtooth snapper as large as 50-pounds striking on chunk bait over the high spots. These brutes will test even the most experienced of anglers; it’s a challenge to keep them away from the sharp rocks. In addition, a mix of snapper, cabrilla, triggerfish, Almaco jack, and bonito are being found over structure.
We are also starting to see some sierra show. It will not be long before whale migrations return. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
Los Cabos
Anglers Saul and John have fished many times with Captain Julio Castro and Mate Fidencio Medina. They know how adamant Capt. Julio is about “catch and release” and the love and respect he has for billfish in general. They had already released a blue marlin weighing approximately 250- to 300-pounds earlier in the day when this one hit. Julio thought it was around the same size as it only jumped once, quite far away, and then dug down deep.
They had some complications during the fight, and they realized the fish had died at about the one-hour mark. The crew proceeded to help the anglers by hand-lining it in. It took around two hours to get the fish to the boat, and it was only when they had it boat side that they realized its size.
The crew lamented that they would not be able to release it, especially since the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament began Monday and the Bisbee’s Offshore Fishing Tournaments would begin shortly thereafter; they were happy to see their anglers share this beautiful fish with those on the docks and with the many kids in need through our Donation Program with Feeding Los Cabos Kids community kitchens.
Spectacular day for Pisces 31′ Ruthless and angler Marcus Tibbs from Texas caught this beautiful bull Mahi, and they also released SIX marlin!!! Captain Beto Lira and Mate Carmelo Navarrete are AWESOME!! …Rebecca Ehrenberg…www.piscessportfishing.con
LOCATION: The best fishing locations have been from the Lighthouse to Rancho Migrino, with a few on the 95 Spot and 1150. Cerro Golden, 35 miles to the 180° to Fuera Faro, Pozo Cota, Fuera 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 79 to 85 degrees. There have been two to three-foot swells and winds NE/9 mph in the afternoons. The air temps have been around 95 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
