Baja Bytes –January 11, 2022
Que Pasa
On January 5, 2022, legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recipient Sammy Hagar was honored to be named the first Los Cabos Ambassador of Tourism during an award ceremony presided over by secretary of tourism, economics, and sustainability in Baja California Sur, Maribel Collins, municipal president of Los Cabos Oscar Leggs Castro, senator of the Mexican Republic Lucia Trasvina and director of tourism Donna Jeffries.
Hagar remarked: ” I will continue to do my part in bringing this, one of the most beautiful places in the world, to the rest of the world, as your new ambassador of tourism.”
In the early ’80s, Hagar fell in love with the sleepy Mexican fishing village at the tip of Baja. His vision to build a little seaside bar where he and his friends could play music off the grid was underway when Hagar joined one of the world’s biggest rock bands, VAN HALEN.
The plans for his little bar exploded into Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1990. It was there that he turned his passion for great food, music, and spirits into a world where fans of sun-soaked vacations and rock and roll could treasure the destination as he has.
“Long Live Los Cabos and the history that Sammy has accomplished with his passion, work, family, friends, and musical talents that he brought together in our world-famous Cabo San Lucas. Chingon and hats off to you! Thank You.” Viva Los Cabos Siempre!!!..Jason T Vogt ·FB
BAJA (Norte)
Tijuana Bull Ring
Down south, some sand bass and sculpin are biting the ‘Knocker- rig lead head and squid’ combo outside the kelp line. The Knocker rig is just a sliding egg sinker placed on the line above the lead head that can slide and “knock” into the lead head. Some calico bass, sand bass, and sculpin are biting out in the flats toward South Island. …Fishdope.com
NE of the Coronados/Lower 9 Mile Bank/Upper Finger Bank
With rockfish close in U.S. waters, these three areas are your best bet for scoring quality rockfish in your private boat.
The first area is close to San Diego, just N to NE of the Coronados. There are many nice-quality, 2 to 5-pound-class mixed red rockfish; they seem to be in 280 to 500 feet of water, and squid appears to be the bait of choice.
The second area is on the Lower 9. Good quality reds, lingcod, and other mixed red rockfish are biting well in 450 to 800-feet of water, although cow cod are a problem. Some spots on the Lower 9 are holding a bunch of them.
You can’t keep the cow cod, so we advise you to move to a different area if you happen to start catching them. Also, be sure to bring a descending device and some HEAVY weights to send any cows you might happen to catch back down. Remember that these are one of a handful of species you cannot bring back to U.S. waters even if you catch them in Mexican waters!
The third area is on the Upper Finger Bank. Guys hitting this area are scoring limits of reds and other mixed red rockfish!
The water in this area is deep, and the best fishing here is from 450 to over 800 feet. The quality is often excellent with many fish in the 4 to 6-pound-range – not a lot of little junk. Live mackerel is the candy bait, but live sardine, live mackerel, squid, and jigs are all working. BIG reds and lingcod LOVE mackerel! …Fishdope.com
Ensenada
Pasión por la pesca! …Mara’s Sportfishing Ensenada
Monday, January 10, 2022
San Quintin
It has been partly to mostly cloudy but pleasant weather today. The forecast for the day has been a high of 71 degrees with very little wind. The conditions are optimum for being out on the water, so it should be an excellent day for fishing here in San Quintin.
Laguna Ojo de Liebre
Whales Ho!
The whales are on their way down!!! Reports from California are pouring in now of Gray Whales heading south, and there have been some newborn calves spotted. We look forward to welcoming them to Laguna Ojo de Liebre soon.
Our tours to see those cute little pickles begin on January 15! …Shari Bondy
Bahía de la Ascensión
So how about some fresh mahi-mahi for dinner. Two out of five I caught today in 65-degree water in mid-January. It’s mind-boggling! …Ross Zoerhof
Baja Sur
Que Pasa
It’s official! We have our newest and latest IGFA World Record! Dr. Gama Morales caught his big pargo liso (mullet snapper) at the south end of Cerralvo Island last May. It weighed 46 pounds on our official scale at Tailhunter – beating the previous record (also caught at Cerralvo) by one pound! Congrats to Dr. Morales! We caught one even bigger just a few days earlier, but it got cut up before we got it to the scale!
There are some big fish there! …Jonathan Roldan, Tailhunter International
Loreto
The port captain closed off the boat ramp and sent out the message that it was too windy for today and it will probably be tomorrow, too. This cycle is typical in the winter, with a few days of wind followed by several gorgeous days.
The window where things on the local waters can become challenging is when winds blow from 15 to 20-mph. However, it’s not unusual to find a rookie or a dumbbell that doesn’t see the wisdom of staying out of the bullseye!
It can be a bit sad when tourists come to town with only one day to fish or hang out with the blue whales only to hit their one possible day on a windy day.
Plan to stay a few days! What’s the problem with missing the rat race for a few extra days – winter days at that!
The dorado catch numbers and the trips to find them have slacked off; although the 24-to-36-inch versions still pop up at Escondido, it’s not predictable.
Roosterfish action continues unchecked at Punta Colorado, and with all the stellar fishing action at the point this past season, someone should have put a bronze dedication plaque on the beach in front.
Yellowtail are still biting at San Bruno Reef and north at Almejas. However, compared to last week’s action, the strong morning current has cut the catch numbers in half.
Yellowtail from 15 to 20-pounds are the average catch sizes, and live mackerel are the best bait for YT in deep water. …Rick Hill, Click Here
East Cape
Got some dinner!! Well done Captain Andres and deckhand Martín on board the super cruiser TIME OUT!! Good job, angler Blair J! …Anibal Miranda- Hotel Playa del Sol.
Puerto Los Cabos
The wide-open marlin bite straight offshore of San Jose del Cabo tapered off some, as bait concentrations seem to be scattered. However, the striped marlin bite is still on, with feeders seen early in the day, and charters still account for multiple fish. In addition, many are hooked while drift fishing or slow trolling various bait. The average marlin is in the 70 to 90-pound class, with a small percentage of them up to 100 pounds or more. In addition, a handful of sailfish is on these same grounds.
The dorado bite slowed down, but most charters are finding at least one or two, some up to 20 pounds, and some accounting for limits, though the majority were less than ten pounds in size. They were found from the same marlin grounds and very close to shore, near where sierra and smaller-sized roosterfish are, along the stretches of beach.
Though anglers have been fortunate to land one, wahoo to 50 pounds are still in the area. Still, there is a good chance at these elusive fish, as conditions remain favorable, and pressure is lighter than we have seen for the past couple of months. There is a Wahoo Tournament out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina slated for January 23, with jackpot categories for tuna and dorado.
We have heard about yellowfin tuna farther offshore associated with moving porpoise. Most days, they are 20 to 40 miles offshore, out of range for morning charters, but possible with paying fuel surcharges.
Winds have been a bit unpredictable and variable; most days, they pick up from the north, but we felt a big blow out of the south on Saturday. As a result, greenish-colored water is moving south from Los Frailes, now nearing the La Fortuna area. Cleaner blue water is found straight off San Jose del Cabo and to the south.
The majority of the Holiday Season crowds have returned home, and fewer tourists are in town. But, unfortunately, the latest variant of Covid is causing scores of cancellations and more postponements of travel plans for the near future. We hope this newest variant quickly passes so we can get back to normal.
This past week, we felt a cold wave; the temperature was 54 degrees one morning, although daytime highs are still reaching the upper 70s.
Ocean water temperatures are also on a cooling trend, now down in the range of 76 to 77, which is still several degrees warmer than average.
There is still a lot of marine life for added attractions, whales, sea lions, manta rays, and turtles. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
The Wahoo Classic Marina Puerto Los Cabos
The Wahoo Classic Marina Puerto Los Cabos will take place this January 22 and 23 with a total of 100,000 pesos (about 5 grand) in prizes. There will be Jackpots for Wahoo, Dorado and Tuna starting at $100 USD. For information call: 624-161-5949, 646-134-6364 or 624-155-155-5769.
The Marlin bite is wide open!
Clint, Jack, and Frank from Texas released 39 marlin in one day aboard Pisces 31′ Ruthless this weekend with Captain Beto and Mate Carmelo.
Plus yellowfin!
LOCATION: The best fishing locations have been the Finger Bank, Golden Gate Bank – 39-miles 150 degrees, Migrino – 25 to 30 miles, the 150 Spot, Cerro Colorado, 33 miles from Cerro, in front of Chileno, Palmilla, Arcos, and Marquis.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: The sea temps have run from 70 to 74 degrees, with the clear ocean, three to five-foot swells, and 8 to 12-mph winds. The air temps have been from 70 to 75-degrees.
BEST LURES: The best bait has been alive or dead caballito, kites, Rapala, sardina, mackerel, “brujita,” and ballyhoo. …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet.
La Paz
It was a tough time to try to fish in La Paz. Most days, the winds blew from 10 to 20-mph, plus there was rain. We try to schedule folks for fishing when it looks least inclement, but it’s often hit-or-miss. La Paz has many different micro-climates, and weather forecasting is hardly an exact science, especially in our area. For example, it can look calm in La Paz Bay, but it can look like the cold, crazy North Atlantic outside the bay. Or, at Las Arenas Point, it could look fishable from afar, but the current and winds are so strong that only windsurfers are out when you get there
Or, in the morning, you push some folks out in a boat, but two hours later, after they’ve found live bait, the weather changes. So, even finding live bait is an issue. If it has been rough, it’s hard to find the bait in the shallows. Or, since there aren’t many fishermen, it’s a 50/50 chance that the bait guys won’t go out to catch any bait so that we might send out a boat but find that the bait guys didn’t work that night or that morning.
There are some rumors that there are dorado still holding here and there and some wahoo, but mostly if folks are out fishing, it’s a catch of sierra, cabrilla, snapper, and pargo mixed with bonito or jacks. Fun inshore fish! … Jonathan Roldan, Tailhunter International
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
39 marlin in one day? A fish to the boat every 12 minutes for 8 straight hours?
Ric
Thanks for your interest!
High numbers of releases are not uncommon in January here in Cabo. However, I understand your skepticism.
hook, wind, release strategy can produce some astonishing results. There were at least 3 anglers plus deckhand who may have caught a couple himself. Using your 8 hours comparison for 3 anglers about 1/2 hour per release.
Cheers
That Baja Guy