August 16, 2022
Baja Bytes – August 16, 2022
Bull Ring
The water continues to be off-color with streaky dirty spots. It is hot up in the 74 to 76-degree range, though. That said, if you can get hold of some smaller bait, ideally anchovy, you can likely get a decent bite. Set up outside the kelp, get some chum going, and you should bring some bass to the boat. The kelp line is holding short barracuda and green mackerel…Fishdope.com
For about a week, lots of 8 to 20-pound yellowtail have been biting on the ridge running through the Middle Grounds. Some excellent counts have come from this area over the past several days. Great yellowtail fishing! Sea lions were an issue, but they usually are. No surprise there.
Fewer numbers of yellows have come from South Island kelp spots and a few along the weather side of North Island as well, although this later location wasn’t as good as you might expect when there is hot yellow fishing at the Islands. …Fishdope.com
Report from Ryan on the 180 Dauntless
Excellent water today! Almost no wind. Headed to the islands at 6-am. The Middle Grounds were wide open for yellowtail. Guys fishing bait had difficulty fighting off the dogs, but I got my son on his first yellowtail. Could have limited, but put 4 in the boat and headed back to Point Loma at 10-am. At the dock, we ran into a guy who limited on dorado 5 miles west of Point Loma. This is summertime fishing at its best. Get out and enjoy it!
Ryan on 180 Dauntless. …Fishdope.com
238 / Banda Bank / 1140 Finger
Outstanding kelp paddy fishing here with plenty of quality yellows and dorado. Boats that are making the long run are doing well. There is also a decent shot at catching a few yellowfin.
The yellowfin seem to have shearwaters on them often this season. So find those rafted up on the water, and you can bet yellowfin are close by.
The yellowfin are biting the trolled gear pretty well, so be sure and drag halcos, cedar plugs, and feathers while kelp hunting. …Fishdope.com
Ensenada
Quality yellowtail! Sammy Susarrey Amador or variety at Mara’s Sportfishing
San Quintin
Bay of Los Angeles
Baja Sur
Everything is ready for the “Fishing for Hope” tournament for women this Sunday, the 14th, to benefit the Breast Cancer Society Foundation; 360 anglers are expected.
The Director of FONMAR, Martín Inzunza Tamayo; the State Coordinator of Sport Fishing Tournaments, Juan Javier García Davis and the State Coordinator of Sport Fishing Permits, César Alberto Angulo Hirales, met with the organizers of the tournament, Clicerio Mercado Hernández, and Gonzalo Alamea Camacho.
With a 55.6-pound dorado from angler Margo Marek, the “Pink Tacos 4 Tatas” team is crowned champions of the “Fishing for Hope” tournament, obtaining the prize of 150,000 pesos.
Second place was obtained by “Team Crudas” with a catch of 40.60 pounds by fisherwoman Andy Silva, earning them the prize of 100,000 pesos.
These teams achieved were the only teams that achieved the minimum weight size, so the guaranteed bag was shared between them.
The Tournament was organized under the coordination of Clicerio Mercado Hernández and Gonzalo Alamea Camacho, along with the support of the administration, (headed by Prof. Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío, Governor of the State, through FONMAR and the City Councils), the events carried out the commitment that generated tourists attraction and social welfare. In addition, the Tournament raised 115,000 pesos at registration, which was delivered to the Breast Cancer Society Foundation for breast cancer care.
Bahia Ascensión
A few pangas are waiting for the cannon to sound for the start of the fishing tourney. It was a long day for me. Managed one yellow of around 11 kilos early in the morning, but that was it for the yellowtail. A few chunky calico, so I weighed in a couple fish but neither placed in the Tournament…Ross Zoerhof
Bahia Conception
Yellowtail Candy
Last year, I started fishing a new style of jigging with more speed pitch fishing using “knife jigs.” With lures looking like something out of Dr. Seuss, I was skeptical. The first day I tried them, I was alone and outfished all the boats around me, slamming Big Yellowtail from the depths. The lures do not “kick” on their own, so you create the action with the tip of your rod. The lures dance like a frantic injured fish or spawned, and the beasts of the depth can not resist. I like to hit the lures with a flashlight or headlamp to have the maximum glow and the deep dark depths. I have ordered a bulk of a few options and colors and will have them available at a portion of the price rather than tackle shops. I am going to tweak the molds before eventually branding them. These jigs are great for Yellowtail fishing in areas like Bahia Los Angeles, Mulege, Loreto, etc. Also, good for night fishing giant Bluefin Tuna. Tight Lines and Fish On!….Nathan Burbey
Loreto
There has been slight change in the dorado battles in nearby waters. Most of the “tourist fishermen” type trips are kicking out limits of dorado with ease. It brings back fond memories of the half-day boats out of Long Beach Harbor for sand bass. A quick shot at some edible friends and back to dry land.
The Baja sun shakes me out of that long past chapter!
Big dorado in the 20-pound range has been caught in the blue water just outside Almeja Bay, north of Loreto. The “quickies” are closer to Coronado Island and San Bruno. Many catch and release models with most keepers in the 10-pound range. Sardina have been the key to hookups. Trolling results are mostly bonito and more bonito. …Rick Hill, Click Here
La Paz
https://youtu.be/_vCzaPF6dII
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Aug. 2-9, 2022
East Cape
Wahoo bite picking up, only got one in the boat on a purple rapala but had two other wahoo bites. One of the bites was on a ballyhoo stinger..Gary Elrod
We have had mixed weather this past week, which has brought varied fishing. It’s that time of year when we can start a day with bright sunny skies and calm seas, but by the end of the fishing day, you may experience a short downpour and some larger swells. These small cells that pass through cool things down nicely. The rain showers may not happen every day, but when they do, they are welcomed because it’s been downright hot without them!
We have been seeing daytime high’s in the low to mid-90s with an average of about 75% humidity. The water temperatures are very high as well. The water, on average, is in the mid-80s. However, we found some water this past week offshore that was 89.9 degrees. That’s getting awfully warm. Hopefully, the rains we are starting to experience will cool the waters off just a bit as our primary hurricane season is fast approaching.
On the fishing side, there has been little action both offshore and inshore. Again, it’s fishing, but here is what we experienced this past week. …Jeff De Brown
La Ribera
With the participation of 66 teams and an accumulated pool of one million, thirty-one thousand five hundred pesos, the tournament “La Ribera 2022” began this morning with species categories of marlin, dorado, and tuna.
Supporting this Tournament, FONMAR, the State Coordinator of Sport Fishing Tournaments, Juan Javier García Davis, and the Coordinator in Los Cabos, Brenda Judith Castillo Olmos, attended the starting shot; also, the representative of the Governor in Los Cabos.
Puerto Los Cabos “We continue to feel tropical weather patterns in the Los Cabos area. At this time, there is another tropical depression passing off to the west of the Peninsula. However, the only impact we felt locally was some more cloud cover and increased humidity – no rain except some isolated rain showers near Cabo San Lucas early in the week. Ocean swells have been moderate, and winds have not been much of a factor this past week. Ocean water temperature has been reaching the upper 80s. Also, we are just past the full moon phase, which can often change fish feeding patterns during the daytime.
Bait options have been similar, with caballito found inside the marina channel. Sardina along the beach stretched just to the north of the marina entrance, and ballyhoo and slabs of squid were additional options as they were looking for bolito schools on the offshore grounds.
The center of activity this past week was near the Cardon, La Fortuna, and Iman Bank areas. This is where yellowfin tuna are now schooling. Many fish were seen boiling on the surface, but getting these finicky fish to strike was difficult. Though with persistence and patience, some yellowfin are being hooked, and some charters land as many as three.
The best choice of bait seemed to be sardina, and live and dead bait both worked. Anglers were going down to 30 and 40-pound leaders to help entice bites, but using any lighter was not worth it since these tuna are averaging 50 to 70-pounds. Mid-week, one tuna weighing 160 pounds was landed. It was a two-hour battle on a 40-pound outfit, so this is encouraging news. These tuna are in good numbers, and the bite will improve as the moon darkens. Though the pressure has also increased since word travels fast these days.
Dorado action continues, though smaller fish have moved in, not nearly as many of the large bulls we have seen in recent weeks. Remember to always release the smaller dorado, especially the females (smaller head). These fish grow very fast and are always filled with eggs, giving them a chance to reproduce.
With the high water temperature, fish can become sluggish, especially wahoo. These fish are in the area and a few are being caught, but it is hard to target them specifically because the bite is limited.
Billfish action has been limited, with most charters trying for the tuna action. Though we did see a handful of striped marlin and one 200-pound blue marlin brought in. More marlin action is now being found on the grounds off Cabo San Lucas. This is when we normally see some black marlin showing up on the Gordo Banks, though you need to target these specifically to have a chance, long hours of trolling larger-sized baitfish.
Not much is going on close to shore or off the bottom. A few leopard grouper, bonito, and snapper. Also saw a few late-season roosterfish this week. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
This was a fish well deserved!
@j_willfishin put in days and hundreds of casts for this one fish!! Plus, the bite was so satisfying because it was a feeding fish. This, combined with all the practice, knowledge, and skill of a surf fisherman, into ONE “make-it or break-it” cast! – HOOKUP!!!
No better feeling!! We got this fish back in the water, and it swam off strong! What a great time to experience this with a good friend! Congrats, brother!!…Cabosurfcaster
Half-day success yesterday! Captain JR and Mate Cesar of Pisces 31′ Rebecca worked hard to target tuna in three hours of fishing time. They managed to land this 100-pound yellowfin and six more and were back at the dock before noon!! …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
