Billfish Explode at Fingerbank

Billfish are off the charts with double-and a few triple-digit release days at the Finger Bank. As the action ramps up early before the first of the year.

Baja California Sport Fishing 

Bull Ring

Some nice-sized sand bass are showing outside the kelp line with fresh dead squid – from around 150 to 225 feet deep! A few bonito are also found in the same area toward South Island.
Squid are definitely around. The fish are puking squid up when you catch them. The trick is to locate the bed if there is one. Look for seagulls rafting up on the spot at, or close to, sunset. That is a good indicator of squid below the surface.
BTW, if you see pelicans, there aren’t squid there. Pelicans do not eat squid. So if they are there, they are after fin bait, not squid. Other than that, it is all about rockfish at the usual locations.

We got a late report from a member: “Report from Sunday: Got out around 8 am, and as soon as we were out of San Diego Bay, we saw birds working on something. So, we ran over and began hooking up on small, one and tw0-pound bonito in 50 feet of water. All were small but fun to catch. The fishing died down after a while, and went deeper and had a steady pick all morning on assorted rockfish and sand bass. It got a little breezier than expected, which made the drift tough, so we called it quits, and we were home by 1 pm.”…Fishdope.com 

Ensenada 

Still a few big bonito and an odd yellowtail showing.
The yellows were all yoyo iron fish at San Miguel and Punta Banda. Although the bonito were scattered, trolling Rapalas will locate them for you.
Excellent fishing for reds and other mixed red rockfish was happening at San Miguel and various rockpiles off the weather side of Todo Santos in 350 to 600 feet of water.
Trips running long to Santo Tomas scored lings and big reds. …Fishdope.com 

San Quintin

Lingcod mouth

We had the urge to fish and invited our friend Jung Martel to go along, and Maricela joined us. The weather looked to be okay for early winter. I’d seen good reports of plenty of yellowtail, so we made good bait in the bay. The outside was fishable but blustery & sloppy, rollie and coming at you! Tails were slow, and lingcod were wide open on live bait. We caught limits of lings and headed home early, tired but happy. fishonnn&ONNN.…Captain Juan Cook

Gonzaga Bay Bahía De Los Ángeles…North Winds

South (Baja Sur) 

To train FONMAR personnel to provide better care, the Director of FONMAR, Martín Inzunza Tamayo, and the Director of Icatebcs , Cinthya Fátima Montufas, signed a collaboration agreement.
FONMAR personnel in the five municipalities will receive these trainings that will allow them to professionalize the attention of the fishing sector, in line with the vision of Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío .
» Read the full newsletter: https://bit.ly/3iG2w0r

Punta Chivato

A mossback tipping the scale at 45 pounds was an early christmas present for Theresa Cove!

Mulege\Conception Bay

Clark Anderson with Alejandro Buco (guide)

Big roosters caught at Punta Rosa. 40-50-pounds with bigger ones than the one above being caught in 20-50 ft of water

These are a sample of the lures we have available for sale! MILF Jigs specialize in Vertical Jigging, Knife Jigs and Flat Falls. However, we are sold out and will not receive next shipment until around the new year.

Here are a few photos of our Casa Conception…Nathan Burbey

Address: KM 112, México 1, Bahía Concepción, 23900 B.C.S., Mexico
Phone: +52 615 688 0030

Directions

Lopez Mateos 

The excellent fishing with Salvaje continues. So what are you waiting for? We have rooms for rent and a restaurant. So to go for one of these fish, send a private message or WhatsApp to Saul at 613 11 10748 and 613 10 47113….Salvaje Sportfishing

Loreto 

December is a busy month in Loreto. The San Javier festival has thinned out much of the town with the annual mountain-top festivities. People come from all over the State to enjoy the rodeo, old-school ranch, plus all of the charm of this mountain town. The weather has been favorable, with “basic” winter winds and a sprinkle of rain that just exceeded the high-end limit of “jungle humidity.”  (That translates to spots on my windshield)

On the saltwater, dorado have popped up again on Coronado Island’s north and east sides.  The two-fish limit for 10-pound dorado was almost automatic midweek. Live sardina did the trick.

This week’s random fish list had all of the usual attendees. Roosterfish and the dorado chewed the sardina while cut bait produced snapper, whitefish, and firecrackers along the 80 to 100-foot-deep rock piles. Next month, no more dodos, and the focus will be the yellowtail scene…Rick Hill  

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La Paz 

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of Nov. 24-Dec 2, 2022

East Cape 

There are a few marlin still south of Tosca, but the mass is on the Finger Bank. Here in the East Cape, there are still a few dorado and the occasional rooster, or so I hear, as I just got home yesterday…. The Reel Baja, Jeff DeBrown,

Puerto Los Cabos 

More crowds of tourists continue to arrive in Los Cabos, taking advantage of the great climate and all of the outdoor activities offered. We see pristine conditions, clear sunny skies, highs of 80 degrees, and lows of 65 degrees. Last week, we saw lows down to 55 degrees, though this week conditions warmed some. Ocean swells were very slight, and water temperatures dropped slowly, still in the 77 to 80-degree range.

Bait supplies remain steady for caballito and ballyhoo, with slabs of squid being offered, but with the lack of tuna action, bait is not being used much. Other options include trying to chum up chihuil on the Inner Gordo, which takes extra time and is never guaranteed.

For local charters, most action recently has been centered from Cardon, La Fortuna to Iman Banks. This is where dorado and wahoo are found. Anglers are using a mix of lures, rigged ballyhoo, and slow-trolling live bait, which have been the most successful technique. However, with lots of pressure on these areas, the fish have become increasingly spookier. Average catches ranged from a couple of fish up to 6 or 8. Dorado sizes were up to 20 pounds and wahoo to 45 pounds, though the average was more like 20 to 30 pounds. 

Tuna have been scarce, though we have seen a few, mostly under 25 pounds, found on the same grounds as the dorado and wahoo. In addition, we hear reports of yellowfin tuna traveling with porpoise, some forty plus miles outside of Cabo San Lucas and about a 70-mile run each way from Puerto Los Cabos Marina, way too far for an average day charter; these tuna were in the 15 to 25-pound class.

Billfish action was red hot on the Pacific side of the Peninsula, though we saw more this past week of the striped marlin showing off of San Jose del Cabo, with sizes ranging up to 130 pounds.

Little bottom or inshore action has been going on recently. Whales have been a bit behind schedule but are now showing slowly in greater numbers and will be around for the next few months.

The spearfishing crowds have come out in numbers this time of year as they have for the past five years or more, going after the prized wahoo on the same inshore grounds as the rod and reel anglers. One of their favorite areas is off Punta Gorda. This used to be an excellent place for fishing, and there were chances of catching the late-season wahoo, but with so many spearos in the water in this relatively small zone, the fishery cannot sustain both forms of the sport. It is to the point that authorities should place restrictions on where spearos are allowed versus rod and reel anglers. But of course, there has never been much thought of protecting future fish stocks locally. It is more of the attitude of what can be found today and who cares about the future. …Good Fishing, Eric

Cabo San Lucas 

Leaping striped marlin

Marlin fishing continues off the charts with double- and a few triple-digit release days at the Finger Bank.
Excellent dorado fishing between 15 to 25 pounds at the Lighthouse, Los Arcos, and Migrino on lures and bait.
Very good if you find the school, between 15 to 25 pounds. …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet

Published by That Baja Guy - Gary Graham

That Baja Guy...Gary Graham Gary Graham turned his passion for all things fishing into a profession. Whether its boats, destination travel, adventure experiences, vehicles, tackle, methods or just the spinning of a good outdoors tale, Graham has evolved into the go-to guy.

5 thoughts on “Billfish Explode at Fingerbank

  1. Great report Gary ,don’t know if you heard I caught a 209# yellowfin on the 30th , 27 miles straight out..3 1/2 hour fight ..

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