BajaBytes Sport Fishing Update December 27
It’s a wrap! The 52nd report for 2022 is written and posted, and we will see you here next week for the first 2023 report! So, Happy New Year to all.
Bull Ring
Lately, there has been lots of little stuff outside the edges of the kelp on the bottom, stretching in the flats all the way to South Island. …Fishdope.com
Ensenada
Bottom fishing rules! …Mara’s Sportfishing
My friend Larry ‘Hansome ‘Hansen is here in SQ to fish a few days, yesterday was a very nice flat, gray, foggy winters day, bait was easy to make in the bay, offshore we looked for tails but it was slow for us, a couple of the other boats had a couple fish each, deep dropped for good reds, then fished the live macks for excellent lingcod…fishonnn&onnn!. …Captain Juan Cook
South (Baja Sur)
Ascension Bay
We have had the perfect holiday fishing weather for the wide-open yellowtail bite. I will try to get some photos later today when the anglers come in. …Shari Bondy, La Bufadora Inn
Conception Bay
The strong swing tides have created great Yellowtail Fishing at all of the hotspot. Early limits for all anglers on board fishing a mix of bait and jigs. All jigs were producing (iron, Flatfall, speedjigs)
Fishing in the bay has also been good with lots of bait around. Trolling fish traps along the shore has resulted in decent snapper being caught. Small Cubera, Colorado Snapper and Mangrove. … …Nathan Burbey, Casa Concepción
Lopez Mateos
Christmas Cheer and Good Fishing! …Salvaje Sportfishing
Loreto
The last of the launch ramp confusion on Christmas day!
I will spend the next few days looking for the captain who told me that “Christmas” was the guess for the completion of the Marina upgrades, specifically the ramp.
Since it was his call back in September, I didn’t think it was probable. Now, his help with picking some good Lotto numbers for me has a “good” feeling. As far as fishing goes this past week, only a few boats were out on the water. (The boat ramp issue was not much of an issue due to the fallback beach launching nearby!)
The weather remains good, with only a few days of wind. Tourist trips to Coronado Island with some scuba action to sum up the week’s activities.
Yellowtail and whale seasons are just around the corner in Baja.
…Rick Hill
La Paz
Not much to report. This week, the only people on the water seemed to be commercial guys working to catch fish to sell, or the captains feeding their families. Or catching fish for the holidays or a few locals. But, the thing with all of them is that they can pick and choose which days are better to be on the water. Or, they know they can get out for just a few hours, then return with whatever they catch if the winds kick up…and they often did.
For most, the winds were just too strong, and the waters were too rough this past week, with just a few windows of opportunity. In fact, it was so windy the city of La Paz canceled the Christmas Boat Parade. And that was INSIDE the harbor and bay!
But there were some interesting catches. Still seems to strangely be some dorado swimming around despite the weather and the fact that dorado season pretty much ended back in October. Some nice-size, 20 to 25-pound fish are still getting hooked, but most are the fun 10-pound class fish. There are also sierra, white bonito (good eating), jack crevalle, snapper, and cabrilla reported this week. But, again, not many reports are coming off the water since not many Folks are fishing, and everyone is getting ready for the holidays. …Jonathan Roldan, Tailhunter International
East Cape
East Cape Tackle makes a move (across the parking lot). There is now much more space to display the latest and greatest tackle for the area.
Puerto Los Cabos
Only moderate numbers of anglers are in town now, though quite a few vacationing families are arriving, taking advantage of the ideal wintertime climate. Clear sunny skies, with 80-degree highs.
Ocean water temperatures now range from 75 to 77 degrees, but we still see excellent action for some of the most popular pelagic game fish species. The primary targets are now dorado, yellowfin tuna, and wahoo. Some fortunate anglers are catching a grand slam of all three of these fish during one morning’s outing.
The activity center has been from Cardon to La Fortuna and off of Punta Gorda.
Live bait became scarce this past week, with the main bait now being used is either ballyhoo or slabs of squid. Some anglers have been able to obtain chihuil, but as usual, that is never a guarantee.
The yellowfin tuna have mostly come from the Cardon area, within a mile or two of shore, drift fishing with strips of squid. Sizes ranged from 20 to 70 pounds. Some charters accounted for up to four tuna. The bite varied a bit each day, depending on currents, etc., though this was the best yellowfin action we have seen in the past month.
Dorado are the most common fish hooked, with limits and additional releases being typical. The sizes were mostly under ten pounds, with some exceptions of larger bulls up to 15 pounds striking mainly on trolled ballyhoo.
Wahoo are still around in good numbers, but are more finicky as there continues to be an unprecedented number of spear fishermen chasing these same fish on the grounds where rod and reel anglers are also concentrated. The best chance for catching the wahoo was on slow-trolled, trap-hooked live bait, but the bait was tougher to find recently. A percentage of wahoo were striking on Rapalas and ballyhoo, as well as on cast and retrieved yo-yo-style jigs. Again, like the tuna, some of the more fortunate anglers could land up to four wahoo on one trip while also losing other hookups. The average size wahoo was 20 to 30 pounds, but we saw fish to over 40 pounds.
There isn’t much billfish action on the San Jose del Cabo grounds now, as the largest mass of striped marlin is still on the Pacific grounds. Also not much inshore or bottom action going on either. Though more and more whales are arriving, porpoise, sea lions, and turtles provide extra entertainment for boat goers. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo is experiencing fabulous billfish fishing at present in what traditionally would be a slow time for anglers. Boats have been fully booked for many days; no more slow season in Cabo! Not only do we have fish, but it’s also a nature show. While fishing, anglers can see whales, dolphins, turtles, and sea lions.
Striped marlin have been the predominant species recently, with no signs of catches slowing down anytime soon, as long as bait stays in the area.
There were three areas where boats on day trips were fishing this week. The first spot was the Old Lighthouse, close to Cabo, maybe just over a mile from port. Marlin could be caught here by dropping bait, with a lead weight, towards the bottom – the fish were found in deep water. The boats sat and drifted, letting their live mackerel swim. This can be a frustrating way to fish, but it yields results if you are patient. Some of our boats did this before heading up to the Golden Gate, about 15 miles from Cabo.
The action was much more exciting; fish were easier to catch, and hookups were fast and furious. In addition, doubles were common, and the fish were extremely aggressive and strong – a real contest on lighter tackle. The bait was plentiful at the Golden Gate, and the fish were eager, with plenty of catches of fish in the 90 to 130-pound class. Most of our guys headed here early in the day and then tried for tuna farther north. After that, they looped back along the shoreline towards Cabo to see if they could pick up some table fish.
The third spot boats headed to was the Finger Bank, 50 miles from Cabo and at the geographical limit for day charters. Sensational fishing at this spot is for anglers willing to pay the required fuel surcharge.
Whether they traveled to the Finger Bank or the Golden Gate was their limit, many anglers enjoyed the best day’s fishing of their lives with multiple marlin catches. …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
That Baja Guy
Thanks, nice to hear from you!