Bajabytes Sport Fishing Update January 3, 2023
After watching the news and seeing the wintry landscapes in the USA, the inescapable conclusion is that Cabo is the only place to be for fishermen and visitors alike. We are blessed here with sunshine galore, mirror-flat seas, and TONS of fish and all kinds of sea life. We had a record-breaking week for striped marlin catches, with Pisces alone totaling 676 striped marlin released plus a solitary sailfish…Rebecca Ehrenberg, Pisces Sportfishing.
Bull Ring
Some deep-water sand bass and many small rockfish (all of which must be released) will have you spending a lot of time with a descending device in the flats toward South Island! On the IB Pipe, sculpin and sand bass are showing and biting on the leadhead and squid combo. …Fishdope.com
Coronado Islands / Rockpile / NE of the Coronados / Lower 9 Mile Bank / Upper Finger Bank
For the guys who still want to fish rockfish, this is the zone as the season in U.S. waters is now closed. The Mission Bay and San Diego Landings are running extended half-day trips targeting these rockfish in Mexican waters. For the most part, the area fished at present is the hard-bottom area NE of North Island, where they are catching a mixture of reds and whitefish. Surface fishing at the Islands has been slow— no yellowtail, bonito, or legal-size barracuda. The best fishing has been for rockfish on deep spots on the Lower 9 and down in the Descanso/Upper Finger Bank areas. The best catching and quality has been from 450 to 700 feet of water for a wide mix of lingcod, reds, bocaccio, Mexican rockfish, etc. Squid, sardine and live mackerel are all working. Live mackerel has been working pretty well on the lingcod at the Rockpile. …Fishdope.com
Ensenada
Fishing was slow yesterday, but we did manage to catch some nice fish. The weather is awesome right now. …It’s 4 Reels Sportfishing
San Quintin
Since the rain, the weather has been excellent, but fishing has been slow. …Captain Juan Cook
South (Baja Sur)
The Maritime Search and Rescue Demonstration was carried out successfully by SEMAR…
• FONMAR participates with personnel and a boat for maritime exercises.
The Demonstration of Maritime Search and Rescue and Aquatic Insertion Exercises 2022 was carried out on the boardwalk of the capital city of La Paz to display the capabilities of the Mexican Navy Secretariat (SEMAR) to the general population through the Fourth Naval Region (La Paz).
With the representation of the Governor of the State, Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío, by the Undersecretary of the Government, Homero Davis Castro, and Vice Admiral CG. DEM. Juan Martín Aguilar Morales, representing the Commander of the Fourth Naval Region, Admiral CG. DEM. Santiago Jorge Morgado Gomez, the deployment by the SEMAR air and maritime units took place, demonstrating their intervention capabilities by air, sea, and land.
During the exercises, the fisheries advisers Rodrigo Ojeda Amador and Ertemio Sánchez Lucero of the Municipal Coordination of the Fund for the Protection of Marine Resources (FONMAR), led by José Lizandro Olachea Burgoin, participated on board the coordinator’s vessel to carry out search and rescue operations.
Following the indications of the State Executive, FONMAR, directed by Martín Inzunza Tamayo, worked collaboratively with the maritime authorities to carry out inspection and surveillance tours that guarantee respect for the species reserved for sport fishing in the state and the correct use of resources.
Ascension Bay
Some excellent yellowtail action today in Bahia Asuncion despite the cloud cover!…Shari Bondy, La Bufadora Inn
Conception Bay
The strong Yellowtail bite continues off Mulege. Yellowtail have moved up to the top of water column as well as deep. Yellowtails boiling in the surface, Heading out tomorrow.…Nathan Burbey
Lopez Mateos
It was a perfect grouper day to close out 2022, and we look forward to more in 2023! Feliz Año Nuevo. …Salvaje Sportfishing
Loreto
We have had a great holiday week, with the weather cooperating most days. Somehow that coincided with a three-day stay of one of the big cruise ships. The ocean adventures have focused on taking snow-belt people to the sandy beach at Coronado Island. I don’t know how it happened, but I saw yellowtail remnants at the fillet table. Fish in the 15-pound range are biting, but details are scarce. Once the holiday fever has passed, I expect a big surge in fishing numbers…Happy 2023! …Rick Hill
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of Dec. 21-31, 2022
East Cape
Nice weather, according to Mark Rayor’s report on his morning walk. He did mention that mention that dorado hasn’t left the building just yet. The few fishing are reporting limits up to 15-pounds. A nice distraction for local anglers anticipating the winter yellowtail bite.
Ascension Bay
Dorado and Tuna Bite for Holiday Anglers ~ January 1, 2023
Well, another year is in the books. This past week we saw larger crowds of families arriving, many of them deciding to make late-notice fishing reservations as the weather was ideal compared to much of North America, where there were mostly freezing temperatures. Local conditions were primarily clear with warm sunny skies, elevated temperatures to 80 degrees, slight ocean swells, and variable winds, from the north and usually picking up later in the day. Overall, we had pleasant wintertime conditions.
Fishing action centered on the grounds from Punta Gorda, Cardon, La Fortuna, Iman, and the Gordo Banks. Water temperatures continue to be on a cooling trend, averaging from 72 to 75 degrees. Also, as can happen this time of year, swift currents push in off-colored greenish waters. As a result, bait sources have had heavy pressure, and limited supplies of live caballito, ballyhoo, and slabs of squid remained the mainstay for anglers.
Considering the time of year, there were some very impressive catches. Dorado up to 25 pounds, though most were in the 8 to 15-pound class, were the most numerous of all gamefish found, and anglers used both lures and bait, with more fish being hooked up on various bait late in the morning and close to shore as well. Wahoo were still in the area, but with changing ocean currents, not as many were hooked. Nevertheless, the combined fleet saw a few each day – a couple up near 60 pounds, but spear fishermen accounted for the majority.
Yellowfin tuna bite improved over the previous week; they were found on the Iman Bank, Cardon, and even close off Punta Gorda, striking more often on the strips of squid and caballito. Average sizes were from 15 to 30 pounds. However, we did see some quality-sized yellowfin up to 70 and 80 pounds, and the largest was a 116-pound fish hauled in on Thursday. Despite not being found in large numbers, this was a great end-of-the-year showing for tuna.
Billfish action remained steady on the Pacific side but was limited in the direction off of San Jose del Cabo, with just a few scattered striped marlin caught. This is the time of year when the billfish action starts shifting toward the Sea of Cortez.
There is not much bottom or inshore activity to report — a few species, such as leopard grouper, bonito, pargo, and triggerfish, hooked; however, most of this happened while anglers were drift-fishing and targeting the yellowfin tuna.
With each passing day, more whales appear throughout the region, and the peak migration of these mammals seems to have arrived. …Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas
Cabo San Lucas
CRAZY MARLIN WEEK IN CABO!
677 Marlin Caught This Week by our Boats!
Tuna catches are on the rise! What a way to end the year: See the ins and outs of what happened this week. …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
Gary,
I just returned from our trip down to Baja! What a place. We fished a fair amount. One day, we went out in a boat from Punta Lobos and caught about 20 bonito and one dorado. That provided lots of fun and fish for the rest of the week.
We fished the beaches alongside Pescadero exclusively for limited success. The first day I hooked something big that I had on for only a second, but I saw it in the surf, and it was at least 30″ long. My dad landed a small jack one day, and that was it for our shore fishing. It was awesome! A new experience, though.
I do have a couple of questions for you:
Are you trying to fish between the wave sets when you fish the surf?
The best method was to cast over the top of the closest wave, then reel in quickly before the next wave came.
Using our steelhead tackle, I will say we were under-gunned and needed that extra 20 yards of casting space.
Considering that, I’d like a surf rod that travels well. Most models I see are two pieces, though, and a 4-piece would be nice to have. Do you have any recommendations?
I hope you are well and had a nice holiday, and thank you again for all your advice going into this trip.
Best, Jordan