Baja (Norte)
Bull Ring Pier
The sand bass bite has slowed way down at the IB Pipe. A few are still being caught, but most boats are shifting gears and focusing on whitefish at Buoy #3 on the hard bottom….Fishdope.com
Evening Report from Joshua and David:
We departed from San Diego Bay and headed to the IB Flats for about two hours this morning. There wasn’t much going on – just a bunch of mackerel.
Then we shifted to the drop-off outside of Point Loma around 11:00 a.m. and landed a bunch of rockfish using frozen squid on the double-drop loop rig. All were released. I managed to catch one with a 150-g flat fall. All were caught between 80 and 100-ft., right on top of the drop-off.
Overall, the water was pretty dirty. However, the weather was decent, and it was a good day of catch-and-release fishing, but we are ready for those yellows to get up here soon! …Joshua and David F.
Coronado Islands / Rockpile/NE of the Coronados / Lower 9 Mile Bank / Upper Finger Bank
No change from last week. Although the boats still see signs of yellows along the weather side of North Island (from the Key Hole up to Pukey in 120 to 200 feet of water), these yellows are not interested in biting. That said, they might start again at any moment.
This is all sonar fishing. A full-size yoyo iron will be your best bet for drawing a bite.
The water is cold and dirty. It needs to improve before there is any chance for some good fishing.
Currently, the boats have to fall back to fishing for whitefish, a few nice reds, and other mixed rockfish on the hard-bottom area just NE of North Island at 250 to 350 feet.
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any of the tuna pens. If you don’t, you risk losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail.
Click here for more details on this subject. …Fishdope.com
Rosarito Pier
No Report
Ensenada
Very large bonito are running around just outside the Bay between Punta Banda and the Banda Bank. These are almost all over 10-pound fish, topping out near the 17-pound mark.
Not a lot of volume, but they are out there. The locals are getting a few while dragging around feathers looking for bird schools.
A couple of deep water yellows have been caught recently on yoyo iron along the weather side of Todos Santos Island. That said, the fishing for these fish, in general, is still pretty tough.
Down the beach is where most of the local panga fleet is going. They are hammering nice reds and lings at Santo Tomas and Soledad. …Fishdope.com
Colonet
The yellowtail bite was excellent on Saturday. Guys on board the “Liberty” fishing on a 1.5-day trip scored limits (105) of yellows in the 12 to 25-pound class on yoyo iron. The actual area was south of the High Spot, a few miles off Camalu. There was also outstanding fishing for big quality reds, whitefish, and lingcod off the edge of the High Spot in 180 to 300 feet of water. …Fishdope.com
San Quintin
3/19/23 Friends, Cilia and Mark and their friend, Angel from the Imperial Valley, fished the Golden Reef with me today. Good weather and great fishing!
I have had a cancellation for March 25-26 and am looking to fill it; 2 to 3 anglers are great on the Parker. Windy is projecting the weather to be good. DM me for pricing. Thank You. fishonnn! …Captain Juan Cook
Los Ángeles Bay
No report
South (Baja Sur)
Concepción Bay
Yellowtail has moved into the shallows with the warm air. Lots of boils on the surface. Yellowtail are being caught south of Mulege on both surface iron and trolling Rapalas. Reports of big yellowtail boiling on the north side of Isla San Marcos also. Isla Tortuga has been producing baqueta at 400 to 1000 feet and being caught on mackerel and heavy jigs up to 500-g. …Nathan Burbey
Loreto
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Lopez Mateos
| No Daylight Savings in BCS anymore. The pictures tell the story...Cheri King |
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of Mar. 10-17, 2023
The fishing action continues in La Paz – prime class YT, with lots of bait (mackerel and sardina) and an outstanding consistent bite at all the fishing spots! From Bajo Seco to Cerralvo, we have excellent fishing. The weather is finally returning to normal, mostly sunny and warm, with water temperatures in the low 70s. This should be a productive fishing year for the sea of Cortez. Tuna have started to show up, and even a striped marlin came yesterday at Coyote to snack on some of the sardina we were chumming. A few dorado have been around, but more and more are getting here. I haven’t fished for snappers or cabrilla, but our Baja Rancheros team did well this past week. The bottom line is if you come to La Paz right now, you can find almost any species you want to target in addition to the warm weather! Plus, you’ll have a blast!!! …Felipe Valdez
East Cape
Los Cabos Port
Anglers found the bait situation similar to last week, though more schools of sardina, limited caballito, and then the mainstay of ballyhoo and squid slabs. Most charters are working the grounds from the Gordo Banks to Cardon, La Fortuna, Iman, and San Luis Banks.
The numbers of dorado were down this past week, only seeing a handful for the combined fleet each day. Most of these are smaller in size. We have seen a couple of wahoo appearing every few days or so, with one being landed. Water temperature is up to 70 degrees, with warmer currents in the mornings from outside of Iman to San Luis.
Yellowfin tuna action is also very limited, though a few tuna in the 30 to 60-pound range have been taken off the Iman Bank. There were nice-sized yellowfin seen jumping on various grounds, including the Gordo Banks, but quickly disappearing as fast as they had shown. It is the time of year when things can quickly change – a significant transition period – and every season is different.
The main bottom species has been the white bonito, hanging over the various high spots and striking best on yoyo jigs, weighing up to 10 pounds. However, most are between 3 and 5 pounds. This week we did see a few more leopard grouper, red snapper, whitefish, triggerfish, and others. Highlight off the bottom were some quality yellowtail to over 30 pounds. Although the action is sporadic, these powerful fish are in the area now and ready to do battle! Live bait over the high spots worked best, but if you could get a hold of chihuil, even better.
The yellowtail were found on the Gordo Banks and Iman. Sharks were a problem at times, and these yellowtail, once hooked, knew exactly where the closest sharp rock outcropping was located, and if given a chance, they would quickly reach the structure and cut the lines.
There’s not much going on for billfish, just an occasional scattered striped marlin, but we did see more of the stripers this week over last. Same deal inshore. Limited action for sierra and a few smaller-sized roosterfish were reported. …Good Fishing, Eric
Cabo San Lucas
The first surface swordfish of the season here in Cabo was landed by these extraordinary lady anglers: Rachel Rost and Jennifer Johnson aboard Pisces 32′ Bill Collector on a casted live bait!
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Mostly calm, with 2 to 3-foot waves and 6 to 14 kts. of wind in the afternoon.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 69 – 71
BEST LURES: Live and dead mackerel, ballyhoo, squid, larger trolling lures, and cedar plugs.
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