Bajabytes Sport Fishing Update May 10, 2023
Our Dad, the one and only Ralph Clock, left his earthly life on May 8, 2023, surrounded by his entire family. He lived life to its fullest, and while our hearts are heavy with grief, we are so lucky that he was our Dad. A memorial and celebration will occur in Newport Beach in July or August … Betsy Clock Bjornsen, Ralph Clock. More
South (Baja Sur)
Great answers to the first. “Friends of the SNTE Tournament in Guerrero Negro”
• Made within the framework of the celebrations for “Teachers’ Day.”
On the morning of Saturday, May 6, the First Shore Fishing Tournament, “Friends of the SNTE,” was held, convened by Region VIII of the SNTE of Guerrero Negro, with a large influx and participation by unionized teachers amid a family environment from the emblematic Old Lighthouse of Puerto Venustiano Carranza in the Municipality of Mulegé.
In the women’s category, winners were the teachers Olivia Villavicencio, Lourdes María, and Andrea Alcantar, while in the men’s category, the teachers Maximino Mendoza, Julio Ignacio, and Rubén Darío obtained the first places.
Prof. Jesús Miguel Murillo Ortega thanked the Sub-Coordinator of Fisheries of FONMAR, Erick De La Vega Meza, on behalf of Section 3, SNTE in BCS, who attended on behalf of Lic. Martín Inzunza Tamayo, Technical Director of FONMAR, by instructions of the Governor, Víctor Castro Cosío, in addition to maintaining maritime surveillance and promoting sustainable activities, has been in charge of promoting sport fishing throughout the northern area of Baja California Sur.
Mulege\Conception Bay
Yellowtail and cabrilla remain in the shallows chasing baby sardina. The lure of choice is the deep trollers such as an X-Rap 40. Guys fishing live mackerel aren’t having much luck in the shallows because there is a surplus of bait. Divers have also seen large amberjack in the same zone while trolling fast entices the bite. The deeper high spots produce lots of huachinango (Mexican red snapper) using small, flat falls or darts. The big roosters have finally arrived in the Bay. Some neighbors went out to try and catch a trophy on a fly. There were lots of follow-ups but no hits. So, until next week … Thank you to Casa Concepcion, Playa Buenaventura, MILF JIGS, and Ray Marine!
A few yellowtail and cabrilla have been on the troll, with water at 72°F off-color but cleaner water moving in. All in all, it has been a late-season start. The Yoyo jigs are not working well. Some afternoon winds are on and off with a lot of bait spots & bird workings. …Jay Elder
Loreto
Lopez Mateos
Still patiently waiting for summer! Mark Rayor and Capt. Dave Hansen was here this past week. They fished for two days, and the fishing was horrible … and cold.
We still haven’t gotten outside, but we will try on Sunday.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of April 25-May 2, 2023
East Cape
San Jose
Well, the first week of the new month is now past. It was a busy week for local residents, with Mexican Labor Day being held on the 1st. Cinco de Mayo coinciding with the same day San Jose del Cabo was designated as the finish line for two back-to-back offroad races; first, the Norra 1000, a five-day rally, starting in Ensenada and over the weekend, it was the Dos Mares 500, an annual event held in Southern Baja, covering from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific and back. The downtown streets and local resorts were bustling as they accommodated hundreds of racing enthusiasts.
As for the numbers of actual anglers, although lighter than we would expect for this time of year, with the encouraging fish reports from this week and the near-ideal climate, we hope more people will visit in the upcoming weeks. Daytime temperatures averaged in the lower 80s. In addition, more marine layer cloud cover this past week kept conditions very pleasant. However, there was stiff wind out of the north, which some days made for a tough go on the fishing grounds north of Iman Bank and especially off of Vinorama, which in recent days was showing encouraging signs of more consistent action for the yellowfin tuna.
Ocean currents were changing dramatically from one day to the next while waiting for conditions to become more stable, which would usually contribute to more consistent daily action.
Ocean temperatures are slowing warming, now in the 72-to-75-degree range. Another full moon period has passed. Earlier in the week, there were sardina available, but by the weekend, they were much scarcer. Caballito also vanished, but there were a mix of jurelito, small jacks, ballyhoo, and slabs of squid.
Besides smaller-sized roosterfish being found closer inshore, the better fishing action was located a 20-mile run farther north, off Vinorama, which will most likely be a factor in having to impose extra fuel cost fees soon. Drift fishing with sardina or the jurelito bait was the best bet to entice the yellowfin tuna. However, these fish typically proved finicky, often biting best very early and then other days, not until 9 or 10 a.m. The yellowfin ranged in size from 20 to nearly 100 pounds. Anglers were fortunate to land one or two, and some people were luckier than others.
A few nice-sized wahoo were brought in, taken over the high spots from anglers targeting bottom species. However, we should see more wahoo in the fish counts as the ocean warms up. A handful of dorado was also accounted for, a few over 30 pounds – a nice size for this time of year.
Not many bonito are being found over the high spots, as they have been in previous weeks. We did see some more yellow snapper, barred pargo, amberjack, pompano, triggerfish, and red snapper. However, this action was sporadic and depended greatly on how the morning shaped up, as with the north wind and the availability of live sardina. …Good Fishing, Eric–
Cabo San Lucas
Overall Catch Success Rate: 75%
Billfish: 27%, Tuna: 13%, Dorado: 11% , Other 33%
Skies: Clear
Seas: Calm
Wave Ht.: 6 FT WIND 1-15 KT
Water Temp: 73 F
Air Temp: 71-82 F
BEST LURES: Live and dead caballito, ballyhoo, and hoochies.
BEST LOCATIONS: Migrino, 1150 Spot and Tule…Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
Baja Norte (North)
Bull Ring
Sand bass has started to bite again down in Imperial Beach. They are on the Pipe and biting fresh dead squid on the knocker rig.
Most, though, are still focused on rockfish at the 9 Mile Bank, where guys are scoring some nice quality reds and lingcod as well as some Mexican rockfish, chilies, bocaccio, barber poles, etc. …Fishdope.com
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
The Islands got a good look on Saturday, and the results were not promising. Water is still cold and dirty at the Islands proper and down at the Rockpile. There were “a few signs of yellowtail” but no biters. No bonito nor barracuda. Just plenty of rockfish, whitefish, and a sampling of lingcod at the Pile. …Fishdope.com
Corner / 226-302 / 230 / San Salvador Knoll / 390
Bluefin is still in this area. Good action at night on knife jigs, and the best bet during the day still appears to be a toss-up between spreader bars and Mad Macs. However, a good school will occasionally respond to chum, and they will bite the fly line sardine fished on 30 to 40-pound fluorocarbon.
Be sure and check out any kelp you find. The water is still cold – just 60 degrees – but some 10 to 15-pound yellows are on them. …Fishdope.com
371 / 425 / 101 / Upper Hidden / 475 Knuckle
This is the primary kelp paddy zone, and there are some signs of bluefin here, with bigger fish in the mix. These appear mostly at sunrise and sunset, and then they disappear again. Most of the bluefin in this area are in the 80 to 150-pound class.
The kelp in this zone holds 6 to 12-pound yellowtail. Not every kelp, of course, but enough that it is worth checking out any you happen to find. Those with a deep-hanging stringer are usually best.
In addition to the kelp paddy yellowtail and bluefin, some very impressive bonito are running around this area. Most fall into the 8 to 10-pound class, but some giants are running in the 12 to 18-pound class.
Guys are getting them on the smaller MadMacs, DTX Minnows, and traditional trolling feathers. Red/white and blue/white are good color choices.…Fishdope.com
Ensenada
Had a great day yesterday. No tuna, probably due to the full moon and cool and off-color water we were in, but we ran to Santo Tomas and caught some nice reds and lings. It pays to have a fast boat. …It’s 4 Reels Sportfishing
Gonzaga Bay
My friends tell me if you try something once and it works, it’s a fluke; if it works two times, it MAY not be the one. If it works three times, it’s a FACT, and if it works four times, you’ll be asking your friends to donate butter knives to make more killer Jiggs with it!! Yesterday at the Golden Reef, I found (much to my delight) butter knives with hooks on one end that work very well indeed… Okay! We need a name. Any suggestions? They are all welcome!… fishonnn&onnn…Captain Juan Cook
Bahia de Los Angeles
We just rolled in from the Bay this afternoon from an 8-day trip.
Last week, the water temp at the Bajo was 59 to 60, and Machos was the same, but a bit warmer near Smith and Calavera those days.
As the week went on, the water temperature increased to 63 to 64, but yesterday, it was back down to 60 to 61 degrees.
We went out to Piojo and found no yellowtail, but schools of huge mackerel kept going under the boat.
We started grouper fishing by trolling around some of the Islands and wound up with 21 good-sized leopard grouper.
We saw no birds working bait schools and caught no yellowtail.
It was reported that several pangas went up to Asamblea early last week, but they caught only 2 to 3 yellowtail. The water is just too cold, and with the strong winds, it could be a week, two, or three before conditions are good enough for the yellowtail to come down from Gonzaga Bay, Punta Final, and Asamblea. The first good catch could be Remedios, then Guadalupe Bay/Bajo. …Zooboys Back From LA Bay
Thank you.