Dorado Shootout Sets Record!

Bajabytes Sport Fishing Update July 19, 2023 

“Los Compadres” celebrated their victory at the 19th Annual Dorado Shoot Out, taking home a 2023 Volkswagen Amarok and $295,460 (USD) in prize money.

The team is from Los Barriles and has been fishing this tournament for 19 straight years!   Congratulations to Team “Los Compadres” and all the teams participating in this year’s Dorado Shoot Out!   There was a total of 16 Dorado weighed in, and 10 Dorado weighed 30 pounds or more.   One Tuna was weighed in; a total of 151 Teams registered. with 520 Anglers and $295,460 in Total Jackpot Money.  

Upper 9 The primary catch in this area is calico bass, which is biting well. Short barracuda and mackerel can also be found along the kelp line. Any kelp from Solana Beach to Point Loma is productive for fishing. When targeting calico bass, anchovy has proven to be the most effective bait. Use small hooks on light line for the best results. Sardine have been working recently, especially for the larger bass, and smaller swimbait are also effective. Surface fishing for yellowtail, bonito, and legal-size barracuda remains very slow. Those interested in rock fishing can find action on the Upper 9. It has remained excellent, particularly when using live squid as bait. Big bocaccio, Mexican, and reds have been eagerly biting on squid offerings. …Fish Dope

Coronado Islands

Fishing at the Islands is pretty hot right now! The barracuda bite on the lee side of South Island is wide open, with yellows mixed in. using the iron, make a cast and let it sink for approximately 10 to 15 seconds before reeling it back at medium speed. This allows the jig to move from side to side without rolling over. Yellows are also found at the Gun Site and along the weather side of North Island. Slow-trolling sardines has been highly effective. Calico bass are biting well around the boiler rocks in the Middle Islands area. Cast swimbait towards the rocks and retrieve them at a slow-to-medium speed. Be certain you set a tight drag and be prepared to pull the fish away from the rocks.…Fish Dope

Ensenada Yellowtail fishing has been decent, and barracuda fishing remains excellent. There have been some white seabass around as well. The yellowtail/barracuda mix can be found as jumpers, under birds, and around anchovy bait balls. In Todo Santos Bay, they are concentrated in the Island’s lee and along the coast in the Salsipuedes area. Trolling Mag Rapalas or Nomad DTX minnows work great for catching these fish. Throwing the surface iron into bird schools has been working, too. Yellowtail are also being found and caught at Punta Banda and on kelp located west of Todo Santos Island.…Fishdope.com

San Quintin  

Garcias Pangas Sportfishing, San Quintin, is reporting ghosts!!!  Yes!  White sea bass!!  They are chomping on Krocodile-type jigs.  Be prepared, amigos! …Orchid Martinez

Bahía de Los Ángeles BOLA, 5 am: wind, thunder, lightning, and light rain! My trailer doesn’t feel like it’s in BOLA anymore! Fishonnn….not today! Captain Juan Cook

South (Baja Sur) 

Ascension Bay Only calico bass this week. Water temperatures are still only 62! …Shari Bondy

López Mateos 

This last week has been fun fishing the Grouper Rocks outside the Soledad Boca to the south. Last week there were no nets, so we got to the peaks, but today, they have all returned!  The water has been between 76.5 and 78 degrees and is very clear. Live bait has been elusive, but those fishing Thursday finally got a little live bait. Otherwise, it is bonito cut bait. Grouper, vieja, bonito, trigger, snapper, verdillo, and the sierra finally started biting today, The Osprey have all pretty much-left town and are at their summer fishing camps, so it’s much quieter around here. …Cheri King La Paz

https://youtu.be/4bcN3EFYyLk
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing La Paz, Baja, Sur, Mexico

East Cape

“Los Compadres” celebrated their victory at the 19th Annual Dorado Shoot Out, taking home a 2023 Volkswagen Amarok and $295,460 (USD) in prize money. The team is from here in Los Barriles and has been fishing this tournament for 19 straight years!   Congratulations to Team “Los Compadres” and all the teams participating in this year’s Dorado Shoot Out!   There was a total of 16 Dorado weighed in, and 10 Dorado weighed 30 pounds or more.   One Tuna was weighed in; a total of 151 Teams registered. with 520 Anglers and $295,460 in Total Jackpot Money.    

Puerto Los Cabos

We are now in the heat of the summer, and weather conditions continue to be hot and humid. Distance tropical storms and hurricanes are increasing the humidity and overall heat index, although we have seen no more rain this past week. Light crowds of anglers are arriving, but there are quite a few people at the local resorts. Ocean swells receded some, and winds were light on the Sea of Cortez side of the Peninsula, though persistent north winds were reported on the Pacific. Ocean water temperatures are very warm. Many zones are now reading at 87 degrees, which can throw off the whole ecosystem, oxygen levels, etc. Overall, fishing action was tough; although many species were in the area, hooking into them was a different story. Live bait supplies consisted mainly of caballito, jurelito, moonfish, a few mullet, and ballyhoo. Sportfishing fleets were spread out in all directions, searching for more opportunities.  Bottom fishing action was not very productive. There were lots of currents running, which never helped. Also, the heat factor of drift fishing with no breeze didn’t help either. Most charters were doing more surface trolling with various baits of higher-speed lures. Anglers had fair chances at hooking into billfish – striped marlin more than anything else – farther offshore, from 5 to 20 miles out, despite the warm water temps. There were some blue marlin hooked, most in the 100 to 160-pound range, though we saw one charter bring in one about 300 pounds earlier in the week.  –Puerto Los Cabos Photo We are now in the heat of the summer, and weather conditions continue to be hot and humid. Distance tropical storms and hurricanes are increasing the humidity and overall heat index, although we have seen no more rain this past week. Light crowds of anglers are arriving, but there are quite a few people at the local resorts. Ocean swells receded some, and winds were light on the Sea of Cortez side of the Peninsula, though persistent north winds were reported on the Pacific. Ocean water temperatures are very warm. Many zones are now reading at 87 degrees, which can throw off the whole ecosystem, oxygen levels, etc. Overall, fishing action was tough; although many species were in the area, hooking into them was a different story. Live bait supplies consisted mainly of caballito, jurelito, moonfish, a few mullet, and ballyhoo. Sportfishing fleets were spread out in all directions, searching for more opportunities.  Bottom fishing action was not very productive. There were lots of currents running, which never helped. Also, the heat factor of drift fishing with no breeze didn’t help either. Most charters were doing more surface trolling with various baits of higher-speed lures. Anglers had fair chances at hooking into billfish – striped marlin more than anything else – farther offshore, from 5 to 20 miles out, despite the warm water temps. There were some blue marlin hooked, most in the 100 to 160-pound range, though we saw one charter bring in one about 300 pounds earlier in the week. Some scattered dorado were on these same grounds, though more were found closer to shore, most of which were small juvenile schoolies under 8 pounds. Charters found smaller football-sized yellowfin tuna while trolling open waters, but this was haphazard, a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and anglers were fortunate to land several of them. The larger grade of tuna, hanging near Iman and San Luis Banks, just have not wanted to do much. There were lots of sharks in the area, and many anglers that hooked into the football-sized tuna lost these fish to mass congregations of pilot shark. Same with trying to slow-troll larger bait, such as bolito. More often than not, the shark would make quick work of these rigs. A few wahoo-striking Rapalas, but these speedsters typically become sluggish in such warm waters as well. Close to shore, there were still chances for late-season roosterfish. Of course, the hog-sized jack crevalle were ever-present. Roosterfish have not been up to normal local standards this season. Never really saw the mass schools of mullet congregating on the beach stretches, either. It has been easier to find a marlin than any of the other species closer to shore. …Good Fishing, Eric

Cabo San Lucas 

An amazing ending to an already great day – Congratulations to the anglers and our awesome Chasin Tail crew: Captain Pepe de la Peña, Mates Ulises and Arturo Peralta, plus hostess Dulce Maria, on a once-in-a-lifetime fishing day! Captain Pepe could tell conditions could be good for the possibility of a big billfish: a Blue Marlin or, IF they were very fortunate, a Swordfish. Just then, they had a Blue Marlin on…not long, and they had it to the boat! It was approximately 300 pounds and was successfully released. Their time out on the water was coming to a close, but then Hunter and Larry decided to make a full day out of it and stayed out for a Full Day. They had another blue bite but lost it quickly. The hook pulled! …Pisces Sportfishing