Welcome to Baja Bytes, our weekly report highlighting the fishing hotspots from the Coronado Islands to Land’s End at Cabo San Lucas. The areas not included are either because we did not receive reports or fishing was seasonally slow. If you have a location that isn’t listed, don’t hesitate to contact us. We welcome your input. Gary Graham-That Baja Guy
Imperial Beach (including the 9 Mile Bank)
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
The best bass fishing is for sand bass in Imperial Beach at the Pipe on the knocker rig and whole squid combo — no new reports of surface fish. The 9 Mile Bank seems to be the best bet for plenty of big bocaccio, chilies, Mexicans, bank perch, etc. They are biting well in 450 to over 700 feet of water.…Fish Dope
Ensenada
There has been good bottom fishing on the EL COCO LOCO. Dates are available in November
San Quintin
No Report
Bahía de Los Angeles
We caught some good ones today, November 5th.. …Joel’s Sportfishing & Ecotours
South (Baja Sur)
Ascensión Bay
Chema Medina is with Erik Medina and three others. It was a wonderful day for fishing with the family. Today, we had good fishing. We caught a couple of grouper in the Hare’s Eye Lagoon. Pro Hunter’s Koca Lures are working very well!
#fishingwarriorsadventures #kocalure #slowpitchjigging #jigging #FWA #pesca #fishinglife #prohunter
La Bocana
No Report
Bahía Concepción
.No Report….Nathan Burbey
Loreto
This Saturday, apart from dorado, sailfish, marlin, and yellowtail, this Almaco jack is one of the biggest fish we’ve ever caught—over 75 pounds!!! Thanks to Frank Armenta and La Dolce Vita fishing tours. …Francisco Omar Mayoral Velis
López Mateos
This last week was great at the Banks, the Grouper Rocks, and inside Mag Bay. All the big guns are here, and the BaHaHa is at the south end of Mag Island at Santa Maria Bay. …Cheri King
MAGBAY: Out fishing with my friends, Mr. Pat McDonel & Mr. Chris Wheaton. We looked for wahoo at the Ridge and found them. We CAUGHT them! Then we went three for four hooked on our way home. We trolled up to TEN football-sized YFT and called it! …fishonnn!!! …Juan
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of Oct. 24- 30, 2023
East Cape
We are hanging out at Rancho Leonero in East Cape, BCS — there are a few pictures of the resort with Mike Milligan and me fishing. We came down here two years ago and decided to return. Unfortunately, Rancho Leonero has been sold, and no one knows its future—keep it open or tear it down and build condos?
I prefer they keep it open. This Place is a gem, one hour north of Cabo San Lucas and one hour south of La Paz.
Buenos Dias from Rancho Leonero. …Paul Marshall
Gordo Banks
The largest annual tournaments are over, though the busy fall season continues. We see large anglers arrive to take advantage of the great opportunities available. We have been experiencing excellent conditions, with mornings in the low 70s/high 60s and sunny days in the mid-80s.
We are consistently seeing schools of sardina every morning now. A combination of sardina and slabs of squid have been the “go-to,” most recommended bait. Some days, the tuna prefer one over the other, and you are thankful you have both. There are limited supplies of caballito on some mornings.
Overall, this week produced excellent fishing action. The main action was yellowfin tuna in the 20 to 40-pound range. Most boats targeting tuna can experience great action, double/triple hookups, reaching their limits on most days. Of course, some days are slower than others, but the fish are there and were caught while drifting squid strips and sardina. Using a small weight to target mid-water activity was also remarkably successful. Our boats concentrated primarily at the Vinorama Bank, but others that tried out Iman experienced a slower tuna bite.
Covering the grounds of Vinorama, Iman, and La Fortuna, there is a good chance of coming across a small school of dorado and wahoo, with a few more wahoo starting to show day by day. You can target these by covering as much ground as possible, trolling Rapalas, ballyhoo, and lures.
One of our boats reported catching a smaller wahoo while slow-trolling a caballito. A few wahoo were also hooked and lost while drifting live sardina on the tuna grounds.
Not many marlin have been spotted on the Sea of Cortez side of Cabo. One of our boats did catch an excellent 300-pound black marlin a couple of days after the Bisbee’s tournaments while targeting yellowfin tuna at the inner Gordo. This fish was caught and released on 50-pound test and 60-pound leader. It was a tough fight, but it was quite the experience!
Nice-sized tuna are still hanging at the Inner and Outer Gordo. Many of our local anglers reported seeing fish over the 200-pound mark while fishing the Tuna Jackpot tournament, though they were reluctant to bite. Many tuna averaging from 70 to 100 pounds were landed throughout this tournament. Congratulations to Captain Chame and Team Castros for landing 3rd Place with a 95-pound yellowfin.
There has not been much bottom action this week, though we did have a nice dogtooth snapper at the Gordo while drifting for tuna. There has not been much action along the shoreline either; a few boats did catch sierra while slow-trolling live sardina. If sardina continue to show up, we should see better inshore action throughout the next few weeks.
The first whale pods are now returning to local waters after migrating north to their summer feeding grounds. …Good Fishing, Brian
Los Cabos
The 25th Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot was an absolute blast, and guess who stole the show? The “Sneak Attack” team reeled in a whopper – a 284-pound tuna worth a cool $585,775. Talk about a big catch! These guys sure know their stuff when it comes to fishing.
But let’s not forget about the runner-ups. The North Star team snagged Second Place with their catch, pocketing a hefty $535,150. That’s one expensive fish! And you’ve gotta give props to Castro’s Tournament Team as well. They landed in Third Place with a respectable 95.10-pounder.
The total cash thrown around at this tournament was a staggering $1.469 Million. Can you believe that? It’s amazing what two days out on the water with rods and reels can do! It’s not just about the bait and the wait; it’s the thrill of the chase and, of course, the big payday waiting at the end of the line. What a tournament it was!
But let’s not forget about the runner-ups. The North Star team snagged second place with their catch, pocketing a hefty $535,150 USD. That’s one expensive fish! And you’ve gotta give props to Castro’s Tournament Team as well. They landed in third place with a respectable 95.10-pounder. The total cash thrown around at this tournament was a staggering $1.469 million. Can you believe that? It’s amazing what two days out on the water with rods and reels can do. It’s not just about the bait and the wait; it’s the thrill of the chase and, of course, the big payday waiting at the end of the line. What a tournament it was!…Gringo Gazette