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This week they are all back up and enjoying BajaBytes catching fish!
Watta comeback! The Atmospheric River occurrence last week pretty much shut down Baja (Norte) with all locations having “no report.”
In Ensenada “It’s 4 Reels” couldn’t resist and were rewarded BajaBytes to fill their sacks with assorted bottom fish.
At San Quintin, Garcias Pangas found some home guard yellowtail and a few calicos for BajaBytes to brighten their day.
At BOLA BajaBytes of medium to large yellowtail kept Tim Hoofer happy fishing with Fernando.
In Baja Sur, the whale continues to perform for the crowds.
While Chema at Guerrero Negro continues to produce more trophy-sized white seabass that were willing to BajaByte!
Not to be undone, Cheri at Lopez Mateos managed to find a variety of mangrove and offshore species including dorado, willing to BajaByte purple cedar plugs and Nomad Divers. Inshore in the Mangroves a variety of species including snook were willing to BajaByte.
Last but not least were the striped marlin down at Cabo. The Pisces Fleet high boat Pisces 37ft. BBII! last week released a remarkable 15-striped marlin that also couldn’t resist BajaBytes.
That’s just the highlights! Be sure to check out all the area reports…A lot is going on for February
Imperial Beach
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The water is cold and dirty, with lots of runoff from past storms.
There has been good sand bass action down at the Imperial Beach Pipe and good whitefish action in the Upper La Jolla area around the 10 Fathom Spot to the Northwest Corner.
Down at the Pipe, the guys are fishing a “knocker rig,” which is simply a ¾-oz. slider on the line, ahead of a 2-oz. leadhead, along with a whole fresh, dead squid. The slider and the leadhead “knock” against each other, making sounds that attract the bass and sculpin.
Halibut is also showing on the hard, sandy bottom and along the edges of the Pipe. …Fish Dope
——— Mexican Waters ————
Mexican Permits AVAILABLE here:
https://www.californiasportfishing.org/
FMM link here: https://www.gob.mx/inm/acciones-y-programas/sport-fishing-and-nautical-tourism
If you have trouble with FMM, here is an email for assistance: bc_pescadeportiva@inami.gob.mx When bringing fish back to the US from Mexico, make sure to have your Declaration Forms filled out for everyone on the boat. Forms Here
NE of Coronados/Lower 9 Mile Bank/Upper Finger Bank
There has been cold, dirty water on the surface plus a stiff current, but it appears unaffected down deep as the rockfish bite remains good in 400 to 700 feet on the Lower 9.
Be sure to use 30 to 40-pound braid with 2 to 3 pounds of lead, as the light line allows you to fish deep without much effect from the current.
Guys are catching a mix of red rockfish, including bocaccio, reds, Mexicans, and other assorted red rockfish – lots of whitefish, too. Drop down a live mackerel for the larger reds and lingcod. …Fish Dope
Coronado Islands/Rockpile
No report. Given the current conditions, i.e., cold and dirty water, the odds of catching surface fish, like yellowtail or bonito, are not good. Rockfish and lingcod at the Rockpile are likely good though. …Fish Dope.
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from 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.
Ensenada
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Despite some rough weather, it was another productive day on the water. We fished the Santo Tomas area using cut squid, hookup bait, and Berkley Gulps for various bottom fish. These were good times, for sure…It’s 4 Reels
San Quintin
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A few yellows after the storms. Garcias Pangas Sportfishing San Quintin
Bahia de los Angeles
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Fishing with Fernando on Monday. … Tim Hoofer
BAJA SUR
Guerrero Negro
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We had excellent fishing and captured beautiful specimens a few days ago.…Chema Medina
Hare’s Eye Lagoon…I love getting mugged by six whales, which happened on yet another perfectly calm day! Truly, some whale magic happened! …Shari Bondy
(Shari Bondy was with Samuel Barrios at Whale Magic Tours).
Bahía Asunción
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Yellowtail still going off here. If you are in the neighborhood….
La Bocana
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No Report
Santa Rosalia
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No Report
Bahía Concepción
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The last day I could get out, we did some product testing with some new heavy duty assist hooks with orange glow squids and new color Knife Jig (Mack Daddy). We caught 9 Yellowtail between the 2 of us. Fish are working their way high up the column. Most fish were caught at least halfway up in 250ft of water with a few just 50 ft below the surface. Very happy with the new hooks….Check out MILF Jigs on Amazon…Nathan Burbey
Loreto
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It has been a great day! Ten yellowtails, with eight on live bait and two on lures… Jesús Francisco Martínez Davis
López Mateos
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Fishing inside Mag Bay is good with live bait
All the Mangrove nursery fish are getting bigger.
Big tides this last week so lots of current.
Got outside one day to look for Yellowfin Tuna, but did not find them, but found some nice Dorago. Caught on purple cedar plugs and Nomad Divers.
Lots of whale action inside the bay and outside, seals, dolphin, turtles. . . and Bird watching is very good also…Cheri King – Lopez Mateos Sportfishing.
Mark Rayor shared a photo today of the results of a BajaByte by a trophy sized snook
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MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of January 28- February 5, 2024
East Cape
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The port has been closed the last couple of days because of wind. However, it is open today. I was in Cabo all last week, and we had good fishing for marlin and roosterfish. Here in Los Barriles, it sounded like when the boats could get out, there were still occasional dorado and a few marlin. There have been some yellow tail, as well….Jeff DeBrown Reel Baja
San Jose del Cabo
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GORDO BANKS PANGAS
This week has been busier than usual, with many late-notice trips booked due to the unexpected hot fishing we are experiencing this February. Weather conditions remain ideal, with mornings in the high 50s and days in the low to mid-70s. We did experience a few cloudy days with some light showers and north winds that picked up around noon throughout most of the week, though the fishing was great and with lots of action.
We noticed more bottom-action this week in terms of bigger fish. We did see many grouper and amberjack in the 30 to 60-pound class. Most of these fish were caught throughout bottom structures and pinnacles on the Iman and La Fortuna. The choice of bait for these larger bottom fish were the live cocinero (green jack). Most boats make their own with sabiki rigs right off the harbor in the mornings while waiting for the bait guys to show with the sardina. We have also seen some smaller grouper, amberjack, and snapper caught in the same area while jigging or fishing the bottom with live sardina.
Our tuna and dorado bite has remained consistent, as we saw good numbers throughout most of the week. The average tuna seems to be in the 30 to 40-pound class, though we did see one pushing 100 pounds this week. Most tuna and dorado were caught with live/dead sardina at the Iman and La Fortuna, with boats focusing on Iman earlier in the morning as the area seemed to produce more variety with better bottom action in the mornings. We continue to see big dorado schools, though we noticed smaller sizes this week. Nonetheless, big bulls continue to show in the mix. While fishing in this area, we also catch good numbers of white bonito and sierra, adding good eating variety to the fish box. Throughout the outskirts of Iman, the fleet did land a few marlin and sailfish while trolling live sardina and cocinero.
As they fished for tuna, many boats were cut off by wahoo and sierra. The fleet has seen the wahoo swimming near the boat while chasing sardina. Most of these wahoo were smaller, from 10 to 20 pounds. A few boats were lucky to catch a few with circle hooks, while others were lucky to take one or two by trolling some Rapalas and rigged Ballyhoo. The best action for this technique was earlier in the morning before most boats arrived on the fishing grounds.
The marlin bite has continued to be full of action, though we did see signs of it slowing down towards the end of the week. The best bite seemed to concentrate 4 or 5 miles from our marina. Earlier in the week, we saw around 50 to 60 boats fishing in this area almost daily as many Cabo boats started to focus on our side of town. We saw around 20 boats this weekend as the bite started to scatter towards Cabo again.
We are starting to see a few more roosterfish throughout the shoreline, though not big in size. These roosters are still too small to take on the bigger live cocinero. Though the numbers are not great, a few boats were able to catch a few smaller roosterfish with live sardina…Good Fishing, Brian
Cabo San Lucas
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After experiencing a busy January with its calm seas, little wind, and great fishing, by the second day of February, it was clear that the weather was no longer ideal, particularly on the Pacific side of the peninsula.
On Saturday morning, February 3, a handful of the Pisces fleet boats scattered to different banks and high spots, including Los Arcos, Santa María, Chawita, Punta Gorda, La Playita, and Cero Colorado, up in the Sea of Cortez, where the wind was less, and the sea was calmer.
Pisces Fishing Report January 5th – 12, 2024
If you and your friends have fished somewhere in Baja and would like to share the results of your trips, our staff and followers would appreciate your info and tips, and we would be honored to include your observations, the locations, and the fishing conditions your groups encountered.
