April 26-May 2, 2010
Weather: It feels like Oklahoma, where the wind blows across the plains! It has been blowing for the past two weeks from the northwest and we seem to have had a wind chill factor in there. The wind has been between 10 and 25 knots for most of the week, and it did not start to falter until Saturday night. There has been very little cloud cover so we have had sunny skies, but the cold was something we are not used to this time of year. It's all relative of course, while I have had on a sweater in 72 degree weather (with a wind on top of the cold) we have had visitors walking around in shorts and t-shirts! Must have lived in the tropic too long and have thin blood! At least at the end of the week the wind finally laid down, and it was nice in the mornings! Our highs for the week were in the high 80's while the lowest I saw was 62 degrees.
Water: Just as with last week, the steady winds from the northwest have left the Pacific side of the Cape in very rough conditions. For those of you who are familiar with the area. As I was driving past Cost-Co yesterday around noon, I looked past the arch and it looked like several fleets of boats working just outside, then I realized that it was very large curling whitecaps, looking like a fleet of 35 foot boats, not water I want to be in. Thankfully the wind has not had as great an affect on the Sea of Cortez, and the water on that side of the Cape has been very fishable, with some choppy conditions in the afternoons but nothing bad. Water temperatures have been 65 degrees along shore on the Pacific side and 74 degrees almost everywhere on the Cortez side, or at least inside the 95spot-1150, and to the Cabrillo Seamount.
Bait: Mackerel, Caballito at the normal $3 per bait and there has been very little Sardinas available in our area, some boats are getting lucky at San Jose, but they have to be there at gray light.
FISHING
Billfish: Once again there were just a few Striped Marlin found this week, and most, if not all of them were caught on the Cortez side of the cape, in the slightly warmer water, and in the calmer conditions. The areas off of Red Hill was once again the best area for these fish, and in addition there were some Wahoo in the area if you were early enough. At the end of the week with the wind finally laying down fish began to show themselves out at the 1,000 fathom line to the south of the Cape. One boat was reported to have caught a Blue Marlin of approximately 500 pounds in the Red Hill area, I saw pictures of the fish, and it was reported to have died during the fight. That was the excitement on the Billfish front this week.
Yellowfin Tuna: Water conditions kept most of the boats from fishing area that normally produce our Yellowfin Tuna. The rough water didn't allow fishing at the San Jaime bank or the immediate area, but there were a few fish reported offshore around the 1150 area and outside of there to the 1,000 fathom line on the Cortez side.
Dorado: Just a few Dorado were caught this week, up around the Red Hill area and the Punta Gorda area on the Cortez side. These were scattered fish with no concentrations found. Best results were found close to the beach, within a mile or so, and using brightly colored lures for fish to 25 pounds, but averaging 12 pounds.
Wahoo: There were some nice Wahoo caught this week to the north on the Sea of Cortez, but getting there early was the key. If you were not the first boat to the area, you didn't have much luck. That said, the fish averaged 30 pounds, and the best areas were off the ledge at Red Hill, Gorda Banks and the In-man Banks area. Having the full moon this week helped the Wahoo bite.
Inshore: For about the second month in a row, inshore fishing was the way to go for action. There were good numbers of small to medium Roosterfish to be found just off the beach as well as some decent concentrations of Sierra. The Amberjack bite that took off last week died down a bit as the fish were caught out. There were some good Red Snapper taken from the rock piles, and of course, almost all of this action took place on the Sea of Cortez due to the rough conditions on the Pacific side.
Notes: I know I have lived in the tropics too long when it is 70 degrees in the house and I want to have socks, a sweater and long pants on! I hope it warms up soon, and of course it will be in the middle of the summer with sweat streaming down my back when I will wish for the conditions we have now. My fingers are still crossed that the fishing improves soon and if the wind dies down we just might see that happen! Until next week, tight lines, I'm off for a beach walk with the dog!