FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
March 23-29, 2009
WEATHER: We had partly cloudy skies for most of the week but there was enough sun for everyone to stay happy. No rain came with the clouds we did get, but I heard there was a little up in the mountains. Our daytime highs remained in the mid 80's and our nighttime lows in the mid 60's. The winds stayed down for the most part and the wind we did get seemed to happen later in the afternoon.
WATER: The water on the Sea of Cortez side remained a fairly steady 71-73 degrees everywhere you went. On the Pacific side of the Cape the water was considerably cooler at 65-67 degrees. The currents pushed this cooler water in a plume past the tip of the Cape and there was a defined temperature break early in the week and again on the 27th. This break had a difference of 6 degrees in a very short distance and while it was there the fishing was pretty good. At the end of the week the current from the Cortez side had pushed the warm water back across the tip of the Cape and the cold plume disappeared.
BAIT: There was a mix of Mackerel and Caballito available this week at the normal price of $3 per bait.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: There have been just a few Striped Marlin caught this week. Most of these fish were found on the Pacific side inside the San Jaime Bank area. These fish have been tailing down-sea and when you found one that was hungry you had a chance at a hook-up. The problem was, not many of the fish were hungry! Maybe a quarter of the boats fishing this week returned with a Marlin flag, quite a difference from last month.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin Tuna were a repeat of last weeks report. Yet again another poor week for Yellowfin Tuna with only a few fish being caught. There were plenty of Bonito to be hooked up, and in those schools Yellowfin were reported as well, but they just would not bite. The presence of red crab in the area made having something in a red or dark orange color very important in lure selection, and those colors did much better than others on the few fish that were caught.
DORADO: Again, a repeat of last week. There were some Dorado to be found in the warmer waters on the Cortez side of the Cape this past week. The waters just offshore of the Westin and at the Inman Bank held fish that were not large, but there were some decent numbers. With an average size of 12 pounds, smaller live bait such as large Sardinas worked well. Offshore just a few miles there were larger fish to 40 pounds, but they were few and far between.
WAHOO: There have been a few Wahoo being caught up in the Inman Bank area, but no large numbers of them. Perhaps one fish a day total for the boats in the area, and the fish have been averaging 30 pounds.
INSHORE: Once again a repeat of last week, and definitely the way to go this week if you wanted action. Sierra and Yellowtail continued to dominate the inshore action this week. While not large, the Sierra were in great numbers once the schools were found. There was great action just outside the beach on the Pacific side at Pueblo Bonita Sunset resort and on the Cortez side outside the Cabo Del Sol Golf Course. Most boats were able to get limits for their anglers using Sardinas as live bait, but blue/silver swimming plugs and hootchies did well also. There were not great numbers of Yellowtail found this week, but they were showing up in the fish boxes of the Pangas. Most of them were firecracker fish in the 8-10 pound class, but there were a few nice fish to 25 pounds and an occasional fish that could not be stopped. Added to the mix of fish caught were the occasional Pargo and Amberjack as well as some small Roosterfish.
NOTES: Inshore was where it was happening this week and that is what many boats ended up doing instead of searching offshore for Marlin and Tuna. The water conditions were good and there was bait available (Sardinas) and the action could be red-hot at times. The whales continue to slowly move north and we see fewer every week. This weeks report was written to the sounds of dogs barking in the neighborhood.