August 31- Sept. 6, 2009
WEATHER: Those of you who have been watching our area this past week are already aware that we managed to dodge a bullet once again. Hurricane Jimena was expected to pass almost on top of us, perhaps just a little to the west on Tuesday as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds at 155 mph and higher gusts. With nature and lady luck on our side she shifted just a bit to the west and all we got were three to four days of clouds, about an inch of rain and winds that may have gusted at times as high as 70 mph. It knocked down palm fronds and kicked up some big seas, but it also brought in some cooler weather as well. At the end of the week our nighttime lows were in the low 80's and our daytime highs had finally gotten back up to the high 90's, but the humidity at the end of the week was a bit lower than it had been so it did not feel quite as hot as that.
WATER: The Captain of the Port closed the Harbor on Monday at noon due to the increasing size of swells as Hurricane Jimena approached. The port was re-opened on Thursday after the Hurricane had passed and the swells had become smaller. The cloud cover having finally moved away, we were able to access to satellite charts to see how things had changed. We now have a band of cooler water on the Pacific side just to the outside of the 1,000-fathom line that is right at 78 degrees. This is a 10-15 mile wide band of water running from the northwest to the southeast. To the inside of this band of cool water is a band of 82-84 degree water about 15-20 miles wide and just inside there, along the beach, it is 80 degrees, from the inside of the San Jaime Bank to the inside of the Golden Gate Bank and out across the 95 spot on the Cortez side of the Cape. Elsewhere on the Sea of Cortez the water is a fairly steady 84-86 degrees. The cool water close to shore on the Pacific side is also green, a change from the nice blue water we had prior to the Hurricane passing.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Large swells from Hurricane Jimena this week kept the bait guys from getting any Sardinas.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: On Thursday, after the storm, there were Striped Marlin and Sailfish on the Pacific side up around the Los Arcos area. Some boats were able to release two or three of each, most boats were happy to catch one. I heard of one nice sized Blue Marlin being hooked up on Thursday around 25 miles to the south of the Cape, but did not hear of any of these larger fish being brought to the boat. All in all it was a slow week for Marlin.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: It was also a frustrating week for those trying to catch Yellowfin. The only really decent day we had was on Thursday. Several pods of dolphin were found that held Yellowfin and a few boats were able to get the larger fish to bite. About a dozen fish between 150 and 200 pounds were caught but most of the boats were able to catch a half dozen or so smaller fish to 35 pounds. These fish remained in the area for the rest of the week but no one could get them to bite again. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were very disappointing as you could see the fish clearing the water but even dropping down to #40 floura-carbon leader did not help, so very few fish were caught.
DORADO: We were hoping the Hurricane would wash debris from the arroyos and that would help congregate the Dorado for anglers, but with only an inch of rain there was not enough water dropped to cause the arroyos to flood. Perhaps next week the debris from farther north where Jimena crossed onto land will reach our area, by then there should be good concentrations of fish underneath. Meanwhile the bite was way off, most boats were happy to get a Dorado in the box.
WAHOO: I did not hear of any Wahoo caught this week, even though it was a full moon.
INSHORE: The large swells really messed up the inshore fishing, at least for the week on the Pacific side of the Cape, and on the Cortez side while the water was churned for most of the week by Sunday it had begun to settle and clear. Roosterfish were found again up around the El Tulle area but that was pretty much it for the week, with the exception of a few Jacks and a few Grouper.
NOTES: As is normal after the passing of a Hurricane the water is all mixed up and it may take a week for everything to settle out. I am not sure how it affects the fish, but I know the current and temperature changes for a while and that is what we are seeing now. Our fingers are crossed that everything gets back to normal, or better, within the next week. This weeks report was written to the music of Jimmy Buffet and friends on Sirus/XM Margaritaville channel. Until next week, tight lines!