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WEATHER We started this week with hot and humid conditions and just a little bit of a sprinkle of rain on Tuesday. Every day since then we have gotten just a bit more rain until Saturday night when Tropical Storm Julio’s feeder bands moved into our area. It really started to rain then! We received about three inches then for a total over the week of around 5 inches of rain. Forecasts call for more rain through Sunday and into Monday morning, for a total of up to six inches this weekend. This has cooled things off just a bit, but has really messed up the streets. Our daytime highs have been the low 80’s and the nighttime lows in the mid 70’s. Today, Sunday, we are expecting winds to 35 miles per hour with gusts to 50 miles per hour, the Port Captain shut down the Marina for the day,
WATER: We had great conditions on both sides of the Cape early in the week with smooth water, almost glass-like smoothness. Water temperatures were up a bit, and that may be one of the reasons that Tropical Storm Julio kept coming toward us, our water just offshore ranged from 85 to 89 degrees with a few areas off 30+ miles showing 90 degrees. The water was blue everywhere you went early in the week and through the weekend, but I am telling you now that the near-shore waters on both sides of the Cape are going to be discolored next week, there is enough rain that the runoff is going to extend quite a way offshore, just how far remains to be seen. On a positive note, it usually means that wood and debris gets washed down the arroyos as well, and that will give Dorado some items to focus on and congregate under
BAIT: Bait this week was Caballito with a few Mullet for those that wanted them. The big bait price was $3 per bait. Some Sardinas were available up toward San Jose early in the week; I doubt there will be any around this coming week with the dirty water inshore.
FISHING:
YELLOWFIN TUNA Well, last week I reported on the area where the Yellowfin were being found and they were still there through the first of the week and anglers were doing well on fish to 150 pounds, with quite a few nice ones in the 80 pound class. Nothing lasts forever and on Thursday a Purse Seiner showed up early in the morning and just like that the fish were gone. Fortunately there were other fish scattered around, and a few schools were actually closer to the Cape. Lets just hope they are still around after the storm passes through and no more seiners move in on us.
DORADO The Dorado catches remained slow at an average of two fish per boat, and the size ranged from 10 to 20 pounds. Hopefully the debris from the storm will help concentrate the fish and things will improve this coming week or two.
WAHOO: There were a few offshore fish early in the week but no concentrations of Wahoo. I did hear of several of these speedsters that went close to 70 pounds, and they struck on lures intended for Blue Marlin.
INSHORE: Inshore fishing was decent for small Roosterfish and Jacks to 10 pounds, otherwise it was a scratch-fest, most Pangas went further offshore for Tuna and Dorado rather than work the strong inshore current while bottom fishing.
NOTES: Next weekend I am heading for the hills, this rain should really green things up and I want to see if the downpour has revealed any interesting fossils, plus the Jeep needs a day out! Hopefully the fishing will remain good this week, we will know how it is by Tuesday. Until next week, have a great time and try to get some fishing in!
Until next week, Tight lines!
George & Mary Landrum, Juan & Manuel
Report: SAN JOSE DEL CABO, August 24, 2008
It seems as though the weather in Southern Baja is becoming more tropical and humid with each passing week. High temperatures were averaging 90 to 95 degrees, but with 80 % humidity it feels much warmer than that. A person must use caution when doing any activity in the direct sun. There have been thunder showers daily in the mountainous areas just north of San José del Cabo, but no rainfall had reached the coastal plains until Friday and now we are bracing for Tropical Strom Julio with some on an off heavy rain, Julio is on a track that will make direct landfall with the Los Cabos area by late Sunday afternoon. Local fleets are busy relocating their charter boats and making all necessary preparations for their personal families and properties. Ocean patterns are much the same, more breeze from the south has created choppy seas on the Pacific, but in the direction of the Sea of Cortez the seas have been relatively calm, on some days too calm, no breeze at all. Water temperatures have ranged from 82 to 88 degrees and blue water has been found very close to shore. The strong southern current continues, but has not been as consistently powerful as in past weeks, this has meant for better opportunities and options for anglers wishing to target larger bottom species. Supplies of sardinas have remained plentiful and there is also a mix of mullet and caballito available.
Sportfishing fleets are fishing in all different directions, from the Pacific, to straight out of Cabo San Lucas, Chileno, Palmilla, Gordo Banks and north to Vinorama. The action has started to heat up the past several days, sailfish, striped, black and blue marlin are all present in local waters and over this recent full moon period many larger marlin were hooked into. Trolling with live skipjack or bolito accounted for the majority of the marlin strikes around the Gordo Banks area, several black and blue marlin weighing 300 to 450 pounds were reportedly landed and many others were lost after extended battles.
Dorado and yellowfin tuna action increased throughout the region. Larger dorado were prevalent on the Pacific and more schooling sized dorado were in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, during the past couple of days many charters reported catching and releasing up to twenty dorado, striking on trolled lures and various baits. Yellowfin tuna were found in the same areas and by the same methods, most of them football sized fish, under 15 pounds. Larger tuna of 60 to 90 pounds were found associated with porpoise, on Wednesday they came as close as 3 or 4 miles from Palmilla Point, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Skipack remained abundant throughout the area and there were quite a few bolito as well, though after the sun was higher in the sky they were not easy to catch.
When the currents allowed, anglers had opportunities to drop baits over the rock piles for a chance at hooking into a dogtooth snapper, hauchinango, cabrilla or grouper. Some fish were taken on yo-yo jigs as well, but the problem was that there were too many big skipjack that were also striking on the same jigs. Still a chance at catching a nice sized roosterfish, getting late in the season, but for the few charters that did try trolling baits close along the sandy beach stretches, they hooked and landed roosters to forty pounds plus.
On Wednesday one local pangeruo from La Playita caught a 40 pound whaoo that hit on a small three inch hoochie lure that he was using to target batfish, he also lost another wahoo strike, hopefully this is a sign that wahoo will become active on the local banks.
Surf fishing action near the Puerto Los Cabos rock jetties is heating up as well, several snook up to 20 pounds were reported and tripletail of 10 to 20 pounds were also striking during the twilight hours on fresh cut mullet. Also some small to medium sized jack crevalle and roosterfish provided action from the shore.
The combined panga fleets launching from La Playita/Puerto Los Cabos sent out approximately 48 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
1 blue marlin, 1 black marlin, 2 striped marlin, 7 sailfish, 6 hammerhead shark, 1 wahoo, 188 dorado, 89 yellowfin tuna, 19 dogtooth snapper, 15 cabrilla, 3 grouper, 34 huachinango, 13 jack crevalle, 22 roosterfish, 4 sierra and 28 triggerfish.
Good Fishing, Eric
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