Good news for air travelers beginning December 9, 2015. Ticketed airline passengers crossing the border between San Diego and Tijuana can walk across the 390-foot pedestrian bridge linking Tijuana’s A.L. Rodríguez International Airport directly to Otay Mesa.
Users of the privately-operated Border Xpress will be charged for each crossing. Enrique Valle, Chief Executive Officer of Otay Tijuana Ventures, builder and operator of the $120 million facility, said recently that the toll will be $15 for those who purchase tickets ahead of time on the facility’s website — and $18 for those who pay on location.
The only Mexican Port of Entry on the U.S. Border that connects directly to an airport, the Cross Border Xpress also will be the first on the California border where users will be charged a toll. For updated information: www.crossborderxpress.com
Architectural depiction of the Cross Border Xpress facility at Otay Mesa.
To begin with, 2015 sport fishing in Baja seems to be burning the candle at both ends as remarkable reports of catches of wahoo, marlin, dorado and tuna continue along Baja Norte’s west coast.
“Pez Finder” caught several yellows and one Mako shark estimated to weigh 135 pounds.
While Coronado Islands continue to slumber, the coast from Salsipuedes to Todos Santos continues to produce unique catches for this late in the year. Still a few exotics, including wahoo, dorado and even a Mako shark, along with a continued yellowtail bite stretches all the way to Cedros Island.
At San Quintin, Captain Juan Cook found limits of yellowtail for his clients who were fishing with yoyo jigs; while farther south, Cedros Island continued to produce lunker-sized yellows and calico bass for both sport boats stopping by and fly-ins eager to take advantage of the nice weather and excellent bite.
Continuing down the coast along the Vizcaino Peninsula, wahoo and yellowfin tuna added dimension to the expected seasonal yellowtail and calico bite.
Below Abreojos, Julio Meza is on a roll. Cesare Calor from Surinam landed this huge broomtail grouper south of Abreojos aboard Julio’s Sea Vee 37 Z fishing with a live sand bass for bait, which upon approval, could be a new International Game Fish Association all-tackle length record. After measuring the monster it was released.
Finally, farther down at Magdalena Bay, the season is seemingly suffering from “El Nino-itus,” kicking in with wahoo, dorado and striped marlin that are biting almost two months later than normal.
While not as unusual as most think, this Mag Bay roosterfish was one of several caught this month. I’ve seen photos of much larger in the 40-pound range caught just outside the Bocas there in the open Pacific.
There has been a wide-open bite just outside the surf line below Todos Santos for some quality dorado from the beach like this one caught by Felipe Valdez, manager, Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort.
Mixed with them are some equally nice-sized roosterfish, jack crevalle and even a small sailfish caught in the fray.
Moving over to the Sea of Cortez, El Nino or not, the much maligned North Wind showed up on schedule . . . at times whistling all the way down the Sea from San Felipe.
Notwithstanding, yellowtail as well as spotted bay bass action, continues between blows and the occasional rain at Bahía de Los Angeles according to recent visitors.
This is the same basic story all the way to Loreto where there were a few good days recently according to Rick Hill. “The Coronado Island areas had been good for a variety of sizes of yellowtail and cabrilla. Later in the week near Puerto Almeja where near-limit action was happening, yellowtail and cabrilla on live bait was the rule — not the exception. One day, one of our boats hooked up on a sailfish while soaking a mackerel for bottom monsters up at Almeja,” he related. “Rick” from Loreto Shores worked over La Cholla area yesterday and moved out of a triggerfish ambush only to hook up with another of our deep-water billfish, a marlin outside of the “cleaning rock.”
La Paz, Las Arenas and East Cape all are reporting North Wind interspersed with enough “good days” to keep the alert anglers happy.
San Jose and Cabo San Lucas fleets are finding a fair amount of billfish, fewer yellowfin tuna and even fewer larger models as bait remains scarce. Surprisingly the wahoo bite continues far past the usual season.
Sierra mackerel, a perennial winter favorite, have been putting in a strong showing close to shore from East Cape all the way to Baja’s tip — all in all, not bad for a late November entering the Christmas season.
Good Luck and Tight Lines…
Questions or comments are welcome. garyg@garycgraham.com
With more than five decades of fishing experience – from light tackle and fly to offshore billfish – Gary Graham has experienced all aspects of fishing in the Southern California and Baja waters. His observations of species behavior, tackle and techniques are always from his unique perspective, earning him the respect of his peers as well as anglers who eagerly follow his Baja reports and features.
Gary maintained a home at East Cape in Baja Sur for more than 18 years and still spends nearly half of each year exploring the entire peninsula in his self-contained Roadtrek van. He observes everything Baja, from the mysteries of a tide pool on a deserted Baja beach filled with tiny sea creatures to the largest billfish in the sea.
Contact Gary at garyg@garycgraham.com