Just off the 9 Mile Bank in Coronado Canyon, there have been some good bird schools that were mostly on small bonito. Kelps to the south, around the 101 and 425 areas, are beginning to hold dorado but you must find the right one; there are a lot of empty kelps around too. Very few tuna are around, but some kelps are also holding 4- to 20-pound yellowtail.
Ensenada is enjoying great dorado action, plus there are reports of bluefin tuna farther offshore as it moves into the summer season. In addition to offshore action, the calico bass has been great at the Island.
There are plenty of yellowtail on the 240, the 6, and Ben’s Rock. Bait, irons, and colt snipers are all working well. Offshore conditions seem to be right with clear blue water and sea temp at 79 degrees. There’s little sea life, though, with only a few small dorado. It’s a matter of time and finding the right zone. There has been a bonus halibut bite in the bay.
The morning after the offshore tropical storm buffeted Asuncion with breezy conditions turned out nice. By late afternoon, locals decided beautiful conditions were too good to pass up. They found 78-degree water offshore a few miles, and although it was a little sporty it was certainly fishable. They managed one nice bull dorado and had a couple of knockdowns. Perhaps it was a sign that summer has arrived.
Mr. Wahoo Man, Bill Erhardt, and Captain Ruben Duran got the party started with limits of wahoo plus a small dorado and a yellowfin tuna. “We tried a variety of lures for a few hours before the ‘hoos came in on the ridge to feed, but all five were caught on Halco Laser Pros and Max’s. And the seas did lay down nicely for the first time since Genevieve blew through” – a sure sign of season changes at Magdalena Bay.
At Bahía de Los Ángeles the hot summer is in full force! Just outside the marina, one group found schools of 30- to 35-pound class Almaco jack feeding on the surface. They landed two. There was plenty of yellowtail in the 15-to 20-pound range along with smallish dorado on the surface and cabrilla down deep.
Loreto managed to escape with only a half-dozen minor rain bands from Hurricane Genevieve – not much wind and not much rain, but the best part was the resultant “not many mosquitoes!”
Fishing in Loreto remains a mixed bag. Anything is possible from dorado to yellowtail. The focus has moved north to San Basilio and Almejas Bay. Sardina on light line is the ticket for dorado, and trolling seems to stimulate bonito and live mackerel at the high spots yielding a few 25-pound yellowtail. Bait schools have been everywhere for months.
Jonathan Roldan summed up fishing at La Paz and Los Arenas, “This is turning into a funky season in more ways than one.”
“One day, it feels like summer fishing with dorado and billfish in the counts. The next day, the water gets rougher and cooler, the wind picks up and the waters turn over. Then we’re back to spring-time fishing catching cabrilla, pargo, amberjack, snapper, jack crevalle, and other inshore fish. Thankfully, big roosterfish are still hanging out.
At East Cape, 45 teams signed up for the 2020 Wahoo Gold Cup hosted by Van Wormers Resort. The Castro’s competed aboard the 28-foot “Bite Me,” a vessel run out of the East Cape, by a family member of theirs. The angler onboard Aldo Ojeda produced a 37.2-pound winner which earned 1st Place, $40,800 + a 2020 Volkswagen Gol.
Before Genevieve, anglers fished inside on the drop-offs and were doing well – with nice pargo, cabrilla, grouper, and pompano biting. The roosterfish were around in good numbers as well until Wednesday before the storm.
At Puerto Los Cabos, rock piles offshore produced a wide variety of catches on yo-yo jigs and bait. Almaco jack to 50 pounds, dogtooth snapper, red snapper (huachinango), pompano, barred pargo, yellow snapper, leopard, and broomtail grouper, bonito, and black skipjack, along with yellowfin tuna action in the same area. The average-size tuna was from 40- to 65-pounds, many taken on yo-yo jigs versus live bait.
There was a handful of dorado and wahoo – no big numbers or hot spot.
Along the coastal shoreline, a good number of mixed-sized roosterfish, jack crevalle, and a few nice pargo are being reported. It’s late for inshore action and the arrival of large storm swells could put an end to this action.
Cabo San Lucas is beginning to heat up with billfish and yellowfin. Two blue marlin were released weighing close to 300-pounds each – one hit on a lime green lure on the port side in a porpoise school while fishing for tuna. The blue was brought to the boat within 15 minutes and safely released so they could keep landing their yellowfin! They caught ten YFT weighing between 30 and 90 pounds.
Finally, dorado began showing up; six were caught in one day on a Panga and two smaller ones were released on another boat.
Inshore and beaches are quiet after the storm but should be back to normal soon.
Gary Graham -That Baja Guy
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.
Any gonsaga reports?