November was an extraordinary month, from the border to Land’s End. As expected, the farther south, the better the fishing!
Imperial Beach Pier
Down in IB, sand bass, sculpin, and the odd halibut are showing close to and on the edge of the kelp. Guys fishing the knocker rig with fresh dead squid are scoring some nice-sized bass. Calico bass fishing in the afternoon has been okay – not great, but you can probably catch a few if you work at it. Anchovy on light line is the best bet! Bring some sliding ¼- to ½-oz. egg sinkers, too, in case you can’t chum the fish to the surface.
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
Yellowtail have been found under bird piles and sonar schools. Pay close attention to your meter, as they could be down 100 ft. or more. Have a yoyo jig ready to drop on them if you mark them deep and have a surface iron ready for bird schools. Having some live mackerel might be a good choice, too.
How to YOYO fish the Iron for Yellowtail!
Ensenada
When the weather permitted, there were limits of yellowtail and quality rock cod. This is another location where the yoyo technique can help fill your freezer.
San Quintín
Yellowtail and a good bite of various bottom fish sound promising for the next month if the weather holds.
Bahía de Los Ángeles
Lots of action close to shore for quality-sized grouper.
Bahía Asunción
This November has been among the best the local anglers can remember for dorado, yellowfin tuna, and huge wahoo bites. The weather has also been very pleasant.
Magdalena Bay (López Mateos)
The bite continues offshore, here, and in the mangroves. FONMAR recently held an offshore event in San Carlos (Mag Bay) targeting dorado – almost every team brought a dorado to weigh in on the beach.
Cabo San Lucas
Remarkably, the bite continues offshore for yellowfin tuna, dorado, wahoo, and billfish. Inshore is also a crowd pleaser for bottom fish, jack crevalle, sierra, pargo, and maybe a roosterfish or two, all along the surf line on the Pacific side of the peninsula.
Puerto Los Cabos
Despite some wind, the fleet focused mainly on Iman, Fortuna, Cardon, Punta Gorda, and the Inner and Outer Gordo Banks. Even though Palmilla Point has produced some decent wahoo and dorado action, the larger wahoo are being taken off Iman and Fortuna.
The wahoo bite has been on and off recently, but they are around. Most of the boats are targeting wahoo and dorado with different techniques. On average, boats can count on one or two wahoo strikes per day if they cover enough ground and put in the time. The most productive plan has been trolling Rapalas and rigged ballyhoo throughout the early morning and switching to slow-trolling live bait and ballyhoo later in the day. The biggest wahoo recently weighed in at 51 pounds.
For some reason, we are seeing some big bulls come in daily. One day, the fleet caught six bulls over 25 pounds, with the largest weighing in at 40 pounds. We weighed a couple more at 33 and 38 pounds. We noticed that these dorado are large but thin. Some of these larger-sized dorado were caught with live sardina, but most were hooked while fast/slow trolling ballyhoo. A few sailfish were hooked on the same grounds while slow-trolling live or dead bait.
East Cape
Although some dorado are offshore, and a few billfish are lurking about, the yellowfin tuna bite has remained the best target. The weather has remained pleasant, and while it is a little early, there are a few sierra mixed in with jacks, palometa, and small roosterfish along the shoreline where the “tin boats” play.
La Paz
Daytime temperatures are in the low 80s, and the nights are in the mid-60s. For about the first time in weeks, the winds have not blown, and we have had almost perfect weather, which is reflected in the fishing.
Without the winds kicking everyone and everything around, the waters settled down and were relatively flat. Given the fish that were caught, there are obviously still warm and cooler spots of water – tuna, roosterfish, dorado, sailfish, Jack crevalle, bonito, sierra, pargo (mullet snapper), pargo mulato (barred pargo), cabrilla, sierra, yellowtail, and amberjack.
Although two months late but enough whale sharks finally arrived in La Paz Bay (eight of them) to open the season to swimming with the sharks with licensed guides. Since they’re not on anyone’s schedule, we are not sure how long the season will stay open – it depends on how many animals stick around.
Loreto
Epic fishing! Three pangas had limits in dorado, with 32 pounds being the biggest; limits in yellowtail – live mackerel was working in Puerto Almeja, in addition to an astonishing Black Sea bass (35 pounds was the biggest), plus dorado (mahi-mahi).
Bahía Concepción
All fish caught on Long Milf Knife Jigs except one. The bull dorado hit a knife jig, and when it was time to gaff, we saw his partner swimming with him, threw a Chrome Tady, and Hook Up! It was a fun day with a better grade of yellowtail! A few were lost to the rocks when we tried to pull them off the bottom.
Will fishing remain as good as it was this month?
Typically, December is quiet. However, with no storms on the horizon, there is a 50/50 chance that the good fishing will last until 2024. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Gary Graham
That Baja Guy
thatbajaguy@gmail.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.