ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet reported rough waters off Ensenada last week. "Too rough to go out," Villarino said. "Hopefully we'll be fishing soon." Earlier in the week, Jay Johnson fished at Punta Banda with Capt. Beto Zamora on the panga Vonny I for limits of bonito plus some whitefish, Johnny bass, and vermillion rockfish, returning to the beach by 11 a.m. as ocean swells built up. "We smoked up all the bonita," Villarino said. Local Ensenada fishing area weather was sunny with light winds on Saturday, with ocean swells of 3 to 4 feet and the water temperature at Punta Banda averaging 59 degrees.

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said just a few boats were still present to fish the November-like action offshore of Magdalena Bay last week. "There are plenty of bird schools holding dorado, marlin, and a few with tuna as well," Graham said. Fly fishing tackle angler Brad Ellis trailered a panga from Rincon on the Cortez side of Baja and fished outwards to the Thetis Bank, running from bird school to bird school and hooking several marlin mixed with schools of dorado. Angler Don Armstrong fished with Baja On The Fly on the charter boat Mar Gato out of Puerto Lopez Mateos for 3 days of multiple striped marlin hookups on fly and conventional tackle. The Magdalena Bay mangrove channels also produced good fishing for pargo, grouper, and a few corvina. Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was cloudy at 80 degrees, with water temperatures of 70 to 77 degrees.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 43 combined La Playita fleet charter pangas fishing off San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 58 yellowfin tuna, 44 dorado, 33 striped marlin, 3 sailfish, 125 skipjack, 33 pargo, 12 amberjack, 16 cabrilla, 15 roosterfish, 2 grouper, 65 triggerfish, and 66 sierra. "As the holiday season approaches there are still only slight crowds of vacationers traveling to Los Cabos," Brictson said, "but we expect the numbers to increase in the next few weeks." San Jose del Cabo hosted the local event of the Baja California Sur Governor's Cup fishing tournament, with first and second place going to 2 yellowfin tuna of about 50 pounds each caught by Capt. Tony Miranda. "Tony on his new panga Hooker proved that skill and a little luck can be the right combination," Brictson said. "Tony took home both a new panga with motor and an extra $2,000 in cash, just in time for Christmas!" More than 60 Mexican pangas were entered in the local tournament. GOVERNOR'S CUP BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR FISHING TOURNAMENT.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Bob Grimes of San Jose del Cabo said fishing was generally slow last week, as commercial divers were working the beaches to the east. "Their main quarry is supposed to be oysters, but they are carrying Hawaiian sling harpoons, and they are bringing in everything, like a giant vacuum cleaner," Grimes said. "Dave Grimes and Ty Haajar fished in the Baja California Sur Governor's Cup fishing tournament, leaving the beach at Palmilla with Capt. Jaime Arista Castro. They caught 3 yellowfin tuna at the Inner Gordo Bank. First place for snappers in the tournament was won by a pargo weighing about 60 pounds. This was the best day of fishing in quite a while, and they caught small tuna and some larger ones of 30 to 50 pounds. They also caught a lot of bonito."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts reported on 20 East Cape charter fishing boats from Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and Punta Colorada, with a catch including released fish of about 8 sierra per boat plus a few striped marlin and dorado caught off Punta Pescadero. "It is an abbreviated report due to the fact that not a lot of boats went out," Dalmau said. "Sierras are being caught out in front of Punta Colorada down to the lighthouse point." Humboldt giant squid were also caught off Rancho Leonero and 3 pargos were reported near Punta Colorada.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said some offshore boats found a few billfish between winds north off Punta Pescadero and some tuna and dorado were caught down south below Cabo Pulmo. "Offshore action can be found when the north wind takes a day off," Graham said, "although it sounds like most of the volume has moved further down off Cabo. Dorado and tuna action was reduced to being in the right place at the right time." Inshore and beach fishing produced early morning sierra followed by other species. "The action usually begins with sierra, and then the ladyfish, small jacks and roosterfish will show up as it becomes lighter. The fishing will last until the wind shows up," Graham said. "You may also get a shot in the afternoon if the wind backs off enough." East Cape fishing area weather was sunny in the mid-80s, with water temperatures of 70 to 76 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Mark Rayor of the Vista Sea Sport East Cape diving service at Buena Vista said strong winds kept his boat on the beach most days during the week. "It did let up enough for us to get a tour off to Cabo Pulmo one day," Rayor said. "It was a pleasant surprise to find that the winds have not hurt diving conditions or affected the sea life." Water temperatures at depth were at 74 to 75 degrees, with mild current. Visibility on the Cabo Pulmo coral reef was about 40 feet. "The reefs are so full of life we wouldn't be able to see beyond 40 feet no matter how clear the water was," Rayor said. Sea life sightings included grouper weighing hundreds of pounds, electric rays and sting rays, manta rays, yellow snapper, and big schools of grunts and colorful reef fish.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jorge Bergin of La Ribera said on Friday, "Even if the wind were not howling right now there would be little serious fishing going on at East Cape. Not too many clients are at the resorts here; some are closed." Strong winds prevented the mainland Mexico Pemex barge from crossing the Sea of Cortez to the Baja side, causing a brief shortage of gasoline. Bergin also noted that some of the area around Isla Espiritu Santo was reported to be closing to fishing because of a marine park being established there.

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Jim Anderson of San Lucas Cove 10 miles south of Santa Rosalia said stiff north winds kept boats off the water until Friday when he fished the Isla San Marcos bajos on his Moosea Boat together with Jim Greene of Montana for a catch of 1 yellowtail each, plus another 2 yellowtail caught by Anderson's wife Marika. "On Saturday the whole crowd went out fishing, but things really slowed down," Anderson said. "The only person who managed to catch anything was Becky Pierce who caught a nice cabrilla, a 25-pound class yellowtail, and an amberjack." Santa Rosalia fishing weather was calm again on Sunday, with cooling water temperatures at 65 degrees. "No wind, so if we can just get the fish to bite, everything will be wonderful," Anderson said.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Sportfishing articles, maps, and fishing report archives for San Carlos.

MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 20 offshore Aries Fleet boats fishing out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 4 blue marlin under 300 pounds, 7 sailfish, 11 dorado, and 1 mako shark. Thirteen Aries Fleet inshore super pangas continued to do well on mixed species, with a catch of: 40 pargos, 27 red snapper, 54 triggerfish, and 101 sierra. Mazatlan weather was mostly sunny in the mid-80s, with light breezes and inshore and offshore water temperatures averaging 78 degrees. "Most of the sailfish were taken on rigged baits while the blue marlin were best on artificials," Edwards said. "The best Mazatlan offshore fishing area continues to be southwest of the Marina El Cid."

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Osuna of Marla's Sportfishing said his Puerto Vallarta charter fishing boats found very good offshore action for medium-sized and larger yellowfin tuna last week at El Banco, in 85-degree water, excellent sea conditions, and very light north breezes. Anglers Bob Vangrin of Novato, Calif., Mike Moose of San Rafael, Calif., and Kelly O'Ward of San Geronimo, Calif., fished 4 days on the charter boat Marla III and landed more than 45 yellowfin tuna of 100 to over 200 pounds plus a very large black marlin over 800 pounds with Capts. Danny Osuna and Alonso Osuna. Capt. Scott Osuna also found good tuna action during the week, averaging over 8 fish per day. "This week the tuna fishing went wide-open for all the charter boats," Osuna said. "They are taking and nailing any type of live bait we slow troll. There are also some big dorados and sailfish in the area too. We are expecting to have another great week of fishing. El Banco and Roca Corbeteña are loaded with fish."

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Marisela Hernandez of Chelita Sportfishing had a slow day of fishing on the Puerto Vallarta charter boat Chelita. "This has been a great week for tunas at El Banco in small to medium sizes-plus," Hernandez said. "But what happened when I went out fishing yesterday was that the bite slowed down. We put 1 tuna on the boat and I lost 3 others. Overall it was a beautiful fishing day at Puerto Vallarta, with the water nice and warm and a 2 to 4-foot gentle swell. I hope to go out fishing again in a couple more days!"

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Josh Temple of Puerto Vallarta's Prime Time Adventures Sportfishing said, "Offshore fishing this week has set a new high for our charter boat Top Gun. From the first minute you put a bait out until you gaff your last fish, it's pandemonium all day long." A charter trip with Johnny Morris and Bob Rich produced a catch including released fish of 7 yellowfin tuna into the 180-pound class, some sailfish, and a blue marlin in the 400-pound class. "I'd say the boys had a great first day and definitely set the tone for the rest of their trip," Temple said. "You can sure put the smack down on the giants out there right now." Temple also noted that he was picking up Prime Time Adventure's new Puerto Vallarta fleet charter boat the Conquistador, a 40 Cabo Express. "I'm looking forward to getting that baby home in the next few days," he said. "Look for fishing reports from the deck of that machine coming soon."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said very few anglers were present at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo. "According to boat owner Abel Cortez, the area remains with very slow angler activity which is unusual for this time of year," Edwards said. "While hotel bookings are peaking for the holidays, they are filled with non-fishing folks this season. For the few folks that are fishing, the inshore and offshore catches seem to be excellent." A total of 17 inshore and offshore fishing days by the charter boats Dos Hermanos I, Dos Hermanos II, Gran Jefe, Janeth, Secuestro de Amor, and Marlin Azul produced a catch including released fish of: 8 sailfish, 3 yellowfin tuna, 5 dorado, 48 bonito, 39 jack crevalle, and 11 roosterfish. Ixtapa fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-90s, with very light sea surface breezes and water temperatures at 85 degrees inshore and 88 degrees offshore. All of the sailfish were taken on rigged trolling baits. The best offshore fishing area continued to be 15 to 20 miles straight out from Zihuatanejo bay.

HUATULCO, MEXICO: Sportfishing articles, maps, and fishing report archives for Huatulco.