Striped marlin and sailfish show for East Cape fishing boats;

Puerto Vallarta roosterfish go wide-open

Mexico Fishing News, April 16, 2007

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said good offshore fishing action last week at East Cape included a first-ever fly rod striped marlin for Jen Hall of Boston, Mass., and a first-ever sailfish for Maria Knutson of Anchorage, Alaska, both with Cecilia "Pudge" Kleinkauf's Women's Flyfishing group.

"Sailfish have arrived early this season," Graham said. "Most of the marlin, sailfish, and dorado action was due east anywhere from 14 to 35 miles. The action continued to build throughout the week. Some boats had as many as 9 flags flying as the north wind chased them back on Friday afternoon." With few sardina chum baits available at East Cape, 2 boats ran north to Isla Cerralvo for sardina and found good fly rod action for skipjack lasting most of the day, Graham said.

Inshore fishing produced a few jack crevalle including a 22 pounder, a few ladyfish, and 1 roosterfish. East Cape fishing area weather was sunny in the mid-80s, with the water temperature at 65 to 78 degrees.

Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 73 charter boats from combined fleets including Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, Punta Colorada, Buena Vista Beach Resort, Rancho Leonero, and Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, with 212 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 85 striped marlin, 14 sailfish, 94 dorado, 8 yellowfin tuna, and 2 cabrilla. East Cape fishing area weather was at 80 degrees, with calm mornings, some afternoon breezes and mild chop, and the water temperature at 62 to 78 degrees. "The billfish bite had a decent number of striped marlin and a handful of sailfish this week," Moyers said. "Sailfish action was reported straight off Los Barriles, 20 to 22 miles, and to the south 10 to 13 miles. Most of the dorado are still in the 15-pound range, mostly to the south between La Ribera and on down off El Faro."

Axel Valdez of Buena Vista Beach Resort reported on 52 boats, with 170 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 48 striped marlin, 1 sailfish, 55 dorado, 6 yellowfin tuna, 3 snappers, 3 jack crevalle, 1 yellowtail, 1 pompano, 27 triggerfish, 12 cabrilla, and 36 skipjack tuna. Fleet boats were fishing as close as 14 miles out. "A lot of fly fishing is being done at the resort, but a lack of sardina has made them focus on offshore," Valdez said. "They have had very good luck."

Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts reported on 130 East Cape charter fishing boats from Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and Punta Colorada, with a catch including released fish of: 130 striped marlin, 20 sailfish, 66 dorado, 8 yellowfin tuna, 35 roosterfish, 1 wahoo, 15 cabrilla, 9 pargo, 12 triggerfish, 10 snapper, 9 sierra, and 8 mako shark. "Striped marlin have invaded the area with most boats reporting multiple hookups," Dalmau said. "The fleet is running east 18 to 30 miles and finding fish in all areas."

Gary Leeper, staying at Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, said, "Fishing picked up a little this week, with plenty of striped marlin everywhere from 10 to 30 miles out, taking lures and bait." Dorado were running to the mid-20 pound range and sierra were still plentiful inshore. Blue water was at 72 to 74 degrees out past 16 miles.

Greg George of Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort said fleet boats got good results on striped marlin during the week. "Some boats got up to 6 marlin per day from about the lighthouse out 10 miles," George said. Up to about 3 dorado per boat were also found, with some as large as 30 pounds, and a few cabrilla were caught on the bottom.

Simon Cazaly of the Vista Sea Sport diving service at Buena Vista reported water temperatures on the Cabo Pulmo coral reef at 72 degrees, with visibility at 30 to 35 feet. An outing during the week to El Bajo and El Cantil produced sightings of thousands of bigeye jacks, plus grouper, Pacific creolefish, yellow snapper, Panamic porkfish, bumphead parrotfish, free swimming moray eel, lobsters, and scallops. "As usual the diving was spectacular," Cazaly said. "The forecast predicts the wind will calm down by the end of the weekend so hopefully by Monday the sea will be nice and flat."

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet said wind and rough seas kept his pangas on the beach during the second half of the week, but Lee Fritz of Cathedral City, Calif., fished on the Vonny I with Capt. Beto on Saturday for 3 nice yellowtail, and Brent Lacher went out with Capt. Hector on the Vonny III for 1 yellowtail plus limits on mixed bottom fish. Earlier in the week, Lester Ellet and George Ambrose of Whittier, Calif., fished on the Vonny I and caught red rockcod and 2 Humboldt giant squid of 30 and 50 pounds. Ensenada fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-60s, with 5 m.p.h. winds, 4-foot ocean swells, and the water temperature at Punta Banda averaging 59 degrees.

Sergio Susarrey of Sergio's Ensenada Sportfishing Center reported on 34 anglers fishing locally aboard the charter boats Shirlee, El Cazador, and Quest, with a catch of: 62 barracuda, 62 bonito, 2 bass, 7 lingcod, 11 rockcod, and 15 miscellaneous fish.

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Fernando Castro of Castro's Camp reported on 20 boats fishing out of Erendira during the week despite some weather cancellations. "This week we had big swells and very strong winds," Castro said. "We had boats canceled, but we didn't lose a single fishing day." Boats fishing out of Castro's Camp continued to report good action for lingcod and red rockcod, plus some bonito on the surface, and big numbers of Humboldt giant squid. Erendira fishing water about 7 miles out was very clear at 56 to 57 degrees.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas said San Quintin area weather was good during the week, but winds knocked out most fishing on Saturday and Sunday. "We are just hoping for better weather this week," Hillis said. On Thursday and Friday, Rich Blazick's group from Arizona loaded up on large rockcods and lingcod, but no yellowtail were reported, Hillis said. The group also caught some large Humboldt giant squid. "They were pretty much taking anything that went down," Hillis said. "They give you good action, but Rich and his group stayed in that area only a short time before moving on."

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Alejandro Rosas of the Club be Pesca Deportiva de Baja California said the club was planning its schedule of Baja fishing for the summer. "Next month our club will start our fishing season," Rosas said. "Our plan is Loreto first, then to Bahia de los Angeles for the tournament, and last to Rancho Leonero at East Cape. We'll also be fishing from San Diego and Ensenada during the albacore season that we expect is going to be excellent." Rosas also noted that he's been catching some 10-pound freshwater bass at his ranch near Tecate, saying, "I'm sure there's an 18 pounder waiting for me to challenge it."

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported Magdalena Bay fishing area weather sunny in the mid-80s, with water temperatures at 65 to 72 degrees. The Magdalena Bay mangrove channels produced moderate but steady action for corvina, small grouper, and pargo. Some small yellowtail and grouper were caught at the San Carlos entrada. Offshore fishing was slowing down in cool water temperatures. "None of the local boats headed out this week and we didn’t hear any reports from boats traveling up or down the coast," Graham said.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Mike Connolly of the charter boat Falcon reported continued strong striped marlin action on the Pacific side and to the south, plus some good yellowfin tuna catches while fishing aboard the boat Gambler with Capt. Billy Miyagama. "The Gambler rolled into Cabo San Lucas fresh off 3 months of fine tuning their tuna technique in Puerto Vallarta and proceeded to slam the big yellowfin around here," Connolly said. "We are talking big tuna, from mine at 144 pounds up to 195 pounds. They got a big yellowfin or two every day they fished. We had several shots on huge fish, quite a display of fishing skill." Multiple-release striped marlin action was found at the San Jaime and Golden Gate Banks and also closer in. "The Gate continues it's remarkable run," Connolly said. "Feeders were everywhere on Saturday. Double-digit releases depended mainly on how many baits could be put in the water. Capt. Manuel had 6 releases on the Falcon, the Trauma had 10, and on and on. Lots of boats had 2 to 4 fish or more."

Earlier, at midweek Connolly reported large numbers of hungry marlin found off Gray Rock and the 95 area with the top boats releasing 4 to 6. "Large numbers of tailers were spotted from the Golden Gate to a mile off Santa Maria Bay as hundreds of stripers were on the move," Connolly said. "Most refused bait, but if you kept firing you could find a group that was in the mood with doubles and triples a possibility."

Connolly also noted that the Falcon's fish report numbers indicate how many marlin were released and how many were hooked, with virtually no marlin kept. "On the Falcon we handle hundreds of marlin," Connolly said. "The number of fish we have had die on us at the boat since November is 2. They are handled carefully and released quickly. If you want one dragged into the boat for a hero shot, sorry."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter panga Cheer's reported on 2 local outings, with a total of 3 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 12 sierra of 3 to 4 pounds, 9 sierra of 5 to 6 pounds, 1 bonito, and 2 cabrilla of 4 and 6 pounds. The Cheer's fished on the Pacific side along the Hotel Solmar in some very rough seas with the water temperature at 68 to 69 degrees, and also on the Sea of Cortez side in front of the Hotel Melia Cabo Real. Fishing aboard the Cheer's during the week were anglers Tom Broucate, Bal Huk, and David Whade.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 47 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo and Fish Cabo I, with a catch including released fish of: 58 striped marlin, 6 dorado, and 35 yellowfin tuna. Edwards noted the continued very steady striped marlin action through this year's winter and early spring seasons. "This has truly been an amazing billfish year at Cabo San Lucas," Edwards said. "Water temperatures have continued to be warm enough to maintain a very good marlin fishery, even if it does change from one local area to another from day to day. There just hasn't been any real 'doldrums' this year and we are pushing mid-April." Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was partly cloudy at 90 degrees, with water temperatures at 70 to 71 degrees on the Pacific side, a cool 66 degrees running south from land's end, and 71 to 73 degrees on the Sea of Cortez side. "The focus seemed to be at the Jaime Bank again this week but some very good fish counts also came from just out in front of Chileno Bay at the edge of the current break," Edwards said.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Todd Hochstedler of Got Caught Fishing reported excellent striped marlin action last week for the charter boats Got Caught and Caught Again, with 7 outings producing 48 stripers released, plus 1 mako shark, and 2 yellowfin tuna. On Thursday, April 5, 2007, the Got Caught reported 18 striped marlin released for anglers Richard Benedict, Tom D'Agostino Jr., and Tom Merritt.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Grant Hartman of Baja Anglers said the Cabo San Lucas fishing area had some very large swells to 12 feet during the week. "Even though the swells were big, making it difficult to fish the surf line, we still caught a ton of sierra on the Pacific side and a few really big jacks," Hartman said. Offshore fishing remained very good for striped marlin on the Pacific side Jaime and Golden Gate Banks. Fly fishing tackle angler Robert Ichelberger of Birmingham, Ala., got into a hot feeding school on the Golden Gate Bank and landed his first-ever striped marlin after a 2-hour fight on a 13WT rod. "Robert made the perfect cast," Hartman said. "He put a solid 10 to 12 pounds of pressure on this fish at all times. He has landed many on conventional tackle."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing said inshore fishing produced some wide-open action for sierra during the week. "Later in the week was better," Landrum said. "A couple of pangas came in after 5 hours with 40 fish. Fishing for other species was slow, but with sierra action like that, who cared?" The Cabo San Lucas fishing area had big swells until midweek, calming by the weekend, with water temperatures cool directly south of the arch, and about 68 to 70 degrees to the east and west. Some boats got into yellowfin tuna of 60 to well over 100 pounds on the Pacific side. "They were on the surface at infrequent intervals, but a few boats were able to catch some while using 50-pound fluorocarbon leader and live bait dropped deep. Lots of rigs were lost due to cutoffs, but that was the way to get the tuna to bite. I heard of a few in the 200-pound class but didn't see one."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jorge Navarro of Pisces Fleet Sportfishing reported 84 percent of charters releasing marlin last week, 11 percent catching dorado, just 1 boat with yellowfin tuna, and 89 percent with all species combined. A total of 135 striped marlin were caught during the week, and 125 released. "The seas were a bit rough, making a few clients coming back empty handed," Navarro said. "We are still waiting for tuna and dorado to start biting." Most boats fished the Golden Gate and Jaime Banks on the Pacific side, with a few going up the Sea of Cortez to Chileno and Santa Maria. Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather had some seas to 4 and 5 feet, calming by the weekend.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 11 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 18 striped marlin.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jesus Cota of Solmar Fleet said striped marlin fishing was very good at the end of the week. "The fishing is consistent now, with at least 20 striped marlin released each day and many days with over 20 releases," Cota said. "The blue water has been best, with lines in at 10 miles. The action has been constant all day with a steady bite from early morning until the end of the day."

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 56 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing off San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 285 mixed pargo species, 152 sierra, 3 striped marlin, 88 pompano, 6 yellowfin tuna, 11 dorado, 28 cabrilla, 9 grouper, 39 bonito, 8 amberjack, 15 jack crevalle, and 34 triggerfish. San Jose del Cabo fishing area weather was at 80 degrees, with water temperatures of 68 to 71 degrees, strong currents, and surf returning to normal after a period of big swells. "There were good supplies of mackerel and sardinas available and the sardinas were of very healthy size," Brictson said. "Inshore action for pangas continued to be very good, giving great sport on lighter tackle and live sardinas. The best action was in 50 feet of water or less while drifting or slow trolling sardinas."

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Bill Reeves of Temecula, Calif., reported on a surf fishing session at San Jose del Cabo, using 10-pound spinning tackle for a nice gafftopsail pompano caught 10 feet from shore on a Kastmaster, plus a jack crevalle of 2.5 pounds, 2 needlefish, and 2 croaker on Carolina rigged Fishbites bloodworms.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said Las Arenas side action was generally slower last week, with no yellowtail or yellowfin tuna caught and most pangas focusing on pargo lisa, cabrilla, and sierra at Punta Perico. Winds arriving on Friday stopped pangas from running north, but some were able fish the south end of Isla Cerralvo. Sardina baits were in good supply at the island. Anglers fishing with Tortuga during the week included John Cannon of Long Beach, Calif., who had good results on pargo and cabrilla with Capt. Jorge Lucero. Las Arenas side weather over the weekend was in the 80s.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International reported on-and-off southern winds and a pick bite some days on the La Paz side. "There's tonnage of roosterfish in the 30 to 60-pound class at Isla Espirtu Santo," Roldan said. "Some days they bite and the next they only put an an aquarium show. Anglers can clearly see dozens of fish around them. It's the same at Isla Cerralvo and Las Arenas. Yellowtail and pargo are all over one day, but won't bite. The next day it can change completely with lots of sierra mixing it up with cabrilla."

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Patty Zapata of Loreto's Hotel Oasis reported good yellowtail action when winds permitted pangas to fish. On Saturday, 10 pangas fished in windy conditions tight to Isla Coronado and caught only 4 yellowtail and 3 pargo to about 15 pounds. But 4 other outings before the wind arrived produced 28 yellowtail, 5 cabrilla, 8 pinto bass, and 5 triggerfish at a bajo between Punta Pulpito and Isla San Ildefonso. "There were a lot of birds in the area and plenty of yellowtail," Zapata said, "but they were eating sardina de aceite, and it took a while to get the fish to bite mackerel." Anglers fishing out of the Hotel Oasis during the week included: Dennis and Virginia Akers, Allen and Winnie Bonslett, Ted and Cornelius Colfescu, Ed Pesca, Rick Hudson, John Lange, Don Green, Grant and Eleanor Merrit, Dale White, Chris and Kip Adams, George Williams, Mr. Galinski, Kevin Conway, and Bill Banducci.

Mitchell Rose of the boat Helena with Capt. Tito Davis reported good yellowtail action the previous Friday while fishing 33 miles north of Loreto at Punta Pulpito. "We loaded up," Rose said. "They were all over Helena. Five boats continued going north and we all looked at each other in amazement. Why aren't they stopping? The only boat with us was Arturo's new cruiser." Loreto fishing area weather was calm as the Helena ran 250 miles in 3 days, including a circuit of Isla Carmen. The town was full of spring break vacationers.

Kit Halvorsen of Honolulu reported on his recent Baja Boys yellowtail tournament at Loreto, with a group of 24 anglers fishing 2 days over the first weekend in April from Punta Perico to Isla Catalan. Halvorsen's boat caught the most weight in the tournament, with 12 yellowtail totaling 311 pounds. "I was fishing with Manuel 'Mello' Torres of Torres Sportfishing and we decided to take a chance and head south to Boca Seca reef about 10 miles off the southern end of Isla Catalan between Catalan and Isla Santa Cruz," Halvorsen said. "There were a few trailer boats brought down from the States and a couple of commercial pangas working from nearby trawlers. Fishing was good and we had our first yellowtail within 20 minutes. We ended the day with 8 yellowtail, most between 26 and 28 pounds, with the largest going 30.13 pounds. On day two, 8 of the 11 boats brought fish to the scale."

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

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MULEGE, MEXICO: Roger Pramhus of Bahia Coyote reported on a run north of Islas Santa Inez for good surface action on 3 yellowtail of about 25 to 28 pounds. "After making our usual bigeye baits, we boated north from Mulege while watching a beautiful sunrise," Pramhus said. "The birds did their job by showing us where to cast. My buddy caught the first one by casting live bait near a boil. I free spooled a bunch of line out and gave it about a 10 count before just easing into gear and let my fish set the hook by itself, and bam, he was on. Mi compadre gets another taker about the same size and weight and we had 3, a pretty good day without even getting to our normal hole." Mulege fishing area water temperatures were at 76 degrees as Pramhus fished in about 240 feet of water at the islands.

SANTA ROSALIA FISHING REPORTS

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SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos reported a slow fishing week in the Santa Rosalia area, with high winds blowing dust from the west. "I washed dirty water off my boat windscreen, that's a first. Kind of like raining dirt," Kanzler said. Air temperatures were at 80 degrees. Water temperatures were cool at 67 to 70 degrees, with low visibility of about 15 feet around Isla San Marcos and about 25 feet farther out at Isla Tortuga. Kanzler was blown off the water on Tuesday and Wednesday, but did get out to Isla Tortuga on Thursday for a catch of 6 yellowtail of 22 to 25 pounds at the southwest corner of the island on 12-inch mackerel baits and sliding sinkers. Kanzler also noted that his 9-year-old son Michael scored the winning run against Los Cabos to take the Baja California Sur Little League Championship for the Múlege All Star team in a game played during in the week in Múlege. "This game was a dinger," said proud dad Kanzler. "The batter got a piece and it's 8-7 with Da Boy crossing home."

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES (L.A. BAY) FISHING REPORTS

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BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Abraham Vazquez of Camp Gecko at the south end of Bahia de los Angeles reported good weather in the low-80s with slower fishing in 62-degree water for some yellowtail showing at the south end of Isla Angel de la Guarda and good catches of leopard grouper at local islands and north on the Baja shore at Punta Remedios. Continuing infrastructure improvements in town included the installation of 100 new telephone numbers, work on the new boulevard, a second Pemex gasoline station about to open, and electrical power brought in as far as Punta Prieta. Vazquez confirmed that Camp Gecko was permanently closed to short-term visitors. "That means no reservations and no camping or cabins available anymore," he said. "Bahia de los Angeles had lots of people for a couple of days during the holiday but is now back to normal."

Roger Crenshaw of Chula Vista, Calif., reported cool weather at San Francisquito with water temperatures down to 56 to 61 degrees, variable winds from different directions, and yellowtail biting on the surface. "The normal catch for the day is about 12 yellowtail to 15 pounds, 10 cabrilla, and some whitefish," Crenshaw said. "There's plenty to eat and have fun with, but nothing big yet. Bait fish have not showed yet but expect them in the next 3 weeks."

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Catalina Meders of San Felipe's Title Company Bookstore said local weather was near-perfect at 74 degrees, with the bay a sparkling blue and crowds of vacationers still very heavy following the Easter weekend. "Last week it seemed as if there were more people in town than I've ever seen before," Meders said. "My husband Ed drove up to the States at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning and he called to tell me he has never seen so much traffic at that hour of the morning and nearly all of it heading into San Felipe. He did pass two very bad accidents, but said people seemed to be driving very responsibly. The upside is that most people had a wonderful time and the street vendors and small stores are doing terrific business..

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: John Hilderbrand of Jon Jen Charters said early season marlin were seen and dorado were reported caught south of San Carlos last week. "We had a couple boats go south yesterday and they caught dorado about 26 miles out at 180 degrees," Hilderbrand said on Friday. "Today several boats went out but conditions changed. They saw marlin 5 miles out..

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 21 offshore Aries Fleet boats out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 9 striped marlin, 2 sailfish, 4 dorado, and 1 mako shark. Nine inshore super pangas had a catch of: 15 triggerfish, limits of mojarra, 3 cabrilla, and 15 pargos. Of the slow offshore bite, Edwards said, "Conditions are near perfect. Perhaps it's just a timing thing. Right now, about 50 percent of the offshore boats are drawing blanks. Even inshore catches have dwindled a bit." Mazatlan fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-80s, with light breezes and water temperatures at 74 degrees inshore and 75 degrees offshore.

Enrique Izquierdo of Ifishmexico said a special 50 percent discount was being offered for their Surf Buggy surf fishing trips for anglers who reserve any saltwater or freshwater fishing trip by August for any period. "We are giving our customers a new way of fishing, introducing the off-road vehicle and surf fish trips to the most beautiful and quiet beaches of Mazatlan," Izquierdo said. Information, 888-745-2054, kiki@ifishmexico.com.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Osuna of Marla's Sportfishing said Puerto Vallarta trips by the charter boats Marla II, Marla III, and Arca de Noe found very good big roosterfish action last week at Litibu, 2 miles north of Punta Mita. "We had perfect inshore fishing," Osuna said. "The roosters went wide-open. We were catching up to 15 roosterfish a day from 45 to 60 pounds. These fish were feeding really heavy, chasing big bait balls of sardines, and they hit the live caballito baits wide-open, with up to 4 hooked up at the same time." Inshore fishing also produced very good action on pompano, mixed pargos, dorado, and grouper. The Marla II also scored offshore on 30 yellowfin tuna of 30 to 80 pounds about 15 miles northwest of El Banco. Anglers fishing with Marla's Capts. Danny Osuna, Scott Osuna, and Alonso Osuna during the week included Terry Jasinki, Dave Galm, Alan Dantas, Joe Schwall, K.J. Wildrick, William Galm, Bill Galm, Dan Luckenbach, and Mike Pearl. Puerto Vallarta fishing area weather had some swell and north winds, with the water temperature at 76 to 78 degrees.

Danny Gomez of Dhamar Sportfishing said his charter super panga Dhamar fished at buoys 10 to 15 miles off Punta Mita last week for good results on dorado, sailfish, and striped marlin. "We also have roosterfish along the beaches," Gomez said. "On one trip out to Roca Corbeteña, we caught 8 dorado and a pargo, and we lost 3 more pargos." Puerto Vallarta offshore fishing waters were at 78 degrees, with the color slightly green.

Myles Lineberger of Puerto Vallarta Today said, "Inshore, we have the best roosterfish fishing of the year. Lots of roosters in the 20 to 60-pound range are being caught. They have been biting all day but the late afternoon bite has been the best. Live bait is still the best but lures will take some fish. The best roosterfish action has been in the Litibu area, but always look around the buoys."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said, "There are definite signs of improvement. However, Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing still remains on the slow side. We were hit by a 6.3 earthquake at midweek centered about 60 miles south of Zihuatanejo. The game fish absolutely refuse to bite for at least 24 hours after a quake." Capt. Santiago on the charter panga Gitana reported 4 or 5 sailfish raised per day offshore and 1 blue marlin that came unbuttoned for anglers Dan and Alicia Sauder. Inshore fishing was also slow for a few black skipjack and smaller jack crevalle. "May will be here in a few weeks, and May is usually one of our best months for tuna and marlin," Kunze said. Ixtapa fishing area weather was partly cloudy at 90 degrees, with the water temperature at 80 to 84 degrees.

Paul Phillips of the Fintastic Total Tag & Release Tournament said Capt. Rene on the charter boat Vamanos II scored a double on striped marlin. "That little temblor last night will put the surface and surf fish to rest," Phillips said. "About Tuesday they are going to say, I'm hungry, let's eat. Now is the time, if you want some bottom fish or lobsters. The temblor drives them out of the hidey holes and they don't won't to go back."

Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported 6 blue marlin averaging 225 pounds landed on Thursday by the fleet. Offshore boats also reported about 2 sailfish per day. Roosterfish continued to be absent. "Angling pressure was light last week," Edwards said. "A large swell and some rough seas made inshore waters much more difficult to fish than offshore waters." Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing area weather was partly cloudy and windy in the low-90s, with seas moderate to rough and water temperatures at 76 degrees inshore and 83 degrees offshore.

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 22 outings by the El Cid Caribe sportfishing fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with a catch including released fish of: 2 white marlin, 5 sailfish, 1 wahoo, 1 amberjack, 6 dorado, 1 Spanish mackerel, 6 dog snapper, 9 giant barracuda, and 28 king mackerel of 10 to 17 pounds. "White marlin have started to show up," Edwards said. "We expect continued increases in sailfish and marlin through the end of July, with May-July being the peak months." Cancun fishing area weather was partly cloudy at 90 degrees, with easterly winds to 14 knots, some surface chop, and water temperatures stable at 82 degrees. Ballyhoo, or halfbeak, baits continued in plentiful supply as boats fished about 2 miles out of Marina El Cid Caribe.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico Fishing Photo 1

RED-HOT ROOSTERS--Terry Jasinki of Flossmoor, Ill., got into last week's excellent Puerto Vallarta roosterfish bite with Capt. Scott Osuna of the Marla's Sportfishing charter boat Arca de Noe. Working northwards from Punta Mita they filled the Arca de Noe's fish box with pompano and pargo before getting into very hot roosterfish action with up to 4 hooked at a time. At right, The Arca de Noe closes in on some wild roosterfish action at Litibu north of Puerto Vallarta. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DANNY OSUNA.

East Cape Mexico Fishing Photo 1

KAYAK CREVALLE--Laura Broscow of Orange County, Calif., scored a nice light tackle jack crevalle from a kayak last week at East Cape's Rancho Leonero during an outing with Dennis Spike of Coastal Kayak Fishing. With her is Rancho Leonero's Capt. Ramon Agundez. At right, Adam Broscow, 9, at Rancho Leonero with a beautiful kayak caught roosterfish. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DENNIS SPIKE.

East Cape Mexico Fishing Photo 3

EAST CAPE FLY FISHING--Jen Hall of Boston, Mass., fished with East Cape's Baja On The Fly last week and caught her first-ever striped marlin on fly fishing tackle with Pudge Kleinkauf's Women's Flyfishing group. Also caught during the week was a first-ever fly tackle sailfish for Maria Knutson of Anchorage, Alaska. PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY GRAHAM.

Ensenada Mexico Fishing Photo 1

IVAN THE TERRIBLE--Lester Ellet, left, and George Ambrose of Whittier, Calif., fished at Ensenada's Punta Banda last week on one of Ivan Villarino's Vonny's Fleet pangas and landed this pair of voracious and aggressive Humboldt giant squid at 30 and 50 pounds, plus a bag of red rockcod. They fished with Vonny's Fleet's Capt. Beto Zamora. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 1

TUNA AT CABO--Mike Connolly, left, of the Cabo San Lucas charter boat Falcon, fished at Cabo last week on the boat Gambler with Capt. Billy Miyagama, right, for a catch including this 144-pound yellowfin tuna landed by Connolly and another 195 pounder. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE CONNOLLY.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 2

CORTEZ SIDE SIERRA--David Whade of Seattle, Wash., fished last week close to shore on Cabo San Lucas' Sea of Cortez side for a good inshore catch of 9 sierra and 2 cabrilla with Capt. Ramon Druck of the charter panga Cheer's. At right, a very nice flag cabrilla caught by the Cheer's. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 4

GAFFTOPSAIL POMPANO--Bill Reeves cast 10 feet from shore with 10-pound spinning tackle at San Jose del Cabo and hooked this elegant gafftopsail pompano on a Kastmaster jig. Other fish caught during the morning session included croaker, needlefish, and jack crevalle. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL REEVES.

Mexico Fishing Photo 1

CABO PACIFIC STRIPERS HOT--Fly fishing tackle angler Robert Ichelberger, right, of Birmingham, Ala., pulled his first-ever striped marlin on the fly out of a big school of feeders at the Golden Gate Bank last week with Grant Hartman, left, of Baja Anglers. Ichelberger fished on the Cabo San Lucas charter boat Flying Fish III with Hartman as captain and guide. PHOTO COURTESY OF GRANT HARTMAN.

San Jose del Cabo Mexico Fishing Photo 2

GREAT CABOS JACKS--Michael Brady, left, of Pasadena, Calif., fished at San Jose del Cabo on Sunday with Gordo Banks Pangas' Capt. Chame Pino, and their catch included this beautiful golden jack held by Brady and a big African pompano held by Capt. Chame. The excellent jack fishing action was found at a local shipwreck on live sardina baits. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC BRICTSON.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 1

LAS ARENAS MULLET SNAPPER--John Cannon of Long Beach, Calif., fished the Las Arenas side south of La Paz last week and hooked some nice cabrilla and this mullet snapper, or pargo lisa in Spanish, on a panga with Capt. Jorge Lucero of Tortuga Sportfishing. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 2

LA PAZ MIXER--With fishing conditions variable last week, La Paz anglers concentrated on mixed species close to shore. Arizona anglers Gary Palese, left, and Bob Robbins scored this nice cabrilla and pargo lisa combo plus a load of sierra while fishing the Las Arenas side with Tailhunter International. PHOTO COURTESY OF JONATHAN ROLDAN.

Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 1

LORETO YELLOWTAILS NORTE--Marcos Altaffer and Russ Madox ran north from Loreto last week on a Hotel Oasis panga with Capt. Poncho Susarrey for good action on yellowtail to 25 pounds between Punta Pulpito and Isla San Ildefonso.

Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 2

LORETO FISH BOX--Mitchell Rose fished out of Loreto aboard his boat Helena with Capt. Tito Davis for a big load of yellowtail at Punta Pulpito while other local fishing boats ran past them headed further north. "We looked at each other in amazement," Rose said. "Why aren't they stopping?" PHOTO COURTESY OF MITCHELL ROSE.

Mulege Mexico Fishing Photo 1

SANTA INEZ YELLOWTAIL--Gary Bendix of Bahia Concepción south of Múlege fished on Roger Pramhus' boat at Islas Santa Inez just north of town for a catch including 3 of these quality yellowtail on birds and surface bait. Múlege spring fishing waters were at 76 degrees. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROGER PRAMHUS.

Santa Rosalia Mexico Fishing Photo 1

NOT SO SLOW--Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos considered overall Santa Rosalia fishing conditions rather slow last week, but a run out to Isla Tortuga with anglers Lance Hatfield, left, and Alex Lorens still produced 6 yellowtail of 22 to 25 pounds caught on big mackerel baits and sliding sinkers. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE KANZLER.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico Fishing Photo 3

VALLARTA PANGA SNAPPER--Fishing offshore of Puerto Vallarta last week aboard the charter super panga Dhamar with Capt. Danny Gomez produced good mixed species action including one outing for 8 dorado and hard hits for 1 of these dog snappers plus 3 more lost. PHOTO COURTESY OF DANNY GOMEZ.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico Fishing Photo 4

WAY OUTSIDE TUNA--The hardcore Puerto Vallarta charter boat Marla II with Capt. Danny Osuna fished far out into the Pacific, running about 15 miles west of El Banco, about 65 miles total, and found excellent yellowfin tuna action on trolled Marauders, scoring 30 fish of 30 to 80 pounds for New York anglers Dave Galm, Alan Dantas, Joe Schwall, K.J. Wildrick, William Galm, and Bill Galm. PHOTO COURTESY OF DANNY OSUNA.

Baja California Sur Mexico Little League Baseball Photo 1

COFFIN NAIL KANZLER!--Nine-year-old Michael Kanzler, son of Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos, knocks out the hopes of the Los Cabos Little League All-Stars as he scores the winning run for Múlege in the Baja California Sur championship game last week. Michael's proud dad said of the 8-7 victory, "That was all she wrote! I'm still buzzing!" PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE KANZLER.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES