ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet reported a good week on mixed bottom fish for his charter pangas fishing the tip of Ensenada's Punta Banda and 2 halibut of 10 and 14 pounds landed close in by Jorge Taylor of La Bufadora who hooked his flatties on Krocodiles aboard the Vonny I with Capt. Beto.

"They fished the point and landed some nice lingcods, so they came back in for sandbass and Jorge hung his 14 pounder, so he tried again and got 1 more," Villarino said. Panga anglers landing an assortment of rockcods, lingcod, calico bass, and mixed species also included Steve Campbell and Steve Thomas of San Diego.

Ensenada fishing area weather was partly cloudy, with light winds, ocean swells of 2 to 4 feet, and the water temperature at Punta Banda averaging 57 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the boat Bad Dog at Ensenada's Marina Coral reported on a run to the Banda Bank for vermilion rockfish to 6 pounds plus mixed bottom species including starry rockfish, bocaccio, lingcod, and perch in 370-foot deep water averaging 57 degrees.

"Most of the fish were hunkered down with Humboldt squid hovering above the rocks. We picked off vermilions one-by-one," Ross said. "We could not avoid snagging one Humboldt, a smaller 30-pounder. We totaled 8 vermilions using combinations of Berkley Gulps with sardine and market squid chunks. Pieces of the Humboldt squid including tentacles did not perform as well."

Trolling Rapalas earlier at the Punta Banda tuna pens produced no fish in green, 56-degree water. Also fishing aboard the Bad Dog were Gail Ross and Juan Lu. Local Ensenada fishing area weather had afternoon winds to 10 knots and swells to 3 feet.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Mark Rosenthal reported on a run aboard his boat out of Puerto Salina north of Ensenada for a catch including bass and a 40-pound class halibut hooked in 40 feet of water near the Salsipuedes tuna pens north of town. "I used a plastic swim bait with squid on the hook," Rosenthal said. "The week before I caught a 25 pounder farther north. The conditions were perfect due to the protection of this small bay, but the trip home was rough due to wind."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas reported good weather in the San Quintin fishing area with "no winds to talk about" but very few boats going out. "But those few loaded up on rockcod and lingcod," Hillis said. Capt. Hector of the Pedro's Pangas charter boat Rommy said he saw a school of surface yellowtail working bait at the 240 spot but found no takers on iron. "It's looking promising for a good yellowtail year," Hillis said. San Quintin fishing area weather was cold in the mornings but in the low-70s by about 11 a.m.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Stan Vath of Campo Lorenzo reported on an outing with Campo Lorenzo's Larry Biedebach for easy limits of vermilion rockfish and ocean whitefish in 90-foot deep water at 55.5 degrees. "The new electronics worked awesome and we had no problem limiting out on plastics," Vath said. "We cruised on back and had Jardines cook us up a fresh dinner with our wives. We had a great time at the new restaurant where Oscar of K&M Offshore Sportfishing is serving." Vath noted no problems during the Baja drive south to San Quintin. "We had a good run down," Vath said. "There were no tourists or many vehicles on the roads. It looked like the 1970s. It's a shame the recent problems north of here are hurting our local friends in this area. I just travel in the daytime and feel the same as always. There’s a lot of great people down here and we had a blast as usual. We are back on schedule."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: For the previous week, Marita Melville of Don Eddie's Landing reported on a guided trip to the 240 spot by local Capt. Juan Cook aboard the boat Reelin Hazard for limits of rockcod, lingcod to 12 pounds, and whitefish, plus 1 cowcod and 1 Humboldt giant squid. "They saw bonita boiling on the bait fish. There were bonita everywhere," Melville said. "The day before they had caught nothing but bonita so they were trying to catch different types of fish." San Quintin fishing area weather was mostly calm, with the water temperature at 55 to 57 degrees. Fishing aboard the Reelin Hazard were anglers Dave Glinn, Rob Chapman, and John Scanlon of the Los Angeles area.

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said winter whale watching at Magdalena Bay continued but at a slower pace last week as the California gray whales began departing for their northern summer habitat. Few anglers were fishing in the Magdalena Bay area but some locals caught sierra and small yellowtail under birds at the San Carlos entrada plus some snook, grouper, and corvina at Devil's Curve in the mangrove channels. Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was clear in the high-70s, with water temperatures at 66 to 73 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 29 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo and Fish Cabo I, with a catch including released fish of: 261 yellowfin tuna mostly of 10 to 20 pounds, 1 striped marlin, 7 dorado, 16 yellowtail, and 66 sierra. "Offshore yellowfin tuna action continues to set the pace for Cabo San Lucas anglers," Edwards said. "There is an excellent tuna bite continuing 20 to 40 miles south-southwest of Cabo. The main schools of are running with porpoise." Billfish counts were down as Cabo San Lucas sportfishing boats targeted tuna with feathers, Rapalas, iron, and jigs. Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was sunny in the low-80s, with variable water temperatures of about 67 to 68 degrees on the Pacific side Golden Gate Banks and the Cortez side Gordo Banks, rising to about 70 degrees outside the 1,000 fathom curve to the southwest. Live bait supplies were plentiful for mackerel and caballito.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Grant Hartman of Cabo San Lucas' Baja Anglers fly fishing guide service said inshore fly and spinning tackle action was good for sierra mackerel, jack crevalle, roosterfish, and dog snapper. Offshore, football yellowfin tuna were located on porpoise about 30 miles out but striped marlin and dorado counts were down. "The offshore fishing has been really slow for striped marlin and dorado," Hartman said. "Count yourself lucky if you get one a day with conventional gear."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 17 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 5 striped marlin, 35 yellowfin tuna of 20 to 30 pounds, 8 boats with yellowfin tuna limits at 15 to 25 pounds, and 22 dorado of 20 to 25 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: For the week ending Feb. 29, 2008, Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet reported slow billfish action as 21 percent of fleet boats released striped marlin, but 58 percent landed yellowfin tuna or 10 to 25 pounds. "Pisces anglers caught a whopping 725 yellowfin tuna this week," Ehrenberg said. "The better locations were 20 to 25 miles out from the Old Lighthouse and 35 miles straight south of Cabo San Lucas. We are not overly worried by the billfish action. We always have a few weeks, usually around March, when the water gets colder and the fish become indifferent and fussy. Marlin were encountered fairly frequently but getting them to bite was a completely different issue." Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was clear with some wind and chop and water temperatures averaging 68 degrees.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 59 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing out of San Jose del Cabo's Puerto Los Cabos marina, with a catch including released fish of: 425 huachinango or true red snapper of 4 to 12 pounds, 104 Mexican bonito, 21 amberjack, 22 sierra, 3 yellowtail, 13 cabrilla, and 13 roosterfish. Big counts of huachinango were caught on pelagic red crab or langostina baits netted by local pangueros. "The entire Playita fleet, both commercial and sportfishing, were using these red crabs to fish for the prized true Pacific red snapper on various rock piles from the Gordo Banks to Cardon, La Fortuna, and Iman," Brictson said. "Once these huachinango get a taste for red crabs it is hard to catch them on anything else. One of the pangueros received a call early in the week that these elusive crustaceans were being pushed to the surface by giant squid offshore of Chileno. They filled the panga and generously distributed red crabs among the other fishermen at the marina and they were being kept alive in makeshift bait tanks. More often than not the crabs are congregated deep with the fish gorging on them and there is no way to obtain them." San Jose del Cabo fishing area weather was clear in the high-70s, with some north winds to 15 m.p.h., surf that made bait netting difficult, and fluctuating water temperatures cooling to about 64 to 68 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported windy conditions in the high-70s in the East Cape fishing area, with water temperatures at 62 to 68 degrees. "Get out fishing before the sun comes up and chances are you will catch a few sierra," Graham said. "You might also find a few small roosterfish and jacks that are willing." Some boats ran north to the Ensenada de los Muertos area south of La Paz for mossback class yellowtail and good-sized pargo difficult to land over shallow rocks. "Talk about getting rocked. Both of these critters will do so without hesitation," Graham said.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja East Cape fly fishing guide service reported beach water temperatures of 62 to 68 degrees and fish seen but none hooked as an unusual south wind interrupted a fly fishing session with angler Michael Smith of Pennsylvania. "We started out in front of Buena Vista and had a good number of sierra but missed the bite," deBrown said. "In front of Rancho Leonero the wind started to blow strong enough to give us some nice white caps. We decided to make a move north to a slightly more protected spot and had a few more fish chase the fly and teaser but we still could not get a hookup. We then decided to go get a bite at the local taco bar. Michael had his first-ever fish taco and said it was outstanding." East Cape beach fly fishing during a calm period the previous week produced fair to good action for sierra plus some ladyfish, jack crevalle, and small roosterfish.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Chris Moyers of East Cape Smokehouse said, "The overall catch was once again mostly white bonita with some yellowtail and sierra sprinkled in. East Cape had some typical north winds and the fishing is still going on to the north for the most part off Punta Pescadero and Punta Perico with ballyhoo and sardinas."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Simon Cazaly of the Vista Sea Sport East Cape Diving service said big numbers of mobula manta rays were seen during a dive trip at Cabo Pulmo. "I have never seen so many rays in one place," Cazaly said. "There must have been over 2,000 rays surrounding the boat. We just switched off the engine, sat back, and enjoyed the show. We looked down and all we could see was a thick blanket of these beautiful creatures, leaping out of the water and clearing the surface by at least a meter. Several of them almost landed on the boat." Diving at El Bajo in 68-degree water also produced sightings of diamond stingrays, guitarfish, batrays, more manta rays, balloonfish, leopard grouper, bumphead parrotfish, an unknown species of nudibranch, and sea lions.

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Jim Anderson of San Bruno south of Santa Rosalia reported good tides and currents but plenty of wind on the Isla San Marcos yellowtail bajos. "Everyone was blown out for several days but did manage to get a couple of good days in with great tide movement for some fantastic yellowtail fishing," Anderson said. "The fish can't decide whether to work the surface or chase individual baits down deep so it pays off to fish both parts of the water column. Yesterday we picked up a fish on a flylined bait at exactly the same time that we picked up a fish deep." Live bait was hard to find, with most boats using Spanish mackerel caught 175 to 285 feet deep. "The best bet is to have a good depth finder tuned up correctly to show small objects in deep water and move until you find concentrations of bait," Anderson said. "The male yellowtail are starting to really load up with sperm and the females are starting to show good growth of eggs, so catch-and-release seems to be a good thing this time of the year. Circle hooks really help with easing catch-and-release as they are typically stuck in the side of the mouth and generally the hook hole is somewhat elongated by the time the fish gets close to the boat."

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Syd Lindsay of San Lucas Cove said the town of Santa Rosalia was slated to have yet another new Pemex gasoline station. "It's only 300 yards north of the good station at the marina, the one that I recommend," Lindsay said. "This new one should be ready to open in a month or so. I don't know how the old station stays in business." The famous El Boleo copper mine at Santa Rosalia was rumored locally to be planning a reopening in about a year, with jobs for 300 workers.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Jon Jen Charters of San Carlos reported 4 yellowtail in the high-20 pound class plus 2 smaller yellowtail landed and 4 broken off during a run to Isla San Pedro Nolasco. San Carlos boats fishing at the island did well early in the mornings in some south wind and swell.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Bryan Replogle of San Carlos reported a good yellowtail run to Isla San Pedro Nolasco with Bob Nagler while fishing aboard the boat Margarita V in nonstop action for 2 hours for a catch of 12 yellowtail of 15 to 28 pounds. "Yellowtail action is heating up in the San Carlos fishing area at Isla San Pedro Nolasco," Replogle said. "After finally making it out after a month of wind and work, my fish counts are catching up. Last week we had catches of 7, 8, and 12 fish. The east side of the island seems to be where the fish are biting. Early morning trolling has produced, with jigging when the birds leave. The fish are feeding on baby squid." Humpback, finback, and killer whales were also feeding on abundant squid in the water. San Carlos fishing area water temperatures were at 53 degrees inshore and 60 degrees at Isla San Pedro Nolasco.

MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 32 Aries Fleet offshore charter boats fishing out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 124 yellowfin tuna, 2 striped marlin, 4 dorado, 25 skipjack tuna, and 2 jack crevalle. Twelve inshore super pangas had a catch of: 1 striped marlin, 7 yellowfin tuna, 16 pargo, 10 baqueta, 10 triggerfish, 1 lengua, 1 conejo, and 4 barracuda. "The excellent yellowfin tuna bite for Mazatlan fishing boats continued through the early week but slowed up from midweek on," Edwards said. Mazatlan fishing area weather was sunny in the low-80s, with mostly calm seas and water temperatures averaging 68 degrees inshore and 70 degrees offshore. Aries Fleet boats targeted yellowfin tuna with assorted feathers about 20 to 30 miles southwest of Mazatlan.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Gomez of Dhamar Sportfishing reported on an outing with Capt. Alonso Osuna of Marla's Sportfishing for a catch of 15 dorado plus a sailfish released. "We cast live bait to 5 more sailfish and 3 striped marlin but they didn't turn for the bait," Gomez said. "Puerto Vallarta fishing water got warm, 78 degrees north of Punta Mita about 15 to 20 miles."

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Stan Gabruk of Master Baiters Sportfishing & Tackle said, "March sees an increase in tourism with spring break for Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and then Semana Santa finishes it all off. We always see a little lull in the action before spring break and now it's time for the flood of humanity to once again descend upon Puerto Vallarta. With the arrival of the Spring Break crowd, smaller boats like super pangas have been in demand for those with a smaller budget yet the desire to take a shot at some of our world famous game fishing. Closer inshore fishing has improved to the point were a 4-hour trip right now can produce snapper, small dorado, skipjack tuna, jack crevalle, pompano, bonito, and the list goes on, all smaller fish of course, but those looking for great action will find the bay coming back to life."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said sailfish counts stayed low as Ixtapa Zihuatanejo sportfishing boats averaged about 1 sailfish per outing, plus 2 to 4 dorado of 20 to 35 pounds. "High surf has really shut down the inshore bite," Kunze said. "Most of the Mexicans are blaming the high surf and poor fishing on the eclipse of the full moon we had this week, but I believe the full moon phase was more of the culprit and things will really start picking up again next week."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said blue water retreated again to about 25 miles off the beach, but good numbers of 30 to 40-pound dorado were reported in cool green water only 15 miles out. "It was a real oddity," Edwards said. "Sailfish activity has all but shut down since the arrival of the cooler water temperatures." Capt. Chiro of the charter boat Bloody Hook reported 11 quality dorado in 3 outings, plus a 500-pound class black marlin. Good inshore action for bonito, skipjack tuna, jack crevalle, and a few small roosterfish was reported north at Saladita. Ixtapa fishing area weather was in the mid-80s, with water temperatures at 75 degrees inshore and 79 degrees about 30 miles out.

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