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| Around 10% of the world's total fish species can be found just within the Great Barrier Reef. |
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| Starfish can re-grow their arms. In fact, a single arm can regenerate a whole body. |
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| Starfish do not have blood. Their blood is actually filtered sea water. |
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| Starfish don't have brains. Special cells on their skin gather information about their surroundings |
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| Not all animals with the word fish in their names count as fish. |
| Though their names may suggest otherwise, cuttlefish, starfish, and jellyfish aren’t actually fish. Generally-speaking, fishes must have skulls, gills, and fins. Surprisingly, though, not all fishes have proper spines. |
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| In three decades, the world's oceans will contain more discarded plastic than fish when measured by weight, researchers say. |
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| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Just how man species of fish are there? |
| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Even Catfish are finicky |
| Taste Buds ? Catfish have a more refined sense of flavor than humans. Our 10,000 taste buds may seem like a lot, but catfish can have as many as 175,000. This helps them find the exact location of their next meal. |
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| A bit of Humor |
| My brother has 2 German Shepherds named Rolex and Timex. You guessed it they are Watch Dogs. |
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From Jan 01, 1999 To Sep 22, 2025
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Jul 9, 2005; 09:57PM - Blues to Roosters
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The run for the 80˚ blue water is still just a couple of minutes out of Zihuatanejo Bay. The moon cycle is just right and expectantly, the fishing has been very good. The 10 – 12 boats in the fleet fishing the blue water are averaging about three sailfish a day, with several boats posting 4 – 5 fish a day.
We did have a couple of days of port closure, due to a tropical storm that stayed out at sea. But the lack of fisherman for the fleet caused no scheduling problems at all.
The blue marlin are still hanging around, as proven by Captain Santiago on the panga 'Gitana'. His clients, Paul Herder and Bob McGriff of CA, had a double hookup on 200 pound class blues. It was a good thing they were smaller blues because it would have been tough to get them to the leader if they had been any size.
Santiago also fished with Jeff Dixon of Houston and released 5 sailfish. Mel Com of Fremont, CA fished one day with Captain Margarito on the cruiser 'Gaby'. He also caught and released 5 sailfish.
The roosterfish action on the beaches has been very good. Each boat is averaging between 3 and 4 roosters a day. Most of the fish are going about 35 pounds, with several large ones mixed in. Steve Carroll of Tulsa, OK fished with Felipe on the panga 'Yellowfin' for one day. They got two smaller roosters and a nice jack crevalle on live bait. Losing two very large roosters, Steve learned a hard lesson but he will be ready for them next year. Apparently, he is used to striped bass fishing for fish averaging under 10 pounds. When the huge rooster hit, and started taking a lot of line, he locked his thumb down. Twenty pound line with a 50 pound plus rooster attached will not last long with a locked down drag.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 80 - 86
Humidity 79%
Wind: West 8 mph
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT
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Jul 9, 2005; 09:53PM - Summer Settles In at East Cape
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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REPORT #966. 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
We managed to put together an entire week of nice weather and the season just keeps chugging along. The continued lack of sardina along the beaches is both puzzling and exasperating. Tuna continued its role as the crowd pleaser, though the ride could be from 23-45 miles to find them. The billfish are in a bit closer ranging anywhere from 10-40 miles. Billfish made a strong showing as the second most caught fish for the week. Dorado are still not showing up in any quantity, however, the few found are definitely in the lunker class. There were a few sardina found off the beach next to Rancho Leonero a few days ago and the ladyfish were all over them at sunset. The sticks yielded a few small jacks, pompano and a handful of shots at Bubba class roosters cruising close to shore between La Ribera and Bartle Beach.
http://www.bajafly.com/Newsletter/rdsunrise.gif http://www.bajafly.com/Newsletter/rick.yft.gif
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 73-84
Air temperature 82-93
Humidity 64%
Wind: Calm..PM Breeze
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 12 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:08 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Add a few degrees to the sea temp and the ocean explodes with dorado and YFTs. Bob Hoyt reported wide open fishing for both just a few miles outside of Boca Soledad. Inside, the esteros are still trying to get the season going. Look for the water temps to begin to climb inside and the action will pickup quickly. Corvina, grouper, and pargo are beginning to bite at all of the stock spots. I understand that there are plans to hold a Cabrilla Tournament in the near future; we will keep you posted as the plans develop.
Water temperature 62-73
Air temperature 73-78
Humidity 80%
Wind: WSW 15 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:43 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:20 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The run for the 80˚ blue water is still just a couple of minutes out of Zihuatanejo Bay. The moon cycle is just right and expectantly, the fishing has been very good. The 10 – 12 boats in the fleet fishing the blue water are averaging about three sailfish a day, with several boats posting 4 – 5 fish a day.
We did have a couple of days of port closure, due to a tropical storm that stayed out at sea. But the lack of fisherman for the fleet caused no scheduling problems at all.
The blue marlin are still hanging around, as proven by Captain Santiago on the panga 'Gitana'. His clients, Paul Herder and Bob McGriff of CA, had a double hookup on 200 pound class blues. It was a good thing they were smaller blues because it would have been tough to get them to the leader if they had been any size.
Santiago also fished with Jeff Dixon of Houston and released 5 sailfish. Mel Com of Fremont, CA fished one day with Captain Margarito on the cruiser 'Gaby'. He also caught and released 5 sailfish.
The roosterfish action on the beaches has been very good. Each boat is averaging between 3 and 4 roosters a day. Most of the fish are going about 35 pounds, with several large ones mixed in. Steve Carroll of Tulsa, OK fished with Felipe on the panga 'Yellowfin' for one day. They got two smaller roosters and a nice jack crevalle on live bait. Losing two very large roosters, Steve learned a hard lesson but he will be ready for them next year. Apparently, he is used to striped bass fishing for fish averaging under 10 pounds. When the huge rooster hit, and started taking a lot of line, he locked his thumb down. Twenty pound line with a 50 pound plus rooster attached will not last long with a locked down drag.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 80 - 86
Humidity 79%
Wind: West 8 mph
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Seas continued to be less than hospitable for the boats that headed out early in the week.
Most thought that it was worth the effort with high single digit catches to mid double digits catches reported.
The 78˚ blue water was found 45 to 50 miles out and today the seas settled down for the few boats headed out. Not only was the sailfish action decent there were plenty of
dorado and tuna as well.
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 66%
Wind: West 13 mph
Conditions: Thunder Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:41 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:35 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
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Jul 4, 2005; 07:21PM - Sportfishing report week ending 7/2/05
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Category: Guatemala Sport Fishing
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Author Name: Les Kagel
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This past week ending 07-02-2005 saw seas in the one to 3 feet range with windy to very windy days.There were some sportfishing boats that ventured out on Friday and Saturday day with reported releases of sails in the low single digits along some dorado.On Friday the Bora-Bora had 8 releases out of 13 bites/15 raies and the La Piragua / The Tranquility both had 5 sails released.The boats found bluewater out between 18 to 35 miles.There were several reported sightings of Blue Marlin with some raises. One small panga reported that one Blue Marlin came within two feet of landing in their boat. For more information contact us at greatsailfishing@yahoo.com
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Jul 4, 2005; 11:45AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt. George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 27-JULY 3, 2005
WEATHER: A little wind was around this week but it was gentle and blowing from the south for the most part at around 5-10 knots, except for Friday when the clouds looked like race cars as a remnant feeder band from the south raced past us. Along with the feeder band came overcast skies with the threat of rain, but nope, no rainfall happened. Our day time highs were in the high 90’s while our night time lows were in the mid 70’s. We had high humidity accompany the overcast skies.
WATER: Good water on the Pacific side with large swells later in the week... The water was blue and the temperature averaged 77 degrees except for just along the shore where it was tinged with green and dropped in temperature to 75 degrees. On the Cortez side of the Cape almost the exact same conditions applies, temperature and color wise. There were no significant temperature breaks found.
BAIT: Caballito at $2 per bait with a few Mullet in the mix.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: At the end of the week you could tell that the Striped Marlin bite was dying off. There were fewer of them caught even with the good moon phase. There were still fish being found and caught but not in the numbers we were seeing last month. Scattered fish were found at the 1150 and beyond as well as around the San Jaime banks. Blues are starting to show up with a few fish in the 200-400 range being caught and released. A good friend of mine reported hooking the largest Black Marlin he has ever seen and loosing the fish (popping the leader at the side of the boat) after a 30 hour fight and the clients had given up.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: A repeat of last week with Yellowfin taking the “fish of the week” position. The big boys are still out there with at least two over 200 pounds being landed this week. Of course most of the fish are footballs, but there is always the chance at one of the tequila fish. The big gals have been mixed in with the black porpoise. There were also 100 pound fish seen feeding on the Pacific side with no dolphin in evidence but I am not sure if anyone was able to get a hook into them. As normal, small dark feathers for the footballs and the big ones seemed to like live bait or Marlin lures.
DORADO: There have been some nice fish taken this week with an average size of just around 15 pounds, but the big ones were in the 45-50 pound class. Live bait dropped back after a trolling hook up more often than not brought a second fish to the boat. Best bets were just off shore along the Pacific side or out at the San Jaime banks. There were reports of scattered big fish up around the Punta Gorda area as well.
WAHOO: Not as many fish were found as last week, but there were still Wahoo flags flying this week almost every day. Best areas were the Gorda Banks and Punta Gorda. Fish were reported striking in the blind way off shore as well; we got one in the blind on Thursday that was around 55 pounds.
INSHORE: Repeat of last week’s inshore report. Most of the inshore action was concentrated on Roosterfish, as the action became red-hot for fish between 25 and 40 pounds almost everywhere along the coast. Working the rocky points on both sides of the cape, as well as the beach areas resulted in almost all the action you could handle on both the Roosterfish and some nice Pargo. A few Sierras and a few Yellowtails were in the mix as well and they were found on the Pacific side of the cape.
NOTES: Good fishing is here, and while not red hot yet, there looks to be good things happening in the future! This weeks report was written to the music of Boz Scaggs on the 1994 Virgin release “Some Changes”. Happy 4th of July everyone. Until next week, Tight lines!
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Jun 29, 2005; 08:01AM - Summertime fishing heating up
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Damon McKnight
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This past week was up and down as far as the fishing goes. We mostly rig fished and had good results until Sunday. Sunday was very tough unless you like catching bull reds(which are hard to explain why you have to throw them back in federal waters), jack crevalle, and sharks. Plenty of snapper and grouper, a few cobia are showing up but not a whole lot. Yesterday we bluewater fished. The seas were flat calm and we were trying to make an early day of it. We were the first ones out to the tuna hole and managed to get one blackfin, two skipjack tuna, and 2 bull dolphin before calling it a day. The yellow fin tuna fishing has been tough the past few days but the backside of a full moon has been proving itself lately of not producing much of a tuna bite. Although I am not much of a follower of the moon because it is to inconsistent, lately the backside has been. But, the night tuna fishing has been very good. Most of the boats fishing at night have been producing fish. The rip lines are starting to form nicely again and it should be on the next couple of weeks. Today it looks like the weather has taken over offshore so I am glad to have a day off. Back at it tomorrow.
When your ready to fish offshore let us know.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike/800 318 1720
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Jun 27, 2005; 11:48AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt. George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 20-26, 2005
WEATHER: As of the end of the week it is looking really good on the weather front here in Cabo. The winds we had been experiencing for the last few weeks finally died out and since Thursday the weather has been great! Our night time lows have been in the low to mid 70’s while our day time highs have been in the mid to high 90’s, real summer weather for us. We had a very slight sprinkle in some parts of town on Tuesday, just enough to dot the dust on the windshields.
WATER: The Pacific finally lived up to its name, thanks to the wind dying down this week. There were swells but little if any chop out there and many of the boats went in the direction of the Golden Gate and San Jaime Banks looking for fish. The water is just a little green close to shore on the Pacific, and a little cooler than the off shore water at 67-70 degrees, out for a couple of miles. Past that it warms to around 72 at the banks and 73-74 degrees just to the south of the Jaime. On the Cortez side of the cape we have that cool water extending in a plume out to the 95 spot. All the other areas have water in the 72-75 degree range with water up at the East Cape in the 78 degree range. The water color still has a very faint green tinge to it but that should go away soon.
BAIT: Caballito at $2 per bait with a few Mullet in the mix.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: With the coming of the full moon the bite from the Striped Marlin has died down a bit, they are still being found but not in the quantities they were being seen in last week. One of the areas that has been producing them is along the Pacific coast where that cool water and warm water meet. I would venture to guess that one out of 5 boats were able to get hooked up to a Striped Marlin this week, and it was largely a matter of being in the right place at the right time. On an up note, the water is warming up and the Blue Marlin are starting to show up. A few fish in the #200-#300 range have been seen cruising the lure patterns and a few of them have been coaxed into striking. Live bait has been the best producer for the Striped Marlin while lures in dark colors have gotten the attention of the Blue Marlin.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Fish of the week. No doubt about it, with the full moon and the currents changing things busted wide open on small Yellowfin in the football class. Almost any boat that tried was able to catch all they wanted of the Tuna in the 6-15 pound class and there were a few in the 25-35 class as well. Most of the action took place south of the arch early in the week and then moved up the Pacific side. Many of the fish were found via blind strikes with no indicators in the area. Hooking up a multiple on the footballs, once they were in the boat and the lines re-set, passing over the same area would result in strikes again. The larger fish were found with the Dolphin, and the “tequila” fish over #200 were not in evidence as the black Porpoise they were associated with last week have moved on. Feathers and hootchies in all colors worked well on the football fish and cedar plugs and dark colors worked on the slightly larger fish with the Dolphin.
DORADO: Last week I said that the water is warming up so keep your fingers crossed. Well, the water warmed up and it worked! For quite a few boats Dorado may have been the fish of the week. Most of the action was found on the Pacific side, and while it may not have been due to the warmer water I am sure it helped. The main action came as a result of floating Kelp paddies found off shore. As these paddies drifted down from the northern Baja they accumulated a food chain under them and having been untouched until arriving here, they were loaded with fish. The action began on Thursday when boats found the patches up the coast and offshore where the warm water met the cool water. The kelp paddies were anywhere from just a few strands to one we saw that was at least 100 feet in diameter. Live bait worked well as did trolling lures, and if you were the first one to the paddy there was an almost guarantee of getting hooked up. The fish ran from 10 to 40 pounds with most of them around 15 pounds.
WAHOO: Associated with the Kelp paddies and helped by the full moon phase, lots of boats were able to get Wahoo this week. Early in the week it was mostly coastal contour fish, found around the 50 fathom line. At the end of the week the action moved to the kelp paddies. Not being ready for them, a lot of boats were bit off on mono leaders when they first approached the paddies as Wahoo ranging from 20-60 pounds struck before the Dorado got there. The same thing went for working live bait; the Wahoo would bite through the mono leader. Putting on wire leader kept the bite-offs to a minimum but also resulted in fewer Dorado. Let’s see, Wahoo or Dorado, sigh, what a terrible choice to have to make! Heavy metal heads on wire leader as well as “Marauder” type plugs worked very well on the Wahoo and resulted in more fish in the box. It was not uncommon for a boat to be flying between 2 and 6 Wahoo flags if they were the first to a producing kelp paddy.
INSHORE: Most of the inshore action was concentrated on Roosterfish, as the action became red-hot for fish between 25 and 40 pounds almost everywhere along the coast. Working the rocky points on both sides of the cape, as well as the beach areas resulted in almost all the action you could handle on both the Roosterfish and some nice Pargo. A few Sierras and a few Yellowtails were in the mix as well and they were found on the Pacific side of the cape.
NOTES: The fishing is turning on! Keeping our fingers crossed worked and it looks like it is going to be a good way to end the month. I saw three whales the other day, which was a surprise since they were Humpbacks that are normally out of our area by now. This weeks report was written to the music of “Cheap Yellow Mustard” on their self titled album recorded tat the Bakersfield School of Music in 2003. Many thanks to Cameron Melville, the keyboardist, for getting me a copy of this great album, whenever I need a good funky blues lift I pull this one out! Until next week, tight lines!
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Jun 25, 2005; 01:16PM - Summer Cycle
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Category: Guatemala Sport Fishing
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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San Jose, Guatemala
Sporadic rain showers persisted most of the week keeping most of the boats at the dock. The few that ventured out found fair to good action for sailfish out 25 miles and beyond. There were a few blue marlin reported along with plenty of dorado and tuna.
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 94%
Wind: SE 6 mph
Conditions: Thunder Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:37 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:34 p.m. CST
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Jun 25, 2005; 01:15PM - Best Action at 16 miles
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The temperature break was at six miles Thurs., but the blue water was out at the 14 mile mark yesterday (6/24) with most of the action out a few miles further. The results are the same however, with an average of 2 to 3 sailfish per boat a day being taken. However, I believe this is a very short term situation for the blue water, because there has been some fairly severe weather out a couple of hundred miles affecting the currents here.
Yesterday afternoon, Captain Jaime of the Vamonos fleet was telling me he released two sails, but also caught several school-sized tuna in the same 16 mile area, and straight out of Zihuatanejo Bay.
The roosterfish have been tough to get all week, because these same offshore storms have really been kicking up some high surf.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 80 - 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT
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Jun 25, 2005; 01:12PM - Species Galore and Marlin Grabs
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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REPORT #964. 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Summer has definitely arrived with temperatures climbing above the 90˚ mark. Best yet is more marlin this week to keep the clients happy. Dick Haas, manager of Adventure Outfitters, Louisville, fished the entire week. The day he arrived he announced that his goal was to break the century mark on his all-time species list. He was at 95 and looking for five more. He wasn't disappointed and by the week’s end he had added nine more to his list including two marlin. Can't get much better; the first marlin he had ever cast a fly to gobbled it up like a kid eating cotton candy at a County Fair. Don't get me wrong, he did have a couple of tough days chasing Bubba on the beach. Enough shots at Bubba and jacks to leave him shaking his head in dismay. Sooo . . . clever marketers that we are, we held back two more species to assure he comes back next year in search of Bubba and Charley (as in tuna.) Was it a good week? Not bad considering the sardina is still among the missing. It was way ahead of going to the office.
[img]http://www.bajafly.com/Newsletter/haas.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.bajafly.com/Newsletter/haas2.gif[/img]
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 70-82
Air temperature 75-91
Humidity 70%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:08 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Fishing at the entrada produced fair fishing including a few grouper, yellowtail and lots of barracuda. The shark buoys out to the west are producing a few dorado to 15 pounds. With seven commercial net boats fishing for the sardines in the bay, the bait resource is quickly disappearing and the poor fishing being reported is the result this continuing assault on the resource. Two boats fishing Thurs. (6/23) could only come up with a few corvina, cabrilla and grouper. Makes one wonder when the Mexican government will wake up and smell the coffee and stop the carnage.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 70-77
Humidity 90%
Wind: West 15 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:38 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:20 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The temperature break was at six miles Thurs., but the blue water was out at the 14 mile mark yesterday (6/24) with most of the action out a few miles further. The results are the same however, with an average of 2 to 3 sailfish per boat a day being taken. However, I believe this is a very short term situation for the blue water, because there has been some fairly severe weather out a couple of hundred miles affecting the currents here.
Yesterday afternoon, Captain Jaime of the Vamonos fleet was telling me he released two sails, but also caught several school-sized tuna in the same 16 mile area, and straight out of Zihuatanejo Bay.
The roosterfish have been tough to get all week, because these same offshore storms have really been kicking up some high surf.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 80 - 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Sporadic rain showers persisted most of the week keeping most of the boats at the dock. The few that ventured out found fair to good action for sailfish out 25 miles and beyond. There were a few blue marlin reported along with plenty of dorado and tuna.
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 94%
Wind: SE 6 mph
Conditions: Thunder Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:37 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:34 p.m. CST
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Jun 20, 2005; 10:46AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt. George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 13-19, 2005
WEATHER: Things have been improving a little bit on the weather scene here in Cabo. The wind that has been plaguing us for the past month seems to be slowly dying down. It is still blowing in the afternoons but it is starting later and is not quite as strong. This is not to say it has disappeared, but it is getting better out there. Our day time highs have been right around 90 degrees this week and out night time lows in the low 70’s. It is starting to look and feel a little like summer!
WATER: The Pacific side of the Cape is cold and very windy. I went 10 miles out yesterday at 170 degrees and in the 50’ there was no way I was going to turn back up-swell. The wind is slowly dying down but it is still victory at sea out past a mile anywhere north of the light house. With water temperatures ranging from 57 to 67 degrees, why get beat up and break a boat? The only fishing on the Pacific has been close in and close to home. The Sea of Cortez side has been wonderful, especially in the morning before the wind shifts and picks up. The warmer water we have been waiting for is moving in and while there are some swells to deal with, having water up to 79 degrees has meant that there are fish out there! While there has been no strong temperature break, there has been a slight one accompanied by a current line running east-west around 5 miles past the 95 spot and the 1150.
BAIT: Caballito at $2 per bait with a few Mullet in the mix. Very few Mackerel and no Sardinas that I heard of.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Fish of the week was Striped Marlin, no doubt about it. They were concentrated along the current line out past the 95 and 1150 and most boats were having no problem finding the fish, getting them to bite was another story. While some boats have it down to a science and consistently come in with two to six flags flying, others just aren’t able to find the right fish and tossed baits at dozens without a bite. Down-size the leader and hooks, it might work. There were fish between 100 pounds and up to 180 pounds caught this week, and you could see free jumping fish all over the place. The current line was not the only place to find them either, we worked off of Punta Gorda a few day ago and they were all over the place out 12 miles. Listening to the radio I am hearing guys up at the East Cape talk about finding fish within a mile of the beach. It sure is good to hear the action! Live bait worked well and fast trolled lures; in excess of 9 knots did the trick as well. Most of the fish caught and brought to the side of the boat were stuffed with foot long squid, tossing out fresh squid as they thrashed. On a side note, there were two Swordfish reported caught this week, one of them was released by the angler and was reported at around #250, I am not sure of the size on the other fish. And folks, these are fish sighted on the surface during the day, not drifting at night.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin Tuna were a close runner-up for fish of the week Lets see, there are plenty of football size fish south of the arch, and most of them are fairly close to shore and the water is not too bad, but how many fish around 8 pounds so you really need? They are not associated with Porpoise, and the farther out you go the more you get beat up. I did see my first few large fish of the year, but I was not the one who caught it. A Yellowfin in excess of #200 was caught outside the Gorda Banks by a boat working the warm water and Black Porpoise looking for a Blue Marlin. The fish grabbed a blue/white lure (think “flying fish”) and took the first time lady angler 30 minutes to bring to the boat on #80 class line. One other fish weighed in at #280 and was caught by Mark Austin on #40 line, taking him 2 hours and 10 minutes to land. He was fishing in the Lucas Billfish Challenge, a charity tournament raising funds for S.I.D. research. There were a few other reported hook ups on large fish as well but I am not sure if any of them made it back to the dock.
DORADO: The water is warming up so make sure you keep those fingers crossed.
WAHOO: Again, keep those fingers crossed, the fish should show up, at least a few of them as the water warms up.
INSHORE: Some Sierra were still showing up in the catch from the Pacific side as well as a few Yellowtail, but there was no wide open bite on them. Small football Yellowfin showed in quite a few Panga fish boxes and there was the occasional nice Pargo as well. Most of the effort was concentrated on Roosterfish, and they have been making a good showing off the beaches on the Cortez side of the Cape. I have talked to a few anglers who have had luck with them off the beach while surf casting.
NOTES: It is getting more like summer, thank goodness. Before you know it things will bust wide open. I can’t wait! The big Tuna showing up is just a start, at least we hope so! An apology for last weeks music listing, it should have been David Grismon instead of John Grishman on the “Dawgs” album. I listened to it again this week! Until next time, tight lines!
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