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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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Feb 12, 2005; 01:38PM - Close and Double Digits...WOW
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Category: Guatemala Sport Fishing
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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San Jose, Guatemala
Conditions in Guatemala have been unusual with the fleet putting the teasers out just a few miles from the marina. I only have stats from Thurs. (2/10), where boats on the conventional side released 156 of 217 hooked sails. On the fly-side, 13 of 31 hooked sails were released. There were also some stellar performances with one boat that had a 90% hookup ratio on 40 raised sails. No marlin to report this week, but the dorado made a strong showing. Inshore, there were several roosters released in one afternoon of fishing.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 77 - 82
Humidity 94%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:27 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:07 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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Feb 12, 2005; 01:36PM - Finally! A Great February
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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The blue water is only a mile off the beach and the sailfish fishing has been very good. Historically, Feb. is one of our very best months. But, the last three years has seen a 150 boat kill tournament at the end of Jan., and unseasonable cool water moving in about the second week, essentially shutting everything down. This year, we were able to eliminate the kill tournament (which is another story), and the current has cooperated.
Client Jim Rainey of Denver fished with Captain Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II earlier in the week, and released eight sailfish on conventional gear. The next day, Cheva went back out to the same spot and released 10. While guiding Tim Martin and Russ Coleman of Houston, with Cheva yesterday (Fri.), we raised one blue marlin and six sails. We were fly-fishing with only two hookless teasers out. Russ hooked two sailfish, and missed one. We backed the missed fish up with live bait, a circle hook, 30-pound gear, and shortly Tim had his first ever sailfish released. With nothing on the boat other than flyrods or 30 pound gear, we did not even try for the marlin.
Captain Santiago, on the panga Gitana, is averaging about five tagged and released sailfish a day, for this last seven days. And, for some interesting competition, his brother Adan, on the new Gitana II, is doing exactly the same.
The blue marlin are finally showing up in decent numbers. The 38-foot cruiser Yellowfin II has raised five marlin in three days and hooked one. The released fish was estimated at about 250-pounds.
(On a special note, I want to thank David Holts, of the NOAA in La Jolla, for sending me another 250 tags for tagging and releasing the billfish. I distribute them to all the captains. Please, when you come down here to Zihuatanejo, bring some of the Billfish Foundation or NOAA tags with you. E-mail me if you need instructions on how to get them.)
I may have to eat a few words I have written in the last couple of weekly fish reports. I thought the roosterfish, in catchable numbers, were out of here, at least for the time being until their appearance again in July. However, Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fishing with a client from England, caught 18 jack crevalle and six roosters Thursday (2/10). They got the roosters on poppers and slow-trolled live bait near the antennas location, 26 miles south. Then yesterday, Martin on the panga Isamar, went 15 miles north and hooked four nice roosters on live bait. All the roosters were in the 30- to 40-pound class.
Inshore, several nice sierra to eight pounds have been taken.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 87
Humidity 83%
Wind: West 11 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:14 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:46 p.m. CST
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Feb 12, 2005; 01:34PM - That Glimmer of Light Looks Like Spring
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind is out of the east at about 10 knots and cloudy the last few days including scattered rain showers. The surf is large, but not choppy. The water is warming and clearing. Fishing is good for marlin and OK for dorado. Sierra are hard to find. A Buena Vista boat went out on Tues. (2/8) and caught one marlin, two dorado and two tuna. A “tin boat” angler went out yesterday, landed a dorado and hooked a marlin close to shore. Pink and purple seem to be the preferred colors. Shore fishing has been slow, but a few ladyfish were chasing bait yesterday off the beach here. First ladyfish I have seen in awhile.
Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature 70-74
Air temperature 66-69
Humidity 88%
Wind: West 4 mph
Conditions: Light Rain
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:52 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:13 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Wind and rain dominated the area this week. Whale watchers needed slickers to stay dry. No one seemed to mind as there are plenty of whales and even a few with calves already. The trip out to the entrada yielded small yellowtail, barracuda and a few leopard grouper. The trick is getting your fly down deep enough in the water column for the grouper. For the first time this year, Devil’s Curve produced a couple of decent snook – one 16-pounds and the other 12. Weather reports call for improving conditions during the week. Anyone want to get snookered? Up at Lopez Mateos the Whale Festival is in full swing and the town is packed with tourists who couldn’t resist the combination of whales and a party.
Water temperature 69-75
Air temperature 62-69
Humidity 25%
Wind: WNW 15 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:14 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is only a mile off the beach and the sailfish fishing has been very good. Historically, Feb. is one of our very best months. But, the last three years has seen a 150 boat kill tournament at the end of Jan., and unseasonable cool water moving in about the second week, essentially shutting everything down. This year, we were able to eliminate the kill tournament (which is another story), and the current has cooperated.
Client Jim Rainey of Denver fished with Captain Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II earlier in the week, and released eight sailfish on conventional gear. The next day, Cheva went back out to the same spot and released 10. While guiding Tim Martin and Russ Coleman of Houston, with Cheva yesterday (Fri.), we raised one blue marlin and six sails. We were fly-fishing with only two hookless teasers out. Russ hooked two sailfish, and missed one. We backed the missed fish up with live bait, a circle hook, 30-pound gear, and shortly Tim had his first ever sailfish released. With nothing on the boat other than flyrods or 30 pound gear, we did not even try for the marlin.
Captain Santiago, on the panga Gitana, is averaging about five tagged and released sailfish a day, for this last seven days. And, for some interesting competition, his brother Adan, on the new Gitana II, is doing exactly the same.
The blue marlin are finally showing up in decent numbers. The 38-foot cruiser Yellowfin II has raised five marlin in three days and hooked one. The released fish was estimated at about 250-pounds.
(On a special note, I want to thank David Holts, of the NOAA in La Jolla, for sending me another 250 tags for tagging and releasing the billfish. I distribute them to all the captains. Please, when you come down here to Zihuatanejo, bring some of the Billfish Foundation or NOAA tags with you. E-mail me if you need instructions on how to get them.)
I may have to eat a few words I have written in the last couple of weekly fish reports. I thought the roosterfish, in catchable numbers, were out of here, at least for the time being until their appearance again in July. However, Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fishing with a client from England, caught 18 jack crevalle and six roosters Thursday (2/10). They got the roosters on poppers and slow-trolled live bait near the antennas location, 26 miles south. Then yesterday, Martin on the panga Isamar, went 15 miles north and hooked four nice roosters on live bait. All the roosters were in the 30- to 40-pound class.
Inshore, several nice sierra to eight pounds have been taken.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 87
Humidity 83%
Wind: West 11 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:14 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
Conditions in Guatemala have been unusual with the fleet putting the teasers out just a few miles from the marina. I only have stats from Thurs. (2/10), where boats on the conventional side released 156 of 217 hooked sails. On the fly-side, 13 of 31 hooked sails were released. There were also some stellar performances with one boat that had a 90% hookup ratio on 40 raised sails. No marlin to report this week, but the dorado made a strong showing. Inshore, there were several roosters released in one afternoon of fishing.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 77 - 82
Humidity 94%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:27 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:07 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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Feb 7, 2005; 12:15PM - Daily Catching Reports
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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
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 3, 2005
I fished today with Jay and Ted on the 46’ Hattaras. Jay has fished Maui four times looking for Marlin and finally managed to get one that weighed 148 pounds. Ted has never fished saltwater before. Jay wants to try and beat his record weight on Marlin and also try and catch a Dorado, Ted just wants to catch a fish. The water is in great condition with small swells from the NW and almost no wind at all. We started out pulling lures right off the Arch since there had been fish in the area a few days ago. We worked out about 6 miles and had no luck so I started us in toward the lighthouse. My deckhand heard on the radio that a Panga working that area had hooked up two Marlin, so off we went. When we arrived there were 9 other boats there, and all of them were drifting live bait. I decided to make a pass around them trolling lures while looking for the concentration on bait. Halfway around on the pass we got hit on the short outrigger and Jay got into the chair. His fish had one hook in the upper jaw and one fish in the lower so the fight was fairly quick. In about 20 minutes or less he had the Marlin to the boat for a release, and the healthy #140 Striped Marlin swam away to fight another day. We put the lures back in the water and as we finished the pass we had a strike on the shotgun line. That was a nice fish and really started screaming line out. As we started to pass that rod down for Ted we had another Marlin come up on the long rigger and take it. The rigger fish started jumping right away and just as it completed the first three jumps the shotgun fish came off. Ted settled into the fight and it took him about 35 minutes to work the fish to the boat for a good release. His fish was a bit smaller at around #130 but put on a great show for us! By the time we had released the second fish there were 30 boats in the area. We decided that if the fish were that concentrated we might have good luck with lighter line and live bait s we tried it for about an hour but did not have a bite. That was it for the day but even though we caught no other fish, the guys were very happy. So were my deckhand and I, it is nice to be able to catch what the client wants because it often doesn’t work out that way! Thanks guys, we hope to see you again next year.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 4 FEBRUARY, 2005
Today I took the owner of the 50’ Viking and two friends out. Herb invited his regular guest John and also a friend, Richard. We had heard about some decent Yellowfin being caught yesterday out almost due south between 25 and 35 miles. Herb decided that he wanted to target them, take home some raw Tuna and of course John wanted to be reassured that there were still Tuna in the Cabo area. I got two buckets of Sardinas as well as five Mackerel in the morning and we were on our way at 7:30. It took us an hour to run out 25 miles. No sign of Porpoise and no boats stopped so we kept on going. At 36 miles I thought I saw some Porpoise breaking water in the distance so we made a slight turn. No sign of them when we arrived in the area but I decided to put the lines in the water anyway as we searched the area. After about 30 minutes I noticed three boats about five miles distant that were staying together and working toward us. It sure is nice to have good radar! We pulled in lines and cruised in their direction. About a mile before meeting them we spotted one Frigate bird working and then Porpoise under it. In went the lines and on our first pass both of the flat lines went off. Since we were fishing for Tuna all we had out were feathers and cedar plugs. The first fish to the boat was a small Skipjack but the second one was a decent 15 pound Yellowfin. The second pass resulted in another double strike but one pulled hook. John worked the fish I close and eventually the gaff was placed in a 35 pound Yellowfin. Back into the water went the lines. A few minutes later a Marlin came up on the short rigger feather. The Marlin knocked the line from the outrigger clip but did not hook up. Herb dropped back a live bait and the fish came in on it really fast and lit up! The bait was eaten and herb set the hook. Two jumps and the leader broke at the knot. Oh oh. By then the Porpoise and Frigate bird had disappeared. We continued to work the area for several hours and got another Marlin hooked up on the feather. Richard fought the fish for 7 minutes standing up and had to pass the rod off. Herb got on it and the fish was to the boat in about 10 minutes. A good release and then for the next hour we tossed bait to sleeping fish. We did have one more Marlin show an interest in a live bait but it did not eat. That was it for the day, the last hour we spent drifting live bait at the light house ledge, but the wind was beginning to come up and the drift was not all that great. I hope that next time we target Tuna we are able to get a few more in the box!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 5, 2005
I fished today again on the big boat and the water was no nearly as nice as it was yesterday! There was a big storm swell from the ESE as well as wind from the NE in the morning and the ESE in the afternoon. We started off at the 95 spot looking for Marlin. I spotted some good bait at 200 feet but then saw Porpoise and birds working about a mile away. Once I got there I saw good Tuna marks on the depth sounder but the fish were at 150-200 feet. We worked the Porpoise for about an hour with no luck. The clients wanted Marlin so we left the Porpoise and went in closer to shore off of the Westin. In that area we had a knock down on the long rigger, a Mackerel and Cream colored lure but the fish did not hook up. About an hour later we had a hook up on the same lure but the fish only jumped twice before throwing the hook. I turned up toward the Gorda Banks and got into some Dorado. Every one of the fish hit a purple/black lure on the short rigger. Out of five strikes we hooked four fish, releasing two small ones and keeping a 15 pound and a 25 pound fish. I turned the boat back toward the 95 spot and it was a nice downhill, downwind run. About five miles from the 95 we had a solid hookup on the same Mackerel/cream lure. This was a nice sized Striped Marlin and it did a lot of jumping and took a lot of line. After 25 minute we had the fish close enough to the boat to see it was tail wrapped and after unwrapping it we spent 15 minutes towing the fish by the bill while holing on through the transom door. Eventually the fish regained its energy and when it started kicking with its tail again we let it go. That was it for the day but the guys decided to book the boat for Monday as well. We sure hope the fishing is good!
We also had clients on a pair of 31 Bertram’s today, four guys to each boat. One of the boats got a Wahoo that was around 40 pounds while the other boat found two hungry Striped Marlin that were fought to the boat and released, as well as two Dorado that were kept. They fished the area of the 95 spot and closer to shore. Bill and his buddies have a few more days of fishing ahead of them so I’ll give more information on their fishing experience in next weeks report.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 6 FEBRUARY, 2005
Three of the guys that fished the Bertram have yesterday decided to put in an extra day of fishing today. The water was much better than yesterday, almost like a lake. Of course the fish had moved. They started out at the 95 spot and had one fish hooked up before the line back-lashed and parted. That was on the clients gear. They then worked their way out to the 1150 and while they spotted more Marlin and tossed bait at them they could not find another hungry fish. I hope they have better luck tomorrow! Until next week, Tight Lines!
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Feb 7, 2005; 12:12PM - 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 JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 6, 2005
WEATHER: It seems that every week now we have had a little bit of rain, at least since the beginning of the year. This week was an exception, we did not have a little bit of rain, we had a lot! On Friday afternoon the clouds rolled in and it started raining. I had fished that day and it was a bit of a relief to not have to wash the exterior of the 50’ Viking. The last bit of it fell early Saturday morning. With the rain came wind, on Saturday it was kicking out of the NW in the morning and switched to the ESE in the afternoon. The rest of the week was nice, partly cloudy with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the mid 60’s for the most part although I did read 55 on my house thermometer on Wednesday morning.
WATER: The water was beautiful for most of the week except for Saturday, when swells from the ESE appeared out of nowhere. We all wondered if there was a Hurricane somewhere close! Those, combined with wind from the same direction, made the day a bit bouncy. The water on the Pacific side has remained cool. At the end of the week we were seeing temperatures in the 67-70 degree range with the warmer water within 5 miles of shore. On the Cortez side of the Cape the near shore water was the colder stuff with water out to 5 miles in the 70-71 degree range. Once past the five mile area it warmed to 72-74 degrees with a few spots up to 75 degrees. There was a pretty good break running NE to SW about 5 miles in front of Cabo and it ran just inside the 95 spot as well.
BAIT: Mackerel was the bait of the week as is usually the case this time of year. They could be obtained at the normal price of $2 per bait. There were also some Sardinas as well, but they were a bit pricy at $20 for a sparse bucket.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Just as was the case last week, the action on Billfish took place around the 95 spot, at least that was where the big concentration was. There were fish found closer to shore as well and also up the coast to outside the Gorda Banks. A few fish were caught by dropping live bait and drifting, but it seemed that more were caught on lures than live bait. One of the favorite colors this week was a Mackerel Green with Cream undersides. Most of the fish were averaging #110, but there were fish up to #180 caught. A friend of mine got one that size that had a bill curved like a hook! A good day produced three or four shots at a Marlin with at least one solid hook up and a great day was going four for four on them.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin Tuna continue to be out quite a ways with the main areas being between 20 and 35 miles to the south and south-east. They have been associated with Porpoise and most of the fish have been between 15 and 35 pounds. Trolling dark colored feathers and Cedar Plugs resulted in most of the hook ups, but chumming with Sardinas once you found the fish made for some light tackle excitement as long as the wind was not blowing too hard.
DORADO: The Dorado bite was still off but there were times when you cold do well. Most of the fish were found up toward the Gorda Banks area and the ranged in size from little shakers (5-8 pounds) to nice fish in the 15-30 pound class. Dark colored lures worked on them as I know from personal experience. Saturday we had three Marlin strikes, all on the Mackerel/Cream outrigger lure and five Dorado strikes, and all on a Purple/Black outrigger lure. Dropping back a live bait after a hook up resulted in more fish being hooked.
WAHOO: There were more Wahoo caught this week than last week and a few of them were nice size, in the 70 pound class. Dark colored lures were what most of them hit on but there was no concentration of fish; it was a matter of luck. The warmer water on the Cortez side of the Cape held the fish.
INSHORE: Sierra, Sierra, Sierra, those are the inshore fish of the week. The Pacific side of the coast has been going off from the lighthouse up to Migraino on fish from three to six pounds. Small green hootchies live Sardinas and small Rapallas have all been working well, just don’t forget to use wire leader!
NOTES: Lots of Whales this week, breaching mammals everywhere! Both Humpbacks and Gray Whales have been giving us lots of excitement. This weekend here in Cabo has been strange. It is Super bowl Weekend and it is also a federal election day on the 6th. That means that there can be no alcohol served between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday. The streets have looked like a ghost town! There are private parties taking place so everyone stocked up for them on Friday. Well, that’s it for this week. The music for the week was Edgar Winters on the album “Let it In”, and there is no finer was to wake in the morning than to the rocking blues! Until next week, Tight lines!
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Feb 7, 2005; 09:59AM - Season Heating Up
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Category: Guatemala Sport Fishing
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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San Jose, Guatemala
The overall conditions have been very nice in the San Jose area this past week. There were more boats out for a women’s light tackle tournament that is going on. For sailfish there were 447 releases on 668 bites. On the fly-fishing side, there were 34 releases for 60 bites. The action has been at 10 miles on quite a few of the days, with still a few boats ranging out as far as 20 miles. There are good reports of dorado being caught by the boats, but no action on tuna. Inshore, once again there were no clients out, but there were several roosters caught by a couple of the captains who were testing the waters.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 78 - 84
Humidity 100%
Wind: ESE 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:25 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:01 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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Feb 7, 2005; 09:58AM - Warmer Water Moves Further Out
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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The blue water has moved out to about 12 miles. Most of the fleet is fishing the area between 14 and 22 miles, and not doing very well. They are only averaging about one sailfish a day. The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperature service clearly shows the cooler water being within the 10 mile mark, mixed water out to about 28 miles, and then good warm water from 30 miles and beyond.
It also stands to reason the few boats fishing beyond the 30 mile mark are doing very well, averaging five and six sailfish released a day.
A few mature dorado, between 20 and 35 pounds, are being taken at a rate of one dorado for every five boats on the water.
Butch Cooley, fishing with Capt. Martin on the panga “Isamar,” made a 35 mile run yesterday for roosters. They only had one strike on a surface popper.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75 - 86
Humidity 63%
Wind: South 4 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:16 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:43 p.m. CST
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Feb 7, 2005; 09:55AM - Oh, to be in Guatemala for the Sailfish Blitz
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
There’s no nice way to say it: the fishing is slow. Five days of north winds have cooled the water and made it a cloudy green. There are still some small dorado by Punta Pescadero. Sierra are scattered and only seem to bite early. Best sierra bite is by Rancho Leonero. Boats going 40 miles out have had some luck on dorado and marlin. The possibility of strong winds has kept most of the fleet closer to home. The wind finally died down some yesterday (2/4). Hopefully we will get a break for a few days.
Water temperature 70-74
Air temperature 64-68
Humidity 43%
Wind: NNW 14 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:56 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:09 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whales dominated the scene at both Puerto San Carlos and Lopez Mateos this week. The few pangas that ventured out to the entrada found scratchy fishing yielding only fair results including a few small yellows, grouper and barracuda. Up at Lopez Mateos, the annual celebration of the whales, “Festival Ballena Gris,” will be held Feb. 12. The event will include the crowning of a Queen of the Festival and the celebration of what many locals are calling the best whale-watching season in several years. The esteros continued the same pattern of slow fishing influenced by poor weather reinforced by strong winds.
Water temperature 69-75
Air temperature 62-69
Humidity 25%
Wind: WNW 15 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:14 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water has moved out to about 12 miles. Most of the fleet is fishing the area between 14 and 22 miles, and not doing very well. They are only averaging about one sailfish a day. The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperature service clearly shows the cooler water being within the 10 mile mark, mixed water out to about 28 miles, and then good warm water from 30 miles and beyond.
It also stands to reason the few boats fishing beyond the 30 mile mark are doing very well, averaging five and six sailfish released a day.
A few mature dorado, between 20 and 35 pounds, are being taken at a rate of one dorado for every five boats on the water.
Butch Cooley, fishing with Capt. Martin on the panga “Isamar,” made a 35 mile run yesterday for roosters. They only had one strike on a surface popper.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75 - 86
Humidity 63%
Wind: South 4 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:16 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:43 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The overall conditions have been very nice in the San Jose area this past week. There were more boats out for a women’s light tackle tournament that is going on. For sailfish there were 447 releases on 668 bites. On the fly-fishing side, there were 34 releases for 60 bites. The action has been at 10 miles on quite a few of the days, with still a few boats ranging out as far as 20 miles. There are good reports of dorado being caught by the boats, but no action on tuna. Inshore, once again there were no clients out, but there were several roosters caught by a couple of the captains who were testing the waters.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 78 - 84
Humidity 100%
Wind: ESE 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:25 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:01 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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Feb 1, 2005; 08:55AM - Close and Good Sums it Up
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Category: Guatemala Sport Fishing
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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San Jose, Guatemala
The weather has again been excellent, the fishing has been in as close as 10 miles, and as far as 25 on some boats that ranged out a bit. I only received stats for one day this week, but in that one day, 8 boats were out using conventional gear, and had 197 hooked sailfish and managed to release 148 of those for an average of 19 releases per boat on conventional gear. Two of the 10 boats out were on the fly and got hooks in 22 sails and managed to release 14 of them at the boat. Marlin also made a strong showing with three blues released. It’s not a bad day when 37% of the fleet releases 300-450 pound-class marlin on 30-50 pound gear. Dorado were also around and being brought in with the largest going 40 pounds. Inshore, there continues to be consistent action on roosters when we have had our crews out practicing their teasing skills on roosters and jacks, their just have not been any clients taking advantage. Water clarity is great, and most of the action is taking place in the blue water.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 78 - 80
Humidity 94%
Wind: NE 8 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:31 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:01 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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Feb 1, 2005; 08:54AM - Dorado and Sails Dominate the Action
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is just off the beach, but earlier in the week the full moon had put a bit of a brake on the good action we had been having. However, yesterday (Friday), the fishing picked up again with the boats averaging a couple of sailfish each per day, plus a very good showing of 20 to 35 pound dorado.
Frustrated by only raising 3 or 4 sailfish a day earlier in the week, client Rich Pietila of Odessa, Texas asked Martin on the panga Isamar to go 40 miles and see if they could get some action on the yellowfin tuna. They did not find any tuna, but on the way back they saw a lot of sailfish at the 30 mile mark. Using only hookless lures, as we do when fly fishing, they would tease the fish to the boat, but dropped back with a live bait on a 30 pound rig. They tagged and released 6 in a very short time. The next day they targeted this group of new fish, and what a day they had. With more than 30 fish raising to the spread, they tagged and released 12.
The roosterfish are still very slow and will probably not pick up again until July. Inshore, the small game fishing is decent and we are even getting quite a few chulas. A chula (kawa kawa) is a small tuna, with teeth.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75 - 86
Humidity 70%
Wind: 12 mph from the West
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:18 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:39 p.m. CST
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