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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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Sep 21, 2009; 12:37PM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Sept. 14-20, 2009
WEATHER: We started this week with partly cloudy skies, had partly cloudy skies during the middle of the week and ended the week with partly cloudy skies. Tropical Storm Marty was well off to the west of us at the beginning of the week and remained stalled in the same area for several days until degrading and falling apart. Marty brought us just a sprinkle of rain. At the end of the week an un-named storm came up quickly from the south bringing more clouds and we received a bit of rain from these on Saturday night, enough to leave small pools of water on the sidewalks in the early morning. Our daytime highs were in the mid to high 90’s while the nighttime lows were in the mid 80’s.
WATER: Tropical Storm Marty brought the swells up early in the week, most of them at 6-7 feet but spaced well apart. With no wind on top of them it was very nice water. At the end of the week the Port Captain closed the port to all vessels Saturday afternoon and to small vessels (Pangas) Sunday morning due to the large swells brought by the un-named storm. Again, there was no wind on top of these swells so conditions were still good. At the end of the week the water temperatures on the Pacific side from the beach to 10 miles out stayed in the 84 to 85 degree range while farther out they dropped to 81-82 degrees. Both areas had blue water. On the Cortez side there was a finger of cool water of 83 degrees that had pushed its way between the 1150 and the Cabrillo Seamount toward the Gorda Banks. Everywhere else on the Cortez side was 85 degrees and blue.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Sardinas were not available due to the large swells most of the week.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Marlin fishing picked up a bit when compared with last weeks result with more Striped Marlin appearing within several miles of the beach on the Pacific side. We had one dedicated angler who had never caught a marlin of any kind release three Striped Marlin on Saturday while working this area. I fought and released a small Blue Marlin of around 150 pounds on Wednesday while out to the south of the San Jaime Bank and another client had a Blue in the 260 pound range in the same area on Friday. There were still a few Sailfish around but I did not hear of any Black Marlin caught. Sunday we had to clients release 300-400 lb blues.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Tuna were the fish of the week with almost every boat being able to get into them. Sizes ranged from 230 pounds to 15 pounds with most of the larger fish being caught on live bait dropped in front of the moving pods of Spinner Dolphin or Spotted Dolphin. The White-Bellied dolphin often only held smaller fish but an occasional larger one would surprise an angler. Almost all the fish in our area were caught inside the 1,000-fathom line from due south, then up to the San Jaime Bank and then up to the Golden Gate. This made for easy trips to find the fish, and I know of one Panga that caught a fish over 200 pounds just off of the lighthouse.
DORADO: Dorado were an off and on event this week, one day there would be plenty and then the next day they could not be found. When you could find them they seemed to be close to the shore on the Pacific side in the warmer water. Averaging 12-15 pounds, there were enough larger ones out there to make things interesting. Lures accounted for the first fish for most boats and then live bait dropped back usually accounted for the next one or two. Boats that did well on Dorado were catching between five and ten per trip and releasing two or three of the smaller fish.
WAHOO: I saw a few red/orange flags being flown this week but was never able to contact the Captains or anglers on the boats to find out where or when they caught the fish, or even if they were for Wahoo at all.
INSHORE: A repeat of last week’s inshore report. Most of the Panga Captains are doing well on Dorado and Tuna since they are close to shore. There are still some decent Roosterfish being found and a few snapper and grouper as well. The Pacific side has been the favorite side of the Cape this week.
NOTES: The fishing has been very good this week and almost all the anglers I have talked to have been very happy with the results of their trips, and some of them have been worn out afterwards from fighting Marlin and some of the large Yellowfin that have been around. We hope the action continues this week. Until next week, tight lines!
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Sep 19, 2009; 09:59PM - First The Squid…Then Tuna
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Endless Season Update 09/19/2009
REPORT #1183 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Caption: Check out this nice yellowfin tuna we caught in the East Cape. It weighed in at 201 pounds. http://tiny.cc/rayortuna091509
I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but the Humboldt squid show up and suddenly, it was tuna time. Tales of broken tackle and disappointed anglers were common this week. However, for the few who closed the deal, they were so exhausted that even the ‘high-fives’ were difficult. Not all the fish are VW size; for the wimps, (or is it the smart ones?), in your group there are plenty of smaller fish mixed in. Most of the action is out 20 to 40 miles providing time to find a sailfish.
The dorado are thick down toward Los Frailes and beyond all the way to Gordo Bank…most of them are weighing in the mid-teen range.
Near the Lighthouse, there is also a good concentration of smaller yellowfin tuna with skipjack mixed in.
The water along the beaches has cleaned up, but there is still plenty of bait attracting roosters, jacks, ladyfish and pompano. It is still warm enough that if you go out on the beach midday, it may feel more like an Ironman competition, than fishing. If you think that ‘heats not neat’, try early morning and late afternoon.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Just outside Boca Santo Domingo 8 – 10 mile the tuna bite has returned with some fish to 35 pounds. Further out the wahoo have begun to show outside the double 23’s and small groups of marlin are also being spotted.
Shrimp season began the 18th which brings much more feeding activity in the Esteros for a long list of predators including grouper, corvina, snapper and snook.
The cannery in Lopez Mateos is still closed and in Puerto San Carlos the job of removing sunken boats is underway.
Finally, I returned home this week and Mex 1 is open all the way… Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
We've had some decent rains from storms pushing up from the South, with the effect of cooling the surface temperatures down quite a bit. Last week we were at a tepid 85°, and we are now averaging a perfect 80°. The cooling water trend actually heated the fishing up.
Stan Hootman of Houston, TX is fishing several days with Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos. They are doing excellent. I talked to Stan by cell phone as they were returning to the dock today (Thursday) after a very successful day of rooster fishing. Using a blue and white surface popper, they caught 6 roosters of 60#, 50#, 45#, 40#, and a couple of smaller ones.
Yesterday they had fished for sailfish and released four. Plus, they got into the football yellowfin tuna and caught 6 tuna averaging 10 pounds...…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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Sep 14, 2009; 11:46AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Sept. 7-13, 2009
WEATHER: We had a really nice week as our daytime highs were reaching 100 at the beginning but had ended the week in the high 80’s and low 90’s and the lows have been in the low 80’s. Nice comfortable weather, if just the humidity would drop a bit it would be perfect. We had scattered clouds this week and no rain.
WATER: The water’s color returned to it’s normal blue on both sides of the Cape; the Pacific side was looking much better. With our normal northwesterly breeze back in place the Pacific side was a bit choppy but fishable. The band of cooler 80-degree water 30 miles to the southwest is still in place, closer to home it steadily increases to a nice 86-87 degrees close to home across both the San Jaime Bank and the Golden Gate Bank. On the Cortez side of the Cape at the end of the week the water inside the 1,000-fathom line was 87 degrees and outside it was 84-85 degrees, but blue on both sides. Surface conditions on the Cortez side have been great with just a little chop in the afternoons.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Sardinas were available from the Palmilla and Puerto Los Cabos area at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: It was still a slow week for billfish as few Striped Marlin were caught locally. There were reports of some decent numbers beginning to show up at the Finger Bank but with things being in constant flux the boats that went there were just as likely to strike out as to find a decent concentration of fish. A scattering of fish were found locally, most of them being found close to shore on the Pacific side up around the Los Arcos area and northward. There were still some Sailfish to be found but they were scattered as well, only on the Cortez side, and again, close to shore. I did not hear any reports this week of big Blue or Black Marlin, but there may have been a few hooked up.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There have still been some nice fish caught this week but they have been scattered. 30 miles to the south has been producing a few nice fish to #150 if you are in the right pod of porpoise, and there have been fish to #80 being caught on Sardinas up the coast in the Inman bank area. That was scratch fishing with only a few fish a day with lots of chumming taking place, but at least the fish were there. Light floura-carbon leader, #30 and #40 was needed, but you could get some fish. Some boats did all right catching a few Humboldt Squid at Punta Gorda and using them for chunk baits. Closer to home there were scattered schools with fish to #35 but averaging #15-#20. Most of these were found on the Pacific side between the beach and the San Jaime Bank and on the Golden Gate Bank.
DORADO: It took a while but there was finally some debris in the water this week, perhaps washed into the ocean up north from last week’s hurricane. Boats that managed to find the pieces of wood were able to put a few nice #30 Dorado in the box along with some smaller fish. Inshore on the Pacific side was also producing Dorado once again with the average size being 15 pounds and a few larger fish in the mix. We hooked up one female on Tuesday at may have been 30 pounds and a much larger male was following her. Unfortunately she shook the hook while still a distance from the boat and even though we slow trolled a couple of live baits in the area for a while we could not get hooked up again. That’s fishing!
WAHOO: A friend of mine did get a nice Wahoo this last week, early in the week. It weighed around #85 and he caught it while checking out the Inman Bank area. A few other Wahoo flags were being flown but I have no idea what size the fish were or where they were caught.
INSHORE: Most of the Panga Captains are doing well on Dorado and football Tuna since they are close to shore. There are still some decent Roosterfish being found and a few snapper and grouper as well. The Pacific side has been the favorite side of the Cape this week.
NOTES: The fishing has been decent if not great this week and things are returning to normal on the water. This coming week should see good action on Striped Marlin as the new moon is on the 18th; I hope it happens close to home. This weeks report was written to the music of Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish) on his first country album, “Learn To Live”, a 2008 Capitol Records release. Until next week, tight lines!
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Sep 7, 2009; 11:38AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 31- Sept. 6, 2009
WEATHER: Those of you who have been watching our area this past week are already aware that we managed to dodge a bullet once again. Hurricane Jimena was expected to pass almost on top of us, perhaps just a little to the west on Tuesday as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds at 155 mph and higher gusts. With nature and lady luck on our side she shifted just a bit to the west and all we got were three to four days of clouds, about an inch of rain and winds that may have gusted at times as high as 70 mph. It knocked down palm fronds and kicked up some big seas, but it also brought in some cooler weather as well. At the end of the week our nighttime lows were in the low 80’s and our daytime highs had finally gotten back up to the high 90’s, but the humidity at the end of the week was a bit lower than it had been so it did not feel quite as hot as that.
WATER: The Captain of the Port closed the Harbor on Monday at noon due to the increasing size of swells as Hurricane Jimena approached. The port was re-opened on Thursday after the Hurricane had passed and the swells had become smaller. The cloud cover having finally moved away, we were able to access to satellite charts to see how things had changed. We now have a band of cooler water on the Pacific side just to the outside of the 1,000-fathom line that is right at 78 degrees. This is a 10-15 mile wide band of water running from the northwest to the southeast. To the inside of this band of cool water is a band of 82-84 degree water about 15-20 miles wide and just inside there, along the beach, it is 80 degrees, from the inside of the San Jaime Bank to the inside of the Golden Gate Bank and out across the 95 spot on the Cortez side of the Cape. Elsewhere on the Sea of Cortez the water is a fairly steady 84-86 degrees. The cool water close to shore on the Pacific side is also green, a change from the nice blue water we had prior to the Hurricane passing.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Large swells from Hurricane Jimena this week kept the bait guys from getting any Sardinas.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: On Thursday, after the storm, there were Striped Marlin and Sailfish on the Pacific side up around the Los Arcos area. Some boats were able to release two or three of each, most boats were happy to catch one. I heard of one nice sized Blue Marlin being hooked up on Thursday around 25 miles to the south of the Cape, but did not hear of any of these larger fish being brought to the boat. All in all it was a slow week for Marlin.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: It was also a frustrating week for those trying to catch Yellowfin. The only really decent day we had was on Thursday. Several pods of dolphin were found that held Yellowfin and a few boats were able to get the larger fish to bite. About a dozen fish between 150 and 200 pounds were caught but most of the boats were able to catch a half dozen or so smaller fish to 35 pounds. These fish remained in the area for the rest of the week but no one could get them to bite again. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were very disappointing as you could see the fish clearing the water but even dropping down to #40 floura-carbon leader did not help, so very few fish were caught.
DORADO: We were hoping the Hurricane would wash debris from the arroyos and that would help congregate the Dorado for anglers, but with only an inch of rain there was not enough water dropped to cause the arroyos to flood. Perhaps next week the debris from farther north where Jimena crossed onto land will reach our area, by then there should be good concentrations of fish underneath. Meanwhile the bite was way off, most boats were happy to get a Dorado in the box.
WAHOO: I did not hear of any Wahoo caught this week, even though it was a full moon.
INSHORE: The large swells really messed up the inshore fishing, at least for the week on the Pacific side of the Cape, and on the Cortez side while the water was churned for most of the week by Sunday it had begun to settle and clear. Roosterfish were found again up around the El Tulle area but that was pretty much it for the week, with the exception of a few Jacks and a few Grouper.
NOTES: As is normal after the passing of a Hurricane the water is all mixed up and it may take a week for everything to settle out. I am not sure how it affects the fish, but I know the current and temperature changes for a while and that is what we are seeing now. Our fingers are crossed that everything gets back to normal, or better, within the next week. This weeks report was written to the music of Jimmy Buffet and friends on Sirus/XM Margaritaville channel. Until next week, tight lines!
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Aug 31, 2009; 09:48AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 24-30, 2009
WEATHER: We had interesting weather this past week as clouds moved in on Tuesday evening and brought with them a spit of rain, just enough to spot the windows. We thought that was all that was going to happen but on Saturday another cloud mass moved in. The thunder and lightning had my dog and the cats scared, but my wife got a decent photo of lightning striking the mountain nearby. It rained for an hour or so, knocking off all the dust and brightening everything up bit. This past week was still a bit warm at an average of 98 degrees during the day and 85 degrees in the coolest part of the night. Check the notes below; it looks like we may get some more rain this coming week!
WATER: It was 85-86 degrees everywhere you went this week with no temperature breaks. The water was blue and with the winds mostly coming from the southeast to east, the Pacific side was calm most of the time with the Cape stopping the wind. The Cortez side had a little chop on it at times.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Large swells this week kept the bait guys from getting any Sardinas this week.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: There were still Striped Marlin being caught out there, and mostly in the same area as last week, up the coast toward the Golden Gate Bank on the Pacific side. There were also still quite a few Sailfish being caught, some of them small and some large, and normally there were at least two in the pattern when they showed up. With the full moon coming on the bite picked up just a bit on the Blue and Black Marlin. These fish were found between the 95 spot and the south end of the San Jaime Bank with the areas around the porpoise seeming to offer a few more chances at one as they seemed to be in there feeding on the small tuna.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There were not a lot of Tuna caught this week, a few pods of porpoise held football size fish but they were not very willing to bite. Every day at least one boat, sometimes more, got into a fish of over 100 pounds with a few over 200 pounds being caught. The locations varied from 30 miles to the south to 3 miles off the lighthouse and up the Cortez side toward the Inman bank area. There seemed to be several schools out there moving around a lot. Of course there were also those times when you could see the fish but not get them to bite.
DORADO: Once again the fish of the week, Dorado continued to please anglers who went looking for them. Even if your target was something different it seemed you could get at least one Dorado hooked up. Some of the boats that really concentrated on these fish were limiting out early and then going out to try for a big Blue Marlin. The majority of the fish were found close to the beach on the Pacific side from the arch and northward.
WAHOO: I heard of a few Wahoo this week from the Punta Gorda area as well as a couple from close to the beach on the Pacific side up in the Los Arcos area. The fish reported to me averaged 30 pounds and were caught while fishing for Dorado.
INSHORE: Just like last week, Panga fishermen were getting a little bit of everything this week, ranging from Roosterfish to Jacks to Snapper to Grouper to Dorado to Sailfish, etc. Pretty much anything you wanted to fish for could be found from a Panga this past week.
NOTES: Hurricane Jimena looks like she is going to come in and give us a close-up look early this week. Perhaps a category 4 Hurricane when she come in on her closest approach (presently forecast for late Tuesday, subject to change at any moment) she will bring some much needed rain to our area, we just hope it is not so much that it ruins all the street construction taking place downtown (that was supposed to be completed at the beginning of August). Check in next week and I’ll let you know how things turned out. Meanwhile later today I am putting the hardtop back on the jeep and filling my gas cans, putting the yard in order and getting ready for a hurricane party. If you want to follow the storm check out one of my favorite weather sites, www.hurricanezone.com. This weeks report was written to the music of Jethro Tull on the 1993 Chrysalis release “The Best Of Jethro Tull, The Anniversary Collection”. Until next week, tight lines!
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Aug 28, 2009; 03:52PM - Read Carefully!
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Endless Season Update 08/28/2009
REPORT #1180 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Based on sample online reports this week, everyone agreed that billfishing was off. However, one report suggested “the billfishing has slowed, as most anglers are targeting the tuna and dorado.”
Another report begins, “fishing seemed to be a roller coaster ride. We had some great days and some slow days.
Then…wait…wait…keep reading! The report continues, “But, overall the fishing was good. We saw many big tuna again this past week, the biggest weighing in at 120 pounds and many more in the 50 to 90 pound range were also weighed in.”
Another report also alluded to a good tuna bite with tuna averaging 25 to 40 pounds and once again, wait…wait…wait…”the largest this week 120 pounds.”
Then comes---“dorado are plentiful, both inside and outside.”
“Inshore fishing has been very consistent with pargo and pompano taking baits daily. The
roosters are smaller this week.”
“Bait has been scarcer than normal. Mostly sardine has been available this week.”
Then my final source, a local with no boats or rooms to rent sent the following:
“Things are very slow. A few schoolie dorado off the light house and a very slow tuna bite on 15 to 25 pound tuna fishing the same area. South of Los Frailes a few tuna if you are lucky enough to find the porpoise. Very slow on marlin and sails; inshore is tough as well. Not many boats going out either. All is very quiet on the East Cape.”
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Barbra and Bruce Carter, from Hayward, CA, limited out in the bay on grouper, corvina, bass and two snook. And Mark Wisdom, a surfer from Cabo, broke the ice with four wahoo fishing out of the camp on Cabo San Lazaro. He came for the waves which were great ,but topped it off with the wahoo.
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is just off the beach, with the average surface temperature at 87°. Due to the absence of tourism, only a couple of boats are going out each day, getting about one or two sailfish per boat. Dorado fishing is slow, and the water is too warm for yellowfin tuna or marlin.
The very good inshore action we have been having shut down this week. The fish are still here, but the surf was huge all up and down the coast. The bait fish can't handle the heavy surf, so the game fish have followed them into the deeper water.
Cheva and I fished with fly fishing clients, Scott and Christine Repass, of New Jersey, down south at Puerto Vicente Guerrero, and did not raise a fish. We also had to move around quite a bit, covering a lot of areas, to keep out of the stained water. Even though we are not getting any rain on the coast, the mountains are getting plenty, with the rivers discoloring the water near their outlet.
Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, reported the same conditions to the North of Zihuatanejo; not catching a single roosterfish for his three days on the water..…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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Aug 24, 2009; 10:58AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 17-23, 2009
WEATHER: It cooled down a few degrees this week as compared to last week. Our highs were in the mid 90’s and our lows in the mid 80’s, about 5 degrees less than our averages from last week. It was sunny this week with mostly cloud free days except the very beginning and the very end. On Sunday we had a cloud mass move in that looked as if it was going to drop a lot of rain on us, but most of it ended up in the mountains, as usual.
WATER: The surface on the Pacific side started out the week pretty rough due to the wind and clouds that had just moved into our area, but by Tuesday things had really settled down. The rest of the week it was very nice, a little bumpy at times but very fishable. On the Cortez side of the Cape the water remained in great shape on the surface all week long. Water temperatures were very steady across our area with the cold areas at 83 degrees and the warm spots at 86 degrees with the warmer water on the Cortez side of the Cape.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. There were some Sardinas available up in San Jose at the usual $25 per scoop, but you needed to make arrangements the day prior to going out.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: We had a two day convention of Striped Marlin between the beach and five miles offshore up on the inside of the Golden Gate Bank this week. On Thursday and Friday the fish were packed up and almost everyone there was able to release at least one Striped Marlin, and a few boats released three or four. During the rest of the week the fish were there and along the rest of the Pacific coast as well, but the catch ratio was considerably lower. Also in the area, as well as offshore were Sailfish. They were between 40 and 100 pounds in size and occasionally attacked in packs with tow or three lines going off at once. Offshore there were a few Blues and Blacks found, but not very many were caught. I know of one Black that was tail wrapped and came in dead that taped out at #400 pounds. (Take the length from the tip of the lower bill to the fork in the tail, multiply that by the square of the girth, then divide the total by 800 and you will be within 10% of the correct weight) and one big Blue that came into the pattern on a friends boat that was bigger than that, his fish just stripped about 100 yards then left the scene.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: For most of the week it seemed as if the Tuna had departed the area for good, no fish were caught for almost four days. Lucky for us some showed up late in the week on the Pacific side of the Cape. In the area of the Golden Gate Bank a very large pod of Dolphin showed the way to a school that averaged 10 pounds, not big fish, but there were a lot of them. Boats that were in the area did well, and the first boat of the day to find them occasionally caught one of about 60 pounds. Limits were normal for several days. Other than that there were very few reports of Tuna found anywhere.
DORADO: Definitely the fish of the week once again. The water temperatures are perfect as are the surface conditions and everyone is coming in flying yellow flags if they want. Most of the fish have been found in the Pacific within five miles of the beach, but there were also concentrations found under floating objects. We had clients on Wednesday who were lucky enough to be the first boat to a floating dead seal and they managed to pick up four Dorado averaging 35-40 pounds, lost a couple more the same size, kept four more about 15-20 pounds and released a lot more that were smaller.
WAHOO: We are going through a new moon phase and I have not heard of any Wahoo this week.
INSHORE: Panga fishermen were getting a little bit of everything this week, ranging from Roosterfish to Jacks to Snapper to Grouper to Dorado to Sailfish, etc. Pretty much anything you wanted to fish for could be found from a Panga this past week.
NOTES: I am hoping that the weather we are seeing over on the mainland works it’s way toward us and manages to dump a little rain, we sure could use it. The construction project renovating the main road through town is at least a month behind schedule so getting around by rental car is not really a viable option, I almost guarantee you will get lost, and then there is no place to park since they have started construction of the new cultural center in the big empty dirt lot near the Dolphin Center. This weeks report was written to the easy listening music of Jack Johnson, once again. Until next week, tight lines!
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Aug 24, 2009; 09:46AM - Skeena River Regional Fishing Report
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Category: Canada
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Author Name: Noel Gyger
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The photo of the week shows Sherry and Bob Carmicheal with two beautiful Douglas Channel Harbour Fishery Coho. They landed 16 Coho and one Pink. Sherry and Bob were guests of Marc Girard and Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters.
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Noel Gyger – Guided Fishing Adventures and Weekly Fishing Report
4012 Best Street, Terrace BC V8G 5R8, Canada
Tel/Fax: (250) 635-2568
Cell: (250) 631-2678
E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca
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Noel Gyger - WEEKLY FISHING REPORT dated August 16 – August 23, 2009
Dear Fishing Friends:
SUMMARY: The weather has been a mixed bag with sun, clouds and rain. Even with the rain most waters have stayed in shape. Fishing for Sockeye, Coho, Pink and summer-run Steelhead on the Skeena River is fair. Spey, single hand fly rod and conventional gear are working well. The trick is to be on the right gravel bar and fish proper techniques. This is when an experienced fishing guide comes in handy. For all the fine details on the Kitimat River, coastal rivers and Douglas Channel please check out the Ron Wakita report below.
August 18, 2009 One 'New' podcast number 0018 posted on Podcast
Category: Mid Week fishing updates. I was fly fishing on the Skeena River on August 15, 2009 with Chad Black, operations manager and pro angling guide for Nicholas Dean Lodge. Chad is going to show us what equipment we need when fly fishing on the Skeena River for Steelhead, Sockeye, Coho and Pink Salmon. The show starts with some quick photos of 'quality' fly fishing products from Redl Sports. Then the fishing video clip starts. Chad hooks about a half dozen fish in a very short time, then sits on a log and gives us a few 'key' pointers on how to be successful in this exciting fishery. Podcast (9:38 minutes) includes photos, audio and a fishing video clip. Stay tuned for more of these 'how to' podcasts!
NOTICE: The Kitimat Chamber of Commerce Derby is coming up on September 5th and 6th. It is an outstanding event and prizes have been increased to be enjoyed by all the participants. For interested anglers from out of town, Derby tickets can be purchased by calling the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce with a Credit Card. Cast here to see the poster http://www.noelgyger.ca/articles/2009-Fish-Derby-Poster.pdf Please contact the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce at 250 632 6294 Toll Free 1-800-664-6554 or email address kitimatchamber@telus.net
LIST OF “New” ITEMS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE THIS WEEK:
- One New item posted on 'Conservation' Aug 22/09
- One New item posted on 'Conservation' Aug 20/09
- One New item posted on 'Conservation' Aug 19/09
- One New video clip posted on 'Podcast' Aug 18/09
NOW BOOKING: Let me know if I can be of service to book you with the 'best' fishing guide and/or fishing lodges for both river and ocean. There are NO extra charges to book through me, just a lot of free information and advice from a person with years and years of fishing and fish guiding experience. It is like hiring two guides for the price of one. I will promptly answer your questions and concerns. Cast here http://noelgyger.ca/special-guided.htm to read more of what I have to offer.
Many people book three trips per year to our area; one trip in the spring (March-April-May), one trip in the summer (June-July-August) and one trip in the fall (September-October-November). They love having the same guide but fishing for different fish in different areas.
Be sure to check out my website at www.noelgyger.ca for news bulletins, mid week fishing updates, conservation, my history, quality waters strategy, special guided fishing trips, video clips, podcasts, scenic river photos, wildlife photos and others, comments from past guests, informational articles, archived fishing reports from 1996 through 2002 and a sportfishing market place. I hope it meets with your entire satisfaction. I am at your service.
FISHING GUIDE REPORTS FOR THIS WEEK ARE FROM:
Ron Wakita, Wes Owens, Dave Payjack, Marc Girard, April Vokey, Dustin Kovacvich and Tracey Hittel
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Skeena and Tributaries:
TYPE OF FISH CAUGHT: Coho, Sockeye, Chum, Pink, Steelhead and Trout for river. Salmon, Halibut, Bottom Fish and Dungeness Crab for ocean.
Thank you for using barbless hooks!
FISHING THIS WEEK: - Good-
LARGEST FISH OF THE WEEK: Ocean: Specie: 80-pound Halibut. Where: Prince Rupert, Dundas Island. Who: The Hughes Family. PLUS: Jacque Losier fishing with his son Colby and father Roger and friend Bob Birch boated an 86-pound Halibut and a 40- pound Halibut down the Douglas Channel. River: 20-pound Skeena River Steelhead from a guest at the Nicholas Dean Lodge.
WEATHER: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. High 14. UV index 3 or moderate. Sunrise 6:25 AM Sunset 8:49 PM. Today’s yearly average temperatures: Maximum 21 degrees. Minimum 10 degrees.
WEATHER REPORTS VIA TELEPHONE: Terrace 250-635-4192 Kitimat 250-632-7864 Prince Rupert 250-627-1155 Smithers 250-847-1958.
SKEENA RIVER: has been up and down all week but is still in fishable shape to fish for Sockeye, Pink, Coho and summer-run “wild” Steelhead with both spin and fly rods. More and more excited fishermen are coming here to enjoy our fabulous, world renowned Salmon and Steelhead sport fishery! Everyone is WELCOME…
Skeena River height: http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp
KALUM RIVER: is now closed for Chinook (King) Salmon. Coho (Silver) Salmon and Steelhead are entering the river now.
KASIKS RIVER: Coho (Silver) Salmon will soon be here. Fishing for them at the river mouth where the river meets the Skeena is a good bet now. A few Coho, by now, will be holding a little ways up-river in deep pools and under trees. If Coho are there you can usually see them rolling.
EXCHAMSIKS RIVER: Coho (Silver) Salmon should be coming in the low end now. Fishing for them at the river mouth where the river meets the Skeena is still a good bet.
EXSTEW RIVER: Coho (Silver) Salmon should be coming in the low end now. Fishing for them at the river mouth where the river meets the Skeena is still a good bet.
ZYMOETZ (COPPER) RIVER: The water is in perfect shape and a good number of Steelhead are being caught using Spey, Single hand fly rods and conventional gear.
Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
Cast on link below to view New flyer: http://www.noelgyger.ca/ads/Instore_Flyer_July_2009.pdf
Click on link for more fall specials: http://www.noelgyger.ca/ads/2009-redl-fall-flyer.pdf
KITIMAT RIVER: The Kitimat River has really good numbers of Coho especially for this time of year. There are still lots and lots and lots of Pinks although some of them are starting to spawn and die. There is still some bright Pinks coming in with the Coho,
Aug 17 Marc Girard fishing with our clients Liseann Head and Adrian Milford from Ontario. Liseann and Adrian landed 3 Coho and a bunch of Pinks on their drift. Marc said that he had a wonderful time fishing with Liseann and Adrian but he noted that Adrian sure took a lot of pictures. Adrian is our current record holder for taking the most photos on any of our drift boat trips. Adrian took exactly 100 photos on their drift with us. Wow! Congratulations on your catch Liseann and Adrian! You will certainly be able to revisit the details of your trip by looking at the pictures. Well done!
Aug 18 Mike Herzberg fishing with his friend Anther hooked 5 Coho and landed 3 on a Drift in the lower Kitimat. Mike and Anther were Hot Shotting with Luhr Jensen Hot shots #35's and hooked Coho in quite a few specific holes in the lower Kitimat drift. Mike and Anther are very good friends, awesome anglers and certainly catch a lot of fish fishing together. Well done Guys!
Aug 20 Jessie Houston drifted the Upper Kitimat River and landed 14 Coho during his drift on Thursday (Aug 20th). Unfortunately his digital camera got wet so there are no pictures. When I asked Jesse where he caught these Coho, Jesse replied 'in his secret Honey holes'. I respect that anglers who wish to keep certain ``secret Honey Holes`` private are entitled to do so. I do appreciate that the other information that is provided is accurate. I pride myself on the accuracy of this fishing report but it is only as accurate as the information I receive. I would rather Jesse or any anglers tell me he did not wish to reveal their spots than give me false information. Thank You for the 'straight goods' Jesse and congratulations on your catch. Well done.
Aug 21 Jesse drifted with Thomas Keohane after work on Friday (Aug 21st) after working at our tackle store until 5:00 P.M. Jesse and Thomas landed 4 Coho in their secret 'Honey hole' but again no camera so there are no pictures but their fish numbers are impressive. Nicely done Guys.
Aug 22 Justin Lowes fishing with some buddies landed 3 Coho in the rising Kitimat River before the water clarity turned dirty. Sorry no photos.
Summary for the Kitimat River: is producing higher than normal numbers of Coho for this time of year. The Coho are exhibiting typical behavior of migrating into the Kitimat during the early portion of the run. Coho were starting to stack up in specific holes on the lower Kitimat River with our low water conditions. It is typical behavior for Coho to stack up in these specific holes and with each tide more Coho will continue to increase the size of the group in these holes. This was evident with the anglers fishing the lower dike and the Kitimat River Intake pool and Goose Creek. When we get a little rain to increase the river height, the Coho will move up river in large groups or schools.
We observed this behavior with Wednesday's river level jump and Jesse's impressive catch results up river on Thursday. With the bump up of river height more Coho will also move into the holes of the lower Kitimat that were just vacated by the previous group. This behavior will continue throughout the Coho run on the Kitimat River during September and well into October. The challenge for Coho anglers is to first find the holes that the Coho are stacking up and then fish the most effective lures to catch them. Coho more so than other Salmon specie can be effectively caught on the wider range of tackle than other Salmon specie. Coho can be caught on hot shots, casting spoons, jigs, dick nites, spinners, bait (after August 31st on the Kitimat River), spin n glows, cheaters. curly tails, corkies, wool and flies. The list is endless. The general rule will always apply. Once the Coho holes are identified it is then a matter of choosing the most effective lure or lures to catch them in the type of water they are holding in. The beauty of Coho fishing is that there is no secret to finding them since they usually jump and splash revealing their location. Early in the run. hot shots and lures dominate as the more effective lures. Specifically the Luhr Jensen Hot shot 25 and 35's and Normark Wiggle warts. Gibbs Koho 45 and 55s in Blue scale and copper are usually the early favorites and have also dominated this week. When the water clarity is good flies are also very good. At the time of writing this report the Kitimat River is high and dirty but there will be a lot of Coho migrating in with the high water. I predict that when the Kitimat River cleans in a couple of days there will be a lot of Coho caught throughout the Kitimat. Stay tuned to this report and I will update as the Kitimat Coho run progresses.
DOUGLAS CHANNEL: There are lots of Coho in the Kitimat Harbour caught this week. When the Kitimat River is low Coho will 'stack up' in the Kitimat Harbour and the Coho fishing is outstanding. Many boats were limiting out with 8, 12, or 16 Coho throughout most of the week. But by Friday and Saturday the catch rate dropped off a bit. There were still plenty of Coho caught but not in the same high numbers. Don Pearson, owner of Moon Bay Marina also had the same observation. When the Kitimat River is high and on the exceptional high tides right now, more Coho will head straight into the river. As more Coho migrate up the Douglas Channel into the Kitimat Harbour and the Kitimat drops the Coho stocks will group up again.
Aug 16 Ron fishing with Associate Guide Marc Girard and his wife Bonnie in the Kitimat Harbour Fishery of the Douglas Channel. Marc is an Associate in our Guide/Charter business but Marc, Bonnie and I have evolved into becoming very good friends who enjoy fishing together. We landed a pile of Coho and had a lot of fun during our fishing trip in the Kitimat harbour. We boated 12 Coho and watched all the boats around us landing a bunch of Coho as well. Thank You for the wonderful time Bonnie and Marc. Good friends, Good times, and Great memories!
Aug 16 Jacque Losier fishing with his son Colby and father Roger and friend Bob Birch boated a 86lb Halibut and a 40lb Halibut down the Douglas Channel. They also caught a bunch of Coho and Crab. Three generations of the male side of the Losier family fishing together is wonderful to witness and to catch some very nice fish as well. Nicely done Mr. Losiers and Bob Birch! Congratulations!
Aug 16 Eric Turcotte says, “here is a picture from a trip in the channel with Patrick Dufresne on Sunday afternoon. We both caught our limit. On one picture, I'm standing with Patrick Dufresne, Jean-François Vezina and Evans Girard. J-F and Evans were very happy for us and enjoyed the dinner. On the other one, I'm standing with 9, 10, 11 and 13 lb Coho.” Well done Eric and Patrick. I bet you have some friends that want to go fishing with you!
Aug 16 Dave Payjack said 'I had to take a break to go out and get some fish for my own freezer. I brought along my father Larry Payjack and our friend Art Bourassa both from Terrace for a two day trip. Once the wind calmed down enough to fish my dad had to put on a school to remind who I learned how to fish from by catching a 108.8 lb Halibut. We caught 7 Halibut and landed 6 of them: 108.8 lb, 97.5 lb, 48.5 lb, 43 lb, 40 lb, and 35 lb. We also caught 7 ling cod, 8 Red snapper and 14 other cod fish'. Well done Guys. Dave, I guess you can still learn a thing or two from your Dad. Well done, Mr. Payjack. Congratulations on a very impressive catch!
Aug 19 I had the pleasure of fishing with Marc Girard and his neighbor Adene Clay and Kitimat's own Lynn Stevenson. Lynn asked me if I would catch some Coho for her. I responded that she would have to catch her own and I invited her to join Marc and me on a morning outing in the Kitimat Harbour. Marc and I contacted Adene Clay to complete our August 19th morning fishing team. As many readers who have fished the Salt already know, it is very much a team effort in the boat to catch fish. From the skipper at the wheel, lure selection, baiting hooks, fighting the fish, netting fish to cleaning the fish. Everyone has to pitch in to catch a bunch of fish. We boated 14 Coho, a Pink and a Chum. Lynn landed her first Coho and then proceeded to land a whole bunch more. Adene was equally up to the task of landing a bunch of Coho on her first outing in the Kitimat harbour. Thank You Ladies for your great company, your wonderful sense of humors. Marc and I had a awesome time fishing with Adene and Lynn.
Aug 19 Wes Owens fishing with our clients Derek Blouin and his daughter Ashley and Alex and Marco Jaworsky boated 16 Coho and a whole bunch of Crab. Congratulations on your catch. Well Done.
Aug 20 Ron and Marc Girard fishing our clients Sherry and Bob Carmicheal in the Kitimat Harbour Fishery. We landed 16 Coho and one Pink and released one Coho to end the trip since we had our 16 Salmon quota for the day. Congratulations Sherry and Bob. Marc and I had a lot of fun fishing with you. Thank You for enlisting our Charter services.
Aug 21 Ron doing a little staff training with Corbin Rego who works in our Tackle Store. Also on board was my favorite ex-father-in-law Art Hackler and daughter Debbie.
Aug 22 I went fishing with Art Hackler and Martin Golhke in the morning and we landed 4 Coho. I brought the boat back in and went back out later that evening with my son Brandon and his girlfriend Justine. We boated 4 Coho and a bunch of Pinks, most of which we released. We also lost a lot more which is normal when Coho fishing, but it provided excellent material to harass my son, Brandon with. Congratulations everyone on a nice day of fishing.
Aug 22 Wes Owens fishing with our clients Mike McIntyre and his son, Keegan. Mike and Keegan landed 8 Coho and released another 4 Coho. They also caught and released a large Chum that gave Keegan quite a battle. Wes commented that Mike had great time fishing with his son, Keegan. Wes also noticed that Keegan had great skills on the rod to land the fish. Congratulation Guys!
Summary for the Douglas Channel: There are plenty of Coho on the outer waters of the Douglas Channel and also plenty of bottom fish. Anchovies and hoochies are the hot lures for Coho and herring with a spreader bar is the most mentioned tackle for Halibut. Some anglers are having good success with the fatty strip of the bellies from the Pinks and Coho that are trimmed off at the cleaning table. They are baiting either a spreader bar or a jig with these belly strips and are doing really well with them.
Ferd Bouzane went fishing with some friends on the outer waters of Douglas Channel. They took two boats and went out for a few days and they came back with a pile of fish. They brought home 56 Salmon, (53 Coho and 3 Chinook), 42 Snapper and 7 Halibut. Many boaters have similar success fishing the Douglas Channel right now.
We can expect great Coho fishing throughout Douglas Channel for the next coming weeks. Bottom fishing will also continue especially at this end of the Douglas Channel due to the excellent Pink return. As the Pinks finish spawning and their carcasses wash out in front of the river mouths the Halibut and other bottom fish will continue to migrate up this end of the Douglas Channel to feed on the Pinks. This is an excellent time to fish the Douglas Channel.
We have plenty of open dates for interested anglers who wish to book a trip. This is a great opportunity to fish with us right now. The fishing is great and because of the downturn in the economy, we have plenty of dates available. Please contact Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca
The Kitimat Chamber of Commerce Derby is coming up on September 5th and 6th. It is an outstanding event and prizes have been increased to be enjoyed by all the participants. For interested anglers from out of town, Derby tickets can be purchased by calling the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce with a Credit Card. Cast here to see the poster http://www.noelgyger.ca/articles/2009-Fish-Derby-Poster.pdf Please contact the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce at 250 632 6294 Toll Free 1-800-664-6554 or email address kitimatchamber@telus.net
Thank You to everyone who contributed photos and info to this report.
Tight Lines.
Bright Fish and Big Smiles
Sincerely
Ron Wakita
Fishing Report from: April Vokey of Fly Gal Ventures
Aug 18 Hi Noel! I am in Iceland on the Midfjardará.
The fishing was a little slower than usual, but still amazing! There were a ton of grilse in the river with spottings of larger Atlantics making their way up....
Weather is a mix of rain and sun, but the temperature was fairly low (jacket weather).
They were readily taking flies off the top.
Iceland is one of my favorite places in the world, and I highly recommend taking this once in a lifetime trip! If anybody needs more information please contact Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca
Regards
April Vokey
Fishing Report from: Steelhead Heaven
Hi Noel, the summer steelhead ya that would be nice, this high water will bring the run in,
I have been in the kitimat area for coho, both salt and freshwater fishing is automatic and the run is very good, also Nass Chinook are biting, attached are some of my best pics this week, tight lines, Tracey Hittel
AREA RIVER RECORDS: Chinook Salmon: Skeena River, 92.5-pounds; Kalum River, 85-pounds; Kitimat River, 74-pounds; Steelhead: Skeena River, 45-pounds; Coho Salmon: Skeena River, 27-pounds.
FISHING REGULATIONS WEBSITES:
2009-2011 BC tidal waters and non-tidal (Federal) Salmon fishing information:
www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish
Effective April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2011
2009-2011 Freshwater (Provincial) Fishing Regulations Synopsis:
www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish
Effective April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2011 (Note regs good for two years)
GUEST FISHING PHOTOS:
*** If any of you have special fishing photos, testimonials, scenic river photos, wildlife photos or articles I would love to see them.
Aug 17 Hey Noel, My family and I moved to Terrace in January this year and we love it!!! I subscribed to your newsletter before we got here and we were dreaming of big fish!!!! Last Wednesday, August 12, 2009 my two boys and I headed up to the North end of Dundas Island. We moored up at Dundas 101 lodge for the night, but not before hooking into a big halibut! This is the one we have been dreaming of! The rusty old scale at the lodge registered over 80 lbs and as you can see I was having trouble holding it up!!! We had a great trip, whales all around, humpbacks and orcas and fish in the boat. The coho were thick out there!!! Keep up the good work on the newsletter!!!! Look forward to meeting you out on the water!!
Cheers, The HUGHES family
Catch & Release formula:
- Chinook: girth squared x length x 1.54 divided by 1000 (inches)
- Steelhead: girth squared x length x 1.33 divided by 1000 (inches)
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The following are Sponsors http://www.noelgyger.ca/sponsors.htm of this fishing report. Please check out their websites at your convenience. Thank you.
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GOOD LUCK and GOOD FISHING!
Yours sincerely,
Noel F. Gyger
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Aug 22, 2009; 01:41PM - Radio Fish
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Endless Season Update 08/22/2009
Flyfishing and convention gear on an offshore sportfisher? Cooperation and teamwork made it happen http://tiny.cc/va2lG
REPORT #1179 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
The most predictable thing about fishing in August at East Cape is that before you head out, the decision of what you want to catch needs to be made’ this accounts for all the boats hanging out close to shore around the bait guys, hopefully catching a few roosters, jacks or whatever else will bite.
Meanwhile, the savvy Captains have their ears glued to the radio as they flip from one secret channel to another trying to decide in which direction to run. Suddenly the Captain tells the anglers to reel in; the boat speeds up and everyone grabs a rail or sits down.
If the boat heads south, chances are you going have a box full of dorado and maybe a few of the gorilla sized tuna that are being caught right now traveling with the porpoise. If the boat heads straight out from the lighthouse, blue marlin will be the target where there is always the chance of catching a huge one (400 plus); it is more likely however that the blue marlin caught will be much smaller…in the 200 to 300 pound class. If the boat turns north outside of Punta Pescadero chances are it will be a day of trolling…interspersed with a sporadic sail or marlin bite.
If the beach is your venue, go at gray light and carry lots of liquids! I can’t promise what the bite will be but I can promise it will be hot. If you fished from a boat the day before, go where ever you found the bait guys selling the sardina. Most of the beach action this week has consisted of small roosters and jacks, along with ladyfish and a few pompano.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
It’s all about dorado, tuna and yellowtail outside this week! From Lopez Mateos it is only a short ten-mile run to the action. From there out the bite is consistent for dorado to thirty-five pounds, tuna to eighteen and firecracker yellows.
Some reports on marlin are that they are beginning to gather, which is just a tad early. So far there is not enough volume to spend the entire day chasing them, but if you are willing to gamble on stumbling across one of the groups that the shark fishermen have reported spotting, you may get lucky.
Out of Puerto San Carlos the small yellows are at the Entrada under the bird schools. The sandy beach on the south side of Belchers is producing enough small halibut to make a few minute stop worthwhile.
Up in the mangroves it is more carbrilla and less grouper these days. As for snook…maybe, but if you’re lucky, your chances are better for a mangrove snapper.
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 86° blue water is tight against the beach, with the main action only a couple of miles offshore. Sailfish averages are approximately two fish per day per boat, with a few scattered dorado being taken also.
All up and down the coast the roosterfish action is still fantastic. A lot of jack crevelle are showing to the north of Ixtapa as well.
The only problem is, and I can hardly believe this, we are only putting one or two boats a day on the water. Normally, around this time of the year, we should have between 15 to 20 boats a day on the water.…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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Aug 17, 2009; 10:33AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 10-16 2009
WEATHER: Hot. Daytime highs were in the 100-degree range, on Thursday at the house we had 105 degrees in the shade, the highest I have seen so far this year. In the evenings it has dropped to the high 80’s, and this morning at 5:30 it was 84 degrees. We had a little cloud cover in the middle of the week but it brought no cool air with it, just less breeze. If you are coming down, don’t pack a sweatshirt.
WATER: On the Sea of Cortez the water was hot, just like the air. Surface temperatures were a fairly consistent 86-89 degrees with the cooler water closer to shore near the Cape. There were a few hot spots out past the 1,000-fathom line where we saw 90 degrees. On the Pacific side it was a bit better with the water being between a cool 80 degrees (at least cool for this time of year) and 86 degrees. The cooler water was at the San Jaime Banks and close to the beach up past Los Arcos. There was a bit of wind and chop on the Pacific side when the clouds moved in, and in the afternoons a slight breeze made for more comfortable conditions. As of the end of the week, over the weekend, the wind really picked up and the conditions became very rough and uncomfortable. On the Cortez side the water was smooth and glassy almost every day except for the end of the week when the swells picked up a bit.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. There were Sardinas available up in San Jose at the usual $25 per scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin concentrations have been moving off to the north for quite some time and the few fish were are seeing now may have been lost, as there are not very many of them. Most of the billfish we are seeing now are either small Blue Marlin or Sailfish, with an occasional large Blue or Black in the mix just to surprise you. Almost all the action on billfish has taken place on the Pacific side or to the south of us; a few Sailfish have been seen and caught in the hot water on the Cortez side. The Blues are striking on large lures trolled at slightly higher speeds than normal and the Sails seem to like the smaller lures used for Dorado. Having a drop-back live bait standing by for packs of Sailfish that come in the pattern has resulted in multiple hook-ups for a lot of boats.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Early in the week the bite was still on for the Yellowfin that came through, but by the end of the week these fish had already moved on to the west and could not be found. They were finally lost to the west at 60 miles, but hopefully another school of the large guys will come through the area. There are still some schools of the smaller fish to be found to the north of the Los Arcos area and to the south of the cape. The white bellied dolphin have been holding these smaller fish, to 30 pounds with an occasional 60 pound fish in the mix, while the white spotted dolphin were holding the larger tuna that came through. The key to the larger fish, while they were here, was circle hooks, live bait and #60 flouro-carbon leader dropped well in front of the moving school and away from the boat, or an immediate drop back when a smaller fish was hooked while trolling.
DORADO: Early in the week and in the middle of the week the action on Dorado was almost wide open. As the moon became smaller it dropped off a bit. Either that or the fish moved off for a while. On a very positive note, the fish that have been taken lately have all been very good sized, and for many of the boats being able to cull your catch by releasing the small ones has been easily possible. Fish in the 40 to 60 pound class have been brought in every day and almost 70% of the boats have been hooking up to one that size, although getting them into the boat is a different story! Most of the fish have been on the Pacific side close to the beach, in the slightly cooler water.
WAHOO: There were a few fish caught this week, most of them in the 30-pound class, and most of them have been found while trolling for something else.
INSHORE: Dorado were the fish of choice for most anglers going out on Pangas this week but on Friday the wind kicked up for the early morning and Roosterfish were the target. Fishing was very good for both species and there were some very nice grouper and snapper caught as well. Most of the Dorado fishing was done on the Pacific side while the Roosterfish were found on both side of the Cape, with a better concentration of them on the Sea of Cortez side.
NOTES: Just a last minute update on fishing conditions overall, since I wrote the above on Sunday morning the wind has picked up on the Pacific side and the fishing over the weekend has dropped off considerably. Most boats at the weekend were coming in with one or two Dorado and perhaps a small Tuna or releasing a Marlin or Sailfish. Hopefully the fishing picks up this coming week. It has been too hot to golf this week so I am taking a break and doing some little stuff around the house. I had a chance to see my friend Brian Flynn this week as he came down for a few days. He and the Brian Flynn band played one night at Poncho and Blondie’s, really rocking out the joint with their southern rock & roll. I listened to one of his CD’s today as I wrote this report and now I am all wound up! Rock on Brian!! Until next week, tight lines!
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