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Here we are in mid August and the Yellowtail is at the top of this list! Conditions at 200-250+ feet below the surface are obviously favorable for yellowtail to be feeding in late summer this year. With the exception of August 6 and 7, the yellowtail bite has been consistent and reliable.
Yellowtail are being caught off the north side of Isla Carmen as they have been for the past three weeks. Boats are fishing over the cincquenta and the la vaca sea mounts located several miles north of Punta Lobos. We're also going North to fish over San Bruno and Puerta Almejas.
August 3, 2010: this 40 pound Amberjack is a close cousin of the Yellowtail except pound for pound it is even stronger than a Yellowtail. Look at the size of the head and shape of its body. It is not as torpedo shaped as a Yellowtail you can see the "shoulders" those are the muscles that pull against you. The amber color is also characteristic of the Amberjack. This is a fine eating fish.
August 2, 2010: Yellowtail were biting consistently up until Aug 6, here is a nice 3-35 pound fish that was caught off San Bruno.
For detailed information on the named locations within this report, please click on our fishing maps section. Also included are maps that further detail our fishing areas.
The yellowtail have been ranging from just over 30 to just over 40 pounds. They are taking mackerel or bigeye from the bottom at roughly 250-350 feet depending on where ou fish. These bait are hooked to an 80 pound leader and sent down on 60 pound line with 8-10 ounces of weight. The bite has been early lately with fish hooking up on arrival. the bite may change in the next few days. I believe the YT are extra hungry now because the currents were so strong over friday-saturday-sunday after that small windstorm we had. At this point the currents are back to normal and the fish are hungry.
Isla Coronado is another place we're getting yellowtail and this is also where the 105 pound grouper was caught.
We're catching these old standbys along the shorelines and also in the deep water with the Yellowtail. The Pargo and Cabrilla along the shorelines will run from 5 to over 20 pounds. Trolling rapala type lures will work if you don't have any bait. Colors that work are black/light grey or white, blue/white, hot orange/lime green... We are starting to net sardinas in and around the marina again. These little baitfish are very small right now and they look different than we're used to with a sliver 1/8 inch (3mm) streak running along the length of their bodies. These fish should do well in attracting the Pargo and Cabrilla mong others out of their rocky dens and to the surface.
There are some larger Roosterfish being caught on trolled live bait. Roosterfish have been found off the bajo across the channel from Isla Coronado and also off Isla Carmen's North and West shorelines and its southern tip (called Punta Baja). We've also been finding them off the shorelines from Nopolo to Ensenada Blanca. These locations coincide with the cooler readings on the latest SST images. Its been tough for the fly guys to get them purely by casting and teasing them in has been difficult at best which tells me either they're off their feed (due to increasing water temps), or they've moved to cooler water.
THREE 105 Pound gulf groupers caught on April 18, circa 1964
Above: Three fisherman and a captain (Alejo Davis Romero), three giant gulf grouper probably over 100 pounds each, 3 smaller cabrilla, a jack or a palometta can't tell (near the center light color) and 15 yellowtail! Although it would appear at though times have changed and very few people would take this much in 2010, these guys would still be conforming within the legal sportfishing limits in Mexico.
This year may go down on record as one of the poorest years for Dorado in our region of the Sea of Cortez. At the point of about mid June I was saddened to come to the conclusion that we were actually in a la niña weather pattern as opposed to an el niño pattern. The last very strong la niña we had was 1998 and this year appears to be a repeat of twelve years ago; few dorado, few billfish, lots of Yellowtail biting in deep water, inshore fishing being the focus... Only difference between this year and 1998 is there are no Yellowfin tuna around. That year the YFT were from 30 to 60 pounds and found just off Punta Lobos. Every boat limited out unless they drank too much beer, then the large commercial vessels with heliocopters and spotter planes congregated and it would take about two days for them to be gone.
This year there have been only a handful of large commercial boats off our area and maybe there's a reason for that. Hardly any fish.
Well its not a complete loss because there are some Dorado that have migrated into the area and they are mostly being found right off the shorelines. We're fishing inshore for Dorado and Roosterfish in the same general areas and that's only a short ride away frm the Yellowtail spots.
August 2, 2010: A couple of nice Dorado caught near the shoreline.
We have had few Sailfish this year to speak of although we are starting to see more coming in lately. However we are not seeing the kind of numbers we're used to and this is reflected in their catch rates which are so low on the charts that they may as well not be counted.
At left: this is typical of the size Jack Crevalle to expect along the malceon and marina just off the breakwalls. They are very tide dependant and bite 1.5-2 hours after the tide swings bck up from the low. If we have two tides they will bite after both tidal changes.
Bigger baits have been pretty easy to get with the exception of the past weekend which was too blown out for the bait catchers. Now that the seas are calm again they are having no trouble catching mackerel. Bigeye are baing netted and snagged off the marina and breakwalls. Sardinas are starting to appear again. Although they were never gone they've merely grown to such a size that we can net them again. Currently they are very small for our usual standards and they have a distinct silver stripe (about 1/8 inch, 3mm wide) that runs down their body from head to tail.
At left: this is typical of the size Jack Crevalle to expect along the malceon and marina just off the breakwalls. They are very tide dependant and bite 1.5-2 hours after the tide swings bck up from the low. If we have two tides they will bite after both tidal changes.
