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Blog Saturday, January 18 2020
Cortez Yacht Charters Weekly Mexico Fishing Report Week ended 12/27/19 THE CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR THE GAVIOTA SPORT FISHING FLEET AND FISH CABO FLEET Santa was pretty nice to Cabo anglers this past week. The Striped Marlin bite slowed a bit and seemed to spread out a bit towards the inside and although the overall success rate remained high, the number of multiple Marlin report were down but again offset by many limits of Dorado and some great targeted Yellowfin Tuna fishing. The boats targeting the Yellowfin had success with school fish in the 20-40 lb range. The larger Tuna again showed up with multiple reports of fish scaled in the 100 – 150 lb range. The Dorado counts were up for the Christmas break with really nice overall size with lots of 18-20 lbs fish with some occasionally into the 30-40 lb range. The Wahoo counts were down a bit with most in the 20-30 lb range with a few over 50 lbs reported and again found primarily well offshore out on the Marlin grounds. The inshore fishing was again very productive with some nice counts of Snappers, Groupers, and Sierras as well as some nice Roosterfish in the surf. The prime Marlin activity was again on the Pacific side with favorable reports from the Golden Gate and San Jamie banks on the Pacific side with the waters offshore Cabo Falso and the Lighthouse on up to Cerritos also mentioned as hot spots. There were also some favorable reports off Palmilla and toward the Gordos. The Yellowfin were found primarily to the south and southwest with very good action off the San Jamie and Golden Gate banks but some closer in action off El Arco when they found the dolphins. Action on the inside picked up a bit with some large Yellowfin to 75 lbs reported off the Gordos and some decent action off the 1150. Most of the Dorado were running in the 15-20 lb range with some larger fish in the 30-40 lb range and still plentiful enough many of the boats were able to cull and release smaller fish and still make their anglers’ limit with the larger 20 lb fish. While overall Marlin fishing remained strong there were far fewer Blues and Sails reported this past week as the water begins to cool. The anomaly was numerous reports of Sailfish along the Palmilla corridor east to the Inner Gordos. Inshore fishing was again solid with some really nice catches of Sierras along the west side of Migrino. Roosters were slower but showed up again in the surf from Solmar to the Lighthouse and off Palmilla with some reported in the 20-25 lb range. Some very nice catches of Snappers and Groupers were also reported fishing close to the rocks around El Arco. Large Jacks were available off the rocks from Solmar west. Cabo Climate: Mid December was mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies and some occasional scatted late afternoon thunder storms. The future outlook into early January is for a mix of mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with average daytime temps in the low to mid 70’s and evenings in the low 60’s. The 2 week forecast is mostly clear but with a 40% chance of showers around New Years and again in the period from the 8th-10th. Winds are expected to be in the 7-11 mph range out of the SW shifting to the WNW into mid January. Humidity is expected to run in the mid 60’s. Congratulations to one of our favorite boats the 34’ TUNA TIME – released 5 Marlin and boated 9 Yellowfin and 10 Dorado on 3 days of fishing! Her sister boat the 43’ Hatteras FISH CABO tallied 1 Marlin, 15 Dorado and 1 Wahoo on 2 days of fishing. Sea Conditions: The seas are expected to be moderate with some larger swells and chop showing up in the afternoons as breezes increase. Morning seas have, however, have been in the 2’-3’ range. The water temperatures have really stabilized between the Pacific and the inside. The Pacific side sea temps have cooled a bit and are currently running in the 77-79 degree range with mostly clear water. The inside is a bit warmer with temps in the 78-79 degree range. Best Fishing Areas: Most of this past week’s hot spots for Marlin action were on the Pacific side with lots of close in multiple fish action from the Lighthouse north to Cerritos and Pozo Cota. The San Jamie and Golden Gate banks produced some nice marlin catches along with some quality Yellowfin action. The Yellowfin were primarily reported off to the SW or the South 25-30 miles out and also at the San Jamie and Golden Gate Banks. The kite action off the San Jamie produced some large Yellowfin. Some nice Dorado action was reported 4-6 miles off the Lighthouse for the smaller craft and returning boats from the San Jamie. The west side corridor from the Lighthouse north to Cerritos, Gaspareno and La Ballena were reported as hot spots for the Dorado. The interior corridor from Los Arcos to Palmilla produced plenty of schoolie Dorado. Interestingly for late in the year, there were numerous reports of Sailfish from Palmilla east to the Inner Gordos. Los Arcos to the Lighthouse and Migrino were the choice for inshore fishing with some really nice catches of Sierras coming off Migrino. Rooster action was solid, with some large fish and large Jacks in the surf from El Arco west past Solmar to the Lighthouse. Favorite Baits: Live Cabilitos or Mackerel was the favorite for the Marlin with increased success from trolled lures with green, blue & white and green & yellow the favorites. Cedar plugs and feathers were the favorite for the Yellowfin. The Dorado were hitting trolled lures and feathers and also live or dead fly lined baits once the schools were located. Hoochies were by far the preferred and most productive lures for the Sierras. Trolled live baits near the surf and large poppers were the most successful bait for Roosters this past week. Dead bait was the ticket for the Snappers and Groupers. Bait Supply: Live bait is available at the $3.00 per bait upon exit from the harbor. Mackerel, when available, are popular with the captains. Our local reporters: Captain Roberto Marquez-Castro of the Fish Cabo Fleet and Gaviota Fleet Dock Manager Carlos Pena-Mireles. THE MAZATLAN REPORT FOR THE ARIES SPORT FISHING FLEET – MARINA EL CID AND El CID MEGA RESORT, PACIFIC Our friends at the El Cid Marina in Mazatlan reported much the same weather as Cabo and reported some solid fishing results! As the water cools a bit, the Striped Marlin are again showing up in larger numbers to mix with the Sailfish that Mazatlan is known for. The billfish counts were solid with a higher mix of Striped Marlin as the water cools. Their inshore fishing produced excellent results for fishermen on 4 hour or 6 hour trips. The offshore boats reported a nice mix of Striped Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Dorado. The inshore boats had another solid week and reported good action on Snappers, Jacks and Triggers. They reported 15 Sailfish, 12 Striped Marlin, and 14 Dorado and 10 Yellowfin Tuna on 31 offshore trips and 312 Snappers, 78 Queen Triggerfish and 34 Jacks and 10 Pompanos on 17 inshore trips. (Reporting on 10 days fishing) Mazatlan Climate: Mid December showed a normal late fall pattern with a couple of scattered thunderstorms with a bit higher winds than normal. The outlook into early January is for afternoons in the mid to upper 70’s daytime and high 50’s to low 60’s in the evenings. The forecast into mid January is for mostly partly cloudy skies with a 30%-40% chance of morning showers or scattered thunderstorms moving in early or toward the end of the day around New Years and again in the period from the 8th-10th. Winds are forecast in the 5-9 mph range primarily out of the West trending toward the WNW into mid January. Humidity is predicted to be in the mid 60’s to low 70’s into the middle of January. Sea Conditions: The water is now in the 78 degree range to the north and 78-79 degrees to the south. The past week Mazatlan had a mix of mostly calm to choppy seas mixed with some strong afternoon swells and chop with winds in the early to mid teens in the afternoons. The future outlook is for relatively calm seas in the mornings with the winds in the 5-6 mph range and some afternoon swells with 7-9 mph winds. Best Fishing Area: The offshore bite for the billfish is starting as close as 8- 10 miles out with best results to the west and southwest of the Marina El Cid. The Dorado are being found closer to shore inside the prime bill fishing zone. In shore, the Super Pangas are finding success all along the coast especially around the rocks. The water is very clear from the shore out to the offshore breaks. Best Bait & Lures: Freshly caught rigged trolling baits and smoke trail lures produced best results for the billfish. The Tuna are being caught on feathers and cedar plugs. Bait Supply: Freshly caught baits are readily available from the bait boats Our Local Reporter: Ms. Kitcia Berenice Ceja-Diaz, the Aries Fleet and Marina El Cid Office Manager and fishing reporter THE IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORT FOR THE INDEPENDENT SPORT FISHING FLEET The Christmas vacation weather and the fishing in Zihuatanejo has been outstanding! The independent fleet reported an average of 3 or more Sailfish hookups per day less than 10-12 miles out! Some larger Blue Marlin are showing up a bit farther offshore in the blue water. The big Yellowfin are available but found farther out beyond the 1000 fathom mark 30-35 miles out for those willing to go the extra distance in the larger boats. The inshore fishing for Roosters, Chulas and Jacks continued to be very productive for the large number of fly fishermen and many large fish are showing up to go with strong catches. Capt Temo reported great success this past week with many Roosters easily found to the south and aggressively hitting poppers especially if they could find some off colored water. Quality Jacks were found around the rocks both to the north and the south. Many of the fishermen are focused on fly fishing during the prime Rooster season. The offshore action for Sailfish and Dorado this past week moved out to the 10-12 mile mark. Large schools of Yellowfin are out 30+ miles out past the 1000 fathom mark with lots of quality fish in the 50—100+ lb range. Blue Marlin were present offshore along with the historic Zihuatanejo Sailfish bite much closer. Inshore large Jacks and Chulas were very productive and the Roosters were plentiful with some very large fish reported. IZ Climate: They are now entering their dry season with a mix of mostly sunny to partly cloudy days with very occasional late afternoon and evening thunderstorms followed by sunny to partly cloudy skies the following morning during the prime fishing time. The 2 week outlook into mid January is for warm temps with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies with precipitation in the 10% or under range. Daily temps are predicted in the mid to upper 80’s and night time temps in the mid 70’s with humidity expected to run in the mid 60’s to low 70’s into mid January. The winds are expected to be very mild in the 3-7 mph range primarily from the SW shifting to the West by mid January. Sea Conditions: The offshore water temperature is now in the 84-85 degree range from the 100 fathom line at the 5-6 mile mark all the way out to the 1,000 fathom line at 30-32 miles and beyond. These temps are ideal for the Blue Marlin and Yellowfin in larger numbers. The offshore clear blue water has recently moved almost to the shoreline with some very deep blue water now out beyond the 1000 fathom mark at 32-35 miles out to 50 miles. Inshore, the water was in the 83-84 degree range and very clear. Finding some spots of off colored water near shore is perfect for the big Roosters. Best Baits & Lures: Rigged trolling baits and smoke trail lures continue to produce for the Billfish and Dorado with most boats preferring a mix of rigged baits for the Billfish and smaller lures and feathers for the Dorado. Inshore top water poppers are the favorite for the Roosterfish. Cedar plugs and feathers are working best on the Yellowfin when found. Bait Supply: The bait supply remains good and freshly caught baits are provided gratis with most charters. Live baits are readily available at this time and are $5.00/dozen paid directly to the bait vendors. Our Local Reporter: Captain Temo Verboonen – owner/operator of the Secuestro de Amor and Macho Banana. CANCUN/PUERTO MORELOS FISHING REPORT FOR THE EL CID MARINA Our friends at the El Cid Marina in Puerto Morelos enjoyed increased tourist activity for the Christmas holiday season along with decent weather and solid results. With the close-in shallow reef fishing available at Puerto Morelos many clients opt for the 4 hour or 6 hour shallow reef trips with others opting for the 6 hour or 8 hour offshore trips mixed with a few hours on the close in reefs at the end of the day for some fine table fare. Everyone is waiting for the seasonal appearance of the Sailfish in January. The billfish are not yet in their early year migration pattern but fishermen enjoyed overall great results on the off shore trips. The fleet reported 3 Sailfish, 33 Giant Atlantic Barracuda, 18 King Mackerel, 14 Mahi-Mahi, 4 Blackfin Tuna, 44 Bonito, and 1 Wahoo from targeted offshore fishing. The close in reef fishing reported 83 Chack-Chi (Caribbean Snappers), 24 Mutton Snappers, 16 Black Grouper, 43 Queen Triggerfish and 4 Jacks. A total of 117 offshore fish and 170 inshore fish for a total of 287 fish for an average of almost 7 fish per trip on a total of 42 trips!! PM/Cancun Climate: The Yucatan early winter weather pattern typically has very warm days with some early morning to late afternoon scattered thunderstorms as the clouds build coming off the warm water. The extended forecast into mid January is for a mix of mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies coupled with scattered occasional early morning and late afternoon showers or isolated afternoon thunderstorms. Daytime temperatures are predicted in the low to mid 80’s with evenings in the low 70’s. The forecast is for a 10-20% chance of daily precipitation early in the month trending toward 30-40% daily toward the 10th. Humidity is expected to be in the low to mid 70’s. Winds are expected to be in the 7-11 mph range primarily out of the East. Sea Conditions: Water temperatures in the Cancun-Puerto Morelos-Cozumel area are currently running in the 82-83 degree range. Seas are running from calm to a bit choppy in the afternoons depending on the weather conditions. The prevailing winds are predicted to be out of the East. Anticipate some modest afternoon swells and chop expected with the higher winds in the afternoon. Best Bait & Lures: Rigged Ballyhoo, small smoke trail lures were working well for the billfish with feathers also working for the Mahi-Mahi, King Mackerel and Giant Barracuda. Cut bait is the preferred fare for the reef fishing. Bait Supply: The bait supply of locally caught Ballyhoo remains good and are provided gratis with most charters. Our Local Reporter: Miss Victoria Garcia at the Hotel El Cid Spa & Beach Resort and Marina |
