East Cape Fishing Report! 10/31/11
A mix of striped marlin, sailfish, dorado, and yellowfin tuna make up the bulk of catches in the East Cape fleet right now. Fish are scattered far and wide across the Sea of Cortez, with several distinct tuna schools, roaming billfish, and pods of dorado throughout our fishing grounds. Most fish are being caught with trolled lures.
Unseasonable north winds cooled our sea surface temps a bit this past week, and in lockstep with that we saw a big increase in the numbers of dorado being caught. While most of the fish are schoolie size, a few nicer-sized mahi mahi in the 20-25# class are being hooked.
Billfishing is excellent. Our fleet has tallied more than 300 striped marlin and sailfish recently, and some big blue marlin are mixed in with the marlin catches also. Yellowfin tuna remain in our waters, but are becoming less consistent in catches, with numbers of fish in the 60-120# range being caught, although the vast majority of tuna are football size. Inshore, fishing is great, with a mix of roosterfish, amberjack, jack crevalle, big-eye jacks, ladyfish, and pargo available.
Sea surface temps range from 82-86 degrees and air temps have been in the high 90’s every day. Our third consecutive year of no hurricanes! See you on the East Cape soon!
East Cape Fishing Report! 10/10/11
After an absolutely CRAZY three-plus weeks of yellowfin tuna fishing during September, the overall bite tapered somewhat toward the end of the month and into the first week of October. Fishing remains very good, with shots at 110#-plus tuna and even bigger fish available, plus plenty of footballs and fish in the 40-70 pound class.
Multiple schools are available. Fish are being found to the north off Punta Pescadero and Punta Perico, within ten miles of La Ribera and Cabo Pulmo to the east, and further south all the way down to Los Frailes. Fish galore!
With so many boats concentrating on tuna, the fishing reports for other species are much smaller. We’re seeing some nice blue marlin in the 250-350 pound range, and one boat recently hooked and successfully landed a black marlin while trolling within a tuna school. Quite a few striped marlin and sailfish are still in East Cape waters, but with so few boats putting out lure spreads for billfish, we’re just not seeing that many catch-and-release flags for billfish.
Dorado numbers, which looked to be spiking just a few weeks ago, have likewise diminished as anglers focus on yellowfin. A few fish up to 40 pounds are being caught, but most dorado are schoolie size in the 15-pound range.
Inshore, some huge pargo are being caught’one recent catch was over 60 pounds. Quite a few roosterfish, triggerfish, cabrilla, and even a few amberjacks are appearing in catch reports for inshore action as well.
We are finishing up our third summer in a row with NO hurricanes targeting the East Cape, which is great news, but we could sure use some rain in these parts. Air temps continue to approach the high 90’s each day, and sea surface temps range from 85-89 degrees. It’s hot, but so’s the fishing here on the East Cape! We expect the awesome fishing to continue through November, so hurry down for a fishing trip!
East Cape Fishing Report! 9/1/11
Fishing remains excellent on the East Cape right now. Anglers can choose from a number of popular big game species and enjoy the variety swimming in the Sea of Cortez right now.
Yellowfin tuna are leading the way, with many football-sized fish available in several distinct schools, and plenty of bigger brutes mixed in as well. 150-pound class fish remain in our waters so anglers are getting plenty of shots at huge fish, but much more common are 20-50# tuna. Leading the way are huge numbers of dorado in the 20-30 pound class, with fish consistently showing up over 40#, and occasional whoppers over 50#. Plenty of 50-100# fish are mixed in the schools, so no matter where anglers are dropping lines, the tuna are producing great action.
A torrid bite for big dorado has started to taper dramatically in the past ten days or so. While the average size of mahi mahi (around 25#) still is excellent, the huge numbers of fish we have been seeing basically since June are starting to drop off. That doesn’t mean the numbers won’t see a resurgence going forward; dorado grow incredibly fast (they spawn every second day) and only live to an age of two years, so they are one of the most prolific species in the ocean.
Blue marlin numbers remain good. We’re seeing an average of 30 fish per week hooked up, and about half that number are brought to the boat, with a strong catch-and-release ethic in place. Plenty of striped marlin and some big Pacific sailfish are also available for anglers targeting billfish. Wahoo numbers have dropped off in recent weeks.
Inshore, excellent roosterfish, some big jack crevalle and snapper, and some cabrilla are rounding out angler catches. Sea surface temps are ranging from 85-89 degrees and our peak summer air temps have the heat indexes over 110 on many days! Come enjoy some hot weather, hot fishing, and cool drinks down here on the East Cape!
East Cape Fishing Report! 8/1/11
Fishing is INCREDIBLE on the East Cape right now, continuing the trend of amazing angling opportunities we’ve enjoyed so far this year.
Leading the way are huge numbers of dorado in the 20-30 pound class, with fish consistently showing up over 40#, and occasional whoppers over 50#. The dorado are teeming in the Sea of Cortez right now, so there’s really no bad fishing spots for them. Anglers to the north are finding fish near the commercial shark buoys, off Punta Pescadero and Punta Perico, and in the waters off Cerralvo Island and the 88 (Ocho-Ocho) Reef. Many mahi mahi are available 3-6 miles off La Rivera, around Punta Arena, and to the south out from Los Frailes.
Yellowfin tuna action is hot also, with huge schools of fish available. Many of the tuna are schoolie size, 20-30 pound fish, but we do see some giants coming in to the docks on a regular basis as well. Fish over 200# are being battled every week. Many more in the 100-150# class are being hooked as well.
Blue marlin, striped marlin, and sailfish are on a hot bite. The talk of the town is Chucky Van Wormer, who owns our hotels along with his family, who landed a 557# blue marlin in last week’s East Cape Bisbee Marlin Tournament to win $230,000. Lots of other blue marlin are in our waters, with most hookups just a few miles offshore from La Rivera. Another hotspot is the long, tapering underwater point running off Punta Pescadero. Striped marlin and sailfish are being caught and released with ease in our waters right now.
Some nice wahoo are being landed, with numbers of fish over 50# being reported. Anglers concentrating on the inshore bite are enjoying multiple hookups for big roosterfish, with 25-40# fish common, and opportunities for even bigger roosters available. Jack crevalle, pompano, pargo, and cabrilla round out the consistent near-shore bite.
You seriously don’t have enough hours in the day to catch all the species that are biting on the East Cape right now. Make your plans soon to enjoy some of the greatest sportfishing in the world-affordably!
East Cape Fishing Report! 6/1/11
In the past couple of weeks, fishing has been absolutely awesome here on the East Cape. We’ve got air temps in the 90’s and sea surface temps in the low 80s, and the big story has been the incredible yellowfin tuna fishing our guests have enjoyed. The biggest fish landed so far weighed a whopping 230#, and we had another fish come to the scales at 187#. Many other huge fish have escaped during the fight, and many of our boats are routinely hooking into 50-100# class yellowfin. Most of the action is to the north about twenty miles out from Punta Pescadero, but the Ocho-Ocho Reef and points east and south also have been producing fish. Safe to say it’s hot action for tuna right now with some real bruisers swimming in East Cape waters. Usually this trend continues right through summer, so if you’d like to experience some tremendous fights with big tuna, now’s the time to get down to East Cape Resorts!
Dorado action has been excellent as well, with schools of fish in the area. The best news is the excellent size of the mahi mahi right now’fish over 40# are common and we’re breaking 50# on a daily basis as well! Dorado fishing doesn’t get much better than this!
Striped marlin fishing has cracked wide open as well. Lots of stripers are available, but with anglers dealing with multi-hour fights with giant tuna, the number of lures in the water for marlin is lower. If you want to concentrate on billfish, catching and releasing four or more per day is easy right now. A few big sailfish are mixed in with the schools or marlin.
Inshore, action is good for cabrilla, pompano, pargo, and roosterfish. Several blue marlin have been reported as well. The biggest fish was over 500# and was hooked by an angler fishing out of Punta Colorada. The season for big blue marlin 250-600 pounds is imminent, so in addition to the great tuna, dorado, and striped marlin action, why not mix in a giant blue!
Fishing doesn’t get any better than what we’re enjoying on the East Cape right now! Hope to see you soon!
East Cape Fishing Report! 5/1/11
In this fishing report we offer the good news/bad news scenario. The good news includes warming sea surface temperatures, ranging from 73-77 degrees in most of our fishing grounds. (For a satellite image of our water temps, click on the ‘Terrafin’ button on the Fishing page of our website). Even better news are the significant numbers of striped marlin and sailfish in East Cape waters, as well as some nice wahoo (an 85-pounder was landed last week), improving numbers of dorado (mostly schoolies but a 52-pound fish was captured last week), as well as inshore action for roosterfish, pargo, cabrilla, pompano, triggerfish, and even some yellowtail that are still hanging around.
The bad news is the prevalence of huge quantities of baitfish for predators to feed on. At the top of this list of annoyances are vast numbers of small squid, which are like candy to billfish. The striped marlin and sailfish are gorging on the squid, and while anglers are spotting hundreds of marlin throughout the region, not nearly as many are being tricked to bite. A good marlin fishing day right now is 3-4 fish caught and released. With the numbers of fish in our waters, boats should be catching 6-8 daily, and that’s per boat. The upside is, warming water means high metabolisms and these big predators will soon wipe out enough bait to make catching them an easier task. Aril, May, and June are traditionally our peak fishing months for striped marlin fishing anyway
East Cape Fishing Report! 4/1/11
Below average sea surface temperatures have slowed the Spring bite here on the East Cape. Water temps are in the low 70’s, but should be in the 74-76 degree range by now. Despite an incredible biomass of bait in the Sea of Cortez (bonita, needlefish, ballyhoo, and sardines), the invasion of our topline predators is behind schedule. Striped marlin are available, with boats that target billfish averaging 1-2 releases per day. Much of the action is to the north, near Isla Cerralvo, and the Ocho-Ocho Reef, as well as to the south off Los Frailes. Many marlin are seen free-jumping on the horizon. Trolled lures and pitched ballyhoo are primary tactics, but an absence of mackerel for bait means a lower number of hookups.
A few dorado add to the catch rate, but most of the fish are running in the 15-pound range.
Inshore, sierra mackerel are plentiful, being caught on small Rapalas as well as sardines, and some nice pargo and cabrilla are available. While inconsistent, the potential is there for 40-pound class yellowtail along the shores of Punta Perico and Isla Cerralvo.
A decent thresher shark bite rounds out the report. Most of the fish are small (3-4 fot range) but put up a tremendous fight. The guests and crew on our 31-foot Blackfin ‘Time Out’ (out of Palmas de Cortez) battled an estimated 12-foot thresher shark for 90 minutes before the 175# leader parted.
The past several years on the Sea of Cortez have offered incredible fishing opportunities for many different species. Noteworthy, the yellowfin tuna bite for both numbers and overall size of fish has been remarkable, and more along the lines of historical averages. During peak fishing months, billfish also have been available in huge numbers, especially striped marlin and sailfish. We’ve also seen some giant blue and black marlin during certain months as well, notably June, July, and August.
Coupled with hot action for wahoo, dorado, and roosterfish, we’re proud of the excellent multi-species fishing action we can offer here on the East Cape. If you’re thinking of visiting Baja, but have yet to plan a trip, make 2011 the year you experience our tranquil setting, affordable hotels, and great sportfishing. If you’re a previous guest, we look forward to seeing you again soon!
East Cape Fishing Report! 3/1/11
The striped marlin are starting to arrive in numbers! It’s always great news when the Spring invasion of billfish begins, signaling the kickoff of our peak fishing season. While some species are always swimming in our East Cape waters, the arrival of hordes of stripers’congregating in Sea of Cortez waters for their annual spawn’means fishing is going to be wide open soon.
We’ve had a very windy February and some unusually cold days for the tropics. Seems we’re not immune to the brutal winter conditions happening to our north back in the U.S. That being said, it’s still been 70 degrees! The windy days have kept the majority of anglers from the water, but when our fleet is getting out fishing, most boats are contacting multiple marlin in a day’s fishing, with an average of two marlin caught and released per boat. Sea surface temperatures are in the 71-73 degree range, and with the striped marlin’s preferred temp of 74-76 degrees fast approaching, the best Spring marlin fishing is coming soon.
A few dorado are mixed in with catches, and inshore, both sierra mackerel and pargo are leading the way. This means there’s plenty of good eating fish to go around.
The past several years on the Sea of Cortez have offered incredible fishing opportunities for many different species. Noteworthy, the yellowfin tuna bite for both numbers and overall size of fish has been remarkable, and more along the lines of historical averages. During peak fishing months (March through November), billfish also have been available in huge numbers, especially striped marlin and sailfish. We’ve also seen some giant blue and black marlin during certain months as well, notably June, July, and August.
Coupled with hot action for wahoo, dorado, and roosterfish, we’re proud of the excellent multi-species fishing action we can offer here on the East Cape. If you’re thinking of visiting Baja, but have yet to plan a trip, make 2011 the year you experience our tranquil setting, affordable hotels, and great sportfishing. If you’re a previous guest, we look forward to seeing you again soon!
dle weeks. In the past few days, dorado fishing has seen a resurgence. The dorado are averaging 15-20 pounds. The biggest yellowfin tuna thus far have been in the 60-pound range, which are some dandy ahi for so early in the season! After our awesome tuna bite last fall, with numerous 100-200 pound fish and some even exceeding 300 pounds, seeing yellowfin of 60-pounds-plus in March certainly bodes well for the entire 2010 tuna fishing season.
Striped marlin continue to lead the way, with most boats catching and releasing 1-3 fish per day, with a few sailfish mixed in. Fish are striking trolled marlin lures as well as being hooked on dead ballyhoo and live mackerel. Numerous marlin are seen resting (on calm days) or tailing the wave crests (when breezy) on the surface.