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George Landrum (Capt_george)
New member
Username: Capt_george
Post Number: 2
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 25, 2003 - 7:51 am: | |
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR AUGUST 18 TO AUGUST 24, 2003
WEATHER: Ah, this was a wet week in Cabo! We had about 5 hours of steady rain on
Monday, early in the morning, just a forecast of what was to come. A little more rain on
Thursday and then of course we started to get really wet today as Tropical Storm Ignacio
approached. Just in case you are wondering, I am writing this on Saturday the 23rd, the Port
Captain closed the Port this morning and it is not expected to re-open until Monday morning. We
have been told that the storm is supposed to make landfall sometime tomorrow morning at strong
Tropical Storm strength. It is 118 miles to the southeast and moving northwest at 6 mph with
T.S. winds extending 70 miles from the center, so we should start to feel the wind this afternoon.
The rest of the week it has been muggy with little breeze, our daytime highs in the high 90’s and
night time lows in the low 80’s. (Blond Over Blue)
WATER: Great water this week with swells in the 1-3 foot range and little wind ripple on the
water. This was both on the Pacific side and the Sea of Cortez. The water was in the mid to high
80’s almost everywhere with some really warm spots showing up on the East Cape. The Pacific
was cooler than the Sea of Cortez, and that is normal. There was no really defined temperature
break within reach of the Cabo boats this week so almost everyone was working current lines and
upwellings. (A Minor Variation)
BAIT: Early in the week we had Mackerel and some Sardinas available, at the normal $2 per
bait, along with a few Mullet. At the end of the week, bait was scarce and most boats were only
able to pick up five or six pieces, a few Caballito or Mackerel and then whatever the bait boats
could come up with, also at $2 per bait. (Shades Of Grey)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: This turned out to be a good week for Marlin for many of the boats, but a lot of
them came in without ever seeing a Marlin. It seemed that the concentration was on the Pacific
side within 8 miles of the shore, and ranged from outside the Pedregal houses to the area known
as Los Arcos, up to the north. Most of the fish early in the week were Blue Marlin in the 200-250
pound range with larger fish seen, and a lot of Striped Marlin were spotted as well but were
reluctant to bite. Lures in black/green and purple/black worked well on the Blue Marlin as did
slow trolled Bonito or Skipjack. Live Yellowfin Tuna did not work as well as the other species,
but still got some good results. Later in the week the Striped Marlin began to bite and the action
seemed to be mixed with equal results on both lures and live bait. Other areas turned out Marlin
but the bite was more sporadic and spread out. Best time seemed to be between 10 and 2. (All
About Soul)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Not the fish of the week for most of the boats, but a few of them really had
great action. We were lucky and got into the fish on Thursday. The Tuna were mixed in with
Porpoise and most of the fish were between 15 and 30 pounds. There were a few larger fish in
the mix however, and we hooked one estimated at #180 before loosing it at the side of the boat,
and another boat caught one that weighed #180 on Friday in the same area. The fish showed
strong for a few day around 5 miles to the southeast of the 95 spot and bit well on cedar plugs
and dark feathers. Gee, it seems that every week when I write about the fish, they seem to like
the same thing as the week before. Hmm, maybe I should just eliminate what they have been
biting from the report entirely! There were other fish scattered around the area, but almost every
one of them that was caught was Porpoise associated. Our big fish hooked up on a Hi-5 lure in
purple/black run on the short rigger. (Lullabye)
DORADO: Just like the past two weeks, the Dorado have been a bit scarce and the ones that
have been caught have been large fish, averaging 35+ pounds. They have been incidental catch
for the most part, found while working the porpoise for Tuna or while looking for Marlin. (The
River Of Dreams)
WAHOO: See “Dorado”, above. (Two Thousand Years)
INSHORE: With the water as nice as it has been, most of the Pangas have been focusing on Tuna
and Marlin, but a few have been actively searching for Roosterfish. There were some very nice
ones caught up on the Pacific side early in the week, many of them in the 40 pound range. Slow
trolled Mullet were the key, and as far as I am aware, everyone of the fish were released. There
were some nice bottomfish caught as well, but only a few boats were trying for them. Grouper
and Snapper to 12 pounds on both cut bait and Sardinas were found around rocks in 120 feet of
water. (Famous Last Words)
NOTES: There were some of the intermediate size giant Squid caught this week, with a fairly
strong showing of 3 to 4 foot long fish about 1/2 to 1 mile off the lighthouse on the Pacific side.
A few big Blue Marlin in the #500+ class were landed (unfortunate, sure wish they had been
released) and as I said above, there were some bruiser Yellowfin out there. Clients of ours went
on a last minute trip on another boat this week since we were already booked, and even though
they asked that the Marlin they caught be released, the captain and crew ignored them, gaffed and
landed the fish. Please, please, please, if the crew ignores your request to release, don’t tip them!
You are the client, you are paying good money and if they want to go commercial fishing, let
them do it on their own dime! Also, I met another group who booked a boat from one of the
coyotes on the beach, gave him a $50 deposit and them wondered why the guy never showed up
outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken store at 6 in the morning to take them to the boat! Come on
folks, some guy you have never met before, out on the beach, not even at a storefront location,
renting you a 46’ Hattaras for $1,100 the next day and only asking for a $50 deposit? Get real,
sorry, but that’s not very smart. This weeks report written to the music of Billy Joel on his 1993
Sony Music release “River Of Dreams”.
NOTES: Well it’s Monday morning. Lost a weekend of fishing. Not too much damage, mostly
a little wind. All the boats are still floating. What we call a banana storm. Only strong enough to
knock over the banana trees and break a few branches. Not much rain hit us. Cabo is fine!
Back to fishing tomorrow. |
George Landrum (Capt_george)
New member
Username: Capt_george
Post Number: 1
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 8:22 am: | |
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR AUGUST 4 TO AUGUST 10, 2003
WEATHER: Hot and humid, warm and muggy, call it what you will, we had sweat rolling off
our foreheads this week. The only saving grace was a slight breeze from the southeast and having
the sun set. Our daytime highs were in the high 90’s and our nighttime lows in the low 80’s. A
few partly cloudy days midweek with a threat of rain, but none of it fell on us. (What’s Forever
For)
WATER: It got a bit rough in the afternoons when the breeze picked up if you were either south
of the Cape or on the Pacific side, but elsewhere and at other times the water was just slowly
rolling swells with a light ripple. There has been a thin band of cooler water along the shore, out
to a distance of three miles, running along the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape up to the area of
Gorda Banks. This water has been several degrees colder than the band just offshore, with the
warm water ranging from 85 to 86 degrees. This warmer band has extended out between 25 and
15 miles to the south, with another thin cooler band just behind it. In an east west direction from
the Cape, extending from the south side of the San Jaime to the 1150 spot, everything to the north
has remained cooler and the south side has been 85 degrees. (Dream Lover)
BAIT: Mackerel and Mullet at the normal $2 per bait. (Let’s Keep It That Way)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Billfishing remained a bit slow this week with many boats not seeing a fish at all. As
the water continues to warm, the Striped Marlin that remain in the area seem to go off their feed.
There have been a few Sailfish caught this week, and they have been nice sized, but again, not
everyone is finding them. The Sailfish that are being found seem to be close to shore, within 5
miles. Off shore there are Blue Marlin being found, but for most of the boats it has been a scratch
week, you have had to scratch real hard to come up with a Billfish. From 15 to 25 miles to the
east and south seems to have been the favorite area, as there has been lots of bait around,
including big Squid to three feet in length. Marlin candy! (It Should Have Been Easy)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Fish of the week yet again. Those boats that have gotten into the
Yellowfin have done well on fish to 45 pounds, with most of the fish just on the edge between
football size (to 15 pounds) and small school fish (25 -35 pounds). Cedar plugs, small feathers in
blue and white seem to trip their trigger this week. Reports were that many of these fish were
feeding hard on flyers, and some of the better catches were had by guys rigging the very small
softhead birds with hooks and using them as lures, run 150 feet or more back, and pulled at high
speeds up to 14 knots. I have unconfirmed reports of a late afternoon bite on these same schools,
with the fish running much bigger, to 180 pounds. It seems to happen well after all the fleet and
normal charter boats leave and the bite has been on live bait run back in the north forty, up to 300
yards back, and pulled across the front of the Porpoise, and on large Blue Marlin lures run the
same distance once the baits have been eaten up. This is an unconfirmed report because I did not
see the fish myself and have not been able to get to talk to another Captain who was supposed to
have been in the same place doing the same thing, so take it for what I offered it as! (Tennessee
Waltz)
DORADO: No change in the Dorado situation this week so I am just repeating last weeks report
here. The Dorado were scattered for almost everyone, just like last week, but a few boats were
able to get into some nice fish. Frigate birds working and turtles on the surface were some of the
keys the captains were looking for, and the first one on the scene got good results. Live bait was
a key factor, being the go-to for working Frigates and turtles, and also as a drop-back for fish
picked up on the troll. (Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall)
WAHOO: Same as above, but I think the bite will pick up as we near the full moon. A few fish
were found, a few more caught, but not in any quantity nor consistency. (Only Love)
NEARSHORE: No change from last week, Pangas were working just off the beach for
Roosterfish and having some luck with them, most of the fish being in the 20-30 pound class. The
Jack Crevalle were in there as well and some of the boats were able to pick up Dorado in the surf.
Most of the Pangas were venturing offshore early in the week looking for Dorado and Tuna, and
some of them had good luck. (Beginning To Feel Like Home)
NOTES: I spoke too early last week, the Purse Seiners are still here and we now have four in the
area. Guess the L.A. Times had an article on the front page of the sports section with a picture of
a Whale and Calf caught up in a gill net up in the Sea of Cortez. The weather continues to be hot
and humid, the fish continue to bite, and my boat is out of the water for the week for new shaft
logs and bottom paint. I will continue to ask the anglers and Captains how they are doing and
next week I hope I have another good, accurate and honest fish report for you. Until then, Tight
lines! This weeks report was written to the music of Anne Murray from the 2002 EMI
compilation, “Love Songs” |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 03, 2003 - 1:53 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2003
WEATHER: Most of this past week was partly to mostly cloudy. The exceptions were the first
and last day! A lot of people found out that you can still get sunburned in an overcast. Our
nighttime lows were in the low 60’s and the daytime highs were in the high 80’s on our sunny
days and the mid 80’s on the overcast days. With all the overcast we still had no rain, but that is
normal here in Cabo this time of year. (Part Two)
WATER: The Pacific side had some swells this week, but they were spaced far apart and there
was little if any wind, so there was no chop, just light wind riffles for most of the time. The
Cortez side of the Cape was almost like glass this week. Most of the water around the Cape has
been in the low 70’s but about 35 miles to the southeast there has been warm spot. Earlier in the
week there was a band of warm water around 15 miles offshore on the Cortez side but that has
been pushed up to the northeast by cooler Pacific water. (Available Space)
BAIT: Mostly Mackerel this week but there are a few Caballito showing up in the bait tanks.
The normal $2 per bait. A few bait boats up in the Chileno bay area have been selling Sardinas at
$20 a scoop. (Side One Suite)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: There have been Marlin everywhere this week and in no particular concentrations.
Both he Pacific side and the Cortez side were delivering at least one or two shots a day and most
boats were coming in flying multiple Marlin flags. Live bait, either slow trolled or dropped deep.
have been steady producers, and when tossed at fish sighted on the surface have gotten good
responses as well. Lures have also worked well, but not quite as well as the live bait. The old
reliables such as Mean Joe Green, Purple/Black and Petrolero have been the top colors for the
lures. Most of the fish have been averaging #100 with a few over the #150 mark. (Perforated
Sleep)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: I saw a lot of nice fish brought in this week. There were a lot of Yellowfin
over #100 and a few that broke the #200 mark. While you always remember the large fish, most
of the Yellowfin caught were smaller football and school fish. The footballs averaged 10-20
pounds and made up the preponderance of the fleets catch but there were a lot of boats getting
into the school fish of 35-60 pounds. All the fish were found mixed in with Porpoise and they
were scattered, with no steady, reliable locations except for the current line 15 miles to the south.
The best lures in order of production were deep running plugs such as Marauders and Bonitos,
cedar plugs and feathers. A few of the larger fish were caught on live bait. (Strange)
DORADO: Most of the boats were able to find a fish or two this week, but the concentrations
just were not there for large numbers of fish. Most of the Dorado that were caught were found
mixed in with the Tuna and the averaged #20-#25. Several boats did find floating debris and
loaded up on nice fish in the #30 class, but for everyone else, they were lucky to get one or two
fish a day. As with the Tuna, the Dorado were scattered around with no specific areas producing
better than others. (Little Shoes)
WAHOO: There were a few nice fish in the #50 class brought in this week but except for the
report of one private boat catching an even dozen Wahoo off of a piece of debris (no idea where,
and this is an unconfirmed report) there was no steady bite. The Wahoo that I know of were
caught at the Banks while the boats were working for Tuna. There were other strikes but they bit
through the mono leader used on the Tuna lures. (Jib’s Hat)
INSHORE: A few Roosterfish as well as a scattering of Sierra, Snapper and Grouper made up
the inshore catch this week. No large amounts of any of these fish were found, and with the
number of Tuna just offshore and Marlin in close, combined with the great water conditions,
many of the Pangas that would normally be fishing the beach were found up to 15 miles out.
(Agile N.)
NOTES: The fishing has been great this past week and we are also finding Whales, Porpoise and
Turtles on every trip. The only thing that has been making me sad is seeing all the Marlin brought
in to be hung for pictures. There is no need to kill the fish, no one needs the skin for a mount
anymore, it’s all fiberglass nowadays. If you want a picture, get one of the fish beside the boat!
A lot of the crews tell the clients that they need the fish to feed the family. Maybe if you tell them
that if they kill a Marlin then they can consider that their tip, they might change their mind, then
again, maybe not.....This weeks report was written to the sound of Leo Kottke on his 1981
Chrysalis release “Guitar Music”. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 1:37 pm: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 20, 2003
Today was the second and last day of fishing for David and Teresa Fehr. This morning Teresa
told Mary that her son had said that he wanted her to catch a shark. Too bad he didn’t say he
wanted her to catch a Marlin! Juan and Manuel went out in the direction of the San Jaime Banks
again and worked the east and south side of the area. By 9 am they had lost one big Dorado and
caught one, then the action tapered off. Around 11 am Teresa hooked up to a Striped Marlin,
hooked while they were slow trolling live bait and the fish made one good jump before coming
off. They had a few other strikes but the fish were never identified. Manuel started working back
towards the lighthouse as word got out that the action just offshore in the area was pretty good.
About one minute after setting out live baits there, slow trolling again, a Hammerhead Shark
pounced on one of the little lively Mackerels. Teresa fought the fish about halfway in and then
David had to finish off the job. After still pictures and video, the fish was released. That was all
the action for the day but everyone had fun! Thanks David and Teresa, and we hope to see David
again in November!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 21 JANUARY, 2003
Bill Berg is in Cabo again, and again he is with friends Ron and Joe. They are escaping the 2
degree weather at home in Connecticut! Bill, Ron and Joe will be fishing for three days and this is
the first of them. A Marlin for Ron would be nice, he is the only one not to catch a Marlin last
year. Juan and Manuel started out the day just off the lighthouse and worked their way about 12
miles to the west before turning south. The picked up one nice Dorado of 30-35 pounds and lost
another one right afterwards and a little later on lost another one. Must need to sharpen the
hooks or something! The seas were rollers at up to 6 feet but there was very little wind chop.
Nothing else happened on todays trip so we have to keep our fingers crossed that tomorrow will
be better!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 22 JANUARY, 2003
The second day of fishing for Bill, Ron and Joe was a bit more productive than the first day and
one of the reasons was that Ron managed to get a Marlin (finally!). They started the day off with
a bang when they hooked up a Dorado just off the lighthouse on the Pacific side. That fish came
off then another one hooked up. That fish came off as well and then a smaller Dorado attacked a
lure and hooked itself. Joe had the honors of bringing dinner to the boat and it did not take him
very long. With dinner out of the way they could begin the Marlin hunt. They continued offshore
in a southwesterly direction about six miles and had a Wahoo attack one of the lures twice, but it
didn’t hook up. Manuel then spotted three Marlin tailing a little way in the distance and gunned
the boat to the spot. Juan made a long toss with a live bait and managed to get it in front of the
fish. One of them was hungry and ate the bait. Ron settled in for the fight and after about 30
minutes had the fish close to the boat. The Marlin made one vertical jump right next to the boat
and they guys could see blood streaming out the gill cover so the fish was taken instead of
released. Ron had to deal with a pinion gear that was beginning to strip but managed to work the
reel well in spite of the fact! Good going Ron, now what do you guys want to do tomorrow?
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 23 JANUARY, 2003
Bill, Ron and Joe decided that what they wanted to do today is catch more fish. It is Juan’s
day off so our deckhand was Efrain, and the guys loved him. Once again the fishing was slow for
us, but they were able to get two Dorado to the boat today, instead of the usual one! Besides the
Dorado, the only other fish they hooked was a Striped Marlin. I believe it was Joe who got to
fight the Marlin. The fish bit on a lure (mean joe green) off of the short rigger and it did not take
much longer than 5 minutes to get him to the boat where he was tagged and released. Well, the
guys did not catch a lot of fish but at least it was consistent, and much better than shoveling snow
off the driveway in 2 degree weather! Thanks guys, we loved having you here once again. Until
next time, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 24 JANUARY, 2003
Tim Jewell is getting married in Cabo on Monday and has brought family and friends with him
for the event. Being a fisherman, he just had to get in some time on the water while here, so he
has booked the “Fly Hooker” for three days of fishing, fly fishing that is! Today and tomorrow
we are taking out him and friends and on Wednesday it will be him and his new bride. Today we
have Tim and his friends Bob, Jack and Jim. What we are really looking for is anything to get
action from and I heard of some Tuna that were showing up just off of the lighthouse yesterday,
plus there were a few Dorado in the area. If anyone had told me at the beginning of the trip what
was going to happen, it would have been laughed off. We were out of the Marina by 6:45 and at
7:05 we were setting out two teasers, had a hookless live bait rigged up and were waiting for
action. At 7:15 Juan and Manuel spotted a Marlin tailing on the surface and swung the boat over
to it. The fish spotted the lures before we got there and was on them right away. We teased the
fish to within 40 feet of the boat then I tossed out the live bait to try and get the fish closer. The
Marlin was able to get the bait when only 20 feet from the boat and I thought it was all over then,
but it was just an appetizer and he was back on the teasers in seconds. Tim was the man of the
hour so he was the designated angler on the fish. A 13 weight rod with a Billy Pate Marlin reel
and a blue/pink foam head popper were his weapons and on the first cast the fish was on the
popper! We just loved to see that dorsal fin come zigzagging in on the fly! When the fish took
the fly, Tim set the hook. Out popped the fly. Another cast and the same thing happened. As he
cast for the third time I told him to wait until the fish had turned away before he tried to set the
hook, that way he would have a chance to get the hook to the corner of the jaw. It worked and
Tim was hooked up to a Marlin! The fish ran off about 50 yards of line then jumped twice, then it
headed for the bottom. The drag was adjusted slightly and Tim just watched as line screamed off
of the reel. It sure was a good thing there was 600 yards of backing on the reel as the fish did not
slow down until half of it was gone. Then the fight started. After about 15 minutes Tim felt the
pressure lessen and he was able to gain line rapidly, so fast that we all thought that the fish may
have come off. No, it had just turned to swim at us and on a 1:1 retrieve ratio Tim could not gain
line fast enough to keep up. Once the fish had settled down it was a give and take fight about
100 yards out. We had a moment then when it looked as if a Panga in the area was going to run
over the line, but he turned away in time. Tim was able to work the fish to the boat and Juan
grabbed the bill and I placed the tag. The fish was posed for a couple of pictures then released,
tired but swimming strongly. From start to finish the fight lasted 50 minutes! 20 pound tippet
and a 120 pound fish, way to go Tim! With that to get everyone pumped up the rest of the day
went easily. We had three more shots at Marlin but could not get any of them teased close
enough to get a fly out, and we had one Dorado come in on a teaser then leave. What a day
though, lets hope tomorrow is as much fun!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 26 JANUARY, 2003
Today we have Tim, Neil, Jack and Bob aboard and the effort is going to be in a different
direction. Instead of heading offshore we are going to try inshore stuff and see if we can get
everyone hooked up to either Sierra, Dorado, Bonito, Skipjack or Jack Crevalle. We cruised up
to Chileno beach and started to chunk in 100 feet of water. We worked the chunk line for almost
an hour and saw bait getting crashed in close to the rocks, saw a 20 pound Dorado chase down a
flying fish but did not get a strike. Just offshore a bit there were a bunch of birds working, as well
as two Pangas so we headed out there to see what was going on. The birds were working over
the top of a Sea Lion that was thrashing a large Sierra and the Pangas had hooked Sierra as well.
We worked there but had no bites on the cast fly. The Sea Lion got done eating the Sierra and
started to cruise around. One of the Pangas had an angler fighting a good Dorado by then and the
Sea Lion decided that he liked the easy meal! There was a heck of a tussle for a while but the Sea
Lion won and all the angler got back was the head! After that excitement we decided to try
offshore again and went up where we had the action yesterday. Nothing doing for any of the
boats in the area and all we had happen was the sighting of one Marlin on the surface that we
could not get interested in anything we had to offer. We did get to see some Whales do a bunch
of full breaches and spy-hopping as well as head stands but the fishing was slow. We went in and
tried the rocks at the lighthouse with no luck then anxiety set in. All right, never mind the fly
fishing, lets just get some fish. Out to the lighthouse ledge and deep dropping live baits. Three
lines out and after feeding all the leftover chunks and chum to the pelicans and seagulls, boredom
set in and it was decided to call it a day. After all, it’s Superbowl Sunday and we need to get
ready for the game! Thanks guys, I know there were no fish today, but we sure tried! Perhaps
Tim will have more luck on Wednesday! Until then, tight lines from George, Mary, Juan and
Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 1:32 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 20-26, 2003
WEATHER: We warmed up a little bit this week as our nighttime lows have been in the mid to
low 60’s and the daytime highs up to 94. Sort of reminds us of summer! The winds have been
almost non-existent and there was only lightly scattered clouds most of the week with the
exception of Saturday as the northern edges of a system blew on through and brought us a fairly
heavy haze in the afternoon. (When Tammy Does The Shimmy At The Fish Fry)
WATER: Both the Pacific side and the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape were smooth this week
with there being a fairly long spaced 6 foot swell on the Pacific side, but very little wind. Surface
temperatures on the Pacific have remained in the 73-74 degree range and on the Cortez side it has
been warmer with a gentle temperature break running between the 95, 1150 and Gordo Banks
areas. The eastern, warm flow seems to be working it’s way slowly to the northeast and is in the
74-76 degree range. (Los Brazos del Mar)
BAIT: Mostly Mackerel this week but there should be a few Caballito around, I just didn’t se
any. The normal price of $2 each. Sardinas were reported as available from a few Pangas in the
Chileno area at $25 a scoop, but I didn’t get a first hand look at them. (Bluegill Boogie)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Good news! The bite turned back on as the moon waned and most boats were
getting multiple shots a day at Striped Marlin ranging in size from 80-150 pounds. There were
also a few Blues caught this week as well, and here I was going and thinking that the boys in blue
suits were gone for the year, ha! There were several hot spots but there were fish scattered all
over. On the San Jaime banks the Marlin were deep for the most part and boats soaking live bait
at 100-150 feet deep were getting bit on a regular basis. On occasion the fish would push the bait
to the surface and you had a quick shot at “combat” style fishing. There were a few Blues caught
in the area of the Jaime. The area from 5 to 8 miles off the Arch to the lighthouse on the Pacific
side produced a lot of fish and these were mostly tailing fish that bait could be cast to. On the 95
spot there seemed to be a group of fish that were feeding just down a little bit as the ones in this
area seemed to show a preference for trolled lures, and often arrived in the patterns with no
warning. As the week wore on the bite got better and I would guess that most boats had at least
three or four shots a day and many boats were releasing that many. Unfortunately, a lot of fish
were killed as well. (Breathin’ Room)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: After the blowout we had on the full moon everyone had thought that the
Yellowfin had left the area! Thank goodness that was not true, but they are still a bit scarce. One
bright spot was the area about 15 miles out on the Cortez side, past the 95 spot. On Friday and
Saturday there were a lot of porpoise in the area and a lot of decent Yellowfin mixed in as well.
Most of the fish were in the 25-45 pound range, but one boat did get a toad that weighed 270
pounds! Smaller football fish were scattered on the Cortez coast just offshore but there were no
indicators to them, just blind strikes. Best bets on the Tuna offshore were cedar plugs followed
by feathers. The fish were moving very erratically and it was difficult to predict their path and
drop down live bait, but it did work now and then. (The Only Time I Saw Him Smile)
DORADO: Not the bright spot of the week but there are still fish out there. Some nice fish in the
30-50 pound class were found mixed in with the Porpoise and Yellowfin but for the most part the
offshore fish were scattered and in the 20-30 pound range. There were some smaller fish inshore
but you had to work hard for them. Drifting and setting up a chunk line worked for the boats that
tried it, but the fish were still not thick. A few boats were able to find small concentrations of fish
and limit out but they were exceptions. (Papa Was A Fishin’ Man)
WAHOO: I heard that there were a few fish found on the San Jaime but they were cutting live
baits up, or off, and very few of them were caught. There was a fish reported at 120 pounds
found offshore and caught while trolling in the blind. Other than the few at the Jaime, there were
very few fish produced this week. (Why’s Everybody Getting Bit Except Me?)
INSHORE: Still some good Sierra fishing early in the morning and there have been schools of
Bonita and Skipjack popping up now and then as well. A few smaller sized Roosterfish were
reported from further north on the Sea of Cortez side but not in any numbers. Bottom fishing is
just fair, with a scattering of Snapper and Grouper but few Amberjack or Yellowtail reported.
Many of the Pangas have been going offshore for the Marlin, as they have been fairly close this
week. (King Of The Surf)
NOTES: The Gray Whales are coming through and almost every trip has had sightings of a few.
The influx of Striped Marlin this week was one of the most wonderful things I have seen in a
while and everyone has their fingers crossed that it will continue. If you come to Cabo for the
fishing, please release any Marlin you catch, it is heartbreaking to see Marlin after Marlin come in
on the transom of some of these so-called “sportfishing” boats, and the same boats time after
time. Leave some for the future! This weeks report was written to the music of “The Dorados”
on their 2000 Mahi-Mahi Records release, “Papa Was A Fishin’ Man”. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 11:44 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 13 JANUARY 2003
Alex and his wife Jonna and their friend Jodi and his wife Marnie are visiting here in Cabo from
Anchorage (A & J) and North Dakota (J & M). Our good friends Tim and Jill Lawrence referred
them to us and they will be fishing today and on the 15th, then on the 17th it will be just Alex and
Jonna. They want meat to take home so we will be looking for Dorado, Tuna and Wahoo. With
this in mind, Juan and Manuel took the “Fly Hooker” south 18 miles to the temperature break,
where the 74 degree water is. The action was very slow for our boat although there were a few
Marlin caught in the area and a few Tuna caught among Porpoise. They did hook up to a nice
Dorado of about 25 pounds. Working their way home they came across a Marlin tailing on the
surface and tossed it a bait. Alex was on the rod and it took about 30 minutes for him to best the
fish on the 40 pound line. Most of the time the fish stayed down and when it came to the boat it
was bleeding badly from the gills. With the fish not being able to survive they decided to take it
and smoke the meat at home. Let’s hope the fishing picks up on Wednesday and the water
becomes calmer, they said it was pretty rough out there today, even though it was very nice
yesterday.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 14 JANUARY 2003
Dean Cushman and his friends Jim and Toby were our anglers today and they just wanted to
catch fish, any fish would do, but it would be nice to get a Marlin! Knowing that there had been
Marlin found as well as Tuna and Dorado in the area, Juan and Manuel took off for the
temperature break to the south of the Cape. Again, the fishing in the area was slow and they saw
one Dorado that refused to eat a lure then disappeared, then later they saw a Marlin sleeping on
the surface. A bait was tossed to the fish and it went down. Few fish were found in the area and
unfortunately our anglers were not real happy about the lack of fish. Sorry guys, but that is
fishing, sometimes they are there and sometimes they are not. We hope you have better luck on
your next trip!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 15 JANUARY 2003
With the water being rough on Monday, Alex and Jodi were alone on the fishing trip today.
Their wives decided to stay ashore ad do some shopping instead. Getting a report upon the
return of the boat, they wished they had gone! Even though the conditions to the south of the
Cape around the temperature break had been looking great, there had been few fish in the area.
Juan and Manuel decided to take off to the Pacific side and try over there. Halfway to the San
Jaime they found an area of warm water that had hundreds and hundreds of Porpoise in it and as
soon as they approached all four lines went off with Tuna strikes! It was over very quickly but
they managed to get ten of the footballs in the fish box before the area was over-run by other
boats screaming back and forth over the fish. They left then and continued to the north a bit and
picked up a Dorado. Another hour went by and they saw Whales, Turtles, Seals and then, more
Porpoise! Working the Porpoise for a while they managed to pick up eight more Yellowfin and
then
it was time to head for the barn. The water was smooth all day and the weather was warm, the
girls really missed out! We hope the fishing and weather continue to remain good for the next
day, Friday! Until then, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 16 JANUARY 2003
We went out today but it was not really a fishing trip, it was a cruise and snorkel trip. Dave
and Linda McTaggart booked the “Fly Hooker” to take themselves and their friends Kim and his
wife Teresa and Bob and his wife Judy out to check out the coastline on the Sea of Cortez and do
a bit of snorkeling. The wives had never seen the coast from the water and the guys wanted to
check and see what kind of changes had taken place since their last trip. On the snorkeling
aspect, Dave said they would really like to see an Octopus and some seashells if possible. It was
Juan’s day off so Manuel and I took the trip. We left the dock and just cruised up the coast to
Chileano Bay and there everyone except Judy got in the water. Dave had some trouble with one
of his fins and Kim had a bit of trouble with his new snorkel, but Linda and Kim did get to see an
octopus! I was surprised since it is not common to find them out of their holes in the middle of
the day. There were a lot of fish in the area but no shells that Dave could find. We went as far up
the coast as the Palmilla then turned around. On the trip we saw seals, turtles and whales. It was
a very nice, relaxing trip and everyone had a great time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 17 JANUARY 2003
Alex and Jonna fished their last day today and Jonna was so happy that she did not get sick!
Juan and Manuel went out to the Pacific side of the Cape looking for more Tuna or Dorado to
help fill the cooler. They caught one small (very small) Yellowfin when they first found Porpoise
then a little bit later caught one that was larger. Alex fought a Marlin for 10 or 20 minutes then
the fish came off just behind the boat. It had struck a cedar plug! Juan said they had also had
strikes from another Marlin and a Dorado, but neither of them had hooked up. As they were
clearing lines with the last line about to be pulled in and the boat already speeding up, the Dorado
struck! It was a nice fish around 25-30 pounds and helped end the day on the right note. It sure
was nice meeting these folks and we look forward to seeing them sometime in the future. And
guys, thanks for taking the certificate for the “Anchors Aweigh Boat Show” with you for
delivery! Until next time, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 18 JANUARY 2003
Dr. and Mrs. Powell were our anglers today and they are from the state of Tennessee. They
were not even aware that they had missed the blizzard that swept through the state! Juan and
Manuel took them to the San Jaime Banks area and the first fish they hooked up, they lost. It was
a nice Wahoo, in the 45 pound range, and they fish came off just before Juan was ready to gaff it.
The fish did not cut the leader, the hook pulled loose! later on they got a decent Dorado, one that
weighed about 25-30 pounds, and then they lost another one. The water was smooth, the sun
bright, and they got to see a Whale, Turtle, Seal and Porpoise on the trip. Thanks Dr., we are
glad you had a good time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 19 JANUARY 2003
David and Teresa Fehr, of Houston are our anglers today. Teresa arranged the trip today and
tomorrow as an anniversary gift for David! Today is the anniversary and they are hoping for
some fillets to take home with them, and of course, it would be nice to hook up to a Marlin!
Again, the San Jaime area is the target, and Juan and Efreian (subbing for Manuel on his day off)
find fish around halfway through the trip. Two Dorado, both in the 25-30 pound class, end up in
the fish box. Teresa was excited that they saw a Marlin jumping straight up in the air, but the fish
was not on the end of their line, it was free jumping. They also saw a very small pod of Porpoise
but there were no Tuna in with them. Maybe tomorrow there will be a little more action for
them?
Until next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 11:42 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 13-19, 2003
WEATHER: Daytime highs in the mid 80’s and nighttime lows in the high 50’s made this past
week a very comfortable one. We had a little overcast in the middle of the week but the last half
was clear. No rain, as usual and only light winds except for Thursday when it picked up a bit in
the afternoon, shifted and came from the southwest (that is when we had the overcast move in).
(Banjo Blues)
WATER: I expected the water temperatures to continue dropping but they haven’t and we are
still getting an average of 74 degrees just off the Cape. If you go 15+ miles to the south or go
east to the 95 spot the temperature goes up to around 76 degrees. There has been a pretty well
defined temperature break to the southwest all week, about 30-35 miles out, but reports of fish
from the area have been scarce. Monday saw some bouncy conditions on the Pacific side but
things laid right down and the rest of the week it has been very nice water on both the Pacific and
Cortez sides of the Cape. (Train on the Island)
BAIT: With the full moon the bait has been almost all Mackerel, at the normal $2 per bait.
There have been Sardinas available for boats willing to go a bit up the coast towards San Jose,
and reports are that they are averaging $20 a big scoop. (Big John McNiel)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: It has been a pretty slow week for Marlin for most of the boats in Cabo, probably
due to the full moon. They are out there, but not in any big concentrations and not on the bite.
Some boats have been fairly consistent and have been catching one or two a day, but they have
been putting in a lot of time deep dropping live bait at the Pacific Banks (boring). Most of the
Marlin caught this week came to live bait tossed in front of tailing fish. The Pacific banks and the
warmer water to the south and east of us were where most of the fish were found. (Snowbound
Blues)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Lots of football Tuna out there mixed in with the Porpoise. Most of these
fish have been in the 10-15 pound class. A few larger fish have been caught on the Gordo,
Golden Gate and San Jaime Banks by boats working either a chunk line or fly-lining live Sardinas
and these fish have been between 30-60 pounds. I have seen a couple of fish in the 150 pound
range and these have been reported to have come from Porpoise, but they were caught on live
bait dropped deep and well ahead of the traveling schools. Best lures for the Yellowfin have been
Marauders, cedar plugs and feathers. (Big Sandy)
DORADO: The mainstay of the fleet this week was Tuna, but there were still Dorado to be
found. Most boats were able to come up with at least one nice fish and some got lucky and
limited out with two per angler. The average size has gotten a bit larger with most of the fish in
the 20+ pound range. Live bait slow trolled around where the Dorado have been spotted has
worked well, as have trolled lures in bright colors and medium sizes. Most of the fish have been
found on the Pacific side and not too far from shore, mostly within 5 miles of the coast. (Buck
Hill Breakdown)
WAHOO: San Jaime Banks put out some nice Wahoo this week as did the Golden gate. I am not
sure if there was any action on the Gordo Bank or not. Most of the fish were in the 35-50 pound
range and dark lures trolled close to the boat were doing the job. Many more fish were lost than
were caught due to them cutting through the mono leaders! (Blue Bird Rag)
INSHORE: The fishing inshore has been hit and miss this week with the most prevalent fish
caught being the Sierra. They have been running between 25 and 35 inches and have been
striking trolled Rapallas and hootchie skirts pulled between 3.5 and 4 knots of speed. Live
Sardinas have worked also but the fish have been bit difficult to hook on them. Scattered Dorado
inshore have added to the excitement. A few Roosterfish have been reported on the Cortez side
and there has been an intermittent bite on the Snapper and Grouper, perhaps slow due to the full
moon. (Leather Britches)
NOTES: The Whales are starting to show up with predictability, almost every trip has resulted in
sightings. The fishing has not been wide open by any means, but it has been pretty consistent.
With the Tuna beginning to show up in force and the water conditions remaining favorable, we
are thinking that the bite will get much better as the new moon approaches. This weeks report
has been written to the sound of Walt Koken playing the five string Banjo, claw-hammer style, on
his 1994 release, “Banjonique”, Mudthumper Music, Rounder Records Corp. Until next week,
Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 1:41 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 6 JANUARY, 2003
Mark Walker, Ron Carfy and Jim Brawthen were our three anglers today on the “Fly Hooker”.
They are in Cabo with three other buddies who fished another boat today. There were a few bets
going about the largest, first and most fish so Juan and Manuel had their work cut out for them.
The main focus was supposed to be for Dorado, but they were not going to turn down a shot at a
Marlin nor any other eating fish. Juan and Manuel headed out on a 150 degree heading and it was
not long at all before the found a Striped Marlin tailing on the surface. The fish was hungry and
attacked the bait. Tagged and released around 20 minutes later it was the first fish of the day and
may have been the biggest also, I am not sure. A little bit later they had another Marlin on and
this one was a blind strike on a lure. Jim had fought the first fish so this one was Ron’s. It did
not take him long on the heavier gear to get the fish to the boat and now they had two Marlin
tagged and released! By 10 am there were three Marlin tagged and released when Marl fought
one that ate a live bait. Really great Marlin fishing but that was not what the guys had come out
to do, they wanted eating fish! Several hours went by with no action and they guys were settled
back and enjoying the day when Manuel’s eagle eyes spotted Porpoise jumping in the distance.
The lures were quickly reeled in and they began the short run to the spot. First boat there!!
Football Yellowfin Tuna were the order of the day, nothing over 20 pounds but lots of action with
multiple hookups all the time. They ended up with 22 Yellowfin before deciding that was enough
action and they needed a few Dorado to take home. A little while later they managed to get the
interest of one Dorado and he had friends with him as he came to the boat. One large fish, in the
45 pound range, was lost and several smaller ones shook loose of the hooks but the first fish that
was hooked up ended up in the fish box. One more strike for the day was another Marlin, this
one on a lure and the second Marlin of the day for Jim! Upon returning to the dock we had a
long wait for the other boat to come in and when they did we found that they had not gotten their
first fish until 2 pm and then they were all Yellowfin Tuna. They did get four of them in the 30-40
pound class but we still had the honors of the first, largest and most fish! An excellent day all
around and everyone caught fish! Thanks guys, we hope you get a chance to fish with us again!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 7 JANUARY, 2003
Doug Firebaugh, his son Brad, daughter Lindsey and her boyfriend Dan were our anglers on
the “Fly Hooker” today. This is their first time to try catching anything larger than a 1/2 pound
bass so Juan and Manuel were told that any fish would be good ones and that they would need a
bit of help on how to fight them. No problemo, Juan is used to coaching first time fishermen!
They left the dock and headed out to the 95 spot to start the day, then worked their way out to
where they found the Tuna yesterday. The bite was not quite as good but there were fish out
there. Dan got the largest fish but Brad helped him out a little bit at the end, and they were able
to release a nice Striped Marlin estimated at 120 pounds. Another one was fought up to the boat
but managed to escape just before Juan could touch the leader to make it a confirmed catch.
During the day they were also able to come up with 5 Dorado while looking for the Tuna. They
finally found the Tuna a little late in the trip and were able to get 4 of them to bite. All in all a
very nice day on the water with enough action to keep everyone busy and happy! Thanks guys,
and congratulations on upping the mark for your largest fish!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 8, 2003
Lonny Hanson and his friend Dr. Wayne were our anglers today and they have fished quite a
bit. Enough so that they don’t have much interest in catching anything other than Marlin so today
was a “Marlin Only” trip. Juan and Manuel decided to work the area from the 95 spot to just
outside the lighthouse and they were able to get an early start. That was a good thing because the
first fish they found was before the sun had come up! Manuel spotted the dorsal fin breaking the
surface of the water as they cruised out and Juan ran down, pinned on a bait and tossed it in front
of the fish. The fish was hungry and grabbed the bait and after a few seconds Juan set the hook.
The fish ran for about 10 seconds before coming off! Oh well, it was a nice start to the day.
Unfortunately that was the only action they had all day. They did spot a total of six more Marlin
during the trip and were able to get in position to toss bait to four of them, but they all had
lock-jaw and would not bite. The water conditions were great and there were fish around but
that’s the way it goes sometimes. With that many fish out there Lonny and Wayne decided to
give it one more day and booked the boat for this Friday, the 10th. We will keep our fingers
crossed and let you know how things go then!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 9, 2003
Mark, Ron and Jim, who fished the 6th, decided that they had enough time today to do a half
day trip. Their flight leaves the airport at 4 pm so they have to be back by noon. Two of the guys
who went on the other boat on the 6th are going along with them today. They went fishing on the
7th and caught Dorado and fished yesterday and got skunked so they are hoping that the luck they
had with us on the sixth will be repeated. A short trip, but they did catch fish with one Striped
Marlin and one Dorado. The Marlin was dead when it came to the boat so the guys cut up the
fish to take home. Manuel returned to the dock at 12:30 and the guys had just enough time to get
to their Hotel and check out before catching a taxi to the airport! They had a great time this
vacation and they all asked for business cards and said they would refer friends to us! Thanks
guys, we hope you have a safe trip home!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 10, 2003
Lonny Hanson and Dr. Wayne decided to try it one more day and see if their luck on the Marlin
would improve. Juan and Manuel headed out to the Golden Gate, San Jaime Banks area on the
Pacific side. They cruised out for an hour and then began trolling as the water became a bit to
rough for cruising. Arriving in the area around 10 am they caught 2 Dorado and had one Marlin
strike in an hour and a half. Juan heard on the radio that there was better action closer in and they
trolled back towards the shore but did not see any other fish.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 11, 2003
Today we had four guys (part of a bachelor party) on our boat and the other 8 guys spread
amongst two others. We did not set up the trip so I am not sure of the names but they managed
to get two Dorado and lost one Marlin (almost a repeat of yesterday’s trip). Juan and Manuel
fished towards the San Jaime in the morning and found the Marlin later in the trip outside the
Chileno Beach area on the Sea of Cortez. Smooth water kept any of the hangover guys from
getting sick, plus drinking two cases of beer helped them out as well.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 12, 2003
Today was Sunday, Manuels day off and I had a chance to go along on todays trip with our
client Russ Colby. Russ is here for a week and would really like to catch a Marlin. He fished
yesterday and got two Dorado so today we wanted to at least get him something different and
have fun, with our fingers crossed for a Marlin. Juan and I took the boat 17 miles out at 150
degrees before we saw any action. There were Porpoise working hard and a couple of birds so
we know there were Yellowfin Tuna in the area. On our first pass we got slammed on the short
rigger by a bull Dorado that would have weighed at least 30 pounds. Russ fought the fish close to
the boat and then the hook pulled loose! Oh well, we made another try. This time we had a hit
on the one small feather I had put out and got a Yellowfin that weighed about 8 pounds. Not
much of a fight on the big gear but at least we had a fish in the box! I changed three of the lures
to feathers and we made another pass, perhaps there were some bigger fish mixed in there! All
three lines got hit and as Russ worked the fish in I brought out the spinning rod and cast out a
slab, hoping for a larger fish deep in the water. No luck for me and when Russ had the fish in the
boat I handed him the spinning rod with the slab. The next pass resulted in a single hookup on
one of the feathers and as Russ reeled it in I changed the slab for a cedar plug. Next pass the
cedar plug gets slammed and Russ fights an estimated 10 pound Tuna to the boat. One more time
and again the cedar plug gets slammed. This is a bigger fish and it takes Russ almost 15 minutes
to get the fish to the boat! Nice Tuna, around 12-15 pounds and a mean fighting machine! Russ
loved fighting these fish on the light gear but it was time to continue the Marlin search. The rest
of the trip was a nice boat ride, no other fish were seen by us. A good day on the water with a
couple of hours of action sure beats sitting at the beach! Thanks Russ, we look forward to seeing
you here this fall with your son!
Until next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 1:36 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR JANUARY 6-12, 2002
WEATHER: This weeks weather was a little different than last weeks. Most of the week we
had cloudy skies that kept our nighttime temperatures up in the low 70’s and high 60’s while our
daytime highs were in the high 80’s with high humidity. Not quite the winter weather we had
become used to. On Tuesday it even rained (sprinkled actually) for a few hours. Forecasts had
called for thunderstorms and high winds but the never appeared, than goodness. On Sunday it
appeared that the skies had cleared a bit and we got some sun, the band of heavy weather is now
passing to the south! (Tropical Lady)
WATER: Due to the cloud cover we had a difficult time getting an accurate surface temperature
map, but we made do with reports from all the different boats out there. A cold water finger was
reported (and actually showed up on the map on our one clear day!) approaching the San Jaime
Banks from the west and supposedly there was a 4 degree temperature break with a defined
current where the warm 76 degree water was met by the cool 72 degree water. On the Sea of
Cortez side there was a 20 mile wide band of warm water that ran from the main mass to the
south of us up across the 95, 1150 and Gordo banks. Other than these two defined areas, the
general temperature was in the 74 degree range. (E Piko)
BAIT: A good mix this week of both Mackerel and Caballito. The normal price of $2 each. No
reports on the Sardine situation. (Baby Blues)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin action started off the week with a bang and then slowly the
numbers decreased. There were still fish sighted and hooked every day by all the boats but not in
the numbers we had seen at the beginning of the week when it was not uncommon for each boat
to be flying three or four Marlin flags. The Sea of Cortes around the high spots seemed to be the
main focus of the action although an occasional good bite was reported from the Pacific banks as
well. Action seemed to be pretty evenly spread between lures and live bait with live bait having a
slight edge. The Striped Marlin were averaging 110 pounds. (Red, Red Wine)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Lots of football and school Yellowfin Tuna this week mixed in with the
Porpoise and there were a few of the larger fish found as well. Most of the Tuna in the Porpoise
were in the 10-25 pound class and were caught on feathers and cedar plugs while the larger fish
were found by boats dropping live bait on the edge of the Pacific banks. Very good action early
in the week when we had all the cloud cover and it tapered off a bit later on as the skies cleared.
DORADO: Dorado action dropped off a bit from the steady bite we had last week but almost
every boat was able to put a few in the box. The fish were spread out with no concentration
except for when floating debris was found. Both he Pacific and the Cortez side of the Cape
produced fish with a few more being found on the Cortez side. (Nobody’s Child)
WAHOO: There was a good Wahoo bite reported on Friday around 15 miles to the east of the
Marina but it lasted only one day and appeared to be the result of a school moving through.
There were also fish reported on the San Jaime and the Golden gate but not in large numbers.
Best action came on 9” Striped Marlin lures since that was the focus for most of the boats in
those areas. (Crazy)
INSHORE: The Sierra bite is still on in the early morning but not a lot else has changed since last
week. A few Dorado are being found just off the green water but not a lot else in happening
inshore. (Reggae Train)
NOTES: We are still keeping our fingers crossed that the Striped Marlin that were packed on the
Golden gate move closer to us. Still a lot of Whale action and we are seeing a pickup in the
Tuna. Fingers are crossed everywhere I look that it will bust wide open soon! I’ll let you know
how we did this coming week next Monday! Until then, Tight Lines! This weeks report was
written to the Hawaiian reggae music of “Kapena” on their 1992 KDE Records release “The
Kapena Collection”. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 12:39 pm: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 30 DECEMBER, 2002
Today we had two couples on board the boat whose trip was paid for by dad. Bart Ricks was
nice enough to give his daughters and their husbands a day of fishing aboard the “Fly Hooker”!
Jack and Wendy Kaiser and Michael and Kristen Hakkert were happy when Juan and Manuel
were able to get Jack hooked up to a nice Striped Marlin. Jack got a little help from Michael as
everyone was suffering a little bit from the “tequila” flu. They had a good time and we hope their
first experience will become a repeat experience (without the “flu”)!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 31 DECEMBER, 2002
Greg and Melissa Murphy were referred to us by our friends at “Baja On The Fly” and they
brought their son and daughter with them. It was originally supposed to be a fly fishing trip for
Greg, but he is headed up to the East Cape on Thursday for fly fishing so he decided to make
today a “fun” family trip. Of course he brought along his fly fishing gear as well! They had a
great time catching Sierra, perfect for the kids to fight, and Greg was able to get 5 of the buggers
hooked up casting to them with one of his outfits. All in all a very nice experience for everyone
and great conditions as well! Thanks guys, and good luck up the coast!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 2 JANUARY, 2003
Ron and his son Jeff and Jeff’s friend John were our anglers today and it was a last minute trip
for us. The boys had gone fishing on another boat the day before yesterday and had fun catching
Sierra and a couple of small Dorado, not a bad trip for their very first time out. They were
supposed to go on the same boat today but the boat had been double booked. They were
wandering the docks looking for another boat when we got together. It was a late start, not
getting out of the marina until about 8 am, but the results were all right. Ron is a fisherman and
he wanted to get a Marlin to the boat, it did not matter who caught the fish. If nothing was
hooked up, well, that is the way Marlin fishing is sometimes, he would still rather be on the water
than on the beach. Luckily for us, we were able to make the Marlin search a successful one.
There had been a good bite going on at the Golden Gate banks so we headed out in that direction.
After running for about an hour we put lures in the water, hoping for a Dorado or Wahoo or even
a Tuna while we worked our way to the Golden. No fish bit on the way up and as we approached
the Banks it looked like a small city. I counted 84 boats drifting the Bank, almost all of the
dropping live bait deep. As we approached I did not see anyone hooked up so we proceeded to
troll around the edge. Soon I saw two boats backing down and we slid into the spot and quickly
dropped our own baits. After about 30 minutes we had a strike and John was hooked up. It took
him 32 minutes to get the estimated 115# Striped Marlin to the boat. The fish came up fairly fast
and then just stuck it’s head out of the water to check us out and John thought that there was not
much fight to this Marlin fishing stuff. Once the fish got it’s bearings that attitude quickly
changed. Down deep, then surface charging away from the boat, at one time the fish was only
about 30 feet off the transom of another boat fishing with us! The bite was on and about that
same time there must have been 5 boats right in that area fighting fish! After that bit of action we
re-rigged and tried again for another 30 minutes without any luck. Ron wanted to give a try at
catching a Roosterfish so we ran into the beach area and slow trolled live Mackerel and one
Rapala lure. Three fish had their tails cut off by Sierra and we got one Sierra in the boat. That
fish struck a Rapala lure and then we had one big strike. The fish ran a long way and crushed the
bait so it was a good chance that had been a Roosterfish, but it did not hook up. After that it was
time to run back to the Marina and so we did. Everyone had a great time and we hope to see the
boys here again!
Until Next week, Happy New Year from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker”
Crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 12:33 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 30-JANUARY 5, 2003
WEATHER: A wonderful week as far as the weather went, the new year came in at 60 degrees
on the nose. Our evening lows have been right in that range and our daytime highs have been in
the mid 80’s. Party cloudy skies at the start of the week cleared by weeks end to give us bright
sunny skies. Along with that came a lack of wind and it was wonderful! No rain for the week as
is normal. (I’ve Got A Feeling)
WATER: The warm 74-76 degree water has retreated even further away and the temperatures
close to home were in the 72-73 range. A few spots were a degree higher than the surrounding
water but there were no defined breaks. Surface conditions were great all week with smooth
water and no wind chop early in the morning and only a light wind chop later in the day. Both
sides of the cape had the same conditions almost every day. (Some Crazy Women)
BAIT: The bait of the week was again the Mackerel. You could buy them for $2 each and once
in a while there were some Caballito mixed in at the same price. Many of the boats made their
own bait at the fishing grounds since the favorite target this week was Golden Gate Banks and it
was holding lots of Mackerel. The only problem with that was coming across fish before you got
there! (Guns & Gold)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: We finally had a good week with the Striped Marlin. A few were caught scattered
around the Cape but the concentration was found at Golden Gate Banks. The fish were thick
enough that some of the boats that arrived early caught and released 5 or 6 fish in a trip. Most
boats were good for two fish and very few found no Marlin at all. The place looked like a
parking lot at times with upwards of 85 boats on top of the bank, all dropping down live
Mackerel. Once the bait reached 150 feet it was time to wait and if you were in the right spot it
didn’t take long. Many of the fish were small, in the 80 pound range but the average size was
near 120 pounds. Later on in the week the fish started to appear closer to home and the long run
was not needed. These fish were tailers and were as close as two miles out. The action on these
fish did not really start until this weekend. (Bring It On Home To Me)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: This week I saw a few fish in the 150-200 pound range and they were
caught at the Golden Gate Banks by boats dropping live bait down below the Marlin, often fishing
the baits as deep at 350 feet. There were scattered school Tuna and there were a couple of good
schools to the south of the Cape, varying in distance from 15 to 30 miles out. These fish bit on
cedar plugs and feathers. The average catch was two to six fish and the average size was 30
pounds. (EEEE!! Blues)
DORADO: This was a very good week for Dorado as almost every boat that went out caught
lots of fish. A few boats did exceptionally well when being the first boat at floating debris but
most of the fish were caught by dropping down live bait at both the San Jaime and the Golden
Gate Banks. Checking out any Frigates working was also a good way to find scattered small
groups of fish. (Shake-Dance Mix...pre-release)
WAHOO: There were Wahoo caught at both the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Banks by boats
that were dropping live bait. If the anglers were using mono leader there was most often a cut off
fish. When that happened a few anglers changed to yo-yoing iron at about 150 feet using a short
wire leader and hooked up some Wahoo in the 30-40 pound class. (Barnum &
Bailey...pre-release)
INSHORE: Still plenty of Sierra around but it is an early morning bite and the fish moved a little
further up both coasts. Not a lot else happening inshore this week. (The Sparrow...pre-release)
NOTES: With the Striped Marlin packed up at the Golden Gate this has been a boom week.
Hopefully these fish will move in even closer as the month progresses. They are already showing
up closer to Cabo and when they start to stack up on the lighthouse ledge, look out! There are
plenty of Whales showing up and they are really putting on good shows with all the breaching and
tail slapping! All around, this has been an excellent week, the only disappointment has been the
lack of anglers taking advantage of the action. This weeks music selection is “The Brian Flynn
Band” with their self released “Special Cabo Edition” CD. Brian is a great guy and he has just
signed a 5 record contract with EMI. Those of you who have been here before may have heard
his band play at either Tanga-Tanga or The Love Shack. Awesome southern rock guitar!! Until
next week, keep dreaming Cabo and tight lines! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:30 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 26 DECEMBER 2002
We were supposed to have the Dave Collie party fishing the “Fly Hooker” today but the boat
did not start this morning. It seems that the batteries were dead plus, as we found out later, one
of the cables was bad in the center. Dave wanted to do some Panga fishing so we got one set up
for him after being unable to find a boat to take the whole group out. We re-scheduled the trip
for tomorrow. Two new 8D batteries and a new cable and by mid afternoon we were ready to
go! Later on we received a call from Dave canceling the rescheduled trip as most of the people in
his group had changed their minds about going. Two lost days now...ouch. With a bit more
notice we may have been able to get another group out fishing tomorrow.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 28 DECEMBER 2002
The Ben Tucker group fished the “Fly Hooker” today and the idea was to get a Marlin tagged
and released and catch one Dorado for dinner. Yesterday the area south of the San Jaime Banks
had been putting out some fish so that is where Juan and Manuel fished today. They saw six
Striped Marlin and tossed bait to one of them and had one of them hit a lure but not hook up.
Juan said he saw some Dorado but they were not interested either. No fish for the day but we
were not alone as it appeared that at least half the boats the fished today had the same sort of
luck.
“ FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 29 DECEMBER 2002
We received a request at 1 p.m. for a four hour trip and Juan and I went down and got the boat
set up. Rod was the client and he brought his three sons, Cory, Jessie and Jeremy, plus his
brother Judd. The idea was to fish the Sea of Cortez up to the Chileno beach area looking for
Sierra then spend some time snorkeling. A great trip it was as the kids had a blast catching two
out of four Sierra we had hit, saw Manta rays grouped up and swimming along with the tips of
their wings out for the water, saw Manta Rays jumping clear of the water, saw Dorado chasing
bait and Pelicans chasing the whole group. We anchored up in Santa Maria bay and the kids had
fun snorkeling and checking out the fish life. It was a nice afternoon but the clouds moved in and
the wind was whipping when we returned so we did not get to see much of a sunset.
Happy new year from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the crew of the “Fly Hooker”! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:25 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 23-29, 2002
WEATHER: It was a nice, sunny Christmas week here in Cabo San Lucas. A little bit
overcast early in the week and windy to go with it, but by the 26th the wind had died down and
we had great weather. The week ended the same way it started as on Sunday the clouds moved
back in and the wind started to howl from the northwest, making the Pacific side very choppy.
The temperatures have stayed the same for the last few weeks and we are still getting to the low
60’s at night and the high 80’s to mid 90’s during the daytime. (Take It Easy)
WATER: The water around Cabo remained cool this week, the highest temperatures we saw
were in the 76-77 degree range and that was still 35 miles out to the southwest. Closer to home
the water was an even 73-74 degrees almost everywhere with no defined temperature breaks to be
found. Surface conditions were a bit rough on the Pacific side early in the week but settled down
after Christmas. The Sea of Cortez side of the Cape had good water early in the week out to a
distance of about 3 miles then it got choppy, by mid-week everything smoothed out. (Witchy
Woman)
BAIT: Again our bait was mostly Mackerel with a few Caballito to be found. There were
Sardinas available if you asked in advance. Prices for all baits remain the same, $2 per bait for the
larger ones and Sardinas at about $25 a scoop (Already Gone)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: I wish I could say that the Billfishing has been great, but I can’t. It was hit and miss
for most boats this week with only about 15% of the returning fleet flying blue flags. A lot of fish
were seen later in the week but it was difficult to find ones that were hungry. A few boats in the
right place at the right time caught Striped Marlin, and I did see a few boats flying two flags. I
talked to the Captain of a private boat who fished the Golden Gate banks and caught and released
6 Striped Marlin in a two hour period, but that was fishing the area for six hours. The bite has
been short and you had to be where there were fish to have a shot. Live bait gave the best chance
at a fish, dropped back when one appeared in the spread or slow trolled in the right area.
(Desperado)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again there were scattered football Tuna to be found, but they were
mostly in the blind. A few boats were able to get larger fish and I heard a few fish over a hundred
pounds were caught. I was not able to get any more information than that so don’t know where
those big boys were found but the word was they were with Porpoise. (One Of These Nights)
DORADO: There are still a few Dorado in close to the beach but they have been small fish, a lot
of them less than 6 pounds. Larger fish have been found a bit further offshore but there have not
been a lot of them. A good catch this week was one or two of the fish in the 20-30 pound class.
Trolling lures in the 9” size accounted for the larger fish and inshore the smaller fish were eating
small live baits and lures pulled for Sierra. (Tequila Sunrise)
WAHOO: No change from last week on the Wahoo. A few fish were reported but no
information on where. (Take It To The Limit)
INSHORE: The bigger Roosterfish we were seeing a few of last week have disappeared and
there are now only a few small ones being caught. There are still small Dorado being found but
the big emphasis for the inshore fishermen has been the wide open Sierra bite on both sides of the
Cape in the mornings before 9 am. The fish are not big yet, most of them are in the 5 pound class
but they are providing a lot of action for those looking for it. Few other fish have been found
inshore but that could change as the water cools and we get an influx of Yellowtail. (Best Of My
Love)
NOTES: The fishing has not picked up as much as we were hoping for but there are fish out
there to be caught, you just have to put in the time. The Whales are showing up and the weather
is great though, so there is sealife to be seen! We’ll keep our fingers crossed for better action as
the new year rolls in. Have a pleasant holiday and we look forward to the chance of seeing you in
Cabo this coming year! This weeks report written to the music of the Eagles on the 1976 Elektra
release “Their Greatest Hits”. |
Capt George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 11:59 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR 16 DECEMBER, 2002
Larry and Trey Quinn are out again today, this time by themselves. Still looking for a Marlin
for Trey’s birthday present! Juan and Manuel take the “Fly Hooker” out 12 miles towards the
San Jaime Banks. The water was a little choppy at first then laid down and finally they got into
some fish. Larry was the coach and cheerleader for Trey when he hooked up at 9:30 to a Sailfish
estimated at 100 pounds. Live bait that was slow trolled fooled the fish and it took Trey about
15-20 minutes on #40 test line to get the fish to the boat where it was photographed, tagged and
released. Finally a Billfish, even if it was not a Marlin! About an hour later he hooked into two
Dorado, one between 15 and 20 pounds and the other between 25 and 30 pounds. Again on #40
test line and live bait, he made pretty short work of the smaller fish and was a bit surprised how
well the larger fish fought. All in all a good day with a Billfish for Trey and fillets for dinner and
to take home! Thanks guys, and Trey, we hope you have a fine birthday!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 17 DECEMBER, 2002
Today was a last minute trip and we only had one client aboard the boat. Lou, from New
York, had decided to try to get something on the end of his line today. He has fished the
mainland of Mexico quite a few times and also offshore back home but this was his first time in
Cabo. Unfortunately the water had started to get rough as the wind picked up last night and it
was not a comfortable trip. Not only that but the fishing was not too good for him today either.
Juan and Manuel were able to find two Striped Marlin on the surface but were not able to get
either one of them interested in eating a live bait. They did have a strike on a lure that did not
hook up, and while nobody saw the fish, Manuel said that he thought it was a Marlin. Thanks for
trying Lou, and I hope you have better luck when you come back next year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 18 DECEMBER, 2002
Returning client Gene McElvaney has booked the “Fly Hooker” for today and the 21st in the
hope of getting his wife Janet, daughter Amy and son Kyle hooked up to some fish. The water
was very rough on the Pacific side but that is where the fish have been so Juan and Manuel tried
to get out to the area. With the water that rough everyone ended up getting sick and Gene asked
to return to the Marina. On the way back, after making the turn, they hooked up to a couple of
Dorado and lost another one. They ended up with a few fillets to start filling the cooler with and
we all have our fingers crossed that the wind lies down in the next day or two!
“FLY HOOKER” MAINTENANCE REPORT FOR 20 DECEMBER, 2002
During the trip on the 18th the rough water had lifted the hull of the boat out of the water
where the port engine saltwater pickup was at and caused a 30 second airlock. This was long
enough to damage the saltwater pump. It was still working but with severely reduced flow. The
lack of lubrication provided by the saltwater caused the impeller to stick to the large washer and
damaged the seal and the housing of the pump. Today the housing was replaced and the pump
rebuilt, installed and checked.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 21 DECEMBER, 2002
Unfortunately we had more problems this morning and had to get another boat for Gene,
Janet, Amy and Kyle McElvaney. Our fuel pump on the starboard engine took a dump on us and
we were not able to get it fixed until late in the afternoon. I know that Gene was hoping for
calmer water today and more fish. Unfortunately we missed meeting them when they returned but
I did not see any flags flying from the outriggers of the boat they went on. I tried calling them at
the hotel but as always here in Cabo, it was impossible to reach them through the front desk. I
can only hope that they had a good time and no one got sick today. Gene, we will be sending you
an e-mail to see how you did. Thanks for being understanding about the mechanical problems!
Felize Navidad from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the crew of the “Fly Hooker” |
Capt George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 11:53 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 16-22, 2002
WEATHER: Sunny skies at the beginning of the week turned into overcast starting Friday
afternoon but with no rain here in Cabo. You could see it coming down in the mountains though.
We have maintained the same temperatures as last week with the morning lows in the 60 area and
daytime highs up to 90 at times. We did have some pretty windy days, Tuesday and Wednesday,
but the winds tapered off when the clouds started to move in. (Silver Bells)
WATER: The water on the Pacific side was choppy almost all week and on Tuesday and
Wednesday it was downright rough. More than a few boats came in early because of that. The
water on the Sea of Cortez side has been much better but the fishing there has not been as good
for some reason. Our surface temperatures have been in the 75-76 region this week, warming up
just a bit from what we saw last week This temperature has extended out to 40+ miles in all
directions except south, and there it warms up a degree at a distance of around 20 miles. (Joy To
The World)
BAIT: Mostly Mackerel this week with reports of some Sardinas. Larger baits at the normal $2
each and Sardinas reported at $25 a scoop. (O Little Town Of Bethlehem)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The full moon and Striped Marlin fishing do not go together well here in Cabo so the
catch rate was down this week. A few boats were finding one or two Striped Marlin that were
hungry but most of the fleets were lucky to see a Marlin. The Blues are gone (but there will
always be one that doesn’t realize the water is too cold!) but there have been a few Sailfish still
around. The Marlin and Sailfish that have been caught have mostly been fooled with slow trolled
live bait and very few have been caught on lures or found tailing. (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Scattered football 5-15 pound fish in the blind on the Pacific side through
Thursday then that dropped off. No reports this week of anything much larger than 25 pounds
nor were there any reported found with porpoise. The Pacific football size fish bit on cedar plugs
and dark colored feathers and a few anglers told me they had luck on them by dropping iron after
hooking up on the troll. (Winter Wonderland)
DORADO: Most of the Dorado found this week were fish in the 12-25 pound class. A few were
caught up to 50 pounds and most of the fish were found either under floating debris (the larger
fish) or in the blind close to shore. Live bait worked wonders on the larger fish and most of the
smaller ones were hooked on lures pulled for Striped Marlin or Tuna. Most boats were finding
two to five fish to put in the box. (Jingle Bells)
WAHOO: The Wahoo flags I saw this week were flown for inshore Sierra. That’s it folks!
(Silent Night)
INSHORE: Some nice Roosterfish and reports of a scattered Yellowtail or two. There had been
steady action on the smaller Dorado as well as the Bonita and Skipjack but all that pretty much
disappeared as of Wednesday and the appearance of the green water caused by the winds. The
rest of the week the Pangas worked a bit further offshore looking for Dorado, but not with a lot
of luck, at least from the anglers reports I received. (Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas)
NOTES: This has not been an outstanding week for fishing , but at least the weather has been
warmer than up north! people are always asking me when is the best time to come to Cabo to fish
for certain species. All I can do is tell them generalities based on past catch records, there is no
way to predict how the fishing is going to be. What it comes down to is this; “You will NOT
catch a fish if you are sitting on the beach sipping a cervesa!”. No guarantees of fish, enjoy
being on the water and keep your fingers crossed, remember that the worst day of fishing is better
than the best day in an office!. This weeks report was written to the Christmas music from the
CD “Merry Christmas From Alaska”, a CD produced in 1999 to help raise funds to benefit the
Children’s Hospital in Providence, Alaska. Produced by Nightworks Records and in our hands
thanks to our good friends and clients Tim and Jill Lawrence! “Felize Navidad” from George,
Mary, Juan and Manuel! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 2:03 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 9, 2002
Today is the third of three for our friend David Reese and pals Mike and James. After the
action on the Dorado yesterday they were hoping for a repeat, but it was not to be. They
returned to the same area but this time the whole day was a boat ride. They saw no Marlin or
Dorado today. We sure are glad they managed to get 100 pounds of fillets on the first two days!
Thanks David, we look forward to seeing you again sometime in April!
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR 10 DECEMBER, 2002
Today was booked by Dennis Bracken for himself and five friends. He had originally wanted
five days with us but we were only able to give him three, so for the last two days he fished
another boat. Well, he was not able to figure out how to call us once he arrived and even though
he knew where the boat was, he booked another boat for today. We found this out this morning
as he and his group passed by the gate to E Dock on their way to the other boat. Wish we had
known as we turned down other charters for him and could have gotten a trip for today.
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR 11 DECEMBER, 2002
Dennis Bracken and his group showed up at 7:10 this morning, a bit the worse for wear after
last night. Juan said they slept most of the day. Juan and Manuel worked the area off of the Los
Arcos and Juan said they had one Marlin eat a live bait tossed in front of it, but the fish got the
bait, not the hook. That was all the action for the day.
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR 12 DECEMBER, 2002
Dennis Bracken had his brother come down to see me yesterday afternoon and cancel todays
trip but we were able to put together two of our repeat clients who were in town and wanted to
fish. Mike Henstra is vacationing with his wife, her sister and her mother so he said he would be
happy to share a boat with Mike and Teresa rather than go shopping. Juan and Manuel went 25
miles to the south looking for a band of warm water that is approaching but found nothing once
they got there, it was on the way back when they got a strike and that was a nice 35 pound
Wahoo that Teresa got to reel in. Good dinner material!
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 13, 2002
Today was a payback to our webmaster for all his effort in building and maintaining our
website. Hats off to Mr. Phil Orr! Myself, Phil, and our friends Leon and Robert were supposed
to go and Phil had also invited a couple of the guys he works with at the golf course. Robert
missed the boat as he ended up waiting somewhere else for us and he had a cooler of chicken and
ribs! Thank goodness Leon showed up with six box lunches! One of the guys invited by Phil
showed up, Miguel, and this was his first time to go fishing. We decided to try deep dropping
some live bait off the lighthouse at the beginning of the trip and worked that for about an hour
and a half with no response from the fish except for one bait getting scarred and taking a lot of
line but not getting eaten. Then we went in and fished the area off the beach between the
lighthouse and Punta San Cristobal (Los Arcos) for Sierra. Miguel got one to the boat and Phil
farmed one. The action shut down and we headed offshore looking for something larger. Not
until the tail end of the trip did we find anything except the large Black Porpoise, and as we were
returning to the marina we hooked up a Dorado right outside the lighthouse, where we began the
morning deep dropping live bait! It was a nice fish about 20-25 pounds and delivered up some
good fillets!
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 14, 2002
Our new friends Sonny and Randy fished our boat today. They went out on another boat
yesterday with friend Gary but Gary instructed the Captain to return after three hours out, he
didn’t want to get that far away from town. They caught a Dorado yesterday and would like to
catch some more of them today, but Gary is going to stay ashore and they invited me to go along.
We wanted to be sure to get fish in the boat for them and started out by working the are off the
beach between the lighthouse and San Cristobal for about an hour, picking up two Sierra of about
4 pounds each. When the action had been slow for about a half hour I suggested that we head
offshore to look for something larger. We worked the deep water for several hours until we saw
a Marlin free jumping about a half mile away. Another boat spotted it too and were there before
we were. In the same are there were a couple of Frigate birds circling around way up high so we
decided to try and slow troll the area with live baits. About 30 minutes after starting to slow troll
there was action on Randy’s bait. It zipped out line a few times and there was a big swirl behind
it. Juan had the rod in hand, ready to set the hook when the rod on Sonny’s side dipped a little
and the line started to sing off of that reel. Both of these baits were ones that had been trolled on
top of the water, not the one on the planer. I set the hook on the fish that had hit Sonny’s rod and
the fight was on! Lots of jumps were done by the Marlin as he made a big circle. Sonny tired real
quick and Randy got on the fish as it completed the circle and swam towards the boat. Randy
thought the fish had come off so Manuel goosed the engines and there the Marlin was, not more
than 20 feet away, still hooked up. Juan was able to grab the leader for a second before the fish
realized what was going on but it pulled out of his grip almost immediately. Another series of
jumps took place and the rod switched hands several times before Sonny took the last up and got
the fish close enough to the boat for Juan to try and grab it. it was not easy because the fish had
just a little stumpy bill that projected maybe an inch past it’s lower jaw. The fish was hooked in
the corner of the jaw and the hook was easy to remove. The fish was tagged and released,
swimming slowly away, tired but in good shape. After a round of High-Fives another bait was
put out as more rigs were readied. less than three minutes later the one boat that was out got
eaten by a nice 25 pound bull Dorado! After the Marlin action this one was easy and Randy had it
to the boat pretty quickly. We tried again but had no more action and there was no action as we
trolled for the last hour. Not a bad day though, and I hope we have this good of action
tomorrow!
FLY HOOKER FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 15, 2002
Today and tomorrow we have Larry Quinn and his adult son Trey as our anglers. Larry
booked two days fishing as a birthday present for Trey. They were kind enough to be willing to
share the boat today with our friends from Bend, Oregon, Mike and Teresa. Since it is a birthday
gift for Trey, he is supposed to get first fish and the guys tried hard but had little luck. They did
have a Marlin rap one of the lures and had another one hook up just long enough to pull line for a
few seconds, but nothing was hooked solid. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!
Until Next Week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 2:01 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT DECEMBER 9-15, 2002
WEATHER: Keeping cool in Cabo! I check my outside thermometer every morning and on
Saturday it showed 55 degrees! Sweater, long pants and socks were my dress for the morning!
Our daytime highs have been a comfortable 85-88 degrees with a slight breeze. The desert is now
blooming from all the rain we received during the Thanksgiving weekend so a drive out there is a
nice thing to do. We have not had any rain since then but we did have quite a bit of cloud cover
in the early part of the week. (Deck The Halls)
WATER: The surface temperatures continue to drop as we go through the transition from
summer water to winter water. This week the highest I found was around 79 degrees. Most of
the water around the Cape has been in the low 70’s but there has been a bit warmer water from
25-30 miles to the south. The surface conditions have been great with small swells at the
beginning of the week, getting larger as the week ended but with plenty of space between them
and no wind chop on top of it. (1st Nowell)
BAIT: Almost the only thing you could find this week was Mackerel in the 8-10” range, a bit
small but they worked well. There were only a few Caballito and I have no idea if there were any
Sardinas or not. The bait was the normal $2 each. (Shepherd’s Night Watch)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The only species around right now is Striped Marlin as the water has become too
cool to be comfortable for Blue Marlin. There were not a lot of fish found this week but a few
lucky boats were able to hook one or two and get them to the boat. Most boats were lucky if
they were able to get one to toss bait to, the fish were scattered out and not staying on the surface
very long. Most of the fish that were caught were found while deep dropping live bait off of
Punta San Cristobal and Golden Gate Banks or while slow trolling live baits in the same areas.
They have been averaging about 110 pounds with a few fish reaching the #140 class. (Festival of
7 Lights)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: I did not see nor did I hear of any boats finding Yellowfin Tuna this week,
but I did see a few boats flying Tuna flags. I checked with the anglers from one of them and
found that they had caught Skipjack Tuna that the crew had flown flags for because they wanted
to be able to fly something. The others may have found Yellowfin, you never know, but I heard
no word. (O X’mas Tree)
DORADO: Even the Dorado bite was a bit slow this week as most boats were very lucky to get
three or four fish, and most came in with just one or two. Slow trolling live bait or pulling
brightly colored lures in the 9” range were what seemed to work. Most of the action took place
on the Pacific side of the point and in the same areas as the Striped Marlin were found. The
basics worked well, find the bait and work the area. Hook up one Dorado then toss a live bait out
behind it as it comes in, there might just be another one or two following it. (Away in a
Manger/Island X’mas)
WAHOO: A few Wahoo were caught this week and they seemed to prefer dark colored lures.
Most of them were in the 30-40 pound range and there was no concentration to them, the catches
were reported from a wide area. (Morning Glory)
INSHORE: Most of the inshore action took place on the Pacific side between the lighthouse and
Punta San Cristobal. This area is where a school of Sierra has been working the beach and the
best action was in water between 15 and 60 feet deep. The fish were biting on small hootchies
and Rapalas in bright colors, the favorite being orange/red and the fish ranged from 3 to 7 pounds.
The average catch was two to 6 fish before the bite stopped, around 9 am. A bit farther out, in
water from 60-150 feet, there were a few schools of Dorado found and a few boats found some
Amberjack and Snapper on the bottom around the rocks. (We Three Kings/Santa Fe X’mas)
NOTES: We are in the transition from warm summer waters to cooler winter water and the
fishing has shown it. The action has not been hot and heavy but most days there was some fish to
be found. Checking my log book for last year the same thing was going on. We can look
forward to some continued Dorado action and the Striped Marlin should become more numerous
and the football and school Tuna should show up very soon. This weeks report was written to
the sound of music for the holidays by one of my favorite artists, Ottmar Liebert. The CD is
“Poets & Angels”, a 1990 Higher Octave release. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 09, 2002 - 12:43 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 2, 2002
Returning client Roy Tull is here with his friend David for a few days and today is their fishing
day. And that is what it was, a fishing day, not a catching day. Roy said it was a good day to be
on the water and that the fish got lucky. Juan and Manuel again worked the Pacific side of the
Cape out to a distance of about 10 miles, and up the coast about 15 miles but found no fish that
were willing to bite. In a few days Roy and David will be fishing for one day on the East Cape. I
sure hope you guys have better luck up there! Let me know when you return, ok? Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 3 DECEMBER, 2002
Our friend Harry Hudson is here with his friend Nolan for four days of fishing with us. Nolan
has never caught a Marlin and that is to be the target for all the days on the water. They would
like to be able to catch a Dorado each day so they have fresh fish for dinner, other than that, the
target is to be Marlin! Juan and Manuel took the boat 10 miles out from the lighthouse on the
Pacific side and worked their way up the coast. It was raining a bit in the morning but by about
9am it cleared off and at 9:30 they got a Dorado in the boat, dinner in the box! Around a half
hour later Manuel spotted a Marlin on the surface and ran the boat over to him to toss a bait. As
he slowed the boat down the lures sunk and instead of eating the bait he ate the lure on the bridge
rod! Nolan made pretty short work of him, getting him to the boat in about 15 minutes, then the
continued the search, but got nothing else for the day.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 4 DECEMBER, 2002
Fishing started about 12 miles straight out today and then Juan and Manuel worked the boat up
the coast the same distance as yesterday. Today it was Harry’s turn to catch fish and he got to
reel in dinner, but that was all. Juan said that they had one Marlin strike that did not hook up. I
sure hope things get better tomorrow!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 5 DECEMBER, 2002
Juan called me at 5:30 this morning to let me know he was sick (something he ate) and would
not be coming to work so it was me and Manuel on the boat today. Harry and Nolan invited our
friend Chewy to go along. He is 19 and has never been on a boat before but is always asking
about the clients fishing trips. Manuel let me know that the bite had been good off of Los Arcos
yesterday so that is where we started for. We got an early start and were one of the first boats to
the area. I marked no bait on the depth sounder and saw only a few Porpoise on the surface and
no birds at all. We actually put the lines in the water shortly before Los Arcos just in case the fish
had moved and I continued past Los Arcos in case they may have headed that way. With no signs
of life there and the Golden Gate Banks being only 7 miles away, I decided to go and check that
area out. Once we got to the Banks, there was only one other boat there, I spotted a couple of
Frigate Birds working and big splashes underneath them. Big Yellowfin Tuna, in the 150-200
pound class were feeding on small bait. We tried for an hour to get them to eat something,
anything, but had no luck with lures or live bait. Eventually a few more boats arrived and we
tried deep dropping live bait for about a half hour with no results. I headed back to the Los Arcos
area and when we got there I realized that is where I should have stayed as it must have been a
tide associated bite. One boat was fighting a Marlin and just before we got to him we had a strike
on the bridge rod. I did not see the fish, only the splash but Manuel said it was a big Dorado.
About five boats were working a very small area and suddenly two Frigate Birds swooped down
and there were a pair of Striped Marlin under them! They were only about 50 yards in front of us
and by the time Manuel got a bait hooked up to toss they were just off the bow and went down.
Norman said that if he had a very long handled tag stick he could have free-tagged him! No luck
for us there and as we continued towards the Marina we saw a monster concentration of boats off
of the lighthouse. Lots of Frigates working and boats zooming here and there showed that they
were trying to get some Tuna in amongst the Porpoise but we saw no one hooking up. There
were at least 50 boats in there! We made it back to the Marina with no flags but at least Manuel
and Juan have a target for tomorrow!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 6, 2002
Juan was feeling better today so the worked the boat as crew. Manuel had decided to spend the
day working the area off of Los Arcos and Harry and Nolan were all for it. They spent all day
and saw lots of bait and lots of Porpoise, but never got a strike. Harry said that he and Nolan
thought about going somewhere else but that every time they started to say something the bait
boiled to the surface and the area looked so fishy they changed their minds! Well, it was not a
very productive four days of fishing for the guys, but Nolan did get his first Marlin! Both Harry
and Nolan are fishermen and they acknowledged that sometimes you strike out, hopefully next
time their luck will be better. Until then, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 7, 2002
For today and the next two days we have our good friend David Reese fishing aboard the “Fly
Hooker” and he is here on a “Guy’s” vacation with his friends Mike Shane and James Fu. We
promised David’s wife Peggy that we would try and keep the guy’s out of trouble! Today Juan
and Manuel tried once again to fish the area off of Los Arcos, on the Pacific side. There is just so
much bait there and so much going on that it is hard to keep away. You just KNOW that with all
that bait there has to be some predators around the area! Well, at about 9am to 10am they did
have two Marlin hook-ups, but they both came unbuttoned. The first fish they thought they were
going to have a good chance at but no...it threw the hook after a few minutes. The other fish was
just a strike and quick pull before it came off. They have decided that no matter how good it
looks there they are going to try somewhere else tomorrow! We will keep our fingers crossed for
them.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 8, 2002
The second day of fishing for David, Mike and James was a lot better than yesterday’s trip! No
Marlin strikes today, but that may be because they went elsewhere in the morning. Today was
Manuels day off and we had Chino working the deck. Juan pointed the bow of the boat to the
south as they left San Lucas Bay and ran out about 9 miles than began to troll. At a distance of
16 miles they saw a boat stopped and went over to check him out. The boat had found a piece of
wood floating in the water and was hooking up around it, getting some nice Dorado. It turned
out to be a good thing that David had purchased 20 baits instead of the usual 10 pieces! The live
bait turned the Dorado on and Mike and James had a blast! Dave was the beer server and coach
most of the time, but when they had six fish hooked at one time he had to step in and assist.
About four or five fish were lost due to tangled lines that broke but they ended up with 10
Dorado, a limit for five people (including Chino and Juan). It was not until they were down to
two live baits that Dave told them to start using chunks, otherwise they were going to run out.
With a limit of Dorado in the box they started to look for Marlin or Wahoo or Tuna, but there
was no other action. The Dorado, weighing between 15 and 30 pounds, filleted out to 83 pounds
of meat and Dave decided to have it vacume packed and frozen to take home. Tomorrow
anything goes, and hopefuly they will come across a Marlin willing to eat!
Until next week, Tight Lines!
George, Mary, Juan, and Manuel , the “Fly Hooker” crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 09, 2002 - 12:39 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT DECEMBER 2-8, 2002
WEATHER: It’s starting to get a bit cooler here in Cabo so we know that its winter time! Our
morning lows have been in the 60-63 degree range while our daytime highs have been in the mid
80’s. Early in the week we had mostly cloudy skies as we had a front move over us and on
Tuesday we got some rain in the morning and the afternoon. After the rain last week you should
see the desert out there, green as can be and the flowers just shooting out! Right now we have
clear skies and light winds from the NNW for the mornings at around 5-7mph with it picking up
to around 12-15mph in the late afternoon. (Trade Winds)
WATER: Just as our air temperatures have cooled a bit, so has the water temperature. Last
week we were looking at surface temps in the 80-81 degree range out front and now we have
them in the 78 degree range. Looking at the area in the larger sense we are not seeing the 80-81
degree water unless you go up past Golden Gate Banks or at least 35 miles to the SE. Within a
15 mile radius of Cabo it is an even 78 degrees. 25 miles to the southwest we have a finger of
cold water moving in from the Pacific that is showing temps of 75 degrees with a well defined
edge. There have been no swells to speak of and the surface conditions have been great. Most
mornings there has been just a light wind riffle and in the afternoons just a light chop on fairly flat
seas. Good blue water everywhere you go! (Oceans Apart)
BAIT: There were some Mackerel early in the week and now it is mostly Caballito. The
normal price of $2 per bait. I have not asked for nor have I heard if there are any Sardinas
available. (Holding Back The Years)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Not too surprisingly with the lowering surface temperatures the number of Blue
Marlin being found has dropped considerably. There were a few at the beginning of the week and
almost none at all over the weekend. The main Billfish for the week was Striped Marlin, a
situation likely to continue now until next summer. Just because they are the most numerous
though does not mean that they are out there in great numbers. Most boats have been able to find
at least one or two a day and a few lucky ones have been able to catch up to three a day, judging
by the flags I have seen flying on boats coming in. Most of the fish were being found on the
Pacific side and were pretty evenly mixed with about half coming from the area to the south of the
Jaime Banks and the other half coming out of the area between the lighthouse and Los Arcos, out
between three and ten miles. The average size is down a bit with most of them in the 100-120
pound range and the bite has been mostly on live bait. Boats have been finding them just as you
usually look for Dorado, spotting Frigate Birds working then racing over to toss a live bait under
them. (Blue Universe)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Very few Yellowfin were caught this week although on Thursday if you
had been out at the lighthouse on the Pacific side you would have thought that the bite was wide
open! There was a giant group of Porpoise working the area and clouds of Frigates working
them. The action attracted about 50 boats that were tossing live bait right and left, dropping bait
down hopeing to get bit and pulling every lure known to man in the hope of a Tuna bite. Any
time the Frigates would re-form and start feeding again there would be a race with around a
dozen of the closet boats running full throttle into the middle of the mess, tossing out bait as the
slid to a stop. I only heard of one boat getting a Tuna out of it! The same day I was up at the
Golden Gate Banks earlier and there were Tuna in the 100-200 pound class feeding on very small
baits, Manuel said they were Bullito (sp?). We worked them for a while until other boats showed
up and the fish went down. The few other fish that were found this week were footballs,
unassociated with any Porpoise. They were caught on feathers pulled for Dorado. (Dream
Catcher)
DORADO: It seemed the key to getting numbers of Dorado this week was to find some
floating debris. If you did, and there were not too many boats working it at the time, you stood a
good chance of picking up a limit. Most of the fish caught under debris were caught on live bait
or chunks. If you wee not one of the first few boats there, and if you were not getting bit on
fly-lined baits, it sometimes helped to rig them with a 2-4 ounce lead about 5 feet away and let
them down around 60 feet. There were a few scattered fish found within 3 miles of the shore and
they were most often spotted under working Frigate birds. Best lures were 6” feathers in bright
colors with some of the larger Dorado going for 12 inch plastics in rainbow hues. (Feelin’
Alright)
WAHOO: There were some Wahoo caught this week and I heard of a few in the 80-90 pound
class. Most of the fish I heard of were found off the coast on the Pacific side while boats were
working for Dorado and Striped Marlin. There were a couple caught at the Jaime Banks that
were over 60 pounds but most of the fish were in the 30-40 pound range. Best lures were Braid
Marauders in purple/black and chromed jet heads of at least 6 ounces with dark skirts. (Midnight
Swim)
INSHORE: While not seeing them myself, I heard reports of a halfway decent bite on Roosterfish
on the Cortez side of the Cape, with one boat getting a fish in the 50 pound class and getting a lot
in the 15-20 pound size. There are Sierra showing up as well and they are 3-5 pounds average.
The Roosterfish were hitting live Mullet and the Sierras were biting on Clark spoons and on small
Rapalas. I have also heard reports of a few Yellowtail being found as well. Most of the Pangas
have been focusing on Dorado since there have been a few nice sized fish within their reach.
(Dipsea Trail)
NOTES: While the weather and the water were very nice this past week, the fishing has been
just average. A fair selection to be found, but nothing in any great quantities. It may have
something to do with the new moon on Wednesday, but things should start to pick up real soon.
The Whales are starting to show up in force and have been sighted on every trip this week. This
weeks report was written to the music of one of my favorite guitarists (I have a lot of them!)
Craig Chaquico on his 1997 Higher Octave Music Inc. release “Once in a Blue Universe”. On
this album he is joined with artists such as Richard Elliot, John Klemmer, Dave Koz, Douglas
Spotted Eagle, 3rd Force and Peter White. As you can tell, this is a great Jazz and Rock mix! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 11:57 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker Sportfishing Daily Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 25 NOVEMBER 2002
Rick Harris is in town again on a short notice vacation and today he went fishing aboard the
“Fly Hooker” with a friend of the family, Kyle. Juan and Manuel took the boat up the Pacific side
and worked the area about three miles offshore of the Margarita/Los Arcos area and had a lot of
fun with Dorado. Rick only wanted to keep a little bit for dinner so they started releasing fish. A
total of 8 large Dorado gave them a lot of jumps and lots of fight and they were back at the
Marina by 12:30! Thanks Rick, we look forward to seeing you again next year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 26 NOVEMBER 2002
Walt Ehnat and his grown sons Tom and Marty were our anglers today. This is their third day
of fishing on this vacation and they had a blast! Well, everyone except Marty. He crawled out of
the cabin when the boat got back in at noon and wanted to know when we were leaving! A little
bit of the old “Tequila Flu”! Well Walt pretty much took it easy since it wasn’t too long ago that
he had a triple bypass so it was up to Tom to do most of the fishing. Juan and Manuel were able
to keep him busy by hooking up 9 Dorado, 2 Yellowfin and letting him fight an estimated 310
pound Blue Marlin for over an hour before tagging and releasing it! I sure hope the fishing stays
this good.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 28 NOVEMBER 2002
It clouded up last night and this morning, just after the boat left the Marina with John and Ray
aboard for a half day of fishing, the skies opened up and it poured! This was the first time for
John and Ray to do any kind of fishing and one of them had a very worried wife. About mid day
we were able to calm her down with the report that the guys were catching fish, were not seasick
and would be coming in on time. Manuel and Edgar went back to the Pacific side, up off of Los
Arcos and caught 7 Dorado and 2 Yellowfin Tuna.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 29 NOVEMBER, 2002
Brothers Zach and Brian Eastman are fishing today and tomorrow and they really want to
catch a Marlin. We had our fingers crossed when they left this morning. Juan and Manuel went
back to the Pacific side and were able to get 4 Dorado in the boat but no Marlin. They did have
strikes from 4 Striped Marlin and saw lots of them on the surface and jumping but were not able
to get a hook to stick in any of them. Hopefully tomorrow!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 30 NOVEMBER 2002
The second day of fishing for Zach and Brian was not as eventful as yesterday. Juan and
Manuel returned to the same area as yesterday but the fish had moved on. Today they didn’t even
see a Marlin and they only caught one Dorado.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR DECEMBER 1, 2002
Zach Eastman decided to give it one more try and Brian decided that he wanted to do the Sand
Dunes ATV excursion. Zach invited me to go along and I was happy to get the chance. Lines
went in the water outside the lighthouse on the Pacific side and for the next three hours we had a
boat ride as we worked our way up the coast toward the Golden Gate Banks. About three miles
short of the Banks Juan spotted a turtle in the water and as we passed by him we had a very large
Bull Dorado come and grab the long rigger lure. The fish didn’t stick and we worked the area for
a little bit with no luck. We even dragged a live bait by the turtle, hoping that there were more
Dorado under it. When we got to the banks there were 12 boats there and all of them were
trolling, with no luck. At about the same time everyone stopped trolling and dropped down live
bait. We gave it a shot for about a half hour but with no luck. We were told that the bite had
been early using the deep dropped bait. Lots of bait balls, schools of Mackerel on the depth
finder, but no interested Marlin. It was not until we were almost all the way back, just about 4
miles off of Los Arcos, that we finally had a Marlin strike. The fish grabbed the shotgun lure but
did not hook up. I dropped back a live bait and we saw the Marlin come in and grab it. I ended
up farming the fish! He ran with it for a few second, stopped to eat it then ran again. I set the
hook on the second run and I guess I didn’t wait ling enough because I had good solid weight for
a few seconds then could feel the hook pull loose. That was our only shot of the day and I blew
it! Again, I’m sorry Zach! Our fingers are crossed that next time will be better. Until then, Tight
Lines!
Until Next Week, Tight Lines form George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew!
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 11:55 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT NOVEMBER 25-DECEMBER 1, 2002
WEATHER: Our week started out very nice with the nighttime lows in the high 60’s and the
daytime highs in the mid to low 90’s. On Wednesday we began to get clouds moving in strong
and checking the weather maps found the Pineapple Express had moved right over us. We have
had cloudy skies and showers everyday since then but it is clearing up now. No really heavy
gullywashing downpours, just enough to mess up the streets and wash trash into the Marina. The
cloud cover has caused the temps to drop and we are now seeing low 60’s to mid-high 70’s. The
desert is going to be beautiful in a week! (Tropical Legs)
WATER: Both the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez were calm all week long but there was some
pretty choppy conditions on Wednesday as the front moved over us. The inshore water dirtied up
on Thursday due to the rain but out past a mile it gets blue again. Our water temps have lowered
a bit as well with water outside the Cape reading in the 80-81 degree range. Our warm water is
now on the Pacific side but the temp breaks are far, far away. (Amazon)
BAIT: Most of the bait available this week were small 8-10” Mackerel and the price was the
usual $2 per bait. A few Caballito were in the bait boat tanks as well. I have no knowledge of
Sardina availability. (Magic In Your Eyes)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: What a strange week! I was not expecting much in the way of Marlin but I was
surprised. There were still Blues and a few Blacks being caught this week, and a lot of Striped
Marlin being sighted and caught. Toss in a mix of Sailfish and just about every billfish we have
available here in Cabo was around this week. Naturally the Striped Marlin were the most
common, and most boats were able to get at least a couple of them hooked up. Live bait was the
ticket and most of the fish were spotted tailing. For lures, anything in Dorado colors seemed to
work well on all the Billfish, likely because there are so many of them around right now. Most of
the bite has been on the Pacific side, up in the Los Arcos area from 2 miles to 10 miles offshore,
and including the Golden Gate Banks. (Calypso Getaway)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: The Tuna bite dropped off a lot this week and almost all of the fish I have
seen or heard about have been footballs to 20 pounds. There have been a few schoolies in the
25-35 pound range as well but no large fish. The fish have not been associated with Porpoise,
most of the strikes have been in the blind while fishing for Dorado. 6” feathers and hard plastic
lures in smaller sizes worked well with no specific color mentioned by anyone. Due to the effort
put in this week Dorado, most of the Yellowfin found were caught within 5 miles of the Pacific
coast. (Dr. Macumba)
DORADO: Last week I said that it looked like the Dorado bite was going to keep getting better
and it has. The average size is up to around 20 pounds and there has been plenty of them around.
Most of the boats were working the Pacific side up to 10 miles offshore. A lot of the action was
within 2 miles of the beach and the boats were pretty concentrated in there. The key was finding
Frigate birds working and getting in a pass on them with the lures. If you hooked up, drop back
some live baits and wait for the action. Most boats were able to meet the 2 Dorado per angler
limit without a problem early in the morning, then went in search of other species. (Angelina)
WAHOO: I saw a few Wahoo flags this week but when I talked to the anglers I found that most
of them had been flown by boats that had found some nice sized Sierra inshore. I am sure there
were some Wahoo caught but don’t know the where’s or what’s this week. (Long Ago And Far
Away)
INSHORE: Up until Wednesday there was some fair fishing for Sierra and a few small
Roosterfish inshore, and there was good action on the smaller Tunas, the Skipjack and Bonita.
Most of the Pangas were concentrating on the Dorado bite and after Wednesday’s weather
change, the water inshore became too murky for anything but the Dorado search. (Heart String)
NOTES: If anyone reading these reports has questions about fishing in Cabo or just Saltwater
fishing in general, feel free to check the “Ask The Captain” section at www.flyhooker.com , my
homepage. I have just gotten the bugs worked out and will be answering questions each morning.
To all those anglers who have fished with us and have tagged and released a Marlin using the
“Billfish Foundation” tags we provide, I am sorry to say that the Foundation has changed their
policy concerning the issuance of free release certificates. Here is a quote from them: “Yes, it is
a new policy. We generate through the Release Certificate Program 10,000 to 12,000 certificates
a year, all for free. It just got too expensive not to do something. The new policy is $25
introductory membership offer where all certificates are then free, along with the rest of the
premiums, or, $20 a certificate. There was really no way to give the heads-up to captains and
fleets, there are just too many.” So, if you want the certificate you are going to have to pay for it,
but hey, it’s not a lot of money and it goes to a very good program! This weeks report was
written to the music of one of my favorite songwriter/guitarists, Earl Klugh on the 1991 “Blue
Note” Capitol release, “The Best Of Earl Klugh”. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 25, 2002 - 2:35 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT NOVEMBER 18-24, 2002
WEATHER: This week the weather cooled a bit, seems as if we are approaching an autumn
kind of situation. Our nighttime lows have been in the low 60’s while our daytime highs have
reached the mid 90’s with a bit of humidity at times. The skies have been partly cloudy for the
most part and we have had no rain this past week. The weathermen say that we can expect some
thundershowers this coming week, but I’ll believe it when I hear/see it! (Theme For A Rainy
Day)
WATER: Surface conditions have been very good on both the Sea of Cortez and the pacific side
this week. Weak winds from the northwest have ensured good conditions all week long and the
most difficult situations we have had to deal with have been the tide changes concurrent with the
full moon. Water temps have been the same as last week with the exception that the cool band of
water coming down from the northern Sea of Cortez has gotten closer. Everything else has
stayed about the same. There have been distinct temperature breaks to the west of both the San
Jaime and the Golden Gate banks, and the breaks have been pretty severe, but the distances have
been too far for most of the fleet boats here in Cabo. We are looking at 50-70 miles out and a
temp change of 5 degrees in a mile distance. (Take You There)
BAIT: Most of the bait we found this week has been small Mackerel, the 8-10 inch size. There
have been some Caballito and both species have been the usual $2 per bait. With a bit of
bargaining you can get 12 for $20. There are still some Sardines at the usual $20-25 per small
scoop. (Jamaican Winds)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: This week has been a bit strange for Billfish. We have been seeing a lot of Sailfish
caught early in the morning along with a few Striped Marlin being hooked up. Normally the
abundance of Sailfish corresponds with a very strong Dorado bite, but this week it seems that the
Sails have stood ground on their own. Most of these fish have been found close to shore in the
same areas that the Dorado frequent, and most of them have been caught on live bait. That
average size has been 70 pounds, no minnow for sure but just a little shy of the 120 pound Striped
Marlin people are looking for. These fish (the Striped Marlin) have been caught in the same areas
but are also being found on the 95 spot and in areas further to the south. There have been a few
late season Blue Marlin hooked up, but not many of them have been landed. Best baits for the
Sailfish have been the small live Mackerel, best for the Striped Marlin have been the same baits
plus any Caballito. The Blue marlin have been fooled by artificial lures this week, and mostly by
ones in darker colors. (Mobimientos Del Alma)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: This full moon seems to be a bit different. Usually we see an up-swing in
the Yellowfin Tuna during the full moon but this week there actually seemed to be a drop. The
fish that were found were footballs and they all were associated with either Porpoise or floating
debris. Most of the favorite spots were in the current lines at either 12 miles or 25 miles to the
south. These fish were still fun to catch and there were plenty of them around if you were in the
right spot at the right time. 6” cedar plugs were a hands down favorite, followed by 6” feathers in
Guacamaya or Petrolero. (She Never Said Why)
DORADO: Thank goodness for most of the boats that there were Dorado around this week. If
not for these great fish, many of the boats would not be flying any flags at all. The Dorado were
running from 15 to 25 pounds on the average and most of them were found by trolling artificial
then switching to live bait once the schools were located. Our fish this week seemed to show a
preference for the Pacific side of the Cape, and most of them were only a short distance from the
shore. (Kissin’ On The Beach)
WAHOO: There were a few nice fish caught this week and I suspect it had a lot to do with the
full moon. They averaged 35 pounds and some of them were caught on live bait while deep
dropping live Mackerel for the Striped Marlin. I heard stories aplenty from anglers about the
number of baits they brought up that had either been cut in half or stolen altogether. (Trailer hook
hidden in the tail!?) (Every Moment With You)
INSHORE: The inshore fishing this week was almost a mirror of last weeks escapades. Most of
the small boat fleet was focused on slow trolling live Caballito or Mackerel in the hope of finding
a Dorado or a Striped Marlin. There were reports of small Yellowtail and Roosterfish, but I did
find out that the bite for those small gear tackle busters, the “Skipjack”, was wide open.
(Midnight In San Juan)
NOTES: Those of you with whom we have tagged and released fish using the “Billfish
Foundation” tags during the past 3 months, you need to be aware that things have changed just a
bit. When last we ordered the tags (two months ago) there was supposed to be the option of
having a release certificate mailed to you stating the date, location, angler, boat, species,
estimated size and fighting time. This certificate was supposed to be at no charge to you as the
angler. Well, the “Billfish Foundation” is a non-profit organization dependent solely on donations
from anglers in order to keep its self afloat. It’s purpose has been to educate anglers about
species sustainability, and the collection of more accurate fish data to better understand the
reproduction and growth cycles of the Billfish. According to the foundation, there has been a
lack of financial support, they claim it is due to the economic situation in the U.S., and due to the
climbing expenses they have been forced to begin charging for the release certificates. As a
non-member there is a charge of $20 per certificate but if you decide to become a 1 year member
at the special introduction rate of $25, all certificates are free. If you are confused, just go to their
website and check them out. They said there were too many charter boats and organizations to
be able to notify everyone in advance. Guess that is why I had to find out by my clients e-mailing
me to ask why they were getting a charge for certificates. Sigh, I guess it’s not just a Mexican
thing after all! This weeks report was written to the sounds of Earl Klugh and his guitar on the
1991 Warner Brothers CD release “Midnight in San Juan” |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 25, 2002 - 2:32 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 18 NOVEMBER 2002
Our local friends Don and Cathy Cole booked the “Fly Hooker” today to go fishing with their
pastor Mike and his wife and Kathy’s brother Bob and his wife. Some fish for dinner and perhaps
a chance to fight a Marlin were all they were looking for but instead they had a boat ride. It was
enjoyable, and they did say that watching the Porpoise was very nice but since there was only one
Tuna strike (didn’t hook up) they had a lot of time to just rest and eat. Don and Bob are going
again on Sunday so we hope the action improves by then. This is the first trip on our boat where
Don got skunked, I sure hope it doesn’t happen again!!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 19 NOVEMBER 2002
Raul and Dave Hernandez and their friend Harvey are fishing with us today through the 23rd
and I thought about just combining all the days into one report but nah, never mind, I would
probably forget something then. They are from Texas, the Dallas area and are usually found out
fishing for Catfish and Striped Bass. They wanted to catch big fish and decided that Cabo was the
place to go. Sometime during the 5 days of fishing they would like to be able to each fight a
Marlin, that is the ultimate goal. Of course, any fish at all is great and the larger the better! Well,
Juan and Manuel decided to go up the Pacific coast again. They were lines in outside the light
house and had a triple strike on Dorado, getting one to the boat. They continued up the coast
almost 25 miles and had no action at all. Returning, they hooked into three more Dorado in the
same area where they hooked up this morning and this time they managed to get two of the fish
into the boat. Some very nice fillets were taken over to the smokehouse and you know they are
going to enjoy eating them when they get home! Tomorrow the plan is to go south and see if
there are any Marlin out there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for these guys, they are so nice
they deserve to get lots of fish! Until tomorrow, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 20 NOVEMBER 2002
Juan and Manuel took off with Dave, Raul and Harvey this morning and headed south from the
lighthouse. They worked their way out 18 miles without spotting any Striped Marlin. They did
pick up one Dorado on the way out and one on the way back, both fairly close to the lighthouse
area. Enough Dorado they said, lets go for Marlin tomorrow! Fingers crossed.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 21 NOVEMBER, 2002
Today was Juan’s day off and Abulito worked as deckhand. Manuel decided to try the 95 spot
without success and then they worked up towards the 1150, again with no luck. A friend
contacted him on the radio and said that they had some luck deep dropping live bait off of the
ledge at the lighthouse so they gave that a shot for an hour and a half with no luck. Dave, Raul
and Harvey are getting antsy, they only have two more days to get their billfish. Our fingers and
toes are crossed!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 22 NOVEMBER 2002
High tide was early this morning and Juan and Manuel decided that they should try the deep
drop of the lighthouse first thing, working the tide change. Finally some action! Dave caught a
Sailfish of about 80 pounds and a Dorado as well while both Raul and Harvey had Marlin grab
their baits but were unable to get them hooked up very well. They did get some jumps out of
their Marlin but the hooks were thrown. They also got strikes from Wahoo but were not able to
get them hooked up either. Tomorrow they are going to leave a little bit earlier because the bite
happened early today. They had gone through the 12 baits they had bought by 11 am so
tomorrow they are going to buy a few more! Fingers, toes and eyes crossed for their Marlin!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 23 NOVEMBER 2002
Today was the last day of fishing for Raul, Dave and Harvey and they went out to repeat the
action they had yesterday. It was not the same, but both Raul and Harry got to fight and release a
Sailfish while working the bottom with live bait. Dave was the designated photographer since he
had gotten his fish yesterday, and he did a fine job of it as was shown by the results played back
when they returned. They also hooked up to four big Skipjack Tuna and Dave got to fight a
Stingray estimated at 25-30 pounds that took a liking to his live bait. The guys had a great time
and were happy that they managed to get a billfish each. Thanks go out to Raul and Dave and
Harry for being a great bunch to be with! Looking forward to either 2003 or 2004!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 24 NOVEMBER 2002
Don Cole and his brother-in-law Bob were our anglers today and they invited me to go along
with them. When we left this morning we were hoping to not have a repeat of Mondays outing
when they got skunked! Thankfully we found fish, but it was a morning bite for sure. Don said
that he would rather catch fish for the table than catch trophy fish so Juan directed the boat up the
Pacific coast and we fished less than two miles offshore between Margaritas and Migrainos. Bob
was first up in the chair and the first strike was on the bridge rod, a nice Dorado of about 20
pounds. It took only a few minutes to coach Bob on the proper technique and the fish was gaffed
and in the box shortly thereafter. The next fish was about 15 minutes later at 8am and it was a
slightly smaller Dorado, one about 15 pounds. Don made short work of that fish and we
continued to work the area, along with about 10 other boats, but without any further luck. At
around 9:30 Juan had us working under a Frigate bird and was getting frustrated when we could
not get a bite. He gunned the engines and it may have been the increase in speed, but a big Bull
Dorado jumped on a lure and Bob was off to the races again. This fish took a lot of line and after
the lines were cleared we dropped a bait way back there and managed to hook up another
Dorado, this one a big female that Don got to fight. Both of these fish, estimated at between 30
and 35 pounds, ended up in the fish box! We did have another Dorado strike at around 11 am, a
big Bull that struck the short line, but it failed to hook up well. We returned to the dock with
Don’s cooler filled with zip-locked fillets and with both Don and Bob with smiles on their faces!
Until Next Week, Tight Lines form George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew!
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 12:29 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 11 N0VEMBER 2002
Bob and Judy and family were on the “Fly Hooker” today and they went up the Pacific coast
looking for more Dorado, the same fish that we were finding the last two days. It seems that the
fish have moved though, and the only luck they had was on a Wahoo. There was a double strike
and they managed to get in a nice fish about #40. There were a few other strikes, probably from
Dorado, but nothing that hooked up. The water was pretty rough and they decided that Judy’s
mom was the only one who was handling it well! She loved the trip and was the one to work on
the Wahoo, not bad for 72 years old! Good fillets for home and We sure are glad that things
finally worked out for their group. They had been scheduled for a timeshare sponsored/discount
trip on another boat, but the first day it broke down and the day it was rescheduled for, nobody
showed up at the boat! Finally decided to go anyway and we were open for the day, thank
goodness! Gracias Bob!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 12 NOVEMBER 2002
Our good friend at the “Net Zone”, the best internet cafe in Cabo, Dr. Z., hooked up 5 guys
from the interior of Alaska with us for todays fishing trip. These guys love to fish and while the
action was not hot and heavy, they were a bit hung over so it was all right! Just as they did
yesterday, Juan and Manuel headed up the Pacific coast to look for either Dorado or Wahoo.
They ended up with an almost exact mirror of yesterdays events, except the water was not as
rough today. One nice Wahoo of about #40 and a few other strikes. The guys kept a bit of fish
to take for dinner and were kind enough to leave the rest for us all to share. Those who stayed
awake had a good time and those who slept, slept well!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 13 NOVEMBER 2002
There were supposed to be five guys on the boat today but it seems that they partied all night
long and one of them, Mauricio Pena, sales manager at a local timeshare resort, partied so hard
that he failed to show up for the trip! It was a long day of sleeping for the guys. After staying up
all night the sounds of the engines and the gentle rocking of the boat just did them in. Right off
the bat they hooked up a small Bonita and released it and not until the middle of the trip did they
get any other action. Live bait was tossed to a Marlin spotted in the lure pattern and after about a
45 minute fight it was tagged and released. That was all the action for the day, but at least they
did not get skunked, there were a lot of boats that did!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 14 NOVEMBER 2002
Today we had 5 guys who were staying at the Marina Fiesta resort, right on the marina. They
booked the boat direct the day before yesterday and were ready to go fishing! Juan had the day
off so Edgar was the deckhand. Manuel headed out to the San Jaime banks looking for Tuna.
They found the Porpoise and Manuel said there were large Tuna in them. The guys hooked up
once really solidly but the fish was given slack and came off. There were two other strikes that
did not hook up and that was all the action for the day. Oh oh, skunked. Not good but the guys
tried hard to get on the fish. We hope the Dempsy group has better luck on their next trip.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 15 NOVEMBER 2002
Live, from Vancouver, B.C., we had John and his wife Lana and their friend and co-workers
Ron and Brad. These are fishin’ fools for sure! Lana drew the high card this morning as got the
first fish. Complaints all round, “She always wins!”. Hey guys, next time rig the deck! The
group fished on Monday and wore themselves out on Tuna on a small boat in rough water so this
trip they wanted to focus on either Dorado or Wahoo. With their fingers crossed, Jaun and
Manuel headed out. Action right away! Less than two minutes after lines in, up on the Pacific
coast, they had a triple hook-up. All the fish made it to the boat and all of them were in the 25
pound class. The action was steady with single and double strikes all morning long and when the
bite finally died off they had caught15 fish and released anything under 15 pounds. Plenty of
fillets to accompany the Tuna from Monday! And guess what, Lana caught the largest fish. Just
like she had on Monday! Think she knows what she is doing? By the way, she was MVP for the
Canadian National Women’s Baseball team two years running and is on the winning National
Volleyball team as well, plays basketball also!!! We are so glad everyone had fun today and look
forward to seeing all of you here again next year! John, we also hope the traveling goes smoother
for you next time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 16 NOVEMBER 2002
This was a last minute trip for us as another boat had a major problem with their injector pump
and needed someone to take their clients out. I only got the name of Stanley and Kiesha, they had
a friend with them. The target for the day was Yellowfin Tuna and jaun and Manuel headed up to
Cabo Falso then out 210 degrees for 27 miles. They tossed bait to a Striped Marlin early in the
trip and tagged and released that fish. They saw no porpoise the entire day but while almost
ready to pull lines in, just 4 miles out, they had four Striped Marlin crash the lures. One of hte
fish hooked up good enough to break off a Marauder plug but one stayed stuck on a lure. Juan
dropped back a bait into the lure pattern and they were onto a double hook-up. Both fish were
brought to the boat to be released. Not quite what the anglers ordered but as Stanly said, “Think
I’m going to complain about catching three Marlin, no way!” Thanks guys, we hope the rest of
your trip is a good one.
Until Next week, tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 12:28 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT NOVEMBER 11-17, 2002
WEATHER: Once again we have had wonderful weather here in Cabo. Our nighttime lows
have reached the mid 60’s except on Thursday night when it only got to about 75 degrees with a
lot of humidity. We actually had to turn on the a.c. to be comfortable. Daytime highs have
reached the 90 degree mark on occasion but except for Thursday, they have been very
comfortable. No rain and only scattered clouds all week long. Early in the week steady breeze
from the northwest but later on it shifted a bit and on Wednesday came from the south then just
died! (City Street Life)
WATER: The surface conditions on both the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific are calm now, with
slight 1-4 foot seas. There were 3-5 foot swells with wind chop early in the week. Water temps
have pretty much remained in the 80-83 degree range within 30 miles or more of the Cape and the
temperature break is a long way out, 60 miles to the southwest or 30+ miles to the northwest.
Both these areas are showing a 5 degree change within a distance of two miles or less. This area
of warm water that is wrapped around the Cape right not seems to be moving slowly to the
southwest and away. (Self Preservation)
BAIT: Both Caballito and some Mackerel have been available this week at the usual $2 per bait.
There have been Sardinas as well, and as normal when they are not really thick, the price has been
a bit high, in the area of $20-$25 per small scoop. (Full Moon Risin’)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: As the full moon approaches the Marlin have started to bite better. It has not been
uncommon for boats to get multiple shots at the Striped Marlin. They have been found from 2 to
30 miles out on both the Pacific and the Cortez side, often in small groups. The bite had been a
mix of both bait and lures with live Mackerel out-performing the Caballito and Bleeding mackerel
colors on lures working best. There are still Blue Marlin around but not in great numbers.
(Funky Reggae Rock)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Dolphin pods have been the key for both football fish and some of the
larger schoolies, as well as a few #200+ fish. There has been no concentration close to the Cape
as the fish have moved considerably every day. A few of the private yachts coming down the
coast have reported concentrations of fish in the area of the Finger Banks, over 50 miles north.
Here, six inch feathers, cedar plugs and Marauders have worked well on the football and
schoolies, while the larger fish have been mostly on live bait. (Charo Luz)
DORADO: This weeks bright spot for sure, it seems as if the fishing for these acrobats just
keeps getting better. Many of the fish are in the 20-30 pound class, perfect for filleting, but there
have been larger fish caught as well. As is normal for Dorado, finding the first fish is the key to
getting the school. Most of the fish have first been spotted under working Frigate birds on the
Pacific side, fairly near the beach. Bright colored lures from 6-8 inches have attracted the first
fish and live bait has gotten the larger ones. Most boats focusing on Dorado have been able to get
the 2 fish per person limit for their clients, then releasing the rest. (Survive)
WAHOO: We had a pretty good Wahoo bite this week and it did not occur very far out. A lot of
fish were caught off of Gray Rock and Cabo Falso. Almost any point held a fish or two and most
of them were in the 40 pound class. A few boats were covered up as small packs attacked the
lures, and many of the fish left the area with souvenirs as their razor teeth cut through the mono
leaders on most of the lures. Rapala Magnum CD’s and Braid Marauders in both black/purple
and orange/black worked very well. (Everybody’s Bizness)
INSHORE: All the normal pelagics were targeted by the Panga fleet this week as they all could
be found fairly near. With Wahoo biting well and it being almost a sure thing for Dorado, few of
them were focusing on the traditional nearshore fish. There were small Roosterfish accounted
for, mostly on the Cortez side of the Cape, and there was good fishing for Snapper when the tide
was right, as well as good fishing for grouper. I heard of no large fish caught this week but did
see one grouper in the 80 pound class and several Snappers in the 10 pound class in fish holds.
(Charity)
NOTES: If anyone reading these reports has questions about fishing in Cabo or just Saltwater
fishing in general, feel free to check the “Ask The Captain” section at www.flyhooker.com , my
homepage. I have just gotten the bugs worked out and will be answering questions each morning.
Ah, we finally have outdoor live music back in town! This week on Tuesday and Thursday at the
Tanga-Tanga bar, the reggae group “Riddim Forz” was playing between 3 and 6pm. Last year
the city shut down outdoor music due to the complaints of residents in the “Pedregal”, the
exclusive housing area above town. Those complaints were all voiced due to the nighttime bar
bands and Brad, the owner of the Tanga-Tanga figures that if the music is over by 6pm there
won’t be any reason for them to complain. Sheft-Hat Khnemu has revamped the band since
putting out the CD this report was written to, and he now has a more driven sound, one that has
everyone here smiling and dancing to! Brad says that as long as there are no complaints the band
will be playing those days every week. Written to the rockin reggae of “Riddim Forz” on their
self produced, self titled, undated CD, available here in Cabo! Irie mon! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 11, 2002 - 12:02 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2002
Today we were supposed to have the Terry Matheson party our fishing and we did get them on
the boat and out to the lighthouse. Thats when the port fuel pump went out. Sigh. Juan spent a
lot of time trying to trace the problem and when he discovered what it was, they came back in.
We found another boat for the Matheson group and they will be fishing again on Wednesday. So,
today the port fuel pump was replaced, the oil changed and the saltwater pump impellers changed,
getting ready for the Tuna tournament this week.
Also, the section of the web site “Ask The Captain” is up and running (thanks Phil!) so if you
have any questions about fishing in Cabo, or any fishing questions at all, please ask. Just go to
www.flyhooker.com and click on the “Ask The Captain” button on the left side. I will be
checking it on a daily basis.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2002
Tim and Clare Johnson have been looking forward to the fishing trip today for some time. Tim
is retired Air Force instead of Navy, but he’s an all right guy anyway! All Tim and Clare wanted
to do was catch fish and it took Juan and Manuel a long time to make it happen. In fact, it almost
didn’t happen at all! The water was in great condition and the boat trip was very nice, but it was
starting to look like a wash out. As they began to pull in the lines, Juan called to tell us what time
the boat was going to be in. Halfway through the phone call (all the way as it turned out) Juan
hung up. A large Dorado had crashed a lure and they had a fight on their hands! It took a few
minutes to subdue the fish and then Juan did a quick fillet job as they came in. The Dorado was
estimated at 35 pounds and put up a good fight. At least Tim and Clare have some fresh fillets for
dinner! Thanks guys, we look forward to seeing you again sometime next year.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 6, 7 AND 8, 2002
I am combining all three days in one report since these are the same guys for the three days and
it includes the W.O.N. Tuna Tournament on the 7 and 8th. Steve Emery, Don Tilly, Dale
Schultz and Billy Dorsam are team #4 in the tournament and these guys are really looking forward
to winning! They have brought a lot of their own gear to use and are experienced fishermen. The
6th is a day for pre-fishing the tournament, basically a chance to see how Juan and Manuel work,
explain how they want to fish and see how everyone can meld together as a team. Hopefully they
can get into some fish to give it a try, perhaps a big Tuna for the reality of it! It did not work
quite that way however, as the pre-fishing day resulted in only a couple of Dorado. The reports
were that the Tuan were out there, but that it was a long 40-50 mile run to the grounds, unless
you worked the Pacific banks where there were a few fish showing up. On the 7th, the first day
of the tournament, they worked the area of the San Jaime banks and Golden Gate. They saw big
Tuna jumping but were unable to get them to bite. They ended up with a Striped Marlin tagged
and released and managed to pull a bait away from another one before they had to waste time
fighting it. On the 8th they headed up the same way and this time went up to Golden Gate Banks
and stayed to work the area. They saw no Porpoise or Dolphin this day and were only able to get
a 50 pound Wahoo, a nice fish but not big enough to win the Dorado/Wahoo category. They,
along with a lot of others in the tournament, were disappointed at not getting a Tuna to weigh in,
but they did have a good time. Thanks guys, and better luck next year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 9, 2002
Roger Salyer and two of his buddies, Beu and ..... showed up at the boat this morning. They
were missing the fourth person, a victim of the tequila virus common here in Cabo. As a matter
of fact, it seemed that Beu might have gotten a pretty good case of it himself! They had already
fished two days on another boat and had gotten their Marlin and a Wahoo. Today they wanted to
get some meat to fill the cooler up so it was a search for Dorado. Juan was not feeling well and
we had Abulito as deck hand. Manuel took the “Fly Hooker” up the Pacific coast to the area
known as Los Arcos and there they found a school of Dorado. One was hooked on a lure and the
others fell for live bait tossed back. A nice load of fillets was recovered from the five 20-25
pound fish they ended up with. Good going guys, we hope to see you again!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 10 NOVEMBER 2002
I had a chance today to fish with Al and Chris, from the desert states of New Mexico and
Arizona. Normally these guys are golfers but decided to give fishing a shot on this trip. Abulito
did not show up for work today, and it appeared from the conversations on the radio that he was
not the only crew to be missing. Guess they had quite a party after the awards ceremony for the
Tuna Tournament last night! Juan and I got underway and found from Al and Chris that they
wanted to catch some fish so they had fillets to take home and they would not mind getting a shot
at a Marlin if we happened upon one. Juan decided to go to the same area the boat had fished
yesterday. Boy, once we got past the light house we had to slow down! It was a bit bouncy out
there. Several shrimp trawlers had been picking through their tows and had been tossing the
by-catch over the side, forming lines of small fish drifting down swell. We picked up one Dorado
in one of these lines then continued on, getting wet all the way. Once we got to the Los Arcos
area, we began to get strikes. We hooked one fish and got him to the boat then hooked a friend
of his on a live bait dropped back. Both these fish ended up in the fish box. Later on Chris had a
strike and hook-up to a large Bull Dorado and it took him a while to get the fish tired and turned
to the boat. Juan said that there was a large school of other fish following him in and then of
course, he shook the hook loose! We turned in, closer to the shore and started working our way
back. We had one Wahoo strike and another Dorado strike and that was all the action for the
day. I filleted one fish and Juan did the others and both Al and Chris were surprised by the
number of fillets that came out of the three Dorado. All in all it was a good day and we hope to
see both Al and Chris again!
Until Next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 11, 2002 - 12:00 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT NOVEMBER 4-11, 2002
WEATHER: Looks like we are in the fall season here as the weather is almost exactly the same
as it was last week. Our nighttime lows are in the high 60’s and the daytime highs got up to the
low 90’s once. Very comfortable and easy to live with! Of course we had no rain and only partly
cloudy skies early in the week. (Baia)
WATER: Water temperature was important this week and it seemed that almost everywhere you
went the temperature stayed at just around 80-82 degrees. Earlier in the week there was a temp
break to the southwest that ran southeast/northwest but as the week came to a close this break
kept moving farther away. San Jaime bank was the only place that showed a good change all
week long and the water there was 79-80 degrees. The surface conditions were good all week
and only on Friday did we start to get a bit of wind and that disappeared overnight. (Desafinado)
BAIT: Caballito and Sardinas, the same as last week. Caballito at $2 per bait and $20 for a small
handful of Sardinas. There was no problem getting bait if you were early. (Samba Dees Days)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: There were Marlin out there, both Blues and Stripers, but the focus this week for
almost all the boats were Tuna. Marlin were not targeted and to be honest, not really wanted.
That may seem strange for Cabo, but this week was the big Tuna Tournament. There were
Marlin found almost everywhere and some of the larger Blues were found around the 95 and 1150
spots and a few were found at Golden Gate Banks. Most of the Striped Marlin were found on the
Pacific side and they were running in small packs. There was about a Marlin for every other boat
this week with the average slightly higher on the non-tournament days. (O Pato)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: The fish of the week and since there was so much effort put into finding
them we have some good details. First off, it was a long run to find the fish and almost all the
larger fish were found in the Dolphin. Runs to 40+ miles were the norm when heading out and
there were a few boats that went as far as 60 miles. Dolphin action and live baits were the key.
There were 154 boats in the two day tournament and 20 fish over 100 pounds were weighed,
three of them were over 200 pounds. The largest fish was #256 and was caught at the San Jaime
Bank on a live flying fish. Down the scale we saw fish at #224, #219, #182, #157 and 15 other
fish in the 100-150 pound range. We quit counting the 35-60 pounders! As I said, live baits were
the key as only one of the money fish was taken on a lure. You had to find the right kind of
Dolphin and if you were one of the first ones, or if you stayed with them after other boats had left,
you had a shot at a nice fish. Lures accounted for many fish and the favorites seemed to be
Marauders and cedar plugs, followed by straight runners in purple/black. Samba Triste)
DORADO: There were plenty of Dorado all week long and they were schooled up. If you
caught one you usually caught more. Of course the key was to get one hooked up and right
behind the boat, then the school would stay around long enough to get a few more hooked on live
bait or chunks. Looking for frigate birds was a good key, as was seeing small showers of flying
fish. The action was good at the San Jaime and on the Pacific close to the beach. Most of the
fish were running 12-25 pounds. (Samba De Uma Nota So)
WAHOO: With the number of boats we had out there working the banks this week there were a
larger than normal number of Wahoo caught. The largest brought in for the tournament was 74
pounds and the second largest was 60 pounds. There were numbers of fish in the 40-50 pound
class as well and most of these fish were taken on lures. (E Luxo So)
INSHORE: There was good inshore action this week for Dorado and Skipjack, and the Sierra are
starting to show up as well. Smaller Roosterfish are found every day and there have been fair
catches of assorted bottom fish also. (Baia)
NOTES: Now that tournament season is over for us things should return to normal. It sure is
exciting but can wear you down quick! I have a new section on my web site called “Ask The
Captain” that I have just gotten up, so if you have any questions fell free to ask. Now I have
some time to devote to responding! The Tuna Tournament we just had was one of the best run
operations I have ever been involved in and my hat is off to every one involved, thank you for a
class operation and may there be many more to come. This weeks report was written at 5am to
the sounds of Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd in their 1963 release titled “Jazz Samba”, recorded live
in Pierce Hall, All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington D.C., February 13, 1962, Polygram
Classics and Jazz, Verve Records. Oh yeah, sit back and enjoy! Until next week, tight lines!
|
J.D. Bryant
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 11:56 am: | |
Subject: BTW - ALL CATCH AND RELEASE
I forgot to mention that all the fish caught were C&R except for 2 very tasty Dorado's (Dolphin) I had for dinner while in Cabo! |
J.D. Bryant
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 11:53 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Trip - Nov 2-6
Had a great trip to Cabo as usual. Went out with the Gaviota fleet 4 consecutive days. Man I hurt!! I do not know how those guys do it every day!
Day One - Pacific Side
Two Dorado late in the afternoon, 1-25lbs 1-15lbs.
Day Two - Cortez Side
Two Stripped Marlin late in the afternoon. Both C&R. Each about 150lbs. The seas were a bit rough making for a long day but pulled a hat trick at the end of the day! The first stripped marlin was LOCO! We almost got the leader three different times and then it took off again! Total time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes. He still had lots of fight left in him when we let him go. The second marlin literally swam to the boat, total time: 8 minutes!
Day Three - Cortez Side
Great Day! 1 Pacific Sailfish 80lbs, 2 Stripped Marlin 1-150lbs 1-175lbs, 3 Dorado 15-25lbs, 1 Small Tuna
All this by 10:15 am. After 10:15 the bite stopped for the day, but that was fine with me as I needed some rest!
Day Four - Gorda Bank
Nada - But still a great day for a boat ride!
Well I decided to go for broke and try for a grand slam by picking up a blue during my trip which. I got skunked. Might as well of been fishing in my hotel bathtub...we did not see a single fish all day and only had one Wahoo bite. It is amazing to me how the bite can change from day to day without rhyme or reason. Although if I had to pin the change to something I would say it was due to the very calm seas.
That' it for this years report..maybe next year I will get that grand slam I have been trying for. At very least I get to mark one additional billfish off my list (Pacific Sailfish) and now only have two more to go...blue and black. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 04, 2002 - 1:00 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3, 2002
WEATHER: It sure was nice this week! Our nighttime lows were in the high 60’s and the
daytime highs were in the low 90’s at the most. Quite a few days were windy until the end of the
week but overall conditions were very nice. A scattering of clouds but no rain. It was nice not
having to worry about a hurricane! (Have You Ever Seen The Rain)
WATER: The Pacific side of the Cape was quite choppy until the end of the week and also a bit
cooler than last week. The Sea of Cortez was rough on Monday when we had very strong winds
come in from the southwest. It seems that the overall sea surface temperatures have dropped a
couple of degrees since the last report and we are now getting Pacific temps in the high 70’s while
the Sea of Cortez is showing mostly in the low 80’s. We still have a wrapping of warm water
running offshore from the Cortez side out to the Pacific in the area of the San Jaime and the
Golden Gate banks. South of the Cape this was causing a distinct temperature break of almost 4
degrees in a short distance. Good conditions but the water was rough! (Green River)
BAIT: There were plenty of Caballito this week at the usual $2 per bait and there were Sardinas
to be had also, but they were very expensive. A small scoop of the little guys cost $20, just a bit
more than a big handful! Hope the price on these drops soon, then I might use some myself!
(Someday Never Comes)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: This week was the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament and it lasted three days. I think
the results may give you a good idea of the Billfish action. The minimum qualifying weight for
Blue and Black Marlin was #300. One qualifying fish was caught during the three days, with 50
boats fishing. That fish weighed #323. A lot of small Blues and plenty of Striped Marlin were
released and the top release team had five releases for the three days of fishing. There were some
Sailfish caught at well. The big fish was caught at the 95 spot and the concentration by the
tournament fleet may have skewed the showings a bit, but most of the releases came from the
Cortez side. The non-tournament boats found plenty of Striped Marlin on the Pacific side this
week, but with the waning moon, the bite was not red hot. Best results were had on live bait and
the favorite lure colors getting bitten were in green/black and purple/black. (Long As I Can See
The Light)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Since the Yellowfin Tuna move around so much I guess that I won’t be
giving any secrets away if I let you know how this past weeks fishing for them was. If they stayed
in one place maybe I’d keep quiet! This coming week is the W.O.N. Tuna Tournament! There
were some large fish caught this week, and all of them were caught on Porpoise. my captains
brother had a double hook-up while pulling lures past a small group of ten Porpoise and he was
still fighting the fish after three hours. He ended up landing both fish, one at #180 and the bruiser
at #320! Just a week too early! Most of the action has been either south of the Cape or west
toward the San Jaime. I have not heard of anyone doing any chunking, but they may be keeping
the results quiet if they are getting good action. There are smaller fish out there as well, but the
Porpoise are still the key with them. Just because some large fish were caught does not mean
there was a wide open bite. More boats skunked on the Tuna than hooked up. Even when we
could see the Tuna jumping, it was being in the right place at the right time. I have my fingers
crossed the fish remain in the area through this week and they start to bite better as the moon
wanes. (I Put A Spell On You)
DORADO: The lifeblood of the fleet this week were these acrobats of the sea. Most boats were
flying at least one Dorado flag, and you did not have to go far to find them. Most of the fish were
concentrated in the area within 5 miles of shore, and most of them were on the Pacific side. The
key seemed to be finding the Frigate birds and staying under them if they were working. Once
hooked up on a lure, dropping back live baits resulted in quite a few large fish, up to the 60 pound
mark. Most of the fish were smaller, of course, but still nice size, in the 20 pound class. On the
Pacific side, from the Cape up to Los Arcos, and on the Cortez side, all the way up to San Jose,
so basically almost anywhere you went you could find the fish. (Sweet Hitch-Hiker)
WAHOO: There were quite a few Wahoo caught this week, some of them very nice size fish!
The largest caught in the Tournament was an 87 pounder, and there were many in the 30-40
pound class. Many more fish were lost than were landed though, because most of them were
hooked up while looking for Marlin, and they bit right through the monofilament leaders. There
did not seem to be any concentration of fish, but there was action off of almost all the points,
most of it in water between 300 and 600 feet deep. (Fortunate Son)
INSHORE: Inshore fishing offered quite a mixed bag this week. There are Sierra starting to
show up, nothing big yet since most of them are in the 4-5 pound range. Along with the Sierra
are Skipjack and Bonita with the occasional Houndfish tossed into the mix. Anglers casting into
the rocks were finding decent Snapper and Grouper as well, but those dropping baits to the
bottom were outcatching them. Again, the sizes were not large with most fish in the 3-5 pound
range, but the action seemed to be consistent. Slow trolling live bait just off the beach in water
where you could just see the bottom resulted in hooking up quite a few Roosterfish on the Sea of
Cortez side. Again, no large fish with most of them in the 5-15 pound class, but the results were
normally one or two Roosters per boat. Besides the normall inshore fish, there was also good
action on the Dorado! (Up Around The Bend)
NOTES: This week is the Tuna tournament and by everything we are seeing and hearing so far,
it looks like a bruiser of a turnout! Of course this means there will be heavy pressure out there so
luck will have a large part in winning. We have had many requests for bookings during the
tournament days and have had difficulty finding any boats available since everyone seems to be
competing in the tournament. If you are planning on coming to Cabo this week and picking up a
last minute charter, good luck to you! Thats it for this week, and until next week, tight lines!
This weeks music is Creedence Clearwater Revival in a 1991 release titled “Chronicals, the 20
greatest hits” released by Fantasy Records. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 04, 2002 - 12:57 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 28, 2002
Our friends from Anchorage, Tim and Jill Lawrence, are back in Cabo again and are fishing
aboard the “Fly Hooker” this week. Today they left with Juan and Manuel in search of meat fish
to freeze and take home. They were looking for Dorado and Tuna. The search started just off of
Cabo Falso and continued on up towards the Golden Gate area, but not quite all the way. The
water was rough, just as it has been all week and around mid morning the wind switched and
started to come from the southwest, making for very choppy conditions. Jill was the lucky angler
for the day as she was woken from her nap by Tim so that she could fight the Striped Marlin,
estimated at 100 pounds, that had come in on a lure but had eaten a live bait dropped back. being
the angler she is, it did not take long to get the Marlin to boatside for the release. Later on they
finally found the Dorado but could not get the fish to eat anything. No lure in the selection
worked, they would not turn on to the live baits and cut bait was ignored. Sometimes it happens
that way. maybe someone else had already worked that school earlier? Anyway, tomorrow is
another day, hopefully a calmer one!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 29, 2002
Tim and Jill’s second day of fishing saw an improvement in the water conditions as the wind
died down and the size of the swells and chop decreased. That was a good thing because Tim
needed the calmer water to fight his fish in! The first fish of the day was a small Dorado, so small
that Tim said the lure was almost as large as the fish. That hookup came after the lures were in
the water for about 10 minutes. The small Dorado was quickly released. 20 minutes after that,
Manuel received a call on the radio from a friend informing him of a large pod of Porpoise that
had popped up a short distance away. Pulling in the lines, they made a quick run to the area and
reset the spread. This time they put out a purple/black Marauder in the short position and it was
not in the water very long before it got nailed. Tim said that the fish came almost to the boat in
the first 8 minutes and he did not think it was going to be a large fish, but then it took off on a
run! After battling the fish for 20 minutes in stand-up gear, he elected to use the chair to finish
the fight in. Another 20 minutes saw the fish to the side of the boat, where Juan gaffed and
brought aboard the largest Yellowfin Tuna Tim has ever caught, estimated at #150’s! What made
it even better for Tim was that the Yellowfin action was on his own outfit! They continued to
work the area and the Porpoise but could not get another bite. Later on Jill hooked up to a
Striped Marlin, estimated at 100 pounds. Tim got an up close and personal look at the fish as it
neared the boat. Jill was battling the fish from the starboard side when it made a quick run under
the boat and did a vertical jump about 2 feet from the port side, right nest to Tim! He said the
fish actually hit the rod in the holder there with it pectoral fin and that the rod was about the only
thing that kept it out of the boat. The fish made another giant run and then Jill had to fight it all
over again. Juan and Manuel spent about 20 minutes reviving the Marlin along the boat before
they released it. Later on they had another Dorado on for a ver short while, then they headed in,
flying a Marlin, release, Yellowfin, Dorado and another release flag. A very nice day on the water
with plenty of fish action!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 30, 2002
The third day of fishing for Tim and Jill Lawrence saw then head out to the San Jaime Banks,
where Juan had received reports of big Yellowfin, along with lots of Dorado and a few Wahoo.
Today they found the Porpoise again but could not buy a strike from a Tuna. They found the
current line where the Dorado had been caught yesterday and came up with nothing. Manuel
spotted a Striped Marlin come up into the lures and Juan dropped back a live bait. The fish ate
and they were hooked up! While that fish was being fought another one showed on the surface a
short distance away. Tossing out another live Caballito, they hooked the second Marlin as well.
Tim and Jill fought the double header for about 20 minutes and Juan directed the cockpit dance.
Both fish were brought along the side of the boat to receive Billfish Foundation Tags and were
released in very good shape. That was all the action for Today, but so far their fish total is pretty
impressive. Tomorrow is a layday and then Tim and Jill are going to try it one more day on
Friday. Keep reading to find out how they did!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 31 OCTOBER, 2002
Halloween eve and we have aboard the “Fly Hooker” three very nice people from North
Carolina who aren’t scared. Their target for today is Dorado so Juan and Manuel decide to work
about 2 miles off the beach on the Pacific side. They end up working all the way up to the Los
Arcos and Migrianios areas and do find some fish. Most of them are scattered out, with no really
concentrated schools. They end up with four nice size fish in the box and lose several more. The
highlights of the trip were the two Striped Marlin that they hooked up while baiting for Dorado.
These were the largest fish they had ever hooked up to but they were not able to keep them on
the line. The water was not too rough early in the day but started to chop up a bit later on.
Luckily it was a downhill ride home!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 1, 2002
Today is the last day of fishing for Tim and Jill Lawrence, their fourth day overall. Juan and
Manuel go up to the lighthouse then head due south, looking for more of those big Tuna or
possibly more Marlin. The water is pretty rough and they get bounced around a little and end up
not finding any of the big fish, even though they end up 22 miles out. They do find Frigate birds
working bait and hook up to a very large Dorado. Juan said that there was a large school of other
fish following him in but unfortunately he came unbuttoned during the fight and went away.
Changing over to smaller lures, they were able to get two nice fish, the largest in the 28-30 pound
range, the other just a little bit smaller. That was it for the day and they were glad to get back to
the dock. They also took us out to a fresh Dorado dinner at the Fish House restaurant! Thanks
Tim and Jill! We always have a great time with you and look forward to seeing you again next
year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2, 2002
Today we had Dick and Donna Merhman and their daughter and son-in-law Lynn and Mark
James, along with friend Roy Knotts as the anglers aboard the “Fly Hooker”. Everyone has been
to Cabo several times, but mostly to just relax and play golf. They have talked about fishing but
were waiting for the right time. Mark had heard of us from Pat, up in Anchorage at Custom Rod
and Tackle and decided that with those recommendations they would give us a try. The target for
the day was Dorado, Tuna and Wahoo, and they would not turn down a shot at a Marlin if it
happened. With that in mind Manuel and Hector (Juan’s day off) headed up the Pacific coast,
staying within two to five miles of the beach. There was little wind chop but there were some
good rollers today. Donna had a short hookup with a big Dorado. When they got in she talked
about how beautiful the fish was as it jumped out of the water, then she saw the hook go flying
out of it’s mouth. All in all they caught seven Dorado and lost several more. Mark said that they
also had a chance to bait a Striped Marlin that was swimming on the surface but they could not
get the fish to eat anything. Donna got sick and a few others were feeling queasy when they
decided to return early. Pretty good fishing for 6 hours! Thanks, we were glad you got fish and
it was nice meeting more people from Alaska.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 3, 2002
Roger and Dorothy Salyer are fishing aboard the “Fly Hooker” again and again have brought
their young son Kanyon with them. We asked Kanyon this morning what he wanted to catch and
he said “A Black Marlin”. Well, that didn’t happen today. As a matter of fact, Kanyon got sick.
But he was a trooper and hung with it all the way through the trip. Juan and Hector (Manuels day
off) took off up the Pacific coast, into the same area the boat worked yesterday. They picked up
several Dorado and lost several more fairly early in the day, then Juan got a call from a friend
about a concentration of Striped Marlin in an area. He ran there but was only able to find one fish
on the surface, and that one did not want to bite. While searching the area he got another call
from a friend who had found a piece of wood that was holding Dorado. The friend had already
caught ten fish there and was leaving so Juan ran to the wood. They hooked up to three Dorado
right away using live bait and got two in the boat. Then the bite stopped. The Dorado were still
there but would not eat. Quickly they found the reason! A very large shark was cruising around
just under the surface. Hector rigged up a bait for the shark, hopping to get some action fighting
it, but theshark bit the bait in half then refused anything else. Dorothy tried to give Kanyon her
electronic wrist band to keep him from getting sick, but as soon as she took it off she became ill
as well! On the wayback to the marina there was no more action and they ended up with four
nice Dorado in the box. Good luck on Wednesday!
Until next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew |
Larry Bensel
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 01, 2002 - 11:07 pm: | |
Close to ten years ago my Father in law and I took a trip down to the tip of Baja to enjoy a world renown fishing experience that others had spoken of so many times before. We truly tried to convince our brides to join us, our efforts were denied. The disappointment was buried the next year when we were successful in dragging them along. Eight years later they still enjoy the trips we take to cabo.
While I have been able to persuade my bride to fish on occasion, I once again failed on the thirteenth of August two thousand two. Little did she know that this would be the most glorious day of fishing to date in my life? All alone on the Marisoll 111 I would have to catch whatever fish came to battle. After a few incidental fish, Dorado, Mackerel and Bonito young Jose (deckhand) thought he noticed a pod of Dolphin some three miles ahead. While Pedro (Captain) and I both thought he was loco, the binoculars were handed off and the course was set to Jose's command. Some twenty minutes later we were trolling thought the pod of Dolphins. Within seconds three lines went off. Grabbing the first rod to strike, I quickly cranked on the reel while the captain held the Marisoll 111 in the path of the dolphin. Jose grabbed line two secured the hook and quickly grabbed line three. With no one to leader the fish I placed the butt of the pole in a holder and pulled the fish on board. Captain Pedro left Marisoll 111 in gear and rigged live bait, handed the rod off to me and within seconds of fly lining the fight was on.
Three tuna were kicking and spewing blood on the cockpit while my line was peeling off as if tied to a truck on the 101 freeway. Running to the bow was a challenge in itself. Seas were 4-6 foot, Pedro at my side and Jose at the helm, chasing the fish down was the only option. Traveling at eight to ten knots I was nearly spooled within two minutes Jose prepared the second rod. While battling an unknown sized fish on a 113H Penn reel with a Tiburon conversion package loaded with forty pound test I looked down at the Fin-Nor package just waiting to go to work. Just my luck a beautiful Fin-Nor lever drag with eighty- pound test and enough drag to stop a freight train, and I am using a once prestigious 113H star drag that is just screaming for new friction plates.
For nearly two hours I stood at the cockpit and focused on the fish. With a gimble belt who's Velcro had expired, I had plenty of time to consider how much nicer this would have been with a harness, roller guides, two speed reel, eighty pound test and one of my good fishing buddies to share this with.
Well I guess it was just meant to be this way, the battle ended with the three off us pulling this Two hundred Ninety pound Yellow Fin Tuna over the cap rail of the Marisoll 111 after a One hour and fifty minute test of will.
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 28, 2002 - 12:45 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
WWW.FLYHOOKER.COM
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT OCTOBER 21-27, 2002
WEATHER: This week has been a windy one. Strong northwest winds have lowered our
average temperatures so our daytime highs have been in the low to mid 80’s and our nighttime
lows have been in the low 70’s to high 60’s. We were worried that Hurricane Kenna might have
been heading right for us, at least until it took of to the northeast on Friday. It was packing winds
to 160mph when it veered away, striking at Puerto Vallerta with 144mph winds instead. I believe
that the jet stream across the top of us helped out, but I guess we’d really rather have the winds
we are getting now than the winds the Hurricane would have brought us! A little cloud cover, no
rain and cooler temps sum it up for the week here in Cabo. (The Wonder of it All)
WATER: Let me start by saying that everyone here is going to be happy when the A.P.E.C.
conference is over and they re-open the waters on the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape, in where
there is a bit of protection from the wind. We have been fishing on the Pacific side all week, or
out deep into the Sea of Cortez, outside the lee. On the Pacific the water has been a bit tamer
version of “Victory at Sea”, at least for the most part. Storm swells from the south, currents from
the southeast and wind chop from the northeast have resulted in more than a few early returns.
Seas from 5-8 feet and a foot or two of chop in there, short spaced, uncomfortable ride. The
water temperatures have been good though, with most of it in the 81-82 degree range. We still
have a finger of warm water wrapping around the Cape, extending up the Pacific coast to the
Golden Gate Banks. The Sea of Cortez is showing temperatures in the mid 80’s. (Alberta’s
Child)
BAIT: Caballito and a few scattered misc. fish were available this week. With very few boats
going out due to the conditions as well as the APEC events, not a lot of the bait Pangas were
working. One day we got 8 Caballito, a small Black Jack and a little bitty Permit as baits, and
there were only five bait boats out there. The prices have remained the same, at $2 per bait. No
word on the Sardinas, and I doubt if there were many available since they seem to normally come
from the area just off the beach between us and San Jose, an area that has been off limits for the
week. (Navajo Rug)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: If you were able to stand the conditions, there were plenty of Striped Marlin
available just to the north side of the light house later in the week. They were in small groups of
three or four fish and seemed to be hungry. The difficulty was to get a live bait tossed in front of
them! Most of the fish were running right around 100 pounds and the live bait was definitely the
way to go. A few Blue Marlin were hooked up as well, but not many were brought to the boats.
Most of them were caught on lures, but a few were hooked on lighter gear while slow trolling live
Caballito for Dorado. When the Sea of Cortez restrictions are lifted this week the catch reports
should start to show a few more Blue as well as Black Marlin since the water is a bit warmer
there. (Barrel Racing Angel)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: They are there, it is just difficult to find them. Almost all the Yellowfin
caught this week were Dolphin associated, and the sheep farm on the Pacific made it difficult to
spot them from a distance. A lot of fish in the 20-20 pound ranges were caught, as well as a few
up to 100 pounds. Again, most of this was on the Pacific side, and happened anywhere from 3
miles out to as far as the San Jaime Banks. The bigger fish were hooked on live bait tossed out
after a lure strike, and the smaller fish were eating small feathers in dark colors and small
Marauders in purple/black run on #300 mono. (Magpie)
DORADO: It seems that the Dorado bite improves with rough water, and this week was a case in
point. If you could stand getting bounced around and could get to the north side of Cabo Falso,
there were Dorado in abundance. There was a color break most of the week on the north side
and just up hill in the blue water were schools of fish in the 15-25 pound class. After a hookup on
lures, almost every live bait dropped back was hit. Live bait was definitely the ticket though. On
this side of Cabo Falso there were Dorado as well, but they were scattered a bit more and seemed
to be a bit smaller as well. Many of the Pangas were getting outside the lighthouse early in the
morning then spending the rest of the trip slowly drifting down and cross swell back to the Friars,
hooking up Dorado and the occasional Marlin on the drift. (The Gift)
WAHOO: A few boats did well on Wahoo this week, with the best catch being one of six Wahoo
off of one piece of floating wood. The first boat to the debris got the Wahoo every time.
Marauders trolled on wire leader were the best method, and a lot of Dorado were caught on them
as well. Again, the action took place on the Pacific side of the Cape. (Alcohol in the
Bloodstream)
INSHORE: Due to the rough conditions the water close to shore was very discolored. Most of
the boats that normally fish there were working a few miles off shore instead, fishing for Dorado
and Marlin. It was reported that a few Sierra were caught and I saw some large needlefish
hooked, but for the most part the inshore was non-existent. (The Old Double Diamond)
NOTES: Everyone here is going to be happy when things return to normal this coming week.
APEC gives us a lot of exposure but it has put the damper on local business with all the security
and the lack of tourist traffic for the week. Next weeks report should let us know if the 12 day
closure on the Sea of Cortez side has had any affect on the fishing. Oh yeah, fishing licenses.
According to Luis, at the license office, he is no longer accepting a cash payment for the license,
even if it is correct change, unless the banks are closed, which means after 4pm. This means that
you now have to go to the office to fill out the paperwork then to the bank to make the payment
and return to the office with your form 5 and copies, in order to get your license. He informed us
of this on Friday the 26th. He did not say why this had changed as he had to leave the office
because he needed to be in Constitution by 2pm. This weeks music is Ian Tyson on his CD “All
The Good’uns”, 1996, Vanguard. A little bit different than the ones I have been listening to, Ian
is a mix of western, folk, and a bit of something else, basically call it cowboy music. A great
voice with great stories to tell.
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 21, 2002 - 1:02 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 14, 2002
All right, what’s up with these fish? This was the second day of fishing for the Ed Weise group
and today they didn’t even hook up to a fish! Ed said that they saw 10 Striped Marlin and they
got to toss bait, but none of the fish showed any interest. They did not even have a Dorado come
in to the lure spread. Later in the trip they received information over the radio about a large pod
of Dolphin that had some Tuna in them so they made a long run out, only to find that they got
there at the tail end of the action. The Dolphin were moving away and the boats were leaving
because the bite had stopped. All the fishing today was on the Pacific side and the water was
rougher than yesterday, but no one got sick. Yesterday must have been because of all the travel!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 15 OCTOBER, 2002
Thank goodness! This morning Ed was saying “It can’t happen three time in a row!” as they
got on the boat. He was right, today they caught their fish! With even rougher water today than
the last two days, back to the Pacific side they went. A nice Wahoo was the first fish to the boat,
and Jorge’s wife did a good job getting the swimming dinner in the fish box. It was a nice 30
pound fish and hit on a CD-18 Rapala. A little while later Ed tied into a Blue Marlin on a lure for
a fight that lasted about 25 minutes before they were able to tag the #200 fish. Then it was
Jorge’s turn and in about 15 minutes he was releasing a Striped Marlin of about 100 pounds,
caught on a lure. Another Striped Marlin was lost as was a Dorado. No one got sick and they
were able to get the Marlin they wanted! Ed, we sure are glad it finally worked out for you!
Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 17 OCTOBER, 2002
A short report today. Six people on board, rough water, one Marlin hooked up, two people
sick, short trip. Brevity. Ouch.
Until next week Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, The “Fly Hooker” Crew |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 21, 2002 - 1:01 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 14-20, 2002
WEATHER: We had a system come through the area during the middle of the week and it
brought some cooler temperatures with it, as well as some fairly strong and steady northwest
winds. The beginning of the week and end of the week saw nighttime lows in the mid 70’s while
the middle of the week was in the mid 60’s. Daytime highs reflected this as well with midweek
highs in the mid 80’s and the beginning and end of the week in the mid 90’s. No rain, as usual
and only a scattering of clouds. (Young Thing)
WATER: The strong northwest winds combined with a Pacific current to the south caused the
warm water that had been extending out to the San Jaime Banks to disappear. Through Tuesday
we still had a remnant of warm water along the shore where you could see a temperature break of
2-4 degrees. On Wednesday it started to disintegrate. This cooler (77-80 degree) water now
extends to the south from Cabo Falso. Besides being cooler, it was also a lot rougher on the
Pacific side. The Sea of Cortez remained warm with a hot spot in the high 80’s situated to the
east of the outer Gorda Banks for most of the week. Surface conditions were fair in the mornings
and rough in the afternoons as the winds kicked in. (Mountains Of Illinois)
BAIT: Caballito was readily available most of the week but a few of the bait boats were able to
come up with some Sardinas as well. Big baits at $2 each and the Sardinas at $25 a scoop.
(After You’ve Gone)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: This week was the annual “Bisbee Black and Blue” tournament and there were 148
boats entered this year. With this kind of pressure focused on just billfish you know we learned
where they were! One place was the hotspot outside the Gorda Banks. It seemed that most of
the hookups that occurred were from boats in this area, and most of them were fooled with live
bait (Skipjack or Bonito) slow trolled or drifted. It looked like a small city out there. At the start
of the week there was a concentration of fish along the warm water boundary on the Pacific coast
but they disappeared as the cold currents came into play. A lot of Striped Marlin were seen but
the tournament boats avoided them if possible as they did not count. Plenty of smaller Blue and
some Black Marlin were hooked up, these were fish in the 150-250 pound class, along with about
10 fish that were over 300 pounds. The 5th place Bisbee winner was #401, 1st place was #439.
(Every Now And Then)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: A couple of nice Yellowfin were caught by the tournament boats, including
one fish of almost #250. The Yellowfin that were caught this week were smaller fish, in the<20
pound class, and they were caught on small feathers and cedar plugs. These fish were few and far
between and there was an even mix of fish in the Porpoise and in the blind. (Somebody Loves Me
Now)
DORADO: There were plenty of Dorado flags flying from the charter boats not entered in the
tournament this week. Most of the fish were 10-15 pounds and were caught near the Cape while
slow trolling live Caballito. The water there was rough, but the Dorado don’t seem to care!
(Norway)
WAHOO: There were a lot of Wahoo reported by the tournament boats out at the outer Gorda
so I have to believe that most of them were hooked on live bait. The average size was 30 pounds.
Not everyone got bit, but it seemed there were more hookups than average. (Read My Licks)
INSHORE: Things were a bit on the rough side for the Pangas this week but they managed to
get Dorado into the boats. (Take A Look At Her Now)
NOTES: Due to the APEC being held in Cabo, there are restrictions on some of the area in the
Sea of Cortez. From October 15 through the 27th, NO boats will be allowed in the “Forbidden
Zone”. This is a rectangle that runs from Gray Rock (Punta Cabessa) in Cabo to the small point
between the Westin Hotel and the Palmilla resort, and extending out to sea for 3 miles. Any
vessel entering this area will be warned via radio and/or a shot across the bow, then if there is no
response, the vessel will be sunk. From Medano beach in the middle of Cabo San Lucas Bay up
the coast to the Presidente Hotel in San Jose and out to a distance of 12 miles is the restricted
zone. Only boats with a special permit are allowed to transit this area.
With the strong northwest winds midweek, these areas were just about the only ones that
allowed fishing out of the rough water. Since they were either restricted or forbidden, a lot of
charters ended early. Thank goodness the winds have died down! This weeks brief report was
written to the amazing guitar playing of Chet Atkins on his 1994 CD “Read My Licks”, Columbia
Records. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 11:48 am: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 7, 2002
Today is the last day of fishing on the “Fly Hooker” for Dave Gilbertson and Hugh Levine.
They have had a lot of fun and have been moderately successful for the past three days. Today
the plan is to troll lure with hooks instead of teasers, two lures on their Newell reels and one on a
Tiagra. If they hook up a Dorado they will try and chunk up some more, they have saved the
leftover bait from yesterday to use as chunks. Anything else, such as Marlin, they will try to hook
up either on the lures or, if possible, on the fly gear. The action was a bit sow during the day, but
they did have three Striped Marlin come into the lures. Only one gave a decent hit and it did not
hook up. They brought a nice 30 pound Dorado to the boat, pulled him in tight and then tried to
chunk up some followers, in case there was a school there. As the chunking was going on Hugh
kept casting out and working poppers back to the boat. Unfortunately there were no other fish
interested so they released the Dorado and continued the search. There was no other action for
them though, and they returned to the Marina flying a Dorado and release flag. Thank you Dave
and Hugh, you are true gentlemen and we enjoyed your company very much. Tight Lines on your
next adventure!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 8 OCTOBER, 2002
Don Cartner is back! He has brought Vance with him again and another friend whom we have
not met before, Greg (Wahoo) Cheney. Greg Hurt came also but he had to leave today. They
fished the last two days aboard another boat and that is how Greg got the nickname “Wahoo”.
The first day of fishing he caught a Wahoo estimated at 70-80 pounds. Made for a great dinner!
Today they would really like to catch some meat and have a chance at a big fish, so Juan and
Manuel tried their best. Early in the day they caught two Dorado of about 15 pounds each and
then at 1:30, about three miles out of the Marina they decided to slow troll some live Caballito.
They used one of our TLD25’s loaded with #40 line, one of Don’s Penn Intl. 30’s loaded with
#40 line and another one loaded with #30 line. A blue Marlin showed up about 5 minutes after
the baits were put out and picked up the bait on the Penn 40# that Vance was holding. It then
swam over to Don’s bait and ate that one, on the #30 line! When it ate Don’s bait it let go of
Vance’s bait so it was only hooked on one line. Don set the hook and was kind enough to let
Vance have the workout! The fish only jumped a couple of times and from then on the fight was
down and dirty. Vance worked the fish hard, every minute of the fight going at it standing up, not
in the chair. At 3pm Juan called me on the cell phone to let me know that they were hooked up
and he was not sure what time they were going to get in. Eventually, after a fight lasting 2 hours
and 15 minutes, Vance was able to get the Blue Marlin to the side of the boat and get a tag placed
in the fish. The estimated #175 Blue Marlin was released to fight again another day. Everyone
was beat when they got in and Vance was pumped! Tomorrow is another day and we look
forward to seeing what kind of action happens then!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 9, 2002
Don, Greg and Vance were out again today and boy, did they end their fishing with a bang!
Again, Juan and Manuel decided to fish the Pacific side of the Cape, and they did not have to go
far to find action. It started with the bait. They picked up 10 Caballito as they left the Marina and
then Juan put out some very small pink skirts and they caught a few Skipjack that were about 3
1/2 pounds. Juan rigged two of them and they proceeded to troll the baits. It was not long before
one of the smaller baits was eaten by a nice 35 pound Bull Dorado. I believe Vance was the
angler on that fish. A few minutes later they had a strike on another bait. It was Don’s turn and
he spent about 25 minutes subduing an estimated #250 pound Blue Marlin! The fish was tagged
and released. A few more Dorado were caught on the smaller baits and then Greg got to tangle
with a Striped Marlin estimated at #120! This fish put up quite a show on the surface, unlike the
Blue that Vance caught yesterday. Don thinks that he may have gotten some good shots of this
fish! At the tail end of the day they got a report over the radio of some Tuna action not too far
away and Juan and Manuel ran the boat to where the Porpoise were. On the first pass they had a
double strike and got one of the #30 fish in the boat. Let’s see, two Marlin flags, two release
flags, four Dorado flags and a Tuna flag. That sounds like a pretty darn good day to me! Thanks
guys, Don, you have been a pleasure to spend time with, as has everyone you brought with you.
Mary, Juan, Manual and I look forward to seeing you here in Cabo next year! Until then, Tight
Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 10 OCTOBER, 2002
Our friend and repeat client Andy Thaler fished with us again, this time just for one day. Andy
did a solo trip today, I wish I had been able to go along! There was not a lot of action, but it was
quality time. Juan and Manuel wanted to get Skipjack for bait again but could not catch any, so
they had to use lures and the normal Caballito. It was not long into the trip when the lure on the
bridge rod got a hit. Andy had been relaxing on the engine cover, the lures had just been put out
and he was starting to settle in when it happened. All of a sudden the engines sped up and Juan
and Manuel started yelling. Juan is holding the rod out, handing it down to Andy when he let’s
him know, “It’s a big one!”. Right away Andy got in the chair, and as soon as the fish stopped
it’s first run and finished doing the “Windshield wiper” show, he started to work on the fish. It
took him 45 minutes to get the Blue Marlin to the boat where Juan could put in a tag, and then
another two or three minutes for Juan and Manuel to get the hook removed, but eventually they
were able to watch the Blue Marlin, estimated at #350, swim powerfully away. Back into the
water went the lures and about an hour later a Wahoo decided to strike a custom made lure in the
Bleeding Mackerel pattern. It did not take long for the very large Wahoo to cut through the
mono leader and take the lure. Several Blue Marlin came into the pattern a little while later, but
none of them hit a lure or tried to eat a Caballito dropped back to them, but they did find a
Sailfish that was hungry. Andy was able to best that fish in about 15 minutes and said he was
happy it was not another big Marlin, his arms were tired! They saw a Striped Marlin on the
surface but could not get it to eat and then the day was over. A Marlin flag, a Sailfish flag and
two release flags, not too shabby! Thanks Andy, and thanks for treating for dinner at the “Fish
House” as well, that was great! We hope to see you again next year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 11, 2002
Tom McHugh fished out of San Jose last year and managed to get a 90 pound Yellowfin Tuna,
not exactly a small fish, but not the Billfish that he was looking for. This year he wanted only a
Marlin, after all, that is supposed to be the main species here in “The Marlin Capitol of The
World”. He chose us to go fishing with because of recommendations from other clients of ours
from his home area in Anchorage, Alaska. He left the Marina this morning accompanied by his
friend Nora, and Juan and Manuel took off up the Pacific coast, headed to the area known as Los
Arcos. This was about an hour run and when they got there the first fish to hit was a 10 pound
Dorado. Nora reeled in this fish and Tom reeled in the next one of the same size, then a couple of
15 pounders. Headed offshore, these fish were caught on the way out. A short while later
Manuel spotted two Striped Marlin tailing on the surface and live bait were pitched out. One of
the baits was eaten, it was the one on the Shimano TLD50 2 Speed and it took Tom only about
10 minutes to best this fish, which both Tom and Juan estimated at 80-90 pounds. The fish was
tagged and released. The Marlin search continued, mostly looking for a bigger Blue Marlin, but
they had no luck finding one. Tom was happy anyway, he had finally gotten the Billfish he had
been looking for, and he had some good fillets to take home with him! Thanks Tom ,and maybe
next time it will be the big one!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 13 OCTOBER, 2002
Ed and Paula Weise are back in Cabo and they have brought George Cunningham and his wife
with them. They are fishing for three days and the targets are to be Marlin and Tuna. Today they
got neither of the fish they were looking for to the boat, and as a matter of fact, did not even see a
Tuna. Juan and Manuel took them up the Pacific side, out towards Golden Gate banks. They
hooked and brought in one decent Dorado that they kept for dinner and released two small female
Dorado as well. Later on in the trip they spotted a Striped Marlin on the surface and tossed a bait
to it. The fish took the bait and the fight was on. During the hour and a half, everyone got a
chance to fight the fish, including Juan! Eventually the line broke and the estimated 130-140
pound fish swam away. Perhaps tomorrow they will get a tag into one! The water was a bit
rough up there today and everyone felt a bit seasick so we hope it lays down tomorrow. Until
then, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 11:45 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 7-13, 2002
WEATHER: This week has been warm, a bit warmer than last week as the daytime highs have
gotten to the 100 degree+ level in the sun. Of course that’s on land, at sea it has been much more
comfortable. Our nighttime lows have been in the high 70’s to low 80’s and we have not had any
rain all week. (Dreadful Selfish Crime)
WATER: The thumb of warm water that we had wrapping around the Cape last week now
looks like it has been hit with a hammer! This plume now extends well to the west of the San
Jaime Banks and has extended south as far 30 miles off the Cape. Up the coast on the Pacific side
we have water in the 84-85 degree range extending out about three miles, further than that it
drops to 82 degrees. On the Sea of Cortez we are seeing temps in the high 80’s, mostly 87-88
degrees at the Gorda, 1150 and 95 spots, with no temperature breaks nearby. At the end of the
week the most defined temperature break was 30 miles to the south where the change was as
much as 4 degrees in just a mile or two. (I’m Going To Town)
BAIT: There were no problems getting bait this week and the Caballito were the usual $2 per
bait. There were some Sardinas available early in the week if you were willing to go to the
Chilleno area to look for them, but by the later part of the week they had moved on. (Sonora’s
Death Row)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The Marlin fishing has continued to be hot this week and most boats have been
getting a Billfish every trip, often more than one. The Blues are outnumbering the Striped Marlin
depending on where you were fishing. Most of the Blues were just offshore on the Pacific side
and out towards San Jaime Banks, the Striped Marlin were spread all over with significant
concentrations of them at the 30 mile temperature break. The majority of the bigger Blues
(#250+) were taken on live bait, most of it smaller Skipjack. The smaller blues were hitting lures
and the Striped Marlin were attacking both lures and baits. Best colors in lures continued to be
purple/black, black/green and black/red. The Sailfish are still around and many boats hooked into
them while working Dorado schools. Live baits were the top choice for the Sailfish which were
averaging 80 pounds. (Gringo Honeymoon)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: A few more Tuna were caught this week than were found last week so it
looks as if the fishing for them is improving a bit. A few nice fish in the #150 category were
caught but most were smaller fish around 20-30 pounds. All the fish that I am aware of were
caught with the Dolphin pods. The majority of the fish were found on the Pacific side and south
of the southern Temperature break. Best choices for lures were the standard cedar plugs and
dark colored 6” feathers. (The Road Goes On Forever)
DORADO: The school Dorado continued on the bite this week with most of the fish in the
10-15 pound range. There was no problem getting as many as you wanted as long as you were in
the right place. This week the right place was the Pacific side out about 2-3 miles from the
lighthouse up to Los Arcos. Smaller feathers as well as live and cut bait worked well once the
fish were found. A few larger fish were caught by boats working further offshore. (Amarillo
Highway)
WAHOO: A lot more Wahoo flags were flow this week than last week and many of the fish were
caught by boats working the Dorado on the Pacific side, as well as fishing the San Jaime Banks
for Marlin. Many lures were lost and often the change to plugs on wire leaders was made after
the fact. Average size seemed to be 30 pounds but many of the fish that were caught (and lost!)
were 70-100 pound class. (I’m Comin’ Home)
INSHORE: This week the inshore fishing remained about the same as last week. A few decent
Roosterfish and Amberjack along the shoreline, good fishing for Skipjack and Bonito a bit further
out on the Pacific side. Most of the Pangas were still concentrating on the Dorado and Marlin.
(Five Pound Bass)
NOTES: The Port Captain let everyone at the Captains meeting for the Bisbee “Open” know
that for the week of APEC there will be a no fishing zone extending from Cabo San Lucas to San
Jose. from the shoreline out to a distance of three miles. Anyone breaching that zone will be
warned once and then if there is no response, they will be subject to ramming or being fired upon.
With 21 countries attending and at least 6 heads of state, including G.W., I guess they are taking
the threat of terrorists seriously. (3 miles, about the distance a hand held rocket can be fired?)
Even with that area closed, we will be all right. Most of the fishing action has been taking place
on the Pacific side anyway! The “For Pete’s Sake” charity fundraiser for Leukemia tournament
just finished and we are in the Bisbee “Open” right now. This coming week is the Bisbee “Black
and Blue” tournament. The marina is full of the big boats and the pressure is on. Cabo is a
happening place this weekend and next weekend looks to be hopping as well! Let’s hope the
fishing remains good! Until next week, Tight Lines! This weeks report was written to the music
of Robert Earl Keen on his C.D. “Live-Number 2 Dinner”, 1995, BMI Music. Special thanks to
Greg Hurt for the copy! Next time you’ll get a fish, Karma exists! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 11:16 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 27, 28 SEPTEMBER, 2002
John Gabrisch, John Hinton, John Quebe and Ron (not John) Garrett want to have a good time
and catch fish. That is what it is supposed to be about and that is what they are here for! Juan
and Manuel took them out to the Pacific side of the Cape in search of Dorado and Tuna and
hopping for a Marlin as well. The strategy worked because they were flying flags for 3 Dorado
and 6 Tuna when they returned to the Marina. One of the John’s was not feeling to well (perhaps
a touch of cervesa flu) and tried to help by chumming the water! It worked because shortly
thereafter they had a Marlin strike and pull line. According to Juan it was a nice sized Blue
Marlin, but John Q. was the only one awake! Oh well, maybe they will hook it up tomorrow!
Second day out and Juan and Manuel go back to the same area to try again. This time they
come in with just one flag. The only fish that they were able to get to the boat was a nice
Dorado, about 30 pounds. They had a shot at a big Wahoo though. John Q. fought the estimated
80-100 pound fish for quite a while, getting several runs from the fish every time it approached
the boat before the fish was able to cut through the 300 pound mono leader. At least the lure
came back! (black/purple) They did get another Marlin shot as they worked one fish that
appeared in the pattern. The fish would ignore a live bait dropped back to it and disappear, then
reappear to check out the lures again. This continued for 20 minutes before they gave up in
frustration. Another Striped Marlin was spotted but showed no interest in staying on the surface
and dove before a bait could be presented. Not a lot of fillets to take with them, but plenty of
action! Thanks guys, we hope to see you again next year!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 30 SEPTEMBER, 2002
The Al Borlundo party from Virginia consists of Al and his friends Mike, Peter and Fred. They
are fishing three days with the “Fly Hooker” and really would like to get each of them hooked up
to a Marlin! These guys are experienced too, not novices. They have fished around the world
and love the sport. Pete is a Charter Captain in Virginia and while he has hooked a lot of his
clients up to Marlin, he has never angled one himself! Since the “Fly Hooker” did not have a
charter yesterday I went out on a friends Panga and we released a 200 pound Blue Marlin and
hooked up another one, both fish just off the lighthouse ledge on the Pacific side. This is the area
the Juan and Manuel too the boat today. It’s so nice to only have to run 10 minutes past the arch
before setting lines! They worked the area all day and the results showed as they were flying two
Marlin flags when they returned to port. Mike fought a #230 Blue Marlin that ate a Coggins lure
run on the Tiagra 50 reels! The fish became tailwrapped at the end of the fight and was dead
when brought to the boat, otherwise they would have released it. Pete’s fish was caught on a live
Caballito tossed to the tailer, #40 line on the Shimano TLD25. A good fight from a Striped
Marlin estimated to be around 100 pounds. Ok, two Marlin down, two more to go! Oh, they
also lost one Dorado. Tomorrow’s target is 2 Marlin and Dorado for dinner!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 1, 2002
My goodness, the Borlundo group must be doing something right! The request for today was
2 more Marlin and some Dorado for dinner. Working the same area they worked yesterday it was
the turn of Al and Fred to get Marlin. Both of them tagged and released Striped Marlin, plus,
they got into a school of Dorado (not big ones, but lots of action). The largest four they were
able to get they kept for fillets and Al finally got a chance to use the fly rod he brought along. He
hooked up to one of the Dorado but it quickly ran to the front of the boat, jumping along the way,
and came off. All right, the Marlin request has been fullfilled, the Dorado has been caught, what
are they going to do tomorrow? Have fun! For tonight? Take the wives to the new seafood
restaurant “The Fish House” for a dinner of fresh Dorado!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2, 2002
This is the last day of fishing for Al, Pete, Fred and Mike and anything goes. They don’t want
to take any meat home so plan on releasing anything they catch today. Juan and Manuel start in
the same area as yesterday and end up 17 miles out. During the morning the manage to catch and
release another Striped Marlin, get bit by one more, plus a Sailfish and get hits from three other
Dorado. The fish I liked most was the 30-35 pound female Dorado that they released! Not a lot
of anglers who come here are willing to do that. They had caught enough fish and had enough
action that they did not mind when, at 11:30, Manuel received a request from another boat for a
tow back to the Marina. The other boat was a single engine 28’ cruiser and they had snapped the
shaft. It was a three hour tow and they had a chance to relax and talk about the action they had
for the last three days. This was a great group of guys who really enjoyed themselves and we
hope to be seeing them again here in Cabo!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 3, 2002
Ok, first off I have to say that I did not get the names of all the guys fishing aboard the “Fly
Hooker” today. I know that Ted Hynes was aboard because he is the guy in charge of the group
of 12 that are here in Cabo for the week. Ted and three others fished aboard our boat and 5 guys
fished on another boat. I feel really bad because one of the guys should be credited with the one
hour, fifteen minute fight with the #260 Blue Marlin. Unfortunately the fish died as Juan was
trying to remove the hooks after tagging the fish. Dinner for everyone was provided by the fillets
from the #30 bull Dorado that they caught! Lets hope the chef at the private home they are
renting knows his business, it looks as if this group could eat about four fish this size! Tomorrow
the group is fishing again, but on another boat, we were already booked for the day when this was
set up. Have fun guys, and we are happy you had such a great time and like Juan and Manuel so
much!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 4, 2002
Dave Gilbertsen is back with us for four days of fishing and he has brought his fishing friend
Hugh Levine with him. Hugh is a Criminal Defense Attorney in the Bay Area and is a dyed in the
wool fly fisherman. As a matter of fact, so is Dave! If you remember the name, Dave was here
back in July, when the fishing was terrible here. He fished one day then cancelled the second day
booked and headed up to the East Cape where the water was warmer and fishing was better.
Well, there are four days to try and get Marlin on the fly rod and this time there are fish here and
the water is in much better shape! I was invited along today mainly to insure that Juan and
Manuel understand the methods that Dave and Hugh want to employ for the four days. Neither
of the guys have a lot of confidence in fishing Marlin on the fly, thinking that the rod and reels
can’t stand up to the demands placed on them by billfish, so getting one on today would do an
enormous amount of good. Guess what? We did it! You should have seen the grins and smiles
on the faces of both Juan and Manuel when Dave hooked up! We started the trip just outside the
Pedregal area and headed southwest, out toward the 1000 foot contour line. The two pink
teasers were in the water at 7am and a few minutes later the Bowling Pin Daisy Chain was in the
middle of the wake. The cockpit had been cleared, the port rigger removed and a bucket placed
in the port corner (both anglers are right handed). Hugh and Dave took turns, 30 minutes each,
standing in the port corner, at the ready the instant a fish showed up in the teasers. It was at 8:30
when a Dorado struck the starboard teaser. I had been watching the lures and did not see a bill
but did see a blue flash on the strike so I called out “MARLIN” and picked up the rod and began
to work the lure. Manuel slowed the boat and in just a few moments we saw the Dorado as it
tried to eat the teaser one more time, then swam away. Oh well, a bit of excitement to get us
started and it gave us a chance also to get a few of the bugs worked out as far of the needed
sequence of events. That was a good thing because about 5 minutes later we had a chance to put
it to the test. Manuel spotted a “sleeper” on the surface. We had decided early on that if found,
there was little likelihood of a “sleeper” coming in on the teasers so we would toss a hooked live
bait at it instead. Hugh was the assigned angler. As Juan pinned on a live bait for Hugh to toss to
the Marlin Dave cleared one of the teaser rods. Juan grabbed the other teaser to clear it as Hugh
tossed the bait, and I pulled in the daisy chain. The bait toss was good, the noise of the boat
woke the fish up and suddenly he was behind the boat! The fish must have been playing Possum!
The marlin ignored the live bait and focused on the pink teaser! Hugh franticly reeled to bring in
the live bait, Juan tried to keep the Marlin from eating the lure and I told Dave to get his fly rod
out and ready to cast. As soon as Dave was ready I yelled to Manuel to “ALTO!”, he put the
boat into neutral, Juan tried to jerk the lure out of the water and Dave made his cast. The live bait
was still in the water about 15 feet out, the Marlin had bitten on the lure just as Juan had tried to
jerk it away and I thought for sure that we had blown the opportunity! Ah, you just never know
though! The Marlin let go of the teaser and saw the fly as it swung by. As Hugh pulled the bait
into the boat, Juan got the teaser in and the fish was following the fly! He made a lunge for it and
turned away, and as he did so Dave set the hook! No jumps? No hard runs? Heck, the fish
didn’t know he was hooked yet! The fish just swam around on the surface for about a minute,
then Dave set the hook a bunch more times. Now the fish came awake! What followed was
video perfect Marlin action! Greyhounding, tailwalking, washing machine action, this fish did it
all! Juan and Manuel quickly became believers and were smiling the whole time. Dave worked
the fish hard for 35 minutes and by then the fish was extremely tired, barely able to get it’s head
and bill out of the water to thrash. Maybe we backed down a bit too fast at that point, trying to
get to the fish for a release before it killed itself fighting, but there was a little slack in the line and
only 50 feet away, the hook came out! It was a great fight though, and now the guys know it can
be done. That makes all the difference in the world! Dave was happy, as was Hugh, and we set
the teasers and daisy chain back out, ready for another shot. We trolled the next 2 1/2 hours
before again seeing fish. Manuel spotted two Striped Marlin tailing downswell. He gunned the
boat so we could cross in front of them and hopefully get them interested in the teasers. Three
times we made passes on them and three times they showed no interest in the lures. Juan pinned
on a live bait and it was again Hughs turn to toss to the fish. He made perfect tosses twice and
the fish failed to show any interest in the live bait as well. On the third try the marlin we were
working checked out the lures for just a moment but had no real interest in either them or the live
bait. After about 20 minutes of this going on, Juan and Manuel decided that perhaps they could
“chum” the Marlin into eating a live bait. With Hugh standing by to cast a live one, Juan took
another bait from the tank and slammed it down onto the deck several times, stunning the fish so
that it just quivered. Spotting the Marlin again, Juan threw the stunned fish ahead of the cruising
billfish. The Stripy had passed the stunned bait already when it suddenly turned, lit up, and rushed
the bait, engulfing it in a huge swirl of water. Immediately Juan had Hugh pitch the live bait
ahead of the Marlin. The “chum” must have done the trick, because before you could say “Here
he comes!”, there he was, mouth open, then closed, then hooked! Hugh let the fish turn away,
then applied pressure to get the circle hook to slide to the corner of the Marlins mouth. Jumps,
leaps, thrashes, the whole range of topside activities didn’t take place until the Marlin had been
hooked for several minutes, because it’s first response was to head deep. Being the experienced
angler that he is, Hugh proceeded to play the fish, and I mean that almost literally! With the rod
heavily loaded and the line guitar string tight, he plucked on the line, irritating the Marlin until he
came to the surface at last. Now the airborne show! Awesome! Spectacular! Beautiful!
Amazing! Toss in a few more adjectives for good measure! Sometime during all that activity the
hook came loose. The leader was wrapped around the bill a few times, the hook slid up until it
hooked on the leader and the fish was hitched, not hooked! With consummate skill Hugh had the
Striped Marlin to the side of the boat in 15 minutes, where the tag was placed in the shoulder and
Juan removed the hitch. We watched as the slightly tired fish swam strongly off into the depths!
Wow, what a day! Out went the teasers and Daisy Chain again and while we tried, that was the
end of the action for the day! Hugh and Dave had a great time, Juan and Manuel are now very
enthused and tomorrow I am staying home to try and get a bunch of little stuff taken care of. I’ll
let you know how it goes then in the next installment, but I promise to not be as wordy! When I
am aboard the boat I tend to write a lot more, sorry about that!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 5, 2002
Today Dave and Hugh were at it again. Juan and Manuel took the “Fly Hooker” out to the
same area as yesterday and attempted to hook a Striped Marlin on the fly. There don’t seem to be
a lot of Striped Marlin tailing, but they did find two to try. The first fish came in to the teasers,
not showing a lot of interest and eventually went away. The second fish ate a fly but broke off
right away. There was one Dorado that came into the teasers. That was pretty much it for the
day. See, I was not aboard, so the report is very short!
“FLY HOOKER’ FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 6, 2002
Dave and Hugh decided that the numbers of Striped Marlin they were seeing did not warrant
concentrating all their time, there just were not enough fish being found. There have been a lot of
Blue Marlin being hooked up however, and today they decided to go with conventional gear. It is
Manuels day off (Sunday) and we have Edgar on board the boat as crew. The area just outside
the lighthouse was where they worked today and things were a bit slow. One thing that Hugh did
talk a lot about when they came in was the enormous Blue Marlin that tried to eat one of the lures
he had out. Hugh estimated the fish to be well over #300, and it came up on one of the outrigger
lures, took a swipe at the lure, then slowly drifted back down into the depths. Juan says that they
had another fish come up but no one else saw it and it did not hit a lure. They did manage to get
into some action when they found a floating wood ladder, there were plenty of Dorado under it.
They did have their fly gear with them and after hooking up 3 dorado on conventional gear on the
first pass they brought the long rods out and had some fun. Five flys were lost due to breakoffs
and the largest fish landed and released was estimated to be 15 pounds. Now, what are they
going to do tomorrow?
Until Next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 11:11 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 30- OCTOBER 6, 2002
WEATHER: The great weather we had last week lasted throughout the middle of the week and
we were having the early morning temperatures in the high 60’s and the daytime highs around the
mid 80’s. About Thursday things started to warm up to normal and once again the nighttime lows
were in the low 80’s and the daytime highs in the mid 90’s, along with a slight increase in
humidity. Occasional scattered clouds gave a bit of relief from the sun but did not deliver any
rain. (The Sky Is Crying-Sonny Boy Williamson)
WATER: A thumb of warm water has wrapped around the Cape and extends out to the San
Jaime Banks. This water is 82-84 degrees and has a sharp, defined boundary where it abuts
cooler 81 degree water. Up on the Pacific side the Golden Gate Banks has remained in the 78-79
range as it has been the southern limit of a band of cool water coming down from the north. Up
the Sea of Cortez the Gorda Banks has remained warm with the water in the 84-86 range. The
surface conditions on the Pacific side were a bit choppy early in the week but quickly calmed
down, on the Sea of Cortez side it was often flat. (Give Me My Coat And Shoes-Buddy Guy
with Junior Wells)
BAIT: The bait situation improved this week and most boats had no problem getting what they
needed for the day. Normal price of $2 per bait and most of it was Caballito, few if any Mackerel.
(Worried Life Blues-Nappy Brown with Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The Marlin action moved closer and got better this week. A lot of fish were being
found less than a mile from the Marina and you had no need for an hour run. Many more Blues
were showing up this week, most of them in the 200-300 pound range but a few larger ones were
hooked every day. Trolling at 7-9 knots with dark lures or slow trolling/drifting with live
Skipjack or small Bonito were the ticket for the Blues. The Striped Marlin are here in force as
well and they are scattered everywhere. Almost every boat has had multiple shots each day at
tailing fish and the flags flying as they come in attest to the fact. Both lures and live bait have
been working well for these fish and I have had a lot of luck with bright lures on the Stripes. (I’m
A Real Kingfisher-Paul James)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: The Tuna were very scarce this week and the few that I know were caught
were found at the western edge of the San Jaime Banks. Even the football fish have been few and
far between. Hopefully they will arrive again soon. (Bad Girl Blues-Johnny Winter)
DORADO: Along with the Marlin bite, Dorado were the bright spot of the week. They seemed
to be almost everywhere and as with the Marlin, there was no need for a long run to find them.
The area off the lighthouse on the Pacific side and offshore to 5 miles on the Sea of Cortez
provided plenty of action for anglers wanting to fight these acrobats. Most of the fish were
running 8-12 pounds but a few in the larger 30-40 pound class were caught each day. Small
bright colored lures in the 6”-8” range seemed to be working best and once a fish was hooked and
brought to the boat it was not uncommon for more to follow it in. That opened up the
opportunity for great action on light tackle or fly gear. Some of the boats work fish like this just
for the body count and dropping back chunks pinned to live bait hooks added fish quickly. (I’ll
Always Be In Love With You-Jimmy Witherspoon)
WAHOO: I saw very few Wahoo flags being flown this week and did not talk with anyone who
had caught one. I know there were fish caught but I can’t help you there this week. (Blues for
Robert Jr.-Ronnie Earl)
INSHORE: There have been Roosterfish caught but the focus has been on the Marlin and
Dorado, since they are close in and readily available. A few Amberjack and a scattering of
bottomfish have been brought in, mostly from the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape. (Oreo Cookie
Blues-Lonnie Mack with Stevie Ray Vaughan)
NOTES: The government is starting to enforce the “No filleting fish at sea” regulation, so check
with your Captain and crew before you leave to make sure there are no surprises in store for you
as far as the possibility of having to get your fish cleaned at the main dock instead of on the boat.
I personally prefer to have my fish cleaned and filleted on the boat because it is a bit more sanitary
and takes less time, but I also don’t want to take the chance of having my fish taken because of it.
This weeks music selection was from the compilation “Celebration of Blues-great acoustic blues”
a St. Clair Entertainment Group Inc. release, with selections from Stony Plain Records, Rounder
Records and Alligator Records. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 30, 2002 - 11:07 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 25 SEPTEMBER, 2002
North Carolinians Paul Dwyer, Tony Byrd and Brian Whitley are fishing with us today and
tomorrow. Brian would really like to catch a Marlin and everyone else would like to catch large
fish, regardless of the species. Juan and Manuel decided to work a current line and a “sort of”
temperature break 10 miles to the south of the cape, then swing to the south east. They found a
lot of porpoise out there and caught 6 football size Yellowfin Tuna and also hooked up three
Dorado. One of the Dorado was a small female about 8 pounds is size so they released her. All
this action took place before 9:30, then the went in search of Marlin. Everyone was asleep except
Tony, and he was nodding off when they had a good strong Marlin strike. The fish did not hook
up though, but he did wake up everyone! That was all the action for today and they are going to
try again tomorrow.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 26 SEPTEMBER, 2002
This is the second day for Paul, Tony and Brian, and they did manage to get larger fish today!
Juan and Manuel took the “Fly Hooker” further up the Pacific side. The fish were a bit larger and
the water was just a tiny bit rougher but that was all right. They only caught one Tuna today but
this one put up a fight as it weighed about 65 pounds! The Dorado were biting as well and they
caught one that went 40 pounds and several in the 20 pound class. Juan said that he lost 4 others
as well. Brian finally got to tie into a big fish as he fought a Striped Marlin, hooked on live bait,
for about 15 minutes, getting it up behind the boat before loosing the fish. Sounds like they saw
some action today and once again, most of the excitement happened early in the day! Thanks
guys, have fun the rest of the week!
Until Next Week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, The “Fly Hooker” Crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 30, 2002 - 11:06 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 23-29, 2002
WEATHER: We started the week a bit worried over Tropical Depression Julio as it developed
to the south, worried that we might be having a repeat of last years Hurricane Juliet, and on the
anniversary as well! Luckily for us it dissipated by mid-week and the only effects we received
were cloudy skies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as a bit of wind on Friday. As a whole,
the week was great! The temperature averaged 87 degrees during the day, with highs around 97
and the nights were in the mid to high 70’s. No rain here in the lowlands but it looked as if the
Sierras received a bit. (Ragtop Day)
WATER: Our water temperatures ranged from the low 80’s on the Pacific side to almost 90
degrees up to the north of San Jose on the Sea of Cortez. The offshore waters were deep blue
and there were flying fish almost everywhere. Northwest winds in the later part of the week
caused the conditions on the Pacific side to be a bit rough and choppy but the Sea of Cortez
remained very comfortable, at least until you got out about 25 miles, then it picked up. (When
The Coast Is Clear)
BAIT: The bait this week, if you could get any, was Caballito or Mullet. There was not a lot of
them available and some of them were very small. The price remained the same though, at the
normal $2 per bait. (Coconut Telegraph)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The Sailfish are beginning to show up in numbers as the water warms up. They have
been found in the same areas as the Dorado and are striking the same type of baits and lures.
Blue Marlin have been scattered but most of them are being found on the Sea of Cortez side of
the Cape. With the moon on the wane, more boats are starting to rig live Skipjack as baits for
both the Blue Marlin and the Black Marlin. Striped Marlin have been found everywhere but the
concentrations seem to be directly to the south of the cape and along the Pacific side out to about
10 miles. A mix of both live bait and lures worked for the fish that were caught, but as with the
Blues Marlin, the full moon on the 21st kept the bite from going off really strong. Later in the
week it started to pick up. (Frank and Lola)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There were not nearly as many Tuna caught this week as last week but
there were still some nice ones found. For the bigger fish, finding the Porpoise was the key, as
usual. Fish to 120 pounds were found south of Chileano and there were small footballs scattered
around as well. Just because you found the Porpoise did not mean you caught fish though, many
of the pods did not produce. Feathers in green, black and blue as well as cedar plugs (don’t Tuna
fish without a few of these on board!) were top producing colors and the size range the fish were
striking on ran from 6-10 inches. (Money Back Guarantee)
DORADO: This weeks bright point! Almost any boat that wanted to focus solely on Dorado was
able to limit out. Most of the fish were on the Pacific side inside 10 miles and we are getting the
schooling fish now. There are a lot of schools of very small fish, under 10 pounds. Most boats
are releasing all of these and keeping only the larger fish. A mix of small feathers and small baits
worked well and if you found a school of the mid-range fish, in the 12-18 pound class, chunking
worked very well. (Stars On The Water)
WAHOO: A few nice fish were caught this week and a few others were hooked and lost. The
action was spread out with reports of fish from all the banks as well as the contour lines along the
coast, but there were no large concentrations found. (I Have Found Me A Home)
INSHORE: Most Pangas are fishing for Dorado, as they have been easy to find and close to
shore. An occasional Sailfish and Blue Marlin has kept fishermen on their toes, as they never
know what to expect! (Brown Eyed Girl)
NOTES: Written to Jimmy Buffet music again! The “Beaches” album from the four CD set
“Beaches, Bars, Boats and Ballads”, MCA 1992. |
tomtorrance@hotamil.com
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 25, 2002 - 8:44 pm: | |
Subject: dead boat
We had been fishing the last couple months. About
every weekend, towing these huge jigs in hopes of
catching a large Blue Marlin. We (Tom and I) had
almost given up hope, as we hadn't raised a single
fish on them. We had caught some Striped Marlin,
Dorado and Tuna, but hadn't even raised a Blue yet.
Well, last Saturday we raised one. We were fishing
with Jim Ronis aboard Tom's 18 foot Radoncraft. The
fish came out of nowhere and hit a big Petrolero Jig
fished on the short flat line about 9 miles south of
the cape rocks in san lucas. The first run was about
200 yards or so. The fish spent more time out of the
water than in it. We estimated it at somewhere between
200 and 300 pounds. As you can see from the pics,
there was no chair on the boat, we used a SmittyBelt
Stand Up Harness witha Taninguci Plate. The tackle was
a Shimano 50w LRS spooled with 80 mono. As we began
turning the boat to chase the fish and avoid being
spooled, the motor quit. It never started up again!
So, now we are fighting this thing from a dead boat, a
small one at that! And it was starting to get kind of
rough out. I'd say 4 foot seas with about 20 knots of
wind. We got the fish to the boat very quickly, like
20 minutes. Jim grabbed the leader as i got out of the
harness and backed off the drag about half way. This
is when we got the first real good look at the fish.
We revised our estimate to somewhere between 400 and
500 pounds. The it started getting exciting. The fish
lit up and took off from the boat. I got back in the
harness and threw the drag back to the strike setting,
about 30 pounds. This time, the fish took about 300
yards pretty much straight down!!! Then he came up and
started jumping again!! We got the fish close to the
boat a couple more times and had to dance around the
motor as he swam under the boat and all around it.
Finally, the fish appeared tired enough to leader and
release. When we leadered him this time, he was still
prety agitated, but not as strong as he was. Good
thing, because we were pretty tired by then, too. So,
we leader the fish and Jim has him by the bill as I am
trying to pull the hook out. We were using the new
forged stiffy rig 16/0 system, which are pretty big
and nasty. One of the hooks was buried deep in the
corner of his mouth, the other as even deeper in the
roof of his mouth. We tried to get it out and received
a couple bill rakings each! We wanted to releaes the
fish, but decided that if we cut the line, that hook
would probably kill him, and if we kept on trying to
remove the hook someone could eventually get hurt. So
we took the fish. We tail roped him with a dock line.
After he was deas, it took all three of us to pull him
aboard. Good thing he was wet and slippery, otherwise
we might still be out there trying to pull him in the
boat!! Well we never suceeded in fixing the motor,
even the kicker wasn't working. The Gaviota III
happened by and was nice enough to tow us in. We
compensated him with the fish and some money.
Hope you like the story. Hope you enjoy the photos.
Thanks to Abel for a great reel. Thanks to Tom for
putting up with me all summer. Thanks to Jim Ronis for
contributing his decades of skill to landing this
fish.
Lance
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 11:47 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2002
For our only trip this week our angler on the “Fly Hooker” was Hiramatsu Takuya, of Tokyo,
Japan. Takuya fished with Juan and Manuel on his last trip to Cabo, 5 years ago. He has fished
Madeira, Venezuela and Kona as well, always looking for Marlin, the larger, the better. Todays
trip did not result in any Marlin for him but a good time was had anyway. Juan and Manuel
headed out to an area 30 miles tot he south of the Westin Hotel. The water was rough but very
blue, warm and loaded with Flying Fish. The first six hours of the trip were spent in this area but
they had no luck. Takuya then decided that any fish was better than no fish and they began to
work a school of football Yellowfin that were pinpointed by one lonely Frigate bird working
them. The first pass resulted in a double strike, did the second pass, then the next four passes
were single hookups. Eight Yellowfin in all and the sizes ranged from 10-30 pounds. Takuya had
a bag of fillets he took to a restaurant for dinner and he let us know that he is already looking
forward to coming back to Cabo next year, but for at least two days of fishing instead of just one!
Domo Arigato Hiramatsu-son!
Until Next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, The “Fly Hooker” Crew!
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 11:54 am: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH TOTALS FOR THE WEEK:
Striped Marlin: 1 fish died during fight(#120), 1 fish cut off by another boat
Wahoo: 0 fish caught
Dorado: 0 fish caught
Tuna: 0 fish caught
Grouper: 2 fish caught (#35, #15)
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 9, 2003
Peter and John were supposed to fish the “Fly Hooker” yesterday but on Saturday evening
Peter became ill so the trip was postponed until today. Peter must have had someone looking
after him and taking pity for being ill, as he was the one with the action today. The water was a
bit rough and choppy outside Red Hill but there were fish in the area. Juan and Edgar were able
to find Marlin tailing on the surface but none of them were hungry. Trying to get something
going, they went inside and worked the beach area off of Chileno, where they finally found a fish,
a nice Roosterfish of about 35 pounds. The fish had it’s picture taken and was released. Peter
was happy as that was the first Roosterfish for him. John had a few strikes but somehow
managed to pull the bait away from the fish every time! All right John, back to the Bass fishing
for you! Thanks guys, we are glad you had a good time and enjoyed the trip and hope you get to
catch a Marlin next time out!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 14, 2003
Today was a multi-boat trip as we shared a group of anglers with four other boats for a
corporate outing set up by another agency. Brad and Roger were the anglers aboard the “Fly
Hooker”, there was supposed to be one other but he was a no show for the trip, the guess among
everyone else was that the had a case of “tequila flu”. Juan and Edgar headed out to the Pacific
side as the wind had calmed down on Tuesday and the warm water break had moved over there.
They found plenty of Marlin tailing on the surface and were finally able to get one of them to bite.
Roger was the lucky angler and got to fight the fish for 20 minutes before another boat managed
to run over the line and cut the fish off. After a total of 5 hours offshore Brad decided that he
wanted some meat in the boat and Juan took them to the area off of Punta Ballena, where they
proceeded to soak some live Mackerel in 60 feet of water. Luck was with them there and they
were able to catch two nice Grouper, one about #35 and the other about #15, and did not lose
them in the rocks! The total group of 24 people had Grouper for dinner and everyone loved the
fish! Thanks for a good time on the water guys, we are glad you enjoyed yourselves and hope to
see you again! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 11:52 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT JUNE 9- JUNE 15, 2003
WEATHER: The winds finally died down Tuesday night and the weather is back to what we
consider normal for this time of year. Winds have been light and from the northwest at 5-15
knots, lower in the morning and increasing a bit in the afternoon. Sunny skies and few if any
scattered clouds. Daytime highs have been in the mid 90’s and nighttime lows in the mid 70’s.
Very good, comfortable weather and no need for the air conditioning yet! (Tradewinds)
WATER: On the Pacific the water continues to be cold but there is an incursion of warmer Sea
of Cortez water working its way out to the West from the Cape. Most of the water on the Pacific
side remains in the 61-68 degree range while the Sea of Cortez side is seeing water in the 78-81
range. San Jaime and Golden Gate banks are showing temperatures in the 66 degree range while
the 1150 spot, 95 spot and Gordo Banks get readings of 77-81 degrees. Where the warm water is
intruding into the Pacific we are seeing a very definitive temperature break and there is starting to
be quite a bit of action there, as well as the area around the 95 spot where another break is
forming. Surface conditions are fair to good on the Pacific side with some swells but no wind
chop in the morning, changing to slightly choppy conditions in the afternoon. The Cortez side has
had great water all week long out to a distance of 12 miles, then the water has gotten a bit choppy
in the afternoons. (Dreamcatcher)
BAIT: Most of the bait this week was Mackerel, and they were the normal $2 per bait. There
was Mullet available as well at the same price but Caballito were scarce. Reportedly there were
Sardinas available off of Palmilla but I did not see any of them myself. (Holding Back The Years)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The bite on the Striped Marlin picked up, and that was a bit unusual since we are
going throughout the full moon phase right now. The best action was between the 1150 spot and
Gordo banks, and most of the action was on lures. Boats that started to work the temperature
break on the Pacific side were spotting quite a few fish but most of their action was on live bait
tossed to fish found tailing. As usual, the best lures were the old stand-bys, black/green, bleeding
Mackerel. Many of the boats working the Cortez were getting lure strikes and not spotting a lot
of fish on the surface. Some of them were reporting as many as 10 strikes a day. The action on
the Pacific temp break was a bit slower but the hook-up ratio was higher since most of the bites
were on live bait. (Midnight Swim)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again there were Tuna reported from up past the Gordo banks and
they were still the smaller fish. With the wind dying down and the Pacific waters fishable this
week there was more effort focused to the west and there were good fish reported from the San
Jaime banks by boats that soaked live bait deep on the edges. Some of these fish were reported to
be #125+! (Blue Universe)
DORADO: Good fish are reported on the Cortez side and the water on the Pacific has been too
cold. Fish to 55 pounds are being found scattered around and the reports are that there are more
fish, large concentrations of them, moving down to us from up at the East Cape. Some of the
boats here in Cabo have been able to find small concentrations this week and have picked up as
many as 8 fish per trip. The first fish caught on lures have had followers with them and often the
second fish of the day has been hooked up on live bait dropped back. (Dipsea Trail)
WAHOO: The full moon helped the Wahoo action pick up and we were seeing quite a few
more orange flags at the end of the day than we saw last week. Most of the fish were found off of
the Red Hill area and outside Punta Ballena, both area at a distance of two to three miles off
shore. There was also a good bite reported between the inner and outer Gorda Banks as well as
off the Punta Gorda. Best lures were dark colored. (Oceans Apart)
INSHORE: Roosterfish to 60 pounds and Pargo running to 35 pounds were the fish of the
inshore this week. The action was both on the Pacific side to the lighthouse and on the Cortez
side as far up as you could go. The afternoon bite seemed to be the hot one this week as the
Pargo really turned on in the late afternoon and a few boats were able to come in with double
digit catches. The average Roosterfish were 25 pounds but I know of one boat that caught two
large guys, one over #60 and the other one around #50, both by the sole angler on the boat. The
inshore action was also kicking out Jack Crevalle to 35#, Amberjack in the 15 pound class,
Grouper to 50#, a few Sierra and lots of needlefish. (Indian Spring)
NOTES: The action locally is starting to pick up again and it’s just getting better every day. If
the Tuna bite would just start getting hot again we would be in heaven! Guess I’ll just have to go
and soak bait this week if I want one of those guys though. The last few weeks the action up at
the East Cape has been red hot but as our water continues to warm up the fish are coming here as
well and we should start to see lots of big Dorado and hordes of Yellowfin, as well as the big
Blues! I’m keeping my fingers crossed as we have 5 days booked this coming week and I really
want our anglers to get into the action! This week I put my music back in because I received so
many comments regarding last weeks lack of songs. I didn’t realize that so many of you cared,
thanks! The music this weeks report was written to is by Craig Chaquico on his CD “Once In A
Blue Universe”, a 1997 release by Higher Octave Music (one of my favorite publishers). Until
next week, keep those lines tight! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 9:55 pm: | |
“FLY HOOKER” FISH TOTALS FOR THE WEEK:
Striped Marlin: 2 fish tagged and released (#110)
Wahoo: 0 fish caught
Dorado: 1 fish caught, 1 fish released
Tuna: 0 fish caught
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 1, 2003
Kyle Elliot booked the “Fly Hooker” for a half day today. Last year he had the boat for the whole day and they caught so many fish that they came in early! Well, the fishing has been a bit slower this week and in today’s half day trip they came up with a big fat “zero”. A nice boat ride and no fish hooked up. Perhaps they should have done the half day last year and a full day this year? Juan said there were fish out there, they just would not bite.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 3, 2003
Dwight Nichols fished this same day last year and got skunked, so he was really hoping that this year there would be an improvement in his luck. Guess what....yep, they caught a fish this year. They also hooked up a few more that did not stay on, but at least they came in with dinner! The dinner fish was a Dorado of about 25-30 pounds that they caught at almost the end of the trip. The fish that they lost were three different Marlin. One of them was hooked on live bait and the other two on lures. One of the Marlin really gave them a show, and a workout as well, as they had the fish on for almost twenty minutes before the hook pulled out. During that time it did everything they are supposed to do, vertical jumps, washing machine headshakes, side on jumping runs and greyhounding away. Great action and it kept everyone on their toes! Lots more fish were seen but very few of them bit. Good water and a good time, thanks guys!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR JUNE 4, 2003
Sean Cunningham was our angler for today and his was a special request “flyfishing” if possible trip. With a flyfishing request I go along, so I got to spend the day with a really great guy. Sean is from Des Moines, Iowa, center of the universe, and gets to do quite a bit of fishing. The wind was blowing pretty good today and we were not sure if it was likely to calm down so he said that anything would do as long as we tried to hook on the fly at least once. The first fish was a Striped Marlin that appeared behind the lure on the bridge rod. We were able to tease it up to about the second wake, then it started bouncing around lure to lure. I pinned on a live bait in order to have it concentrate on one thing and dropped it back. The strong wind did not allow for a roll cast so we allowed the fish to eat the bait, Sean was going to fight the fish on conventional tackle. I set the hook and the fish started off when it passed under the bridge rod lure and got one of the hooks in its back, just by the dorsal fin. Working in tandem, Sean on the Tiagra 50 and me on the TLD-25, we worked the fish to the boat for a tag and release on a very pissed off Marlin! It was a quick fish and was released still full of energy. That was at 8:45. At 11 am we had another Marlin eat the same lure and it did a lot of jumping and took a lot of line. Sean worked the fish for 20 minutes before getting the tired fish to the boat where it was tagged and released. Ok, that was fun, but was not on the fly rod, and neither of the fish we had caught so far went into the fish box for dinner. With the wind still kicking a bit, we trolled one fly for Dorado and downsized several lures for the same reason. An hour later we hooked up a Dorado on a lure. We had spotted several Frigate birds working and after two passes under them, hooked up. Being greedy, I told Sean to stop reeling when the fish got close to the boat and we dropped a live bait back, hoping for a double. After several minutes with no pickup on the live bait, I told him to go ahead and bring the fish in. Edgar had the leader in his hand and was almost ready to gaff the fish when the hook pulled loose! Darn, time to go see if we can hook up again. Sean thought the Dorado was pretty neat, he had never seen one up close like that before, and I was able to get some good pictures of it for him. Back into the water went the lures and the fly. As we were trolling along, Sean saw a Dorado come through the spread, straight for the fly. The fish struck and broke the tippet on the strike. We got to se the Dorado, a nice sized one, doing cartwheels across the water, the fly hanging from the corner of his mouth. That was it for our days action and it was not all that bad, Sean was happy!
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 9:52 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo San lucas Fsihing Report
Sorry this is late, folks, phone line down at the house and have been waiting all day for the phone company to show up. Some things are the same where ever you are!!!!
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT JUNE 1- JUNE 8, 2003
WEATHER: The wind died down a bit this week and shifted a little more to the northwest. This resulted in slightly warmer weather and as a result we had nighttime lows in the mid 60’s and daytime highs is the low 90’s. We did have a few windy evenings, Thursday sticks out in my mind as very windy and cool. No rain for us this week and that is no surprise, and we had only scattered clouds.
WATER: Water temperatures on the Pacific side of the Cape continued to remain cold, mostly in the mid 60’s to low 70’s while the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape has temperatures ranging up to 83 degrees with very blue water. Surface conditions on the Pacific remained rough this week with very few boats trying the offshore run and the inshore boats working only a little past the lighthouse, if that far. From the Arches out to the south and east the water remained very choppy and did not really start to settle down until outside Punta Ballena. From there up to Punta Gorda the water was warm, blue and calm.
BAIT: Mostly Caballito available this week and the normal $2 per bait prevailed price-wise. A few Mullet were available as well for those wanting to target Roosterfish and the price was the same for them. There were Sardinas to be found from the bait boats up in the Palmilla area at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Plenty of Striped Marlin around but most of them were just swimming around with their mouths closed. Boats were seeing as many as thirty fish a day or as few as three, depending on where they went, but there were not very many of them hungry. The best areas for finding the fish were between Punta Ballena and Red Hill out to 4 miles, this is where the warm water was. The fish seemed more concentrated on the western side of the area and as the week progressed the whole area moved slightly to the west as the strong California current died down. Early in the week dark colored lures pulled far back in the pattern worked well and later on in the week live bait seemed to be the key. Farther east, up past the Gorda Banks, there were reports of Blue Marlin appearing and they were biting on lures in blue/pink and black/red. No really large Blues our way yet, but reported large fish in the 600+ class have been found scattered at the East Cape.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Very few Yellowfin were found this week and those that were found were up past Gorda Banks. Perhaps one boat in 15 found Tuna this week, and the most flags I saw flying off of any outrigger was three. Slightly larger than footballs, anglers I talked to reported these fish to be mostly 30 pounders and striking best on small feather in dark colors, and most of them were blind strikes with no porpoise around.
DORADO: The Dorado were scattered this week and there were fish in the warm water in the same areas as the Striped Marlin. Medium sized lures in the 8 inch range, in bright colors, seemed to attract the fish.
WAHOO: Again there were a few Wahoo caught, but not in any concentration. Most of them were found in shallow water (relatively speaking) off of the points. Boats working areas where the depth was 300-600 feet were finding a few fish and they were biting on dark colored lures. A couple of boats tried targeting these fish by pulling high speed jet heads but had no more luck than the average boat.
INSHORE: Roosterfish to 30 pounds and lots of Sierra have resulted in their being designated as “Fish of the Week” by me. Action off of the beaches from Solmar to La Laguna has been steady for the Roosterfish with slow trolled live Mullet being the key. The fish have ranged from 6 pounds to 30 pounds with most of them around 15. Boats working the rocky points with small Rapallas or live Sardinas have seen plenty of action on Sierra ranging to 10 pounds, as well as the occasional blitz from a school of Jack Crevalle moving through. Fishing the rocks with surface poppers, swimming plugs as well as live bait has resulted in some very nice Pargo ranging up to 30 pounds. I talked to several anglers who worked iron this week, both off of the Arches and off of the inner Gorda Banks and they reported good action on Amberjack at Gorda and fair action on Yellowtail at the Arch. Scrambled Egg color and Chrome/Blue worked best of them, with the Scrambled Egg for Amberjack and Chrome/Blue for the Yellowtail.
NOTES: The fishing is fair right now offshore, not every boat is finding fish but there have been plenty of chances for most of them. As the water continues to warm the fishing should continue to improve. The inshore fishing is going off really well and that has been the bright spot this week. We have moved into the summer season as far as the number of tourists coming to town, now it seems that most of our visitors are fishermen. Good for us charter operators but not good for the resorts and golf courses. The steady winds and rough water on the Pacific have the large Yachts that have normally already moved north, standing by for a weather window that will allow passage without getting them pounded. Word from them is that it might occur this week with a few boats trying as early as Tuesday. That means that we should see an improvement in water conditions on the Pacific side, and hopefully an increase in the number of fish being caught. Until next week, keep your lines tight!
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:55 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH TOTALS FOR THE WEEK:
Striped Marlin: 2 fish tagged and released (#120)
Wahoo: 0 fish caught
Dorado: 0 fish caught
Tuna: 0 fish caught
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 26, 2003
Dennis, his wife and another couple were our anglers for today and they were a dock charter,
met Juan at the dock and booked the “Fly Hooker” for today and Thursday. They really wanted
to get a Dorado for eating and hook up to a Marlin so that is what Juan and Manel set out to do.
They headed out to the 95 spot, where there had been lots of Marlin for the past few days. On
the way there they hooked up to a nice Dorado that came unbuttoned about 5 minutes into the
fight. As they approached the 95 spot they began to spot Marlin on the surface. Out of a total of
30 marlin spotted they were abble to place bait in front of twents, and out of the twenty they were
able to get two solid hook-ups. Both fish were in the 120 pound class and tood about 30 minutes
each to bring in. Both fish were tagged and released. On Thursday the wives will stay ashore and
Dennis’s friend will be bringing his son instead.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 28, 2003
The wind had started to blow on Tuesday evening and that had a bad effect on the fishing
today. The water was rough and the fish had moved on. The guys were only able to find two
marlin today, and neither one of them were hungry. The son got sick the whole day and I don’t
think Dennis had a lot of fun either. Sigh, we can’t predict the weather nor the movements of the
fish. Better luck next time guys. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:53 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT MAY 26 - MAY 31, 2003
WEATHER: Windy, windy, windy! All week long the wind has been blowing from the
west-northwest and starting on Tuesday night, it did not stop until Thursday early am. Now it has
started every day at noon and blown until around three am. Almost whitecaps in the Marina, and
during the middle of the week our early morning low was 58 degrees. Daytime highs have ranged
from 80 to 90 degrees. Clear skies most of the week with just a slight haze later on. (Grey
Walls)
WATER: The strong winds combined with an increase in strength of the California current
brought cold water into our area again, starting on Tuesday. This strong current forced water as
cold as 67 degrees across the 95 and 1150 spots on Tuesday. As the week wore on the cold
waters started to retreat and on the Cortez side of the Cape the nearshore waters warmed up to
71-72 degrees. As of the end of the week we have water temperature on the Pacific side of the
Cape at 61 degrees. (I Feel So Good)
BAIT: Mackerel was the bait of the week at the normal $2 per bait, and it was difficult to find
at times if you were one of the later boats out of the Marina. (Keep Your Distance)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Most of the Marlin action this week was on Striped Marlin though there was a
report of a Blue Marlin caught early in the week. Monday and Tuesday were good for Striped
Marlin with fish being found all over the place out at the 95 spot. It was not uncommon for 30
fish to be spotted on the surface during a trip, but bites were few and far between. Sometimes
trying a dead bait instead of a live one worked, or dropping the leader size down helped, but the
average hookup ratio was still one fish for every 10 baited. With the strong winds and cold water
starting on Tuesday afternoon, the fish disappeared although a few were still found close to shore
on the Cortez side. (You Dream Too Much)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Scattered action on Yellowfin as most of them have moved far out of
the day charter boats range. Private boats were reporting action at a distance of 70 miles to the
southeast. Football size fish were reported outside Red Hill and there were a few caught on
yo-yo’s just off the arch. (1932 Vincent Black Lightning)
DORADO: A few fish were caught at the beginning of the week and the catch rate dropped off
as the cold water moved in. Best results were had on bright colored lures and slow trolled live
bait. (Why Must I Plead)
WAHOO: There was a short, one day bite on Wahoo on Thursday as boats fishing the calmer
water off of Red Hill found a concentration of fish in the 30-40 pound class. Most of the fish
were lost due to monofiliment leaders on the lures, but as they hits were reported many of the
crews changed over to wire leaders and were able to hang on to a fish or two. (God Loves A
Drunk)
INSHORE: Two day of good Roosterfish at the beginning of the week changed as the cold
water moved in and in their place came Sierra and Yellowtail. The Pacific side became unfishable
up past the lighthouse. (Psycho Street)
NOTES: Hopefully the winds and currents will change and warm water will return to our
area. Everyone here is joking that we will be seeing Albacore again! Well, you never know. This
week’s report is going out a day early since we will be going up to the East Cape on Sunday to do
a little surf fishing and to listen to “The Dorado’s”, the World’s Greatest Fishing Band when they
play at the “Let’s Talk Hook-up Tournament” at Rancho Leonero. This week’s report was
written to the music of Richard Thompson on his “Rumors and Sighs” CD, a 1991 Capitol
release. Many thanks to Billy “Be-Bop” Bowman for lending me his CD to listen to! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:50 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker Sportfishing Daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH TOTALS FOR THE WEEK:
Striped Marlin: 9 fish tagged and released (#140)
Wahoo: 2 fish caught (#70)
Dorado: 2 fish caught (#20)
Tuna: 37 fish caught (#80)
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 19, 2003
Greg Wlazlowski is our angler for today and he has returned to Cabo with his wife Chris and
will be fishing for three days this week, sort of a busman’s holiday if you will, as he works
part-time as deckhand on a Sportfishing boat back home in New Jersey. Today Juan and Manuel
took Greg 12 miles to the south of the Lighthouse (Pacific) before putting lines in the water.
Most of their time was spent working 18-20 miles south and boy, was Greg happy with the
results! The water was a bit choppy but he fought every one of the fish standing up. Total for the
day was one Striped Marlin, tagged and released, two Dorado in the 20 pound range, two
Wahoo, one of them over 60 pounds on a Marauder and one over 70 pounds on a High-5
Green/Black lure (nice fish!) and around a dozen Tuna, all of them 20 pound fish. Right after the
trip he was fine but when we saw him and Chris in the evening, he was starting to feel the pain in
his arms! Greg is fishing again on Thursday and Friday, lets hope the fishing and the weather
holds!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 20, 2003
Richard, his wife and friend went fishing for a 1/2 day the day before yesterday with another
boat and caught nothing. No bueno, so they saw Greg come in yesterday with all the flags flying
and they are friends of friends, so....next thing you know, we get contacted and here they are!
Richard would really like fish to take home but the most important thing, according to him, is that
they don’t leave Cabo “skunked”. Juan and Manuel tried their best. On the way out to the same
area they worked yesterday they got a hit from what Juan said was a very big Wahoo, but it did
not stay on. Once they got to the area, 20 miles out, they started to see lots of porpoise but could
not get hit. Finally they tossed bait to a Striped Marlin and they fought that to the boat, then
tagged it with a “Billfish Foundation” tag and released the fish. A short while later they did the
same thing again (with a different Marlin, of course). A little later on they hooked one more, but
lost if after a very short time. No bites from any Tuna, no meat to take home, but two release
certificates coming at them in a few weeks, and good memories! Thanks folks, every day is
different, perhaps next time there will be “meat” fish for you to catch and return home with!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 21 MAY, 2003
Anyone familiar with Cabo knows Brad Pollack, the owner of our favorite hang-out,
“Tanga-Tanga” and the “Fish House Restaurant”. He and our friend Rod L’Anglais, the owner of
“Emil-Lene’s Sirloin House” in Aurora, Colorado were our anglers on the “Fly Hooker” today.
Both of them are very good friends of ours and their request for the day was for Yellowfin Tuna.
Juan and Manuel did their best but were not able to get into the fish until late in the morning and
the fish were 24-26 miles to the south. Once they found them, the action was good with multiple
strikes. Most of the fish were 20 pounders but Rod hooked into one that may have gone 60-70
pounds. Having just finished bringing in two Tuna, we was pretty maxed out after around 15
minutes and handed the rod off to Brad, and he was able to finish the fish off. The fog moved
into the area while they were out there and it got cold! After that action they turned to head in
and picked up a couple more fish, then cruised on back. Juan slipped and twisted his back on the
return trip while washing down the deck so he is out of action for tomorrow. The 160 quart
cooler was full of great fillets at the end of the trip and both Road and Brad were very happy with
the action.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 22 MAY, 2003
Today is Greg’s second day of fishing and since he had enough meat to take home from
Monday’s outing, and he can catch all the Yellowfin he wants back in New Jersey, today is a
Marlin outing. Again, the action did not happen until late in the day and I was told that while they
tossed bait to several fish prior to the first hook-up, that was not until 10am. Manuel and Edgar
worked the area of the “95 Spot” and there was plenty of action. The water was off-colored and
cold, down to 71 degrees, but for some reason the fish were concentrated there. From 10am until
1pm Greg wore his arms out fighting, tagging and releasing three Striped Marlin! Other fish were
seen and worked, and no fish that bit got away. The wind started blowing last night around
midnight and did not let up all day so there was quite a bit of wind chop out there along with
some nice sized swells. Greg wants to do a repeat of today’s trip for tomorrow and has requested
that I go along. I have my fingers crossed that the action remains good!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 23 MAY, 2003
This is Greg Wlazlowski’s third and final day of fishing on this vacation and he has invited me
to go along. After the great action he had yesterday I figured that the black cloud that sometimes
seems to follow me when I go on the boat and the target is Marlin might just vanish.
Hahaha....around noon we were both starting to wonder if maybe that little thing was still hanging
around my head and affecting the luck of others around me. Juan and Manuel took us out to the
same area where all the fish had been yesterday and we did spot a fish on the surface, but looking
back at it later on we decided that the fish had been sleeping, just barely moving at all. As soon as
Greg tossed the bait near it, the fish went down. That was at 8:15 in the morning and since the
fish had bit late yesterday, we were not too worried about it at the time. Along about 10:30 I
started to get a little concerned but did not say anything to Greg. At 11 Manuel spotted another
fish on the surface and it was moving, not sleeping. Juan tossed the bait this time, and the fish
acted like it wanted to eat, lighting up a bit and scaring the heck out of the Mackerel. I pinned on
another bait as Juan reeled in to change and the Marlin started to chase mine around also, but it
just wouldn’t eat! Juan got another bait out and we now had two live Mackerel swimming
around that the Marlin would not touch. Juan reeled in his one more time and slammed it on the
deck, stunning the bait in the hope that the fish would eat one if it was easier to catch. No dice,
this fish just disappeared on us. At 12:30 Manuel sighted another tail and Juan tossed out the bait
one more time. Just goes to show you, never give up! This fish ate the bait like it was hungry,
just came right in and grabbed it! Greg started to work the fish as we cleared the lines and the
first few minutes the fish was coming right to the boat. I started to think maybe someone else had
just released the Marlin and Greg was saying that the fish did not have a lot of fight to it when all
of a sudden it took off on a good run. Lots of runs later and after quite a few jumps in the 25
minutes it took to get the fish boatside I was able to place the tag as Juan held the leader. As the
fish felt the tag go in it made a surge and the #100 leader parted. No black cloud now and Greg
and I high fived it with Juan and Manuel and we trolled back home with no further action, but not
skunked either! Thanks for the invite Greg, I hope the lures you are taking home with you work
out well. Until we get a chance to see you and Chris again, tight lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 25 MAY, 2003
Sol and Brenda Watson are from New York and are here for just two days, they flew in last
night and leave tomorrow for the East Cape. Sol is a fly fisherman and would love to get a Marlin
on the fly, Brenda loves to fish but would prefer conventional tackle. They were directed to us
through “Baja On The Fly”, owned by Gary and Yvonne Graham. As the trip was to focus on fly
fishing, I went along. We began at 8 miles out, in the 95 spot area but did not see any fish until
the 12 mile mark, almost due east of the marina. On the way, Sol and I ran through what would
happen (assuming things went the way we wanted) when a fish came in. The first fish we spotted
I tried to toss out the bridled live bait and the dacron line ripped through the attachment area and
the bait flew off. ****, I quickly pinned on another live bait on a rig with a hook and tossed it out
there. The fish came in to the bait and I tried to reel it in and keep it away from the Marlin, then
too late realized that the drag had not been set and there was nothing to work with. The Marlin
grabbed the Mackerel and swam off with it as I got the drag set up and handed the rod to Sol.
With the hook set, it took him 25 minutes to catch, tag and release his first Marlin ever, and the
first one he has ever seen close up in person! His previous big fish were a Sailfish and a Tarpon
of about #140. Knowing there were fish in the area we continued to work it. We baited two
more Marlin with only one showing interest, but it would not take the fly. A little later we found
another fish that we were able to tease right up to the transom, but again, the fish showed no
interest in the fly and we eventually allowed it to eat the bait and we got Brenda on the fish! At
about 30 minutes into the fight we broke the starboard throttle cable so I had to work the throttle
from the engine as we spun the boat back and forth chasing the fish. Brenda had plenty of
coaching from Sol, and a little help from Hector (Manual’s day off) and after 65 minutes and lots
of action, she got to see her fish up close and personal as we placed a tag in it and released the
#140 Marlin. Great job Brenda! We saw several other fish on the way back in but most of them
went down by the time we got to them. All in all, a great day with two released Striped Marlin
and two happy anglers. Don’t worry Sol, you will probably get one on the fly at the East Cape!
Thanks for fishing with us and have a great vacation!
Until next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:48 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Flyhooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT MAY 19 - MAY 25, 2003
WEATHER: Clear skies all week long and our highs were in the mid 90’s with our nighttime
lows ranging from the high 60’s to 80 degrees. Great weather conditions until Tuesday evening
when the wind started to jack it up in volume and speed, and it was coming from the west! That
gave us almost nowhere to hide on the way in and it did not die down overnight as it had been
doing. This gave us very rough conditions on the Pacific side of the Cape for the rest for the
week but the wind slowly shifted to a bit more north and the Cortez side actually shaped up very
well. (Lush)
WATER: The cold water from the Pacific continued it’s incursion in the area through
mid-week but by Friday afternoon it had weakened and the warm water was beginning to come
out of the Cortez once again. On the Pacific side it remained cold with temperatures in the high
60’s and low 70’s through the end of this reporting period, but we were once again seeing 80-82
degree water on the Cortez side. By Saturday afternoon the 95 Spot, 1150 and the outer Gorda
were once again showing readings of 80+ degrees and the water was back to a lavender color.
Inshore the water remained warm but was still off-color, out to a distance of about a mile. The
temperature and color have been shifting on a daily basis, ebbing back and forth, but steadily
working warmer and bluer water westward. (Soma)
BAIT: Mackerel were once again the bait of the week at the usual $2 per bait. (Dream)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Hot spot for the week was the 95 Spot and areas to the east of there from
Wednesday afternoon to the weekend, then the fish shifted inshore and started to show in large
numbers within 3 miles of the Cortez coast with the largest concentrations from Chileno to San
Jose. The down side of having the fish closer was that they were not in as good a mood to bite as
the ones offshore had been. A lot of multiple hook-ups were reported mid-week but by Friday the
bite had fallen off and a lot of boats came in flying no flags at all. On Sunday the action shifted
offshore again and the bite improved. Live bait was the ticket for getting fish to the boat. (Duende
Del Amor)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: The Yellowfin remained off the bite and pretty much out of the area for
most boats this week, and that may have been due to the rough conditions out on the Pacific side
of the Cape. On Saturday there were reports of Large Tuna, the size of “Volkswagens”,
appearing with Porpoise off of the Seamount and outside the outer Gorda, but they were being
extremely picky about eating, and very line shy as well. Cedar plugs were the ticket to getting
any Yellowfin this week. (Black Stone Buleria)
DORADO: Dorado bite was down as the Pacific side roughened up but there were still some
nice fish coming in, just not in the numbers we had been having the last few weeks. Most of the
fish were falling to bright colored lures (what a surprise, huh?) and live bait. Most of the fish
were found as blind strikes with following fish being taken of live bait dropped back. (Santa Fe)
WAHOO: I guess three weeks was pushing it a bit far, but it was a great run while it lasted!
Very few fish were caught as the week neared it’s end, and those that did bite were blind strikes.
(Snake Charmer)
INSHORE: The Pacific side north of the lighthouse was blown out but there was good action
this side of the Cape on Pargo for those using bait in the rocks. Some Roosterfish were found up
in the Sea of Cortez in the San Jose area but the cooler off-green water closer to Cabo put them
off the bite. I did see some very nice Cabrilla come in from a few commercial Pangas working
outside of Cabo, in the Grey Rock area. (Buddha’s Flower)
NOTES: The turn in the winds really did a number on the fishing this week but it appears that
it is just temporary as the warm water is returning. The fish of the week was definitely Marlin,
and as you can tell from the report, the action in the first half of the week was outstanding! I
received a note from one of my music idols and since this was the first (and only) response from
any artist I have ever listed, I would like to express my appreciation by letting all of you know
that Ottmar Liebert is not only an awesome guitarist, he is also an all around nice guy! Thanks
OL, you made my day, and my next purchase of music will be your “Lava” album. Meanwhile,
for those of you who have not had the pleasure of his music, check it out at www.lunanegra.com.
This report was written while listening to his 1995 Sony release “Viva”. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 11:58 am: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 15, 2003
Tom, Scott and John were our anglers today. Manuel and Edgar took of to the south this
morning and 10 miles out they got into the fish. It was Tuna, and none of them were particularly
large, but there was steady action. After working the area for a while they ended up with 11 fish
in the boat, the largest of them in the 20 pound class. Most of the action was double strikes and
the cedar plug was one of the hot lures, the other was the dark feather. The rest of the day was
pretty uneventful. They did see more signs of life out there as they worked their way downswell
into the Sea of Cortez, but it was not until Edgar was putting the flags up prepatory to the short
run in that they actually hooked up another fish. The clicker had not been re-set on one of the
reels, I believe it was the short flat line, and with a lot of line out someone finally realized there
was a fish on! Into the boat came a very tired Wahoo in the 30-40 pound class! Good water,
good fishing and a good time, isn’t that what it’s all about? Thanks guys, we hope to see you
again soon!
Until next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 11:54 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT MAY 12 - MAY 18, 2003
WEATHER: Night time lows in the high 60’s and low 70’s and daytime highs in the mid 90’s
along with a humidity of around 75% resulted in some very warm days this week! Like I said last
week, it looks like summer is here. We did have some onshore breezes from the east break up the
heat a few afternoons and it was quite refreshing, but felt cold because of the humidity. Scattered
clouds all week long but no rain in sight, but it felt like rain a few days. (On A Lonesome Night)
WATER: We started the week with temperatures in the 80 degree range just offshore from the
arch and that pretty much continued until Friday night. All of a sudden the water temperature
dropped by 5 degrees. Warm water is still to be found up around San Jose and the Gorda banks
and it is very deep blue. It looked as if we had a warm water eddy forming on the Pacific side of
the Cape as the 80 degree water started to wrap around, all the way out to the San Jaime Bank,
but the California current slammed right into it and instead of a very sharp temperature break we
have a slow spread of temperatures over a large distance, along with the current forcing the
warmer water back up the Cortez side. The surface conditions were good everywhere and there
was no problem getting out to the San Jaime and the Golden Gate Banks on the Pacific side.
(Why Did You Wander)
BAIT: Bait of the week was Mackerel once again, the full moon has a lot to do with that, as
well as the water temperature. Normal price was $2 per bait and there were Mullet available as
well if you were early and asked around. No word on Sardinas this week. (Amanda Jewell)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: We got a really good feel for the location of Striped Marlin and what they preferred
this week as Cabo hosted the IGFA/ROLEX Light Tackle Invitational. There were 41 teams
from 21 different countries fishing for 4 days using #30 line, and all the fish were to be released.
A team must have won a qualifying tournament to be invited to this. A total of 164 charter days
resulted in an official 247 Marlin releases, or an average of 1.5 Marlin per charter day. Almost all
the fish were found north of the Gorda Banks up in the Solindaria area, within 5 miles of shore.
The fish were working large bait balls and most of the Marlin were caught on live bait. There
were a few Blue Marlin caught by the non-tournament boats working other areas, including an
estimated #250 released 8 miles south of the Arch. (A Simple Life)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin took a back seat as the fish of the week, and they really
needed the break, having held that position for the past two months! It was no because of the
lack of fish however, it was more because the size started getting smaller and the Marlin took
over the show due to the tournament. Most of the fish this week were found with Porpoise and
they were footballs, in the 8-15 pound class. A few fish were being caught that ran 20-35 pounds,
also in the porpoise, but we just were not getting the larger #80 class fish. These fish were being
seen, but unless you were the first there with the right bait (Sardinas or flying fish), you were not
getting bit. The footballs were not being shy, however, and there was no difficulty catching a
limit once you found them. Scattered over a large area, the favorite was still 8-15 miles to the
south of the arch, as well as the 95 spot. Dark colored feathers and lures, as well as cedar plugs
worked well. A few of the larger fish were nailing blue/white/silver, perhaps because of the
resemblance to Flying Fish? (Goin’ To The Ceili)
DORADO: There were still lots of Dorado being found this week, but they were a bit scattered
compared to last week. A favorite area was from the shore to five miles out on the Cortez side
from Gray Rock to San Jose. Bright colored lures worked well and a live bait dropped back after
a hookup often resulted in another fish. (Crossville)
WAHOO: Who would have believed three weeks in a row of Wahoo action? Almost a repeat
of the action last week, there were plenty of fish caught this week as well, but the size was a bit
smaller. The larger fish this week were in the 60 pound class with a lot of them 30-40 pounds.
Again, dark colored lures worked best and the area just outside of town put out fish on a regular
basis, at least until Saturday when the water temperature changed. The area of the Gorda Banks
put out fish as well but there was a lot of pressure there also. (Pig In A Pen)
INSHORE: Roosterfish to 40 pounds were found on the Pacific side of the Cape, up around
the lighthouse, and there was action reported from La Laguna up in San Jose as well. Most of the
fish were in the 10 pound class but there were a few larger fish in there. Sierra action has slowed
to a standstill and most of the Pangas are working the shoreline for Roosters or just outside for
Dorado. (Get Up John)
NOTES: The top team for the IGFA/ROLEX Tournament was from the Bahamas,
congratulations on coming in a very strong first! I don’t know what to expect this coming week
since we had the sudden drop in water temperatures close to home, but hopefully it will warm up
again. Thanks for reading the report this week, and if you have any suggestions on content, or
any questions about the fishing here, please feel free to contact me. Also, if you are coming to
Cabo and have some CD’s you no longer listen to, I accept all donations!! This weeks report was
written to the music of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder on the 2003 Skaggs Family Records
release “Live At The Charleston Music Hall”. |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 9:02 pm: | |
Subject: CABO FISHING EL BUDSTER I MAY 5-9
Salvador's Sportfishing Charters would like to say "THANKS" to a couple of special people.Phil Bolton and Jade Fisher who came all the way from London, England to fish on the EL BUDSTER I.
Phil works for the Department of Fishery in Pangbourne, England. Jade is very well known fashion designer in London. This was their first trip to Cabo San Lucas. What a trip it turned out to be.
On their first day of fishing on the EL BUDSTER I. Phil caught and released a 225# BLUE MARLIN. He caught the BIG BLUE MARLIN on a spinning outfit that he brought over from the UK.It had 30# test line and took him four hours to get the fish to the boat.Phi stood up the entire time. Not a bad way to start out your Cabo fishing trip.
Phil said "I could not believe it when the fish came out of the water.I had never seen a fish that big. I knew I was in for a long afternoon." Yes, a long afternoon it was. But Phil was quite pleased after the four hour battle. " I never thought I was going to get the fish in. Each time he got within fifty feet of the boat he would turn and take off again.I did not know if I was going to be able to get him to the boat."
It was an epic battle. Phil with his spinning outfit that he brought all the way from the UK and Mr. Blue. In the end everything worked out great.Phil finally got the big Blue Marlin to the boat.At that time he was released.
About the fight Phil said," The Captain of the EL BUDSTER I( Roberto) did one heck of a job. He really knows how to handle a boat. I never could of caught the fish without his great work."
As the Blue Marlin swam off into the horizon Jade commented, " That's just what Phil wished for. A big Blue Marlin. We just didn't know he would catch it on our first day of fishing." Jade went on to say, "Thank you mother for the rabbits."
It would appear that Phil had a little more than good luck working for him.What a fish ...what a day.
In Cabo your wishes can come true.
In the next four days. Phil and Jade combined to catch and release three Striped Marlin. All the marlin were over 120# each.
They also caught between fifteen and twenty Yellowfin Tuna. The largest being around 60#. To top things off they also caught five Dorados.
I do not think things could of worked out better for our new friends from the UK. We hope to see them back in Cabo some day.
That's what it's all about. Good friends, good fishing and good memories. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 1:49 pm: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 5, 2003
Our good friend from Guam, Bill Gowder, is fishing aboard the “Fly Hooker” today and on the
7th. He would really like to get a Marlin or two or three but today it was Tuna time. Juan and
Manuel headed out at 150 degrees for 6 miles and put lines in the water. It was not until they
were 20 miles out that they finally spotted Porpoise. First boat on the scene always has the best
catch and that’s what happened today. Three passes in a row had all four lines hooked up and the
fish ranged in size from 15 to 35 pounds. After a while they had the 15 fish limit and sore arms
and went in search of Marlin. They did spot a few but those fish were not hungry as they all
passed on the offering of live Mackerel. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for Bill on the 7th, I
might get to go along on that trip!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 6, 2003
Roald Petterssen is a repeat client and loves to fish with Juan. He has booked today and the
8th on the “Fly Hooker” and like Bill yesterday, really prefers to catch Marlin. Almost first thing
in the morning they get a big hit and instead of a Marlin, it’s a Wahoo of about 60 pounds! Nice
fish! With it in the boat they continued to search for Marlin and finally spotted on and tossed it a
live Mackerel. The fish ate the bait and started jumping. It made four series of jumps before
going deep. It took Roald almost 40 minutes to get the fish to the boat, the fish had died after
getting tail wrapped. They saw a few other fish but none of them were in the mood to eat. Lets
see if they can do it again on the 8th!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 7, 2003
I got to go today with our friend Bill Gowder and Juan and Manuel set the lines as we reached
the line-up between the Arch and Missiones Resort. The lures had not been in the water for more
than five minutes when there was an eruption on the long rigger lure. No knockdown though, but
several seconds later the Bridge rod started to scream. I thought it was a Marlin but Juan said he
had been looking at the lure when it happened and it was a Wahoo. Sure enough, Bill put the
pressure on and in about 15 minutes had the fish to the boat. What a fish! Juan had a difficult
time getting the fish into the boat but after hitting the deck, it looked at least 60-70 pounds, by far
the largest Wahoo Bill had ever caught. We continued trolling up into the Sea of Cortez toward
the Gorda Bank area and after a while Manuel spotted a fin. He ran the boat to the spot as Juan
pinned on a live Mackerel and stood ready to pitch it out. The fish went down before we arrived
and we continued our search. Almost two hours later Manuel spotted another fish on the surface.
As Juan tossed the bait, this fish went down. We slow trolled that bait for a few minutes then
continued on. We saw Porpoise, Seals and Turtles and finally, we had a Marlin come in on the
Bridge rod lure. This fish came in charging hard and as Manuel gunned the boat to keep the fish
coming, Juan dropped back a bait. Nothing. Sigh. We continued the lure trolling but at about 1
P.M. trolled live baits for about 30 minutes. Still no action so out went the lures. As we were
about to pull lines, and in about the same area as this morning, we had a repeat. A knock-down
on the long rigger, then the same lure struck again. Manuel called down “Tuna”, I was hoping for
a Marlin but it ended up being another Wahoo, this one about 45 pounds. Thanks Bill, I sure
wish we had hooked into some Billfish for you, but maybe next time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 8 MAY, 2003
Roald Petterssen had such a good time on the 7th that he is going again tomorrow as well.
That decision was made before todays trip, but todays result verified that it was a wise choice.
Juan and Manuel put lines in the water after cruising 45 minutes and when they were about 15
miles out spotted the first Marlin. This same are ended up producing three Marlin for Roald, two
were tagged and released and one was badly injured during the fight. Several other fish were
sighted and had bait tossed at them, but with no result. A little after leaving the area they
managed to hook into a 15 pound Yellowfin as well. Now that is the type of Marlin action that
everybody would like to have. It is always about being in the right place at the right time! Good
luck tomorrow Roald!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 9 MAY, 2003
Roald “The Fishing Machine” Petterssen is out for his third day of Marlin hunting today, and
Juan and Manuel took him back to the same area that they found all the fish yesterday. Their luck
was not as good today however, and they only managed to tag and release on Striped Marlin.
The were able to get a nice 35 pound Dorado in the boat, along with a small Yellowfin of about
25 pounds, so there were fish out there. Roalds total for three days of fishing was 5 Striped
Marlin, two Yellowfin Tuna, one Dorado and one Wahoo. Pretty good I think, and Roald had a
lot of fun doing it! Thanks Roald, we look forward to seeing you again!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 10 MAY, 2003
Ed and Charles were our anglers for today and they brought along their wives and another lady
so they could enjoy being on the water. Well, the wind switched a bit and the water was a bit
choppy out there. The trip was supposed to be a half day but ended up with only three hours on
the water as three out of five were feeling a bit ill. Of course for Ed it had nothing to do with the
amount of tequila consumed the afternoon and evening before! The objective of the trip was to
catch something for dinner and hopefully get something that would do a lot of jumping. Half of
the plan worked as they hooked into a lot of Tuna, but there were no Dorado or Marlin fooled by
the lures. Eight Yellowfin, with the largest 4 at 35 pounds, supplied plenty of fish for dinner, as
well as plenty of fish to be smoked and taken back home. We are glad you found fish and sorry
the water was choppy. Have a great time eating the smoked Tuna and thinking about your next
trip back!
Until next week, Tight Lines from George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 1:41 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report WAHOO!!
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT MAY 5 - MAY 11, 2003
WEATHER: We are starting to feel the summertime weather now. Our daytime highs have
been up to the 95 degree level while our lows at night have not been much less than 70 degrees.
Warm days and mostly clear skies were the norm for this week. The humidity is starting to rise a
bit so there have been some muggy days, but an afternoon breeze almost every day has helped to
keep it under control. (Helplessly Hoping)
WATER: Beautiful blue water, some of it to 80 degrees, on the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape
and very smooth water until Saturday when the afternoon breeze switched and started coming out
of the East. The Pacific side has been a bit cooler and not as smooth, but still fishable. The
afternoon breezes early in the week, coming from the Northwest, kept a small chop on top of the
medium sized swells. In a southwesterly direction from the Arch, there has been a lightly defined
temperature break out to ten miles, then it becomes a bit more defined. There has been a 4 degree
change over a fairly short stretch of water and that area has been holding some nice fish this past
week. (Wooden Ships)
BAIT: Mackerel was the bait of the week with the normal $2 per bait being charged. Few
Caballito were found, there were a few Mullet to be had and I heard of no boats able to find
Sardinas for bait. (Teach Your Children)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Most of the Marlin action this week was on Striped Marlin and the action seemed
to be concentrated in the area of the temperature break to the Southwest. Catches of two to three
fish per boat were not uncommon and a few boats came in with as many as four flags flying. Live
bait tossed to tailing fish were the top method while baits dropped back to fish appearing in the
pattern was second, with fish actually being caught on lures came in a distant third. While this
area held the concentration, it was not really worked until later in the week. Until then, there
were large numbers of other fish being found closer to home, just a few miles offshore from the
Arch as a large mass of bait moved into the area. There were Marlin mixed in with these other
fish and they were fairly uninterested in most offerings, but live bait trolled slow did work. (Ohio)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: This is another of those weeks where I should just be able to put in
“repeat”, as the action was the same as last week. I did hear of some nice Yellowfin in the 60-100
pound class getting caught, but the majority of fish were in the 15-35 pound range. A few were
blind strikes but most of the fish were found associated with Porpoise. There was some excellent
action less than two miles from the Marina this week as a mass of bait moved in and the fish
followed it. Dark feathers and cedar plugs were hot lures again, but a live bait dropped back on
the first hook-up almost always drew the larger fish. The 95 spot and 5-12 miles at 150 from the
arch were good areas to work, and there were reports of good sized fish beginning to come from
the San Jaime Banks as well. (Find The Cost Of Freedom)
DORADO: Find the fish and you find lots of them, otherwise most boats were coming in with
one or two Dorado in the 15-25 pound range, sometimes a bit larger than that, up to 50 pounds.
For boats able to find something floating in the water, the catch rate immediately went up! A few
boats were reporting up to a dozen nice fish in the 15-35 pound range while working live bait
around floating debris, and it did not have to be large objects, a small piece of bamboo often held
a half dozen fish. The other boats were finding the fish scattered over a wide area, but during the
middle of the week the action became red hot just 2 miles from the harbor as the large mass of
bait moved into the area. Catches of five or six Dorado per boat were not uncommon for those
staying and working the area hard. (Woodstock)
WAHOO: Who would have believed two weeks in a row of Wahoo action? Almost every boat
that started fishing for the Yellowfin and Dorado just in front of the town got hit by Wahoo this
week. Of course, most of them got bit off, but the fish that were caught were quality fish. 60
pounds was not uncommon and there were a lot of fish in the 80-100 pound range as well.
Black/Green and Blue/Purple lures seemed to attract the most attention and a lot of Marlin lures
were lost! (Our House)
INSHORE: There are finally a few Roosterfish starting to show up on a regular basis, but they
are still on the small side, mostly between 8-12 pounds. With the smooth water and the pelagic
fish close to home, this week most of the Pangas went out for Yellowfin and Dorado. With the
paucity of boats fishing inshore, I really don’t have much to report from this area. (Helpless)
NOTES: The offshore fishing just continues to improve! I just hope it stays as good as it is,
at least for a while. My apologies if you receive this report late, we are dealing with a computer
problem....sigh....it’s always something, isn’t it? This week’s report was written to the music of
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on the 1974 Atlantic release “So Far”. |
Jesse Wolfmeyer
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2003 - 4:39 pm: | |
Subject: poop
poop |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 12:05 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker Sportfishing Daily Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 29, 2003
Jim Mariana and his wife Lorelei fished aboard the “Fly Hooker” today and Juan and Manuel
were able to put them on to the fish! Working the ledge off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side,
they were able to put 13 Tuna in the boat. The four largest were in the 20 pound class and the
rest were footballs. A small Dorado of about 10 pounds was in the mix as well. Juan said the
Tuna all fell for dark colored feathers. After that action (first boat on the scene) Lorelei was not
feeling very good so they began working downswell. Shortly after getting sick over the side of
the boat (it was a bit rough) a Wahoo came into the pattern and struck every lure before getting
hooked up. Jim worked the fish and eventually Juan was able to put the gaff in a very nice 80
pound fish! Way to go guys, and thanks for the Wahoo dinner!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 30, 2003
The Bob New party of four was supposed to be a party of five, but one guy had to cancel.
These guys have fished Cabo four times without catching a fish and decided to try someone
different this time. Lucky for us and them, Juan and Manuel were able to put them on the fish this
trip. They ended up fishing just 8 miles out straight south and worked their way toward the red
hill area. During the trip they caught two Dorado in the 15 pound class and one that would tip
the scale between 30 and 35 pounds. There was one Tuna caught, just a football fish. A good
time was had and they were finally able to catch their own dinner!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 1, 2003
Michael Henstra is back and he has a couple of friends fishing with him today. Juan and
Manuel were able to find Yellowfin Tuna for them about the same area as the day before
yesterday, 12 miles out on the Pacific side. Once they got into the fish, they bit well, but that was
the only action for the day. Juan said the bite happened at 8:30 and they ended up with 9 fish
ranging in size from 25 pounds to 12 pounds. Dark colored lures were what worked best again.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 2, 2003
Today we had the Mark Mathis party on board the “Fly Hooker” and these guys brought their
own gear to target the Yellowfin with. Once again we were very lucky that Manuel has such
good eyes! The first pod of Porpoise was found 8 miles out at a 150 degree heading but there
were no Tuna feeding with them. Staying the same course, it was not until out at a distance of 20
miles that they found Porpoise again, and they were the first boat on the scene. The water was
rough and sloppy but the guys managed to get 15 Tuna to the boat. The largest was around
25-30 pounds and most of the fish were in the 20 pound range. Juan said that they also has a
Blue Marlin strike on the bridge rod but it did not hook up, just pulled line for a moment. After
the other boats began to show up the bite stopped and they headed back to the leeward side of the
Cape for smoother, warmer water and a chance at Dorado and a Striped Marlin. They found
smoother water but no Dorado or Marlin. All in all, ‘twas a good day for the boat. The guys are
fishing again on the 5th with a couple of Pangas, we hope they have good luck!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MAY 3, 2003
Paul Stasser and Judge Dave Murphy are from the East coast of the U.S. and would have been
happy to just catch a few Yellowfin Tuna. They had been cruising for just 5 minutes when Juan
came jumping down to the deck from the bridge and Manuel slowed the boat. Juan pinned on a
bait and tossed it out and they were hooked up to a Striped Marlin! That is sort of how the day
went for them. A grand total of three Striped Marlin, two on live bait and one on a lure (all
released, with two of them tagged), three football Yellowfin Tuna and one Dorado about 35
pounds. Yep, they had fun and good fishing! The fish were close and they were biting, we sure
like it when that happens. Thanks guys, and we look forward to seeing you again. (and the Judge
is going to send me a CD, he has a band as well as a judgeship!)
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 12:02 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2003
WEATHER: No change in the weather from last week’s report. Partly overcast most of the
week with an occasional clear day. Daytime highs in the high 80’s and nighttime lows in the high
60’s to low 70’s. Mostly calm mornings with the wind from the northwest starting around noon
every day and blowing at 10-15 knots until 3-4 AM. A good, stiff westerly started on Saturday
afternoon and left us little or no lee for the day but did not affect us on Sunday. (Los Brazos del
Mar)
WATER: The water on the Pacific side remained uncomfortable this last week as the wind
never really disappeared. Four to six foot swells with whitecaps were the norm by 10 AM. The
Sea of Cortez remained fairly calm until the afternoons. Surface temperatures on the Pacific were
in the 67-68 degree range and the water was a slightly off- color blue-green while on the Cortez
side we had areas that occasionally reached 79 degrees and beautiful blue in the higher
temperatures. There was no defined temperature break but the water did climb by several degrees
over a two mile wide band off of Grey Rock and to the east. (Biggest Fishing Hole In The
World)
BAIT: Same as last week, Caballito was available at $2 per bait. (Bluegill Boogie)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: I am reading over last weeks report and this week it seems almost identical. The
bite has picked up on Striped Marlin and there was some great action to be had outside of both
Gray Rock and Red Hill this week with an evenly mixed bite on both lures and live bait. The fish
continue to move along the coast and can be found just off the arch now. Almost all the boats
were finding at least a few fish to toss bait to, but not all the fish found were hungry. There were
Blue Marlin hooked this week and there was a 416 pound Swordfish landed as well. (The Only
Time I Saw Him Smile)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again there is no change from last weeks report. Yellowfin
continue to be fish of the week as there was a good bite at the 1150 spot, the 1000 fathom drop
east of the Gorda Banks and from 8-12 miles south of the arch. On Sunday there were football
fish found as close as two miles from the arch! The fish were both in the blind and with Porpoise
and the majority of them were in the 15-20 pound class. Dark feathers and cedar plugs got most
of the action. As normal, the first few boats to the fish got most of the action and there were
quite a few boats having 10-15 fish days. (Breathin’ Room)
DORADO: I should just post last weeks report for this week as very little has changed. There
have still been nice fish in the 35 pound + range being caught but the average size has been 15-20
pounds. Dropping a live bait back after the initial hook-up has resulted in multiple fish days for
many boats. The fish have been scattered but this week the best results were to be had in the
warmer water on the Sea of Cortez. (Bad To The Bonefish)
WAHOO: Repeating last weeks report on Wahoo, we had a few really good days this week and
pretty close to home as well! Just off of Gray Rock and around Red Hill boats were getting bit
off on lures with mono leaders but still getting 25% of the strikes. Some boats were getting two
or three Wahoo a trip and they were good sized fish, most of them 40-60 pounds. I heard a
report that one boat caught 13 Wahoo between the inner and outer Gorda Bank. Sure wish it was
a predictable bite! (Why’s Everybody Getting Bit Except Me?)
INSHORE: A few Sierra were found this week on the Pacific side of the Cape but most of the
Pangas stayed on the Cortez side and worked just offshore for both Dorado and Marlin. I heard a
report of some good action just off the beach up in the Palmilla area for boats slow trolling live
bait. It appears that the Pargo (snapper) have been schooling and some of the guys were getting
very nice 10-20 pound fish on the live bait. (King Of The Surf)
NOTES: The fishing continues to improve but the wind needs to stop for more than a day or
two! The warm water continues to move into the area and as it does we are getting more action
on Blue Marlin. Just wait until it gets into the 82-85 degree range! This weeks report was
written to the music of “The Dorados” on their 2000 Flying Fish records release “Papa Was A
Fishin’ Man”. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 4:03 pm: | |
Subject: "Fly Hooker" Daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 21, 2003
The Kevin Kilbourne party fished with Juan and Manuel today and while the fishing was not
great, they did have a good time and caught two nice Dorado while working the area of the “95
Spot”. The water was nice in the morning and a bit on the choppy side on the way back due to
the afternoon winds we have been experiencing.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 23,24th, 2003
These two days and the 26th were booked over the phone last year on November 8th by a
repeat client, John Hasko. We did not a deposit and of course, we got burned. Sigh. No show,
no contact, no fishing, no money, no more.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 26, 2003
This was one of the days booked by John Hasko but I was lucky enough to find some guys
looking for boats and we fit the bill. There were 8 guys and two wives looking for a couple of 31
foot boats for today and the chose us and a friends 31 for the adventure. We carried a party of 6
who wished to fish just a half day as some of them had to catch an early flight home, the other
four fished all day. Our group caught three nice Yellowfin, the largest about 45 pounds. They
were working the area around the “95 Spot” with Porpoise all around and had a quadruple strike
on Yellowfin Tuna. Two of these fish made it into the boat and two dropped off the hook. A live
bait was dropped back on the strike and the larger Tuna ate that bait. The smaller fish were
around 20 pounds. They also tossed bait to a Marlin and saw another free jumping, saw lots of
Porpoise, a couple of whales, seals and turtles. They had a great time and will be back again.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 27, 2003
Walter and his wife Sue brought along a friend they had met whose name is Herman and they
all fished on the “Fly Hooker” today. It was Manuels day off so Juan drove the boat and Willow
filled in as deck hand. Again, the 95 spot seemed to be the place to be and Herman got hooked
up to a nice Yellowfin Tuna that everyone estimated at 60 pounds. I saw the collar so I think that
was the right size! It sure provided some nice fillets. Walter caught the other fish of the trip, a
smaller football size Yellowfin of about 15 pounds. Juan told me that they had a bite off by a
Wahoo and somehow managed to farm two Dorado as well. Fish for dinner and no one was sick,
what a great day!
|
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 4:00 pm: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT APRIL 21-27, 2003
WEATHER: Partly overcast most of the week with an occasional clear day (at least for a few
hours!). Daytime highs in the high 80’s and nighttime lows in the high 60’s. Calm mornings with
the wind from the northwest starting around noon every day and blowing at 10-15 knots until 3-4
AM. (Blue Yodel)
WATER: The Northwest winds this week changed the conditions on the Pacific side. While
still very fishable, the water is a bit rougher than last week and could be uncomfortable at times.
The Sea of Cortez remained very comfortable with very small swells and light chop in the
morning but when the winds picked up so did the chop, making for an uncomfortable ride back
for some boats. Water temperatures have been 69-71 on the Pacific side and 73-75 on the Sea of
Cortez side of the Cape. There have been no really defined temperature breaks this week.
(Mississippi Delta Blues)
BAIT: Caballito was available this week at $2 per bait. (Train Whistle Blues)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin are still close to us and the bite has picked up on them, as well
as on the Sailfish. They seem to be moving in our direction from the north on the Sea of Cortez
and are beginning to show up on the Pacific side now. The bite to fish seen ratio is still low,
perhaps 20%, but it is improving daily as we go into the new moon phase. The bite has been an
even mix of live bait and lures (dark colors or bleeding mackerel). No further word on Swordfish
sightings but there have been several nice Blue Marlin appear in some boats lure spreads. (Blue
Yodel #9)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin Tuna continue their reign as fish of the week and if this
continues they may end up fish of the year! The bite has been close to home, both in the blind and
with Porpoise. most of the fish have been found less than 12 miles out and sizes have ranged
from 12 to 45 pounds with an occasional fish to 70 pounds. Feathers, cedar plugs and Marauders
have been working well. many of the larger fish have been caught on live bait tossed back after
getting a double or triple hookup on the troll. Both side of the Cape have produced this week
but the fish seem to be shifting a bit towards the Pacific side. (Blue Yodel #8)
DORADO: The Dorado bit picked up this week and it was not uncommon for boats to be
getting three or four nice fish on a trip. The average size has been around 20-25 pounds but there
have been plenty of fish in the 40-45 pound class as well. With an initial hookup on lures, a live
bait dropped back has worked well for an additional fish. Slow trolling live bait off of the points
or around the Porpoise schools has also been a good way to get hooked up. (My Good Gal’s
Gone Blues)
WAHOO: We had a few really good days this week and pretty close to home as well! Just off of
Gray Rock and around the 95 Spot boats were betting bit off on lures with mono leaders but still
getting 25% of the strikes. Some boats were getting two or three Wahoo a trip and they were
good sized fish, most of them 40-60 pounds. Sure wish it was a predictable bite! (Travellin’
Blues)
INSHORE: I saw some nice catches of Sierra this week and heard that there were some smaller
Roosterfish caught on the Pacific side as well. A good sign for the Roosterfish is the appearance
of Mullet in the Marina. Other inshore species have been scattered this week. An occasional
bottom fishing expedition has brought in the usual Triggerfish, small Snapper and Grouper and
there were reports of a good bite on small Yellowtail at the arch on the early morning tide change
for anglers using small Caballito as bait. (Jimmie’s Mean Mama Blues)
NOTES: The fishing has been great this week for most of the boats, but as always, it involves
being in the right place at the right time. Very few boats returned from a trip without getting fish
and for those in the right place at the right time, it was wonderful! The town is starting to get
busy again and bookings for all the charter boats are starting to pick up as well. This weeks
report was written to the music of the master of country blues, Jimmy Rodgers on the 2002 RCA
compilation “Country Legends, Jimmy Rodgers”. Until next week, Tight Lines! Yodel on! |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 10:30 pm: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/26/03
What a day to remember for Susan Lasko and friends from Auburn, WA. Fishing on the EL BUDSTER for their second day. They come up BIG on the YELLOWFIN TUNA. Fishing about twenty miles out of Cabo. They catch twenty YELLOWFIN TUNA. The smallest of the tuna is 30# and the largest is OVER 100#. The majority of the tunas are between 50-60#. What a day. They also catch two 35# Dorados.
On the EL BUDSTER I Robert Burr catches three nice Dorados. All three fish are between 35-40#. Water temperature was 73-75 degrees. |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 12:30 pm: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/25/03
John Latimer from New York City, NY has a FANTASTIC day fishing on the EL BUDSTER. He catches and releases a 130# Striped Marlin. Then catches a 70# Wahoo and four Yellowfin Tuna in the 30-35# range.He finishes up with a 35# Dorado. Not bad for a day on the water.
Dennis Moebus from Roseville, CA fishing on the EL BUDSTER I catches six Yellowfin Tuna 30-35# and five Dorado 35-40#. Another nice day of fishing.
All fish were caught about 10 miles out from the 95 Reef. The water temperature was 74-76 degrees. |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 11:24 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker Sportfishing Daily Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 14, 2003
Our clients for today are friends of Mary’s cousin and they brought another couple with them,
four people in all. This was their first time in Cabo and on our boat . The water was a little bit
choppy but they managed to hang in there and ended the day with a nice Dorado for dinner.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 15, 2003
David and his new bride Angela were walking around the Marina yesterday when we started
talking and they decided to go fishing with us on the “Fly Hooker” today. The water had calmed
down since yesterday and Juan and Manuel were able to put them on to a Striped Marlin early in
the day. David made short work of it and had it to the boat in about 20 minutes. They also
caught a Tuna of about 20 pounds and a Dorado of the same size. A good day on the water for
the honeymooners from Arizona.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 16, 2003
Mike Cope is fishing the second of two days today and he has Tony and Chris Marauto with
him today. After blanking out on Sunday they were really hoping to get into the fish today. They
did! A 40 pound Dorado, a couple more at 25 pounds and a 50 pound Wahoo put some meat in
the cooler for them, a good change from the last trip. It also put a big smile on their faces!
Thanks guys!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 17, 2003
Stephane Van Den Bergh, his wife Georgina and daughter Louise have come all the way from
France and fished today on the “Fly Hooker” with Juan and Manuel. Stephane has fished for
Tuna in the Mediterranean between France and Spain but has never caught a Marlin as the waters
where they are normally caught are to far away. He has brought two new reels with him in order
to try and catch his fish. They are Penn Senator 4/0’s with left hand retrieve since he could not
find any Shimano’s set up that way. Georgina and Louise spent the day on the bridge with
Manuel and Juan stayed below to assist Stephane. He wanted to do it all him self so Juan was
there as coach. They spotted tow Marlin and tossed bait on both. On the first fish Stephane
tossed the bait out and had the reel in freespool with the clicker on as the fish ate the bait and
started off. His thumb was not on the spool though and the clicker broke, resulting in complete
freespool and a major backlash, placing his line between the spool flange and the sideplate. Yep,
the fish broke off. The other Marlin refused to eat but everyone had a good time anyhow.
Stephane wanted to fish with us again but we are already booked for the next few days. I hope he
does well tomorrow with whoever he goes with!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 18, 2003
Brian Niecamp has fished every Good Friday for the past six years with Juan and Manuel,
except for last year when Juan decided to go on vacation (and his brother Juan filled in so I guess
what I just wrote is not really true!). On this trip his friend John Dolack is with him again. They
had an early start today as they were at the dock and waiting when we arrived. Juan and Manuel
headed straight south off of the Solmar beach area and at a distance of 8 miles out found porpoise
and birds. One Tuna weighed around 45 pounds and the rest were in the 15-20 pound class, but
they found and caught 18 in all! They were the first boat there and the only one as well. The
Tuna was exactly what they had been looking for and they left with smiles and their cooler full!
The unfortunate thing was that after that, the steering on the boat broke and they had to come in.
I refunded half of the charter fee since they had only been out a half day and Juan and Manuel
spent the afternoon changing the helm and cable.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 19, 2003
Mike and Cathy Pilarski have fished this date with Juan and Manuel every year for the past 4
years and like Brian yesterday, last year was with Juan’s brother Juan. Juan and Manuel headed
out to the 95 spot area after first trying straight south, in the area where they found the Tuna
yesterday and blanking out. The water was a bit choppier since the wind had blown all night but
the were able to hook into two nice Dorado, everyone said one was in the 40 pound class, and the
other around 25 pounds. There were three Tuna in the 15-20 pound class as well so they had a
bit of fish to fill their cooler with!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 20, 2003
John D. had been wanting to share a trip, a long one, ever since reading about the one I went
on with my webmaster two weeks ago. Today is Easter and it is the last full day of his trip to
Cabo and lucky for him and myself I was able to talk a local resident (14 weeks) Randy into
sharing a 12 hour day with him. Randy has not done this type of fishing before but John has been
fishing for about 4 years, mostly on the long range boats out of San Diego. We finally left the
marina at 6 A.M. (Randy went to the wrong dock and since it’s Easter, we had a bit of a wait to
get a bait Panga to show up). My original idea was to head out on the Pacific side to the San
Jaime banks to look for Tuna. The wind had not blown last night and I was hoping for good
water but as we went past the lighthouse the swell got larger and we started to get some white
caps out there. Knowing that it would not get any better in the next 15 miles, and noticing a few
porpoise breaking water alongside the boat, I decided to change course and try an area 15 miles
to the south of the lighthouse. It was just getting gray morning light when we set the lures but we
did not have any action until 8:00 when we spotted a pair of Striped Marlin sleeping on the
surface. Of course they were not hungry and went down when we turned around and pulled a live
bait by them. Altering our course toward the 95 spot, we were about 4 miles to the west when
we finally got the first fish in the boat. This was a 24 pound Tuna, one of two blind strikes. After
getting the fish in the boat I did a few figure 8’s in the area but there was no more action. 20
minutes later and two miles from the 95mJohn reeled in a 13 pound Dorado and we re-set the
lures. Just after putting the last line in, another Dorado struck, this time on the Marauder run on
400 pound mono leader. It took Randy a while to get this fish to the boat and I had John drop
back a live bait as he worked on the fish. I gaffed the 23 pound Male and put it into the fish box
and John reeled in the head of the Caballito he had dropped back. Wahoo cut! The lures went
back into the water and we worded the area for a bit longer, getting only one more strike that did
not hook up. We turned in toward the Gray Rock area for a few miles and then back out. A
good strike on the long rigger got Randy back in the chair and as he was working that fish,
another one was trying to eat the short rigger lure. It only took Randy about 5 minutes to get the
50 pound Sailfish that had struck to the boat and after a couple of pictures alongside the boat, the
fish was tagged and released. Off in the distance I could see a couple of boats stopped and
decided to go check them out. As we approached we could see the porpoise jumping and we
ended up getting two Yellowfin in the 15 pound class off of them, but only after working them
hard for about 90 minutes or more. The wind had started to blow and I turned us toward the
Chileno area. !5 minutes after leaving the Porpoise we had a hard strike on the bridge rod and I
handed it down to John. Knowing that Randy had been dreaming about catching a Marlin, he was
nice enough to had it off to Randy, who will now be known as “Randy Reel and Puke”! He never
let go of the rod, never let up on the pressure and did finally stop throwing up! It took him about
30 minutes to get the Striped Marlin, about 130 pounds of it and 9 feet long, to the boat. One eye
had been punctured by the hook so we took the fish. Lures back in the water, we continued in
toward the beach where I cleaned the fish as we drifted live bait. Sure enough, the chunk line we
developed attracted a nice Dorado and John worked the fish hard, getting it to the boat twice
before the knot attaching the leader to the line failed and the fish escaped. Oh well, that happens
sometimes. We were supposed to be at the dock at 5 PM since John had a dinner date with his
wife at 7:30 but we were an hour late. I hope she forgave him! It was a great day on the water
and now Randy is hooked on fishing! Thanks for a great time, and we hope to see you again! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 11:21 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Bite Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT APRIL 14-20, 2003
WEATHER: Just like last week, we had mostly overcast skies this week, only no rain. We
could not get a good sea surface shot due to the clouds. Our night time lows were in the high
60’s and daytime highs in the mid 80’s. Winds were from the northwest in the mornings with an
occasional switch to the southeast or east in the afternoons, bringing in cool air off the ocean.
(Fire and Rain)
WATER: The water was a good, solid blue early in the week and started to get a bit of green
in it on the Pacific side on Wednesday, but never got really discolored. The Pacific side of the
Cape was pretty much a sheep farm all week long with swells in the 3-5 foot range but the wind
chopping it out. The Cortez side had smaller swells and less wind chop but when the wind
occasionally switched it got sloppy. Surface temperatures were in the 73-74 degree range for the
most part with a warm area of 76 degrees moving in from the east. (Shower The People)
BAIT: Caballito and some Mackerel were available at the usual $2 per bait and there was no
problem finding them in the morning. (You’ve Got A Friend)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: As was the case last week, there are plenty of Striped Marlin out there but with the
full moon they have not been biting quite as well as expected. Most boats are getting shots at fish
but they have not been very hungry. There have been some Sailfish showing up in the catch
recently as well and they are being found in the same area as teh Striped Marlin. Best locations
have been around the 95 spot and lures in dark colors and live bait have had the most success.
Hookups have been hard to come by for many of the boats but everyone is seeing fish. Hopefully
as the moon wanes the bite will improve. A few Swordfish were found on the surface this week
but I don’t know of anyone having the luck to hook one up. (Mexico)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: For the third week in a row the Yellowfin have been the fish of the week!
And they have been pretty much close at hand with many fish being caught around the 95 spot as
well as south of the arches out to a distance of 15 miles. Blind strikes have resulted in many fish
in the 15-20 pound class and spotting Dolphins feeding has led many anglers to fish in the 50+
pound range. A variety of lures in colors like green/black, red/orange and blue/purple have
worked, as have cedar plugs and swimming plugs. (Steamroller)
DORADO: Pretty much the same as last week....The Dorado have continued to bite this week
and they are staying good size with an average fish being around 25 pounds. There are still not
large numbers being found but they are quality fish. Most of these are being found around the 95
spot. Any floating object that has been in the water for a while has been holding fish as well. No
specific lure was better this week but live bait was a sure bet when you found the Dorado.
(Something In The Way She Moves)
WAHOO: The bite on Wahoo picked up this week with many more boats reporting good size
fish to 70 pounds. Lucky anglers tied into two or three fish on a trip, but that was not the
average. One fish for every 6 boats was the ratio I worked out from the flags flying. The full
moon helped improve the catch on Wahoo just as it hurt the success with Marlin. One to five
miles offshore on the Cortez side seemed to be putting out a few more fish than other areas.
(Golden Moments)
INSHORE: The Yellowtail bite dropped of to almost nothing, as did the Sierra bite. Bottom
fishing for Amberjack, Snapper and Grouper has been fair as long as the wind stayed down, with
most of the fish in the 3-6 pound range, caught on cut bait such as squid and Skipjack Tuna.
(Long Ago And Far Away)
NOTES: Easter week in Cabo and things are nuts downtown. I’m getting out of town on
Sunday and going fishing so I am writing this report Saturday evening. Check the daily report at
my home site to see how it went! This weeks report written to the sweet sounds of James Taylor
on the 1993 Warners compilation “The Best Of James Taylor”. Until next week, Tight Lines! |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 11:56 am: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/18/03
Dave Vicars from Selbyville, DE has an excellent day fishing on the EL BUDSTER. Dave catches, tags and releases a 130# Striped Marlin. He also catches a 45# Dorado and a 50# Wahoo.All fish are caught at the 95 Reef. The water temperature was 72-74 degrees. The Striped Marlin was caught on a live Pacific Mackerel. WAY TO GO DAVE...NICE JOB!!!!!! |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 2:34 pm: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/17/03
Fishing on the EL BUDSTER. Jeff Moerke from Deerfield, WI has another excellent day. Jeff catches,tags and releases a 120lb Striped Marlin. The marlin is caught about twelve miles off San Jose Del Cabo on live bait. Jeff also catches a very nice 40lb Dorado. Water temperature was 71-73 degrees. The seas were calm with a light wind in the afternoon. |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 6:00 pm: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/15/03
Jeff Moerke from Deerfield, WI comes up big. Fishing on the EL BUDSTER he catches,tags and releases two STRIPED MARLIN. The STRIPED MARLIN weigh about 110-120lb each. Both are caught trolling with lures about twenty-five miles out from San Jose Del Cabo.The water temperature was 71-74 degrees. Jeff also catches two YELLOWFIN TUNA that weigh between 40-50lb.He rounds out the day by catching a 45lb DORADO. Way to go Jeff.
On the EL BUDSTER I jack Gabrich from Bakersfield, CA catches six DORADOS. All fish are between 25-40lb. Nice job Jack. |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 1:18 am: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/14/03
A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL. FISHING ON THE EL BUDSTER, SCOTT BARR CATCHES TWO NICE DORADO. ONE WEIGHTED ABOUT 30LB. AND THE OTHER ABOUT 35LB.
ON THE EL BUDSTER I CHARLES PETERSON FROM HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA AND HIS TWO SONS RETURN FOR THEIR SECOND DAY OF FISHING.
ONCE AGAIN THEY FIND THE YELLOWFIN TUNA ABOUT TWENTY MILES OUT FROM CABO. THEY ARE ABLE TO CATCH FOURTEEN. WHAT A DAY. THE YELLOWFIN TUNAS WEIGH BETWEEN 20-30LB. THEY ALSO CATCH A NICE 25LB DORADO.WATER TEMPERATURE WAS 72-74 DEGREES. WAY TO GO..... |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 11:35 am: | |
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 7, 2003
Greg Kisling from Alaska and his brother Kelly from Colorado were our anglers aboard the
“Fly Hooker” today and they had a blast. In Cabo for just a few days, they golfed yesterday,
fished today, golf tomorrow morning then head for home. Juan said that they went 22 miles to
the south today and the fishing was good as they were able to get three Dorado, all of them nice
fish and then got into the Yellowfin Tuna. Enough of them were caught that there was over 100
pounds of Tuna fillets and most of the fish were 30 pounds and over. There were single, double
and triple strikes as they worked the Porpoise back and forth. Thanks guys, we are very glad you
had a good trip and hope to see you again when you are ready for Blue Marlin! Until then, tight
lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 12, 2003
Sue Gaede and her Grandmother have fished with us before and today they are fishing a 1/2
day. Juan and Manuel took the “Fly Hooker” out to the temperature break past the 95 spot and
had a quadruple blind strike on Yellowfin Tuna, getting three of the 20-30 pound fish to the boat.
A little later on they got into the Porpoise but couldn’t get bit. During the trip they tossed bait to
3 different Striped Marlin found on the surface, but every one of the fish refused the offering. Oh
well, sometimes they get an attitude! Plenty of fish talk and girl talk with Mary after the trip, and
everyone had a great time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR APRIL 13, 2003
The Mike Cope Family fished with us two years ago and are doing so again twice on this trip.
Today is the first and on Wednesday they will go again. It was Manuels day off today and we had
Edgar fill in as deckhand, working with Juan as Captain. They headed out past the 95 spot, to the
same area the fish were found yesterday. During the trip they sighted and tossed bait to three
Striped Marlin, but as yesterday, none of them wee hungry. They did catch one Skipjack Tuna.
Finally they got to the area where the porpoise were, but they were not the first boat on the scene.
Juan said that there must have been 60 boats working the area and only the first few hooked up,
and the fish they hooked up to were nice sized Yellowfin. Well, we will keep our fingers crossed
that with Manuel aboard on Wednesday the luck will change. After all, every day is different! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 11:33 am: | |
Subject: Cabo Fishing Report
Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT APRIL 7-13, 2003
WEATHER: We had a lot of overcast early in the week, clearing up by the weekend and
actually had a bit of rain on Tuesday. Our daytime highs have been in the high 80’s to low 90’s
and the nighttime lows in the high 60’s. Winds variable, northwest in the afternoon at 6-12 knots
and sometimes from the south or southwest mid day at 5-10 knots (Home Again)
.
WATER: Swells at 3-5 foot on the Pacific side with a light wind ripple in the morning, swells
are spaced far apart and are very comfortable. The water has been chopping up a little in the
afternoons but not with a lot of whitecaps. The Sea of Cortez has been almost flat calm here at
Cabo, and I understand that the wind finally died down up on the East Cape. This has made for
water that is beautiful to fish on. There has been a band of cool 67 degree water along the Pacific
coast out to almost the San Jaime and Golden Gate Banks, but at those spots it has warmed up to
70 and 69 degrees respectively. The Cortez side has been a consistent 72-73 degrees. A 68
degree cool water eddy has pushed up from the south and forms a thumbprint 10 miles off to the
south of Cabo giving us a nice 2-3 degree temperature break close to home. (Tapestry)
BAIT: Our normal Caballito and some Mackerel were available at the usual $2 per bait and there
was no problem finding them in the morning. (Where You Lead)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Striped Marlin appeared closer to home this week with quite a few fish being
spotted and sometimes hooked up as near as 1/4 mile from the arch. Most of the fish have been
1-12 miles out on the Cortez side but many have been sighted at the Jaime Banks as well, in the
warm water there. Just because you see them doesn’t mean that they will bite though, and the
success rate on live bait has been around 20%. That is a higher rate than with artificial though
and also means that if you toss bait to 5 fish there is a pretty good chance of getting one to hook
up. There have been enough of them spotted that everyone has had a chance to toss bait! A few
Blue Marlin were fought this week but I am not sure if any were brought to the boat. Best all
around lures were straight runners in Dark colors, followed by swimming heads. (I Feel The
Earth Move)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: This is the second week in a row that Yellowfin Tuna have been the fish
of the week. There are still lots of them out there and many of them are being found in the
Porpoise, but also a lot are on blind strikes. Most of them this week are smaller fish, from 15
pound footballs to smaller school fish in the 40 pound bracket. The usual Tuna lures, feathers,
cedar plugs and Marauders have worked well. The temperature break at the cool water eddy to
the south and along the east side of the Jaime Banks have been holding the fish this week.
(You’ve Got A Friend)
DORADO: The Dorado have continued to bite this week and they are staying good size with an
average fish being around 25 pounds. There are still not large numbers being found but they are
quality fish. Most of these are being found offshore around structure, in this case meaning the 95
spot and the edges of the banks. Any floating object that has been in the water for a while has
been holding fish as well. No specific lure was better this week but live bait was a sure bet when
you found the Dorado (Beautiful)
WAHOO: Like last week, there were Wahoo caught but not in large numbers. A large number
of boats reported strikes from the razor gang but most of them shook loose or cut through mono
leader. These were incidental fish and were not associated with anything in particular. (So Far
Away)
INSHORE: The Yellowtail are still out there, but just as last week, you have to scratch to get
fish. Again, live bait has been the ticket and this week the fish appeared to have moved from the
arch to off of the beach in Cabo Bay, just out from the bars and restaurants. Sierra are still
available and have started to slacken off as the water warms up, but that has also meant that the
bite on Roosterfish is picking up. The Roosters are still on the small side at less than 10 pound
average, but they should start getting bigger soon. Bottom fishing for Amberjack, Snapper and
Grouper has been fair with most of the fish in the 3-6 pound range, caught on cut bait such as
squid and Skipjack Tuna. (Smackwater Jack)
NOTES: The Humpback Whales continue to make a showing as they move through our area and
there were two long-range boats out of San Diego here this week on Whale Watching
expeditions. This is the beginning of Easter week here in Cabo and the town is starting to fill up.
There are lot’s of Mexicans from the mainland over here for the holiday and it is nice to see the
town filling up. This weeks report was written to the music of Carole King on the EK release
“Tapestry”. Until next week, Tight Lines! |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 11:53 pm: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/13/03
Another great day for the EL BUDSTER I. Charles Peterson and his two son from Huntington Beach, CA catch eleven YELLOWFIN TUNA. All fish are between 20-30lb and are caught about twenty miles our from Cabo.Water temperature was 71-74 degrees.
www.elbudster.com
info@elbudster.com |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2003 - 11:14 pm: | |
Subject: SALVADOR'S SPORTFISHING CHARTERS 4/11/03
What a Great day was had by Bob Rush and Jeff West. Fishing on the EL BUDSTER I the two friends catch ten Yellowfin Tuna. The fish weigh between 25-40lbs. All fish were caught at the 95 Reef. The water temperature was 72074 degrees. |
DORADO DILLON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 8:05 pm: | |
Subject: EL BUDSTER FISHING REPORT 04/08/03
Jim Freyer and Barb Peterson had come a long way to catch a Striped Marlin.All the way from Evergreen Park, IL . They were not going to be disappointed.
Fishing at the 95 they caught a 140lb Striped Marlin. The big Striped Marlin put up a good fight but was brought to the boat after a forty-five minute fight. There it was taged and released to fight another day.
They also caught a Dorado that weighted about 40lb. The water temperature was 70-72 degrees. Great job..... |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 11:17 am: | |
Subject: Fly Hooker daily Reports
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 2 APRIL, 2003
Marta and David are friends of a friend and they wanted to do a half day of fishing today, but
not leave until 1pm. No problem and the plan was to work inshore and target Yellowtail and
perhaps bottomfish for some Snapper and Grouper. Well, we did not have any luck finding bait at
that time of day, none of the bait Pangs were out and the receiver at the entrance to the Marina
was out of bait. We checked with a few boats returning early and they had already fed their left
over bait to the Pelicans. All right, change in plan, we are going to head offshore and see if we
can find some Yellowfin, maybe a Skipjack would be all right for bait as well. Of we went for a
boat ride. Out 16 miles and nothing out there but choppy water and big swells, we doused the
bow of the boat a few times. “Enough of this” said Marta and David and we headed back in. If
only I had known....could have purchased some frozen squid for bait.....sigh. Sorry folks.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 3 APRIL, 2003
What a day of fishing! We had two Romanians aboard, one of them a 15 year L.A. resident
and the other a visitor, and a couple from eastern Washington. Nice folks, all of them and only
the L.A. resident got sick. All he did was puke and sleep and his friend said that was because all
he did last night was drink tequila and beer. His friend did not get sick and he said that was
because unlike the sick guy, he continued to take shots and drink beers during the trip, great
medicine according to him! Well, the man from eastern Washington is named Reno, and he and
the drinking Romanian were the anglers for the day. Reno had first shot with a nice Dorado of
about 30 pounds right off the bat, then 30 minutes later taking a Striped Marlin that was estimated
at 150 pounds that died during the fight. The Romanian fought two Striped Marlin, getting one
of them to the boat for a tag and quick release and having the other break the line about 20
minutes into the fight while only 20 feet from the boat. They also had another Marlin come into
the lures and strike, but not hook up. Great fishing, a little bit choppy seas but everyone had a
great time, even the L.A. guy!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 4 APRIL, 2003
The anglers aboard the “Fly Hooker” today had made arrangements over the internet to fish
with another company on this trip, but after giving them their credit card number, had never heard
back from them nor were they able to find the companies office or contact anyone from there
when they arrived. All right, no problem when they contacted us, we’ll take you out! The two
couples had a great time, no one got sick for longer than an hour (the two girls were sick really
early and got it over with, then they felt fine) and they caught fish! A couple of Dorado, one of
them around 50+ pounds and the other one about 25-30 pounds gave them plenty of fillets! They
also saw Marlin but could not get any of them to eat a bait. And they saw whales, seals, dolphins
and had a great time. That is the way it is supposed to work! Thanks guys, we are glad you were
happy and look forward to taking you or your friends out next time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 5 APRIL, 2003
As a sort of busman’s holiday I took our Webmaster, Phil Orr, his girlfriend Carol and our
friend Leon out for a day on the water. The wind had laid down last night and there was barely a
gust this morning when we left the Marina at 5:45. 10 baits in the bait tank, six small ones for
Yellowtail or Dorado and six large ones for Marlin. We were planning on being back around 3
PM but the water was so nice, the sun so warm, the food and company so good that we stayed
out until dark! We worked our way up the coast on the Sea of Cortez and there was just a slight
breeze, blue water and sunshine all the way. Not until we went past the Gorda Banks did we start
to see any signs of life though and at 9:55 we found a large Kelp Paddy floating in the water. We
were all excited about it and set out live bait but while there was bait under the paddy, there were
no fish in the area. At 10:10 we picked up a Skipjack Tuna that we kept to use as bait if we
needed to. There were Whales everywhere up there and they were beautiful to watch as they
spouted, rolled and breached. A little while later we hooked up a 40 pound Dorado and Leon got
to fight it to the boat as Phil dropped back a live bait. The live bait may have gotten hit but Phil
thinks there is also a chance that he got hooked up on Leon’s line so we can’t be sure. Anyway,
Leon got his fish to the boat and now there was dinner in the box! We found some Porpoise and
nothing hit the lures so we put out two squid spreader bars and a planer with a live bait and
worked the area for about 30 minutes without a strike. All right, back to the lures. Shortly after
that we saw what looked like a cruiser and a very small skiff or jet-ski sitting still in the area of the
inner Gorda Bank and went in to check them out. It turned out that the jet-ski was a big ball of
Ambergris that had little sooty terns pecking away at it and the cruiser was hooked up to three
Dorado! Out went the live baits and before you could say it, we were hooked up to three Dorado
ourselves! Two of them made it into the boat and the other one tossed the hook during the jump.
Nice fish, all of them, and the largest was perhaps 45-50 pounds! That was it though, we
continued the slow trolling several times around and did not have another bit so we put the lures
out and continued to troll. Not later than 2 minutes afterwards we had a Striped Marlin make a
pass at the Black/green lure on the stinger, but he did not hook up. It was 2 PM by that time and
we turned towards the 95 spot, 20 miles away and continued the troll. Halfway there we had
another pull on the stinger lure, but again, no hookup. After reaching the 95 spot area we turned
for the barn and when we were just 7 miles out we hooked another Dorado! Got him in the boat
and then we spotted Dolphin jumping. We passed in front of the Dolphin and took a strong hit on
the stinger lure. The line continued to sing off the reel and there was no jumping so we were
hoping that we had hooked up one of the bigger Tunas. After 10 minutes, the Striped Marlin we
were hooked up to jumped (nope, not a Tuna like we thought). Phil worked the fish hard and
after 15 minutes Carol had the fish leadered and I placed the tag. The hooks were removed and
the fish swam away, surprised to be alive. I have to say that Carol was a great deckhand as she
has a lot of experience, and can fillet a Dorado quick and neat! Well, after that action we
continued to troll until we were a mile off the arch and then pulled in the lines and cruised home.
What a great day on the water! Thanks guys, and if any of you readers would like to do a full
day, sunrise to sunset fishing trip, let me know when, how many people (not more than four), and
I will let you know the cost, it’s a great way to spend the day! |
George Landrum
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!< | |
