Fishing report for the week of 21-27 February 2011 by Picante Sportfishing

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing report for the week of 21-27 February 2011 by Picante Sportfishing, www.picantesportfishing.com.

This week was an interesting week. There was lots of diversity. With the winds kicking up, the fishing outside was tough. But there still was some great Cabo fishing to be had.
 

The first story revolves around a father and son fishing trip. Jim and Rankin Poage were on their first offshore fishing trip together. As with most first time fishermen in Cabo, their hopes were high. Sometimes things don’t work out as we hope. But for them it was the trip of a lifetime. It was a father – son experience that most don’t get to share together.

 

They headed out on board the Caliente, part of the Picante Sportfishing fleet. They had some really great fishing. They hooked 4 billfish. Now that in itself is a great achievement, but that is not all the story. Here’s is what happened. On their outing, Jim brought to the boat 2 Striped Marlin. And young Rankin, being just a young fisherman was having the time of his life. He brought a nice Striped Marlin to the boat which was quite an accomplishment for such a young fisherman. But the other fish he hooked was not just a great catch, but an unusual one. He brought in a Pacific Sailfish. It was a surprising catch because the water has been so cold. The Striped Marlin haven’t been too active, so a Sailfish is a wonderful catch.

They had decided to have a mount made to commemorate their outing together. They came into Picante Sportfishing to look at the mounts that are available thru the office. They liked both the Striped Marlin mounts and the Sailfish mounts, but finally decided on the Sailfish mount since there are not as many of them landed here in Cabo as the Striped Marlin. So they will have a nice Sailfish mount, done by King Sailfish Mounts, on their wall to help remember their fishing day with Picante Sportfishing.
 

Then there were the Yellowfin Tuna. There were some nice catches. Other fish caught during the week were a Dorado, even though the water is a little cool, a bunch of Roosterfish, many caught by Senor Rooster one of the Picantito captains. Then there were some Yellowtail, some jacks, snapper and a Mako shark. As you can see if it is a little rough the inshore fishing can also be spectacular. All in all it was a good fishing week. Watch for next week’s report as the fishing is getting better week by week.

Cabo Fishing report for the week 14-20 February, 2011

 

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing report for the week 14-20 February, 2011 courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com

With the changing water temperatures come conditions will exist that no matter what, will be interesting. Whether you like the changes depends on the fish you are targeting or want to target. Trying to catch a particular fish when conditions aren’t favorable is like bowling when there aren’t any bowling pins. You can roll all you want and no pins will fall down because they aren’t there. Or try this, roll blank dice and try to get a 7. The most important thing to do before you fish is to do some research and check out the variables. Are your fish available at that time of year, at that water temperature, are they in that area, and will they take the type of bait you are going to put in front of them.

Bait is an important part of your fishing. Artificials can work almost anytime, even though some times are better than others. Live bait can be an important part of your arsenal, but not always a necessary one. Check with you favorite charter company and see what they suggest.

Our water temperatures here in Cabo have been steadily dropping. On the Pacific side the temperatures are now in the mid and low 60’s F, while on the eastern side they are still in the upper 60’s to low 70’s F. Striped Marlin fishing is still holding on. But the excitement is hovering around Pacific Swordfish. Last week the first of the season was caught and, during one day last week, 4 were seen sunning on the surface. So that alone tells us that the water is cool.

 Besides the Striped Marlin that we are hooking and seeing, there are still Sierra around.

There were some nice catches of Dorado,  Wahoo and  Mako Shark.

Then on the Picantito fleet , our smaller 24 footers, some good catches of Mojarras, Triggerfish, Grouper and Snapper help to round out this first-rate Cabo fishing week.

 The young fishermen of all ages enjoyed the excitement and fast action of the fishing. Take a kid fishing, young or old.

 Again talk to your favorite charter fishing company and see what is available during your stay here in Cabo San Lucas.

late report

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Week of 7-13 February 2011. Report courtesy of PicanteSportfishing.com

The weather here at Land’s End is warming up. After a bout of mild days and cool nights, it is warming up again. High’s are in the upper 70’s F. with the evenings in the lower 60’s to mid 50’s F. The winds have been out of the North and Northwest. That has been bringing in the cooler waters. A little cooler would have been better, but now the water is a little cold. With the water temperatures moving around the focus has been on Jaime Bank and points east.

This week the fish has been the Striped Marlin. The Yellowfin Tuna catches have been dropping and the Marlin catches slowly inching up. There are Striped Marlin out there.  The boat captains have been seeing them, but the problem has been to get them to take a bait. Some boats have been lucky in hooking up several marlin. A few boats seem to be able to hook up when the fishing is tough. Blame it on luck, the boat, the crew or whatever you want, some fishermen are just better.

 

And speaking of fishing skill and luck, this week Captain Alex Collins, with mate, Fernando, aboard the Picante Expresso was able after a couple of tries to hook up a Swordfish of about 140 lbs. That made for some happy fishermen.

February Tuna Bite Continues!!

February Tuna Bite Continues!!

 

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Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. 31 January to 6 February fishing report courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com

 

It has been a cold week here in Cabo. Well at least the nights seem cold. Compared to what all our northern neighbors are experiencing, we are not doing too badly. Water temperatures are still hovering around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. And there are still fish biting. Most of the fishing has been targeting what is available, and that has been Yellowfin Tuna. Catches have been good. Of course, the Yellowfin Tuna fishing is best when fishermen want marlin. And then often when on the way out to look for tuna, Striped Marlin are seen.

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And with some luck are hooked up. You just have to get out on a boat and look.

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Inshore action continues with some good catches of Roosterfish. A few Jacks, also, are being caught, but the Sierra bite has slowed down. Again a lot has to do with what is being targeted. Not many Dorado are around, but when one is caught it’s been pretty nice. Also this week the fleet caught a shark. Again, there are always fish around to be caught. You just have to be at the right place at the right time. Sounds like life doesn’t it? Well, fishing is really just life on the water. You have to be ready to take advantage of an opportunity when it comes your way.

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The wishes of little and big kids can come true.  

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So plan your trip south to Cabo San Lucas and contact your favorite fishing charter business and talk to them.

 

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Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Weekly fishing reports for the week of 24-30 January 2011 from Picante Sportfishing

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Yellowfin Tuna are, again, the fish of the week down here in Cabo San Lucas. Cabo fishing is again showing its true colors with another fine week of tuna fishing. 

After the full moon the tuna bite started ramping back up. Schools of porpoise were holding tuna. Then just a few days later, the marlin were, again, biting.

We had some interesting happenings during this week. We had a Striped Marlin in the boat harbor a few days ago. Then a day later a 6 foot shark was seen swimming around the marina.  But  this last week, tuna still were king. Many boats were in double digits.

There was also a sprinkling of some other Cabo fishing favorites like a nice Dorado, some Roosterfish, Sierra and Snapper. We had a few cloudy days which may have helped the fishing. 

Why do fish start biting? How about tides, wind, barometric pressure and, of course, the moon?

There are lots of theories about the full moon’s affect on marlin fishing. There is even a scientific article done on the marlin fishing in Cabo San Lucas from October 1987 to June 1989. Their conclusions suggest that there is no real significant affect of the full moon on Striped Marlin Fishing. The information was gathered from 13 fishing boats totaling 3377 fishing trips. Other studies are referenced on sport fishing for billfish, commercial fishing for tuna, bait fishing, billfish in Florida, the Caribbean and the Atlantic ocean.  They concluded that only in some cases was there a relationship between catch success and the lunar cycle.

 In their study they assumed there was a relationship between the moon and Striped Marlin fishing.  But from their results they concluded there is, statistically, no significant difference between catches at different phases of the full moon. In other words there are small differences, but not that great. Just a short few notes from their study will illustrate their findings. During the full moon the average catches per unit effort were 1.8 fish per boat. During the waning moon 2.0 fish per unit effort, new moon 2.1 fish catch per unit effort, and during the Waxing moon 2.5 catch per unit effort. So there is slight difference, but not a significant difference.

What does that mean to fishermen?  There is a difference in catch rates among the different phases, but not enough to cancel a trip or even plan a trip. There are a lot more variables that can have affects besides the moon. So don’t plan your trip using just the one variable. Check with your favorite charter company to see how they are doing. Pick a reputable company and talk with them.