Red Snapper,
Yellowfin and more Keep Anglers Busy ~ February 18, 2017
Anglers –
February 18,
2017
We are now
in the middle of the unpredictable month of February, last week weather
patterns felt more like late springtime, this week conditions were cooler, more
typical to what they usually would feel like, with low temperatures close to 50
degrees and highs in the mid-70s, still very pleasant conditions compared to
areas across North America. Winds this past week were mild, though later in the
week the ocean swells increased and this made it hard for the bait netters to
reach areas where the schooling sardinas were holding. The sardinas had been
found off of the Melia to Chileno beach stretches, but a new resource of larger
sized sardinas had been found to the north, off of San Luis, which is directly
inshore of the preferred fishing grounds.
So now we will
be waiting for surf conditions to reside some so the bait can be netted again,
in the meantime anglers were relying on what bait was available, some caballito
and squid. Also it was time to start using yo-yo style jigs off of the bottom
structure. With ocean temperatures now in the 69 to 71 degree range, it is the
season where charters are commonly targeting a variety of good eating bottom
species and this is what is going on now. We are seeing better catches of red
snapper, yellow snapper, amberjack, yellowtail, cabrilla, triggerfish and
bonito. Still a little up and down from day to day, though this fishery is
showing promise of getting on track, after not showing much activity through
last month. Fishing grounds from Palmilla, La Fortuna, Iman and San Luis all
had better signs of action recently.
The
yellowtail that have been found have been smaller sized, most of them under
five pounds, though at least we are seeing them showing up and we are
optimistic that lager sized fish will move in soon. A mix of leopard grouper,
red and yellow snapper, amberjack, bonito and triggerfish has rounded out the
bottom action, many of these fish are striking on yo-yo jigs and others on
various whole and cut baits. One amberjack of 80 lb. was reported, though most
of the ones we saw were more in the 10 to 15 lb. class.
With the
billfish bite being very limited now off of the San Jose del Cabo area and the
dorado bite being dead as well, the highlight for any surface action has
continued to be the yellowfin tuna. Last week the tuna were found off the Cabo
San Lucas arches, this week the local sportfishing charters have been
concentrated back on their normal grounds to the north of Punta Gorda, with the
Iman and San Luis Banks being the better options. Yellowfin tuna up to 50 lb.
were accounted for, though the average size of the yellowfin were more in the
15 to 25 lb. class. These fish were striking on sardinas, when they were
available, also on strips of squid and the yo-yo jigs. Catches ranged from one
or two fish, up to five or sox, not off the map wide open, but nevertheless
good for this time of year, when we often do not even see any tuna. A few wahoo
were seen free swimming and were also hooked into, resulting in cut lines, a
bit surprising to see these fish still hanging around in the cooler water, most
of them would be in southern waters at this time.
Not much
action close to sore now, this is the time for sierra, so far just a few here
and there, most charters have been out trying for the tuna or bottom species. Cooler
water now for roosterfish, though there is always a chance. Considering the
water temperature, the conditions have showed cleaner bluish water through much
of the area, spots of greener currents in places.
The combined
panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out
approximately 78 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
2 striped marlin, 160 yellowfin tuna, 1 wahoo, 32 bonito, 18 yellow snapper, 17
leopard grouper, 82 huachinango, 32 sierra, 18 yellowtail, 22 amberjack and 90
triggerfish.
Good
fishing, Eric
This entry
was posted in Fish Reports by admin-pangaMan, at Gordo Banks Pangas.