THE CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR THE GAVIOTA SPORTFISHING FLEET AND FISH CABO FLEET

It was a difficult fishing week for the boats from Cabo San Lucas, as the currents and water temps were changing by the hour and the full moon was adding to the fishing dilemma, rendering many of the boats fishing the surf line for the schools of Sierra. While the Sierra are a fun to catch fish on light tackle and unquestionably one of the tastiest of all the varieties of fish, particularly pan-fried and for ceviche, they still don't take the place of the billfish, dorado and tuna that the area is famous for. Sierra do offer fun fishing for the family, especially those that have youngsters aboard for the day, as the action is nothing short of excellent and limit fishing is the
norm one the fish are located. Then, if you can mix this in with
few roosterfish and a couple of yellowtail off the high spots, it provides a successful fishing trip for many anglers. The overall fish counts for the fleet reflected a total of 4 stripers, (3 were released by the "Gaviota IV" for a single fishing day, just outside the Cabo Falso lighthouse) 6 yellowfin tuna, 11 skipjack tuna, 2 roosterfish, 5 yellowtail, (jurel) and more than 100 Sierra, (Spanish mackerel).

Cabo Climate: Partly cloudy days with a slight chance of rain toward the end of the week and temps that ranged from 57 nights to 77 daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: A plume of cooler, 66 degree water, about 5 miles wide, separated the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez and extended out to the south from Cabo Falso. Both sides of this cold water band were at 68-69. Warmer waters, at 70ish, extended along and outside the 1000 fathom curve, out to the southeast of Cabo San Lucas.

Best Fishing Area: None reported as there is no concentration of big game fish at the time of this report.

Best Lure/Bait: The billfish that were landed were all on live bait.

Live Bait Supply: Mostly caballitos, smaller baits, and the ballyhoo for rigged baits.
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
THE MAZATLAN FISHING REPORT FOR THE ARIES SPORTFISHING FLEET

While only a few charters this past week, the striper action spiraled upwards, even with the full moon condition and most of the boats had multiple opportunities for billfish as the water temps continued to improve. The inshore action continued to produce a mixed-bag catch that allowed for more than 16 fish per boat average. The overall counts for the offshore waters for 7 days fished reflected 11 stripers, with 4 released. The 4 inshore fishing days reflected 3 jack crevalle, 1 shark, 1 seabass, 17 white snapper, 27 perch and 16 red snapper, (all in the 12-15 lb. range).

Mazatlan Climate: Partly cloudy days with a slight chance for rain Friday thru Sunday. Temps ranged from 49 nights to 80 daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Some light surface wind chop but no swell during the early week and then mostly calm waters. Inshore tmps stable at 70 degrees and the offshore waters, from about 15 miles offshore, risingg to 74-75 degrees.

Best Fishing Area: Out to the southwest of the Marina El Cid, starting at about 15-18 miles or so and outbound from there.

Best Lure/Bait: The billfish were eager to take the rigged baits.

Bait Supply: Remained good throughout the week even with the full moon condition.
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
THE IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORT FOR THE INDEPENDENT SPORTFISHING FLEET

According to Captain Temo Verboonen, the fishing got better and better with each passing day and by mid-week, the fish decided it was time to be hungry and bite for the anglers. It was very good fishing just 10 miles off shore, producing quality sized dorado, sailfish and even a few marlin in the mix of fish. The off-colored greenish tinted water and the full moon didn't seem to have a dramatic effect on the bite, which progressively improved with each passing day. We saw spots of feeding marlin chasing schools of bait through this
area, along with groups of sailfish eager to bite the rigged baits.
The inshore fishing remained very good for the Sierra, (Spanish
mackerel) toro, (jack crevalle) and bonito. The barracuda were biting very good on the charters that fished at night during the current full moon, which allowed the boats to offer a 2nd trip for the day.

IZ Climate: Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain on Friday thru Sunday. Temperatures remain very comfortable at 69 nights to 87 daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Calm seas and very good water temps that ranged from
83 inshore to 86 offshore right at 10 miles and extending offshore to more than 50 miles.

Best Lure/Bait: Rigged baits working very well for the billfish and dorado in the offshore waters. Inshore fishing good on smaller Rapalas, hoochies, live bait, etc., for the Sierra, bonito and toro.

Best Fishing Area: Right at the 10-mile mark for the billfish and dorado

Bait Supply: Remains very good and unaffected by the full moon condition.
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
THE PUERTO MORELOS FISHING REPORT FOR THE MARINA EL CID SPORTFISHING FLEET, (CANCUN TO COZUMEL AREA)

It was another fun-filled fishing week coming out of the Marina El Cid Sportfishing Fleet in Puerto Morelos, with the boats reflecting an average of 6 fish per trip. The wide-variety, mixed-bag catches, represented 11 different species for an area that typically produces a dozen different fish for their weekly fishing reports. Puerto Morelos is a unique fishing area about 25 miles south of Cancun, where the deep waters of the Caribbean Sea comes within a quarter mile of the entrance to the Marina El Cid, and allows for fishing within minutes of leaving the dock. Anglers get much more fishing time for their charter dollars when fishing from the Marina El Cid, in Puerto Morelos. The overall catchs for this past week for 30 days fished reflected 1 sailfish, 31 dorado, 29 Atlatic barracuda, 13 blackfin tuna, 10 Spanish mackerel, 50 bonito, 16 mberjack, 8 banana fish, 2 snapper, 8 triggerfish and 9 grouper.

PM Climate: Mostly cloudy with some chance of rain from Friday thru Monday. Temperatures are pleasant and ranged from 66 nights to 84 daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Overall, a very good water-weather week with mostly light & variable surface breezes and a stable sea temp that held right at 80 degrees.

Best Bait/Lure: The daily, fresh caught ballyhoo continues to be the prime bait for this area and is used in a variety of methods depending on the type of fishing for the day.
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Larry Edwards
CORTEZ YACHT CHARTERS
619-469-4255
email: cortezcharrters@sbcglobal.net
website: www.cortezcharters.com