Author: That Baja Guy-Gary Graham

Baja Bytes Fishing…Monday, September 17, 2018 Que Pasa On the Pacific side of the peninsula, either the Coronado Islands are being ignored or the fishing is slow. Inshore at Ensenada and San Quintin, there are limits of both yellowtail and calico with the possibility of yellowfin tuna a few miles farther offshore. Down below, Cedros, Mag Bay and farther down, the Finger Bank are all on fire! Although there are few anglers, from Bahia de Los Angeles to Loreto, reports would indicate those finding the right place at the right time are being rewarded with catches and the stories to…

The “Gran Final Serial Dos Mares Copa de Campeones Calisureños,” (the Gran Final) could be compared to the Olympics, inviting the best of the best of Loreteo sportfishing, all winners of the sportfishing events held during the preceding twelve months throughout Baja Sur coming together to compete among themselves depending on their angling skills and local knowledge. Although an impressive list of prizes and cash are offered, for many, bragging rights are the real prize! The “Gran Final Serial Dos Mares Copa de Campeones Calisureños,” is the official name of this annual affair, the Gran Final, as it is often…

Que Pasa For brief periods early this past week, torrential rains accompanied by strong winds, occurred around most of the tip of Baja. In a nutshell, La Paz fishing remained good before and after the mini-storms while East Cape’s fleet missed nearly an entire day of fishing mid-week, resuming its normal fishing the following day. Cabo San Lucas also endured a few rainstorms and the winds howled on the Pacific side as well. However, the boats that chose to pound their way up to the Finger Bank were rewarded with double-digit billfish releases, while the rest of the fleet struggled…

Cabo San Lucas is in hot water reflected by the recent slow down in catches both offshore and inshore. Up inside of the Sea of Cortez, yellowfin tuna to 100-pounds are topping this week’s most caught list; wahoo and dorado, though spread out, are still featured in many reports from the tip of the peninsula all the way up to Bahia de Los Angeles. On the Pacific side, later summer action includes dorado, yellowfin and an occasional striped marlin for the offshore crowd, while inshore, anglers are enjoying excellent yellowtail and calico action. Que Pasa Pisces Sportfishing is celebrating its…

Jay Yadon from Outpost Charters called my office around noon yesterday, the 29th of August, and left a tense message tinged with excitement, though short and to the point. “I just received word that Robert Ross is hooked up to an estimated 500-pound yellowfin tuna near Catalan Island,” he exclaimed! “I’m headed out now on my boat from Puerto Escondido to assist, and I’ll let you know when we boat it.” I waited to hear all afternoon, almost as excited as Jay had been. But it was much later that evening when he contacted me again to continue the story;…

On Baja’s West Coast, nearly 74-degree temp plus streaky off-color water and more wind in the afternoons have slowed offshore action for the exotics. Inshore and around the Islands, yellowtail and a few small bluefin at the Coronado’s, offer intriguing options and farther down at Magdalena, conditions are already pointing to an interesting fall season. The upper Sea of Cortez is as hot as would be expected and the fishing for dorado, along with a sprinkling of billfish and tuna, stretches all the way down to La Paz where it is just a larger volume of the same. Wahoo were…

Often a favorite of the San Diego long range fleets, the wahoo is found in seasonal concentrations offshore in open water and around the many banks that dot both the Baja Pacific Coast and in the Sea of Cortez. Although they are targeted by the long rangers offshore, they seldom are targeted by local Baja fleets, even though they are common inshore and are often the “mystery bite” that results in a lost lure offshore. Wahoo are often a pelagic loner, or they can be traveling in groups of two to six fish living in tropical and subtropical waters in…

The Pacific is teeming with dorado, wahoo, yellowfin tuna and billfish off the Coast of northern Baja from the border all the way to Magdalena Bay, a teaser of what to expect for the upcoming fall season. On Baja’s East Coast from BOLA all the way to the tip, yellows dominate and dorado add excitement to the mix — while billfish, wahoo and other exotics continue to excite visiting and local anglers alike.  Wahoo is not just and incidental catch in Baja.  Check out this article about Baja wahoo. Que Pasa East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot Tournament Coming Up…

The northern sector of Baja’s Pacific coast is warming, and the dorado, marlin and tuna numbers are growing offshore from the border all the way to Magdalena Bay. There was little impact from last week’s passing storms on the Sea of Cortez — mostly rain and a little wind. Dos Mares Final in Loreto attracted 115 winning teams from 26 Fonmar Tournaments held during the past year throughout Baja Sur. The winning team, “Mar Makos” from Loreto, crushed the competition with their 42.5-pound dorado. Tijuana Bull Ring Bass fishing continues to be good along the kelp lines, especially with some…

During my years of traveling in Baja, I often heard of an invitation-only roosterfish tournament in East Cape — a tournament born in a gentleman’s club by a group of friends who enjoyed the chase of the rooster. The fundamental rules for the Invitational Roosterfish Tournament (IRT) had been written on the back of a cocktail napkin by Fred Stockman and Bob Fredman in a gentleman’s club in Los Angeles. The longest-running tournament of its kind in Baja, I was somewhat familiar with the event. I even have a dust-gathering copy of Constance A. Stockman’s “Hooked on Roosterfish,” a fascinating…

Striped marlin, dorado and yellowfin tuna arrive along Baja’s north coast as summer action settles in. As Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore produces record shattering results in last weeks event. It’s tournament time. Que Pasa For more information: https://www.bisbees.com/News/Article/55 Tijuana Bull Ring A few small yellowtail were caught this morning at the Kelp on fly-lined sardines; other than this, the word was all about calico bass with some short barracuda and mackerel being caught as well. Coronado Islands There’s good fishing at the Islands right now. North Island has 8- to 20-pound yellows and some bonito along the weather side from…

Baja Summer Sportfishing  – Baja Bytes Fishing Report Baja summer sportfishing is in full swing! The northern Sea of Cortez has exploded with reports of dorado from BOLA down; striped marlin are appearing outside of Gonzaga all the way to the tip, and a few hefty tuna and dorado are showing up in Loreto, La Paz, Cerralvo and Gordo Banks. Que Pasa As the tournaments continue this week, all eyes will be on the Bisbee East Cape Offshore tournament held at Hotel Buenavista Beach Resort. Focusing on black and blue marlin there is also a Gamefish Category for dorado and…

Baja dorado “strut their stuff” in the Sea of Cortez as summer settles in enticing 145 teams to participate in the Van Wormers’ “Dorado Shootout” last Saturday, while blues and blacks are gathering at East Cape in anticipation of the Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore in early August. Que Pasa Pesca La Baja San Quintin Tijuana Bull Ring There’s still a chance for yellowtail and barracuda from just outside of the Whistler up to outside of Hill Street. Guys trolling rapalas are getting a few.  Other than this, there are calico bass in the kelp.). Coronado Islands Yellowtail and bonito can…

Baja Sportfishing Hot – Best Baja Fishing Southern Baja sportfishing on fire…from Loreto to the tip by all accounts its summertime fishing at its best with weather to match. While northern Baja begins to catch-up as sea-temps on the Pacific side continue to climb. Don’t miss what many locals are saying is back to normal (GREAT) fishing that made Baja famous Que Pasa Grande yellowfin return to Loreto for summer curtain call! https://www.bdoutdoors.com/loreto-monster-tuna-appearance/ Tijuana Bull Ring It’s been on the slow side in the afternoons recently after the tide change switches the current around and starts to push inshore; the…

In early Jan., we reported that monster tuna of the cow-sized yellowfin variety were being landed in Loreto. Eyes rolled, and heads shook. “Never heard of yellowfin that size in these parts,” muttered one local. Giant Yellowfin tamed with Accurate Valiant https://www.bdoutdoors.com/giant-yellowfin-tamed-accurate-valiant/ Now, one of those monster tuna is a pending IGFA record! Friday, Cast n Reel was fishing at Benitos, about two miles from El Seco. “Chapas,” a local panga fisherman that always gives Robert Ross a heads up when the giant yellowfin tuna  show at the South Reef at El Seco. Called Ross on the VHF radio and…

Sea temps are slowly climbing toward the 70-degree mark on the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula, and the sea temps on the Sea of Cortez side are headed toward summer highs, attracting a host of summer pelagics that hopefully will settle in for the summer. Que Pasa Breeding program releases 40,000 young totoaba in Sea of Cortés It’s part of a project to recover totoaba and vaquita porpoise populations Saturday, July 7, 2018 As the number of vaquita porpoises declines in the Sea of Cortés, could the totoaba, another endemic and threatened species from that part of Mexico, be…

Que Pasa Whatta’ week for striped marlin! Completely dispelling the “full moon theory” that fish don’t bite when it’s present, the Stars and Stripes Charity tournament held in Cabo San Lucas last weekend tallied over 121 billfish in its newly implemented Tag and Release Division sponsored in part by “Gray Tag Research.” The top three teams each racked up double-digit tag and releases in the two-day event. Pretty awesome for Baja stripers!  https://ss18.catchstat.com/. Congratulations to ALL the teams participating in this event that raised $3.6 million over four days for kid’s charities on both sides of the border. Tijuana Bull Ring…

Below the border on the Pacific side of Baja there seems to be more fish than anglers; the few boats out from Ensenada are finding fair-to-good fishing. However, on the Sea of Cortez side, the red tide at Bay of LA that has been a problem, seems to be lessening. The zone farther south, from Loreto to the tip, is rebounding from the brief “Bud” visit as sea temps are creeping back up and the dirty water is fading. Billfish and small tuna, along with a sprinkling of dorado, plus inshore roosterfish, seem to be the most likely catches. Que…

There are many people unnoticed or unseen who often work tirelessly to improve California’s fisheries … it’s as though they are hidden behind a curtain. Recently, I had an opportunity to observe these hard-working employees firsthand on one of three trips sampling for California Sheephead. (Note: This fish is often mistakenly called sheepshead. Instead, the California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher) is highly sought after off the coast of southern California. Commercial trappers target the smaller fish, sport (esp. spearfishers) may target larger males.) A three-trip study to collect California sheephead samples was organized as “a collaborative effort by industry (commercial and…

Summertime Baja Fishing is really lighting up – here’s your Baja Bytes report for Monday, June 18, 2018. Que Pasa In spite of the recent storms, the summertime Baja fishing is ramping up from below the border on the Pacific side with bluefin offshore and inshore there are yellowtail, barracuda, calico bass, and halibut, as well as a few white seabass to sweeten the pot. Farther down the Esteros, the areas around La Bocana and Abreojos are producing some epic fishing for a variety of species. At the tip, there are still double-digit stripers and the bigger blues already bustin’ tackle. That’s…

In early June, Ken Franke, President of Sportfishing Association of California (SAC) invited me to join him and the SAC team of Edwin Reyes, Pete Gray, and Rick Cutler, along with Celia Conditt and Captain Art Taylor of Searcher Sportfishing, to visit Loreto BCS. It was at the invitation of Andrés Córdova, Secretary of Fisheries for Baja Sur who was convinced that the community of Loreto BCS had benefited from SAC’s first visit which had included the SAC-hosted remote “Let’s Talk HookUp Show” broadcast. Last year’s radio broadcast, mirroring others in various locations throughout Baja and Mexico mainland, had received…

I would like to join with others in expressing my outrage at the tragic news of the recent homicides in Bahia de Los Angeles. We all know crime can happen anywhere – even in welcoming, crime-free communities. Hopefully, the perpetrators of this horrible crime will be apprehended quickly, and peace and calm can be restored. My sympathy goes out to the families and friends of both Jo Anne Butler and Ray Ball. Que Pasa Tropical Storm? One down and here comes “Bud” with cranky weather and high surf on the Pacific side. Farther south, the epic striper bite which can…

Editor’s Note: Check out the latest Baja Bytes weekly sportfishing report and see what’s happening below the border. Que Pasa Offshore, from the border to San Quintin, bluefin counts on sportboats continue to rise as the weather settles down. Inshore the water remains chilly thus far. On the Sea of Cortez side, the temps are continuing to climb and Loreto is kicking out yellowtail along with bottom fish. From La Paz to the tip, the early summer bite is shaping up nicely. Inshore roosterfish and wahoo are holding court, while limits of yellowfin are common. Billfish in double-digit numbers are…

Editor’s Note: Gary Graham has rounded up the latest weekly sportfishing report from around Baja’s hot spots in Mexico. Things are heating up and the fishing is turning on. Que Pasa Bluefin tuna to 200-pounds have been found lurking offshore just below the border. Cedros yellows are frolicking in the lee, just in time for June. Sea temps are climbing in the Sea of Cortez to 75-degrees as sardina settle in at Loreto and below all the way to Cabo. Big roosters, dorado, wahoo and yellowfin tuna compete for attention inshore and offshore double-digit releases continue for striped marlin and the…