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Feb 24, 2003; 10:53AM - Cabo Fishing Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 18-23, 2003
WEATHER: Highs in the high 80’s and lows in the high 50’s gave us a very comfortable range
this week. No rain but we did have some very windy days during the middle of the week as the
wind switched from the northwest to west, then south and east. On Saturday it had settled down
a bit and by Sunday things were back to normal. There was a little cloud cover but for the most
part it was nice and sunny! (Illustrated Man)
WATER: Due to the high winds the water on the Pacific side was very rough this week and few
boats ventured in that direction. Seas at 4-6 feet and larger, along with lots of whitecaps made it
a bad trip. Even straight south it was bumpy and most of the boats worked south then up the
Cortez towards Punto Gordo. This gave them a following sea and a semi-protected ride back
home. In the middle of the week the water immediately surrounding the Cape was very cold,
most of it within 5 miles was in the 67-68 degree range, but it warmed back up at the end of the
week, and the water calmed down and became smooth again as well. Towards the 1150 spot and
Gorda Banks the water warmed to 74 degrees and seemed to hold more fish. (Barefootin’”)
BAIT: Almost all Mackerel this week at the normal $2 per bait. Sardinas were available at $25 a
small scoop. (Life Is Hard)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Lots of Marlin at the end of the week and most of the Stripers were up off the Gorda
Banks. Boats were working the area from Palmilla to La Laguna out about 15 miles and finding
plenty of fish. Not everyone caught, of course, but there were many boats flying three or more
flags coming in. Earlier in the week the Marlin were a little scarcer but there were still fish
caught. Most of these Marlin were in the 110 pound range and caught on live bait. A few fish
were caught on lures and the favorite colors were the normal Green/Black, Bleeding Dorado and
Bleeding Mackerel. (Hey You)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Plenty of school size fish and footballs during the middle of the week as the
winds howled through but the bite dropped off at the weekend. Most of the large fish we saw last
week were gone as almost every Bank held a purse seiner or two, waiting for the sport boats to
leave so they could set their nets. The football and school fish were found fairly close to shore,
most within five miles, and all on the Cortez side. Cedar plugs worked wonders as did small
feathers in dark colors. (Blue Mood)
DORADO: Same story as the Yellowfin Tuna, mid week was great and the bite dropped off at
the weekend. The fish were found close to shore while the wind was blowing so strongly, but
they scattered as it let up. Quite a few of the fish were nice size, most of them 15-25 pounds.
Slow trolled live bait worked very well as did small, bright colored lures. (Sugaree)
WAHOO: What are they? (Medicine Man)
INSHORE: Blown out for most of the week, there were some scattered Sierra, Yellowfin and
Dorado caught by the few Pangas that did venture forth. All the fishing was done on the Cortez
side of the Cape. (You’re Humbuggin’ Me)
NOTES: I was informed that most of the whales have been observed further u[ the Pacific than
the Cape and some of them are already returning to the North, following the food and water
temperature. We are still seeing a few in the area. The wind blew in green water on the Pacific,
we are hoping it stays there and does not wrap around. This weeks report written the amazing
gblues guitar sounds of Johnney Winter on the 1991 Virgin Records release “Let Me In”. Tight
lines till next week!
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Feb 20, 2003; 08:09PM - Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report 2/12 - 2/20/03
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Susan Richards/Stan Lushinsky
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The oncoming full moon, stronger currents and the seasonal turnover of the waters off Ixtapa Zihuatanejo all occurred last week making fishing difficult and scattered. The abundant bait supply diminished and with it the predators looked for more fertile feeding grounds. The arrival of a colder inshore current pushed the blue water out to beyond the 15 miles mark and boats had to go an average of 24 miles to find productive SAILFISH water. Boats were finding it difficult to average more than one to 2 strikes per day off SAILFISH while the action on YELLOWFIN TUNA picked up substantially. The most productive boat for YELLOWFIN TUNA this past week was Captain Chico on the Llamarada fishing with Michigan anglers Tom and Cynthia Stanek. In two days of fishing the duo landed 20 YELLOWFIN TUNA to 50 lbs.. New Jersey angler Ron Reinhardt fishing aboard the Dos Hermanos also got into some YELLOWFIN TUNA landing 5 along with 1 SAILFISH. French Anglers Mr. Lorieux and Coudrier fishing aboard the super panga Leydy landed 3 SAILFISH, 4 YELLOWFIN TUNA , 3 DORADOS 4 YELLOWTAIL JACKS and 7 BONITOS in 5 days of fishing. Returning Chicago angler and second place winner of the The oncoming full moon, stronger currents and the seasonal turnover of the waters off Ixtapa Zihuatanejo all occurred last week making fishing difficult and scattered. The abundant bait supply diminished and with it the predators looked for more fertile feeding grounds. The arrival of a colder inshore current pushed the blue water out to beyond the 15 miles mark and boats had to go an average of 24 miles to find productive SAILFISH water. Boats were finding it difficult to average more than one to 2 strikes per day off SAILFISH while the action on YELLOWFIN TUNA picked up substantially. The most productive boat for YELLOWFIN TUNA this past week was Captain Chico on the Llamarada fishing with Michigan anglers Tom and Cynthia Stanek. In two days of fishing the duo landed 20 YELLOWFIN TUNA to 50 lbs.. New Jersey angler Ron Reinhardt fishing aboard the Dos Hermanos also got into some YELLOWFIN TUNA landing 5 along with 1 SAILFISH. French Anglers Mr. Lorieux and Coudrier fishing aboard the super panga Leydy landed 3 SAILFISH, 4 YELLOWFIN TUNA , 3 DORADOS 4 YELLOWTAIL JACKS and 7 BONITOS in 5 days of fishing. Returning Chicago angler and second place winner of the Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Total Tag & Release tournament ( www.ixtapasportfishing.com/tournament), Ellen Levine, landed a single SAILFISH on her first day out with Captain Jose Vargas on the La Bamba. Inshore, the colder currents have really made a mess of things. NO ROOSTERFISH were reported and there was only marginal action on Jacks, Spanish Mackerel, Bonitos and Green Jacks.
Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Climate: Seasonably beautiful with cool mornings and afternoon temps in the high 80's
Sea Conditions: Calm
Best fishing areas: 20 - 25 mile offshore
Bait supply: Fair
Sincerely,
Stan Lushinsky
Susan Richards
Ixtapa Sportfishing Charters
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Feb 14, 2003; 10:13PM - Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Sportfishing report 2-7-03 to 2-14/-03
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Susan Richards/Stan Lushinsky
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The first signs of a colder current appeared this week which pushed the SAILFISH a bit farther out and slowed the bite down from its wide open levels a week ago. Most boat still averaged 2 - 3 Shots per day on SAILFISH with a few scattered DORADO as well.
Our fleet landed a total of 74 SAILFISH, 2 BLUE MARLIN, 12 DORADOS, 2 YELLOWFIN TUNA in 42 offshore charter days. Leading the pack were the La Bamba with London Anglers Fred Smith and Jon Peterssen along with French angler Mr. Tesnier. In 7 days of fishing the group landed 14 SAILFISH and 4 DORADOS. Equaling that performance was angler Laura Jansen on the Vamonos I landing 14 SAILFISH and 1 DORADO in 4 days of fishing Bob Koranek landed 14 SAILFISH and 2 DORADOS in five days of fishing aboard the Vamonos II and Yellowfin II. Mr. Koronek turned in the single best day landing 6 SAILFISH aboard the Vamonos II, Followed by London angler Tim Hoare on the Secuestro with 5 SAILFISH. The Largest Dorado of the week was taken aboard the super panga Leydy with French angler Mr. L Lorieux. That Dorado scaled in at just over 60 lbs. Captain Miguel Alvarez with Angler Mr. Degraw accounted for both BLUE MARLIN one estimated at 300 lbs. and the other one at 400 lbs. Mr. Degraw also landed 4 SAILFISH in 3 days of fishing. Inshore has showed signs of life but results are still inconsistent. Captain Adolopho Espinosa on the Dos Hermanos had a 6 ROOSTERFISH day with one fish going over the 60 lb mark. The next days were slow and the fish were unwilling to bite. Several Big Jacks were also taken. The upcoming months should be prime time for Big Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna. Excellent dates and boats are still available.
Sea Conditions: Calm
Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Climate: Perfect with temps in the high 80's
Bait Supply: Good
Best fishing Area: 15 - 20 Miles out in front of Ixtapa Island
Stan Lushinsky
Susan Richards
Ixtapa Sportfishing Charters
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Feb 14, 2003; 01:38AM - Venice, LOUISIANA Offshore report
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt. Scott Avanzino
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Thursday was the perfect day...forecast correct and everyone caught fish...
Had my good friends Jean and Barclay Laborde, John and Guy Halberg in from TX and Metairie. After the final stop to the trawl boats for the week, we made it home to the Lump with a borrowed anchor from non other than Bill Butler at VMI-Many thanks to him and Capt. Mike Frenette for helping out last 2 days with the hook.
On to fishing...no mako today thank God, but plenty of stupid and hungry tuna...got on a mean blackfin bite to the point of release....light tackle and no more line on the flyreel... Had to use slabs for bait to get it to the yellowfin which were likewise plentiful, visible and always ready for the occasional jog around the boat..I think I did 6 full laps today with 5 different fish.
Ended up with 4 yellows and kept 8 blackfin after getting down the hookset without the birdsnest...just have to say that Barclay was a reel spaz at first (That final shot is for you Guy). We had fun with the good natured ribbing while Fishing all day and I look forward to their return. Jean is Barclay's best girl of 4 years and she is as fine a fisherman is she is to look at...a big hit with the trawl boat crowd too...we could have got another 100 pounds if she only would get into the spirit of Mardi Gras...she likes to get dirty and wail on bonita with 'the quiver giver' bats by Capt. Terry Brousseau
Yet another fine day in te deep blue...started off at the Lump to find tht some kind person had cut our anchorline with a clean swift stroke of a knife....thanks alot fellow sportsman...
Made 3 drifts picking up 8 blackfin, then we tried drifting the outside and never saw another fish for 2 hours...then the sun shined on us again...as we picked up a small yellow and then a monster we chased 4 miles off the Lump going through everyone on the boat in 1:45...I took a turn and wimped out after 15 minutes and handed off the rod....as he neared the boat he started acting funny, though I could see he was at least 160 and circlng just out of gaff range...Then out of no where he made a bursting run of 50 yards toward the bow with a 9 ft Mako in hot pursuit...before I could even react...he ran out of gas and made a 180 degree turn, tearing across the the surface where he crashed into the boat, dug in and then hung in the running gear...what happened next was stright out of Jaws...we could see anything but it soundeY like a bomb went off under the boat and all we could see was red...after the commotion and thumping stopped the Mako proceeeded to circle the boat doing 4 complete laps before we could fling a bait to him...we quickly dogged down the flying gaff and with a butterflied bonita on 40# leader we readied for the free gaff. What happened next completely surprised me. He teased him right ff the transom and I sank the gaff deep into his back quarter and pulled him along side he boat where he patiently waited for us to sink anothe two gaffs...one deep into the gills and the other into the tail..once he was on the tail rope we were able to gutt him and pull him in the boat where we dogged him down to the hause pipes...After te brief celebration and clean-up we decided to go home...about 20 minutes later we made it back to the Lump fortunately with no vibration, but the shark came back to life briefly...shaking violently while scattering the raining visceral organs liver, heart and fluid all over the entire boat...bad day for a washdown pump to sieze..he measured 104' TL/94'FL with a gutted girth of 44 inches...284 ponds on the Venie Marina Tournament scale...saved a peice of the spine and gallon of liver for Jason the shark man....We manged to catch the entire event on digital video...Aside from the elated cursing...we looked pretty calm and collected...
Wednesday was interesting with 67 boats in 1 sq mile...
It was a light tackle day for us not by choice but by shear attrition...we could only get strikes with 30 pound test...Lost alot of big fish but saved the day with 18 blackfin, 1 grouper, 3 aj and 20 beeliner, silks and hogs...Never did see any big fish in the slick today when all we saw were yellows yesterday..sounded like other boats had more success with bigguns..but whose complaining with 20-30 pound fish matched to light tackle...
Had Jim Striztenger and friends from Houston Saturday for 2 tuna and 2 jackss.Herb's fish took 1st placre at 75 pounds...Next day I had Vince Pisciotta and Danny Blackburn of Brian Harris GMC for an interesting day of diamond jigging...Ouch my neck and back are sore from watching...funnt thing is there wsn't any need to pump the jigs...just reel in the jerky 5-6 footers..noting that the jacks are as far out as 1/4 mile and 150 feet down at 143, 152 and 93 lately...blackfins mixed in...Is it a breeding ritual for the jacks?
Monday...finally a calm day if only the afternoon.
Left for the rocks today with Daniel Thomas and friends from Kentwood...planned to fish the redfish release tour but went to the Lump instead...what 25 knot winds? Not withstanding the previous adventures from this week...the weather was the exact opposite in the right direction of the predicted and a trip that was to be cancelled turned out 5 hookups on big boys...first double resulted in 3 laps around the boat, two underhand rudder dodges anH a breakoff at the gaff in both instances...nobody's fault when slashing tails hang on lines with no leader. Next double resulted in the same circus but one tail wrapped fish made it to the gaff in 15 minutes with the second fish's line hooked into the sickle fin...after a quick untangle it too came to gaff shortly thereafter another single with much less effort made the trip and we quickly headed in. The 15 minute fish with angler Neal 'chummy' Warren weighed 183 pounds and the otheres were 130 and 100 apeice...Tried trolling for wahoo on the rip today with no luck...before it got to the Lump in the morning and after it passed by at 3PM...
Also hung the anchor today so we attached a glow stick to the ball and pray that it will be there tomorrow without a flatboat attached to it.
As for the Venice I/O Winter Invitational...great tourney and thanks to the late entry polIcy 3 boat anglers walked the boars with 1,2 and 3 for both tuna and jacks...Congrats to Herb Green, Danny Blackburn and Vince Pisciotta for sweeping the board in the 2 day knee buster...next year they are going to have an alternate weekend for those without coaming pads...
Two bum days and then a great day today..thanks to Pastor Brad Watson's prayers..and the Lord's grace and good will He delivered!...I am not surprised!
Til next week when the wind lays again...Bye bye from Capt. Scott, Sonny and team Paradise Outfitters - 504-451-7579
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Feb 10, 2003; 11:04AM - Cabo Fishing Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 3-9,2003
WEATHER: It was overcast almost all week, not really clearing up until this weekend. We
actually had rain Wednesday night, it sprinkled all night long! Due to the overcast it did not get
as cold as it has been and our nighttime lows were only in the mid 60’s while our daytime highs
stayed in the high 70’s, at least until Saturday when we warmed/cooled up/down as the cloud
cover disappeared. The winds were light while we had the clouds but on Saturday they started
blowing from the Northeast again. We had shifting winds earlier, sometimes from the southeast,
sometimes the northwest, but never very hard, all while the clouds were over us.
WATER: Fair sized swells with very little wind chop early in the week on the Pacific side and no
swells to speak of on the Sea of Cortez. On Saturday the wind picked up and there were very
choppy conditions on the Cortez side of the Cape and since the wind was northeast, it wrapped
around to the Pacific side for about 10 miles. Our water temperatures have been steady all week
long, with no movement of the one major temperature break. Almost everywhere within 30-35
miles the water has been a steady 71-72 degrees. The area of the Gordo Banks and on out to the
east side of the 1150 spot has been a bit warmer by a degree or two and not until you got 30 miles
to the east was there anything like a major temperature break, and there the temperature went
from 72 to 75 degrees.
BAIT: This week we had a fair mix of both Caballito and Mackerel at the normal $2 per bait,
and there were Sardinas available just up the coast towards San Jose at $20 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: There have been Striped Marlin caught by almost every boat that I have seen go out
this week, and there have been a few nice fish in the bunch. Most of the fish have been found
straight south, out about 10-15 miles, but there are also a large number closer in. The average
size has been 100 pounds with a few in the 150-170 range being hooked up. Live bait dropped
down both shallow and deep as well as slow trolled have accounted for most of the fish. Lures in
the normal colors used here, Green/Black, Black/Purple, Red/Orange and Petrolero have been
attracting fish as well, but it seems that the live bait has had the edge.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Not very many large fish were caught this week compared to last week,
but the fish that were found were nothing to sneeze at with most of them in the 25-40 pound class
with a lot in the 15-25 class as well. All the fish were found with the porpoise, and most of them
were either on the edge of the banks or just south 8-10 miles. There are reports of some very nice
fish being caught on the Gordo Bank as well by the boats that get there early and use Sardinas as
bait. The Pacific banks have been holding fish, but there have not been large concentrations of
them found.
DORADO: Some nice fish were being caught this week and some of the Dorado were topping 50
pounds. Almost every boat had at least one on board and many of the boats were getting three or
four fish in the #30 class. The fish were mixed in with the Yellowfin and also found just off the
beach in 100-250 feet of water. Both the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape had fish.
Best lures were 6-8” bright colored feathers and plugs, Red/Yellow, Yellow/Pink, Pink/White,
Blue/Chrome/Yellow were some of the favorites.
WAHOO: I saw quite a few Wahoo flags this week and most of the fish seemed to be found at
the edge of the Banks. There were lots of cutoffs by the sharp toothed fish among the fishermen
deep dropping live baits at all the Banks and many of them turned to putting a short 6” trace of
wire leader ahead of the bait to prevent the loss. There were also some nice sized Wahoo found
by boats working the Tuna. Not everyone got bit but I would say that 1 of 10 boats found a
Wahoo to take home.
INSHORE: Almost a repeat of last week with the normal inshore species, Sierra, Roosterfish,
Grouper and Snapper being caught, but not in any great numbers except by a few boats. Most of
the Pangas were working the closer Pelagic fish, targeting the Dorado and Yellowfin.
NOTES: Whales, Turtles, Seals, Sea Lions and Porpoise have been all keeping everyone
entertained whenever there has been a short break in the fishing action. As you may be able to tell
from the report, the fishing has been really good this week, I am heading out with a friend this
morning to try and get into some of the Tuna action. He has a neat 21’ center console that will let
us get right into the action, I just hope the water is good! As you may have noticed, I usually play
music to write my reports by and put a song title after each section and here in the notes area list
the artist, album and production company. I’m 46 years old and love listening to guitar music and
finally decided to learn how to play, I’ve decided that I’m not going to be able to learn by
osmosis! So this week what I have done is turn you on to the website that has been an inspiration
for me. If you want to learn to play, already know how and want to learn more, check out
www.guitarnoise.com. Thanks, and until next week, Tight lines!
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Feb 7, 2003; 08:26PM - Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Fish Report
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Stan Lushinsky / Susan Richards
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Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Sportfishing report 1/30 -
2/6/03
Stan Lushinsky / Susan Richards
A wide open SAILFISH bite is still on in Ixtapa
Zihautanejo. Our fleet
of 11 boats fishing 52 charter days landed a total
of 181 SAILFISH, 19
DORADOS, 23 YELLOWFIN TUNA, 1 SHARK, 27 YELLOWTAIL
JACKS and 2
ROOSTERFISH. Our returning group from London, Mr
Jon Peterssen and
company led the charge while fishing aboard the
super pangas, Janeth,
Leydy, Secuestro and cruisers Yellowfin II and La
Bamba. The Janeth
finished with 18 SAILS, 4 DORADO, The Leydy 11
SAILIS, 4 DORADOS, 1 (100
Lb.) YELLOWFIN TUNA, 1 ROOSTERFISH, 16 YELLOWTAIL
JACKS, The Sequestro
landed 14 SAILS, 1 TUNA, and 2 JACKS, While the
YELLOWFIN II landed 28
SAILFISH, 1 DORADO and 1 SHARK. And the LA Bamba
laccounted for 16
SAILFISH. Captain Adolopho on the Dos Hermanos
while fishing with French
Client Pedro Missery landed 16 SAILFISH, 20
YELLOWFIN TUNA, 21
YELLOWTAIL JACKS and 1 ROOSTERFISH. Returning
angler Terry Berg had a
super day on the Llamarda landing 6 SAILFISH 1
DORADO and an estimated
130 lb YELLOWFIN TUNA. Angler Laura Jensen fishing
aboard the Vamonos I
landed 10 SAILS in her first two days of fishing
while Gregg Marr
fishing aboard the Vamonos II landed 4 SAILS in one
day. Returning
angler Mr. Don Sobczak from Milwaukee Wisconsin
fishing aboard the
Suerte Ruby landed his first SAILFISH on a FLY and
followed that day up
with a 3 SAIL day on the Moramay. Captain Miguel
Alvarez of the El
Soltar reported that returning angler Rob
Gillanders group landed 13
SAILFISH in one day and had another 6 hook-ups.
Captain Miguel tried a
few days with big live bait for Marlin but was not
successful. The
arrival of the larger Yellowfin Tuna is a good
indication that the big
marlin are not far behind. There are still some
great boats and dates
available for the Tuna and Marlin run in March
April and May.
Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Climate: Seasonably perfect
Best fishing area: 3 - 15 miles out in front of the
White Rocks at Potosi
Inshore the fishing has not yet set up.
Bait supply: Good
Sea Conditions: Calm
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Feb 3, 2003; 11:56AM - Cabo Fishing Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.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�.
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Jan 27, 2003; 11:37AM - 'Fly Hooker Daily Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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�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.
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Jan 27, 2003; 11:35AM - Cabo Fishing Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.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�.
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Jan 20, 2003; 09:46AM - 'Fly Hooker Daily Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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�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!
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