La Paz Fishing Report / March 19th
As I mentioned last week the spring breakers are coming in droves. The hotels are packed the malecón is full of tourist and the weather is perfect. The daytime highs are in the mid 80’s with cool evenings with a lite breeze.
All of the water activities are in full swing, with the whale sharks back feeding in the bay seals are playful in the parks and EspÃritu Santos Island is pure paradise.
On the fishing front there is now a steady supply of mackerel and Caballitos for sale just outside the marina as well as sardines at the south tip of the island. It’s like all the stars are finally in line.
The water temperature is starting to slightly warm up but still pretty green. Normal for this time of year.
Yellowtail and Cabrilla are definitely the main attraction. They are pretty schooled up on most any structure. Any rocky spot off the points of both EspÃritu Santos and Cerralvo, the seamounts even Ballena started producing fish. On the spots with the least amount of fishing pressure the fish are still close to the bottom. Drifting or slow trolling live bait with 8oz weights or my preference down rigging are producing daily limits for most boats. On the seamount the fishing pressure has been pretty heavy especially on the weekends. Normally this is not a favorable condition, but in this case there are so many boats chumming live sardines the yellowtail are coming up and busting all day. With a fairly accurate cast into a boil …. instant hookup without the risk of getting cut off in the rocks. Last weeks hook up to land ratio increased 10 fold.
The Cabrilla are still mixed in with the yellowtail as well as an occasional snapper and AmberJack.
To sum things up the bite is wide open. Baring any crazy change in the weather this bite should carry us thru mid May.
As a bonus we are starting to see increased activity of mid size Dorado chasing ballyhoos near the end of the bay into San Lorenzo channel.
The tuna that were hanging off of Punta Norte have taken a leave of absence. Not sure if or when they will pop back up.
Inshore fishing the shallows are starting to produce small to mid size Rooster fish. Slow trolling mackerel or mullet or site casting poppers are getting the job done. This is a targeted fish. You won’t catch them as bycatch. If you want to catch one you will need to be patient and pay your dues.
That’s pretty much it for the week. If your looking to be warm eat good food and catch great eating fish this is where you need to be.
Be kind
Keep the faith
Scotto.
