East Cape Guides - July 2017 Fishing Report

This last week of July started off slow as we encountered some rain and wind. Swells were up due to the three westerly tracking tropical storms to our south. Fishing was frankly slow with very few billfish and tuna flags flying at the beginning of the week. But in true East Cape fashion, once everything settled down, the bite came roaring back at the end of the week. We are now seeing probably some of the best fishing we have experienced all summer. The tuna have been showing well with not just footballs. There are multiple bites happening from Punta Arena to Punta Gorda to the south. These fish are ranging from 20-80# with some reports of much larger fish. Dorado have also made a big come back in the last few days. No big bulls, but some solid 15-30# fish are now coming into the Sea of Cortez. It is just good to see yellow flags flying across the Van Wormer Resorts' fleet. The billfish bite includes mostly striped marlin, a few blues and sails concentrated off the Lighthouse. The roosterfish have tapered off as we are getting further into the summer and the larger units head for deeper waters. Clients Mike and Sally Reagan from the Lone Star State fished five days for a combination of striped marlin, tuna and dorado. That's it from the East Cape...

La Paz Yellowtail Trip 2017 Report

We just wrapped up our 2017 La Paz Yellowtail trip with Baja Pirates. Six boats fished 3 days about 1.5 hours north of the marina at La Reina for 30+ quality yellowtail to 35lbs landed on live bait knocker rigs and yoyo jigs. The standard jig colors of scrambled egg, blue/white and green/yellow were all productive. The bite also included some back breaking amberjacks, a.k.a. reef donkeys, to 70lbs. and an assortment of groundfish including leopard grouper (cabrilla), barred snapper (mulato), red snapper (huachinango) and some monstrous skipjacks. Many fish were lost to the rocks but by the second day everyone was well seasoned on fishing the sunset drag in the ready position. The town of La Paz always plays a great host and it did not disappoint. The seafood and traditional Mexican cuisine was simply the best. A well earned thanks to Leonard Phillips from Baja Pirates for his masterful hosting and attention to detail in offering a memorable fishing experience.

East Cape Guides - 2016 Fishing Report and Hightlights

Greetings Amigos,

Well, another season has come to a close on the East Cape and once again, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon continued to move warmer waters into our fishery throughout the 2016 Season. This resulted in a northerly migration shift for many of our mainstay game species including dorado and yellowfin tuna.

Luckily, the Sea of Cortez rarely disappoints. The marine biodiversity is legendary for providing a variety of sportfishing action, even in an El Niño year. This year surpassed our 2015 Season with some pelagic species. The blue marlin bite continued to amaze anglers on the East Cape. Our clients released 30+ blues and one black marlin throughout the season. Reports of double hookups of blue marlin were not uncommon. The Van Wormer hotel fleet recorded 581 billfish releases for the month of July and an estimated 400+ blue marlin in total for the season. These are just incredible numbers for any fishery. The next species on the list was wahoo and the bite seemed to keep pace with last year's numbers. Wahoo are considered an incidental catch on the East Cape in non-El Niño years and are prized by all who troll the waters of Southern Baja, but this year did not disappoint on the skinnies. Big sailfish and striped marlin were also solid this year and multiple releases were common throughout the season. These bites were followed by schoolie yellowfin tuna. Roosterfish and jacks were also consistent this year.

Although we never saw the tuna come in this year in large numbers, we did see some cow size tuna (200lbs+) and one super cow (300lbs+). Based on the weather models I have seen, I think we will see a return to normal weather and sea temperature patterns for Southern Baja projected for 2017. It has been fun playing with El Niño, but it is time to return to some normalcy.

Thanks to all my clients and everyone at Van Wormer Resorts for another great season.

Please remember to practice catch/release and always release the small ones to let them grow.

Follow me on Facebook for dates on the upcoming 2017 show season and my Baja fishing seminar schedule. East Cape Guides on Facebook

I hope to see you on the water next year.

Here are some hightlight photos from this season.

East Cape Guides Fishing Report - August 2016

Well, the East Cape Bisbee has concluded with two qualifying fish and a few happy anglers on the winning boat Bullrider but fun was had by all. We focused on BIG wahoo. Clients Bill Burrows and Mark Barbee from Reno, NV and Sun City, AZ collected a total catch of blue marlin, sailfish, tuna, pargo and a very nice 67# wahoo. The blue marlin bite just keeps on going with no end in sight. We picked up a handful of football tuna right in Buena Vista Bay and we saw some breezing wahoo on the surface mixed in with the tuna about 300 yards from shore. You gotta love the East Cape. The weather has been hot with greasy calm waters. Come down and fish with us this Fall.