WEATHER: Once again we had mixed weather this week. The week started out slightly overcast and cleared up at the tail end of the week and then Sunday came on with mostly cloudy skies in the morning. The early days in the week had a little bit of spitting rain with the clouds, just enough to spot up the car windows, not enough to knock the dust off of the plants. Our daytime highs were in the mid 80's and nighttime lows in the mid to low 70's.

WATER: This week we did have a bit of wind but it did not last for long and was not steady from any one direction. The swells did kick up a notch toward the end of the week though and we were seeing some 3-5 footers on the pacific side of the cape. On the Cortez side it remained at 1-3 feet until you got toward the Punta Gorda area then they grew to 2-4 feet. Water temperatures on the Cortez side were in the 73-74 degree close to the shoreline, 74-75 degrees from three to ten miles out and 75-76 degrees farther than that. On the Pacific side close to shore was 71 degrees and there was a band of this cool water running in a southwest direction across the south side of the San Jaime Banks from the shore just north of the lighthouse and extending at least 50 miles in a band 10 miles wide. North of this band of cool water it warmed up to 73 degrees and just to the north of the Golden Gate Bank there was a warm spot of 74 degree water.

BAIT: Mackerel were the bait of the week this week and they were the usual $3 per bait. Sardinas were available as well from bait boats up at the Palmilla area at $25 a bucket.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: Once again the Striped Marlin remained the fish of the week, as every boat that tried for them was able to get hooked up. The best bite for the boats that stayed local was at the Golden Gate Bank. The fish were coming up on small bait balls. As soon as the Pelicans and Frigates started to dive on the bait the seals started feeding as well and then suddenly there would be a half-dozen or more marlin swirling on the bait. Sometimes they remained up for 15 or 20 minutes, other times they would disappear almost as fast as they showed up. Live bait tossed into the feeders almost guaranteed a hook-up. I had anglers who were not experienced on Thursday and in less than 2 hours we released 4 fish and lost three others. One of my friends fished all day on his boat and between himself, one friend and his wife they managed to release 23 Marlin. There were also plenty of fish found at the Finger Bank, but with hot action at the Golden there was little reason for boats to travel that far. Some fish were showing up on the ledge at the lighthouse and on Friday evening I was seeing quite a few scattered singles feeding just outside of Cabo San Lucas Bay.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: I heard of a spot of fish found in the area of the San Jaime Bank early in the week that ranged in size from 20 to 50 pounds but I went and looked there on Thursday and could not spot anything. I also heard reports that the Pangas working out of the San Jose Marina were coming in early after limiting out on decent fish up in the vicinity of Punta Gorda, but I never saw any of the fish.

DORADO: The Dorado bite definitely dropped off for almost all the boats this week as the water temperature continued its slow but steady drop. I fished the area from Los Arcos and 10 miles north of there with no touch at all, but did hear of some fish found just off of the lighthouse and out in front of Grey Rock in slightly warmer water. A good catch of Dorado this week seemed to be two fish, but most boats did not catch any.

WAHOO: What Wahoo?

INSHORE: A repeat of last week, there has been very little change in the inshore fishery this week. The Sierra bite is picking up and the fish are very nice size, between 8 and 10 pounds when you find the right areas. There are a few nice Yellowtails starting to pop up occasionally off of the Rocky points as well as some Pargo to 25 pounds right in the rocks..

NOTES: Still no Gray Whales to report, but plenty of Humpbacks. Wide open on the Striped Marlin, if you want some fast action on these fish averaging 120 pounds, now is the time to get here. My golf game is not happening, I have had little time to get out there and play! No complaints though, working is a good thing. This weeks report was written while listing to the "Echoes, The Best Of Pink Floyd". Until next week, tight lines!