WEATHER: There were cool temperatures at the start of the week compared to what we had at the end of the week. Early on the highs were in the low 90's but as the 4th drew closer things started to heat up. On the 4th we showed 101 degrees on my home gauge. There were mostly sunny skies early in the week and some scattered clouds on the 4th, enough of them that we actually got a little spit of rain, enough to spot up the cars in town. Nighttime lows were in the mid 80's to low 80's, we were using the air conditioner when we returned from Oregon.

WATER: There was a strong push from the California current this week and the cool water from the Pacific side wrapped around the Cape bringing water as cool as 72 degrees up to Los Frailles and 67 degrees just off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side. This cool water extended out 25 miles from the beach on the Pacific side and 10-15 miles from the beach on the Cortez side of the Cape. This cooler water was also green, and the closer to the beach you got the greener it was. Outside of the cool water the clarity improved and the water warmed up with a nice band of water between 79-82 degrees and 20 miles wide, then the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. Surface conditions were reported as variable this week as the wind would blow for one or two days hard from the northwest then die down for a day or two. This wind really brought up the chop and made things uncomfortable. At the end of the week the wind had dome very little and things were nice and smooth out on the water.

BAIT: Caballito and Mackerel at the normal $3 per bait as well as some Mullet at the same price.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: It was reported to me that almost every day boats had been hooking up to Blue Marlin but since most of them are not prepared yet for these larger fish, most of them were getting away. There are still Striped Marlin out there but they have not been very hungry this week, there has been so much squid around that the fish are very lethargic and not willing to expend very much energy chasing lures or live baits. A few have been caught on lures and dead bait though, and the success rate has been about 40% for boats looking to hook up to a Marlin. Late in the week there was a decent bite reported just two miles from the beach up around La Laguna, between San Jose and Punta Gorda, right in the dirty green water, and several boats that fished there were able to get the fish to bite and managed to release several fish each. There have been Sailfish around as well and they have been found on the Cortex side of the Cape where the water has been warmer.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: There were scattered spots of small football fish found in the blind this week and boats that stayed and worked an area after hooking one usually were able to put a half dozen in the box. A few fish were found among porpoise but it was not common to find these guys, those that were able managed to pick up between two and four fish averaging 25 pounds. A dead whale was found early in the week not too far from shore and there were plenty of football sized fish found around it, but the whale disappeared for a day, showed again for a day and then was gone.

DORADO: Once again Dorado were the fish of the week, but mostly because of the dead whale that was found. A few greedy boats caught well over double their limits off of the whale but most boats kept things reasonable and left after getting two fish per client, the legal limit. The Dorado averaged 15 pounds and there were a few that approached 30 pounds. In other areas there were Dorado as well, mostly in the warm band of water 10-15 miles offshore, but also occasionally in close in the green water. Some of these fish were very nice sized, in the 40 pound class and larger. Even with the action around the dead whale things were still slow overall, when the whale was not around boats were lucky to get one or two Dorado per trip.

WAHOO: The only Wahoo I heard of this week were caught from around the dead whale and were caught on lures being trolled for Dorado. A few boats put out Rapalla style lures and managed to get a few as well, but no one tried dropping iron deep for these fish that I heard of.

INSHORE: Roosterfish were the inshore fish of the week, but even then things were slow due to the colder, greener water. A few Pangas were able to do well on Jack Crevalle averaging 25 pounds about a mile off of the beach to the north on the Sea of Cortez, but for the most part that was about the extent of the action..

Notes: We had a great time in Oregon this past week, perhaps next time we will be able to stay longer. It was nice to wade in an icy cold stream flowing over clean rocks and smell the pine trees surrounding me! As the fishing here was slow overall with the exception of the two days the dead whale was around, it was a good time to get away. If this Pacific cold water current weakens and the water warms and clears again we should start to get more action in our area. Until next week, tight lines!