WEATHER: Hot. Daytime highs were in the 100-degree range, on Thursday at the house we had 105 degrees in the shade, the highest I have seen so far this year. In the evenings it has dropped to the high 80's, and this morning at 5:30 it was 84 degrees. We had a little cloud cover in the middle of the week but it brought no cool air with it, just less breeze. If you are coming down, don't pack a sweatshirt.

WATER: On the Sea of Cortez the water was hot, just like the air. Surface temperatures were a fairly consistent 86-89 degrees with the cooler water closer to shore near the Cape. There were a few hot spots out past the 1,000-fathom line where we saw 90 degrees. On the Pacific side it was a bit better with the water being between a cool 80 degrees (at least cool for this time of year) and 86 degrees. The cooler water was at the San Jaime Banks and close to the beach up past Los Arcos. There was a bit of wind and chop on the Pacific side when the clouds moved in, and in the afternoons a slight breeze made for more comfortable conditions. As of the end of the week, over the weekend, the wind really picked up and the conditions became very rough and uncomfortable. On the Cortez side the water was smooth and glassy almost every day except for the end of the week when the swells picked up a bit.

BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. There were Sardinas available up in San Jose at the usual $25 per scoop.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin concentrations have been moving off to the north for quite some time and the few fish were are seeing now may have been lost, as there are not very many of them. Most of the billfish we are seeing now are either small Blue Marlin or Sailfish, with an occasional large Blue or Black in the mix just to surprise you. Almost all the action on billfish has taken place on the Pacific side or to the south of us; a few Sailfish have been seen and caught in the hot water on the Cortez side. The Blues are striking on large lures trolled at slightly higher speeds than normal and the Sails seem to like the smaller lures used for Dorado. Having a drop-back live bait standing by for packs of Sailfish that come in the pattern has resulted in multiple hook-ups for a lot of boats.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: Early in the week the bite was still on for the Yellowfin that came through, but by the end of the week these fish had already moved on to the west and could not be found. They were finally lost to the west at 60+ miles, but hopefully another school of the large guys will come through the area. There are still some schools of the smaller fish to be found to the north of the Los Arcos area and to the south of the cape. The white bellied dolphin have been holding these smaller fish, to 30 pounds with an occasional 60 pound fish in the mix, while the white spotted dolphin were holding the larger tuna that came through. The key to the larger fish, while they were here, was circle hooks, live bait and #60 flouro-carbon leader dropped well in front of the moving school and away from the boat, or an immediate drop back when a smaller fish was hooked while trolling.

DORADO: Early in the week and in the middle of the week the action on Dorado was almost wide open. As the moon became smaller it dropped off a bit. Either that or the fish moved off for a while. On a very positive note, the fish that have been taken lately have all been very good sized, and for many of the boats being able to cull your catch by releasing the small ones has been easily possible. Fish in the 40 to 60 pound class have been brought in every day and almost 70% of the boats have been hooking up to one that size, although getting them into the boat is a different story! Most of the fish have been on the Pacific side close to the beach, in the slightly cooler water.

WAHOO: There were a few fish caught this week, most of them in the 30-pound class, and most of them have been found while trolling for something else.

INSHORE: Dorado were the fish of choice for most anglers going out on Pangas this week but on Friday the wind kicked up for the early morning and Roosterfish were the target.. Fishing was very good for both species and there were some very nice grouper and snapper caught as well. Most of the Dorado fishing was done on the Pacific side while the Roosterfish were found on both side of the Cape, with a better concentration of them on the Sea of Cortez side.

NOTES: Just a last minute update on fishing conditions overall, since I wrote the above on Sunday morning the wind has picked up on the Pacific side and the fishing over the weekend has dropped off considerably. Most boats at the weekend were coming in with one or two Dorado and perhaps a small Tuna or releasing a Marlin or Sailfish. Hopefully the fishing picks up this coming week. It has been too hot to golf this week so I am taking a break and doing some little stuff around the house. I had a chance to see my friend Brian Flynn this week as he came down for a few days. He and the Brian Flynn band played one night at Poncho and Blondie's, really rocking out the joint with their southern rock & roll. I listened to one of his CD's today as I wrote this report and now I am all wound up! Rock on Brian!! Until next week, tight lines!