WEATHER:
I don't think it is possible for weather to become any better than we have had this week. Sunny skies with just a few clouds this weekend, daytime highs in the high 80's, nighttime lows in the high 60's and light winds. Great stuff!
WATER:
Surface conditions once again were perfect for fishing with small swells and almost no wind for most of the time, just enough to keep you cool in the middle of the day.. We had a plume of cool water running just offshore on the Pacific side that extended to the southeast of us to past the 95 spot. This water was 66 to 64 degrees. On either side of that cool water it warmed up quickly. On the satellite shot for the 18th we saw a flare of warm 80 degree water just to the east of the Cabrillo Seamount and what appeared to be a wide temperature break running from the northwest to the southeast from the Gorda Banks to the seamount with the warmer water to the east. On the Pacific the cool plume ran across the Golden Gate Bank then to the inside of the San Jaime Bank leaving the San Jaime in water that was 69-70 degrees, and the water to the west of there warmed to 72 degrees.

BAIT:
The full moon made getting good bait a bit tough but there was some Caballito to be found, just not very many. Some Mackerel were in a few live wells, but not much, and Sardinas were hard to come by. Normal prices were $3 each for the larger baits and $25 for whatever Sardinas you could get.

FISHING:

BILLFISH:
The only area that seemed to have any consistent action on Marlin this week was outside the 1150 to the Seamount and along the 1,000 fathom curve there. Most boats were spotting several fish each day, with several getting to throw bait on five or more fish, but the best catch result I heard was 4 releases for 5 fish thrown at. Strangely, it was either a long run out there, of a longer stay close to home as a few boats were able to find an occasional Marlin just off the beach on the Cortez side. There were no concentrations of bait except for squid offshore, and that may be what is causing the slow fishing, not enough bait around to bring the fish in.

YELLOWFIN TUNA:
There were some Porpoise pods found this week that held fish, and they were scattered all around with the best concentration in the usual areas such as just to the south of the San Jaime and 30 miles to the south of the Cape. The fish were footballs, but at least there were some out there. The first boats on the scene did well, as is normal with tuna, and limits were possible in the right school. Most boats were not lucky enough to be the first one there but were still able to scratch out enough fish to make the anglers happy. As these were small fish, feathers and small cedar plugs worked well.

DORADO:
There were a few scattered Dorado found by the boats going offshore for Striped Marlin, and they were all found in the warmer water. There were a couple of large fish at 30 pounds, but the rest were in the 15 pound class. They were definitely incidental fish as there were no schools and no followers with the ones hooked up.

WAHOO:
What Hoo? Strange, but true. I thought the full moon would really get the bite on for the Wahoo but it just didn't happen. There were a couple of fish caught that I heard of, but since I did not see them or hear about them from the primary involved, they were just rumors to me.

INSHORE:
Inshore seemed the way to go this week if you wanted action. Sierra were still biting well with most of the action occurring on the Cortez side of the Cape up around the Cabo Real beach. Most of the fish were 4 to 7 pounds and Sardinas were the key to good results. On the Pacific side there were some really nice Yellowtail to 35 pounds up past the lighthouse, but you had to work to find the fish as they were following the small bait balls in 150-200 feet of water. A good trip would result in five or so of these great fighters. There were also some Snapper and Grouper in there to liven things up. Most of the Yellowtail were taken on yo-yo'ing slabs or butterfly jigs, but there were a few taken on live bait.

NOTES:
It's not wide open by any means even though some of the booths around the Marina will tell you that it is. Go out with a good attitude and your fingers crossed, plenty of beer in the cooler and some good friends and you will have fun, and just might get dinner and a trophy. That is all you can really expect right now, but that's not a bad thing. Meanwhile, listen to some good music and plan your trip! This week's report was written to the sounds of Alison Krauss & Union Station on their 2002 CD "Live".

Until next week, tight lines!