WEATHER:
We once again started the week with gusty days and partly cloudy skies, but by the end of the week we had great weather. With lows in the mid 60's and highs in the high 80's you could not ask for more perfect weather! As the week worked it's way toward the end, the winds started to die off a bit and when they did start each day, it was later and later. As I said, at the end of the week it was as god as you can get!

WATER:
At the end of the week the water along the Pacific side from the shore out to the San Jaime and the Golden Gate Banks showed a pretty even 71 degrees as far north as Todo Santos. On the Cortez side of the Cape the water remained the same 71 degrees but extended much farther offshore, out to the 1,000 fathom line, and then it warmed up to 74 degrees just to our south.

BAIT:
Mackerel and Caballito were the baits available at the normal $3 each and there were actually some decent numbers of Sardines to be found at the normal $25 a scoop.

FISHING:

BILLFISH:
One day the bite is on, the next day it is off, no consistency in anything except in the area the fish were found. Most of the fish were in the area between the 95 Spot and the 1150. Catches varied between 0 and 3 fish per boat and more fish were seen than were caught. The best bait appeared to be Mackerel, but at times they would ignore the mackerel and only eat a Caballito, other times they would not eat anything. There are some decent schools of Mackerel showing up on the Pacific side but for some reason not a lot of Marlin are in the same areas.

YELLOWFIN TUNA:
These fish were pretty much non-existent for much of the week, at least until Saturday. All of a sudden, less than 6 miles off the arch several schools showed up and the boats that were there managed to limit out on fish to 25 pounds. Cedar plugs and small feathers were the key to multiple hook-ups. Elsewhere Yellowfin were scarce to absent.

DORADO:
There were scattered Dorado found offshore in the warm 74 degree water, and these fish were nice sized, but there sure were not many of them. A few boats managed to catch fish to 30 pounds but they were not there thick enough to focus on, instead they were incidental catches for boats focusing on Marlin. There were scattered smaller fish to 10 pounds caught near shore by boats fishing for Sierra and Yellowtail, but once again not enough of them for any focused effort.

WAHOO:
What Hoo? No reports this week, at least from anyone I heard from.

INSHORE:
Well, things sure can change from week to week. This week Yellowtail re-gained the title of fish of the week, but you had to go to the Pacific side to have a decent shot at them. On the Cortez side of the Cape things inshore pretty much were concentrated on Sierra, Snapper and Grouper. Up in the San Jose area the water was calm, there were few Yellowfin or Yellowtail and it seems that the effort was mainly in the area of the San Louis Bank. On the Pacific side the yellowtail were fairly thick, and with a good depth sounder a boat could get on the fish time after time. Spread out between the arch and Marguerite, fishing in water between 120 and 200 feet in depth brought in consistent catches of fish between 15 and 30 pounds, often limits for anglers. A mix of live bait, yo-yo's and diamond jigs did well. There were Sierra in the area as well for anglers whose arms grew too tired to reel in another Yellowtail!

NOTES:
Perfect weather at the end of the week as well as some absolutely great inshore fishing. Now if only the Striped Marlin would show up in force and the Tuna arrive and stay it would be perfect fishing as well, but we will take what we can get, and that is not at all bad right now! Full moon is in four days so if the warm water stays we might see a decent showing of Wahoo, we will just have to wait and see. Have a great week, catch lots of fish, and get those reservations for Cabo made!