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Endless Season Update February 21, 2010 REPORT #1203 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape Henning Morek - Denmark, Huge rooster Panga Dos Hermanos with Captain Adolfo This has probably been the wettest February in a while. The good news is that it was the gentle soaking type rain that doesn't run off quickly. I guess it is a clue how slow the fishing has been recently, one hotel sent five boats out one day which is the single day's record for 2010. The lack of sierra continues to dismay fishermen who depend on them as a fallback. I saw a report this morning from down toward Cabo that suggested that there were reports that the lack of sierra was caused by gill net activity happening along the remote and unpatrolled East Cape region. Inshore there are a few small dorado buzzing around that don't seem to stay in one place long. Offshore once in awhile a boat finds a cooperative striper and one unusual catch that was reported a few days ago was a sailfish which stayed late or arrived really early. The most excitement is all the whales close to shore, huffing and puffing and leaping with reckless abandon. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico What little action there was this week was at the Entrada where the firecracker yellowtail could be found feeding on the surface under the bird schools. Unfortunately, the sierra were mixed in with the yellowtail and there were a lot of fish lost because of the lack of wire leaders. Up above Lopez Mateos, the action was mostly grouper and cabrilla. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico The fishing has been a bit erratic, but it is improving. On Monday, as brothers Henning and Ole Mork of Denmark did on the panga, Janeth with Captain Arturo, you go out and get three sailfish. Then go out the next day, but in a bit different area and a different boat, and not even get a strike all day. However, Henning is on a roll. He is fishing with conventional gear but fished with Adolfo and his fly fishing son, Ufe, on the panga Dos Hermanos on Wednesday. They went up north to the Pantla area for jack crevalle and the possible shot for a rooster. For three hours, Ufe had been up on the bow casting the fly…every time the hookless teaser came back to the boat. He took less than a 2-minute break to gulp down a sandwich and chug some water. Of course, this is when the huge rooster came slashing to the boat. The potential fly fishing world record was incredibly aggressive and going after anything near it. With Ufe unable to do anything but just watch, Henning was able to flip a bait at the fish with a spin rod and was hooked up solid. The rooster was released, but Adolfo estimated it at 68 pounds. This is the second time this has happened with Ufe. Last year he and his Dad fished with me down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. Ufe did get several dorado and a couple of decent roosters on the fly, but his Dad is the one who got the 50 pound rooster on conventional gear. I had seen some small yellowfin tuna in the local Mercardo fish market, so I knew the commercial pangeros had found at least one school of tuna. Then, Santiago on the panga Gitana, came across diving birds at 10 miles fromr the port while fishing for sailfish. A live bait cast at them produced an 80-pound yellowfin for Ken Erdman of Pennsylvania. Also, talking to Cali on the Vamonos II, he said he has been averaging about three sailfish a day for his clients…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas Marlin and sailfish continue to be scarce and while a few are being spotted as well as caught, there are no large numbers of them anywhere. It appears that we are not going to see a repeat of the fantastic striped marlin fishery we have been having this time of the year for the past three years, but if we do, it means that everything else is going to be all contrary for the rest of the year. The few fish that were caught were found up in the Punta Gordo and Gordo Banks area, as well as very close to the beach on the Pacific side up around the Golden Gate Bank. News is bad for the yellowfin tuna fishermen. The catch on tuna is still spotty, with a few fish found here and a few found there. The fish that were found were smaller school fish to 35 pounds, but most of them were footballs at 5 to 15 pounds. All the fish found were associated with porpoise. The good news was the reappearance of the warm water and a few more dorado showing up… most of them were actually worth catching. This warm water brought in some larger fish and though the numbers have not been high, the fish have been quality fish in the 25- to 40-pound class. A few of these fish were found on the Pacific side around the seamounts in the warm water, but the better ones came in on the warm water flow from the east. Surprisingly there are still wahoo to be caught out there. Most of those were incidental catches, but at least they were there. The fish were not large, averaging just under 25 pounds. Inshore is providing the best action but that isn't working for everyone. The fish are concentrating in one area for several days and then they are gone. They seem to be constantly on the move. The sierra, yellowtail and amberjack will be in one place in the morning and two miles away in the afternoon. This may be due to the changing water temperature moving the bait around, but for whatever reason, one day can be red-hot and the next ice-cold. The whales are still providing thrills and if you are fishing offshore that is sometimes the only action you might see. The whales are inshore as well, so if you combine the inshore action with the whale action, inshore is definitely the place to be. ...George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update February 14, 2010 REPORT #1202 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape So you thought that Mexico was protecting the turtles… click here http://tiny.cc/turtleeggs After a week of up and down weather, including some gentle rain, today finally seemed like the beginning a few good days. Throughout the week on the good days the sierra were thick enough to attract the attention of the local gillnetters…sigh. The bad news is the roosters have begun to show and of course the nets are not very selective. A few of the boats that did venture offshore, however, found a few tailers below the lighthouse, but unfortunately they didn't seem to be too interested. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico Still slow action or is it lack of fishermen? Either/or the squirrely weather has kept everyone off the water. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico The 80° water is still here, but the blue water is still off the charts somewhere. At about six miles, we at least have a decent "clean" water, so a few fish are still in the area. The fleet is averaging only about onw sailfish a day per boat, with a few small dorado showing up for a few boats. The biggest problem has been the tremendous amount of debris in the water. From just off the beach, to out beyond 20 miles, the floating grass and river bank vegetation that washed out of the Rio Balsas River has made it real difficult to keep a trolling spread from getting fouled. Last week's 12" of rain in 30 hours really opened the flood gates on the rivers and washed a lot of debris in. It has been a deckhand's nightmare. Even with the captain dodging the worst of it, a line is always getting fouled. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, has been working the areas to the North and has been doing well on some large jack cravelle......…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas For most of the week the marlin and sailfish would not bite; you could find them but they were not hungry. Finally at the end of the week the bite picked up a little and boats began to get them to take both bait and lures. Most of the fish caught were found on the Cortez side of the Cape and the majority of them were striped marlin. There were some sailfish caught as well, a real surprise considering the water temperature. Yellowfin tuna still spotty…a few fish found here and there. Mostly it seems to be a matter of luck by boats that are actually in the historically producing areas. The fish that were found were smaller school fish to 35 pounds, but most of them were footballs from 5 to 15 pounds. All the fish found were associated with porpoise. Early in the week dorado were tough to find, but just after the first heavy winds came through there was a big school of small fish (and some of them were really small…smaller than sierra) just off of the beach between Gray Rock and the Westin on the Cortez side. These fish were within a mile of the beach and unfortunately they were hammered hard by the fleet. The school was blasted quickly and by the end of the week the fish were almost gone. There were a few larger fish found offshore on the Cortez side with some of the fish going as large as 35 pounds. Most of these were caught on lures by boats looking for marlin. There were a few wahoo being caught this week, and they were found close to the beach by boats working for the dorado in the area. None of the fish were large, averaging around 15 pounds. While the action offshore was slow, the inshore fishing was the way to go if you wanted action. There were plenty of sierra on both sides of the Cape to keep rods bent and fishermen happy. Along with the sierra were the occasional showing of yellowtail, snapper and grouper...George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update February 7, 2010 REPORT #1201 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape Sierra…it's all about teeth. Very little offshore action this week. Even the tin boat fleet remained on the beach except for the few with raincoats. There were some rumors of a good yellowtail bite at the drop off at La Ribera and the reef in front of Rancho Leonero. Believe it or not the roosters and jacks are still around and biting both lures and flies. I heard of at least one rooster landed that hit the fifteen-pound mark. But the fish of the week seemed to be the sierra. They provided the best beach action mostly early in the morning. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico The scheduled annual Governor's tournament was cancelled this week due to the poor weather conditions. It will be rescheduled in March. Aside from some snapper action in the Esteros, it has been a quiet week. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico Earlier in the week the action had really picked up with Margarito on the Gaby getting five sailfish and Cheva on the panga, Dos Hermanos II, releasing eight sails. They got their fish about four to seven miles in front of the White Rocks. Plus, Adan on the panga, Gitana II, went up north near the river bar at Union, getting three roosters and a sailfish on the way back. Then things went bad on us. On Tuesday morning we woke up to a very freak storm of lightning, thunder and rain. We got about 4" between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., with a total for the day of 8"... then another 2" last night plus an inch today. Incredible. The weather is predicted to be fine tomorrow so we are all going out. We all have clients wanting to get out of their hotel rooms. We'll soon find out how the rains affected the fishing.....…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas Billfish have not been the best choice to target as the success rate for those looking for a trophy fish have been low. Fish have been spotted but very few have been brought to the boat. Yellowfin tuna were scarce this week; the ones found were mostly football-sized fish up to 20 pounds and it was a long run south to get to the fish, sometimes as much as 40 miles. There were plenty of schools of porpoise but few of them were holding fish. A few boats were able to score fish closer to home, as well as to the south but we are talking about one or two fish per boat. I have heard that there had been some fish show up in the area of the Gordo Banks. The cool water has really shut down the bite for dorado, if you were able to find any. They have been scarce, and the word was that the few boats that found the fish could not get them to eat. No lures, no live bait, no fresh cut strips, nothing seemed to interest them. There were a few dorado brought in, but the consensus was the season is over unless we get a warm water eddy coming through. Inshore sierra showed up in good numbers with most anglers able to catch easy limits. While most of the fish are in the five to six-pound class, there have been a few good sized ones to 10 pounds. Don't turn away from these fish in disgust at their size. Match your tackle to the fish and they can provide lots of fun and are great smoked or for cerviche. Both side of the Cape have been producing well. Yellowtail are beginning to show up, mostly firecrackers this early in the year but there have been some fish to 20 pounds. Fishing around the points and rock bottom areas using live bait or iron jigs produced the majority of the fish. The pangas have also been getting into some grouper and a scattering of smaller sized roosterfish........George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update January 31, 2010 REPORT #1200 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape Caption: A week in Cancun This was one of those 'nice weather' weeks that are often bookended by north winds on both sides. The forecast indicates that it will hold through late next week, so the fishermen are smiling! They found a few dorado offshore and wonder of wonders a few billfish as well. Inshore they have been whacking the sierra. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico Mark and Jennifer Rayor, along with their good friend John Torres, spent most of the week at Cancun, a fishing village down at the southern end of the bay. They reported nice weather and all the spotted bay bass they wanted to catch along with several handfuls of small halibut. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico The deep blue water is still off the map, but the 82° clean water is here. The fishing for sailfish has been improving steadily, with two to three sailfish a day being posted by each boat in the fleet. Plus, a few boats, like the Gaby and the Gaviota, are getting between three and four per day. Dave Walmsley, of Calgary, Canada, fishing aboard Mike Buckley's panga, the Huntress with Captain Francisco, celebrated his birthday by releasing four sailfish. The first three were taken before 9:30 a.m....…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas No Report Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update January 24, 2010 REPORT #1199 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape Even the livestock enjoys a morning stroll on the beach. Mark Rayor reported, "very nice weather this week. Tin boaters are getting limits of sierra and an occasional small dorado. Not much traffic on the charter boats. I did hear that one Palmas boat got a couple of dorado to 35 pounds and a sailfish. Our dive instructor recorded 75 degree surface temp and 73 degrees at 80 feet of depth this week. Much warmer than normal. Air temps have been nice also. We have not had to light up our fireplace and are sleeping with windows open. As you can see in the photo I shot this morning even the livestock enjoys a morning stroll on the beach." Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico Storms in southern California brought windy conditions until Sunday when the wind stopped. Prior to the storms many marlin had be see outside along with huge schools of dorado. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico Historically, this week has been the best week of the best month of the year for sailfish action, with several boats flying double digit release flags on a daily basis. I am not going to jump on the bandwagon and blame it on global warming, but we certainly have not had that kind of a week. This last two weeks have not been anything like what we expected. At 80°, the water temperature is correct, but the blue water has been out there somewhere off the charts. However, even though the game rich deep blue water is a long ways off, the water is "clean" at about 6 miles, and we are catching a few sailfish. It appears the fleet is averaging about 1 to 2 sailfish per boat per day. For fly fishing, we have actually been having a bit better luck than the conventional gear fishermen. We have been averaging about 6 sailfish a day raised to the spread, 2 to 4 strikes a day, and 2 hooked fish. Last Sunday, fly fisherman Gary Lien of Seattle fished with Arturo and me on the panga Janeth. He hooked two sails. But, the next day he fished with Margarito, and they never even had a shot at a fish. Meanwhile, I went down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero with fly fisherman Gary Meger and his son James of Toronto Canada, and we had a very good day. First we fished the inshore to see if the roosters were still there. We raised 4 large ones, and Gary had a legitimate shot at a 40 pounder as he turned on the fly. We then went out to the 9 mile mark and Gary hooked a sail, James tagged and released a sailfish, and Gary also hooked an estimated 140 pound blue marlin. Unfortunately, a hooked fish does not always translate to a tagged and released fish. Gary's sailfish gave us one of the most photogenic leaps I have ever seen. And, I did not have my camera in hand, as I was getting the teaser rod out of the way. About 30 feet from the boat, the sailfish went vertical, with the early sun gleaning off its silver sides for the entire length of his body. The bright pink, red, and white fly was hanging from the corner of the mouth, and the cut leader about 5 feet behind. The marlin, lit up with incredible hues of ultra violet, teased to the boat´ perfectly, and ate Gary's fly just like you read in the books. As he took line, we were all congratulating ourselves, and then the hook pulled. We still have no idea why..…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas Striped marlin have been spotty and difficult to find, and most often they were not in the feeding mood. The few marlin spotted, combined with the rough seas, convinced most anglers to target other species. Several blue and a black marlin in the 600 to 800 pound range were reported feeding on dorado just off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side. An occasional large marlin was spotted on the Cortez side as well, but there were no reported hook-ups. Smaller school-sized yellowfin tuna were found along the ridge between the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Banks, but when the winds kicked up, the tuna catch became confined to an occasional hook-up on the Gordo Banks. Small dorado averaging twelve pounds were taken just off the beach along the Cortez coastline between the Santa Maria Bay and Red Hill, but catch numbers have diminished as the water temps continue to cool. There was a decent bite on wahoo averaging 30 pounds in the same area as the dorado, probably feeding on the same baitfish. While there were no big numbers, there were about two dozen caught each day. A few boats came in with two or three per trip. Due to strong winds and big swells, most of the action took place on the Cortez side of the Cape. Most days, the action was fair for sierra but the fishing really shined when schools were found and the anglers were able to get limits on fish averaging five pounds. There was sporadic, wide-spread action on other near-shore species such as snapper and grouper.......George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update January 16, 2010 REPORT #1198 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape Will Long, with his first tuna on a 12-weight rod earlier this month off Cabo. Plenty of north wind and few visitors resulted in the lack of fishing information available this week. I guess the theory is, if you can't say anything good, don't bother! According to Lance Peterson, it's wind, wind, wind and just when you've had your fill...more wind! Of course, the first sign of calm and the fish become active along the shoreline. Small schoolie roosters and good-sized sierra put on an early show as they dart to and fro feeding on tiny baitfish until the wind begins, and then they disappear. Meanwhile, many fantasize about how good the fishing must be offshore while they sit with eyes glued to their TVs waiting for the kickoff to begin this weekend's playoffs. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico Rumors of of-color water on the Thetis discouraged anyone from considering a trip there. While there is still decent action for small tuna and dorado about ten miles off outside the Bocas, there are few visitors to care. Most of the interest is in the arriving whales that can be found cavorting in the bay. The crowds are not as large as some years but there are more and morebuses arriving loaded with tourists eager to gawk at the huge mammals. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico The 80° water is still with us, but the sailfish action tapered off this last week. There were days where some boats did not even get a strike. Part of the reason was the blue water took off to parts unknown. However, the blue water is coming back now, and we are out of the full moon period. Fly fishing client, Enrique Amorte of Argentina, and I fished a day down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero, and much to our surprise, the roosterfish were there. Normally they are gone to parts South by now, but we raised seven. And, they were huge. All of them were 40 pound fish or more. The bite died off about 9:30, so we went out 9 miles and had two solid strikes on sailfish. Yesterday, Gary Meger of Toronto and I went North with Arturo on the panga Janeth. We started out with the sailfish and only had one strike. So we went back inshore. Along the beach at Saladita we raised a couple of small roosters and small jack cravelle. But, when we got to the beach at Buena Vista, we got in to a lot of nice jacks, and a few more large roosters.…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas Striped marlin are still being caught close to home, but not in any great numbers. A few boats went to the Golden Gate and Finger Banks to check out the activity and reported that there was no bait to be found in either place, but reports from boats transiting the area between Mag Bay and Cabo have reported good numbers of fish midway, so hopefully they will soon appear here. There have been some yellowfin in the 20- to 30-pound class south of the San Jaime Banks and were found with the white bellied porpoise but only the firstfew boats on the scene have been having any luck. Though scattered, the dorado saved quite a few charters this week. I am surprised that they are still around with the water as cool as it is, but most boats have been able to get a few in the fish box by the end of the day. Watching the frigate birds has been the best way to find them. Inshore the bite has been hit or miss on the sierra. There are still a few small roosterfish being caught and I had a report yesterday of a couple of small yellowtail as well. Some decent snapper and grouper are starting to show up in the fish wells also......George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update January 9, 2010 REPORT #1197 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape The teeth of winter always come out in January. The recent stretch of north winds seems mild compared to recent U.S. headlines declaring "bone chilling cold" enveloping most of the country. Below the border visitors and locals alike are content with the current 54 to 78 degree sunny weather. Lance Peterson had an upbeat report of more fish feeding along the shore with the subsiding wave action…typical winter roosterfish, 5 pounds or so scattered in the usual spots along with jacks. While he hadn't fished the grey light recently, the sierra had been coming within fly casting range when he last fished. We're due for a couple of flat days so conditions should improve. Mark Rayor also commented on the recent north winds. He went on to say that one of his boats was up at Punta Perico on a dive trip this week. The local pangeros were catching some decent sized YFT's to 30 pounds and there are some new shark buoys outside that were loaded with dorado. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico The reports of the continuing wahoo snap as well as the limits on dorado and tuna for the few anglers fishing make it seem almost like November. In addition, the marlin are finally around and feeding on a few bait balls. But it is January and much to everyone's relief the whales are here, right on schedule. This week marked the first new-born calf of the year. The weather has been perfect…no wind or swell. And finally, the grouper, sierra and corvina are biting full speed in the esteros...Bob Hoyt Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico The 80° blue water is still holding about 8 miles off the coast. Sailfish action has been very good this week, but a lot depended on whether your captain went North out of Zihuatanejo Bay, or South. For instance, the boat going to the North are averaging 1 or 2 sailfish a day, and boats to the South are doing much better, as summarized by Mike Buckley for the super panga Huntress on a trip earlier this week: We went 4 for 5 on sailfish yesterday about 20 miles south. Bait has been scarce over the holidays. Water temp was 83 and clear. A few blue marlin have been caught, with more expected in the upcoming month. This morning (Friday) was the first time in my 12 years of living here I had to cancel a trip due to rain at this time of the year. We have had a very unseasonable low over us the last three days, and even a little wind to make things a bit uncomfortable on the water. Adolfo and Cheva, on the pangas Dos Hermanos I and II, are reporting good sailfish action in the blue water, and very good jack crevalle action to both the North and South. Adolfo went down near Puerto Vicente Guerrero earlier this week and found the roosters. They released 10 before the clients had enough of the hard fighting fish and headed home...…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas As the water continues to cool the number of larger marlin is diminishing. However, as long as there are large bait in the area there is a chance at a blue or black marlin. The only large fish caught recently was a black marlin around 450 pounds between the 95 and 1150 area. Striped marlin action has been very sporadic with the off-days outweighing the good days. The favorite and best producing area continues to be from the Lighthouse on the Pacific side to the Lighthouse on the Cortez side. The expected action at the Finger and Golden Gate Banks has yet to happen, and it may be awhile before it does. Football-sized tuna were the most common caught, with only a few boats scoring on the better quality fish from 30 to 40 pounds. There were few however with the Pacific side between the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Bank seeming to produce the best; at least these areas were reachable by the day charters. The Gordo Banks also produced an occasional larger fish, up to 100 pounds, but it was a scratch fishery, nothing steady. The cooling waters have slowed the dorado action dramatically. About the only dorado action is beneath anything floating out in open water. Most boats were happy to get several dorado and a few were lucky enough to get a half-dozen during a trip. We had fly fishermen who caught a few on the fly every day…after hooking one on the troll, casting to following fish resulted in some in the 10 to 18 pound class. Most of this action occurred just up the beach on the Pacific side. There were a couple of days when I heard of boats getting one or two wahoo a day, mostly coming from the area of Gray Rock.....George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

REPORT #1196 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996 East Cape Caption: Ryan Eardly - age 10 Michigan jack cravelle Caught on a ranger surface popper lure while fishing with his dad, Pete, and Ramon out of Majahua (about 20 miles North of Zihuatanejo). Photo by Ed Kunze Compared to what is happening throughout the U.S., the relatively warm weather reinforces why many of us choose Baja. The only white stuff around here is the froth on the cold Cerveza and margaritas not snow on the ground. Sailfish the last week of the year along with dorado. Sure there is a little wind here and there. Some mornings the tin boats barely catch a limit of sierra before they can be seen scurrying back to shore as the wind picks up. Everyone's betting that the first flat day will yield plenty of first of the year catches. Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303 Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico Whale watching is center stage or will be when the whales complete their journey down the coast. Meanwhile the wahoo bite that won't quit has continued to provide limits for the few brave souls willing to make the bumpy ride uphill to Thetis. Water temperatures continue to remain in the low seventies. If they hold up it could be quite a January. Not many bothering to fish in the Esteros with all the holiday activities and whale watching preparations going on. Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150 Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico The 80° blue water is about 8 miles off the beach. Between the full moon phase and a barometer which has been bouncing up and down, the sailfish fishing has backed off a bit compared to the previous few weeks. Each boat is averaging one to two sailfish a day. Plus, most every boat is getting a shot at a decent 20-pound dorado or two. The larger numbers of rooster fish have fairly much left the area, but Adolfo, fishing up near the river bar at Union, is picking up one or two a day. Plus, he is also getting several nice hard fighting jack cravelle..…Ed Kunze Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582 Cabo San Lucas A few decent blue marlin and black marlin in the 400-pound class were recently found on the Pacific side close to the beach. In the case of the blue marlin, they were feeding on dorado, and on the Outer Gorda Bank feeding on bolito in the case of the black marlin. A few decent-sized sailfish were found as well; a few stripers were caught every day, but the best results were three fish in one day. At least they were close to home, almost on our doorstep. The action was between the lighthouse and the Solmar Hotel and deep drifting with live bait or slow trolling them on top produced the best results. However, most boats were getting shut out on the billfish. Football sized tuna were caught but only a few boats got into fish in the 30- to 40-pound range. Though the yellowfin were few and far between, the Pacific side between the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Bank seemed to produce more than most areas. The Gordo Banks continued to produce an occasional larger fish, up to 100 pounds. What happened to the dorado? One week it was great and then all of a sudden they seemed to disappear! From the coastline to Todo Santos only one striped marlin and one dorado were produced; up until recently, it was no problem getting limits on dorado in that area. Sierra action had been great but recently the bite has really dropped off; most boats were happy to get a few in the box. Small roosterfish and a few bottom fish rounded out the inshore action....George and Mary Landrum Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191