Yellowfin tuna are still actively feeding at the Gordo Banks, north of Cabo San Lucas in the Sea of Cortez.
But the problem for anglers at the popular fishing spot is two-fold: The tuna are gorging on naturally occurring red crabs and largely ignoring sardinas being cast in their midst, and sea lions have flooded into the area and are stealing hooked baits and game fish.
"After having left for a week or so, groups of sea lions moved back onto the Gordo Banks and played havoc on anglers concentrating on the yellowfin bite," remarked Eric Brictson, owner of Gordo Banks Pangas, in his Sunday catch report. "These sea lions were hungry, aggressively eating all of the sardina baits they could, then rapidly attacking any hooked fish and making anglers' odds that much more difficult."
The pelagic red crabs seem to have bloomed at depth at Gordo Banks, which are just north of San Jose del Cabo. It's possible that the presence of so many crabs is related to increased sea lion activity.
In any case, the phenomenon probably won't last long. With the first hint of spring in the air, and slowly rising water temperatures, conditions are changing and fishing for most species should improve in the coming weeks.
In fact, some Cabo San Lucas fleets are finding tuna much farther offshore, beyond the Chileno Bay area, and they're not quite as line shy. A Washington state group, aboard Rebecca out of Pisces Sportfishing, caught 22 while trolling cedar plugs and brown-back lures.
The tuna have been running from 10 to about 50 pounds.
-- Pete Thomas
It's the other way around. The tuna anglers are a problem for the sea lions.
Posted by: SpanishNY | Feb 28, 2011 at 03:51 PM