Pete Thomas Outdoors

False killer whales fail to spoil Zihuatanejo roosterfish bite

Fishermen are few these days off Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, but those who have traveled to this beautiful part of Mexico recently probably were not disappointed.

Guide and longtime Zihuatanejo resident Ed Kunze reports an abundance of sailfish and some blue marlin in the blue water offshore, which at present is only about six miles from the beach.

A private yacht from Ixtapa Marina returned to port Thursday flying six sailfish release flags.

Kunze also reports a wide-open roosterfish bite closer to shore, and these powerful members of the jack family have been the primary targets for fly anglers. There are lots of jack crevalle in the same areas, too.

Fly-fishing guide Lance Peterson has enjoyed a productive week with clients from California, but the bite was interrupted one of the days by the arrival of predatory false killer whales, which cruised the nearshore waters and scattered the game fish.

Kunze spent one day acting as guide for Houston anglers Rosario and Cecile Tortoice. They ended up with five roosterfish to about 40 pounds, caught and released aboard Dos Hermanos.

-- Photo: Rosario and Cecile Tortorice, and Capt. Adolfo (center), pose with one of five roosters caught off Zihuatanejo aboard the Dos Hermanos. Credit: Ed Kunze

Marlin fishing remains a game of patience off Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas fishermen have seen more striped marlin during the past week but, as Capt. George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing reports, "They were not swimming around with their mouths open."

Landrum adds: "It took time, patience and working the right fish to get hooked up as it appeared most of the fish were still full of squid."

With the exception of mullet, bait fish remain hard to find and this is the case all the way north to the East Cape region.

Cabo anglers did encounter football-size yellowfin tuna close to port, within five miles of the Gray Rock area, but those fish had largely disappeared by the weekend.

Dorado are being caught sporadically by anglers trolling live bait; even by those trolling close to shore for roosterfish.

In the Sea of Cortez, inshore fishing for jacks and roosterfish is still better than offshore fishing for glamor species such as marlin, dorado and tuna.

Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas out of La Playita said, however, that a 450-pound black marlin was caught, and that fleets from Puerto Los Cabos/La Playita accounted for nine striped marlin releases during the past week.

At the East Cape, fishing is fair or good, depending on who is filing the report. But action seems to have slightly improved for marlin and dorado. Most of the dorado caught this past week, however, were small fish taken close to shore.

Yellowfin tuna are being located beneath porpoises far offshore, but they're easily spooked and those who are first to find them are enjoying the most success.

Mike Hergert of Coronado, Calif., reports that during his week-long stay at Rancho Leonero Resort last week he caught two marlin (released), six tuna to about 50 pounds, two dorado from a kayak, two roosterfish and several smaller fish that were caught from the beach with a fly rod.

That's a great week and a promising sign that fishing is, in fact, improving.

-- PTO

Marlin photo courtesy of Bill Wilson

Cabo San Lucas-area fishing is finally on the upswing

Fishing is finally picking up off Cabo San Lucas and especially to the north in Baja California's East Cape region.

It's good because landing operators and resort owners are running out of ways to spin news that action was not up to normal springtime standards.

There's still lots of room room for improvement but during the past week marlin became more cooperative, primarily in the Sea of Cortez; dorado and small tuna showed up offshore, and roosterfish finally arrived off beaches, adding to the variety this region is famous for."I think we finally are out of our fishing slump,

said John Ireland, owner of Rancho Leonero Resort at the East Cape.

A side note to East Cape action: Small roosterfish have become prevalent along the shore. Fly anglers using clover-rat patterns  have been catching lots of 3-pound roosters and ladyfish from the beach, according to guide Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja.

The wahoo bite is surprisingly good for this time of year, with fish from 40-80 pounds breezing from Cabo San Lucas to the San Luis Bank, reports Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas.

Brictson also reports slightly improved striped marlin activity off Chileno and at the Gordo Banks, with caballitos accounting for most. Capt. George Landrum, of Fly Hooker Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, reports only fair fishing for marlin on the Pacific side of the peninsula, where larger blue and black marlin are sporadically being hooked.

Catch of the week honors belong to East Cape resident Jim Moyer, who bagged a 28-pound snook in one of the lagoons. (Thanks for Gary Graham of Baja on the Fly for this report and the accompanying image.)

Snook, especially large snook, represent an unusual catch in the region. But this has been a highly unusual spring.

-- PTO

Photo: Jim Moyer displays 28-pound snook caught in an East Cape-area lagoon. Credit: Baja on the Fly

Life at 'the Ranch' is never dull for intrepid Baja anglers

An unseasonable north wind raged across the Sea of Cortez during the first two days of our visit last week to Rancho Leonero Resort in Baja California Sur's remote East Cape region.

My brother Scott and I realized fishing would be tough, even after the wind subsided, especially at the offshore marlin and tuna grounds.

But we also knew we had arrived at one of our favorite destinations, regardless of conditions, and that all that was required to catch fish was some improvisation.

During those first two days we stayed ashore, snorkeling and casting over a reef that sprawls before a sleepy resort that rests atop a desert bluff overlooking the sea and its stunning aquamarine hues.

We saw plenty of colorful fish through our masks and didn't mind that we caught only a few small croakers and cabrillas with light-tackle rods. The sun kept us warm and the prospect of afternoon beers, poolside on the patio, kept us in a proper mind-frame.

On the third day, with the wind having laid down, we fished aboard a super-panga with a whistle-happy captain named Santos. Our goal was to stay reasonably close to shore and catch edible fish for dinner, then try for a few roosterfish to cap the outing.

Santos came through on the first mission. We used live mullet and jigged Krocodiles beyond the Lighthouse area to hook enough African pompnao and pargo to feed us and some friends we had made during our stay.

What few roosterfish we encountered were in a funk, however, and refused to even inspect our hooked mullet. But jack crevalles, stronger cousins of roosterfish, were visible in packs and we each caught a 15-pounder before calling it a day.

The pompano that night (pictured at left) was savory, more tender and sweeter-tasting than the pargo, but both were attacked with knife-and-fork by those sitting at our patio table. Life at "the Ranch" is especially good, indeed, when a plate full of fresh fish becomes part of the fare.

Because the sea needed more time to settle and warm we did not venture back out on a boat, but instead chose to roam the shoreline on ATVs during our final full day and last morning. We were fortunate that Gary Barnes-Web, the resort's general manager, had enough free time to serve as our guide. He uses a throw-net to catch mullet, and while that did not help us achieve our target of caching large roosterfish from the beach, it did enable us to land and release three more jack crevalles (see top photo of Scott's second release).

We also cruised to the north and visited the other small resorts dotting this Baja's eastern shore. Sadly, most are still reeling because of Mexico's war on drugs and associated violence, even though that violence has not occurred in southern Baja or anywhere close to the East Cape.

But business is better than it was at this time last year, so maybe people are beginning to feel more comfortable about traveling to certain destinations in Mexico and rediscovering their charm and allure.

Rancho Leonero, with its rich history and attentive staff, is one such destination. Scott and I plan to go back as soon as we can get away. After all, we each have a score to settle with some hulking roosterfish.

-- Pete Thomas

Photos of Baja's varied catch by Pete and Scott Thomas

Editor's note: Reports early this week out of the East Cape tell of a vastly improved roosterfish bite. Of course I am not surprised.

Eastern Sierra trout opener always a big story for anglers

Saturday marks the beginning of the Eastern Sierra general trout-fishing season, and thousands of anglers from Southern California will be on hand to enjoy the region's most festive day.

Unfortunately, this also marks the first opener for me as the former outdoors reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and I have other plans and will not be attending.

But fond memories are piled inside my brain after covering perhaps 20 of these remarkable rites of spring.

I recall ice-fishing with numb feet one year at Lake Sabrina (and loving it!), and out-fishing all others another year on a blustery parcel of Crowley Lake shoreline (very unusual for me to out-fish anyone).

The most lasting impressions were made by happy children as they reeled in wriggling trout, or toted stringers up the docks, or used long, sharp knives to help their fathers' clean and gut their slimy catches.

This tradition has outlasted recessions and high gas prices. It remains popular despite what you see--or no longer see--in fast-shrinking modern-era newspapers.

Back in another era, the newspaper I worked for would send a photographer with me and play up the opener for what it represents: the ushering in of a new fishing season by families and friends, and introducing children to the majestic Sierra wilderness.

Some of the children I interviewed back then--I always tried to get a kid's perspective--will bring their kids to this year's opener, which spans the scenic 100-mile stretch from Bishop to Bridgeport.

This could be a colder throwback type of opener, as wintry weather is still lingering. There will be lots of snow in some areas, so there will be snowmen built and snowballs thrown among the early arrivals killing time before the first legal day of fishing.

On Saturday, someone, probably at one of the Twin Lakes in Bridgeport or at Bridgeport Reservoir or at Convict Lake, will land a double-digit whopper and earn bragging rights for having caught the day's biggest fish.

But that's not the most important aspect of opening day. It's just being there. I know several families and groups of friends who have been carrying on this tradition for more than 25 years, and a few who have done so for 40 years.

One of my former colleagues, photographer Thomas Kelsey, emailed today to alert me that his group is gearing up for its 27th annual adventure.

My tradition was to file my advance story then drive up two days early, on a Thursday, and spend those days--before my workday began on Saturday--fishing the few waters that are open year-round, with friends such as Carrie Wilson, Shawn Arnold, Joe Trgo, Marlon Meade and Dave Strege, my former counterpart at the Orange County Register.

Most of us would stay in Bishop on Friday and enjoy the press party staged so graciously the night before each opener by the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. We'd rub elbows and sip beer and wine with local residents, fisheries biologists, outfitters and community leaders.

My opening days were spent doing a little fishing, if possible, then driving from fishing hole to fishing hole, looking for big fish and the stories behind them.

Unfortunately, though, times are changing and outdoors reporters at newspapers are an endangered species. Strege got laid off via telephone the day after covering the 2008 opener. My walking papers were delivered last Dec. 18.

The good news, however, is that when I do attend my next opener--and I will attend future openers--I won't have to take notes and can do more fishing. Just maybe I can even earn bragging rights, although as my friends will attest, that prospect is highly unlikely.

-- Pete Thomas

Photos from last year's opening weekend by Pete Thomas

Zihuatanejo anglers enjoy unusually good striped marlin action

El Niño could be a factor, or it could simply be a seasonal fluke, but anglers off the mainland Mexican port of Zihuatanejo are enjoying some highly unusual striped marlin activity. For more please see guide Ed Kunze's report, pasted below:

With the change to a cooler dirty water, and some very large waves hitting the beaches, the very good inshore action for jack crevalle and sierras has taken a nose dive this week. However, the slack has been taken up in spades with excellent blue water fishing.

Striped marlin, like last year, showed up again this year. Historically we rarely catch striped marlin here, but when they have shown up these last two years we have been getting more striped marlin than sailfish. 

Most of the fish are being caught between 12 and 18 miles offshore, with each boat in the fleet averaging two striped marlin and a sailfish a day. Naturally the better captains are doing better than that.

Some notable catches this last week were with Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos with four striped marlin and five sailfish in one day. All fish were released. 

Capt. Santiago of the panga Gitana, reported the following:

--Debbie Goggins from Alaska on released two striped marlin and one sailfish fishing with Adan on the Gitana II.

--Dan Gaffney with his wife and son from North Carolina released three striped marlin, two sailfish, and caught many jacks and bonitos in six days this he past week. They fished with Santiago on the Gitana.

--Also, Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II released three striped marlin yesterday, and Arturo on the panga Janeth released three striped marlin and two sailfish.

-- Ed Kunze

Striped marlin photo courtesy of Chic McSherry

Baja roosterfish on the fly? It doesn't get much better

The relationship between fly-fishing guide and client is special if all gears click, and when the former puts the latter on a truly remarkable game fish and the quarry is landed, photographed and released, it's just a perfect day.

The accompanying photo shows Alaska's Stacy Corbin beaming after the capture, from the beach in Baja California Sur's remote East Cape region, of a large roosterfish after a 20-minute fight. The angler was just as emotional while watching the fish swim to freedom (below).

Corbin had sought a quality rooster for a long time and Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja finally put the angler on a fish that would cooperate.  "It was a great afternoon," boasted DeBrown.

You can see by Corbin's expression that it was a marvelous afternoon.

And as for general fishing off the East Cape, it's improving as the windy season finally seems to have ended. A lot of anglers are targeting marlin offshore in the morning, and roosterfish and other near-shore species during the afternoon.

-- Pete Thomas

Photos courtesy of Jeff deBrown

Annual Fly Fishing Show arrives this weekend in Pasadena

The Fred Hall Show, which catered largely to conventional anglers, had its big run last week in Long Beach. Now fly fishermen are looking forward to the Fly Fishing Show this weekend at the Pasadena Center.

It's an ideal manner by which to kick-off the spring season or, as the event website says, to cure your cabin fever. The gathering will include representatives from prime destinations around the world, as well as renowned casters, fly-tiers, tackle manufacturers, authors and artists.

Those considering booking a trip will have plenty to choose from, as reps from as far south as Argentina and as far north as Alaska, including many points between and beyond, will be on hand. Tarpon, peacock bass, steelhead, barramundi, roosterfish... take your pick.

About 80 commercial exhibitors will fill the Pasadena Center's exhibition hall. There will be two casting ponds for demonstrations and instructors include Mac Brown, Jason Borger and Ed Engle.

Door prizes include tackle giveaways and trips for two to Pesca Maya on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula; Four Rivers Fishing Company in Montana; Picacho Lodge in Chilean Patagonia, and Restigouche River Lodge in New Brunswick, Canada.

Cabo San Lucas fishing slow, but showing some improvement

The following fishing report was sent from Cabo San Lucas on Monday by Capt. George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing. Those planning a trip to Baja California's tip ought to skip directly to the "Inshore" portion of the report, because that's where the good news is typed (expect for the sierra poaching, of course). On the bright side, offshore fishing will pick up in a few weeks, if not sooner. Here's Landrum's report:

Billfish: Marlin fishing has remained slow, the best I saw this past week was one boat flying three flags as he returned from a charter. Quite a few more boats were able to find the fish this week, compared to last week and they were biting a bit better, but it was still nothing to write home about, at least for those of us who go out all the time. The fish seemed to be concentrated closer to shore than normal, most of the fish were found within three miles of the beach, and on both sides of the Cape.

Yellowfin tuna: Just like last week, most of the tuna that were found were quite a long way from home, necessitating a two hour or more cruise to get to where you might find some. At least that was the conditions for most of the week. There are always exceptions though and on Saturday there was a pod of dolphin found three miles off of Chileno Beach that had loads of football tuna, 5- to 20-pound fish, and the first dozen boats to get there had a blast. There were a few other close in fish found this week as well but for the most part tuna were a long run from home with your fingers crossed!

Dorado: Just a few yellow flags were flying this week, most of the boats did not have any luck with Dorado and those that did only got one or two at the most. The fish were found offshore on the Cortez side by boats searching for tuna and there were a few very small ones in close to the beach, also on the Cortez side of the Cape.

Fred Hall Show is first great fishing expedition of the season

If you live in Southern California and are a fisherman, your most anticipated excursion of the spring season does not result in a single catch, or even a cast, and it involves no getting back to nature whatsoever.

It's a visit to the Long Beach Convention Center for the annual Fred Hall Show, which runs Wednesday through Sunday and, as usual, has lured thousands from within the industry.

For many, this great gathering of destination reps and tackle and boat manufacturers affords a chance to rub elbows with past acquaintances, and to bump into old friends who likewise have become show regulars. I can't wait to stop by the booths of some of the friends I made over the years: Shawn Arnold of Fish Taco Chronicles; Phil Friedman of 976-TUNA; John Ireland of Rancho Leonero Resort; Jared Smith of Parchers Resort in the Eastern Sierra; Seth Bone of Kingfisher Charters in Sitka, Alaska, and many more.

There is no beating the crowds at the Fred Hall Show, which last season, despite the global recession, experienced an increase in attendance as more than 200,000 had passed through convention hall doors throughout the five days.

But as is the case with the Eastern Sierra during the general trout-fishing opener, which this year falls on April 24, you'd be disappointed if there wasn't a large crowd. Hope to see you at both events.

(Note: A smaller version of the Fred Hall show is scheduled March 24-28 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.)

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of Fred Hall Show courtesy of Fred Hall Show