CONVENTIONAL FISHING REPORT FOR LORETO, B.C.S. MEXICO
updated on July 5, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Our shop is open inside Mediterraneo Restaurant on the malecon. Hours are 2:00 - 8:00 p.m. evey day but Tuesday. Here is our contact information. Call us or stop by if you're in Loreto and want to go out.

INSHORE REPORT:

As June progressed Loreto's weather became increasingly warmer and by the end of the month it appeared as though summer had finally arrived. Two hurricanes well to the South were positioned in such a way as to send warm water up the Sea of Cortez. While the offshore waters heated into the mid 80's (F) the inshore water stayed in the upper 70's (F) due to the islands blocking the warm currents. These temps are perfect for the inshore species. By the end of last week calm weather caused a warming of the inshore water and the fishing slowed down, but we also had a full moon phase to contend with.

Winds generated from Hurricane Alex that hit the Eastern coast of Mexico were produced over the Sea of Cortez as that storm dissapated and moved Westward. As a result we had three windy days off Loreto on July 2,3, and 4 but today (Jul 5) it is flat calm again. That wind did a couple of things besides blow us off the water for a couple of days; first it reduced the inshore water temperatures very nicely so this will bring back the bite off our Southern shorelines like Punta Baja, Danzante, Punta Perico, and the coastline from town to past Puerto Escondido; and secondly t has likely detached some of the sargasso growing on the rocks along the shorelines.

Yellowtail

Yellowtail have been consistent and large coming off the seamounts at depths of 150 - 300 feet. The current requires 8-10 oz. of lead weight on a heavy leader (80 pound). The Yellowtail are eating the bigeye, jurelito and mackerel. These are large fish 35-40+ pounds. Size will depend on where they're being caught. There are several bajos (sea-mounts) we're fishing and they happen one at a time it seems. some of these bajos are Punta Lobos, la cinquenta, and la vaca at the North point of Isla Carmen. Punta Perico, Punta Almejas, San Bruno, Ildefonso, Candeleros off Coronado and Danzante. We suggest departing at 05:30 to get your bait and head out of the marina no later than 06:00 a.m. as the bite has been early.

Cabrilla and Pargo

Cabrilla and Pargo have been slow due to the bright moon phase and warming of the water that we'd experienced but this week we expect an improvement. Water temps along the shorelines are cool again and the moon phase is darker so now that the winds died down we expect some good fishing along the shoreline for these species. Troll a rapala along the shorelines to conserve bait we find that a hot orange/lime green combination works very well. If you can't find a lure like that spray paint one, that's what we do.

Roosterfish

They're out there, they are rather large and they can be caught by trolling live bait. This is the way the largest fish generally are caught. For bait we have mackerel, anchovies, bigeye and some sardinas all of which can be tolled. Live bait can also be flylined where the roosters are feeding. We're seeing small roosterfish South of town along the shorelines from Nopolo to Puerto Escondido and also North off Punta Colorado. Much larger Roosterfish are off Punta Baja and North of Punta Colorado off San Bruno. These roosterfish are over 30 pounds and some are estimated to weigh 50 pounds.

Sierra Mackerel

We're not catching sierra Mackerel anymore but we'll be seeing them again in late October to early November and through the winter.

Other Inshore Species

Skipjack and Bonita have been caught off San Bruno and these fish are weighing from 5 to over 20 pounds. They are feeding at the surface and are excellent light tackle fish that will take a variety of lures from chrome krokodiles to cripples herrings to swim baits.

The malecon and shorelines in front of town have been loaded with nice big Jack Crevalle. The Jack Crevalle are called "Toro" here (bulls) and they are biting along the malecon and breakwaters about an hour after low tide when the tide starts to come in. They are ranging from 10 to over 30 pounds and are being found all along the coastline from el Baja to South of Nopolo.

June 27, 2010: A nice big Jack Crevalle (known as Toro here) caught in front of the Malecon.
Photo courtesy of The Fly fishing Shop, Welches, OR. See their newsletter with their Loreto week (June 25-30) reported.

For detailed information on the named locations within this report, please click on our fishing maps section. Also included are maps that further detail our fishing areas.

OFFSHORE REPORT- DORADO, SAILFISH AND MARLIN:

Sailfish and Marlin

Our offshore water heated up thanks to Hurricane Celia that reached category 4 status. although she wasn't a threat to us she pushed up significant amounts of warm water from the South up into our area and also points North. As a result our offshore water warmed up into the mid 80's like the pelagics like. The break has been very distinctly visible on the Terrefin Sea Surface Temperature charts and we followed those maps for the last couple of weeks in June. Right where the big break was, which was about 10-15 miles East of Punta Lobos was where the water cleared up and we found the fish. Marlin, Sailfish and the occasional large Dorado were caught in that mass of warm water. The Tripui dorado tournament which consisted mainly of conventional boats trolling lures and live bait. The three largest Dorado weighed in were all over 40 pounds.

Dorado

Fly and light tackle fishermen are finding the occasional school of Dorado under sargasso paddies or other floating objects. We've had a dead whale, a dead dolphin and a 55 gallon drum all holding schools of Dorado under them. Without the sardinas you must drift to the floatsam and cast your lures in order to bring fish up out from underneath the structure. It will take more casts than it would if we had sardinas but if Dorado are underneath the lures will get their attention. Of course without the sardinas it will be hard to keep Dorado schooled up so be ready cast to and catch a fewer fish then in previous years then move on to look for more. That's the way it is this season.

June 28, 2010: A nice Dorado for a well-deserved, persistent and patient fly angler.
Photo courtesy of The Fly fishing Shop, Welches, OR. See their newsletter with their Loreto week (June 25-30) reported.

We are hoping to set out buoys. Each buoy takes time and money to make as we need to weight it down with metal and cement, use swivels, incorporate many meters of rope and also put together construction foam to float the buoy. If any local ex-pat fishermen would like to contribute to our effort please call me at 135-1603. Each buoy costs about $200 USD to make and set out and if we set out four our chances of getting Dorado around them and making our fishing season more fun will increase significantly this year.

Sailfish have been more numerous than Marlin and they are being found in the warm clear blue water offshore. We haven't had fly anglers that have been targeting them as nobody we have wants to troll but now that the winds have calmed down we will have some trips out to scout for them later this week.

BAIT AND MARINA REPORT

Jack Crevalle (like the one at left caught off the marina breakwall) have been consistent for fishermen along the marina, beaches and breakwall in town. These fish are running from 10-25 pounds with some larger ones. The bite has been starting about 1 hour after the lowest tide of the day and has been continued through mid-morning.

The Jacks are grouping up the anchovies, bigeye and jurelitos often all four species will end up in the cast net. Netting for bait has been taking place from first light through 8:00 a.m. Sardinas are in the marina and along the shorelines but unfortunately they are only about 1 inch in length and need to grow two more inches before they are of any use to us. Their growth rate is about 1/2 inch per week. Some of the sardinas are large enough but there still aren't enough so assume to go bait-less or with bigeye or mackerel. There have been no squid in the area this year.

CURRENT BAIT PRICES:
Mackerel/Bigeye:	$20.00 U.S. (for fifteen baitfish)
Jurelitos:	$20.00 U.S. (for about two dozen individuals)
~~Sardinas:~~	~~$15.00 U.S.~~ no sardinas yet