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WINTER OPPORTUNITIES IN BAJA
Throughout much of the United States the winter season can
be the time to put away your saltwater fishing gear and hibernate
until the springtime thaw, but south of the border at the southern
tip of Baja California anglers can find a winter wonderland for a
variety of popular tropical gamefish.. Every year this desert
paradise is becoming one of the more favorite places for vacationers
to visit and enjoy the warm Baja sunshine along with the incredible
opportunity to find such saltwater species  as striped marlin,
dorado, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, sierra, roosterfish, jack crevalle,
pargo, grouper, amberjack, cabrilla, pompano and yellowtail. This is
the season when the sun shines everyday, no rain or snow, just sunny
days with average high temperature of 75 to 78 degrees.
Typically the offshore conditions are very calm, the larger southern
swells that pass through during the summer are not a factor in the
cooler months. The northeast winds can blow relentlessly at times
but this does not affect certain areas that are sheltered closer to
shore and on these breezy days the charter boats can find plenty of
action in the calm waters just off the beautiful beaches. February
is usually the windiest month and ordinarily when it does blow it
will be for several straight days and then it will lay down and
leave ideal ocean conditions for anglers to work the fishing grounds
further offshore. The standard trade winds blow offshore from the
west early in the morning and then as the sun comes up higher in the
sky the wind resides and the creates calm seas for the rest of the
morning, then the breeze will often blow again in the afternoon,
from either the northeast or the south.
The water temperature, as it is just about any otherplace, is a
major dominating factor as to what species of fish are active during
certain periods, and this is definitely true in Baja also. Most of
the season the water temperature will stay in the 70 to 75 degree
range, this being throughout the cooler months, which are December
through April. During an extreme year it can dip down
between 65 and 68 degrees, especially in February and March if the
north winds prove too persistent. Particular species have their
preference of water temperature, such as wahoo, who like it best
from 76 to 82 degrees and striped marlin, who are most active from
70 to 74 degrees and then there are sierra that cruise the inshore
waters and prefer 72 to 76 degrees. Usually these temperature ranges
are the same ones that attract particular schools of favorite
baitfish like mackerel, mullet and sardinas. When the surface water
temperature drops below 70 degrees it generally becomes difficult to
find much fishing action for marlin, dorado or tuna, so this is the
time when working lures and bait down deep off the bottom rock piles
can be productive.
The most common catches during the winter months from the
offshore fishing grounds include striped marlin, yellowfin tuna,
skipjack, dorado, with wahoo being more of an incidental catch that
can be taken as they are migrating through the region. The species
that are commonly taken closer to shore during this time period are
sierra, jack
crevalle, pargo, needlefish, pompano and most popular of all, the
roosterfish. Methods of fishing include everything from live and
dead bait to all types of
trolling and casting lures, including rapalas and flies. Anglers
fishing the bottom typically have combined catches of pargo,
amberjack and cabrilla with a variety of other fish being mixed in
on any given day, such as pompano, grouper or yellowtail. Overall it
is the time when the variety can be incredible, you can easily end
up catching between six
and ten different types of fish in a single day. Most of them are
truly excellent table fare and many anglers do like to freeze
their fresh catch and haul it back home with them in an ice chest.
This is encouraged but also there must be respect to release as many
fish as possible back into the Sea of Cortez so that it will help
preserve the quality fishery for future generations.
Striped marlin are the kings of the offshore waters from January
through May. During the warmer months of the summer they
migrate north into the waters off of Southern California, following
their favorite food supplies of mackerel and squid. The average
weight of these locally named " stripers " is from
100 to 140 pounds, but every year there are some landed that weigh
over 200 pounds. These fish have a range as far north into the Sea
of Cortez as Loreto and Mulege but are most plentiful at the
southern
tip of the Baja Penninsula. They can be found as close to shore as
one mile but typically prefer the deeper blue water from 5 to 15
miles
offshore.
Striped Marlin have a reputation of incredible endurance and
amazing aerial displays and when hooked on light or medium tackle in
the 20 to 40 pound class they provide an awesome battle that
typically will last close to one hour or more.
The most common and productive techniques that are used when
targeting marlin include three basic methods. First of which is
setting out plastic clone style lures in the 8 to 12 inch size in
the general area where marlin migrate through and keep your eyes
open to spot any sign of feeding activity or tailing marlin on the
surface. The more eyes the better, because it is a large area
to cover and this type of fishing calls for team work. All during
this time trolling there could be a blind strike at any time,
sometimes the fish will not become hooked but still will be
aggressively following the lure. At
this time a person must think fast and if live bait is available
have one rigged on an leader set up and drop it overboard towards
the fish and at the same time the crew retrieves the rest of the
trolling lures, more often than not this technique will result in
the marlin attacking the bait. While traveling distances over
the water while dragging lures behind the boat you are constantly
search for signs of any marlin fins, usually it is later on in the
morning when
more marlin will be seen on the surface and when there is a strong
swell
running this will really get them on the move, riding the surface
waves, in the direction with the swell. On calm days the marlin can
be spotted on the surface, either sleeping or just lazily moving
along. This is when an angler wants to communicate with the skipper
so that they can synchronies their moves. The idea is to maneuver
the boat from behind and off to the side of the fish to within
casting range if possible, then cast the bait out so that it
drifts back near the front of the marlin, at the same time you free
spool your reel and hold your pole high up so that it stays clear of
the water. At times the marlin will instantly move in to take the
bait and other times it will completely ignore it. If it does
not take it the first time and is still up on the surface you can
quickly reposition yourself to make another cast out in front of the
fish, sometimes this will take many attempts before a marlin will
finally take the bait and then there are times that the marlin will
not be spooked but just will not take the bait no matter what you
do. They are moody and often
become shy, it is a good idea to try lighter mono leader material of
80 pound test and sometimes go all the way down to straight 50
pound. This will often get them to bite but will usual end up in
broken off lost fish. When the striped marlin are in local waters,
they can be abundant at times and travel in schools, they
become more competitive when they are in groups. It is not uncommon
to see twenty or more marlin during a day and hook and land several
in a few hours. Typically the boats targeting them average one or
more a day when the marlin are here and migrating through the
Southern
Baja waters.
Other successful methods are racing to feeding marlin that
have been spotted and casting into them, then waiting for them to be
located again and racing to the next spot to repeat the process.
This can be very fun fishing if the swells are not too large,
typically it is the first couple of boats that arrive to the feeding
marlin that are rewarded with fresh hook ups. Another common
technique is to soak or drift live bait down at different depths
once an area is located that is known to hold marlin and after the
surface has proved no results to speak of. This can be after signs
of free jumping marlin or schooling bait activity. Most common
baitfish is mackerel and often the marlin will locate schools and
then coral them into tight meat balls that they then will take turns
slashing through. This is no doubt a very popular sport, chasing
striped marlin, the odds of finding action are a lot better than
with the larger black and blue marlin of the summer months and once
hooked a novice angler has a lot better chance of actually landing
them.
Dorado are also common offshore during the same season as
when the striped marlin are here, but they are not as numerous as
they are in the warm months. These are tropical fish and they prefer
warm conditions but are found in local water all year. From inshore
to offshore they are unpredictable as to where they will be the next
day and really like to follow any type of floating debris that may
be adrift. Dorado normally average 5 to 25 pounds but can get to
over 70 pounds, largest specimens are usually taken during April,
May, June and July. Fishing techniques include trolling medium size
feathers, plastic skirted lures and both whole and strip bait. Once
located there is a good chance of more fish being in the close
vicinity and often there will be other free following fish near one
that is hooked up. Always be ready to cast out another bait when the
chance is there, you never know if you will be fortunate enough to
locate another school
that day. These fish are known for their beautiful rainbow colors
and the incredible battle they put on when hooked. Excellent eating,
this is the same fish that is known as mahi- mahi on restaurant
menus.
Yellowfin tuna provide some of the more consistent action
throughout the winter and spring seasons. Typically these are
schooling fish that range from 10 to 50 pounds, there are exceptions
such as this past year when the Gordo Banks produced the most
incredible action for big yellowfin tuna, that ranging up to 300
pounds. Not even any of the long time locals could remember more
large tuna being taken from the banks. In the coolest months
the tuna are generally found closer to shore and are taken mainly
with live sardinas that are either slowly trolled or drift fished.
These schooling football sized tuna can become line shy and it is
always an advantage to use as light as line as possible, 15 to 30
pound tackle seems to be the perfect match for these feisty fish.
During springtime and early summer the tuna are generally found
further offshore, anywhere from 5 to 25 miles and are more often
than not found traveling with migrating porpoise. Trolling
medium sized feathers, cedar plugs, rapalas and using live bait can
all produce fantastic results if the fish are up and feeding, if the
fish are not up it can be worth the
time to be patient and work the area a while to see if they come
back near the surface and go back on the bite. For the larger tuna
that hold on the banks it is typically the chunk bait method and
trolling larger live baits that is most successful. The yellowfin
tuna will still bite in water as cool as 68 degrees but they do
definitely prefer clean and blue water, so it is best to
search out the more favorable areas.
Fishing for a variety of bottom fish can be an excellent
alternative when the surface conditions are not right and it proves
difficult to find any cooperative fish. There are scores of
rocky areas that attract fish, the depths range from less than
100 feet up to 200 feet and usually within a couple miles of the
shore line. Successful anglers use a combination of chunk and
whole baits, along with iron jigs, which draw strikes when
they are retrieved at a fast rate up from the bottom. This type of
fishing is referred to as yo yo 'ing because of the up and down
motion, jigs are fast sinking, four to six ounces and can be found
in every color imaginable. Most common catches off the bottom are
pargo, cabrilla and amberjack but at the same time the variety can
be amazing, it is common to also hook into such species as pompano,
trigger fish, grouper, yellowtail, skipjack, rainbow runners and at
certain times hammerhead sharks can be a regular nuisance. A general
rule is that you will find the majority of the bottom fish out in
deeper water when the temperature is warm, as they are searching out
the cooler spots and after the water temperature drops in the winter
they will come into more swallow water to seek out the warmer
currents. Often the charter boats will break up the day's fishing
activity with some bottom action early and then as the sun warms the
water's surface they will troll for dorado, tuna or marlin.
Inshore action during the winter months can offer exciting light
gear action for species including jack crevalle, roosterfish, and
sierra, along with other elusive fish such as snook. Although the
main peak season for the larger roosterfish is from May through July
when the schools of mullet are abundant along shore, they can also
be taken all winter long. In general the winter fish are smaller but
they can run in large schools and the action can be fast and
furious. The most common and productive way to hook into the
roosterfish is to slow troll live bait close to the sandy beaches.
At times when they are really active they will strike on artificial
lures. Jack crevalle will hit on the same baits and lures, they are
incredibly powerful fish for their size and will test the limits of
even experienced anglers and their light to medium tackle. They can
reach up close to 30 pounds but average 10 to 20, their Mexican nick
name is " toro ", which simply means " bull ".
Usually around the same time that wahoo start to head towards warmer
southern
waters, their inshore cousin the sierra move into local inshore
areas, attracted by schools of sardinas. They are smaller fish in
the 2 to 14 pound range but are excellent eating and very sporty
fighters on light tackle. They have razor sharp teeth also like
wahoo and the use of wire leader is necessary. Schooling together,
they patrol inshore waters and will attack any baitfish that they
can find. Always more active either early in the morning or
again later in the afternoon. Especially fun fish for younger
anglers, to practice their skills, full of surprises, the way they
strike lures and bait with
lightning like speed. There is nothing quite like being in a wide
open inshore bite for sierra and it will most assuredly keep you
very busy rigging terminal tackle.
It would be very tough indeed to find another place in all of North
America that could match the all around fishing opportunities that
can be found here in Baja California during the winter season. The
weather is ideal , while the rest of the country is just trying to
stay warm, this is the place to come and relax in the sunshine and
take advantage of all this pristine area has to offer.
Good fishing , Eric Brictson
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