Newsletter — Edition #2, April 2000

Continuing along with last December’s discussion of “normal” as it relates to fishing and weather, February did not fit into our expectations of “normal,” at least as far as the weather. The local phrase for the “normal” winter winds is “Febrero loco y Marzo otro poco,” which roughly translates to “February is rough windwise and March is a little better, but not by much” (I told you it was a rough translation). Well, February 2000 was on the whole a very nice month for the weather — we had some wind, and a few days we had to hide out at Punta Perico, but generally it was very pleasant.

The fishing was very good as well, with the pargo arriving this month in good numbers at both Las Pilas and Punta Perico. Cabrilla and yellowtail were mixed in with the pargo catches. Tuna were spotty at the south end of Cerralvo, but I don’t think that’s a result of no fish — I believe there were lots of fish there, but with the west wind at 8-12 knots and not too many boats on them, it’s hard to keep your bait in the chum, and to put enough chum in the water consistently enough to bring and keep the tuna up feeding. The south end of Cerralvo has a canyon running along it with a side wall that looks like a cliff on the topo maps. The fish cruise this wall and, without a good reason to come up, will spectate from below.

As we got into March, things changed somewhat. The bad news was that the wind became a little more “normal,” with a couple of Santa Ana periods setting in up in SoCal and some pretty nasty northerlies in the 3rd and 4th weeks of March. The good news is that we started to hit reliable quantities of dorado out near the buoys. March is extremely early for the dorado, but hey, I’m not arguing the issue — dorado to 30 pounds, with an average of 8-12 pounds, have been relatively common. The schools aren’t as common as you’d expect in June, but with a little buoy hunting and some trolling of small feathers we’ve generally been able to find them (or more accurately, let them find us).

I’ve started to use some jigs designed and built by Drew Grindley and marketed under the “Catchy Tackle” company name. These guys have a rotating propeller that sure puts up a hell of a commotion — I’ve been very successful using the small 6″ version for dorado and am looking forward to trying them on tuna, and the 12″ monster spinner version on the larger beasties in another month or so. Anyway, those dorado have been a welcome addition and hopefully herald an early and aggressive beginning to the season. The yellowtail bite has slowed some in March, but I think that if the wind let us get to La Reyna more regularly we’d find them there.

As for bait, this year is off to a booming start as well. The giant squid are still present in large numbers near El Castillo, and we have sardines at Muertos Bay, Punta Perico, and all along the east and west sides of Cerralvo. This is particularly good news, and means that for now the bait situation is back to “normal” after last year’s mysterious disappearance of the sardines.

From Home

Personally, the winter has had lots of fun stuff going on. I’ve been pargo fishing several times and am reminded why it’s the favorite fish for many of us. Juan and I have had some very good cabrilla days and are awaiting the spring tuna fishing. Jane has been working hard on the park near our house (a community effort, both in terms of parts and labor) as well as continuing to teach English to local preschoolers. Glynnis was chosen as her class’s representative for the Dia de Amistad (Valentine’s Day) dance at school. Christopher brought home his best report card yet in March, and Kelly gave me a fishing lesson just the other day.

Customer volume has been normally low for the first few months of 2000, but reservations have been running above “normal” for the rest of the year and lots of the summer days are already full. After three months of spending much needed time with our families and pondering the intricacies of life, Gerardo, Juan, the girls, and I are looking forward to “going back to work.” Remember to get your reservations in for the spring and summer. Until we hear from you or see you down here, as always —

Have fun,
David Jones