Fishermen's Fleet News Letter
Edition #2 April 2000- Fishermen's Fleet Newsletter
Continuing along with last Decembers 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 phrase locally in regards the
"normal" winter winds is "Febrero loco y Marzo otro poco" which
roughly translates to "February is a bitch windwise and March is a little better but
not by much" (I told you it was a rough translation). Well February 2000 was on whole
a very nice month for the weather. We had some wind, and a few days that 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 Pilis and Punta
Perico. Cabrilla and Yellowtail were mixed in with the Pargo catches. Tuna were spotty at
the south end of Cerralvo, but I dont think that this is a result of no fish. I
believe that there were lots of fish there but with the west wind at 8-12 knots and not
too many boats on them it is 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 that has a side wall the 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 Anna periods setting in up
in SoCal and some pretty nasty northerlies in the 3rd and 4th weeks of March. The good new
is that we started to hit reliable quantities of Dorado out near the buoys. March is
extremely early for the Dorado, but hey, Im not arguing the issue. Dorado to 30
pounds, with an average of 8-12 pounds have been relatively common. The schools are not as
common as you would expect in June, but with a little buoy hunting and some trolling of
small feathers we have generally been able to find them (or more accurately, let them find
us.) I have 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 have been very successful using the small
6" version for Dorados 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 would find them there. We havent
been able to gather a lot of Tuna, Yellowtail, or Cabrilla data in the last half of March
as everybody is either going Pargo or Dorado catching. 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 years mysterious disappearance of the
Sardines.
Personally the winter has had lots of fun stuff going on. Ive been Pargo fishing
several times and am reminded why they are 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 classs representative for the Dia de Amistad (Valentines 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 3 months of
spending much needed time with our families and pondering the intricacies of life,
Gerardo, Juan, the girls, and I are looking forward "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
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