Fishing world: Moon is bright.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Moon is bright.

Fish won't bite.

This week started off the same as last week. Flat calm seas and a good bite almost everywhere.

At Ceralvo the key was finding bait with our Simrad sounder. Once on the meter mark it was just a matter of dropping a bait 200 plus feet and bendo! The yellowtail were instant. Closer to home dorado and marlin were plentiful and cooperative. In shore was also productive for sierra and roosterfish.

As the week wore on the moon got brighter and fishing got tougher. The bait at Ceralvo dried up and were nowhere to be found. The yellows were still there but without live bait it was hard to get em to go. Striped marlin were easy to find sunning on the surface but showed no interest in baits presented and would just sink out. Roosters and sierra also disapeared.

So the burning question. Was it the full moon turning off the fish and making bait hard to find or just the natural cycle of the sea? When the bite gets tough the fleet spreads out in search. Guys heading south some 40 miles to the distiladera found marlin and dorado very aggressive and kamikaze-ing baits. Also sighted were big meatballs of mackerel. That kinda shoots down the moon theory but kind of puzzling that the fish down south were hungry and the fish here were not. I can't explain it.

The good news is the fish from the south are moving this way. Yesterday we ran down south and ended up meeting boats from Cabo San Lucas in the middle. By the end of the day we had chased marlin all the way back to Los Frailes. I just hope they stay hungry.

East Cape full moon over the Sea of Cortez

There is an incredible showing of humpback whales in Palmas bay right now. I caught this young pup in mid air.

Gary Bielat of Houston Texas sent us this photo of his group on the Rancho Leonero pier after a great day of fishing on Jen Wren III. These guys instantly bonded with our crew and were about as much fun as they come.

Kevin Freeman in his last year at University of WA battles his first ever striper

The fish put on a show

The bite got tough at Ceralvo but Bob Bayt and Ray Hafsten still managed to sneak out a couple nice ones.

Dorado!

New deck hand Manuel (aka Chongo) Alberto Cosio Montes on his first day at the job. This guy has eyes like a hawk, loads of enthusiasm and is a character who loves life. I'm certain he will entertain everybody who gets to fish with him this season. He is the one on the right not to be confused with Ray Hafsten of Indianapolis on the left