Fish Report Update

March 27th to April 2nd, 2011


Overall Catch Success Rate 85.37% for All Species Combined

BILLFISH: Marlin catches are still rather slow, but our overall catch success rate was up this week. Not a great deal of action on billfish and the majority of anglers decided to go for what was more of a sure thing inshore, for yellow tail or sierra for a nice meal. It was kind of funny to see boats stacked up near the Old Lighthouse on some days as many as forty fishing for yellowtail. Usually when see boats there in those numbers they are fishing striped marlin. Nevertheless we had a couple of lucky anglers who did release billfish. Hot boat this week was “Shambala” who did a great job since they were the only boat on March 28th, to return to the dock with marlin flags after releasing two striped marlin for John Sercu and friends from Seattle, WA – they went out a way; 35 miles close to the 109 spot and the fish took live caballito for bait. On April 1st David Wilkins from Scottsdale, AZ was very fortunate to release another striped marlin aboard “Tracy Ann” with Captain Julio Castro at the Cabrillo spot on the Sea of Cortez. Five percent of boats caught marlin this week our total was three fish.

OTHER SPECIES: Yellow tail was the top catch of the week with fifty seven percent of our boats catching between one to ten fish – most of them were caught on the Pacific side from the Old Lighthouse to Morros Prietos. One of the best days was on the 29th for Erik Johnson and friends from Madison, Wisconsin catching a total of ten yellow tails from 10 to 20 lbs aboard the “Falcon”; the fish took yoyos and they also caught four sierras for some nice ceviche. This same day, “Adriana” had eight yellow tail at the old light house for a group from Fort Wayne, Indiana. “Attitude Adjustment” focused inshore fishing and had a nice mixed bag of seven yellow tail from 10 to 25 lbs, two jack crevalle and one sierra for Doug & Ryan Marquis, Bill & Olivia Douglas & Timmy Burns from Lake Forest, IL; the fish took a combination of yoyos and rapalas. On the 28th “Andrea” reeled in six yellow tail on a half day trip for Abby Bried and kids Cooper and Campbell (10 and 7 years old respectively) – they stayed fairly close five miles out from Cabo Falso. “Valerie” had five 20 lbs yellow tail and two sierra for a family from Chicago, IL on the 30th; the hook ups where at the old lighthouse and were caught with a mix of rapalas and hoochis.

Sierra catches are back, with thirty two percent of our boats catching these little guys. The best day was on the 27th aboard “Rebecca” for a group from New York City boating ten Spanish mackerel and one 20 lbs yellow tail at Los Arcos spot. Dorado and tuna catches were quiet this week as most of our anglers decided to go for the in shore fishing action, where the bite was best.

There were fair amounts of skipjack, jack crevalle and lots of bonita.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear, sunny skies. Mostly calm seas.

LOCATION: Pacific Side – Old Lighthouse, Cerro Blanco, Margaritas, Los Arcos, Cabo Falso

Sea of Cortez – 95 spot, 11:50 Spot, Barco Varado, Cabrillo, 109 Spot, Morros Prietos

AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 70 F

BEST LURES: Rapalas, hoochis, yoyos

Live bait: caballito,

Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.

Rod Cambell and friends from Chicago, IL had a great day aboard La Brisa

Peter Martin from California pictured with a good size sierra caught on the 28th aboard "Ruthless"

crank it

3… 2… 1… MOGAN! Much bigger than the ball drop in Central Park, the countdown to the new episodes of Addictive Fishing has brought anglers together across the globe to share in the excitement. We caught up with the AF Crew while on their pre-show kickoff trip to Colorado for a new season news flash.

It's not all fun 'n' games. The crew spent the week in Colorado for a little late season snow-filled spring break vacation. The crew took a tour of the Wright & McGill facilities and got the first look at new items to be released. They leaked the news on the AF Facebook page that "Flats Blue" fly rods, travel rods, offshore rods, a larger variety of actions and even a Mogan Maiden version are coming soon. After the tour, it was time to test those thermal flip flops on the frozen lakes for some trout fishing. We can't wait to hear the stories from this one!

We are also crankin' out the free stuff! Once again, the Minn Kota / Humminbird Giveaway winners' list continues to grow. Congratulations are in order for Joe Kresky of Naples, FL. Joe came out to see us at the Ft. Myers Florida Sportsman Fishing Expo in February and filled out an entry form while he was there. Joe scored a new Minn Kota Talon shallow water anchor. The next time someone tells Joe to "stick it", he will gladly deploy his Talon at a push of a button for an instant, secure anchor set. Get your entry form filled out and you could be next month's winner!

Crank up the volume! This is no April Fool’s joke, the 2011 season is finally here. Tune in for Friday’s season opener, "Low Country Reds", on SunSports @ 10:30am. The Mogan Man joins Capt. Chris Wilson in the salt marshes of South Carolina to pull redfish out of the grass shoots with the new "Flats Blue" rods. Don’t forget to set your DVR or you’ll be left stuck in the mud.

Loads of cobes! Jimmy Reiter shot us a picture this week from Capt. Blair’s backyard. March Madness is full of action at the nets but these guys take things litterally when they bag three sets of beautiful cobia fillets for dinner. One more and we could have thrown in some “final four” comments but from what we have heard, there are plenty more out there. Thanks for sending us the picture, Jimmy. That's our Mogan of the Week!

C'mon… say it with me…
"Play it", BillBird 

Diversions

A DIFFERENT CUP OF TEA

Winter's Haze Enhanced

not for everyone

Digital Pinhole Image: 1/60, on camera flash, f256, distance 1".

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.. The winter is a bit on the long side up here. Fishing becomes a greater chore than usual. We tend to fish less and extemporize more. This winter was the perfect example.

Mahogany Pinhole: 4x5, 79mm focal distance, f156.
Shutter speeds by thumb.

.. During one long evening we stumbled onto an old pinhole camera project in the corner of a long forgotten trunk. Hmmmmm? It sparked interest in this, the earliest of photographic techniques.
.. We diverted our lachrymose moods of winter into useless busywork and puttered with the concept of, and application of pinholes to everything.
.. One bit of silliness involved yards and yards of Duct Tape, black paper, and a hole in our window shade. Thus we turned our front room into a camera obscura.

Canon EOS 30D pinhole.

.. Sheeze, what winter does to the mind. We averted cabin fever with cabin obscura. And, it did pass the time. Given the irregular viewing wall in our 'cabin camera' it brought to mind the weltanschauung we held during the 60's.
.. Lately we've adapted some of our large format gear into primitive hulks that we call cameras. We've also transformed a couple of digital cameras into digital pinhole devices, (the sensors needed cleaning anyway.) It's amazing what you can do with tin foil, electricians tape, a short extension tube, and black card stock.

Indulgent friend.

.. We've even adulterated the view camera with a pinhole. Now that is pure sacrilege! They all will make pictures. The images however, are not for everyone.
.. Today, with post processing, photoshopping, and enhancements - both in and out of camera, images tend to be presented in a cookie cutter fashion: overly sharp, overly saturated, over the top. We call them good and go on down the road.

Indulgent friend's dog.

.. Pinhole images require a bit of engagement. They are not starkly identifiable in an instant. This means that the viewer takes a bit longer to decipher them. It's not what everybody wants or needs. It is fun though.
.. We have badgered our friends and neighbors, (and neighbor's dogs,) into enduring our follies this winter. They endure and indulge us and admire the ethereal images that happen. We nod and accept their friendship.

Back door.

.. Done with panache and aplomb, the images can be quite charming or very disturbing. We've not reached either stage yet, but we're looking forward to opening day in Yellowstone National Park.
.. Our scouting trip this year will combine stream observation with vista observation. Not in the name of art, rather in the name of getting to the best places first.
.. The big images are going to be challenging. Exposure times in the minutes, reciprocity failure, temperature corrections, apertures in the hundreds, and aiming with crude sighting devices should make the venture rewarding. In our case it's as much about observing as it is about the final image.

.. We'll not be posting any fuzzy, ugly, indecipherable images during the season, (we make and break promises with ease,) but we shall take a fresh look at some of the iconic images in Yellowstone Park before the fishing starts.
.. And, why mention this at all? Because Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is just around the corner. It happens on the last Sunday in April, (that's April 24, 2011 - Easter Sunday, this year.)

.. Pinhole fanatics around the globe will take a picture and post it to the website. A snapshot in time that happens every year. We're sending them one from the high country and, meager as it is; it's our contribution.
.. P.S. The fishing and catching, by the way, is now going great guns in the Gallatin River Canyon. After we've fished out all the good holes we'll let you know where it was best.

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Rumors Abound

SUNBATHING IN SHASTA ?

Boats On The Madison ?

grass in the valley ?

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.. We've heard the rumors that it's Springtime in the Rockies. That may be. Just couldn't prove it by the conditions here.

.. But then again, it's hard to convince us of anything. We noticed the lovely picture of sun and salubrity over at THE TROUT UNDERGROUND and have concluded that stream deprivation has addled the gray matter of the author. It just can't be that nice over there.
..Reports from neighbors that have visited the outside world have brought back stories of strange happenings: green-growing things sprouting from naked earth, boats bobbing on the Madison River, flip-flops on feet in Bozeman, and bare knees on bicyclists in shorts being flashed in Belgrade. We're going to investigate.
.. Rumor has it that the catching is so good at "MILEPOST 59," that it's hard to find a parking spot on that stretch of the Gallatin River.
.. There is also a rumor that it will be near 40° F today. We'll wait that one out. The snow pack is not of record depth, but it is of near record snow water content. With several little storms lined up for the near future we anticipate water in the rivers to stay at good levels well into July - hope springs eternal.
.. Should we spy any of the strange phenomena reported from the lowlands we'll document them and report it here. Great snort; a bare deck on the Upper Sac, hardly believable. Must be Photoshop.

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Photos courtesy G.M. Craeg

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Burning More Prairie Grass

I worked late every night this week so I didn't get as much time with the kids as usual, so Friday evening I headed home at 5 pm and we all headed down to the Burger Barge and then over to the Hooked On Fishing Park. Although we walked around exploring and did a little fishing, sad to say the real reason we headed down there was to drop off some fish food to fill up the fish feeders, and come up with a list of stuff to do for the Kiwanis work day on Saturday. Anyhow we had a great time and caught some fish:






This week we finished our Warm Season Prairie Grass Burnings. Wednesday evening we burned over in Henry, Thursday morning over near Fairview, and Saturday over near Cuba. Here are a few pics, looks pretty sweet to have a clover patch bordering a 10 acre patch of prairie grass down in a creek valley eh?





We always burn the perimeter first before letting the fire roll with the wind.



Once the perimeter is burnt we divide the field in sections with fire and let er go until the fire puts itself out by running into an already burnt section.



This was our dividing line where the fire raced down with the wind, and then we move up another 100 yards and start the fire again with the wind.



This burning today in Fulton County was about 80 acres of prairie grass with some cool season grasses:



Lots and lots of smoke:




Pretty cool finished product:




After we got done burning this morning we worked on remodeling this camping trailer. We tore off the deck and striped down half the inside. We are taking it up to the Fox Chain of Lakes for a client and building a nice deck and screened porch once we get er up to there.

Then at the end of the day we headed over to our place at Norris to do our last burn of the spring! We are going to plant a mixture of 2 acres wheat, 2 acres corn, and 2 acres sunflowers in the field leading down to our lake, will be taking pics as that project progresses (if it progresses, our projects take a backseat to everyone elses).

Stellar day on the Little Red

Today I fished Dr. Albright and it was one of those day that was just magical...We caught fish on everything from midges, emergers, and drys. We started off the morning with a sweet brown on a midge, then we lost another brown that was about 26 inches at the boat! As the day went on, it just kept getting better. The second half of the day we smashed all sorts of fish on the surface including some more nice browns and gobs of rainbows. It was awesome weather, awesome water and just an awesome time!

Z Fish Report (4/1/11)

I wish I could say the fishing is wide open, but that would be an April Fool’s joke which may not be appreciated by some. Especially if they drop everything, book a flight on short notice, spend a couple of thousand dollars, find out what the reality is, and then come looking for me to do me some bodily harm.


However, it does appear our historical “April current” of cold green water came about a month early, causing the poor fishing of these past few weeks. And, what is usually typical in late April and early May, the warmer 80º water is now moving back in, with clean water only 6 miles off the beach.

A few sailfish, blue marlin, and striped marlin are being caught, but the main target has been a lot of 12 to 25 pound yellowfin tuna being taken on anything from trolled sailfish baits, cedar plugs, or live bait. There are a lot of tuna out there, but if they are in fairly close, there is a good chance you can over run them. They seem to be getting active in the mid to late morning hours. For instance Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos got 13 tuna at the 18 mile mark for his French clients. But Santiago, on the super panga Gitana, went 33 miles before local icon Ernesto from Troncones and a couple of his friends got 18 of them for a lot of good dinners and appetizers.

The great jack crevalle action is still holding up for fish to 25 pounds on the inshore. Adolfo got 20 for the same French clients out in front of the White Rocks.

Ed Kunze
To order a copy of my fishing book about fishing here on the West Coast of Mexico:

http://www.mexperience.com/store/vuitem.php?itemid=13&sc=KUNZE-13