Captain George Landrum

WEATHER: We started this week with some very nice blue skies and ended it on an overcast note. The wind came before the clouds so we had a good breeze on Wednesday and that also dropped the temperature for the day. With
the cloud cover through the weekend the heat was trapped so our morning lows at the end of the week were in the low 60's. The weather guys predict that the clouds will be gone by Tuesday and are expecting the lows to return to the mid to low 50's. Along with the clouds came some rain, not hard rain, just some spitting, enough to wash off the dust but not cause rivers in the streets.

WATER: We had choppy conditions throughout the area on Wednesday when the clouds first moved in and since the winds were coming from the northwest the Pacific side beyond the lighthouse remained choppy. Close to home in the lea of the Cape things were smoother. The water temperatures remained fairly consistent at 73-74 degrees on both sides of the Cape but as you went farther up the Pacific and the Cortez the water became much more green in color.

BAIT: Bait this week was 75% Mackerel, as the water continues to cool off there will be a change to almost all Mackerel. There were Sardinas available off of Palmilla at the usual $20 per scoop.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: There wasn't much difference from this week and last week on the billfish front. There is still a great bite going on at the Golden Gate Bank with giant balls of bait remaining on the edge of the shallows there
the Marlin have remained as well. While there are some fish caught while slow trolling live and dead baits, the majority of the Marlin have been caught while drifting with baits deep in the water. These fish have been
averaging 120 pounds and have been there for the past three weeks. There have also been Marlin found on the ledge at the lighthouse and the same methods have been working there. In the past week I have seen a lot more
tailing fish that in the past month but these fish have not been hungry for our baits. With plenty of Marlin in the area it has not been uncommon for boats to hook and fight 6 or 8 fish a trip. With the deep drifting live
bait it becomes important to use circle hooks, this keeps the Marlin from being hooked in the stomach or gills and makes releasing them much easier.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: It has still been slow for the Yellowfin close to home. There are still fish out 35 miles to the south and west but that is a long way to go for most of the boats. I heard reports of nice fish being spotted
up to the north around the Finger Bank early in the week but the water has changed since the and the consensus is that they have probably move on. There has been an occasional pick on smaller fish within 20 miles of the
Cape when the right Dolphin are found, but it has been a once-in-a-while thing.

DORADO: The Dorado bite really picked up this week and the reason seemed to be floating debris. I was lucky to get in on a decent bite about 5 miles off the beach on the Pacific side early this week when someone found a log. We went through all our bait and limited on Dorado between 15 and 25 pounds.

A friend of mine went looking for the Tuna out 35 miles to the west and found a traveling school of Dorado instead. He reported that he went through all his bait as well and ended up with 13 Dorado between 20 and 30
pounds. There have been fish under the Frigate birds as well. Some boats have been coming in with their outriggers loaded with yellow flags as well as a few Marlin and an occasional Wahoo flag.

WAHOO: The Wahoo continued to bite for a few anglers this week as I overheard on conversation on the radio of a five fish catch in water between 80 and 100 feet deep on the Pacific side. The boat was working the beach
for Dorado when it found the Wahoo school! There were other fish caught as well, enough so that seeing the red flag was not uncommon this week. Most of the fish were in the 15-25 pound class, but that is good eating!
INSHORE: Inshore fishing continued to produce plenty of Sierra as well as the normal beach fish such as Jacks, Pompano, Ladyfish, small Roosterfish, Pargo and Skipjack. Just off the beach the bite has been good for Dorado
and the occasional Wahoo. Almost all the action has occurred on the Pacific side of the Cape.

NOTES: My fingers are crossed. I am writing this on Sunday morning and the Seahawks are playing at 11 am. I had a trip scheduled from 10 am until 3 pm and they just called to cancel so now I get to watch the game! It is overcast and blowing on the Pacific side with an occasional spit of rain, a good day to watch football on the tube. I hope everyone out there has a great week, and check the report next week to see how things are going down there on the tip of the peninsula. Until then, tight lines!