Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3817 August 2- 16 2019 | Page 29

VOL.38 • ISS. 17 “ E ast Cape weather has been fantastic. It’s July but it feels like late May. Yes, the sun is intense but we are BAJA ROUNDUP Aug 2 - 16, 2019 East Cape Anglers Battle Tuna not experiencing the stifling humidity that normally comes with it,” reports Captain Mark Rayor of the Hotel Buena Vista. “The Sea of Cortez has been like a pancake day after day with hardly a ripple on the blue 81 to 85 degree water. Fish are almost jumping in the boat pleasing anglers,” said Rayor. “Yellowfin tuna have been the main event. Some days we have to work harder than others but we have been coming home with limits most of the time. A very good striped marlin bite and a few rooster- fish have also been in the mix,” Rayor related. “Porpoise schools are holding the tuna and being found in every direction from 20 to forty miles offshore and beyond. Chunk squid has been the hot bait but Halco lures, cedar plugs and hoochies have also been working. Stripers found on the tuna Roosters Provide Unique Challenge For Baja Anglers I n terms of roosterfish, experienced lure fishermen can often out fish the anglers that are using bait. This is generally when the surf gets big and the fish can only be reached by casting 70 to 100 yards. Some of the more serious surf fishermen use graphite composite rods that are 10 to 13 feet in length, with high capacity spinning reels equipped with a fast retrieve ratio, they give just the right amount of leverage to reach the surface feeding action and are relatively light with medium to heavy back bone. Heavy surface lures like RANGERS in the 4 to 5 oz. size prove most affective and the technique is to cast out as far as you can into the boiling fish and then reel as quickly as possible. It is impossible to reel too fast for these fish and this way they never do get a very good look at your lure. When the fish can be seen working bait very close to shore and the surf is not large, other casting lures such as Crocodiles and Hopkins can work, the best size being 2 to 3 oz. and in the various chrome color patterns. LOCATED JUST 3705 grounds have been very aggressive and jumping on live baits and ballyhoo. We have been finding the roosterfish away from the shoreline in 40 to 80 feet of water,” Rayor concluded. There haven’t been a lot of dorado being caught off the East Cape recently, but the fish that do show up have been very large. This fish hit the deck on June 25. Photo courtesy of VAN WORMER RESORTS, East Cape, Baja. Kevin Blevins was trolling for marlin off the East Cape on July 3 when he hooked this massive 143-pound swordfish. Photo courtesy of MARTIN VERDUGO’S BEACH RESORT, East Cape, Baja. These boys hit the waters of the East Cape looking for tuna on June 19 and caught several including this husky yellowfin. Photo courtesy of VAN WORMER RESORTS, East Cape, Baja. 27