 |  |
By Tom Gatch
The winter of 2025 brought with it conflicting weather conditions that fanned Santa Ana winds in southern California into creating a devastating inferno of isolated blazes that drove thousands of residents to abandon, and for some, to lose a family home in which they had resided for generations. While onshore winds from the north and northwest generally dictate our winter weather patterns, this year the persistent offshore winds generated by Santa Ana conditions has kept coastal temperatures in southern California and northern Baja much milder than normal.
Ensenada
As the days become sunnier and the water temperature slowly begins to rise, open party boats out of Sergio’s Sportfishing on Ensenada’s Malecon are reporting more anglers are beginning to arrive in town in the hope of making good catches of inshore species. And, while it may still be a bit early for surface fish like bonito, barracuda, and yellowtail, there are still a lot of fish to be caught, which include ocean whitefish, johnny bass, sheephead, and a wide variety of miscellaneous rockfish available.
Down at the southern end of Bahia de Todos Santos, pangas out of Vonny’s Sportfishing in Punta indicate that the bite has already begun to warm up for quality, home-guard yellowtail being taken off the tip of the peninsula. If the bite begins to slow, their anglers are dropping to the bottom and picking up some nice lingcod.
San Quintin
Captain Juan Cook in Bahia San Quintin reports that they were treated to a brief run of big bluefin tuna in the 180-pound class in late January. However, as quickly as they appeared, they moved out of the area; but not without leaving a broad smile on the faces of the several anglers who were fortunate enough to get a piece of the action.
Additionally, Cook has been taking several of his clients out in Bahia San Quintin to take advantage of excellent bottom fishing to be found just off shore. He commented, “I went out fishing with my friends, owners of San Diego Fish Possessing, Brett and Jamie Allen their friend, Ryan Kennedy.”
“The yellowtail fishing slowed down so we started dropping down for vermillion reds, California whitefish, and a few big lingcod. we enjoyed wide open fishing and a fine foggy day.”
He concluded by saying, “FYI, I will be fishing Gonzaga bay starting in early March through late June this season. We will fish on my Grady white 22 seafarer, fishing for gulf grouper, leopard grouper, yellowtail, curvina, sierra and anything else that want to play. I've still got a few openings. Come down and fish Gonzaga bay, it's an awesome, beautiful area!"
Cabo San Lucas
Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas recently reported, “The seas were calm all week, and the waves made for a pleasant boat ride, but most people weren’t out for a boat ride; they were out to fish. The water temp was 68 to 70 degrees F, and the air temp ran around 69 to 73 degrees.
There were a few Striped Marlin here and there and a couple of large Wahoo to be had by the lucky anglers in the right place at the right time. But the real adventure was in the variety of catches – sierra was caught in the numbers, as were a few dorado, jack crevalle, skipjack, roosterfish, and even some grouper.
The weather and the water temperatures dropped this week, but the variety of species available for fishing remained diverse and exciting. The water was around 67 to 68 degrees, and the air hovered around 68 to 75.
It was cooler and windier than in previous weeks, which are key factors in successful fishing trips. Most anglers didn’t leave empty-handed. Schools of sierra were around and hungry, as were bonito, yellowfin tuna, jack crevalle, roosterfish, a few sizeable wahoo, and some striped marlin. Despite the cooler temperatures and increased wind, the diversity and abundance of fish ensured the week was memorable for all who ventured out on the water."
Richard Kernion, Jr. opted to fish on the Ripper; a 35-foot Cabo Flybridge, with Captain Abel and Mate Ninja running the boat, and he hit the jackpot! He caught and released One 120-pound striped marlin on a mackerel and 1 53-pound wahoo on a purple lure. Both fish were caught at the Herradura.
They concluded their report by saying, “Looking for a good boat with an excellent Captain and crew, Clint Pitzer and Josh Travis, from Edmond, Oklahoma, decided Captain Ricardo Escamilla and Mate Yahoo Jose Escamilla Yahoo, on the “Yahoo,” a 42-foot Bertram, which were rated as some of the best. As they headed north into the Sea of Cortez, the Oklahoma anglers caught and released 2 100-pound striped marlin on mackerel at Chileno, a 3 15-pound roosterfish and 2 12-pound jack crevalle on mackerel at Los Arcos. Captain Ricardo and Mate Jose were dedicated to making their day a success.”
San Jose del Cabo
From Gordo Banks Pangas in San Jose del Cabo, Brian Brictson offered, “The most productive week of the year so far. We had a busy schedule, almost fully booked every day of this week. As many families were down in Cabo for president’s week to vacation, many anglers were also trying to get their hands on the tuna action.
The tuna were on the smaller side, averaging 6-10 pounds. However, there is a great chance of hooking into a 100 lb. + fish in the same area. For that reason, we try to go no lighter than 40# test. Most boats are catching at least a couple of these small tunas every day. Some boats were been able to catch their tuna limits as well. We continue to catch white bonito limits on the jigs and sardines almost every day.
A few bait guys were able to come up with live sardines this week, however it was not enough to supply all boats; only a handful of boats got their hands on the live dines. We did have plenty of dead sardines. The bait guys are having to net sardines towards the east cape in the afternoons.
The bigger tuna this week were caught on live and dead sardines (mostly dead), strips of squid, and strips of skipjack. The best day this week was Thursday as we had 5 big tuna at our fillet table. The biggest tuna came in at 187 pounds, the rest were in the range of 95 to 125 pounds. A couple more big tuna were lost that day after long hour battles.
Later in the week, boats from Cabo got word of this bite and it made Iman crowded. On Friday, there were close to 50 boats in the small area of Iman. This did not help much as the bite slowed down significantly throughout the weekend. Many boats were forced to head closer to shore to look for bottom fish, sierra, and roosterfish. Inshore, throughout different rock structures of La Fortuna and Cardon, we were able to catch good numbers and variety of bottom fish.
We had grouper, snapper, pompano, triggerfish, amberjack, sierra, and a few yellowtail. Most of this mix was caught drifting dead sardines. A few bigger sierra were caught casting jigs on the surface.
Throughout the shoreline of La Laguna and Zacaton, a few boats reported catching nice roosterfish, some of them around 20-25 pounds. Big jacks were also caught in the same area. These roosters and jacks were caught on live caballitos, some on live sardines if available. Not much activity was reported at the Inner or Outer Gordos this week, a few sharks and striped marlin."
La Paz
Reporting from Tailhunter International in La Paz, Jonathan Roldan says, “Frankly, it’s been so windy that we haven’t had anyone out in weeks. This is off-season for just that reason. The north winds sweep down the Sea of Cortez and the weather can be erratic and the oceans consequently very rough. Not much of anyone on the water except windsurfers and kiteboarders who eat specifically for these world-class winds.
I’ve had a couple of requests for fishing, but ultimately had to cancel them or advise them not to fish on that particular day because of the winds. I would just prefer to be honest. No sense in having a bad time…getting wet…getting bounced…or getting seasick! That’s especially important because folks that come down this time of year aren’t hard-core fishermen.
Fishing reports from our commercial fishermen friends who don’t have a choice about whether to go out or not since they have to feed their families tell me it was rough going. Fishing was confined to staying close to shore out’ve the rougher areas.
However, inshore fishing was moderately productive with the usual cast of fishing species like jacks, cabrilla, snapper, sierra, snapper and bonito. I didn’t hear of any yellowtail or dorado. Bait was also more difficult to get since the bait areas were getting pounded by waves. Temperatures have ranged as high as the high 70’s, but dropping into the cooler low 50’s at night. More winds predicted.
The key to this is if we have storms up north in the US then chances are it will have an effect on the weather in Baja. It’s that time of year!
As you can see, the fishing around the Baja peninsula is beginning to heat up and, with the onset of another El Niño cycle set to begin in May, it appears that we may be in for an epic summer season in Baja. The good news is that you still have time to reserve some of the best dates before they are already taken.
