http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:16:26 -0500 FeedCreator 1.8.0-nukeFEED (http://nukeSEO.com) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=804#804 Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
http://captgeo.wordpress.com/
Cabo Fish Report
January 30-Feb 5, 2012

WEATHER: Our cool winter days continue as the nighttime temps are down in the mid 50's. The good news is that the days have been warming up nicely and we are seeing 80+ degrees in the daytime. The winds have been moderate from the northwest and occasionally early in the morning a light breeze springs up from the northeast. We did experience a bit of cloud cover toward the end of the week and it appears as if the coming week may cool things down just a bit more.
WATER: Both sides of the Cape are seeing water between 69 and 70 degrees with the cooler water right in front of us. On the Pacific side the warmer water is on the San Jaime Bank and to the southwest of there, on the Cortez side it extends from Chileno Bay up to Los Frailles and out to the 1,000 fathom line. Surface conditions have been great on the Cortez side with small swells and smooth water. On the Pacific side the water has been a bit more rough with swells at 2-5 feet and a bit of wind chop starting mid-morning.
BAIT: No change from last week, small Caballito, some Mackerel and some junk baits were available at $3 each, frozen horse Ballyhoo could be had for between $3 and $4 each and there were some sardines to be found toward San Jose at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: We had one day this week where it looked as if things were really starting to take off, but the next day the bubble had already burst. Early in the week the Golden Gate Bank had bait all over the place and there were feeding Marlin, cruising Marlin and birds working the bait boils everywhere. Boats were getting multiple hook-ups and releasing between three and six fish in a trip. The next day almost 35 boats made the trip and there were about two or three fish caught. What a disappointment! There were occasional fish showing up to the south of the San Jaime Bank as well as near the shore on the Pacific side. I also heard reports that off of the San Jose Canyon there had been some fish showing up. All the week long, except for one day, it was a matter of putting in the time and keeping your fingers crossed.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: As the warm water on the Pacific side shifted back toward the southwest the fish moved as well. The cruiser were having to travel 35 to 40 miles to get into the fish, and even then there was no guarantee you could find them since many of the porpoise pods did not have fish on them. To go along with that, many of the fish were in the football class instead of schooling fish, 10-15 pounds instead of 15-30 pounds. That's a long run for a few small fish. I did hear that on Friday and Saturday, the end of our week, the action picked up at the Inman Bank up off Punta Gorda on the Cortez side. Boats drifting the Bank and chumming with Sardinas were getting into some decent Yellowfin Tuna, a few to 80 pounds, but you still had to week through the skip jack for them. A good morning would result in five or six decent fish.
DORADO: Very few are being caught and the majority of them are no larger than 10 pounds. Close to shore on the Pacific side and along the beach off of Palmilla have been where the majority of fish have been and the best results have been from drifting with live sardinas and chumming heavily.
WAHOO: Most of the red or orange flags we have seen have been for Sierra or Shark instead of for Wahoo. The water is just on the cool side of the Wahoo preference so there have been very few of them caught this week.
INSHORE: Go out and catch as many Sierra as you want, there does not seem to be a scarcity of them! Of course they are small, but great smoked or used for ceviche. Trolling small hootchies or rapallas right outside the surf break resulted in most of the fish, but live bait on wire leader also worked. There were some very nice Yellowtail caught as well, but almost everyone of them was caught on live bait dropped down to just off the bottom on the rock piles. Anglers were reporting that yo-yo'ing iron was not working at all. There were some small Roosterfish as well as some Pompano and skip jack inshore. Those that targeted bottom fish managed to find snapper to 20 pounds in the rock piles right on the beach and there were plenty of trigger fish in water between 60 and 120 feet deep as well as some grouper to 15 pounds.
FISH RECIPE: Mary's post this week was a Snapper recipe with poblano rice! That combination was fantastic and we will be doing that one again as soon as we get some more snapper!
NOTES: Superbowl today! I am just hoping for a good game and don't really care who wins. I take that back, I hope we win on one of the squares we bought at Tanga-Tanga! Leaving the house soon for the Sunday walk on the beach, then home for breakfast, some gardening and then down to watch the game. Music for the week was thanks to Mark Rau who loaned me the CD “Lower Case Letters” by guitarist Shawn Hopper, released by Favored Nations Records. Thanks Mark, great acoustic guitar!
Have a great week, catch lots of fish, and get those reservations for Cabo made!]]> no_email@example.com (CaptGeo) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=804#804 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=803#803
Right as I slowly inched my way through the throngs of boat, I noticed I had no response from my port shifter. It was stuck in forward gear. With a raft of hundreds of boats looming under my bow, I shut that motor down and went into emergency mode. I kept fairly calm. Ha We are talking about a pucker factor of 32. I told Kyle to let any boats in our way that we had lost our port engine and that they needed to get out of the way. Pucker factor now is 38 and rising. With only one engine and no bow thruster, The Blue Heaven steers like a one legged pig. I looked ahead and saw a welcome sight. The Seahawk, a 74 Viking was tide side to at the docks ahead. Man what a lucky break.

The wind ,tide, current and moon and stars all lined up and I slid the Blue Heaven in next to the Sea Hawk without issue.

Man did I get lucky... I would rather be good than lucky. As it turns out I had a belt break on a servo motor that runs the shifters. We got repaired the next morning ( Thanks to Mike Galati).

The Blue is back in her slip now and readying for her next adventure.
I have one month to load and prepare the Blue Heaven for its next big adventure. Around the 15th of March we will leave Miami and start our trek southward. to the land of Mangos, cigars, Rum and Kumquats, The Dominican Republic. My plan is to be in the DR by the 30th of March. So between the 15th and the 30th I will be island hopping the Bahamas southward. Our plan is for the boss to meet me in the Middle of the Bahamas at San Salvador. He will then make the second half of the trip to the Turks and Caicos before we jump over to the DR. We will spend a couple months in the DR then we plan to fish St Thomas for a while before we head home. There is lots to plan for and to stock up for on a trip like this. But it gets more exciting everyday as we get closer to that time. In another month I will be posting sunset pics from the coast of somewhere beautiful.]]> no_email@example.com (CaptEd) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=803#803 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=802#802 Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
http://captgeo.wordpress.com/
Cabo Fish Report
January 23-29, 2012

WEATHER: Having just returned from visiting family in Oklahoma I thought I would be nice and warm when I got back here, but I found myself wearing a sweater all day yesterday even though everyone else was walking around in t-shirts. Guess it may take a while for me to thaw out! It was actually pretty nice this week with our daytime highs in the mid 80's and the lows in the mid 60's. I was told that it was cloudy and a bit breezy earlier in the week and that I brought the sun back with me when I returned Tuesday. Since then we have had mostly sunny skies with a bit of a breeze starting up in the middle of the morning.
WATER: I ran a loop on the water temperatures this week and it appears that the warm water we have been seeing just to the west of the San Jaime bank earlier in the week has slowly moved toward us, to the point that it is now on top of the San Jaime. This is 70 degree water, three degrees warmer that the expanse of ocean between the Banks and Cabo. Right along the beach on the Pacific side we are seeing much cooler water at 63 degrees, but this only extend off the beach about a mile. The water on the Pacific side has been a very nice blue while the water immediately off the Cape has been greenish and the water in the Sea of Cortez has had a slight green tinge. Right in San Lucas bay we have 64 degree water, I am not gong swimming anytime soon, I don't want to freeze! Swells on the Pacific side have been moderate at an average of 3-5 feet, slightly larger in the current lines off the points and down current of the sea-mounts. On the Cortez side they have been smaller as normal at 2-4 feet.
BAIT: No change from last week, small Caballito, some Mackerel and some junk baits were available at $3 each, frozen horse Ballyhoo could be had for between $3 and $4 each and there were a few sardines to be found toward San Jose at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Normally in the cooler water, this week they Striped Marlin seem to have concentrated (if you can call it that) in the warmer water atop the San Jaime Bank and just offshore in the San Jose Canyon. Still not there in great numbers, and still very picky due to all the 15 inch squid they have been feeding on, it is tough to get them to bite. With patience and enough fish to present to, some of the boats managed to release as many as four fish during a charter, but most of them were happy to get one or two releases. One thing the presence of this size squid signifies is that sometime soon we should start seeing more Swordfish, as these squid are the perfect prey for them. They also seem to show up in the slightly green water so I expect the next one caught will be from outside the Gorda Banks.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: With the warm water on the Pacific side moving in closer to us the run to the fish has lessened, but that does not mean that running to the warm water will guarantee you Yellowfin. The fish are scattered out in the porpoise and not all the porpoise have tuna associated with them. As you can see it is a bit of a crap-shoot, but if you do manage to get into the fish there have been some nice ones to 60 pounds being caught. Of course those are the exception, most of the fish have been between 12 and 25 pounds with a decent number of them 20-40 pounds. On the Cortez side of the Cape the most and steadiest action has taken place up on the Inman bank area. Chumming with sardinas from a dead, quiet boat while using very light flouro-carbon leader as small as 20 pound test has resulted in quite a few hook-ups on fish to 80 pounds. The only problem has been weeding through all the Bonita and skip jack to get to the Yellowfin! On a positive note, this also allows you to start using chunks if you run out of sardinas.
DORADO: I am very surprised that we are still seeing any Dorado at all coming in to the docks as the water is much cooler than they normally like. While there have been a few nice fish in the 20# and over size class, most of the fish have been 10#'s or less. The focus of those fishing for Dorado has shifted from the Pacific side to the Cortez side, mainly due to the very clod water just off the beach on the Pacific side. Boats working the rocky points off of Palmilla and off of Punta Gorda while chumming heavily have been having the best luck with an occasional limit for their anglers, but as I said, most of these have been small fish.
WAHOO: New moon phase is here so most of the red or orange flags we have seen have been for Sierra. The water is just on the cool side of the Wahoo preference so there have been very few of them caught this week.
INSHORE: The good news is that the Sierra bite is going good on small fish, there has been no problem with most anglers being able to limit out on these little razor-tooth fish. Also good news is the showing of Yellowtail along the rocky areas, some of them very nice size as well. I had a report of a boat that landed two of the, both over 25 pounds while fishing for Yellowfin Tuna on the Gorda Bank, and decent size schools of smaller fish averaging 8-10 pounds on the Pacific side. Small Roosterfish to 12 pounds have been schooling along the beach between Grey Rock and Cabo Del Sol as well. Toss in some nice snapper going up to 25 pounds and some scattered bottom fish as well and there is action and food to be had fishing along the beach!
FISH RECIPE: Mary posted a shrimp recipe we had this week, wow was that good stuff!
NOTES: Superbowl is not going to be as interesting as I was hoping since there will not be a west coast team this year, but I had a great time watching the playoffs with my Dad. I am glad to be back in the land of warmth and will be walking the beach this morning with Mary and our pup Tawny and our friends Mark and Shar. I wont be going in the water since it is too cool for me, but the pup will have a great time as usual. This weeks report was written to the music of Ernest Ranglin, check out some of his music on you-tube! “Below the Baseline” is awesome as well as my favorite, “Catch That Train”. Until next week, tight lines!
Have a great week, catch lots of fish, and get those reservations for Cabo made!]]> no_email@example.com (CaptGeo) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=802#802 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=801#801
Also I am including this link to a story that I found amazing. It is about a boat that sunk off the US coast and washed up three years later in Spain. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10233719-3-years-after-us-accident-boat-washes-up-in-spain

After Gasparilla We only have 5 weeks before the boat heads south to the Caribbean. Lots to do to prepare.]]> no_email@example.com (CaptEd) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=801#801 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=800#800
It was at this time something else truly special happened....what came after was another one of those national geographic in your face-never forget-why big game fishing is the coolest-moments...we were able to get some amazing footage of this incident and after fighting this second fish aka monster for an hr she came off...at this point that feeling of now is when you turn around because there is no way your night will get any better than this hit us so at 1am we bounced. The run in was gorgeous and tied up at 4am...while waiting for the weigh stations to open the wind started blowing and knew it was going to be a long day for anybody still out on the water.

Im including a teaser pic of some of the footage that is currently being put together by Oceanic Media...stay tuned you wont be disappointed. Also keep your eye out for the Wicked Winter wrap up video in April as it will also be in there.

PS Dont get nervous guys the swordfish will only get bigger from here.]]> no_email@example.com (CaptAnthony) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=800#800 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=799#799
Super Congrats to The Rodfather, Capt. Bryan Cardwell and the rest of the gang. What a history making FISH, new Gulf record baby!! This will be remembered for a lifetime. We have an amazing fishery out there, let's keep it that way.]]> no_email@example.com (CaptAnthony) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=799#799 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=797#797 Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
http://captgeo.wordpress.com/
Cabo Fish Report
January 16 - 22, 2012

WEATHER: The week started off nice warm and sunny. Temps in the low 80's. Moving towards the end of the week the cloud cover moved in and out temps were a mid to hi 70's. Which isn't bad unless the wind picks up. For the most part, it is beautiful weather of course. We don't get anything else here in Cabo! These high clouds have made for some awesome sunrise and sunset pictures.
WATER: The warmer waters have been south and around to San Jaime Bank, temps 73-75, while Gordo Banks is cooling off with only 70 degree water. The warmer water is holding the striped marlin.
BAIT: Small Caballito, some Mackerel and some junk baits were available at $3 each, frozen horse Ballyhoo could be had for between $3 and $4 each and there were a few sardines to be found toward San Jose at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Billfish finally picked up this week. The warm waters out by San Jaime Bank are holding marlin. A few boats are catching them. They have lots of squid to feed on, so you need to work them to take your bait.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Pretty much the same as last week, if this is what you want to target. Probably the fish of the week in terms of numbers, at least for the off-shore species, they were not the fish of the week in terms of size. Most of the fish found were football sized, and they were being very picky when it came to feeding. Scattered pods of Porpoise were found from just off the beach to 30 miles out on the Pacific side and one out of three held these smaller fish. The key to success was small hootchies, as small as two inches fished on 20 pound leader. With the fish ranging in size from 6 to 15 pounds you still got a good fight if you were using the lighter tackle, but if one of the very few fish in the 35 pound class happened to bite. Boats traveled up to 50 miles to the west trying to find larger fish in the warmer water but did not have any success.
DORADO: They are still hanging around. Most likely because of the 70 + degree water is still around. As our water temps drop into the 60's they will disappear until June. I saw a couple of really nice ones in the 25-30 lb range, but most of them are in the l0 lb range.
WAHOO: Lots of wahoo flags this week, of course this time of year, mostly they are flown for sierra. The sierra seem a little small to me this year, but still some decent numbers being caught.
INSHORE: Most of my inshore clients this week have been fly-fishing. The roosterfish are here along with sierra. Make sure you bring sinking leader. Snappers showing up if you know where to get them. They have been catching a few small tuna and dorado inshore also.
FISH RECIPE: I wasn't happy with what I came up with last week, so I didn't post it. Tried to do some dorado with a balsamic vinegar and honey sauce. I used fresh honey instead of store bought and it came out way too sweet. I'll try again and get it right. Tawny on the other hand loved it!
NOTES: Report is a little short this week as it usually is when I write it. George is visiting his family in Oklahoma city. I am not as creative as he is. He will be back writing the reports next week! Tight lines, I am off to take Tawny for her Sunday romp at the beach so she will sleep through football. (am I a bad Mom?) Rooting for the 49er's today. I think the Superbowl needs a West Coast Team.
Have a great week, catch lots of fish, and get those reservations for Cabo made!]]> no_email@example.com (CaptGeo) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=797#797 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=796#796 
Last monday I flew to Ft Lauderdale where I met with my brother and together we flew to St Thomas. We arrived late afternoon so we were not able to fuel or clear out of customs for an early leave in the morning. So with a few hours free, we taxied around from Crown harbor to Red hook and had dinner.There were only two American boats there. The Therapy and the Patriot. The main season for sportfishes to fish in St Thomas is summer till early fall. Knowing we had a big day ahead of us we got back to the boat early and hit the bunks.

When ever I travel port to port we normally try to leave early in the morning so that we can arrive early enough in th afternoon to be able to fuel up and clear customs if nessecary. If you dont do this, you hardly ever leave the dock till after 9 or 10 am. So Tuesday morning While Tom took care of Dockage and cleared out of Customs, I fueled the boat. We left St Thomas around 9:30 am. Our trip as a straight shot would have taken us across roughly 470 miles of open water. The Easterly Trade winds would have made that trip misurable. So from St Thomas we headed east towards St Kitts. Our course favored the Lee or downwind calm side of the islands we passed. We went past Saba then St Eustatious before coming upon St Kitts.The crossing was relatively calm and uneventful. As we passed each island, I was amazed at the heights. Some of the islands soar up to 7000 or 8000 feet. All of the islands have steep rocky cliffs lining the coast which quickly turn to a lush dark green tropical landscape. The dark green crawls all the way up to the peaks of the mountains ( all of which were formed over thousands of years by valcanos.) The tops of all the mountains were obscured by a heavy vail of clouds which is there nearly year round creating rain forests at the tops of the islands. As we aprouched St Kitts and the seas glassed off in the lee, I could imeadiatly make out vast areas of agriculture. The landscape was also punctuated by dozens of old brick smoke stacks. These old smoke stacks are relics from a hundred years ago were where the sugar cane was rendered to make rum. I like these islands. As we entered the Harbour area of Basseterre St Kitts We found the Zante's marina nestled into a port area. My brother called on the radio and the dock master answered back in english.... well kinda. My brother looked at me and asked with a chuckle ..." did you catch that". We finally were able to get through the heavy accent and made our way to our slip. The fun begins here. The dock Master " Chucky" met us and helped us secure the lines and shore power. He was a smallish man and Very Rastafarian. His dredlocks were bundled up under the typical knit hat and when he spoke you realllllly had to pay attention. His Island accent was VERY thick. But after a few minutes we caught on. He told my brother where to go clear customs and asked me to ride with him to the place where we had to pay for the fuel. It was like Mr Toads wild ride. Chucky was very animated in the way he talked as well. He had to use his hands to say everything. He would fly down the narrow streets and suddenly come to a stop each and every time he saw a lady. Chucky is apearently quite the ladies man. ( See Picture) He definatly loves the ladies. At one point I asked where Tom and I should go for dinner. Chucky promptly reached down and whipped out a folded up tourist map of the area. He promtly opened it and spead it out across the steering wheel and all of the drivers side of the car. With the wind blowing around the cabin of the car at slightly under the 100 mph we were speeding along, the map flew right into his face. With the car vearing into oncoming traffic, I reach over and grabbed the wheel. He never lost his cool. He said " Eh Mon, No problem I got dis. " then he slammed on the brakes to skid up to the next lady friend of his on the side of the road. I asked if all these women were his girlfriends. He said" naw mon, Me jus likes da ladies. beside it be a small island an ery one no ery one". We got to the gas station which was a convienient store and I made the fuel araingment. The man there said that the fuel truck would show up in a half hour ( island time). Chucky and I took the white knuckle ride back to the boat and I finished rinsing the boat while Tom finished clearing customs. Two hours later ( half an hour in Island time) the 400 gallons of fuel we ordered showed up. The fuel truck was a toyota pick up with 50 gallon drums in the back of it. long story short, it took 1 1/2 hours to fuel the boat. Afterwards Tom and I walked into town for dinner, It had an old colonial feel to it. Some of the buildings were quite old but some were just a facade to apeal to the cruiseship tourist that roam the streets daily. Wednesday morning we headed south down the lesser Antillies. We were running down the west side of each island that we passed so we were protected from the North east breeze and the seas. Each island is 15 to 25 miles long. We made great time in slick calm seas. then between each island the seas would pick up and slow us a bit but not to bad. We came up on the Island of Monserate around mid morning, Montserrat is an active volcano that blew it top I think around 14 years ago. The ensuing lava flow destroyed the town below it. We pulled up close to the shore and took a short video and a few picks. It was very impressive yet sad to see all the ruins of the town. As we started running again, we came downwind from the volcano and you could see and smell the gasses still blowing downwind. The sulfer smell was real bad.

We island hopped the rest of the day and made our way to St Lucia. At one point we saw a Ganit bird of some type that my brother videoed that followed the boat.( See video) It seems that these birds have figued out that if they fly alongsid boats, the wake from the boat will spook flyingfish. As the fly out of the water and glide to safety, the ganit then dives and picks them off. Amazing! They have it figured out. Each isalnd began to look the same. Some were more developed some seemed to have more sloping landscapes coming off volcanos and some seemed to have no beach at all. The landscape just shot straight up from the waters edge. One thing they all had in common was they were all lush and dark green. We arrived in St Lucia around 3 pm. Fueling there was much easier. the IGY marina there was Very well developed and had hundereds of slips for boats small to large. They even had a large number of big docks for mega yachts. The marina was very active and full of sailboaters. It had a bustling community feel on the docks there. After cleaning the boat Tom and I went to a recomended resturant for dinner. I had one of the most amazing steaks I ever had. Once again we went to bed early. Thursday would be the final leg of our trip. While we only had 90 miles to go, It was all unprotected water. The sun rose Thursday morning as we rounded the northern rocky bluffs of St Lucia. The breeze was fresh but not to terrible. We cheated a few degrees off the wind and it allowed us to make 15-19 knots with the sea on the port bow. We had spray come over the bow with every other wave it seemed and that lasted all the way till we were 1/4 mile off of Barbados. The worst we saw was maybe 6 foot seas and very choppy but by and large it was 3-5 feet the entire way. The marina where we were to tie the boat up at is a home development and residential marina. It was very high end and pretty. We were met at the dock by some friends of the boats owner and my brother. What nice guys they were. The dialect there is a weird cross between queens english, rasta island slang, Pirate and then put a few marbles in your mouth. If two Basians ( That is what people from Babados are called) start talking to each other, it is tough to follow the conversation. They speak very fast and run all their words together. After clearing customs one of them offered to give us a tour of the island. WOW what an afternoon. Being a fellow conosure of rum , he promised to stop at a few places to sample the fine rums of Barbados. This guy was a native Basian. The best way to describe him would be.... The Crocodile Dundee of Barbados. Maybe I am a wimp but once again we had a wild car ride. ( Keep in mind here too, they drive on the wrong side of the road) I was in the passenger seat which is the left side of the car. I nearly put my foot through the floor a number of times as our new friend whisked his way around the winding tiny roads of of his lovely Barbados. Our first stop was at St Nicholas Abby. My brother is friends with the owner of the Abby and he gave us a free tour of his rum plantation there. It was magnificent. They have an antique press and distillery there that has been refurbished from yesteryear's when it was run by steam. It is a cool production. They harvest the sugar cane and the steam powered press squeezes out the the juices. That is then collected and distilled to make rum. All of which is barreled and aged right there. The steam press and distillery are all powered by burning the dried cane as they did hundreds of years ago. After the Abby, we were in for one hell of an island tour. We saw why Barbados is one of the jewels of the British crown and the Caribbean. It is a beautiful island. We stopped at a few bars and sampled the rums. My favorites were Mount Gay X and VSOR Cockspur old Gold. They are very good rums. Our guide took us to see parts of the island that tourist would never have the pleasure of seeing. The bluffs and beaches of the east side of the island offer views that are breath taking. My brother and I got the crap scared out of us as our friend took the four wheel drive truck we were in out across cow pastures along a rocky bluff that dropped off straight to the sea. Then to really scare us he decided to cross a flooded river bed to make a short cut back to the road. At one point we WERE stuck. The back of the truck started to float and only when the bed of the truck had filled to 8 inches of water did the wheels grab and we rumbled up and out of the creek. Apparently that was not his first time doing that. as we exited the creek there were two trucks sitting there the locals that were in them cheered us on and offered some of the bottles they were drinking. So yes... there we were with Crocodile Dundee having a shot after nearly losing the truck we were in to the river. I say it all the time " I dont have to make this stuff up" what a great time. and good people

We returned to the boat with a slight glow about us from the rum and a few years off of our lives and showered for dinner. We were taken to dinner at a very nice sushi restaurant by my brothers friends. . The town where we ate was very upscale and well kept. It was a perfect end to a great trip
Or so I thought. Our flight from Barbados to the states departed at 6 am the next morning. One of my brothers friends loaned us a car to drive to the airport as we would have to leave at 4am for the 40 minute drive to the airport. Everything was going well and Tom was handling driving on the wrong side of the road from the wrong side of the car till we hit a pothole in the middle of a round about. It blew out not one but two tires. Man what a helpless feeling. There we were ... standing in a round about at 4:15 am and all you could hear was the sound of tropical tree frogs. Finally about thirty minutes later a van drove by and in typical friendly island form, the man stopped and called us a cab. We did make our flight. Oh well this is the stuff memories are made of. I have to give a special thanks to the Roach brothers of Barbados for their hospitality.
I also have to thank my brother Tom for a wonderful time. There were people placing bets that he and I would kill each other after four days on a boat together. But he was a pleasure to be with. His local knowledge and professional attitude made the trip an easy one for me. I am normally the one with all the responsibility. He took the reigns and did an outstanding job. But then again... I did teach him everything he knows.

Thanks also to my boss for letting me do this trip. I might have smuggled a bottle of rum back for you.

Posted by Capt Ed Thompson]]> no_email@example.com (CaptEd) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=796#796 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=795#795 Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
http://captgeo.wordpress.com/
Cabo Fish Report
January 9-15, 2012

WEATHER: The weather had a few fluctuations this week as our lows varied from 57 to 71 degrees depending on the amount of cloud cover and the wind. With a cloud deck that moved in during the middle of the week we had warmer weather with early in the week being the coolest. Daytime highs were pretty much the same with an average of 82 degrees. We did experience a little spit of rain on Friday evening and early Saturday morning with more being felt toward San Jose than here in San Lucas.
WATER: Surface conditions were pretty good this week with the exception of Saturday when we had some strange winds happen. Early in the morning until about 8AM the wind was almost gale force blowing from the north up in the Sea of Cortez causing great amounts of chop on the water and some larger than normal swells, then it died off. About 11 AM it returned for 30 minutes but in the opposite direction, coming in from the south, then we were back to normal light winds. Sea surface temperatures on the Cortez side were 74 degrees inside the 1,000 fathom lone and 73 degrees outside that area. On the Pacific side there were three bands of water, 72 degrees close to the beach and then out to the banks, 71 degree water across the San Jaime and the Golden Gate, then warm 76 degree water to the west of the San Jaime on the 1,000 fathom line.
BAIT: Small Caballito, some Mackerel and some junk baits were available at $3 each, frozen horse Ballyhoo could be had for between $3 and $4 each and there were a few sardines to be found toward San Jose at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Fishing is so strange, one day they are there and the next day they are gone. This past week they seemed to have been gone, maybe on vacation to visit relatives. There were still some Striped Marlin being caught, but my guess is that only 20-30% of the boats were getting hooked up, and most of the action was incidental with fish being seen while targeting other species. Scattered fish were found on the Pacific side from one to three miles off the beach by boats working that area for Dorado and there were still a few small concentrations scattered about to the north 25-35 miles. A few fish were reported from the Palmilla area toward the end of the week but they were not biting well. Perhaps the full moon had something to do with the bite not being on. We had one fly fisherman who had a fish come into the teasers but just eyeballed his fly, then refused to eat a live bait. Go figure....
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Probably the fish of the week in terms of numbers, at least for the off-shore species, they were not the fish of the week in terms of size. Most of the fish found were football sized, and they were being very picky when it came to feeding. Scattered pods of Porpoise were found from just off the beach to 30 miles out on the Pacific side and one out of three held these smaller fish. The key to success was small hootchies, as small as two inches fished on 20 pound leader. With the fish ranging in size from 6 to 15 pounds you still got a good fight if you were using the lighter tackle, but if one of the very few fish in the 35 pound class happened to bite, well, Katy bar the door, you were in for a struggle and more than likely were going to lose the fish. Boats traveled up to 50 miles to the west trying to find larger fish in the warmer water but did not have any success.
DORADO: This week was almost a repeat of last week's action as the fish are small and few in number. As the water continues to cool we will observe this trend continue. The best concentrations of Dorado were found off of the Palmilla area close to the beach. Chumming heavily with Sardinas brought the fish around then it was a matter of getting them to eat. Since the limit is two Dorado per person, it was hard to justify the run up there and the time spent just to catch some of these fish which averaged 8 pounds. On the Pacific side there were fish scattered between just off the beach to three miles out, most of them in the warmer water up above San Cristobal. Slow trolled live bait worked if you were willing to put in the time, at least there were plenty of whales to watch while waiting for a bite!
WAHOO: I saw a couple of Wahoo flags flying this week but there is a distinct possibility they were for Sierra as I did not hear of any Wahoo caught.
INSHORE: While the offshore fishing has been spotty and mostly consists of smaller members of normally larger species, the inshore fishing has been pretty darn good. While most of them are not large, we have been having great success with Sierra, almost everyone has been able to limit out on these fish. Average size is under 5 pounds but there have been a few schools out there that have been averaging 7-8 pounds. As well as the Sierra, there have been some decent reports of Yellowtail being caught on the Pacific side, some of the fish over 30 pounds. An average, at least this week, was 15 pounds but while there were good numbers out there, not all the boats that were trying for them had success. You had to fish a rock or ledge in 150-250 feet of water that showed marks on the depth sounder and make repeated drifts over it. With the target area so small it was easy to get off the mark and only end up with one or two fish. Also, jigging or yo-yo'ing was the way to get to the fish and not a lot of anglers are familiar with the correct method of working these lures. Also on these rock-piles were Grouper, some to 30 pounds and they were just as likely to grab a lure and tangle in the rocks as a Yellowtail was! A scattering of Roosterfish were reported but no large numbers, and there was plenty of action on Bonito and Skipjack.
FISH RECIPE: Most often posted on the blog on Thursdays, check it out once in a while to see what is new!
NOTES: While the fishing has slowed down, the weather has been great! All we need is for the Marlin to start biting and we will be having a great season. With the inshore species picking up the slack it is almost impossible to get skunked out there, but you have to be patient. Plenty of Dolphin to watch offshore, whales along the beach, good water conditions, it all makes for a nice day on the water. Return with fish for dinner and it's a success! This weeks report was written to the sounds of Sirius Radio channel 6. Until next week, tight lines!]]> no_email@example.com (CaptGeo) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=795#795 http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=794#794
Just before lunch I was adding nonskid agent to varnish to re coat the steps inside the boat. I layed down a very nice coat. Perfect and even. I went outside and disposed of the brush. I then walked straight back inside and promptly walked right down the stairs. STUPID!!!

Its that time though. The boat is preparing over the next two months to leave on our next big adventure. Around the first or second week of march we will begin our trip south for the Dominican Republic ( DR). With the boat nearly in ship shape, We are beginning our prep lists and beginning to load gear on board that we may need over an extended trip. Right now the boat is sitting an inch higher in the water than she should be. A few months ago we stripped everything off of her.

Our trip will begin with a week or two south thru the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Then we will spend a few months fishing around the DR. The DR boast some great white marlin fishing as well there will be blue marlin to be caught. The trip south thru the Bahamas on the way to the DR is one I look forward to. Once south of Nassau we will be running slow and trolling baits and lures the entire way. The further south we get, the better the fishing can get. Also along the way we will be given the opportunity to dive for lobster and see some incredible places. There is another boat coming to DR with us and we will be running together the entire trip. The Ruckus is a 61 Viking run by a buddy of mine. Its gonna be a great trip.

I am sad that I will not be going to Mexico this season. I will miss the great fishing there but mostly the friends that I have made there over the years of traveling there. Puerto Aventuras has become a part of my life and I will be back.

I have been hunting a bit. Sitting in the woods at 5 am, perched half way up a tree, in 20 degree weather makes one yearn for the tropics. Its kinda funny. When we are fishing in the summer , we look forward to hunting and when we hunt in the winter, we look forward to fishing.

On Monday I am Flying to St Thomas. My brother asked me to help him deliver a 54 Bertram from St Thomas down south through the windward islands to Barbados. Having never been south of St Thomas, I am looking forward to the trip. I will post to the blog when possible. So look for a few more reports next week.

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Capt. Ed]]> no_email@example.com (CaptEd) http://Mexico-Offshore.Com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=794#794