Sea of Cortez Fish Populations

[Ted]

We recently returned from an annual trip to Isla La Guardia. Lots of us were diving and lots of us were fishing. We saw fish, we caught fish but nothing like it has been in the past. Puerto Lobos has been good for small yellowtail, and some nice gold spots but the quality fish are rare now. There was a good run for halibut at the 51 this year, several guys have had good days on secret spots, however I am not seeing catch reports as in the past.
What is everyone else seeing out there?

 

[Shawno]

I fished the grouper reefs out of Cholla on 6/07. It was rough and the drift was fast. We did not catch any grouper. I fished for grouper in Lobos on 6/14. It was very windy and the drift was fast. No luck bottom fishing. I had fun catching 40+ large sierra (26" to 30") trolling rapalas. Fishing was great from Feb to May, but slow right now. I am seeing an awful lot of commercial fishing buoys at the reefs.

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[jerry]

grouper prices dropped for the fisherman around Santo Tomas this year.They said outsiders were fishing the area.

 

[Roberto]

[quote="Shawno, post: 89753, member: 1592" I am seeing an awful lot of commercial fishing buoys at the reefs. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk[/quote]

What are those buoys for??

 

[Shawno]

I assume that the buoys are for nets, long lines, or some other kind of commercial fishing method set by local pangas. They make it nearly impossible to fish the reefs without getting snags and breakoffs on their gear.

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[dmcauley]

Usually June and July are good for grouper and pinto and the deeper water reefs only produce gold spots and occasional WSB. Last year we had a phenomenal season from August to early november on halibut and black sea bass. The gold spots were abundant also. This year the wind might cheat us out of a lot of fish, seems like the decent days there has been a fast current. The commercial fisherman DO seem to take more than their fair share when they discover a good rock. A lot of these pangas are not licensed and just take all they can.

 

[moore_rb]

We haven't been down since the first weekend in June, so can't say the slow fishing has bothered me one bit...

but it does seem like this spring/summer has been slower than many in the past - This past weekend was the same weekend back in 2012 that we hammered 15 grouper over 70 pounds during the 2 day tournament.

Like Dan says above- the wind and the tides have not been very sympatico this year. On days the winds are down, the tides are crazy, and when the tides are slower, the wind is howling...

Plus, the El Nino forming out in the Pacific really seems to be jacking up the fishing down in Cabo, and even up in Guaymas and San Carlos the Dorado and the wahoo are late this year- the water's really warm down there (which also translates to more aggressive currents up in the north end of the SOC)- so I wonder if that could be a factor?

I would rather hope that the El Nino, and the over-abundance of bait fish, is the reason the larger fish are not aggressively biting- maybe they are all just full.

The last big El Nino year I remember was 2010, and I recall that summer being very similar to this one- not a lot of action, and then in late september it was like someone hit the "on" switch on every grouper out there and the fishing was amazing for almost 6 weeks... {fingers crossed}

 

[Ted]

Just talked to Tom Alber who fishes Lobos every other weekend-he said last weekend he just quit fishing-only thing they caught over three days was trigger! He said the shell divers take is way down too. I haven't fished much this year but it has really been lousy compared to other years for pretty much all species-especially bottom fish. I know nature cycles, and the El Nino is sort of making a run so far but I still think the main deal is the shrimp boats dragging bottom-I have seen the by catch-it is astounding-that cannot be good for the balance of the ecosystem. When they leave it alone for a few years it will come back.

 

[garyd]

We haven't been down since the first weekend in June, so can't say the slow fishing has bothered me one bit...

but it does seem like this spring/summer has been slower than many in the past - This past weekend was the same weekend back in 2012 that we hammered 15 grouper over 70 pounds during the 2 day tournament.

Like Dan says above- the wind and the tides have not been very sympatico this year. On days the winds are down, the tides are crazy, and when the tides are slower, the wind is howling...

Plus, the El Nino forming out in the Pacific really seems to be jacking up the fishing down in Cabo, and even up in Guaymas and San Carlos the Dorado and the wahoo are late this year- the water's really warm down there (which also translates to more aggressive currents up in the north end of the SOC)- so I wonder if that could be a factor?

I would rather hope that the El Nino, and the over-abundance of bait fish, is the reason the larger fish are not aggressively biting- maybe they are all just full.

The last big El Nino year I remember was 2010, and I recall that summer being very similar to this one- not a lot of action, and then in late september it was like someone hit the "on" switch on every grouper out there and the fishing was amazing for almost 6 weeks... {fingers crossed}

The fishing in Cabo has been strange to say the least.However someone caught a 730 pound Blue Marlin last week. 3 miles from shore

 

[Wood Spinner]

Sure hope they were smart enough to sell it. I know it is not what you should do but they sell for so much I think I could have found a way.

 

[Wood Spinner]

Sorry all I got this on the wrong thread. It was for the big Blue Marlin

 

[jerry]

respect the grouper!!!!!

 

[jerry]

http://www.change.org/p/prevent-the-extinction-of-the-vaquita-porpoise-the-world-s-most-endangered-marine-mammal. 100 left...

 

[Landshark]

I was afraid that was going to happen and lifting the ban in the northern gulf would accelerate the decline. It will take a miracle to save them now. Such a terrible thing.