By Bruce Ajari ·
I made my annual trek to the East Cape of Baja California Sur, Mexico, with some friends last September. It would prove to be a memorable trip, not for the fishing, but rather the storm that would hit us Sunday into Monday morning.
We had been aware of the storm, “Odile,” was coming our direction, but all of the National Hurricane Center models showed it passing west of Cabo San Lucas.
Anticipating “ Odile,” we decided to fish Friday and Saturday on the Pangas and made arrangements with our boat captains to fish early Friday morning.
Because we were targeting tuna our first two days, we needed bait. Flat Iron Herring, known as Sardina in the Mexican waters, is the preferred bait.
We positioned our boat for a drift. It was quiet at first, but the fishing quickly picked up. We were able to boat four smallish Yellowfin Tuna in the 10- to 15-lb. range and one decent Dorado more than 10 lbs.
The next day, we decided to make the long run once more for Tuna. We landed three slightly larger Yellowfin more than 15 lbs. We also managed two nice Dorado, around 15 lbs, and were trolling when a Wahoo hit one of our conventional rods. Unfortunately, after a fairly good fight, the fish unbuttoned himself from the lure. Wahoo run at the boat with amazing speed and trying to keep up reeling is usually the downfall. An angler generally cannot keep up, particularly with a conventional reel with a slow line pick up.
We were able to see the Wahoo broach near the boat and it was a good 5’ to 6’ in length. The skipper estimated the weight at about 56 lbs.
All in all, we had a productive two days of fishing. We even managed to catch a few fish from the beach in the evenings and on Sunday morning.
However, our trip was about to take a turn. Our skippers felt that “Odile” was going to track eastward due to the unusually warm waters in the Sea of Cortez. The first two days of fishing had been great, but now we were anxious about the pending storm.
FISHING REPORT
See Sightseeing for water levels.
Boca | Inflow is at 51 cfs and the outflow is 94 cfs. Powerbait, nightcrawlers and lures are all working. Fly-fishers have been catching some fish near the inlet with nymphs, streamers and dries.
Donner | Fishing has been fair to good. Nightcrawlers and Powerbait seem to be the main bait. Mackinaw fishing has been good. Fly-fishermen are catching some fish with streamers.
Lake Tahoe | Tributaries open to fishing only July 1-Sept. 3. Fishing has been fair to good for mackinaw. A guide is highly recommended if you are fishing for mackinaw for the first time. Toplining and shore fishing is fair. Most shore fishermen use inflated nightcrawlers.
Little Truckee River | The flow is at 51 cfs. The Little Truckee is running low for this time of year. Flows are dropping fast. Think small flies and long leaders on this water. Midges, Baetis, PMD and March Browns are beginning to show. Everything will be earlier this year so keep an eye out for those Green Drakes.
Martis Lake | Zero kill. Catch and Release only with barbless artificial lures or flies. Fishing is the best early in the season and again the fall. There are still a few nice fish in this lake that has severely declined. Smallmouth bass are now part of the fishery here.
Prosser | Fishing has been fair to good. Anglers using bait, lures and flies have all caught fish. Fly-fishermen have done well near the inlet areas.
Stampede | Fishing has been fair to good from shore. Nightcrawlers, Powerbait and lures have all produced from shore. Fly-fishermen have been doing well near the inlets with nymphs and streamers. The Kokanee fishing has been fair to good for those getting out. Smallmouth bass fishing has been fair.
Truckee River | The river is not flowing out of the lake at Tahoe City. The flows through Truckee are at 85 cfs. Flows are low through the town Truckee. Give the fish a break in this section and leave them alone. The flow from Boca downstream to the state line is running at 253 cfs. Best fishing will occur in the waters below where the Little Truckee enters the Truckee River below Boca Reservoir. This is special regulation, artificial only with barbless hook water. Catch-and-release fishing is encouraged in this section, but an angler may keep two fish with a minimum size of 14” during the trout season (last Saturday in April to Nov. 15). Hatches coming off include Baetis, March Browns PMDs, caddis and midges. Even a few Green Drakes have been observed.
Bruce is a long-time area fly-fisherman and past president of Tahoe Truckee Fly Fishers. Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com to read more.
