Newbie going to Loreto in July.

Started by Marc Fong, June 06, 2017, 05:24:37 PM

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SoCalAngler

Quote from: Smols on July 31, 2018, 02:32:30 PM
Funny, I read this thread sometime back and thought loreto would be worth checking out. Just yesterday, I was invited to Loreto to fish the third week in August. They say the dorado are around in big numbers and they are even catching yellowtail some days. I know it will be hot, but I'm thinking it will be worth it if the dorado fishing is good - the yellows would be a bonus. Any feedback from you guys who know Loreto fishing would be welcome.

Smols

Check the Baja Bytes reports on BloodyDecks and other places. Gray get his Loreto info from my buddy Rick Hill. Good Luck

jurelometer

Quote from: Smols on July 31, 2018, 02:32:30 PM
Funny, I read this thread sometime back and thought loreto would be worth checking out. Just yesterday, I was invited to Loreto to fish the third week in August. They say the dorado are around in big numbers and they are even catching yellowtail some days. I know it will be hot, but I'm thinking it will be worth it if the dorado fishing is good - the yellows would be a bonus. Any feedback from you guys who know Loreto fishing would be welcome.

Smols

The dorado showed up the last week of June, a bit later than normal.    At the beginning of dorado season there were a decent percentage of larger fish,  a welcome change from the last couple of seasons.  I don't fish for billfish,but saw a few striped marlin around,  and the folks interested in trolling for marlin did pretty well on some days.  The dorado fishing was excellent for a couple of weeks.

July had an unusual amount of windy days,  and combined  with some unfavorable current shifts,   the water  temps dropped.  The nearshore seaweed paddies got scarce and the dorado got harder to find.   On most days, it was possible to find little dorado and catch all you want on bait or flies (not my bag).  But getting skunked or only a fish or two on the troll was not uncommon either.  I had some pretty slow days the second week of July.   

Conditions will always be changing,  so who knows what August will bring.    Typically the bigger dorado will be more common in August,  the marlin will be less available, but there will be more sailfish around.   The inshore species will have moved into deeper water. (150' +)  and will be harder to catch.    You can usually scratch out a yellowtail or two,  even some especially big ones,   but you have to be willing to soak a mackerel for quiet awhile in some pretty hot weather.  If you really want to bottom fish in the late summer,  I think the best bet is to leave early,  bottom fish  fish for an hour or two on your way out to look for bluewater species.  Ask the captain for advice the night before.  Sometimes there can be a good bottomfish bite happening.

To have really good consistent dorado fishing in Loreto  there needs to be the right water temps,  lots of sargasso (seaweed) patches,  and a healthy population of the local inshore baitfish (flatiron herring AKA Sardina).  Plus the dorado have to make it past the gauntlet of the illegal commercial fisherman.   

This August, the water temps have a good chance of being where you want them, there was a decent amount of sargasso before the wind and current shifts,  I have no  idea if it will show up again.  The sardina population has been very good all season.   And they are still having a decent dorado season in La Paz (the dorado will pass by La Paz on their migration nothward in the direction of Loreto),  so the commercials did not get all of them.

The weather will be very hot, and humidity will be rising in August,  and you are getting into hurricane season.   This is not usually a problem,  but it is worth getting travel insurance and watch the NOAA hurricane web site starting the week before your trip. The heat and humidity  in August shuts down the land based tourism.

In terms of fishing reports,  no news is usually bad news.  As with everywhere else,  there will be plenty of information when fishing is good, and  little or nothing to report when fishing is not so good.   

My advice is always go fishing when you can,  life is short.   And the one thing never to bring on a fishing trip is expectations.   The hype is always stronger than the fishing.

There is a bunch more Loreto advice in the rest of this thread.  If you have a choice of where to go,  I would also consider La Paz  for late August.  Better chance for yellowfin tuna and dorado combo. 

-J

Marc Fong


Smols

Thanks for the detailed report on loreto jurelometer! You helped me decide to skip this trip and plan a trip for early spring instead. There just have not been enough good reports on dorado lately.

smols

SoCalAngler

Be flexible on your fishing dates if you do plan on early spring. The north winds can and most likely will blow pretty hard for several days in a row this time of year.

jurelometer

Quote from: Smols on August 07, 2018, 05:43:29 AM
Thanks for the detailed report on loreto jurelometer! You helped me decide to skip this trip and plan a trip for early spring instead. There just have not been enough good reports on dorado lately.

smols

That's the problem with an un-hyped report.  What I meant to say was that almost all the conditions for  very good dorado fishing  in August are in place.    I wouldn't turn down a trip. 

As SoCal noted,  the later in the spring you fish,  the less likely you will miss days due to high winds.