Where to fish next?

[Dominick]

Hi everyone.  Just returned from Los Cabos.  My friend Joe and I fished for two days.  The first day started out calm and we got bit off with a rigged ballyhoo. Further trolling produced one more short strike.  Then we got caught in the cone of the downgraded hurricane Vance.  By the time we encountered it it was designated a tropical storm.  The rain was monsoon like and lasted for 3 hours.  The seas were a combination of swells and wind waves 8-10 feet.  Luckily we were on a cruiser and not a panga.  We bounced around quite a bit.  We turned around at around 10:00 am and was back at the dock by 11:00 or so.  We fished one more day as the port was closed.  All we caught was 2 bonita.
We have not been very successful over time fishing in this area.  I believe that the area has been fished out.  According to some of the Mexican fishermen they have to go further and further out to get fish. 
We are contemplating giving up on the Los Cabos area and looking to either fish La Paz or Loreto.  Possibly Costa Rica or Panama also.  I would like to hear from our members who have experienced these other locations.  Any other recommendations will be appreciated.  Dominick

[Alan M]

Goals?

Cedros for me.

[quang tran]

I don't catch much fish either . Some people get old they forgot how to fish

[Maxed Out]

 Haida Gwaii

[jurelometer]

The Pacific side of Baja will tend to have better fishing, but most of it is harder to travel to, you are fishing in unprotected waters, almost always out of pangas, and not too many places with nice protected harbors to launch from.  The best places are beach launch or have a nasty bar to cross.

Cedros is a very good Baja Pacific bet if you want a place that is easy to get to, a short easy run to the fish from a protected harbor, and good fishing - mostly yellowtail focused. It  is pretty much all panga fishing though. 

Like Cabo, Loreto and La Paz have also been worked pretty hard.  Of the two, I would take La Paz for fishing variety and numbers, and Loreto for the town itself.  More cruiser fishing out of La Paz, but there are a few fancier boats out of Loreto now.  La Paz has had pretty reliable rooster fishing and decent weather in the late spring for the last couple of years, but you need to fish closer to Muertos, which is a bit of a haul from La Paz proper.  Not too bad if you stay someplace like La Ventana, but then you may be back in pangas for the fishing.

We will be (hopefully) coming off a big el nino season, so the timing and length of the seasons are quite different than normal.  I am switching my dates for the upcoming season. Timing is a lot more important than it used to be for the Sea of Cortez spots.  If you can travel on shorter notice, this will help your odds a lot.

It has been awhile since I have been to Panama, but from most places on the Pacific coast, it is  a bit of run to get into the fish nowadays.  The tour-buying fishermen with lots of money fish from the island lodges that are much closer to the fish.  Weather wise, Panama has a very wet season, and a very very wet season. From what I have heard that they still do pretty well out of the island lodges for billfish and yellowfin.

It has been even longer since I have been to Costa Rica.  Not sure how things are doing there nowadays. Anything I could offer is way too outdated to be useful.

Northwest Columbia is the up and coming hotspot in the region.  You need to know what you are getting yourself into in terms of political stability and the refugee situation. I passed on a chance to fish there this year.  We can talk offline if you are interested. One of the wettest places on  the planet.

That's all I got off the top of my head.  Feel free to ring me up for more data.  I am really only up to date on the Baja stuff nowadays.

-J

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Tropic Star Lodge on the Pacific Coast of Panama near the Colombia is pricey, but worth it.

https://tropicstar.com/

[Gfish]

No recommend try Hawaii. Unseasonably cool and windy. Will probably try tomorrow but only 'cause fishing spirit is dying for need of action. Prolly not go to far out and only short time.