Fishing the East Cape with Mark Rayor

I CALL IT THE "MPS"

2012-02-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

When the wind doesn't blow the marlin want to go.

I just spoke with a couple of fishermen who stayed at the Los Barriles Hotel and fished a local charter boat for the last three days. The first two days weather was calm and they accounted for 2 striped marlin and 10 dorado. Their last day the wind hooped up and the count was a goose egg.

This is typical for winter time fishing on the East Cape. The bite can be good but is never consistent. I believe all the ups and downs in weather is the largest contributing factor. It has been the same deal fishing for yellowtail. No doubt they are in the neighborhood. One day a guy can go out and bag a couple 30-35 pounders and the next day they are gone. Two or three days later they bite again.

Personally I can't wait to get past February. Entering March we are over the hump and the bite is much more consistent. Warming water and more active bait, turns sea life on. Turns me on also. In March the marlin start to pile up in large schools and sometimes yellowfin tuna make an early showing. Roosterfish become active and the whole sea starts to wake up from winter. It is also when sightings and the shot at a swordfish are at their best. Talk about a turn on!

When I moved to the East Cape in 1991 GPS's were not available and Loran's did not work in this area. Navigating the Sea of Cortez was done with a compass and a wrist watch. The local fishermen would find their sweet spots and relate their location to each other by using a triangulation method. Not knowing the names of mountain peaks or different beach areas, I installed a direction finder on my boat. With that, I could at least tell which direction they were broadcasting from. The direction finder never did work very well but learning the Mexican method has. Now folks will ask how did you find that other boat or sweet spot without your GPS. My anwser is the MPS ...

"Mexican Positioning System".

In the back ground on this picture is a mountain peak called Picacho (translation is peak). It is located behind San Jose airport and prominently stands out from almost anywhere in Palmas Bay. It is almost always used in navigating the East Cape. The low sloping hill in front of Picacho is call Caguama. The literal translation is Loggerhead but the locals use that word for all sea turtles. Use your imagination and the hill looks like a turtle. This location is known at Picacho Y Caguama.

The mountain peak in the backround of this photo is Sierra Alta. It is also a major navigation marker. Straight down on the beach from Sierra Alta is Buenas Aires.

The high spot off La Ribera is right where Picacho y Caguama and Siera Alta y Buenas Aires are all lined up. It is consistently one of the hottest fishing spots on the East Cape.

This location is Releases (the white marks on the mountain) Y Punta Colorada.

Here is a photo of a remora. They are the strange sucker fish we see stuck to the sides of Marlin.

Caught this shrimp boat going to work in front of our place the other evening

We found this cute little coronetfish floating in our bait tank. Poor guy must have gotten trapped in a throw net when a pangero was making sardines

It is hard to find foliage that will thrive and tolerate the salt and wind on the beach. I rescued this Yucca plant from the desert and put it in front of our home. It seems to like the beach as much as me and is flowering to prove it. That is Palmas de Cortez in the back ground.

Can't hardly wait for spring!

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

US cell 310 308 5841

The rising sun

2012-01-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

This week the East Cape has experienced more calm days with warmer weather than in the past several weeks. With the break in weather private boaters fishing in shore have been getting some early morning action. Sierra, white bonito, roosterfish, jack cravelle and even a few small dorado have been busting large schools of sardines up and down Buena Vista beaches.

Humpback whales with their calfs and huge schools of mobula manta rays have also arrived and can be seen putting on a show from shore.

Most of our local resorts have closed for the winter and only one or two charter boats have been fishing daily. Traveling long distances and fishing off shore has not paid off. The best action has remained near shore.

The Sea of Cortez is one of the most magnificent bodies of water on this planet. I have posted a few random photos of the sunrise I wake up to every morning. Looking out my window it is impossible to wake up without a happy face.

I am reminded of one of my all time favorite movies "Groundhog Day" staring Bill Murray. In the movie Murray wakes up every morning to his alarm clock with Sonny and Cher singing "I Got You Babe". He experiences groundhog day, day after day after day. Every Groundhog Day it is always a treat to watch the movie.

Bill Murray got "You Babe", I get a much better deal with these sunrises every morning.

Slept in this morning and caught this before even getting out of bed.

Captured this image the other morning from our front porch of a mother humpback with her calf. The pup appears to be very young. It was a priceless sight.

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

US cell 310 308 5841

THE TYPICAL HOOT

2012-01-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

The buzz of reports that a few nice yellowtail have been landed on the East Cape has locals excited. The largest problem is that strong north winds typical of this time of year are keeping anglers on the beach most days.

Tired of watching the wind blow we took our annual camping trip to Mag Bay. This is the time of year on the full moon and new moon that we experience extreme tides.

La Paz is our first stop where we load up on supplies for the week. Then it is up highway 1 toward Ciudad Constitucion. Turning off the highway we head toward the water down a washboard dirt road for about 20 miles until reaching a small fish camp. The pangeros there work mostly at night for shrimp and crab and we are able to buy all we want. Just past the fish camp is a tiny naval base. Past the base the road leads us to a beautiful deserted beach where we can camp at the waters edge.

Mag is about as close to utopia for an outdoorsman that I can imagine. On the low tide there are areas where we can harvest a bucket of chocolate clams in about an hour. On high tide fishing the mangroves is always action packed for a variety of species. That is not to mention sighting hoards of different birds, whales and porpoise close up.

Baja sunrise is just the best

It didn't take long for Jennifer to hang the first small halibut

This crab in the mangroves thought it was camouflaged

A whole tree full of Frigate birds were checking us out

A small grouper can be fun on light line

We landed between 80 and 100 spotted bay bass everyday most of which were released

An abandoned pier at Isla Santa Margarita is not so abandoned.

Chocolate clams

Nothing better then fresh clams on the barbecue

Seafood galore!

I got tired of eating clams, shrimp and crab but never get tired of the gorgeous sunrises

A snap shot of our camp before we break it down

This was the rig I used for several years. The friends we travel with would always have a pool betting on what kilometer marker I would lose it. It even surprised me but we never did.

I did succumb to peer presure and this is our stealthy looking new rig.

The trip wouldn't be complete without a flat.

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

TALK ABOUT IMPACT

2012-01-02T06:15:00.001-08:00

The East Cape fish report for the last week of the year is pretty grim. The north winds gave us a break for a couple of days but the fish did not.

Reports from the handful of charter boats that fished off shore was the water is off color, cold and lacking life. The 32 contestants that fished the beach in Felipe Valdez's annual sierra tournament only accounted for one fish.

On a brighter note lets talk about what was.

My old man started me fishing on half day boats at six years old. It was time spent with my dad that I will never forget. I'm certain that is part of the reason I have so much passion for sportfishing fishing today.

In 2011 we were fortunate to introduce fishing the Sea of Cortez to more young people on our Jen Wren boats then ever before. Each youth parted with a positive experience and memories they will always remember. I believe this will have a life-long impact on their lives.

It gives me great personal pleasure to help provide the experience, share in the excitement and see the smiles on young faces. After their return home from vacation, it is very rewarding to hear back from parents about how their kid could hardly wait to share their fishing experience with friends and also wrote school reports about their adventure. Posted are a few photos of such good times.

Then .... some kids just never grow up.

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

THAT'S THE BREAKS

2011-12-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

Wishing all my friends a belated Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

This has been the windiest week of the year for the East Cape and there is no fishing activity at this time to report on.

Reflecting back on our fishing year for 2011, Jen Wren boats had some good breaks and some bad breaks. Thankfully some days the fish gods just tossed us one and I call that a lucky break. I have posted some images of just a few of the lucky breaks we had this year.

Right out of the gate on our first fishing day of 2011 we landed a wahoo that hit a marlin lure rigged with straight mono. Lucky break.

This striped marlin really put up a battle. At leader we could see the fish was never hooked, just lassoed. Lucky break

The bite was off on this day and fishing was tough until we tail hooked this striped marlin with the treble hooks of a Halco GT Jig. Lucky Break.

Another lassoed marlin. Lucky break.

On this day we found a school of bottle-nose dolphin near Punta Pescadero. We trolled around and around through the dolphin changing lures and trying everything in our bag of tricks. I could see fish in my meter but we just couldn't get em to go. My deck hand got frustrated and said "let's get out of here". I wasn't ready and decided to stop and soak a mackerel. As Jen Wren III slowed to a stop the Zuker 5.5 teaser we were trolling started to sink and bendo! We hung this 200 pound tuna. Lucky break.

On this day we had a double billfish hook up drifting live baits on the high spot off La Ribera. What are the odds? Both fish turned out to be lassoed around the bill without a hook in either. We were able to release them both. Lucky Break.

By the skin of your chinny chin chin. Lucky break

Almost pulled the lips off of this Yellowfin tuna. Lucky break

And then there is Accurate Jack Nilsen. His middle name is Lucky break.

Wishing everybody tight lines and lots of lucky breaks in 2012.

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

Baja or Alaska?

2011-12-18T06:51:00.001-08:00

There is only a small handful of charter fishing boats still in the water on the East Cape. Without daily departures there has not been reports of conditions off shore.

The beach has been a different story and you almost have to take a number to get a good fishing spot. The sea life has been putting on an incredible show with birds diving and fish in a feeding frenzy driving huge schools of sardines to the waters edge. Sierra Mackerel, rooster fish, ladyfish, and jack cravelle have all been in the mix.

For the entire week I have awakened to voices of fishermen on the beach. As dawn unfolds fishermen can be seen lined up almost shoulder to shoulder. The sight reminds me of fishing for salmon on the rivers of Alaska. One big difference is not having to look over your shoulder for bears. The hot spot has been up and down the coast near Vista Del Mar right in front of our home.

"The early bird catches the worm" as the beach bite starts at first light and shuts off as soon as the sun is above the horizon. Some anglers have been using rods and reels while others are hand lining. I have had good luck with a sardine patterned fly but a chrome 3 inch lure made from a broken car antenna has been most popular along with Crocodiles and Rapalas. As full speed as the bite has been the fish are shying away from lures rigged with wire. The sharp teeth of the sierra has made it costly but it is the price that has to be paid for success.

Dawn at Buena Vista. Why do you suppose the place was named Buena Vista?

First light is when the bite is best

My wife says the beach looks like a sale on black Friday.

Pelicans are gorging themselves

Lost a fly on my 2nd cast to the toothy critters and then got lucky

Luis Sylva told me his son has been waking him up evey morning at 5AM to get to the beach. Luis is a very talented fisherman and it looks like the kid just might be a chip off the old block.

Fish for everyone

Most anglers are coming away with limits

As soon as the sun is up on the horizon it is over.

Mark Rayor

www.teamjenwren.com

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

THE WITCH-DOCTOR

2011-12-06T06:12:00.000-08:00

Mark Rayor owner of Jen Wren Sportfishing bringing you an East Cape NON-fish report. The wind has blown so hard this week it has not been fishable most of the week.

I'm happy to say our timing was good and we were able to use the last calm day to get Jen Wren III out of the water. It is sad but our season is over and we won't resume charter fishing until March.

I do want to share an experience we had while fishing last week along with some pretty cool photos. One of our last days out there slow trolling for marlin with skipjack for bait we were not having any luck. I decided to try putting out a Witch-Doctor teaser. It is a rather large mirrored thing that rocks back and forth while being trolled and reflects sun light. In the right conditions it looks like a strobe going off in the water behind the boat.

We were fishing with a group of about a half dozen boats on the La Ribera high spot. After a short period of time a pod of orcas cruised by. Apparently our teaser caught one of the whales eyes and the pod came a bit closer. Before we knew it the whole pod was in our pattern nudging our baits and checking us out. One whale even came up almost to our swim step and gently pushed on the Witch-Doctor. If it attracted the orcas this has to be an effective tool to attract marlin as well.

Now that we are not charter fishing and have our cruisers in dry dock for the winter I will still try to get out on calm days. I can use one of our small tenders and fish the shoreline for sierra and a little further off shore when the weather allows. I'll do my best to try and continue to post reports as to what fishing conditions are like on the East Cape.

Today the seas are starting to calm and it looks like we might get a break for a day or two before the wind ramps up again.

One day all is calm

The next day it is not

The folks at Cabo Yachts had their doubts that we would be able to pull our 35 Flybridge out over the sand.

Curious orcas. It is not every day but not unusual to sight them in the Sea of Cortez

You can tell this is the male by the larger dorsal fin. Most of the time we only see one male with a pod of females. The male always stands off while the females play. I want to come back as a male killer whale in my next life time ... top of the food chain traveling around with a harem of beautiful ladies. Sign me up!

They slowly came closer

Yes, that is a frightened skipjack we were trolling jumping out of the water

They hung around our boat for a good 15 minutes

On this day we didn't have any trouble with sea lions taking our bait or catch

Sea lion? Make my day

Finally one nudged the Witch-Doctor

As fast as they arrived they disappeared.

Mark Rayor

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

www.teamjenwren.com

Here come da judge

2011-12-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

In shore along the beaches of Buena Vista the action has exploded. There is a huge abundance of bait right now which on calm days is bringing game fish within range of beach fishermen. Sierra mackerel, pompano and quality sized roosterfish are all on the feed. Just a few miles off shore dorado, striped marlin and sailfish have provided the few anglers fishing excellent action.

We had an outstanding week fishing with old friends and making new ones as well. Early in the week new found friends Ray Hafsten and retired federal judge Bob Bayt traveled all the way from Indiana to fish Jen Wren III.

The first couple days of Ray and Bob's visit we encountered the normal north winds of this time of year but it didn't slow them down a bit. The boys landed a limit of dorado and a few nice sierra mackerel to boot. On their last day the wind subsided. They released 4 sailfish and left a dorado for us because their cooler was already full.

It was interesting for me to watch how much conditions changed this week and how it effected the billfish bite. In one day the water temp dropped from 76 to 72 degrees and the color changed from blue-ish to kind of an ugly green. For several weeks the most effective way to catch marlin and sailfish had been to slow troll small bonita. When the water changed this method seemed to stop working. We trolled several hours without a smell and the fish just seemed to disappear.

Ready to give up on the area I remebered something Jack Nilsen told me. It was "keep em honest". What he meant was don't let the fish out smart you and give up on an area without giving it a fair shot if you believe they are there. With that thought I put on a planer and started slow trolling a mackerel down deep. Yep, in just a few minutes we were bit. With that we just started drifting and soaking mackerel. That turned out to be the ticket and once again with a different technique the bite was WFO again.

Being out there everyday we experience a lot of strange things and saw a good one with Ray and Bob. Soaking mackerel both boys got bit at the same time. One was using a circle hook and had the bait bridled, the other was using a J hook with the bait hooked in the dorsal fin. When the lines went tight both sailfish jumped simultaneously. The battle was on! One fish went north and the other south which made for some good excitement. Ray was able to bring his fish to leader first. Wiring the fish I discovered it had been lassoed around the bill and was never hooked. We don't see that often but once in a while an angler gets lucky and it happens. Here is where the story gets really strange. Upon leadering Bob's fish I discovered it had also been lassoed around the bill and was not hooked either. I guess the fish gods looked down on us and said this is going to be your day.

It was good to see old friend Herb Lamb and his wife Jennifer. They had outstanding luck with the weather and good luck fishing with double limits of dorado and a nice sierra for ceviche as well.

Dorado showed up late this year but are giving anglers action now

Bob boats a nice dorado

Ray battles a sailfish

Double sailfish hook up!

December is late for sailfish on the East Cape but we are not complaining

Bob gets a photo before the release

How lucky can you be? Two sails lassoed at the same time

Thier luck continued.

Look at that pond. Herb picked the right day.

Mark Rayor

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

www.teamjenwren.com

IT WAS COCKPIT CHAOS!

2011-11-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

We spent most of this week on the beach because of no charters and mostly windy days. Wednesday afternoon the wind started to subside and it looked like Thursday would be nice. The problem was that it was Thanksgiving and we had celebration plans for that afternoon. I thought what the heck I'll get an early start and come in at 1 or 1:30.

I heard there had been a pretty good dorado bite on the buoys near Pescadero so decided to start fishing there. Upon arrival we could see loads of small skipjack feeding on the surface. We caught a few and started slow trolling. With no action I looked at our GPS and decided to change plans. We ran about 45 minutes to the La Ribera high spot where there had been good marlin and sailfish action for weeks.

When we got to La Ribera there were five other boats and 2 were hooked up. It was just me and Chuy on the boat which makes things interesting when we get bit. Clearing the lines, keeping the boat in position and leadering a fish takes team work. We rigged and started trolling 3 live skippies. It didn't take long and bam we were bit. I was ready with my camera as Chuy set the hook. Hang on, wham! The second rod goes off. With the camera in one hand I set up on the second fish. Wait a minute, slam! The third rod goes off. We are both laughing so hard and with our hands full we can't set up on the third fish. All this is going on in the bridge where the rods were in our rocket launchers. Jumping down on deck Chuy hands me a rod with a fish on and then the second as he takes a swing at the third fish. On deck I now have both bent rods in the rod holders and pitch out a mackerel that was already rigged. Kabam! We are bit again. Chuy's last fish didn't stick but we still have 3 fish going which turned out to be a striper, a sailfish and a dorado. We ended up releasing both billfish and keeping the dorado.

Once settled down we started slow trolling skippies again and in just a few minutes hung another marlin. Releasing that fish I looked at my wrist watch and it was 5 minutes to ten. That's it. Lets head for the barn. We had time to fuel, clean up the boat and make my afternoon commitment.

As we left the area Chuy's brother Javier rolled in. He didn't have to be in early and later told us they released ten billfish that afternoon.

Thanksgiving morning on the East Cape

Chuy hangs the first fish

Now we are in trouble. Rod in one hand camera in the other Chuy is bent and one rod is unattended

The fish are giving us fits

Do I shoot photos or crank on the fish?

It was crazy

Wait a minute. What is wrong with this picture?

Whoa!

One of the fish in our triple was a large sailfish with no bill. Try releasing a billfish with no snout to hang on to.

I can hardly wait to do that again.

Mark Rayor

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

www.teamjenwren.com

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

2011-11-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

East Cape is experiencing the best dorado bite of the season. In shore and near shark buoys dorado have arrived in big numbers and are on the feed. Striped marlin have also been plentiful off La Ribera and Punta Pescadero. In shore sierra mackerel along with rooster fish are cooperating with anglers up and down the coast.

Today Steve Schroer of Boulder Colorado brought his 2 sons Bridger and Colter fishing on Jen Wren III. Initially Colter was a little apprehensive about the whole ocean fishing thing until hooking his first dorado. His tune changed when that first dorado hit the deck. Both boys ended up with limits before lunch.

With winter winds upon us, I'm always searching for accurate weather predictions. Last week I found a great wind prediction web site. It took a little time to figure out but is very powerful and has loads of info: http://windalert.com/en-us/Search/ViewResults.aspx#23.89,-108.916,9

Thanksgiving reflection makes me want to comment on some of the changes that have taken place in the 20 plus years I have lived here. Back in 1991 was our first Thanksgiving in Buena Vista. It was then I realized the holiday is not celebrated here. The only restaurant in the community that offered a turkey dinner was Tio Pablos. I used to joke with my friends in the US about the great recipe my wife had for road runner because we couldn't buy a turkey. Now we have Costco, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club plus several huge super markets that all offer turkeys. Reading today's Baja Pony Express I found 12 restaurants offering the holiday dinner: http://thebajaponyexpress.com/2011/November/1202---112111.htm

Colter battles his first dorado

Here is one happy kid

Double hook up the the Schroer brothers

The boys got a kick out of feeding the pellicans when we got back to the dock

On anchor I pitched out our last mackerel and caught this sierra.

Yes, they do have sharp teeth.

Mark Rayor

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

www.teamjenwren.com

A bizzare fish tail

2011-11-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Our week started out with strong winds and angry seas. It was so rocky 'n rolly I didn't pack my cameras, for fear of damaging them. That didn't stop Brent Kison and Phil Bidarn from fishing on Jen Wren III for three days. During that time they released one bill fish or more each day, caught a fish locker full of dorado and even a wahoo. On their last day they added 8 nice 30 pound yellowfin tuna to the tally. All the action came just a few miles off shore near La Ribera.

Finally the seas have calmed and yesterday I fished on Mi Corazon with owner Andrew Hughes and a couple of his buddies. We fished in shore between Punta Colorada and the light house and witnessed dorado in a feeding frenzy. Andrew also landed his first sierra of this season.

Yesterday, I captured the images below.

Every morning I look out my window and pinch myself.

First sierra mackerel of the season. Winter is on it's way.

"No legs" Greg bags a dorado. This guy is incredible. He is a double amputee and gets around better than most guys with all their appendages.

This bait got chewed. Maybe a trigger fish got to it?

Needlefish don't normally chew big chunks out of a larger bait

Check out this bizzare tail

This dorado must have had a close encounter at some point in its life. I wish it could tell the tale of what happened to it's tail.

Mark Rayor

www.teamjenwren.com

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

Knowing when to fold em

2011-11-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

We had not been fishing for a few days when I heard chatter on the VHF that the fleet was experiencing the best blue marlin bite of the season. With no charters on the horizon for a couple more days I decided to go out and give it a look. Reportedly the best bite was near the buoys off Pescadero.

It was not hard to find the spot because when we arrived there was already about a half dozen boats slow trolling baits around the area. It only took a few minutes and we hooked a sailfish. The action seemed slow though and it didn't appear the other boats were hooking up.

Later in the morning we hooked a marlin. It was about the same time that word came out on the radio there was a huge comarilla (feeding frenzy in spanish) of striped marlin off the high spot of La Ribera. I could hear the skippers in that area talking and it sounded like the bite was full speed. One by one the boats in our area pealed off in the direction of La Ribera until we were alone. The chatter on the radio continued and it sound like everybody was hooked up and many of the boats had already released several fish.

Okay, what to do. The run to the hot spot off La Ribera was only about a half hour. Should we join the fleet or wait for the fish to show? With clients we probably would have left a long time ago and headed for the sure thing. I liked my cards though. All alone with no traffic in the area where several blue marlin were landed the day before. I decided to stand pat and play the day out where we were. Looking back maybe we should have folded and made the move. We never had another bite. That's fishing!

Later in the week one of my best buddies, Spa Buena Vista home owner Jim Bull fished Jen Wren III. Jim had much better luck trolling live skippys off La Ribera and finished the day with 3 sailfish and a couple small dorado.

The hot bite had been going on for almost a week when Spa Buena Vista home owner Matt Clifton arrived with the goal of catching a striped marlin on the fly. Matt is an accomplished fly fishing guide and my thoughts were that his timing might just be perfect. We spent the day slow trolling live baits without hooks with the idea we could tease the marlin closer to the boat to give Matt a shot with his fly. As luck would have it the fish decided to play hard ball that day. In the course of the day three marlin came in and kamikazied baits off our lines so fast there was no time to react. It was frustrating for me to not be able to give an angler that can handle a fly rod so well at least a shot. That's fishing!

Cup a joe and this view. Not a bad way to start your day.

Punta Pescadero home owner Kevin Anderson sent me this great picture of him and his family on Jen Wren last week.

Mark Rayor

www.teamjenwren.com

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

Changes in latitudes changes in attitudes

2011-10-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

There are large schools of yellowfin tuna 40 plus miles East of the East Cape resorts. Finding them is no guarantee they will bite. Many anglers are returning after a long boat ride with disappointment. Jen Wren boats have avoided the frustration and horrendous boat rides by targeting striped marlin closer to shore.

Getting the marlin to go has been a trick. For several weeks we have not sighted tailers nor have the fish had much interest in lures. The key has been large schools of small bonita that have been abundant off the La Ribera high spot and also around the shark buoys off Punta Pescadero. Catching and slow trolling these bonita have been a very effective method to attract marlin.

An intersting note that has made photography challenging is the marlin we have hooked using small bonita for bait are not jumping during battle. We went from fishing J hooks to circle hooks with hopes that hooking the fish in the corner of the mouth would change their behavior. The marlin just shake their head as they stick it out of the water. Also, a large percentage of them are regurgitating their stomachs.

This week conditions have gone from hot and humid with calm seas to cooler tempatures and strong north winds. This is the third day we have been stuck on the beach due to the winds. Looks like we may have an early winter. The East Cape weather is making the expected changes in latitude which is affecting my attitude!

Accurate Jack Nilsen making bait with an SR12 spincast

Accurate's manager of production control George Cardenas didn't waste any time

Lots of head shots

Not many jumpers

Eating the vuli (pronounced boolie). That is what the local guys are calling the small bonita and bullet tuna.

Shake, shake, shake!

Check out the colors on this fish.

These marlin will suck their stomachs back in and be OK

Love it when they light up.

Local Buena Vista resident Frank Fink hooked a slug fishing Jen Wren III. I'm releasing the fish in the next photo.

I'd like to know who this gray haired old dude is that keeps showing up on my camera?

Looks like this fish is gagging on the bonita

Heading south.

First kite board sighting of the season for me. Affecting my attitude!

Mark Rayor

www.teamjenwren.com

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

SO HOW SLOW IS IT?

2011-10-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

Most of the recent reports coming from the East Cape including my own have indicated fishing has been tough. I just downloaded the photos we captured this week. So how slow is it? Jen Wren boats landed several marlin, sailfish, tuna, dorado and even a wahoo. Locating game fish has not been difficult. Getting them to go has been the trick. Working hard, trying different baits and methods has been the key.

Early in the week Robert Jordan with 3 of his fishing buddies fished 2 days on Jen Wren III. The first day we ran outside about 40 miles. They were rewarded with 4 nice yellowfin. The second day they elected to fish inside and landed a wahoo, 3 dorado and a marlin. Not half bad for "slow fishing"

Wednesday started the 3 day Lynn Rose East Cape Classic. Jen Wren boats did not place in the tournament but we were able to show our guests lots of billfish action. We had a great time fishing with Accurate Jack Nilsen and I'm looking forward to seeing his photos.

Halco lures. I don't leave home without them. They have saved the day for us more than once.

I just bought a new camera with a 55-300mm zoom lens. All the photos below were shot from the bridge of Jen Wren III. Needless to say I'm pretty happy with the new set up.

Lynn Rose Classic shot gun start.

Givin Jack the stink-eye

Mark Rayor

www.teamjenwren.com

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

East Cape, fished out?

2011-10-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of weeks fishing has been the slowest all season. It seems whenever fishing slows down folks are always asking "has this place been fished out?"

I have spent more than a 100 days a year on East Cape waters for the last 21 years. I have no scientific data or access to any studies that have been made regarding this. What I do have is a memory like an elephant and can recall what I have personally observed.

My first visit to Los Cabos was in May of 1973 when my wife and I stayed at the Palmilla. My main objective was to catch my first marlin. At that time a single engine cruiser went for $100 a day. It seemed like a fortune but I ponied up for a days fishing with high expectations. At 2PM we had not had a strike and the skipper informed us it was time to head in. As he turned the boat that direction a marlin appeared in our lure pattern and I landed my first ever marlin.

Later in the 70's we returned to the Palmilla. I eeked out another marlin but never saw that wide open fishing others talk about.

My first visit to the East Cape was in 1986 and there after returned once or twice a year. During my visits I was always able to land a marlin and on some trips a dorado or tuna or two but never found that red hot bite.

In May of 1991 we moved to Buena Vista full time. Some times we would catch big fish and sometimes we would pay our dues. It wasn't until July of 91 we had a 5 billfish day. 2 strippers, 2 blues and a sailfish. We had 9 strikes that day and finally experienced that "WFO fishing".

Back then the fishing boats were very primitive. There were no GPS's and only the better equipped boats had VHF radios. Others used CB radios that would not reach out very far or had no radio at all. In those days there was only one telephone on the East Cape. Communication to the US was very limited and it was almost impossible to get timely fish reports. When reports did filter to an American fisherman the talk was always about the good days. That is what everybody wanted to hear about.

So back to the burning question. Has the place been fished out? No, it has not. We still have good days and slow days. It has been that way for the last 30 years. That's fishing! I am observing more vigilance than in the past. Catch and release is promoted more than ever before. The Sea of Cortez is one of the richest and also most resilient bodies of water on this planet. This slow period will end as fast as it came. Soon the fish will show in numbers one more time and it will be game on. In the mean time the real fisherman will keep trying and enjoy their experience on the water.

Posted are a few random images captured this season I have not had an opportunity to share.

Mark Rayor

www.teamjenwren.com

http://markrayor.blogspot.com

WHEN THEY MAKE THE TURN

2011-10-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Yellowfin tuna jumping and feeding with schools of porpoise are being found 35 to 50 miles from Los Barriles. The tuna have been very finicky and even the first boat to find a school is having a hard time getting bit. After a couple other boats arrive on the scene it is game over.

Close to home billfish and dorado have been more cooperative and providing lots of action. Most of the dorado have been too small to keep but the sailfish, striped and blue marlin are keeping anglers busy.

My brother from another mother Accurate Jack Nilsen shot photography and field tested new products while fishing Jen Wren III for a few days. Jack invited different guests to fish each day. Catching multiple billfish daily allowed everyone invited to land one. All were released except for one blue marlin that died in battle after being brain hooked.

Most of the fish caught came into our lure pattern and we were able to switch them to bait. It is a hoot to sit in the bridge and watch marlin in pursuit. When coming from behind it is very difficult for them to get a good line on the bait. With eyes being on the sides of their head and a big snout sticking out over their mouth its pretty hard to catch a bait straight in front of them. As the lures are trolled away the fish chases, becomes more frustrated and lights up. I watched fish after fish in pursuit. It is when they make the turn on a bait the game begins.

It has been a hay day for billfish. Between Jack and myself we captured some incredible images.

I couldn't resist posting this picuture of sea turtles hatching on the beach. Jen and I discovered these the other night while going for a walk on the beach. We helped more than 30 to the waters edge. Now we are discovering hatches all up and down our Buena Vista beach.

Accurate Jack reporting for work.

Jack filming Accurate pro staffer Kathy Rounds

Triples on the marlin. It doen't get much better.

We were surprised this blue marlin didn't make it until discovering it was brain hooked. Bad luck for the fish but none went to waste.

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

BUBBA GUMP TUNA

2011-09-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Hilary rolled on by in the Pacific without coming close to southern Baja. She did manage to create strong winds off shore for a couple days which has shut off the bite. Now boats are traveling as far as 50 miles in search of porpoise which have been hard to locate. Meanwhile the marlin and dorado bite closer to shore has been a very slow pick. In shore rooster fish have provided good action for anglers tired of traveling great distances in search of the larger game fish.

I can't predict what the future will hold but to date this has been a spectacular year for Yellowfin tuna. On my way out the door this morning my wife Jeni said if I bring another tuna home she is changing the locks. Jeni is a great cook and has figured out more ways to fix and serve tuna then Bubba Gump can serve shrimp.

Here are a few photos of some of the tuna we have landed this season.

My good buddy Bob Tilley kick off the season with our first tuna in early May

Mid May Dave Hellmers

Early June

Mid June

Late June

Early July

Mid July

Late July

Early August

Mid August

Late August

Early September

Mid September

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

www.vistaseasport.com
markrayor.blogspot.com

Buena Vista to Loreto and beyond

2011-09-21T17:09:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not February and September are our two slowest months of the year. February because it is cold and windy, September because of fear of a hurricane and hot humid weather. September is my favorite time. Yes, there is a chance of the big storm but most of the time the seas are flat, water warm and fishing, diving and snorkeling spectacular.

Every year the slow down in business affords Jennifer and myself to escape for a few days on a boat camping trip to enjoy the beauty of the Sea of Cortez. We departed Buena Vista and headed north on Jen Wren III. There was no particular plan other than to explore new sights while fishing and diving along the way. We enjoyed 6 days and 5 nights of heaven and just got back yesterday. It wouldn't have taken much to persuade me to keep going north but San Juanico 26 miles north of Loreto is where we decided it was time to turn around and head her south.

Our weather the entire trip was gorgeous and we saw many breathtaking sights. The view of the Milky Way every night was beyond description.

It was on our first dive at the southern end of Cerralvo Island that I discovered my size "el gordo" BCD was not packed so I had to use a size small. That was an interesting proposition for me but I made the best of it. We also dove La Reina (the northern end of the Island), Isla de Partida, The famous El Bajo, Las Animas, Isla Coronado, Agua Verde, San Juanico and Telmo and fished our way from place to place. Diving and snorkeling in the 85 degree Tidy Bowl Blue water was outstanding at every location while the fishing was a bit off. We did mange a shot or two at billfish every day until arriving at Agua Verde but never hit that bonanza. North of there we had good luck catching dorado at the North end of Carmen Island. We also had outstanding luck fishing for cabrilla while on anchor in the mornings and evenings.

I haven't worn a size small since grade school. Look at the smirk on Jen's face. I did the packing and had nobody to blame.

Didn't take "Jen Wren Jeni" long to get in the action.

We had to put up with sunrises like this every morning

Still on anchor at Isla Partida I hung a dorado using a Halco popper

Come on! This is before morning coffee.

On the way to Puerto Escondido where we fueled up.

Anchorage at San Juanico

Every place we went the sea was loaded with skipjack. I've never seen anything like this in years past.

Chocolate chip star fish are not common around the East Cape and it is a treat when we find one. We have discovered up around the islands near Loreto they are littered everywhere and can be seen diving and snorkeling.

We had so much sea food we released most of what we caught including this cabrilla.

Part of the board walk in Loreto with the church in the background. I was unable to capture in my photos the beauty of the mountain range that serves as a back drop.

Mark Rayor
www.thejenwren.com
www.vistaseasport.com
markrayor.blogspot.com

JUST FOR KICKS

2011-09-10T12:54:00.001-07:00

For another week yellowfin tuna stole the show on the East Cape. Just a few billfish and dorado have been landed this week while most boats are returning from a days fishing with fish lockers full of tuna. Porpoise schools holding huge schools of yellowfin have moved closer to shore and have not been hard to find 10 to 25 miles from the beach. An occational sailfish or marlin are showing in the porpoise but for the most part it is tuna, tuna and more tuna. Most fish are 30 to 40 pounds with a larger model to 100 surpising anglers once in a while.

After 5 days on the beach working on gear and doing maintainance I couldn't stand it any more. With no charters this week I grabbed our crew and said let's go have some fun. We didn't get 10 miles off shore before sighting a school of spotted dolphin. We didn't have time to get all of our trolling lines in the water when clickers started singing. It didn't take long and we had all the tuna we needed.

When a few other boats showed the tuna became a little more finicky and the bite slowed a bit. Just for kicks I pulled out my Accruate SR12 spinning reel. Being able to cast a tiny live sardine a long way was all it took. BENDO! Loaded with 40# it is amazing how much heat that little spinner will allow you to put on a fish.

Here is a birds eye view of our home and dive shop

Jen Wren III on the hook just waiting to go fishing

Another view on the mooring looking at Palmas de Cortez and Playa del Sol. We are located between them and Buena Vista Beach Resort with Ranch Leonero just a little further south.

Off we go into a beautiful Sea of Cortez sunrise.

Look at the smile on skipper Chuy's face. He is normally working on the bridge.

Almost pulled the lips off of this one

Deck hand Diego, Scuba Instructor Rene and skipper Chuy with limits

Just for kicks I broke out an Accurate spinning reel

We spread the wealth to our gardner, maid, accountant, diesel mechanic, trash man and neighbors

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

www.vistaseasport.com
markrayor.blogspot.com

WHERE'S WALTER?

2011-09-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

This week my life long friend Gary Street of Laguna Hills arrived to participate in the La Paz Gold Cup black and blue marlin tournament. For the last few weeks marlin fishing on the East Cape has been very slow so I was hopeful we would find more action up north. This tournament is always loads of fun. It is a two day event with a 200 pound minimum limit for the blues and blacks. The coordinators have thrown a nice curve ball into this event. That is a $50 per pound penalty for bringing in a short fish. A 10 pound judgement error could cost a contestant $500.

We headed Jen Wren III up the Golden Sea of Cortez a couple days early to check out the fishing grounds of the tournament. Starting at the South end of Cerralvo we trolled hookless teasers past Las Cruces around La Reina by Punta Coyote and along the western side of Espiritu Santo. As the day got late we anchored for the evening in a beautiful cove at Isla de Partida. During the day we had raised sailfish, striped marlin and dorado on our teasers and were able to land one of each switching them to live bait. We had also seen loads of nice sized skip jack almost everywhere we went. What we had not seen were any blue or black marlin.

The following morning we woke up to a pretty swift southern breeze and took our time getting under way. We continued to troll north past Los Islotes and out to the famous El Bajo. There we also found loads more skip jack along with stripers sails and dorado. No big marlin but with all the bait and beautiful blue water we were still optimistic a big fish was in our future. We cut the day a little short and headed to La Paz to fuel, get checked into a slip and register for the tournament.

It wasn't until the morning we made the decision to head back out to El Bajo. Upon arrival we were able to catch four big skippys in about 5 minutes. We trolled 3 on the surface and one in our down rigger. With the previous couple days experience it was obvious the big fish were not interested in marlin lures. I hoped that trolling live baits would key them off. At the end of the day we had not raised a fish. Only two qualifying blue marlin were brought to the scale for the 79 teams fishing. One fish weighed 260 pounds and the other 202.

Day two our strategy changed. It was obvious fishing was pathetic and there were not many fish in the area. With that we could cover much more area with lures so that is what we went to. We also changed areas and headed for the southern end of Cerralvo Island. Again we didn't have a smell all day. It turned out only one fish was weighed in at 203 pounds.

When tournament control called lines out at 5PM we were much closer to Buena Vista then La Paz and just headed for home. After running for 15 minutes we found a huge school of spotted dolphin with tuna in a feeding frenzy. It was a sight I dream about. The fish going ballistic and not another boat in sight. It didn't take long to land limits of yellowfin before pointing the boat south and heading home.

La Renia is a tiny rock just big enough for a light house and a few sea lions. It sticks out of the water a couple of miles north of Cerralvo island. It normally is an outstanding fishing spot and also offers great scuba diving

We saw this ferry heading for Topolabampo coming out of the La Paz channel

Gary gets a sail to switch from a teaser

It is unbelievable how much bait is around

Snail races on anchor a Partida. The one on the left was mine. The others didn't know it had a huge hermit crab inside. I thought for sure it would be faster then a snail. It was another failed strategy for me

Our races were interuped when Diego hung a huge cabria

Loaded for Walter and ready to rumble with a rack of Accurate 50's

La Paz Municipal Pier was tournament headquarters

Shot gun start 7AM

Marlin may not have cooperated but the East Cape tuna sure did.

I wanted to know what the tuna were feeding on. We checked a couple stomachs and to my surpise only found some tiny trigger fish and small peices of little squids.

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

www.vistaseasport.com
markrayor.blogspot.com

NOTHING LIKE GETTIN EVEN

2011-08-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

For the second week in a row East Cape fishing has been very spotty with just a handful of billfish and dorado being landed each day. Yellowfin tuna have provided most of the action but have been elusive. The tuna have been found on porpoise schools from 15 to 50 miles off shore. Getting them to cooperate has been a trick. Sometimes they will bite and sometimes they have no interest. A couple days ago we trolled through a huge school of yellowfin in a feeding frenzy without a bump on our lures. We tried everything, I even broke out our kite and couldn't get them to go.

My long time fishing buddies Hank Forhing and John "JD"Davis came for a few days of fishing this week. Hank and I have been fishing together for more than 40 years. After a couple tough days of fishing yesterday, we did a little getting even. The tuna finally decided to go and we came home early with limits.

A little rain is not going to slow JD down

Diego gets wet leadering JD's marlin

Hank with a nice yellowfin

I found this Mexican lookdown fish in our bait tank. It must have gotten scooped up with sardines we purchased

JD tops off his limit with a 100 pounder

Nothing like getting even after a couple of tough days

Most afternoons Jen Wren deck hand Diego has been able to catch a nice pargo on anchor while cleaning up.

Oh boy! This one is going to be a dandy.

Turned out to be a huge stingray.

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

www.vistaseasport.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

BAJA BOOBIES

2011-08-16T06:48:00.001-07:00

In a word, "Tough". Fish did not bite this week like they have the previous couple weeks. I think it has to do with the full moon and am hopeful the action will pick up soon.

Boats targeting billfish are only getting one or two shots in a day. Ones not lucky enough to convert the limited opportunities are going without.

Schoolie sized dorado that have been providing loads of action have disappeared. There are a few big bulls being landed off shore but it is a matter of luck finding one.

It has taken a great deal of luck to be in the right spot at the right time hunting for tuna. There has been 2 main schools of porpoise. One has been off Punta Arena Light house and the other outside and north of Punta Pescadero. Both schools are moving from 20 to 45 miles off shore. The first couple of boats to find them have been doing well, but it is just crumbs for the boats not on them early.

My grandson's were here this week and did manage to catch some dorado and tuna. They also had a couple shots at marlin but couldn't get one to stick.

Recently we have had a couple groups of bird watchers charter our service to sight marine birds. We did the first tour of this sort last year and I was very apprehensive. The experience has turned out to be very educational, rewarding and even exciting. I had no idea the Sea of Cortez was such a rich habitat for marine birds.

The first trip inspired me to buy the camera I now use to capture all the images in my fishing reports. Recently I learned this area hosts three types of boobie birds. We have the brown boobie, the red footed boobie and the blue footed boobie.

Boobie birds got their name based on the Spanish slang term bubie, meaning "dunce", as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured and eaten. Owing to this, boobies are often mentioned as having been caught and eaten by shipwrecked sailors. As appetizing as it sounds I have limited my shooting to the camera.

15 year old Jake Litwin fighting a tuna with the support of his 12 year old brother Nicholas and father Randy.

Jake and Nicolas Litwin

Closing the deal

Jake with a beautiful bull dorado

Which one is the red footed boobie?

When we stopped to photograph the boobies on the log, Nicholas scooped up this colorful trigger fish when a large school of them were attracted to our swim step.

This is a brown boobie standing on a turtle. Why did the Spanish think they were dunces?

I call this the out house turtle

For those having a hard time distingquishing. This is a blue footed boobie.

This morning I noticed some tracks on the beach in front of our place where a sea turtle had come up looking for a place to lay her eggs. There was evidence of one false hole she dug and more tracks back to the water. This place is so alive with different types of sea life it is incredible.

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

IN THE ZONE

2011-08-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

This has been as crazy a season as I can ever remember. In the springtime we were catching fish that normally don't show here until summer. Wahoo, huge tuna and sailfish were plentiful. Now should be big tuna time but most tuna landed are in the 30 to 60 pound range. Don't get me wrong. They put up a battle and are fun to catch but not the trophy of a 100 plus pounder. This should also be blue marlin season but they have manage to elued me.

I fish a lot of days in a year and have been out there constantly. I haven't even seen a blue marlin this season. Haven't even been near another boat with one on. Admittedly, anglers whom we have had out wanted to focus on other species, so we haven't only targeted the blues that many days. We have spent a lot of time fishing in the zone on the high spot off La Ribera and the canyon off Punta Pescadero where the big blues roam. It is also not uncommon to hang a big blue marlin in schools of tuna. So far not for me. The La Paz Gold Cup is coming up the first week in September. I know they will bite sooner or later and am happy waiting until then.

Early this week we had some guests from Guadalajara staying at Palmas de Cortez that were here to visit their family in Los Barriles. Jorge and Jacob both landed their first marlin ever on Jen Wren III.

Bill Potter of Stuart, Florida with his family found outstanding fishing. Sailfish, tuna, dorado, roosterfish and pargo kept Bill, his father in-law Joe and sons in constant action.

Jorge with is first marlin

Quadruple hook up for the Potter family

The Potter's show off some nice yellowfin

Diego wishes he could of come up with this one in last weeks tournament

8 year old Willy and 11 year old Ryan "Ryno" Potter with one of many dorado they landed

Even little Addison got in the action on her 4th birthday

Willy lands his first rooster fish

This pargo gave Ryno a battle

On the hook clean up at the end of the day Chuy's nephew Roberto and Jen Wren deck hand Diego managed to land a nice dinner.

Mark Rayor

www.thejenwren.com

www.vistaseasport.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

Elephant in the room

2011-08-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

No matter how you slice it the fishing during this years East Cape Bisbee was dismal. 62 boats fishing 3 long days and only managed to bring one qualifying blue marlin over 300 pounds to the scales. Until after lines out on the third day not even one short fish was weighed. That tells me not another fish even close to 300 pounds was brought to leader.

Dorado and tuna fishing was also poor. The largest dorado weighed was 47 pounds. On the second day a 33 pound dorado won the daily jack pot. I'm reading all the hoop da la about what a great tournement it was and scratching my head. Yes, I enjoy all the excitement of fishing a big tournament as much as the next guy. Part of that excitment was deflated by the lack of action. All that can be said is, that's fishing. The East Cape is a phenomenal fishery and hopefully will show more of what it has to offer at next years tournament.

On a bright note Buena Vista Beach Resort and the Valdez brothers were excellent hosts and did an outstanding job accomodating tournament participants and spectators.

I do want to make one more observation about the tournament before moving to other fishing action this week. It seems to me that there's an elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. At last years tourney it was made clear that the use of circle hooks with bait would be mandatory this year. I'm not a fan of the circles and was reluctant. I do like the thrill of the competition so decided to enter the contest. As the rules of the tournament were explained at the captains meeting it was not clear what Wayne Bisbee was saying about the deployment of circle hooks. After a bunch of double talk I finally asked the question. "If we bring a dorado to the scale with a J hook hanging out of it's mouth will it be disqualified?" Waynes answer was, "No, you can catch tuna and dorado with a J hook and they will not be disqualified." Now I am more confused than ever. The Bisbees Off Shore Tournaments are kill tournaments. You don't win if you don't kill the biggest fish. Now it is mandatory to use a circle hook when baiting a marlin but not when baiting other game fish? I just don't get it.....

What are they thinking?

This week, George Gavallos showed up with some of his family and friends. When George fishes with us they always bite. This guy has good Karma and this year was no exception. First day out his request was some fish for the cooler and they bagged 14 yellowfin to 40 pounds and released a sailfish. Second day they filled our fish box with tuna again and came in early. Today was planned to be a lady and kids day. Before 8AM the kids had all the action they could handle including several roosterfish. While they retired to our air conditioned parlor George couldn't stand it so we went out and smacked the tuna one more time.

Kevin is thinking he might have a contender

Team Jen Wren thought they had it until the last fish was weighed

Cassandra fishing team Jen Wren III had the 2nd largest dorado on day two.

George havin a good time

The roosterfish cooperated for the kids.

The thrill of catching your first rooster. This young man will never forget it.

Show the kids a good time when they are young and they will love fishing forever.

Senior Gavallos with a nice tuna while his grandson fights another

Thanks for the good times

Mark Rayor