Fishing in Baja in November surprises visitors, where catches, often consist of exotics.
Imperial Beach Pier
There were no recent reports because of the weather.
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
As the season changes, this fishery is more dependent on the weather. It is a good idea to check sea temps before heading out. Bottom fishing will be the most likely target this time of year. Surface action is a bonus that can offer flurries of good action for mackerel, bonito, and calico bass if you go a little deeper.
Ensenada
Primarily, when weather permits, some bonito are mixed with barracuda under the bird schools.
Cedros Island
The season is over until next year!
Magdalena Bay (López Mateos)
This is a prime month for inshore fish inside the mangroves and offshore for billfish, dorado, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail, grouper, snapper, and other species. You can dial in almost anything you ask for at this time of year. The fly fishermen are doing great with the yellowfin and dorado, also.
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas is another “hot spot” for yellowfin tuna, dorado, wahoo, and billfish offshore. Inshore is also a crowd pleaser for bottom fish, jack crevalle, sierra, pargo, and maybe a roosterfish or two, all along the surf line on the Pacific side.
Puerto Los Cabos
Recently, there have been a lot of skipjack in the same area, so it is a matter of what species get the bait first. Currently, strips of squid are due to sardina supplies being very limited. Most tuna average 20 to 40 pounds, with some occasional 70 to 100 pounders in the mix. Some boats have been able to land over five tuna per day. Within the same area, bottom fish action, as expected, has improved as well. Plus, quite a few have caught amberjack, yellowtail snapper, and grouper, most of them caught on the jigs while drifting for tuna.
East Cape
The weather has been pleasant, and the fishing has been excellent, with the yellowfin tuna bite the best target. Also, there have still been some dorado offshore, as well as a few billfish lurking about. However, a little early, a few sierra are mixed in with jacks, palometa, and small roosterfish along the shoreline where the tin boats play.
La Paz
Blame it on Norma … the fishing had been great before and not so much after! However, as its memory fades, the fishery begins to pick up, even though it’s late in the season – dorado, sailfish, tuna, and bonito. The entire bay and outlying waters were a mess of debris and dirty silty water that took a while to clear up, and it is still slowly improving. The problem was that the Marinas sustained serious damages, and many pangas sank. Plus, there was no live bait, and those pesky north winds were starting to blow!!!
Like everywhere else, the water was dirty and turned over. No bait to speak of. At first, using nothing more than bonito, things improved. Then, with dead bait and chunked bonito, some of the dorado began biting again.
Loreto
There are still some dorado in the zone and nice-sized fish on the bottom. The bite should continue until the notorious north wind begins to blow.
Bahía Concepión
There has been excellent fishing recently. Little wind yellowtail right off the bottom with MILF Knife Jigs. The flat falls did work to make a nice mixed bag of Almaco jack, huachinango (red snapper), and pinto, plus a hefty dorado picked up a Flat Fall on the drop.
Bahía de Los Ángeles
As November settles in and the weather remains fair, the dorado and yellowtail continue to bite. This month is usually a transition month, so it will remain to be seen how long the bite holds. If planning a trip in the next few months, check the weather before your trip.
Gary Graham
That Baja Guy
thatbajaguy@gmail.com
With more than five decades of fishing experience – from light tackle and fly to offshore billfish – Gary Graham has experienced all aspects of fishing in the Southern California and Baja waters. His observations of species behavior, tackle and techniques are always from his unique perspective, earning him the respect of his peers as well as anglers who eagerly follow his Baja reports and features.
Gary maintained a home at East Cape in Baja Sur for more than 18 years and still spends nearly half of each year exploring the entire peninsula in his self-contained Roadtrek van. He observes everything Baja, from the mysteries of a tide pool on a deserted Baja beach filled with tiny sea creatures to the largest billfish in the sea.