CEDROS OUTDOOR ADVENTURES FISHING REPORT
SEPTEMBER 30 2024
BY TOM GATCH
One of the most enticing factors about fishing the waters around Cedros Island is that you can never be sure exactly what you are going to catch, and 2024 has been no exception to that axiom.
To be sure, the world-class fishing for big yellowtail and calico bass consistently makes up the foundation of our panga catches. However, the availability of other incidental species such as halibut, white seabass, dorado, and even, occasionally, wahoo, varies from season to season.
This year, we have only taken one Dorado so far, and that was in late August. On the other hand, certain inshore species like ocean whitefish up to 8 pounds have been particularly abundant. Another peculiarity is the appearance of spotted sand bass, sometimes referred to as ‘pinta cabrilla’ in our catch reports.
The spotted sand bass (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus) is a member of the tropical grouper family and a close relative of the ‘calico’ kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus), which has helped to make Cedros Island famous among saltwater anglers around the globe. The most interesting factor is that this species is generally found primarily in bays, lagoons, and esteros much closer to the mainland shore.
Perhaps this is just another manifestation of the change in global weather conditions that will continue to affect future fishing conditions.
The good news is that the big yellowtail have been putting a bend in our anglers’ rods, with limit catches often being the rule. Many nice calicos have also been caught and released as well, with most of the bigger fish being caught around the north end of the island when the weather has been cooperative.
San Franciscan, Sam Chernack, and his dad, Bruce, paid their first visit to Cedros back at the beginning of September and had their minds blown by the size and quantity of fish they encountered.
Sam reported, “We got limits of yellowtail weighing between 15 and 25 pounds every day!”
The happy duo also caught lots of log-size barracuda, calico bass up to 5 pounds, and a 10-pound California sheephead.
The following week, Koen Waldfogel and his dad, Kirk, from San Clemente, also visited the island for the first time and were treated to limits of fat yellowtail up to 25 pounds. All of their forktails were taken on a ‘mellow pink’ bottom iron. They also caught several large ocean whitefish up to 9 pounds on cut bait and a 15-pound sheephead that was taken on a dropper-looped live mackerel.
In mid-September, Billy Egan, from Western Outdoor News, brought down another group of anglers, including Parker Simpson and John Leefang from New Braunfels, TX, who were new to the island. They reported limits and near limits of yellowtail, as well as several nice halibut.
Joe Graham, former ‘American Angler – 2008’, also came to Isla Cedros with a party of 10 other first-timers and scored well on feisty yellowtail between 18 and 34 pounds on mint and scrambled egg surface iron. The big 34-pounder attacked a slow-trolled live mackerel.
Another first-time visitor, Eric Scharmach, brought along a couple of his buddies from Los Angeles and Colorado and they were delighted by the size and quality of the yellowtail, up to 30 pounds, that they caught. Most were taken on blue and chrome iron, although some of the bigger fish bit on the troll.
They also inadvertently caught a black sea bass weighing about 120 pounds on a chrome jig. Unfortunately, the huge fish inhaled the lure so deeply into its gullet that it did not survive and had to be reluctantly returned to port rather than being given to the seals and crabs below.
Scharmach concluded his report by saying that he and his friends have regularly gone to fishing resorts from the Sea of Cortez to sportfishing outfitters in South America, but they have never received the level of personalized service and attention to detail that they encountered while fishing with Cedros Outdoor Adventures. He finished his comments with the pledge, “We’ll be back!”
San Diegans Grant Wardick, Bobby Kostyrka, and Montana Oberwegner have been to Cedros on a couple of other occasions and knew what to expect. They had a ball catching and releasing quality calico bass up to over 4 pounds. They also caught a bevy of fat yellowtail on both yo-yo and surface iron.
Hailing from Northern California, first-timers Rob Slater and his buddy Greg Norris loved the variety of species available around the island and did quite well on the yellowtail, taking regular limits of forktails weighing up to 30 pounds on jigs and live bait. They also caught several halibut up to 20 pounds on live mackerel, as well as ocean whitefish between 5 and 7 pounds, and even a fat sheephead to round out their overall catch.
Slater added, “Not only great fishing, but great service as well! At a lot of other places everybody is walking around with an open hand waiting for a tip, but not here. The operation at Cedros Outdoor Adventures is truly unique.”
The month of September was rounded out by fly fishing Charter Master Michael Schweit and his group of 12 anglers, comprised of 3 fly fishing clubs, all of whom were from California. The group tossed out their flies to catch yellowtail up to 20 pounds, calico bass to 5 pounds, and sheephead up to 12 pounds. The most successful streamers were red & white and orange.
With any luck, there may be some late tropical storms and hurricanes down near the tip of the peninsula that will help stir things up a bit during October and push up some warm water, bringing with it more exotic species like dorado, tuna, and wahoo. We can only wait and see.