Sea of Cortez Early Summer: Dorado, Tuna, and the Dawn Bite from Baja cover art

Sea of Cortez Early Summer: Dorado, Tuna, and the Dawn Bite from Baja

Sea of Cortez Early Summer: Dorado, Tuna, and the Dawn Bite from Baja

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Sea of Cortez fishing report, straight from Baja-style boots-on-the-sand. Up the Cortez side from Los Cabos through La Paz and north toward Loreto, we’re sitting on a classic early-summer pattern: warm, clear water pushing mid to high 70s near shore and low 80s offshore, light morning wind, building breeze mid‑day, then easing toward evening. Local marina boards in San José del Cabo and La Paz are showing steady flags of dorado, yellowfin, and billfish the past few days, with inshore boats stacking up cabrilla and snapper. Tides along the Baja Sur Cortez coast are running a modest morning high, dropping through late morning into early afternoon, then a building flood toward sunset. That first light high tide has been the money window inshore, especially around rocky points and reef edges. Sunrise is right around very early morning; you want lines in the water in the gray light. Sunset is early evening, and that last hour of incoming tide has been turning on the surface bite for dorado and schoolie tuna. Offshore, the action line has been roughly 10–25 miles out where the blue water meets greener currents and scattered weed lines. Recent charter counts out of Cabo and La Paz report decent numbers of **dorado**, school‑size **yellowfin tuna**, a mix of **striped marlin**, plus the odd **sailfish**. Boats running cedar plugs and small to medium skirted lures in blue‑white, purple‑black, and zucchini patterns are doing best. Drop a live or chunked sardina or caballito back into the chum line once you get a strike; that’s been key for converting singles into doubles and triples. Inshore and around the islands, it’s classic **grouper, cabrilla, pargo, sierra, and jack crevalle** fishing. Pangas working tight to the rocks with 2–4 oz lead and live sardinas or cut mullet are coming back with solid mixed bags. For artificials, think yo‑yo jigs and metal spoons in 40–80 grams, plus 4–6 inch soft plastics in baitfish colors on heavy jig heads. Early and late, a walk‑the‑dog topwater or popper along the shoreline rocks can draw savage strikes from cabrilla and jacks. Couple of hot spots to circle on your mental chart: - **Cerralvo / Isla Espíritu Santo area out of La Paz** – Current edges and high spots holding tuna, dorado, and the odd wahoo, with strong bottom fishing around the structure. Slow‑trolled live bait and mid‑size diving plugs in blue‑silver are producing. - **Gordo Banks and Iman Bank off San José del Cabo** – Good marks of tuna and billfish with dorado around floating debris. Start with small‑profile skirted lures, then switch to live sardina or caballito once you find life. Bring fluorocarbon; the clearer water has the fish a little line‑shy. Best bait overall right now: **live sardinas** when you can get them, followed by caballito, squid strips, and fresh cut bonito. Best lures: small‑to‑medium trolling skirts, diving plugs like Rapala‑style minnows, yo‑yo jigs, and surface poppers at dawn and dusk. That’s your Sea of Cortez report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss the bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
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