A continued Happy New Year los pescadores; 2009 continues to be off to a great start with great weather and a huge variety of fish in the Sea of Cortez!  What an excellent way to start a clean slate with solid open water action and outstanding inshore fishing.  Sierra Mackerel are still the most frequently caught fish right now, but literally everything that can be caught was getting caught this past week.

In terms of variety, this is one of the best winter fishing seasons that I can remember.  The islands of Cerralvo and Espiritu Santo continue to be the better places to work.  However, for a nice change, staying inshore and going after the cabrilla, pargo, and groupers can quickly fill the coolers.  Fishing in the rocks for these fish can be costly if they beat you into the reefs and break you off.  Most all the fish this week were caught using live sardines; bait is usually very abundant and easy to acquire.

I sent a Yachtfisher over to Cabo San Lucas and the reports down south have been nothing short of amazing.  In one day: 17 Stripers were tagged and released, 12 Yellowfin Tuna, and 8 Dorado!  We were told that in that same day, over 50 Marlin were spotted and at one point, 6 marlin were trailing the pattern.  If you can’t get excited about this then we need to check your pulse.

This winter’s fishing remains very strong.  Weather hasn’t been much of an issue with winds being relatively easy to deal with.  Yellowtails have shown up early this year and are providing awesome light tackle action.Alaska Airlines is now flying 5 days in/out of La Paz from Los Angeles.  Flights are short, only 2 hours, and are available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

In celebration of the early Yellowtail, try this outstanding recipe on your next freshly landed Yellowtail:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier®)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1 cup hollandaise sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed Orange Juice
• 8 (3 ounce) fillets fresh yellowtail recently caught with www.LaPazFishingCharters.com
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 8 pinches dried thyme
• 8 teaspoons butter (nonsalted)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the white wine, Grand Marnier, and grated ginger. Bring to a boil, and reduce the mixture by one half. Strain, and set aside to cool slightly. Whisk the reduction into the hollandaise sauce, and mix in orange juice concentrate.
2. Preheat your oven’s broiler. Place the filets onto a baking sheet, and dot each one with one teaspoon of butter, sprinkle with a pinch of thyme, and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of orange juice.
3. Broil the fillets for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just barely done. Fish should be opaque and flake with a fork. Ladle sauce onto plates, and place yellowtail fillets onto sauce.