Late Spring Roosterfish and Grouper Action Heating Up in the Sea of Cortez

Hey folks, Artificial Lure here with your Sea of Cortez fishing report. We’ve got a classic late‑spring pattern setting up. Along the Baja side from La Paz down past Los Barriles, sunrise is right around 6:30 a.m., sunset a little after 8 p.m. First light comes quick, and that gray‑light window has been the magic hour. Weather’s been stable: mornings starting in the low 70s, afternoons pushing mid to high 80s, light to moderate northwest breeze most days. Afternoons see that wind jump up and kick a chop on the outside, so plan your long runs early. Skies mostly clear, with enough breeze to keep things comfortable but not enough to blow it out—perfect Sea of Cortez spring. Tide-wise, we’re seeing modest swings, with a decent morning incoming and a softer push in the afternoon. The morning flood has been lining up nicely with the sunrise bite, especially around rocky points and current edges. When that water starts to push over structure, the bait stacks and everything with teeth shows up. Inshore, the roosterfish are finally acting like they’re supposed to. Along the beaches east of La Paz and down toward Punta Arena, boats and kayakers have been into quality gallos—many in the 15–30 pound class, with a few bruisers bigger. A mix of jack crevalle and the odd sierra mackerel are mixing in. Best bet has been slow‑trolled live mullet or caballito just outside the surf line, with big surface poppers and stickbaits (white, bone, and blue‑back) getting crushed when the fish are actively chasing. If the sun’s high and they’re shy, switch to a slightly smaller swimming plug or a live bait on fluorocarbon. Around the rocky points, there’s solid action on leopard grouper (cabrilla), pargo, and triggerfish. Anglers working 40–120 feet on reef edges are pulling up mixed bags—plenty of good‑eating fish. Best lures have been 60–120 gram metal jigs in sardine or scrambled‑egg patterns, dropped to the bottom and worked with a slow lift‑and‑fall. Fresh cut squid, chunked bonito, or live sardina on a dropper loop are still hard to beat when the current is moving. Offshore, the water temps keep creeping up and the blue water is pushing closer. Just outside the seamounts north of La Paz and off the Gordo way, boats have seen more striped marlin and a few early‑season dorado. Not wide‑open yet, but enough action to keep trollers honest. Small to medium skirted lures in pink/white or blue/white, plus rigged ballyhoo, are getting the stripes’ attention. Dorado are favoring trolled feathers and live sardina tossed around any floating debris or current lines—keep a spinning rod ready. Bait availability has been decent most mornings, with pangueros netting sardina and caballito at daybreak. Get out early; once the sun’s up and the traffic starts, bait gets tougher and the line at the bait skiffs grows. Two hotspots to keep on your radar: First, Punta Arena de la Ventana: that stretch has been holding roosters tight to the beach and good cabrilla on the nearby rocks. Work the beaches at first light for gallos, then slide out deeper as the sun climbs and jig the structure for bottom fish. Second, the El Bajo seamount north of La Paz: when the wind lets you get there safely, it’s been producing striped marlin, some tuna sign, and quality bottom fish on the high spots. Watch your sounder, fish the temperature breaks, and be ready to switch from trolling to dropping jigs when you mark fish tight to the structure. Overall fish activity is strong in the morning, tapering late morning, then picking up a bit again when the afternoon tide starts pushing—though the wind can cut the second half short. If you can, fish that dawn bite hard and be off the water before it blows. 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 next update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn