Sea of Cortez Morning Bite: Roosters, Tuna, and Marlin Running Hot This Week

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Sea of Cortez fishing report. We woke up to a light breeze out of the northwest, 5–10 knots, with calm to slight chop and good visibility. Skies are mostly clear with some high clouds, and air temps running from the low 70s at first light into the high 80s by afternoon. Water temps are sitting in that sweet mid‑70s to near 80 range, warm enough to keep the pelagics close. Sunrise came early over the gulf and sunset will be in the early evening, so you’ve got a solid low‑light window on both ends. The morning bite around gray light has been best, with another flurry late afternoon as the heat backs off. Tides are running moderate today on the Baja side, with a pre‑dawn high slack then a decent outgoing through the morning, and a smaller incoming in the afternoon. That falling water in the morning has pushed bait off the beaches and out of the estuaries, and that’s where the predators have been stacking up. Fish activity has been lively the last couple of days. Inshore, anglers are bending rods on **roosterfish**, **jack crevalle**, **sierra mackerel**, and a few **pargo** and **cabrilla** tight to structure. Offshore boats working the usual banks have reported **yellowfin tuna**, scattered **dorado**, and the first consistent **striped marlin** of the season. Private pangas out of Los Barriles and La Ribera have been picking up multiple schoolie tuna per boat when they find birds and porpoise, with a couple of bigger models mixed in. Dorado are still a bit spotty, but when you find floating debris you can pull two to four fish quick. Best lures offshore have been small to medium **feather jigs** and **cedar plugs** in blue/white, pink, and purple/black, run way back in the spread, plus **skirted ballyhoo** if you’ve got them. Tuna have also chewed **popper‑style topwaters** on spin gear once they’re foaming. For dorado, **bright plastics**, **trolled hoochies**, and **live sardina** have been money. Inshore, the roosters have been all over **live mullet** and **sardina** slow‑trolled along the beaches and river mouths. For artificials, throw **2–4 oz surface poppers**, **stickbaits**, and **shallow‑running jerkbaits** in white, bone, or flashy baitfish patterns. Jack crevalle are eating pretty much anything that moves fast and splashes. For bottom fish, **butterflied squid**, **cut mullet**, and **live caballito** dropped on rocky edges and reefs are producing cabrilla and pargo; just bring the heavy leader because they’ll rock you quick. A couple of hot spots to keep in mind: - **Los Frailes area**: Work the points and dropoffs at first light for roosters and jacks, then slide deeper for cabrilla once the sun climbs. - **Gordo Banks and nearby high spots** off San José del Cabo: Good shot at yellowfin, marlin in the spread, and dorado on the edges when the current pushes bait over the structure. Focus your prime time around the early falling tide and late‑day shade lines, match the size of the bait you’re seeing, and don’t be afraid to cover water until you mark life. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more reports and stories from the Sea of Cortez. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn