First Time Angler Spoilt for Life

Adam Damini from Pittsburgh had never been fishing before in his life.....we are talking not even a river, lake or stream, but today he was fishing with his friend Roger Young from Conneticut, just three miles off of Los Arcos when a large marlin assaulted a green/yellow lure being dragged by "La Brisa", after a considerable battle they got what ended up being an approx 500 lb blue marlin aboard, but wait, there's more......they also caught 18 dorado and released seven.  So now he thinks it will always be like this...pressure is on for us. Shown in the photo is Adam with captain Rey Winkler on the left and deckhand Salvador Flores on the right.

Free Upgrade Pays Off

Some people are just lucky. Such was the case of  Bill Spiteri from San Bruno, Ca. He had booked 28 ft Adriana, but seeing as there were still some last minute details that needed attention after being out of the water for five months undergoing a full renovation/re-build, he was given an upgrade to 31 ft Ruthless. He and buddy Bob Cameron had a great time reeling in twelve dorado and to top it off they caught a nice 38 lb wahoo, caught on an orange rapala. Captain Leon Camacho (far right) on Ruthless if our top wahoo captain.....nice photo, reminds us we all need a bit of rest and relaxtion sometimes. Also shown 1st on left is deckhand Beto Lira.

Great To See Old Friends

We can't really remember how long Paul Ryan (tall guy with beard) has been fishing with us...but we remember his hair used to be dark.....just kidding. Paul visits  Cabo every year and a trip out fishing with Captain Enrique is a tradition for him. Paul is from Denver and fished with Noah Nash from Salido,  Colorado. In the foreground on the left is deckhand Fernando and just peeping over from the back is captain Enrique "Kikon" Martinez. They fished off of Las Margaritas and caught and caught 6 dorado between 15 and 25 lbs.

Dorado Are The Top Game Right Now

Dorado have been thick off of Cabo for the last few weeks. The rain last week, briefly brought on by Tropical Storm Georgette, did wash some debris into the ocean which they love to congregate under, making them easier to find and catch. Weights range from 15 to 50 lbs. Pictured her Mia Narita, a queen amongst the guys....only girl aboard "Andrea", shown here with Joe Littleton, James Harris & David Delgado from Ramona, California. This crew caught nine dorado at Pozo de Cota.

Huge Tuna Caught out of San Jose

Daniel Fisher is no stranger to success when it comes to fisher. He is well respected and  held in awe by many local anglers and we can see why.....this past Saturday he boated a huge yellow fin tuna, that he caught on a live "bolito", this is a small bullet shaped tuna....yes they are cannibals. Daniel caught this 292 lb yellow fin tuna at the inner Gordo on 80 lb test line. He also formed part of the last year's record setting team that won the Tuna Tournament with a 383 lb specimen just a few pounds short of the all tackle world record.

Pisces Fish Report

September 17th to September 25th, 2010


Overall Catch Success Rate 97.3%

BILLFISH: Tropical Storm Georgette was a barely noticed visitor to our shores this past week, producing much needed rain, but zero wind and just a few swells on the Cortez side. The Port captain decided to close the Port one day as a precaution and the next day everybody was ready to go out and fish! One of the best days was on the 25th for Greg Cooper and friends from Arizona, who released four striped marlin aboard “Attitude Adjustment”, our 46 ft Bertram at the Herradura; they also boated twelve dorado between 20-25 lbs... way to go guys! This same day, Barry Satterfield from Franklin, TN released two striped marlin aboard “El Gallo” they took live bait at the 190 Spot; they also caught two dorado between 30-35 lbs. On the 24th “Valerie” released one striped marlin and one sailfish for the Tony Berkowitz group, the striper took a blue & white lure and the sailfish live bait.

“Valerie” had a double marlin day on the 22nd for Robert Thompson from Placitas, NM; both were released he then went on to catch two nice dorado at 40 and 50 lbs respectively, 10 miles from the Old Lighthouse. The only blue marlin caught during the week was for Cindy and Jason Kinnie from San Francisco, CA it weighted 300 lbs; they also released one striped marlin at the 160 Spot and kept one dorado for dinner. Billfish catches decreased somewhat perhaps due to full moon mid-week, but which is a ripe time for really big fish also. Forty five percent of our charters caught billfish with a total of 15 striped marlin, 1 blue marlin and 5 sailfish this week all but one released.

OTHER SPECIES: We had tons of Dorado this week with seventy eight percent of our boats catching from one to twenty four fish, with global total of 202 overall. Weights varied from 15 lbs to nice 50 lb fish. After the rains left by Tropical Storm Georgette, dorado could be found all over the place. The top day was the 23rd, when Robert Thompson from Placitas, NM was fishing alone and caught twenty four dorado aboard Tracy Ann, he was so tired that he came back early; his arms just wouldn’t work anymore (majority of his fish were released). This same day Angela Lacy and Kim Hubbard from Dallas, TX caught eighteen dorado, some released and the others between 15 to 25 lbs aboard Andrea with captain Orlando Murillo and deckhand Abraham; the fish took live bait and green/yellow lures at La Margaritas on the Pacific side. Adam Berke and friends from Texas had a great day aboard “Shambala” with captain TJ, with fifteen dorado between 20 to 30 lbs, one 40 lbs wahoo and one sailfish released at Gaspareño. The same day, Marco Ehrenberg and friends caught fourteen dorado and two yellowfin tuna aboard “Andale” they took all kinds of lures at Golden Gate. On the 22nd Nicholas and Rebecca Hicox from Vancouver, WA caught sixteen dorado aboard “Andrea” with some released they still had plenty to take home. Tuna catches were steady with thirty four percent of our boats catching this species. On the 18th, Scott Shulze and friends from California fought a large tuna for one hour and 45 minutes on 60 lbs test line, resulting in the successful catch of a 150 lbs yellow fin tuna at Golden Gate aboard “Rebecca”. It took blue/white lure. Bill &Patty Rose along with friends, Debbie & Mike Cledenning caught seven yellow fin tuna, football size, and let a striped marlin go, as well as boating three dorado aboard the “Tracy Ann”. On the 20th, Nancy and Art Clairmont from Orlando, FL caught six 20 lbs yellow fin tuna and two dorado between 40-45 lbs aboard “Andrea” out by San Jaime. We were told of a 330 lb tuna caught out of San Jose by Daniel Fisher, a well known local guy who has a lot of amazing catches to his credit. Daniel was part of the team that broke all records last year at the Tuna Tournament with their 383 lb fish. We are looking for photos and will post if we can get one and verify the catch. Wahoo catches were pretty good this week, with September 23rd being particularly productive: first up was Barry Satterfield and friends aboard “El Gallo”, with both a 40 and 50 lb fish, twelve miles out from the Old Lighthouse. Next were Sam & Athea Lijoi from Cleveland, OH for catching a 40 lb’er plus two 35 lbs dorado aboard “Great Escape Jr” all on guacamayo and petrolero lures. Then was the Jordan family from Westerville, Oh who caught another 40 lb wahoo and still had a lot of action with eleven dorado and one yellow fin tuna to boot.. We had a total of 37 yellow fin tuna and 6 wahoo this week..

WEATHER CONDITIONS: One rainy day due the tropical storm, cloudy days and sunny days at the end of the week

LOCATION: Sea of Cortez: 95 spot, Cerro Blanco, Herradura, 180 Spot, Cerro Colorado

Pacific Side: Golden Gate, Jaime Banks, Lighthouse, Margaritas, Pozo Cota, Los Arcos, Migriño, Gaspareño

AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 84 F

BEST LURES; Cedar plugs, blue, tigrillo, petrolero, green, purple, green/blue, blue/white, black/green, green/yellow, red/green, guacamayo,, all colors, rapala

For live bait was caballito and ballyhoo

Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.



780 lb Blue Marlin Aboard Shambala

Captain T.J Dobson, has done it again aboard "Shambala"....another huge fish, this time just shy of 800 lbs. Yesterday a group of Texans were aboard fishing with T.J and were having a great time; they had already released a striped marlin  and a sailfish, when T.J spotted a huge marlin in the Destiladeras area where they were fishing, attracted by a teaser tied to the back of the boat. Captain T.J was quick thinking and told his deckand to toss a sierra, he had on board back to the fish. The fish leapt on it, grabbing the bait, but then jumped and spat it out. He must have been hungry because he turned with a vengence and enhaled a lure still in the water, known as a "Gay Bob", which is blue, white and pink. The fish was solidly hooked and Ed Shatte from Houston, Texas was on the other end of the line. Ed pumped and heaved the fish on 80 lb line for three hours, when they realized that it had died.....it takes a while to haul up 780 lbs of dead weight and then drag it onto the deck through the transom door, but they did it.

"Shambala" the 60 ft Hatteras didn't make it back to port until well after dark where it took nine men to hoist it up on to the scale, which showed the fish weighed 780 lbs.  Great job guys....and well done T.J for his third fish over 600 lbs in under two months......

Thank you letter from Bill Rose and friends

A quick note to all there at Pisces. Thank you so much for an incredible two days of fishing. All four of us (Bill & Patty Rose of Houston, TX and Mike & Debi Clendening, of New Port Richey, FL) couldn't have been happier with the results of our two days fishing, the professionalism of the entire group at Pisces from you, Alejandra, and Oscar, to the crew of the Tracey Ann, Pisces made the trip a very memorable one.

We fish enough to know that the "catching" is a bonus, however with the way that the "Tracey Ann's" crew, (Captain Julio, Martin and Julio Jr) worked to find and then get us to the fish, was nothing short of magic. Mike made the observation that Capt. Julio is not a follower, he is a leader, and he proved that during the two days we fished with them, and the results - 2 marlin released, 3 more sighted, 1 sailfish released and 2 others sighted, 12 tuna caught and 3 dorado.

I appreciate the special attention to my request for "light drags" and a spinning rig, and it worked out great. Most importantly Mike (an avid inshore fisherman) had never caught a bill fish, and on this trip, he caught and released two Striped Marlin. I even managed to catch and release a sailfish. We both brought home over 35 lbs of tuna and dorado filet's, but more importantly many great memories that will have us coming back again and we will certainly be using the Pisces fleet and the Tracey Ann with Capt Julio.

I am sending pics of Mike and Debi, with one of his Marlin that was released, his other Marlin at the boat, and one of Patty and I with the sailfish that we released.

Please share with Capt Julio and his crew.

Thanks again

Bill and Patty Rose  from Houston, TX  and Mike and Debi Clendening from New Port Richey, FL

Georgette Where Are You?

Today we were supposed to have a tropical storm, named Georgette pass directly over Cabo San Lucas...but it never happened....Last night we had some rain and awoke this morning to some much needed fairly heavy rain which continued off and on for about four hours. We had zero wind and seas overall were on the calm side, though on the Sea of Cortez there were some big waves.  The Port was closed today on Port Captain's orders and as of right now we don't know if it will be open tomorrow. All Calm on the Cabo front.

This Is Not A True Offer, Sorry Ken......

We got an e-mail from our good friend and client Ken Eberle from Texas, which really made us laugh...so we thought we would share it with you:
 "Tracy I heard the mega yacht "A" was the replacement for the vessel Andrea. You were just adding out-riggers and running it on a cut rate of $695.00 per day thru October only....."
Very funny Ken and a great way to start the week with a smile.....

Lots on The Strange Mega Yacht "A"

The yacht's three pools include a high-powered jet pool for laps that can be switched from salt to fresh water.

At the top of a spiral staircase lined with scalloped, silver-leaf walls (the banister cost $60,000) is a door accessible by a fingerprint security system. It opens to an all-white, 2,583-square-foot master suite wrapped in bomb-proof, 44-milimeter glass. There, a king-sized bed sits on a giant platter that rotates with the press of a silver button. Another set of buttons rotates the bed itself. The combination of the rotating bed and the rotating platter allows limitless angles for watching the sunset, sunrise or the 60-inch plasma TV, which retracts from the ceiling.

Designed by Philippe Starck, the "A" has quickly become the most loved and loathed ship on the sea. WSJ's Robert Frank takes an exclusive tour of Andrey Melnichenko's 394-foot mega-yacht.

In the battle among Russia's billionaires for yacht supremacy, Roman Abramovich's upcoming 540-foot Eclipse may soon become the biggest, but Andrey Melnichenko's 394-foot "A" has become the most talked-about yacht on the seas.

With its radical shape—more sleek submarine than boxy pleasure boat—and reams of custom parts and finishes (including bath knobs costing $40,000 apiece), "A" is a conspicuous marker of an ocean-going plutocracy that's largely been untouched by the recession. The boat, designed by Philippe Starck and completed in mid-2008 for more than $300 million, has spawned a flotilla of copycats emulating its low-slung hull and design scheme. Numerous companies involved in its construction went bankrupt, done in by the novelty of the project and the level of customization required.

For all its fame, "A" remains a bit mysterious. Its owner, a 38-year-old banking, steel and fertilizer czar, is intensely private and requires all his construction crew and staff to sign strict confidentiality agreements . He and his wife only rarely entertain on board, and few public images of the boat's interior exist.

Dirk Kloosterman, "A"'s project manager and a veteran of the world's largest yachts, recently provided an exclusive tour of the boat's 23,600 square feet of living space.
The boat's interior departs dramatically from most conventions of yacht design. Instead of the usual overstuffed couches and mahogany walls, there are Baccarat-crystal tables, shiny white finishes and polished silver, a kind of Manhattan-loft-meets-Vegas aesthetic. Many of the rooms have floor-to-ceiling mirrors, which Mr. Starck says have a built-in "mathematical beauty" that also refer to the "mathematical genius" of Mr. Melnichenko.

..The walls of one room are covered in white sting-ray hides, while another is covered in hand-stitched calf's leather. The main deck features two Michel Haillard chairs made from alligator hides and Kudo horns. Known for his mischievous streak, Mr. Starck outfitted "A" with risqué touches like the suite dubbed the "nookie room" by the crew, with its white circular bed with padded walls and a ceiling-mounted TV.

Mr. Starck says that while most megayachts are "vulgar" statements of wealth and power, "A" was designed to be in harmony with the sea and nature. "This boat has elegance and intelligence, it is not trying to show the money," he adds.

As with many Russian-owned yachts, "A" is highly secure. Its rounded exterior and knife-like hull make it difficult for intruders to board. It has 44 security cameras and more than a dozen exterior cameras fitted with motion-detection systems and a night-vision infrared system.

It is also designed to outrun threats: Twin, high-speed diesel engines deliver 24,000 horsepower and push the 5,959-gross-ton ship to 24 knots, roughly a third faster than most boats its size. The boat, which is stabilized by fiber-optic gyroscopes and four giant motorized flaps, is rumored to also be equipped with a pod-like escape system, but the staff declined to comment.

A transom door in the rear of the boat, which swings with open to become a swim deck, is fitted with so many hydraulics, locking pins, rotating stairs and electronics that it cost around $25 million to build. The company that made it eventually went bankrupt, along with the company that made the bomb-proof wrap-around glass encasing the master suite and the company that built the hydraulic gangways. The ship's two main landing boats are mini-yachts themselves, stretching to 36 feet, boasting plush interiors and costing more than $1 million each.

There's little sign that the billionaire boat boom is ending. The recession has certainly hit the "middle-class" yacht market, as banks cut back on boat loans and mere millionaires struggle to rebuild their fortunes. Orders for boats of more than 80 feet fell to 753 last year from 992 in 2008, according to Showboats International magazine. Yet orders for superyachts, or those more than 250 feet, were actually up more than 20% in 2009, according to Showboats.

'A' has an unusual, swoopy design, a low-slung hull and twin engines that deliver 24,000 horsepower.

."A" has a crew of between 35 to 37 people, including stewards and stewardesses, mechanical engineers, security staff, housekeepers, deck hands, galley crew and chefs. The crew also has specialists for surfing, jet skiing, water skiing and cycling. All of the crew wear Starck-designed uniforms—crisp white dress shirts and white pants for daytime, and tight, black T-shirts and slacks for evening. The boat costs over $20 million a year to maintain; Filling the gas tank costs more than $500,000.

There are many discussion groups and forums about "A" online, with titles like "The Ugliest Yacht in the World" and "Should Philippe Starck Design Boats?" Debates can get heated: On the "Insider's Guide to St. Bart's"—a Web site frequented by vacationers on the upscale Caribbean island—dozens of "A" spotters tracked the boat's daily movements.

Do We Live In A Beautiful Place or What?

Early morning, sun coming up, boats ready to go......shown here 28 ft Andrea.

We Said There Were a Lot of Black Marlin.....but this one was big.....

We just received this e-mail from a group that fished a few days ago on the 37 ft Bertram "Falcon"....here are the photos to prove it....we couldn't put them all as we would run out of space!

"On behalf of myself, Steven Thomas, Tim Ross and Mark Colerick, I would to tell you how much we appreciated and how pleased we were with Pisces Sportfishing, the day, the boat 'Falcon' with the crew of Capt. Manuel and his assistant Jesus and the pleasure we experienced during the day and with your organization September 13th. Capt Manuel and Jesus working their tails off and was much appreciated. Their professionalism and experience sure paid off with a wonderful day and catch. Attached are some pictures of our eventful day and feel free to use for your blog.
The tally amounted to two (2) Striped Marlin at 130+ pounds each, a Sailfish weighing in at 140 pounds (all released) a Dorado,at 60 lbs, two other momentarily hooked but lost Striped Marlin, and a 900 pound Black Marlin fought for 5 hours but  that eventually broke line and was lost. I believe this should  be considered a catch, seeing the leader twice, with a touch of the leader once. I understand this catch may have also been the record for the 'Falcon' and crew and might possibly be a record for Pisces. Please confirm and verify the weight of the catches with the Falcon crew if you like but these weights are what we thought was conveyed to us from the Captain and Jesus. We began fishing in 5500'-6000' of water and caught the first Marlin 1 1/2 hours after boarding and leaving port.

My appreciation also to Oscar Banagas with his picture of the 'Falcon' and all on board back in port.

I would also like 'Falcon' and Pisces T-shirts when available, please contact when you have more in stock. I also have a video of the Black Marlin I can send you if you like.

Thanks again for a great experience, a Great day and a lasting memory. We will definately be recommending your organization to others and hopefully be chartering a return visit in the future.

Thanks, Bill Thomas, Kingwood, Texas"

What Happens to Fish That Are Killed

Pisces is very much conservation minded and we ask anglers to release all billfish that they do not intend to eat, in fact our release rate is 98.6%, we believe this to be one of the highest release rates in Mexico. It was not always so and over the years we have educated our crews and clients to see how releasing favors the long term health of sportfishing. Unless a fish is injured beyond the ability to survive or the angler wants a skin mount or wants to take the fillets home, pretty much all are released. Locally and culturaly marlin is considered a good source of protein, especially in these hard economic times - one marlin can feed a lot of families. This year has been one of the best we have seen in a decade for blue and black marlin with a lot of large fish caught or nearly caught. We were sent the pictures below by Mario Bañaga of a fish caught out of San Jose  by local Juan Carlos Castro aboard a private boat. It is a black marlin that weighed 480 lbs...he caught on 100 lb test line whilst trolling an 18 lb tuna as bait aboard the boat "Fisherman" with captain "Perico" Sanchez ...this is a boat to watch they place pretty much in every tournament they enter. Sounds like they were practising for the October tournament season. The photos show the fish and then how it is filleted to distribute to local families.

La Paz Gold Cup Fishing Tournament

Cabo is not the only place to hold fishing tournaments, each summer there is a great tournament in La Paz too, the payouts are not as large and are in pesos, but 1st place took over one million pesos this year.This is a fun tournament but we would like to see a 300 lb weight minimum in place to preserve the blue marlin population. Seventy Four boats entered this event that took place last week-end and the results were as follows:

Victor Manuel Diaz  with a  400 lb Black Marlin aboard  Asturon


Esaul Valdez with a 251 Lb  Blue Marlin aboard Dottie B lI

Daniel Fisher  Jr. for a 249 Lb Blue Marlin aboard Fisherman (last year's winning boat in the Tuna Tournament).

Angel Rafael Agundez  with a 235 lb Blue Marlin aboard Condor.

Photos show the happy anglers receiving their prizes and the winning fish. Photos by Mario Bañaga Jr.

Pisces Fish Report

September 11th to September 17th, 2010






Overall Catch Success Rate 96.3%

BILLFISH: The fishing is still hot in Cabo with pretty much every boat catching lots of fish… the only boat that did not catch, fought and lost a blue and a striped marlin on their trip...Striped marlin are still the most numerous billfish hook ups but we also had a couple of blues and sailfish. One of the best days was on the 11th for our Pisces client mentioned on the past fish report, Art Hevener with his son from Philadelphia, PA releasing three striped marlin and a blue marlin approximately 200 lbs both with live bait at the Herradura aboard “Rebecca”; they also caught a 70 lbs yellow fin tuna and one dorado for dinner.. Good job!! On this same boat, Ken Olive Jr and family from Kingwood, TX had a great day on the 13th releasing four striped marlin and boating ten dorado at three miles out and above from Golden Gate. William Thomas and friends also from Kingwood, TX released two striped marlin and one sailfish and kept one dorado; to top of their day they fought a huge black marlin estimated at 800 lbs for over FIVE HOURS, they lost it, but marveled at the whole “Old Man & The Sea Experience and of course were very tired…nevertheless a memorable day for them aboard “Falcon”. On the 16th David Worthey from Bonney Lake, WA released three striped marlin at the Golden Gate and also boated five dorado between 15 to 25 lbs which took tigrillo lures. We also had a couple of double marlin days, like on the 12th for the Paulson family from Gary, Indiana with two striped marlin released and one 30 lbs dorado at San Jaime spot aboard “Rebecca”. Brian, Milton, and Marc Faseler from Arizona released two striped marlin as well aboard “Bill Collector” on the 14th; they caught a 30 lbs wahoo and one dorado to take back home. Seventy four percent of our charters caught billfish with a total of 25 Striped marlin, 2 blue marlin and 4 sailfish this week.

OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches were number one for us this week with eighty nine percent of our boats catching from one to eleven fish. We had 83 dorado total this week between 15 to 45 lbs. On the 16th James Collazo and Anna Ramirez from Queen Creek, AZ caught eleven dorado (four released) at Pozo Cota aboard “Rebecca”. Graig, Earle and Chad Wells with friends Sean Martin and John Wesley from Oregon caught nine dorado between 20 to 30 lbs and three yellow fin tuna at Pozo Cota and Golden Gate area aboard “La Brisa”. Michael Vick, and Mark, Jordan fishing with Paavo Ensio from Tucson, Az caught two nice dorado (30 and 45 lbs each) aboard “Valerie”, they also caught four yellow fin tuna and released one striped marlin at the golden gate. Tuna catches improved with a thirty four percent of our boats catching this species. On the 12th the Thesen family from Alberta, Canada caught six yellow fin tuna between 15 to 20 lbs aboard Andrea all with lure at down of the Golden Gate; they were also lucky to release one striped marlin. Ralph Mundia from Yorbalinda, Ca and the Paulson´s from Indiana caught nine 20 lbs yellow fin tuna ad two dorado aboard Rebecca; the tuna took cedar plugs. There were a couple of nice wahoo this week, like the one caught on the 14th for Michael and Elizabeth Mellen from Millbury, Ma, they were lucky to catch a 55 lbs wahoo, seven dorado and one tuna aboard “No Big Deal”, all took lures of different colors. We had a total of 83 dorado, 33 yellow fin tuna and 4 wahoo this week.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sunny hot days, mostly calm seas, weather was perfect for fishing.

LOCATION: Sea of Cortez: 95 spot, Cabeza Ballena, Punta Gorda, Cerro Blanco, Herradura, La Playita, 180 Spot, Cabrillo

Pacific Side: Golden Gate, Jaime Banks, Lighthouse, Margarita, Elias Calles, Migriño, Pozo Cota

AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 84 F

BEST LURES; Cedar plugs, blue, tigrillo, petrolero, green, purple, chilihuili, blue/white, blue/green, green/yellow, red/black, guacamayo, feathers, all colors

For live bait was caballito and skypjacks

Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.

 

O.K We Know Who it Belongs To....

The other day our very own Mario Bañaga snapped this picture of this unusual mega yacht.   We posted it on our blog as it was so impressive, but didn't really have information on it.  The yacht is back in Los Cabos now and the owner was spotted disembarking from his dinghey in Puerto Los Cabos the other day with two armed bodyguards in tow...this yacht is too large to dock in either of our marinas so has to stay offshore. Fortunately, our good friend Pete Thomas did some digging and came up with some interesting information which can be seen here http://www.petethomasoutdoors.com/2010/09/cabo-san-lucas-la-paz-latest-stops-for-boat-named-a-.html but basically it belongs to Russian billionaire businessman Andre Melnichenko who is number 189 on the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people.  The yacht is 390 feet long and 62 feet wide and is valued at over $300 million. The 2583 square foot master stateroom is surrounded with bomb proof glass. The twin 6000 hp engines cruise at 20 knots and this vessel has a crew of 36. So far we haven't received an invitation to tour the vessel or to dinner, so this may be as close as we get and the yacht will remain a mystery.

Is That James Bond's Boat?

This is extremely strange and amazing yacht was here in Cabo San Lucas, last week and then moved on to La Paz....shrouded in mystery, nobody knew anything about....or seen anything like it. One tourist mentioned that he had seen it in San Francisco and  that it was reportedly worth $300 million....we kind of thought they were shooting a new James Bond movie....

Pisces Fish Report

September 3rd to September 10th, 2010


Overall Catch Success Rate 96.67%

BILLFISH: Fantastic catches in Cabo this week, especially for Pisces, with an almost perfect catch success rate…. the few boats that did not catch fish, had clients that got sea-sick and asked to come back and occasionally they were just plain unlucky. Marlin remained the top catch this week with consistent hook ups that resulted in an eighty seven percent billfish catch rate. Blue marlin were in the area as were sailfish but the most numerous was striped marlin. “Rebecca” was the top boat, with a perfect billfish score; at least one every single trip this week. One of the best days was September 8th, when Allen and Tami Fuller from Phoenix, Arizona caught a 480 lbs blue marlin, which they fought for 2 hours and 45 minutes on 50 lbs tackle at Punta Gorda; they also released a striped marlin. Next day our long time Pisces client, Art Hevener from Philadelphia, released two striped marlin on live bait four miles out from Cerro Colorado aboard “Rebecca”. Another double marlin day was on the 3rd for Richard Nichol and friends from Memphis, TN, which they successfully released and then went to catch and release a dorado; also aboard “Rebecca”. “La Brisa” gave a good showing too, on September 5th with Rowena Boyd from San Francisco and Kevin Krell from San Bruno, CA with a 300 lb blue marlin and two sailfish, all released at the 11:50 Spot... good job – these anglers were absolutely thrilled and told us this was a dream come true for them. Kathy and Jerry Meyer and friends from Norman, OK released two sailfish and one striped marlin on the “Bill Collector” on the 9th, on the Cortez side at the Cabrillo seamount; they also released a pilot shark. Pisces anglers caught 17 striped marlin, 6 blue marlin and 7 sailfish this week.

OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches increased significantly with sixty four percent of our boats catching from one to ten fish. We had 67 dorado total this week with some small ones released. On the 7th, Martin and Amy Olson from Oceanside, CA shared the Andrea with Bobby Waters from Forth Worth, TX and caught ten dorado (five released) between 15 to 20 lbs and also released one striped marlin. Joseph Ceravolo and friends from Louisiana, came on a cruise ship to Cabo and went for a half day on the beautiful 60ft Andale and did very well, considering the time restraints with a shorter day, to release a striped marlin and four 30 lb dorado at the 95 Spot; they fought and lost a blue marlin too. Tuna catches are on the slow side just seven percent of our boats catching this species. One lucky guy was Keith Erickson from Seabeck, WA who had a wonderful day aboard C-Rod with Captain Abel on the 7th, catching a 120 lbs yellow fin tuna, four dorado between 20 to 40 lbs and one 40 lbs wahoo all at the 11:50 Spot; he also fought a striped marlin but lost it.., nevertheless he ended up with a lot of table fish and is probably still tired! On the 5th, Jennifer Martens from Atlanta, GA, Cole Martens and William Lineberry from California had one 40 lb yellow fin tuna, four dorado and one striped marlin released aboard Andrea, all except the dorado were caught on live bait; (dorado took tigrillo lures) again this group were thrilled with their catch and raved about their crew. The only other fish this week were a few wahoo, one pilot shark, one amberjack and one stingray.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sunny hot days, a few windy days that helped the heat to cool off a little bit. We had some days with swells at the beginning of the week, but the last days were pretty calm. The Pacific has been unusually cool the last couple of days, equaling nights of no a.c, no fan and actually a quilt….in September, which is unheard of!

LOCATION: Sea of Cortez: 95 spot, 11:50 spot, Chileno Bay, Destiladeras, Cerro Colorado, Punta Ballena, Punta Gorda, Cerro Blanco, Cabrillo, Herradura

Pacific Side: Golden Gate, Jaime Banks, Lighthouse, Margarita

AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 86 F

BEST LURES; Cedar plugs, hoochis, tigrillo, petrolero, green, purple, chilihuili, blue/white, blue/red, red/orange, green/black, guacamayo, feathers.

For live bait was caballito and ballyhoo

Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.

Fantastic Dorado Pic

Is this a beautiful fish or what? This large male dorado was caught by Johnny Mack Powers from Rockwall, Texas (right) pictured with wife Stacie and deckhand from Shambala. Photo my Mario Bañaga Jr.

Client Feedback on Recent Trip......we love being in the dream business...

Dear Pisces ,

I just wanted to thank you for a dream come true . I caught 2 sailfish and a large Blue Marlin which were all released . My captain of the La Brisa and deck mate were the best . I will be spreading the news of the Pisces company to all my fishing buddies here in California . A special thank you to Francisco for his kindness and helpful suggestions .

Sincerely ,

Kevin Krell, San Bruno, California

Sept 8th, 2010

Great Fishing Today in Cabo....Check out C Rod, Way to Go

Keith Erickson from Seabeck, Washington had a fabulous time today on our 38 ft Blackfin "C Rod". They fished at the 11.50 spot on the Cortez side and caught four dorado between 20 and 40 lb a 100 + lb tuna and a 45 lb wahoo. This guy is going to have  LOT of fish to take home.
Congratulations......

Wahoo Filleting 101

Good friend Johnny Mack Powers from Rockwall, Texas, was here this week having the time of his life with wife Stacie, aboard out latest edition to the fleet 60 ft Hatteras, "Shambala" with captain T.J Dobson and mate Steve Geary. They caught a bunch of fish,  marlin, wahoo, dorado and tuna.  Here you can see why wahoo is considered the top eating fish.....firm, white flesh, no bones and as easy as slicing bread....oh, almost forgot....the taste....better than swordfish...come on down and catch one.

Fishing Roundup for the last week

August 28th to September 2nd, 2010


Overall Catch Success Rate 83.4%



BILLFISH: With a darker moon the marlin are hungry again and this week they were the number one catch for our fleet. One of the best days for billfish was on September 2nd which is when Chic McSherry from Scotland was out on the Valerie, fishing alone (well crew was there of course, Captain Roberto Sandez & Ernesto Alonso, deckhand) we had our first double black marlin day of the year. They went to the 11.50 spot in the Sea of Cortez, early in day they hooked a 120 lb striped marlin on live bait, which gave a great show jumping all over the place, before it was successfully released. The put the lures back in and out of nowhere a black marlin crashed on the outrigger lure……almost spooling him the fish ran fast, but Chic was able to subdue it within half an hour and managed to release the fish estimated at 250 lbs. The lures went back in again and they hooked a striped marlin, which came off, but the lures were put out again….and they were slammed on the center lure by another black marlin –this aggressive fish came towards the boat flat out “like a guided missile” said Chic, causing the captain to gun the boat to keep tension on the line. After about 25 minutes they had the fish to the boat, the lure had double hooks which had sandwiched both the bottom and top jaw making it very difficult to remove the lure. They struggled for ten minutes to release the fish, they managed to get one hook out, the fish lunged and cut the deckhands arm with his bill, prompting the decision to take the fish before anybody else got hurt. Back at the dock the fish weighed 200 lbs……Chic is a hard core angler that loves to release fish but will not put the crew in danger, hence his decision.. Johnny Mac Powers and wife Stacy Mac from Rockwall, TX fished several days aboard “Shambala”. They had a great day on September 2nd also releasing two striped marlin and a 250 lb blue marlin at Destiladeras; they also boated five dorado, one was 52 lbs, all took tigrillo lures. Other catches during their stint on “Shambala” , were two striped marlin on the 30th and a 250 lb blue marlin plus one other striped marlin on September 1st. Benjamin Hill from Tyler, Texas and friends from Whitehall, PA released two striped marlin on live bait and also caught five football size yellow fin tuna at Jaime bank on August 29th. A day before, Dennis and Melodie Browne from Tomball, TX released one striped marlin and a blue marlin in the 200 lbs class at the 95 spot. They also caught one 35 lbs dorado for a delicious dinner with friends at Captain Tony´s. Eighty nine percent of our charters caught billfish. Pisces anglers caught 12 striped marlin, 6 blue marlin and 2 black marlin this week….. .we still need more anglers to come to Cabo and fish!



OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches were the second most likely catch this week with forty five percent of our boats catching from one to six fish. Most of them were in the 20 to 35 lbs class but we did also have a hook up on large fish like the one mentioned above of a 52 lbs aboard Shambala on the 2nd . Scott Pharr from Tomball, TX released three dorado and kept three between 20 to 25 lbs and also caught a nice 44 lb wahoo 6 miles out from Migriño aboard “Rebecca” on the 28th. It was a little slower for tuna catches, with twenty three percent of our charters taking between one to five tunas. On the 30th Dan Carter and friend Neil Alford from North Carolina had a great day catching a 70 lb yellow fin tuna on green /yellow lure, a 30 lbs dorado and releasing a blue marlin seven miles south of Jaime Banks aboard “Rebecca”. Johnny Mac Powers boated four nice yellow fin tuna between 40 to 50 lbs on sardines on the 28th. The only different fish this week were a few wahoo, like the one caught by Deidre and Michael Phelps from Vancouver, WA on the 31st with a 35 lb fish; they also caught one dorado and one blue marlin aboard “Andrea”



WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sunny hot days, a couple of clouds now and then and humidity. Mostly calm seas with a couple of days of swell but everything good for fishing.



LOCATION: Sea of Cortez: 95 spot, 11:50 spot, Destiladeras.

Pacific Side: Migriño, Golden Gate, Jaime Banks, Lighthouse



AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 84 F



BEST LURES; Tigrillo, petrolero, green, rapala, chilihuili, volador , blue/red, green/yellow. For live bait was caballito and sardine



Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.

Fishing news

Chic McSherry from Scotland was out yesterday on the Valerie, fishing alone (well crew was there of course, Captain Roberto Sandez & Ernesto Alonso, deckhand) and had our first double black marlin day of the year.

They went to the 11.50 spot in the Sea of Cortez, early in day they hooked a 120 lb striped marlin on live bait, which gave a great show jumping all over the place, before it was successfully released. The put the lures back in and out of nowhere a black marlin crashed on the outrigger lure……almost spooling him the fish ran fast, but Chic was able to subdue it within half an hour and managed to release the fish estimated at 250 lbs. The lures went back in again and they hooked a striped marlin, which came off, but the lures were put out again….and they were slammed on the center lure by another black marlin –this aggressive fish came towards the boat flat out “like a guided missile” said Chic, causing the captain to gun the boat to keep tension on the line. After about 25 minutes they had the fish to the boat, the lure had double hooks which had sandwiched both the bottom and top jaw making it very difficult to remove the lure. They struggled for ten minutes to release the fish, they managed to get one hook out, the fish lunged and cut the deckhands arm with his bill , prompting the decision to take the fish before anybody else got hurt. Back at the dock the fish weighed 200 lbs……Chic is a hard core angler that loves to release fish but will not put the crew in danger, hence his decision.