So How is the Fishing?

Yesteday we had a cloudy and rainy day. People were surprised but it always rains a bit right around January 1st. THE FISH DON'T MIND THOUGH, so never cancel your trip due to a bit of rain. Here is what PISCES caught December 30th:
25 Striped Marlin
1 Sailfish
69 Dorado
8 Yellowfin Tuna
2 Skipjack
1 Yellow Tail
GREAT FISHING! All Billfish released as well as some of the dorado.

Fish Report

December 15TH TO 28TH, 2012

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 97%

Numbers at a glance:
Billfish 62%, Dorado 68%, Tuna 8%

 

BILLFISH: This will be our last fish report of the year so next week look for one started out 2013. The striped marlin have not shown up “en masse “ at Golden Gate yet but we are still getting some good catches, however, the fishing has tended to be a bit up and down. One day the marlin bite was fast and furious off of the Old Lighthouse, the next day the same location was dead and boats had to move on in search of more productive seas. One boat that did exceptionally well this period was Pisces Falcon, with TWO blue marlin, in what is considered off season for this species. The first one was approximately 180 lbs and was caught by Tim Koll from Appleton, WI on December 23rd, at Migrino. This group also went on to release two striped marlin and catch three dorado on the same day. Next blue for Captain Manuel was on December 28th , a similar size fish off of the sand hills this time for David Jones, who also got a dorado and ten sierra. Pisces Andrea, a 28 ft boat, released four striped marlin near the Old Lighthouse for David & Barbara Fiocca from Ardamone, Pa on December 15th on live mackerel & lures. A few days later Pisces “Tracy Ann” went to a spot known as “Herradura” or horseshoe and also released four marlin and caught a dorado for Jared Gorden from Boston, Ma. We had a couple of boat with triple marlin days worthy of mention, such as Pisces “Rebecca” on the 23rd for Brian Monroe & Kellen McCormick. Brian Driscoe from Durango, Co also released three marlin and boated ten dorado with friends, aboard Pisces “Cabolero” at San Jaime, on the 27th.  Sixty-two percent of our boats caught billfish this week consisting of 60 striped marlin, 2 blue marlin & 1 sailfish.

 

OTHERS SPECIES: Dorado catches remained pretty steady and ended up being the number one catch in Cabo this week with sixty eight percent of boats catching between one and ten fish up to 30 lbs.  The fish were quite scattered and were usually picked up in ones and two. The boat that did the best was Pisces “Rebecca”, when they found a floating chair 30 miles south of Cabo and where angler Curtis Sander from Tucson, AZ, along with friends, loaded up on ten dorado, 8 tuna, 1 skipjack and released a marlin too. What was surprising this week were the tuna catches, although only a few were caught some were of a remarkable size. Rick Walsh from Cleveland, Ohio caught a beautiful 200 lb tuna aboard Pisces “Tracy Ann”, then Pisces “Valerie” had a great day for Andrew Boston and Andy Ziskind from Chicago; they caught a 30 lb, 175 lb & 240 lb’er sixteen miles from Land’s End on December 26th. The only other fish caught were a few small wahoo, some sierra and skipjacks.

LOCATION: Mostly Pacific, though 95 spot was good a couple of days, marlin and dorado Lighthouse to San Jaime, tuna were south of Cabo 13 to 30 miles.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy, seas calm.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 75 F

Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Strange Dorado

Was this Dorado Attacked and if so by what?
One of the pangas we sent today showed up with this dorado with strange markings on it.....what do you think? The tears are gaff marks, but we have not seen such strange markings before.

Tonight's Beautiful Sunset

Wait There's More...

Wait, there's more.....Dr. Rick Walsh from Ohio caught this 200 lb beauty aboard Pisces Tracy Ann with Capt. Julio Castro 29 miles south of Cabo on a tiger color lure - he also released a striped marlin and a small 20 lb tuna. Way to go Rick and what a beautiful photo thanks to Mario. The tuna still looks fresh!

Surprise Huge Tunas Today

Pisces Valerie surprised us all today when she backed into the dock, we thought she had a few skipjacks....boy were we wrong. Look at these huge tunas! They were caught 16 miles out from Lands End one on a green and black lure the other on a green and yellow lure. Angler was Andrew Boston with the 240 lb fish and Andy Ziskind got the 130 lb, both guys are from Chicago

It's Official, World Record Approved!

The story we broke back in September went viral and now here is the seal of approval....well done Guy Yocom!

The IGFA has officially approved the record application for the 193.68 kg (427 lb) yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) caught by Guy Yocom on September 28, 2012 while fishing aboard his boat, El Suertudo (“The Lucky One”). The boat was captained by Greg DiStefano, who put Yocom on the fish approximately 100 miles off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Yocom and another angler were chunking to a school of yellowfin, taking turns with the rod and reel, and Yocom just happened to be “the lucky one” who fed the record fish. Fifty minutes later – a relatively short fight for a yellowfin of that size – Yocom had reeled in what would be the world’s next All-Tackle yellowfin tuna record.
“We started hearing about the catch almost as soon as it was back at the docks,” IGFA World Records Coordinator Jack Vitek said. At the docks in Cabo, Yocom’s fish was weighed on an IWS Scale Master II digital scale that was successfully re-certified in San Diego just a few days after the weighing, confirming the accurate reading of 193.68 kg (427 lb).
“Yocom and his crew knew they had a shot at the record and they made sure all their gear and techniques were compliant months before the catch was made,” Vitek continued. “So once the weight was confirmed, Yocom immediately got to work on submitting the application and all the other requirements.” With the scale certified, line samples and photos submitted and the application completed, all aboard El Suertudo have been eagerly waiting to hear whether their efforts would result in an approved record.

Here is the original Baby Marlin/Spearfish

Mystery Solved.....Baby Marlin or Spearfish

Mystery solved.....so going back to the baby striped marlin/spearfish story, as we hinted earlier we have an answer from the scientists, but we wanted to back it up with evidence and thanks to Matthew Leonard the angler, we now have that. We first stated this fish was a baby or juvenile marlin then a local fisherman quipped, that he was surprised we did not know that it was a spearfish....so we thought about it and yes, it looks like a spearfish, but a longbill spearfish, which are not found in the Pacific......mystery is solved, it's a striped marlin, as clearly seen in the photo taken boatside, revealing it's clearly defined signature stripes. First one to answer, once the question was posed was Mike Mondich - he wins the Pisces Tee.

Here's the Fish Report

December 8th to 14th, 2012

Numbers at a glance:
Overall Catch Rate 92%
Billfish Catch Rate 62%
Dorado Catch Rate 62%
Tuna Catch Rate 12%
Other Species 25%


This Beautiful Striped Marlin glitters in the sun, as it leaps from the water. Captured by the skilled camera of Mario Banaga aboard Pisces Shambala

Billfish: We saw an upturn in marlin catches this week as they started to appear at Golden Gate on the Pacific as well as some spots closer to Cabo, giving us an overall rate of sixty two percent of boats hooking up to billfish. We had a couple of boats that did really well this week; Pisces “Tracy Ann” released a 250 lb blue marlin just four miles off of Lands End, then went on to release two stripers at the Herradura for Michael Newman and friends from Chilliwack, British Columbia on what proved to be a lucky day for them, December 13th, a day when it unseasonably poured with rain.  On December 9th, Pisces “Valerie” had an exceptionally good day with our longtime friend and client Chic McSherry from Scotland, who with his group, released three striped marlin, three mako sharks and boated three dorado, between Pozo de Cota and Migrino. Pisces 28 ft “Adriana” had a double marlin day for a group from Wisconsin, plus three dorado boated at the Golden Gate on December 10th.  Not to be outdone Pisces 61 ft Viking “El Gallo” fished 8 to 12 miles offshore between Los Arcos and Las Margaritas with Ed Dowling from Colorado aboard and did well to release two striped marlin and boat one dorado and one small tuna. Other boats did get a single marlin here and there and often picked up a dorado to two as well. Pisces anglers caught a total of twenty billfish this week, 19 stripers and 1 blue; all were released.

OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches were on a par with billfish this week, with boats picking up between one and nine in a day mostly on the Pacific with weights averaging fifteen to twenty five pounds. Green colored lures seemed to have an edge over other colors for this species, but they also took ballyhoo and other colors. Tuna catches dropped to twelve percent, with four the most caught by a single boat, fifteen mile out from the Old Lighthouse.  We had quite a few juvenile mako sharks; none over 40 lbs and all released. Skipjack were caught closer into shore and we had a single wahoo aboard Pisces “Petrolero”.

LOCATION: Golden Gate, Old Lighthouse, Margaritas, La Ballena, 95 spot, Pozo Cota.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Some overcast days, heavy rain on Thursday December 13th. Seas mostly calm.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 75-78 F
BEST LURES: Caballito, ballyhoo, green colors, red/black.

Biggest Yellowfin Tuna Caught on Rod and Reel 445 lbs

Thanks to Pete Thomas, for breaking the news on the new record tuna ......http://www.petethomasoutdoors.com/ of course in Mexican waters, at the Hurricane Bank, the spot where it just so happens we had our 60 ft Hatteras "Shambala" fishing  the same spot, the same day with our very own dockmaster Mario aboard along with captain TJ and Johnny and Stacie Powers......darn that fish could have been ours, but hey we are happy to see these kind of fish coming out of Mexico and getting the fishing world's spotlight focused here. The long range boat Excel pulled into Point Loma this Sunday morning and the scale dock registered 445 lbs, which is the largest tuna of this species caught by rod and reel. This will not qualify for a record though, as the deckhand did handle the rod briefly. Great fish and congratulations to John Petruescu for this magnificent fish caught on his first ever long range trip.

PISCES FISH REPORT - DECEMBER 1 TO 7TH

Overall Catch Success Rate 90.27%

 

BILLFISH: Marlin catches still a bit slow with 42% of the boats coming back with blue flags flying. Fish are getting closer to shore making the traveling time shorter and offering more time to actually fish, however, the full moon didn’t help, the crew and clients saw the billfish practically next to the boats but with their bellies full, they were not interested in taking the anglers bait. “Rebecca” released 3 striped marlin at the 11:50 spot for Gerald Richmond and John Mason from Florida, they also landed 4 25 lbs dorados. John decided to go by himself the next day again aboard the Rebecca, and he released 2 striped marlin, one pacific sailfish, landed 4 dorados and 5 yellowfin tunas. Rebecca again, this time with Stephen Price and Gary Crisp from Silverdale TX released 2 striped marlin and one pacific sailfish, they boated 3 white skipjacks (perfect for ceviche). “La Brisa” also released 2 stripeys and one sailfish for Vicky and Ross Haberman from New York, New york on December 6^th, same day, “Bill Collector” released 3 striped marlin and landed 3 20 lbs dorados for Stan Pilinko from NYC, NY, Hal Williams from Albany, NY and Cliff D’Angelo from Orlando, FL. A total of 28 striped marlin and 4 pacifi sailfish were caught, all of them successfully released.

OTHER CATCHES: Dorado catches keep rising, almost 87% of the boats are catching at least one. Average size of 22.5 lbs. Most catches were of 3 or 4 per boat, with some really nice ones like the one of “Andrea” with 12 dorados for Torbjorn Svensson from Sweden, “Adriana” with 11 for Daniel Esparza’s party from California, “Ruthless” with 15 dorados gets the catch of the week award for Tim Wilson from Huntington Beach, CA. Only 3 boats caught yellowfin tuna this week, “Valerie” caught 10 of them, 2 white skipjack and released one sailfish for Larry Harrell from Gilette, WY.

LOCATION: 11:50 spot, Gaspareño, Golden Gate.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear sunny sky.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 82 F

BEST LURES: Caballito, dead ballyhoo.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Jorge Narro.

Another New Tuna Record?

New record tuna may be on it's way in......bigger than the new all tackle world record.....well that is according to Pete Thomas who wrote that a fish estimated at 459 lbs was caught at the Hurricane Bank off of Baja by John Petruescu aboard the San Diego-based long range boat, Excel. If this taped out weight holds it will be the largest yellowfin tuna ever caught on rod and reel, but will not be eligible for a world record as a deckhand briefely grabbed the rod. It was caught on a live skipjack and took two hours to land. Just a couple of months ago Guy Yocom landed what looks to be the new record, at 427.5 lbs, which was caught according to IGFA rules. The Excel should be back in port on Sunday morning when the weight will be known.

Pisces Weekly Report November 24th to 30th

Overall Catch Success Rate 96.5%

BILLFISH: Billfish catching rate keeps rising from 42% to almost 47% this week. Most of the boats catching billfish hooked only one fish and most of them caught a few dorado as well, there were are few boats with multiple hookups like Tracy Ann, releasing 3 striped marlin for Ellen Hardy and Leon & Jerrey Klien, or Rebecca, releasing 2 striped marlin and a blue marlin estimated at 250 lbs for Ola Skinnarmo group from Sweden. Valerie caught 3 striped marlin for Clinton Pike and Steve Bond from Keller TX, unfortunately one of the stripeys died before the crew could release it. The catch of the week goes to 37ft Falcon with Captain Manuel Romero releasing 4 striped marlin and a Blue Marlin estimated at 350 lbs for Brian and Mike Nelson from Dallas TX. A total of 33 striped marlin were caught, 32 were released, 4 pacific sailfish, all released, and 3 blue marlin, 2 were released.

Linda Smith from Norman Oregon aboard the Tracy Ann, ready to release one of her stripeys.

OTHER CATCHES: Much better week for small game, 84% of the boats catching at least one dorado, with an average of 5 per boat. Tracy Ann caught 15 dorados in one day for Donna Walker from Pleasanton CA, followed by Ruthless and La Brisa with 10 dorados each. Not much tuna action this week either, only 4 boats catching tuna, mostly under 20 lbs.

LOCATION: Los Arcos, 11:50 spot, 18 miles straight out from the Old Lighthouse..

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear sunny sky.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 82 F

BEST LURES: Caballito, green, black and blue lures.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Jorge Narro.

Best Sunset Photo Ever

This incredible sunset photo was taken by our very own Mario Banaga on a trip up the Pacific taken near Uncle Sam Bank. Wow, Mario one of your best, taken aboard "Shambala