MARCH 14th to 23rd, 2012
Overall Catch Success Rate for All Species Combined 71%
E.J Widun from Tulsa, Ok released two striped marlin aboard Tracy Ann, shown here with Deckhand Martin Gonzalez -March 19th
Billfish: We are in March, traditionally a slow month for marlin, not necessarily because they are not here but getting them to bite is hard. Scientists think that this time of year may be when they are breeding and spawning and as such feeding is less important to them at this time. Added to this are the blustery winds on the Pacific making it hard for boats to fish and lower water temperatures all contributing factors to lower catch rates this week. On March 19th “Tracy Ann” had a successful day at Destiladeres, releasing two striped marlin for E.J Widun from Tulsa, Oklahoma; both were caught on live jurelito. The only other boat two catch two marlin was “Valerie”, on March 20th, also at Destiladeres for Carolina Fillion and Aldo Lapointe from Quebec, Canada. Their fish took live caballito and were approximately 130 to 150 lbs. All of our marlin catches this week were on the Cortez side with the majority at Destiladeres on live bait. Fishing a little closer, at the Herradura, “Andrea” , released a striped marlin on live mackerel and then went on to catch seven large squid, up to 25 lbs on Yoyos for Mark Couvillan from Stockton, California. Twenty seven percent of our boats caught striped marlin this week, giving us a total of eight billfish overall.
Two nice size yellowtail for this happy couple aboard Cabolero
OTHER SPECIES: Small game catches accounted for most of the fleet’s catch this week, with skipjacks, roosterfish, yellowtail, triggerfish and sierra taking up the billfish slack. Although not huge fish, they were a lot of fun, especially the larger yellowtail on light tackle, who prove to be strong on light tackle. One of the boats caught a small hammerhead shark and Les Wexelman from Montreal caught our only wahoo of the week, aboard “Tracy Ann” at Los Frailes – a long way from the Cabo marina. Only a couple of dorado were caught and yellow fin tuna were on a par with the exception of “Valerie” who landed eleven up to 25 lbs for Paul Potemski from Medina, Ohio at the Golden Gate.
A total of six yellowtail made Cabolero the top boat for this species, which is great eating.
LOCATION: Destiladeres, Los Frailes, Punta Gorda, La Playita – a few boats San Jaime and Golden Gate.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Windy, seas rough on Pacific.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 69-71 F
BEST LURES: Live bait, cedar plugs, green, petrolero.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg
