So If The Billfish Conservation Act Was Passed What's This About?

In a previous post we shared the passing of the Billfish Conservation Act, so why is it, that last week at the restaurant trade show, held at McCormick Place in Chicago that marlin was not only offered but flaunted for sale?
What can you do to help make a noise about this?

91% Catch Fish This Week

Up Close and Personal, One of Four Marlin Josh Burnham released with friend Steve Cappellino aboard Ruthless

May 18th to 24th, 2013

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 91%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 74%, Dorado 21% Small Game 43%

BILLFISH: Marlin fishing was good this week even though we had a big moon generally thought to adversely affect the bite, this was not the case and some of our best catches were when the moon was biggest. Two boats tied for most marlin in a day Pisces Tracy Ann, for releasing seven on May 24th for Keith Milam and Agens Benedietto from Fort Worth Texas and Pisces Ruthless who also caught seven marlin for Frank and Emily Volpe from Half Moon Bay, California.  Both boats were at the 11.50 spot and used live caballito, also known as green jack for bait. Ruthless did well a couple of days before this too with four marlin released, this time on a combination of ballyhoo and caballito for Steve Cappellino and Josh Burnham from Mission Viejo and San San Francisco respectively. Pisces Rebecca had a quadruple marlin day for Karen Rodman and Leonel Gonzalez from Miami using the same method, again at the 11.50 spot. The great thing about Cabo fishing right now is that there is lots of inshore action for good size fish as well as offshore for marlin. Weather conditions have been a factor as some days seas have had a lot of whitecaps then were smooth the next day – the fish don’t seem to mind though. Ninety one percent of our boats caught fish this week, which is great, unless you were in the nine percent that didn’t, but that’s fishing and it happens. Seventy four percent of our charters caught between one and seven marlin per day this week with catches of two or three fish not uncommon. Our total catch was of 79 striped marlin; all but two released.

OTHER SPECIES: There were times this week when the area off of the Old Lighthouse when boats were stacked up, we saw up to 50 boats in a square mile fishing for jack crevalle, yellowtail, roosterfish, skipjacks and sierra and why not, the fishing was productive for all of these species. Pisces Ruthless opting for inshore one day released thirteen roosterfish between 15 and 30 lbs as well as a jack crevalle and 8 skipjacks. Pangas did very well too, one that we sent, released two striped marlin, three dorado, two roosters and two skipjacks – now that is outstanding. Another panga that we sent caught 49 sierra, 1 jack crevalle and 2 skipjacks, nearly everything was released. Whilst boats are fishing closer in they are hooking up some small mako sharks. PLEASE TAKE NOTE – there is a ban on fishing all sharks in Mexico right now, both commercially and recreationally. If you hook up a shark you need to release it, do not bring it on board, even if it dies. The ban is in place until August so that the juveniles that have never had a chance to breed are not killed. We did not have any tuna this week but twenty one percent of boats did catch dorado, though rarely more than one around the 15 to 20 lb weight. One exception was a 45 lb’er caught aboard Pisces Andrea by Mike Soucy from Santa Clarita, Louisiana.

SURF FISHING: Wesley has a total of 4 trips this week resulting in 19 roosterfish, 35 jack crevalle and 3 sierra  - now is the time to try this!

LOCATION: 11.50 spot and Old Lighthouse
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sunny, fog on the Pacific early morning,  seas choppy on some days, cool evenings on the Pacific.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 67-73 F (Pacific/Cortez)
BEST LURES: Live caballito, assorted lures for smaller game.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg



Billfish Conservation Act Becomes Law - Important to read

On October 5, 2012, President Obama signed the Billfish Conservation Act into law, effectively banning the importation of all billfish into the continental United States. The signing marks the culmination of a united undertaking by a diverse coalition of angling and conservation organizations working in cooperation with a bipartisan group of congressional champions.  Although there are no commercial fisheries targeting billfish in the US, the US has been the largest importer of billfish in the world, importing about 30,000 billfish annually.
“This is a tremendous success for these highly migratory species,” National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC) President Ken Hinman said. “Marlin, sailfish, and spearfish do not know country boundaries and travel through three of the planet’s oceans. Giving them greater protection in the United States sets the stage for better protection worldwide.”
With the largest buyer out of the market, the NCMC and International Game Fish Association (IGFA), who championed the bill, will now turn their attention to the international challenges facing these imperiled species. And with populations of three species of marlin having declined by more than 50%, their efforts come not a moment too soon.

“Recreational anglers and ocean conservationists have been the primary supporters behind the Billfish Conservation Act,” IGFA President Rob Kramer commented, “and I am confident that with this strong step by the United States, we will be able to raise support for more robust measures elsewhere.”

The support of the Billfish Conservation Act by groups like the American Sportfishing Association, the Center for Coastal Conservation, the Coastal Conservation Association, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Keep America Fishing, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, OCEARCH and numerous partners in the environmental community played an integral part in the bill’s success.
“We have sound science that indicates that billfish are not doing well on a global level,” IGFA Conservation Director Jason Schratwieser added. “Better international protection for these fish benefits open ocean ecosystems and recreational anglers around the world.” 

Background: The legislation, H.R. 2706, was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Representative Jeff Miller (R-FL) along with fellow Co-Chair Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR) and Vice Chairs Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) serving as lead original cosponsors. They were also joined by, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME), Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL), and Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK).
In the Senate, the legislation was introduced by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), and co-sponsored by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The legislation prohibits the importation of all billfish (marlin, sailfish and spearfish) in the United States, while still allowing for traditional fisheries within the State of Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Area.  Swordfish are not included in the prohibition. Marlin, sailfish and spearfish, collectively called billfish, are some of the world’s most majestic marine fish.  They are apex predators that play a critical role in maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems.   Billfish are also highly esteemed by recreational anglers the world over, and catch-and-release fisheries for these species support many marine jobs and generate billions of dollars to the U.S. economy.

Unfortunately, the world’s billfish stocks are seriously imperiled from non-U.S. commercial fishing. Billfish are primarily caught as by-catch in commercial tuna and swordfish fisheries, but the by-catch is harvested and sold internationally, with the United States serving as the world’s largest importer of billfish.

There are many sustainable alternatives for restaurants and retailers to offer in place of billfish; thus most restaurants have taken marlin and other billfish off the menu.

Big Dorado

This is the biggest dorado we have seen in few months. Estimate at 45-50 lbs caught yesterday on Pisces Andrea by Mick Soucy from Santa Clarita, Louisiana. What do you think it weighs?

Roosterfish - Jack Crevalle Central

Foggy Cabo Morning

Roosterfish, jack crevalle central - this was the scene this morning off of the Old Lighthouse. Seems we slip back and forth between spring and summer, it's was baking hot a couple of days and now we have had fog and cooler weather on the P...acific the last couple of days. Boats were stacked up this morning early at Cabo Falso catching roosterfish, jack crevalle, sierra and skipjacks - well those that fished inshore, others headed out to the 11.50 for marlin - we'll know later today how they did.

Weekly Fish Report

MAY 11TH TO 17TH, 2013
Overall Catch Success Rate 88%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 67%, Dorado 36%, Small Game 28%

STRIPED MARLIN WERE THE NUMBER ONE CATCH IN CABO THIS WEEK

BILLFISH: The striped marlin bit is still not full throttle but we were really happy that they moved in closer to Cabo so that anglers don’t have to run thirty plus miles. Catches were excellent for some boats, with one of the top performers this week being Pisces Listo; they released three fish up to 150 lbs. 14 miles off of Palmilla on May 11th for Mark & Jim Fairchild from Houston, followed by four marlin on May 13th, this time at the 11.50 spot for Nathan Miller, Chase Anderson & Jordan Siu from British Columbia. Ernesto Rivera from San Diego completed this boats catching streak, with four marlin released on ballyhoo also at the 11.50 spot. Pisces Valerie had the highest one day marlin count with five stripers to the boat for Joby & Jose Yoby from Los Angeles, California. They used a combination of live caballito & frozen ballyhoo for bait. Davis Heeter from Las Vegas got lucky with three marlin aboard Pisces Tracy Ann , with Melissa Anderson along to help reel them in. Many of the marlin continue to gorge on the large squid in the area and we had several fish making it very clear where the expression “stuffed to the gills” came from. These fish took the bait offered them and when brought to the boat to be released, we could clearly see big squid poking out of their mouths. Sixty seven percent of our boats caught marlin this week, which is a decent figure. As mentioned above the good thing is that they have moved closer and although there were some days with picky eaters, or boats that drew a blank we ended up catching 73 marlin this week.

BETH AND BRENT ELLIOTT FROM N. CAROLINA, THREE MARLIN RELEASED ABOARD TRACY ANN

OTHER SPECIES: After marlin the next likeliest catch was dorado with thirty six percent of vessels landing between one and three fish when they found them. So average catches for this species. One of the better catches was for Craig Willett from Fallbrook, CA who fished with Gayle Willett from Bend, Oregon – they had a fantastic day aboard Pisces 28 ft. Adriana releasing two marlin and boating three dorado up to 18 lbs. A handful of mako sharks up to 50 lbs., were released – not that they were being intentionally fished for – in fact a ban on all sharks goes into effect this month; we will follow up with the details of the dates later. We had some nice spring time catches, such as those caught by Pisces Ruthless for Greg Weisz and friends from Wyoming. They caught eight roosterfish up to 25 lbs., five sierra up to 8 lbs. and four jack crevalle up to 20 lbs., all but a couple of fish were thrown back – what a nice day of inshore fishing! SURF FISHING: Michael McCourt fished a couple of days with Wesley and caught a jack crevalle as well as a 25 lbs. yellowtail which he kept – now that must have been fun on spinning tackle from the beach.
LOCATION: It’s pretty clear from the sea surface temperature charts why the fishing has moved closer as the temperature break can be seen clearly, which is why the 11.50 spot was one of the most popular along with cabeza de ballena, the 95 and Palmilla
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Nice, clear skies, warming up considerably, seas choppy on some days.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP:  We have 71 F water close to Cabo sitting next to 74 F; from the latest charts looks like fishing may move offshore again.
BEST LURES/BAIT: Live caballito, frozen ballyhoo, green colors.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

So What is That in the Marlin's Mouth?

Not too hard to guess and it explains why fishing is like it is....

Here's The Fish Report

MAY 3rd to 10th, 2013
Overall Catch Success Rate 71%
Numbers at a glance: Marlin 38%, Dorado 38%, Small Game 24%, Tuna 4%

Jessica Deal with Nicole Castaneda showing off one of five marlin they released - note the squid in the marlins mouth

BILLFISH: It was kind of feast or famine this week, with some days producing outstanding catches, only to be followed by a day or so with little to no catches. There is really no explanation just the time of year, as the season changes. Some scientists believe this to be a breeding time of year, whilst others claim that the fish are filling up on large squid and are less hungry. So if you were on a boat that found hungry fish the day you were out, it was fantastic, if you weren’t it was disappointing; but that’s fishing and a risk you have to take. One of the better dates turned out to be May 7th, when Pisces Valerie had a superb day for Gayle & William Schutze from Texas, who fished with friends Jean Maxwell, Dirk Richel, Maribel Cario & David Wenheimer – it was a good job they had so many friends aboard as they released eight striped marlin at the 180 spot on a combination of live caballito and frozen ballyhoo. Pisces C Rod was not too far behind the Valerie this day as they loaded up on six striped marlin plus two dorado, 32 miles out for Alfredo Cabrero from Mexico City. Robert Deal from Vienna, Virginia took his daughter Jessica and her friend Nicole out aboard Pisces Andrea, to celebrate the end of the school year and they had a blast releasing five striped marlin up to 150 lbs., 33 miles out. Pisces Tracy Ann had a brisk day for striped marlin but they had to go a long way, 36 miles in fact, so that Stephen Connolly, Catsun Richards, Thomas Rochow, Alyn Jones & Chad Olsen – all from Calgary, could release a marlin each, giving them a total of five fish for the day on May 6th. Listo and Valerie had quadruple marlin days later in the week. This week was more a question of going a long way and hoping you found hungry marlin when you got there. Nevertheless some superb catches were had as noted here, giving us a total of fifty striped marlin which were released.

50 lb wahoo on the Tracy ann for the birthday girl Kelly Ottmar,  she had a cake on board and the crew sang happy birthday in English and Spanish  - throw in a few marlin and you have the makings of a perfect day.

OTHER SPECIES: Not fantastic for smaller game though we did see an increase on dorado with thirty seven percent of the boats catching an average of one or two fish up to 15 lbs.  Butch Bustamente from Huntington Beach along with wife Kriste are long time Pisces clients and friends, who did better than average catching four dorado aboard Andrea 30 miles offshore.  Our total dorado catch was ten fish. Tuna catches were slow though C Rod did find a small school and land five. Pisces Tracy Ann had our only wahoo of the week a nice 50 lb. specimen caught by Mike McGurk from Newbury Park, California. Seeing as the majority of boats headed offshore for big game not many stayed in shore, however those that did caught skipjacks and some roosterfish.  Twenty four percent of our charters caught small game fish. Surfishing; Wesley had four days out this week resulting in catches of eleven red snapper and five jack crevalles.

LOCATION: Destiladeras, Herradura, 180 spot, 20 to 36 miles out. On the day the boats fished the Pacific they caught skipjack.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear skies, seas mostly calm.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 74F
BEST LURES: Live caballito, frozen ballyhoo, blue/white, green.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

This is What Makes It Worthwhile

 

We need to thank you for another fabulous fishing trip! I took my daughter Jessica and her college friend Nicole out for a day of fishing yesterday, to celebrate the end of their school year at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Although Jessica has fished with me before on my trips with you over past years, this was a first time for Nicole, and Orlando and Abram showed them a superb time on the Andrea. We started the day with a double hook-up with both girls in the chairs, and although Nicole's fish was able to throw the hook, it was just a taste of what was to come.

 

Nicole had a second chance later, I had a good turn, and just before lines-out, the girls were back on deck with a double hook-up again, with both fish brought to the boat and released. In all, we saw nine marlin, hooking up on seven, and catching and releasing five. We could not have asked for better support and effort from both Orlando and Abram, especially as the last two fish took us late into the afternoon---we did not make it back to the marina until 5:00.
Pisces is, as always, the best! I am attaching a couple of photos of all the fun.

Many thanks!

 

Robert D. Jr.

Vienna, VA

 

 

 

 

Ruthless Does it Again....Wahoo

Ruthless does it again on the wahoo.....this crew know how to catch wahoo, as long as they are around, they can find them. David Eoff, David Scalf & Robert Peters from Louisiana and Texas, caught this nice 45 lb wahoo and also released two marlin. Not too shabby guys.

Latest Fishing Update

APRIL 27TH to May 2nd, 2013

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 87%
Numbers at a glance: Marlin 75%, Dorado 15%, Small Game 19%
BILLFISH: After such stupendous fishing as reported last week, we were hoping for more of the same and we did to a degree have this, but not in the same numbers. That said striped marlin was the number one catch this week in Cabo. This report is covering one day less than normal as it is going out a bit early, which may affect the numbers a little.  April 28th was one of the better days, which is when Pisces Tracy Ann released four striped marlin at Destiladeras for Jordan Malugan and Lucy Hutchinson from San Diego, California. This same day the 35 ft. Cabo Listo, managed to release three marlin up to 130 lbs. and boat two medium size dorado for Mark Cuny and Alex Albaum from Grass Valley, California. Destiladeras seemed to be producing the action, but not all fleets fish there, as it is a long way from Cabo and diesel costs are high – it goes without saying that Pisces boats have no restrictions on diesel and we go wherever the fish are, however this spot is about the limit for travel on a day trip. It was at this spot that Pisces Adriana had an action packed day for David and Brenda Wanous from Praine, Minnesota when they reeled in four striped marlin, caught on ballyhoo, before letting them go. Pisces Fearless a 50 ft. Viking had an enviable day on April 27th for anglers Mark Snyder and Mark Hagen from College Station, fishing with Brian and William Jaynes from Dallas, when they released two marlin and then boated two Dorado and a 45 lb. wahoo. Three quarters of our boats caught marlin this week, with catches around one to three marlin per boat, the majority caught up in the Sea of Cortez between Cerro Colorado and Destiladeras. Our anglers caught a total of 52 striped marlin, which were all released.  On the last day of this report, fishing went flat and boats that had done well all week drew a blank, as colder water moved into what had been productive fishing grounds.
OTHER SPECIES: Seeing as the boats were concentrating offshore for big game not a great deal of small game fish were caught this week, however, Dorado catches made for a surprise when trolling for marlin and a few boats picked up as many as four in a day up to 20 lbs., though it was more likely one or two fish.  Just fifteen percent of our boats found this tasty species giving us a total count of ten fish. It was nice to see some wahoo again this week – of course wahoo expert Captain Leon from the Ruthless had a 45 lb’er as well as two striped marlin for some anglers from Louisiana. We had two other wahoo around the same size aboard Tracy Ann and Fearless, respectively. Inshore the boats caught a few skipjack, some nice jack crevalle and a couple of yellowtail up to 30 lbs. We did hear that the rooster fish action was pretty good for boats fishing around the Old Lighthouse.
SURF FISHING: Wesley did not have a lot of trips this week but caught five sierra and ten jack crevalle for three trips.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Windy the first couple of days of the week with some fog on the Pacific, seas moderate to calm on the Cortez side – clear, sunny skies.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 70-72 F
BEST LURES: Live caballito, frozen ballyhoo, red/black for wahoo, green/yellow.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg