Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 90%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 86%, Dorado 8%, Sharks 12%
BILLFISH: No doubt about it, this past week there was a definite focus on marlin catches. The phenomenal fishing continues aided by much warmer than normal water temperatures, in fact we can’t remember the water being this warm so early in the year, so much so that we are hearing of blue marlin being caught already. Shambala fought & lost one this week and another fleet also had one. In most of the world Friday the 13th is considered “bad luck”, in Mexico however they say “don’t get married or board a boat on Tuesday the 13th” but the fishing this week, threw that saying right out the window, as we it was the most productive, with multiple marlin catches headed up by Ruthless, skippered this day by Captain Julio Castro, while his boat is being rebuilt. Julio managed to get his long time clients Gary & Susan Hall from Washington, hooked up to ten striped marlin at the 11.50 spot. Pisces Rebecca released seven marlin this same day for the Senderak family from Avon, Connecticut & Hollywood, Florida. Bill Collector was in one of the top slots also with six marlin released for Mark Tuttle & the aptly named Robert Fish. La Brisa had Texans on board who released five marlin and a sardine shark that was around 110 LBS. These were the more prominent catches, though the average was two to three marlin per boat per day. Pisces C Rod did well to release eight stripers up to 160 lbs outside of Punta Gorda for the Reynolds family from Midvale, Utah on May 16th. Catches did dip during the full moon but are already rebounding. Pisces anglers caught a total of 126 striped marlin this week, with just two kept.
OTHER SPECIES: There has not been a lot of action on smaller game as the marlin fishing has been so good, that boats concentrated on what equaled success. Dorado catches were on the slow side with just a handful making it back to the dock; on very nice one was caught by Steven Sandoval from San Diego – his fish was caught on a dead caballito four miles out from Santa Maria and weighed 49 LBS. More sharks were caught than dorado this week; generally in December & January is when we see small makos and some threshers but as the water gets warmer we see more of a variety. George Day, David Morse & Joseph Acevedo from South Lake Texas caught two pilot sharks on May 16th, aboard Pisces Bill Collector that were quite large at 130-140 lbs.; they also released a striped marlin and quite an unusual catch of a sting ray. Ruthless had a small 50 lb. pilot shark & the panga Gloria released a 40 lb. mako. We did hear of a few nice size tuna being caught at the East Cape, but there were none in Cabo.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Hot, with daytime temps in the high 80’s, clear blue skies, seas calm with some chop on the Pacific.
LOCATION: 11.50 spot to Punta Gorda.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 78-79 F
BEST LURES: live bait.
