Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report Jan 17-23, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined: 96.6%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 13%, Dorado 85%, Tuna 8%, Other 35%

BILLFISH:  The billfish have been relatively slow for this time of the year.  We’ve been scratching our heads a little bit about this, so we took a look back to compare to the last few years fishing through this season.  We’ve found some interesting factors that may be affecting our marlin catches.  These are of course, that the water is still pretty warm for this time of year, reaching temperatures as high as 78 F in some areas.  It also seems that there is not as much mackerel and ballyhoo in our waters as other years, and we’ve found this to be the bait of choice throughout this season for marlin.  There are big schools of bait that we’ve come across and have seen marlin, but many times they are just not hungry enough.  But, how about those two BIG blues caught just a week ago weighing around 700 lbs each?  We must say, the marlin have a mind of their own, and are obviously around just a little bit harder to find, for now.  Instances like these really show how little we know about the species and why research and conservation are increasingly important. 

With all that said, we did manage to catch a few striped marlin this week.  Twenty-five foot panga Diablo Loco showed us that size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to fishing.  David and Pamela from Colorado had a spectacular day, catching one striped marlin, two dorados, one redsnapper, one grouper and one bonita all on caballito bait between Solmar and Pedregal.

Bill Collector had an even more spectacular day, if that’s possible, with anglers Kelly and Jeff from Minnesota catching and releasing one decently sized 180 lb. striped marlin on live caballito out of Las Margaritas.  They also caught six dorados, ten sierras and one wahoo on green and blue/white lures.

OTHER SPECIES:  What haven’t been hard to find this week have been dorado.  In comparison with the last three years, we’ve seen an increase of up to 45% in catches for dorado during this same season.  On the other hand, as with the marlin, the tuna catches have been lower, where in 2014 we had a 40% catch success rate for this same week in January, and a 79% catch success rate in 2013, this week we only saw 8% of boats catch tuna.  The lower tuna catches may also be due to the fact that there is so much dorado and wahoo that anglers are going out looking for them, since they are relatively close to shore, where as the tuna are usually found far out.  Unless of course you get lucky and find a pod of dolphins hanging out with them, as was the case for the thirty-five foot Valerie and anglers from Florida, who caught ten yellowfin tuna ranging from 10-20 lbs out of the Pozo Cota. They also caught one dorado around 10 lbs in the same area. 

Anglers Harrel Hooker, Jeffrey, Neal & Robert Cranek, with their tuna catch aboard the Valerie. 

In the case of the Andrea, they went out looking for tuna and found it 13 miles out of Gaspareno, catching twelve total on hoochis. They also caught six dorados on caballito bait. 

The Tracy Ann had a dorado-filled day on Friday, catching 25 dorados between 15 and 25 lbs on both bait and lures (blue/white and black/red) out of Cerritos.  Catch limits were respected with ten successfully released.   

The Rebecca also landed quite a few dorados, twenty total, on caballito bait and blue/white and green lures out of Golden Gate. They also caught a nice wahoo, weighing 22 lbs.

Dorados galore!

Anglers Bob Stanley, Ronnie Heller, Caylee Heller and Kelly Massey from California, showing off their dorado catch on the Rebecca.

Anglers Michael and David Lorick from South Carolina and Steve Hansel from  New Jersey with their  catch of the day on the Tiburon.

The pangas proved themselves once again in catching the smaller game fish, with twenty-two foot panga Gloria catching fifteen sierras, one redsnapper, one pompano, and one mojarra. 

LOCATION: Golden Gate, Cerritos, Gaspareño, Migrino 

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Mostly clear, with a few cloudy days with moderate seas

WATER TEMP: 74-78 F

BEST LURES: Caballito, red/black, blue/white, green

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Rebecca Ehrenberg.

BIG FISHING NEWS OUT OF CABO SAN LUCAS

Yesterday afternoon we heard that a big fish would be coming in, caught aboard a local charter boat “Mucho Loco”.  The rumor through the grapevine was that it might be close to a thousand pounds, but there was some skepticism as to whether it was true.  By dark the boat had not arrived and most people forgot about it and went home.  We got a call around 9.00 pm from a friend saying that a big fish was being weighed on the main scale right in the thick of the pedestrian area.  We rushed over there to see a massive blue marlin hanging up and were approached by Captain Bernabe Ruiz who had caught the fish aboard his boat “Bad Medicine” a 35 ft. Cabot.  

We assumed the information we had received was incorrect and we had been given the wrong boat name.   Captain Bernabe, known as “Lobito” (little wolf), told us that the fish weighed 684 lbs., but we noticed that the bill was resting on the ground; the scale frame simply wasn’t big enough, but then again the fish was thirteen and a half feet long – so our guess is that it actually weighed more, easily over 700 lbs.  Captain Bernabe told us that he had been fishing at Golden Gate on the Pacific when at 10.15 am he spotted the massive fish eating a dorado on the surface.   He acted fast pulling out a big dorado colored lure and attached it to his 80 lb. test rig, raced over to the fish and dropped the lure in front of it, which it pounced upon.  They got a solid hook-up and the battle was on for the four men on board.  The fish was extremely strong, so strong in fact that it took them 9 hours and 40 minutes to subdue after taking turns at the rod.   Back at the docks the anglers, were dazed and sunburnt but ecstatic – their relieved wives met them to congratulate them (they were supposed to have been back from fishing at 3.00 pm).  The first angler we spoke to was Kevin Lautt from  West Fargo in North Dakota, the 52 year old Coca Cola sales rep was giddy with excitement;  he told us “this is my first time in Cabo and my first time deep sea fishing – the biggest fish I’ve caught is a 15 lb. northern pike”.   The other anglers were John Priggi from Windsor, Colorado, Mitch McKaig from Moorhead, Minnesota and Raymond Johnson, a beet farmer, from Glyndon, Minnesota.  Ray told us that he comes to Cabo regularly and that the group had all been friends for over 20 years – all of the guys had helped him out on the farm and he said “I am thrilled that this lifetime fishing achievement could be shared with my friends”.  

At this time we wondered where local photographer Mario was, strange that he wasn’t there snapping pictures or writing up the taxidermy order.  We gave him a call and he said he was on the other side of the marina at the other scale, with the big fish…  We thought what big fish; we are standing right next to it.  He told us that Mucho Loco the boat we had originally heard about had finally shown up, two men aged 74 and 79 and hooked a very big blue marlin around five miles out from the Old Lighthouse, also on a lure.  The old timers, obviously in great physical shape brought the fish to the boat in five hours.  This fish however, was even bigger at 773 lbs., also a blue marlin.  The fish was filleted and shared by all the crews, families and friends who were very thankful to receive such a gift.  We were unable to interview the anglers but will follow up with more information when we have it.  There is always a tinge of sadness to see these magnificent creatures on the dock and not in the ocean, but this is great news for Cabo San Lucas, helping the town hold its position as one of the top fishing destinations in the world.  A lot of families still being affected economically from the hurricane will have plenty of quality food for weeks to come and the anglers will have memories to last a lifetime.

Cabo San Lucas Vacations in 9 minutes - Awesome Video

Past December the Kimmerle family spent their Christmas holidays in Cabo San Lucas, and among other activities, they went fishing with Pisces Sportfishing as well.  Our colleague Pat was in touch with Will, and after they returned home, he sent her the video he made showcasing their amazing holidays.

The video includes some coverage from their fishing trip with us (you can see it at minute 6:10), but the entire video is well worth watching, as it summarizes in 9 minutes many of the beauties and activities Los Cabos has to offer.  From their vacation villa at Hacienda Beach Club and Residences with an amazing view to the Land's End, to their snorkelling adventures at Santa Maria Bay, tequila tasting at The Office at the beach, watching (and swimming with) dolphins during their boat trip, hanging out with the famous sealion Pancho, catching and releasing two beautiful marlins, great dining, surfing at The Cerritos and more.

Just a note: this video will give you a severe wanderlust for Los Cabos:

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report Jan 10-16, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 100%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 15%, Dorado 85%, Tuna 13%, Other 21%

BILLFISH:  Marlin fishing is on the slow side right now, in that we have not seen the huge migrations from the Pacific that we often see at this time of year.  Factors to be considered are the warmer than usual water temperature and that a lot of the marlin are feeding on the bottom, so it is hard to pinpoint where they are.  There were a couple of days when the boats were successful in finding them, but getting them to bite was another question.  There were times when they were seen free jumping, as if performing an aquatic show, but totally ignoring the bait offered.  Pisces C Rod was one of the most fortunate boats this week though, as on January 11th they managed to release two good size striped marlin, up to 150 lbs. and a late season sailfish, both on live caballito in front of the Old Lighthouse for Dan & Grayson fishing with Jonathan & Michael from Texas.  The day before Tracy Ann did well to release two marlin, a bit smaller at 100-120 lbs. at the Cerros de Arena for Don Gordon & family from Oklahoma.  One of the few boats to achieve more than a single billfish catch, they went on to get two more that they released around the 130 lb. mark, plus six dorado for the Klein family from North Dakota  - they fished Migrino and off of Golden Gate.  We looked back to check how things were in years past for this same period and found that 2011 & 2012 were the same, slim pickings for marlin, but that 2013 & 2014 were about fifty percent better.  Pisces anglers caught a total of 8 striped marlin and 1 sailfish this week; all released.

OTHER SPECIES: We could have called this the dorado report, but we are not complaining with eighty five percent of our boats hooking up to between one and twenty fish up to 30 lbs., giving us a total of 241 fish caught, with many released.  January 11th Ruthless scored sixteen dorado between Golden Gate & Migrino for Kathy & Glenn from Toronto and 28 ft. Adriana had twenty plus two yellow fin tuna & a jack crevalle for another group of Canadians, from Alberta headed up by Bryce.  January 16th gave us some of our best catches of the week: Tracy Ann had Douglas, John, Martin & Rob from Palos Park, Illinois, on board – which is good they had some many anglers, because they caught eighteen dorado, twenty sierras and four tuna – forty two fish total, bet they were tired (many of their fish released).  This same day Valerie headed to Golden Gate and landed ten yellow fin tuna up to 18 lbs., plus ten dorado for Jeffrey and friends from El Capo, Texas.  Not to be left out, Yahoo was the envy of the fleet for catching three wahoo up to 40 lbs., plus six dorado and a skipjack for Dwayne and friends from Hillsboro, North Dakota.  The only other catches were inshore for yellowtail, amberjack and a few skipjacks.  Oh, and an accidental hook up on a green turtle that was released unharmed.

LOCATION: Pacific, Old Lighthouse to Golden Gate.

WEATHER: Skies partly cloudy with some light rain showers, seas calm.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 75 F

BEST LURES: Live caballito, green, blue & white, cedar plugs.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report Jan 3-9, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 92%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 39%, Dorado 78%, Wahoo 32%, Other 15%

BILLFISH:  As a whole fishing was good this week, but striped marlin catches were not as numerous as we would have wished for.  This seems to follow the general pattern of a good marlin bite in January for two to three consecutive years, followed by a slow one.   Added to this was full moon which many fishermen believe slows the striped marlin bite, as they can feed at nighttime and not be quite as hungry during the day.  We are also at that stage in the marlin fishery, when the fish are on the bottom – strange as that may seem, there are a few weeks every year when we bottom fish for them.  This took place in several locations, such as Cerro Colorado on the Cortez side as well as other as other locations they were found on the surface too, but didn’t seem hungry – free jumping, probably after gorging on what they found on the bottom.  It feels though like we are on the brink of a strong run.  The first few days of this report when the moon was big were the slower ones, but on January 5th, C Rod gave us glimpse of promise, catching & releasing two striped marlin, landing two dorado and five wahoo for Cindy & Michael, Sonya & Dwight, Issac, David, Brayden & Austin from Arkansas – a lot of people on the boat, but a lot of fish caught to satisfy everyone.  More anglers from Arkansas did well on January 7th, when David released a striped marlin, two wahoo and ten sierras aboard Attitude Adjustment.  This same day the ever popular Tracy Ann released two stripers up to 150 lbs. plus a dorado, outside of the Golden Gate for Walter and Nikki and party from Borger, Texas.  Next day a group of Canadians, from Toronto, headed up by Rick, did very well to release three striped marlin in front of the Cerros de Arena.  The very best of the catch though, was aboard Valerie by Mitch, Chris, Alex, Mike & Blythe, from New Albany, Ohio – they managed to release five striped marlin (one each) at Cerros de Arena, on live Caballito.  Pisces anglers caught a total of 40 striped marlin, all but one released.

OTHER SPECIES: Dorado was king this week with seventy eight percent of our charters catching between one and eleven in the 15 to 25 lb. class.  Tracy Ann caught eleven dorado for George & Albert from San Diego, as well as releasing a striped marlin and catching a small tuna.  Tied with eleven dorado caught at Gaspareno was Valerie, for Josh & Steve.  The dorado took a combination of bait and lures and were found spread out though Cerros de Arena was one of the better spots.  Pisces Sportfishing anglers caught a total of 194 dorado this week.  What is rather surprising is the amount of wahoo around; thirty two percent of our charters managed, what is considered the best eating fish around.  Bill Collector did very well to catch four wahoos for John & friends from San Diego at Migrino.  Our total wahoo catch was thirty nine fish.  There was some inshore fish going on too this week with amberjack, triggerfish, sierra , skip jack and jack crevalle caught.  The strangest catch was that of a couple of manta rays that weighed 40 and 50 lbs., both released.  There were so many in the water this past week that it was hard to avoid them, whales too. 

WEATHER: Outstanding, clear sunny skies, flat seas, gorgeous!

LOCATION: Pacific, Old Lighthouse to Golden Gate, with Cerros de Arena the best location.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 75 F

BEST LURES: live caballito, mackerel, black & red, green colors.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report Dec 28 - Jan 3, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined: 85%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 32%, Dorado 58%, Tuna 9%, Other 34%

BILLFISH:  Fishing was a bit slow this week compared to last.  We saw scattered catches of marlin, wahoo and smaller game, but not in high numbers like the weeks before.  The only billfish caught this week were striped marlin, but it may have to do with the weather, cool and cloudy, and water temperature, that as we have mentioned before, is warmer than usual.  Stripers prefer waters around 70 F, and we are still experiencing temperatures as high as 78 F, so these factors may be adding up.  However the Rebecca boat and angler Brad from Arizona caught two striped marlin, the most by any one boat, out of the Antena on mackerel.  Brad and friends also landed nine dorados ranging from 15 to 25 lbs and one 15 lb wahoo.  These were caught on green and blue/white lures.

OTHER SPECIES:  Dorado and wahoo have again lead this week with most fish caught for other species, although the dorado were a little harder to find.  Sunday and Monday were great days for dorados, with most boats catching up to ten or more dorados each.  Anglers Brenda from Pennsylvania and her friends had just this luck, catching 10 dorados in one day, aboard the Tracy Ann.  However, other days were slower with dorado catches, and we saw boats heading closer to shore to catch sierra, roosters, skipjacks, triggerfish, jack crevelle, yellowtails and red snappers, finding them in quite good numbers.  For example, Knot Workin caught one 22 lb yellow tail out of Pozo Cota, one wahoo on caballito bait, four seabass and one red snapper all in the same day.

As for wahoo, numbers remain pretty high, with 31 wahoo caught this week; the largest weighed in on the Halcon at 36 lbs and was caught on caballito bait outside of Golden Gate.  They also caught one striped marlin which they released.

Tuna have remained slow, but the Flora T, who went looking for them landed seven ranging from 10 to 25 lbs on cedar plugs and feathers out of Los Arcos.  They also reeled in a dorado out of Pozo Cota.  There were a total of twenty-five tuna caught this week on eight boats.

Total number of fish caught: 27 billfish, 173 dorado, 25 tuna, 31 wahoo, 4 seabass, 4 snappers, 13 jack crevelle, and 3 yellowtail.

LOCATION: Pacific: Golden Gate, Los Arcos, Pozo Cota, Gaspareño 

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Mostly sunny with some cloudy days, fresh, calm seas.

WATER TEMP: 74-78 F

BEST LURES: Caballito, green, yellow, blue/white, tigrillo, colors

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Rebecca Ehrenberg