The Better Late Than Never Fish Report

Fish Report Dec. 17th to 31st, 2011

Overall Catch Success Rate 90%

BILLFISH: I don’t need to be told that this report is late, way too late, but I think it is important that we finish out the numbers for last year and have them on file. Unfortunately with all the Christmas rush work and over commitment many posadas (Christmas parties) etc. visitors, meals and so on, I ended up with a pulled week and a forced week of bed rest. So here is the last fish report of 2011 and the new one for the first week of January will be out this afternoon. Marlin catches have not exploded as we thought they might but we see some glimpses of incredible catches, then things calm down again. However, when marlin are not biting we are catching plenty of other fish such as dorado, tuna and inshore, tons of Spanish mackerel or sierra. This period saw thirty three percent of our boats hooking up to striped marlin, the only type of billfish being caught. “Shambala” our 60 ft Hatteras, was again our top boat, with some fantastic catches. Captain T.J on this boat showed anglers incredible fishing over a four day run, starting on December 27th when Scott Stevens and friends from Steubenville, Ohio were aboard. They fished just outside the Golden Gate and released ten striped marlin on live mackerel and boated a dorado. Next day they headed to the same spot and almost matched the previous day, but this time released eight striped marlin and a dorado. Scott Stevens out again on the 29th released another five striped marlin, before they nipped inshore for some light tackle fun where they caught 15 sierra. To close out the week “Shambala” released an additional eight marlin on the 30th for Mary & Murray Sinclair from Toronto also at Golden Gate. This was not the only boat that did well; “Yahoo” released six marlin as well as catching a red snapper and a nice roosterfish for a group from Acapulco & Durango, Mexico. This same day “Falcon” has four marlin caught on large sardines, at Gaspareño for the Quinn family from Dallas, Texas.“Bill Collector” also had a quadruple marlin day plus a dorado off of La Brecha for James Bickerstaff from New York. Other boats had one and two marlin days giving us a total marlin number for this period of 84 striped marlin.

OTHER SPECIES: Anglers had plenty of action eve with only a little more than a third of boats hooked up to marlin, there were plenty of dorado and tuna to keep them busy, to say nothing of the inshore fishing. Dorado catches were at thirty three percent with catches of one to fifteen fish in the 15 to 25 lb category. Top dorado boat was “El Gallo” with fifteen up to 35 lbs, plus a striped marlin released for Clayton Clark and friends from Houston, Texas fishing at Elias Calles & Golden Gate. Our total dorado catch was 105 fish, with many released. Tuna catches whilst lower percentage wise, yielded a higher overall fish count. Thirty one percent of boats caught tuna with weights seldom over 25 lbs; our total tuna count was 281 fish, with catches ranging from one to twenty fish. The best area for tuna was off of the Old Lighthouse between ten and twenty five miles as well as at Jaime Bank. Green & yellow lures worked for this species as well as the ever popular cedar plugs. We had one wahoo this week, a decent size at 60 lbs, caught on Shambala by Eric Olsen form Corona del Mar Ca, this group also caught six tuna and released two striped marlin, included a first ever marlin for 87 year old Lynn Hall, patriarch of the family. We had one mako shark around 100 lbs released, several roosterfish, fair amounts of skipjacks and a record number of sierra. “Valerie” got out their light tackle and kept anglers furiously busy catching a total of 84, with just a few kept for Dave Jones from California.

LOCATION: Pacific, Old Lighthouse to Golden Gate.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy skies, seas moderate.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 71-75 F

BEST LURES: Live bait, green/yellow combinations, cedar plugs.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Couldn't Resist

I couldn't resist snapping this photo of the incredible sunset tonight.  Taken just a few minutes ago - what a priviledge to live here....oh and by the way, whales are spouting off in the distance but the Blackberry isn't good enough to zoom in.
Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

A Different & Beautiful Christmas Story

The real Christmas story is impossible to beat, but spending time with family and friends is the best part about Christmas these days. So this is what the Hall family from Camarillo, California are doing. After much planning they decided on Cabo San Lucas and seeing as they wanted a really special fishing trip, they decided to book "Shambala" our 60 ft Hatteras with Captain T.J Dobson. This trip was to be one of firsts, not least when 87 year old Lynn Hall caught and released his very first striped marlin.

A Spry Looking 87 Year Old Lynn Hall, Poses with his Striped Marlin Before Releasing It.

 Not to be outdone the younger generation got in on the action as Lynn's grandson, Eric Olson from Corona del Mar, California, also released a striped marlin.

Eric Olson from Corona Del Mar, Ca. also released a striped marlin.

They then decided to look for some sharks to try something different and they soon spotted something on the surface. They motored over to find a poor turtle caught in a commercial fishing rig consisting of buoys and lines.

The Distressed Turtle was Brought on Board with his  Unwanted Appendages

He had become entangled around his left front flipper and the thick nylon rope had already cut deep into his flesh.

The Nylon Line was Deeply Embedded Around the Flipper

 They pulled him aboard and quickly set about cutting the nylon line away, before safely setting him back into the ocean.

Without their intervention he would have been facing death in a short time, so it was like he got a new lease on life and was born again.

Lines were set back in the water and almost immediately they got hit; the prize turned out to be a 60 lb wahoo reeled in by Tony Westover from Arizona.

 It was like a reward from heaven for their good deed. Call me sentimental if you like; I am. What a memorable day for this family and a Christmas they will  never forget.

The Hall Family & Friends, 87 Year Old Patriarch Lynn Hall  Shown Center in Place of  Honor.

Just another day at the office...

David Evans, From: Vancouver, B.C.  grabbed a Striped Marlin approximately 160 lbs. fought with him for 45 min. 3 miles from the old lighthouse, also grabbed 3 tunas as 20 to 25 lbs. photos taken by his partner Dannielle Carter-Brugman.

Boat: Adriana Capt. Enrique Martinez & Fernando Noyola.   

This Weeks Fish Report

December 10th to 16th, 2011

Overall Catch Success Rate 84%

Valerie was our top boat this week; shown here newly refurbished

BILLFISH: Once again this week not many boats out fishing due to the lack of visitors in Cabo, nevertheless there were quite a few good catches, such as an out of season blue marlin of 450 lbs caught aboard the Yahoo, just three miles off of Pozo de Cota where they were targeting dorado (perhaps the reason the blue was there). Craig Alterman from Newport Beach, Ca managed to reel this large fish in an hour and half after it took a green and yellow lure intended for dorado, which they had also caught earlier as well as a striped marlin. One of the best catches of the week was on December 10th, by “Valerie”, our recently refurbished 35 ft Bertram, who had Larry Harrel & Bob Engstrom from Gilette, Wyoming on board. The fished from Gaspareño to Golden Gate, on the Pacific side and did extremely well to release four striped marlin on live bait and to catch nine dorado. A couple of days later these same anglers aboard the same boat released another two striped marlin and caught eight doardo and a wahoo too. There were a couple of other boats who had two marlin days, such as Shambala and La Brisa, but with a big moon all week, fish were a little reluctant to bite. Besides this location did vary; they could be found at Gaspareño, Golden Gate and on a couple of days the complete opposite direction at Palmilla. Fifty two percent of our boats caught marlin, giving us a total of 19 billfish this week.

Larry Harrel from Gilette Wyoming, had a great time on Valerie this week fishing with his favorite captain Roberto Sandez - six marlin, (released)  seventeen doardo and a wahoo.

OTHER SPECIES: Surprisingly there are still a lot of dorado around and this species was our top catch this week with sixty percent of charters catching between one and fourteen fish in the 15 to 25 lb class. Matt Basco from Los Angeles, California was our top angler for this species, with fourteen fish caught, some released, caught between Gaspareño and Los Arcos on a combination of mackerel, caballito and green and orange lures – our dorado tally was 53 fish. Yellow fin tuna dropped right off this week and were found seven to twenty eight miles off shore, but when found catches were rarely more than three fish around 20 lbs. There were a couple of very small wahoo plus the odd sierra. Steve Sprint from Lakeville, Minnesota released a 60 lb hammerhead shark off of Las Margaritas after it took live jurel bait.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy all week, unusual grey skies but no rain, seas mostly calm.

LOCATION: Gaspareño three miles out, Los Arcos, Migriño, Golden Gate, Pamilla.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 72-74 F
BEST LURES: Live mackerel, caballito, green/yellow and orange colors.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Out of Season Blue Marlin for Yahoo

On December 11th, "Yahoo" the 42 ft Bertram was in for a surprise; they were cruising near the coast, three miles off of Pozo de Cota on the Pacific, on the look out for dorado. Angler Craig Alterman, from Newport Beach, Ca. was on board with friend Alvin Franklin from Rockwall, Texas. They were already into the dorado, when a large marlin hit a medium size green/yellow lure on Craig's rod. It took him an hour and a half to bring the 450 lb fish to the boat, whilst Alvin managed to release a striped marlin.

Cool Photo by Mario

Mario Bañaga our dockmaster has a lot of talents; one of them is photography, an art he learned from his father from a young age. Here is a sample of Mario's work. He caught these dolphin in action a few days ago, from the Valerie. Dolphin are usually a sign of tuna in the area.

Updated Fish Report

DECEMBER 3rd to 9th, 2011



Overall Catch Success Rate 73%

Deckhand Fernando  aboard Adriana prepares to leader this active striped marlin.

BILLFISH: This week fisherman were scarcer than fish as we entered what is traditionally known as the slowest time of year for visitors, in the period after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. With the moon waxing, fish were less hungry than normal and at times even when marlin were found they could not be coaxed to take the live bait offered them. Some boats though, did quite well, such as “Ruthless” our 31 ft Bertram on December 4th, who fished at Los Arcos with anglers Joseph Lanigan & David Brown from New York aboard, they were able to release three striped marlin in the 110 to 130 lb class on live “jurelito” which is a type of jack as well as boat a 20 lb dorado that took a red lure. “Valerie” now back in the water after a total refit, was out on December 6th, just below the Golden Gate with Pat Currie and friends from Summerland, Canada where they were able to release three striped marlin, boat a dorado and wahoo too. Our last triple marlin day was had by “La Brisa” on December 8th this time closer at Gaspareño with Dinah and David Oppenheim from Midpines, California aboard; they also landed a dorado. We had a solitary sailfish aboard “Attitude Adjustment” for Roberto Joseph from Gary, Indiana, who also released a striped marlin both at Golden Gate. We heard again that there are marlin just below Mag Bay, so they should be working their way towards Cabo in the coming weeks. Fifty five percent of our charters caught billfish this week consisting of 17 marlin and 1 sailfish – all released.


OTHER SPECIES: Marlin was the top catch this week, but dorado catches were steady with twenty seven percent of boats catching form one to four fish in the 15 to 25 lb class. All were on the Pacific at various locations. Tuna catches were less common with just eighteen percent of boats finding patches of them around the Herradura. When found boats managed to boat up to ten in a day of fish up to 35 lbs. Inshore just a few roosters and needlefish for us.

LOCATION: Pacific Los Arcos to Golden Gate, also Herradura for tuna.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy, some windy days which caused rough seas, some chilly nights.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: Although it doesn’t feel like it surface sea temperature charts show the water around Cabo to be 77 F.
BEST LURES: Live bait – mackerel was scarce so ballyhoo, caballito and jurelito were used; cedar plugs, guacamaya, red.


Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Meet Flor

 The newest member of Pisces Group Cabo is Flor Saldana who started with us on December 1st. Of course as part of the induction she had to meet the crews, drive a boat and catch a fish. What a tough job - sigh.... We are thrilled to have Flor joins us as she brings a lot of skills that will compliment our team, plus a beautiful smile.