A Man At Peace With His Work

Pictured here is Roberto Sandez (also known al "El Jefe" or boss). Roberto is captain of our 35 ft Bertram Valerie and has been with Pisces for over 20 years. He is a great fisherman and an even greater person. I heard some excellent advice given to a young person recently, which as "Find what you love to do and then figure out a way to get paid doing it. Great advice. Roberto loves his job and who wouldn't with an office like his!

Latest Fish Report

JANUARY 7th to 13th, 2012

Overall Catch Success Rate For All Species Combined 85%

BILLFISH: Pretty slim pickings for billfish this week. The thing is as well as having a full moon there was no one set area where they were congregating, so boats could go up the Pacific and find the odd one, or offshore 30 miles and they might locate them, or they could be off of Chileno on the Cortez side 15 miles and also find a stray fish. The exception was again “Shambala” on January 7th, when they participated in a charity event for the MVP (Making Victory Possible For People In Need) Foundation with anglers Jon Brovitz, Andrew Stegan, Anthony Cerone, Tim Murphy & Jim McMahon – this boat and team did extremely well to take top honors with six striped marlin released on live mackerel at the edge of the Golden Gate as well as boating four dorados. This same boat later in the week again found the fish this time 30 miles from the 220 spot. Repeat angler Noel Briscoe from Clovis, California was on board and all fish were caught on live caballito. “Attitude Adjustment” had a decent day on the 8th of January catching and releasing a striped marlin, estimated at 120 lbs, one dorado and four skipjacks. Just fifteen percent of our anglers caught striped marlin this week, resulting in eleven fish caught & released. I spoke to some of the captains to get their input on why marlin fishing is like it is and they think there are several factors, such as full moon, cooler water temperature, water a little greener on the Pacific and fish not grouped but spread out.

Who says you need big fish to have fun? This group had a blast catching sierra, yellowtail a tiny pargo & mojarra, on the other hand you could be somewhere else freezing your butt off.

OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches were at thirty percent for fish up to 30 lbs but catches were usually of only a single fish, with just a few boats getting more than this. Tuna catches were at nineteen percent for fish up to 35 lbs; top boat for tuna for the third week in a row was “Andrea” with twelve caught 30 miles from the 240 spot by Greg Greene and friends from Dallas, Texas. The inshore fishing was the best of all this week we had loads of skipjack, some yellowtail up to 35 lbs , some good roosterfish catches, with up to a half dozen per boat and sierra were plentiful.
LOCATION: Pacific; Golden Gate, Gaspareño, South 20 to 30 miles, Poza Cota, San Cristobal.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Mostly sunny, seas calm to moderate.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 70-73 F

BEST LURES: Live bait, green/yellow, cedar plugs, feathers.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

FISH REPORT JANUARY 1st to 6th, 2012

Overall Catch Success Rate for All Species Combined 81%

BILLFISH: The year New Year has started out pretty well with over eighty percent of boats catching fish; however jthe majority were not marlin. Tuna were actually the top catch this week, which is what happened at the beginning of last year too. The first week of January there are not too many anglers here which means fewer boats go out and less fish are caught. Nevertheless there were several boats that had double hook ups on stripers around the Golden Gate and Jamie Bank areas. None of our boats fished January 1st as everybody gets a day off but January 2nd turned out to be the best day of the week for us, when “Rebecca” released two striped marlin between 120 and 140 lbs and caught three tuna at the Jamie Bank for Steve Stergy from Toronto, Canada. This same day “Valerie” released two marlin twenty miles out from the Old Lighthouse for Brent Stutsman & Tim Cain from Novato, Ca. They also got a tuna for the table. On January 4th, Riley DeWitt from Waco, Texas did very well to release two striped marlin aboard “Yahoo”, at Golden Gate, with less than desirable bait , which was jurelito, or little jack, as well as catching a dorado and a snapper. This week the moon has been waxing so with the bright night sky fish have been feeding during the evening hours and are not as hungry during the day. Twenty percent of our charters caught billfish this week with ten fish caught and released.

A Study in Blue; deckhand Luis Cota in his blue Pisces shirt & cap, with blue jeans, against a blue sky and sea, holding a beautiful 140 lb striped marlin with a blue dorsal fin. The only one not blue is the happy angler Jessie Gebhardt from Chandler Arizona. Photo is aboard Rebecca 25 miles out from Old Lighthouse
OTHER SPECIES: Tuna was king this week with fifty five percent of charters catching from one to fourteen fish in the area between the Old Lighthouse and Jaime bank. Our total tuna count was 150 fish, in the 18 to 30 lb class. Like last week cedar plugs and green colored lures seemed to do the trick in getting them to bite. “Andrea” was the top tuna boat with eighteen caught 22 miles off of the lighthouse for Matt Cleary and friends from Sydney, Australia. Dorado catches dropped off considerably this week with just fourteen percent of boats catching just one or two fish, the exception was “C Rod” who caught six dorado for Austin Vander Lee from Stettler, Canada at the outer Golden Gate; he also caught a striped marlin & ten sierras inshore. “Valerie” had some guests from Beijing, China who were thrilled to catch a 70 lb mako shark & eight yellow fin tuna. Inshore we again saw some good action on sierra or Spanish mackerel and pargo, or small snappers.

Some good size sierra and  some pargo, or snappers shown here being held by brothers Mike and Jeff Hulquist, from Alaska and Washington, O.K now which one do you think is Captain Franciso from Salsa?

LOCATION: Pacific, Old Lighthouse to Golden Gate.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Much improved this week, we finally got some sunshine and seas were calm most of the time. The whales are here too.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 72-74 F

BEST LURES: Cedar plugs & green colored lures, for marlin live bait, which was caballito or jurelito, very little mackerel available.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Moonrise

We posted a photo the other day of a beautiful sunset taken by my trusty Blackberry, so here is one of the moon rising last night. This was taken at Cerro Colorado, close to Palmilla. It's amazing how much light the moon gives, as you can see it reflecting in the water. Looks great, but the fish have too much visibility at night and tend not to be so hungry during the day, well that is the marlin; tuna and doardo do not seem to be affected, nor the inshore fish.

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