Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report May 29 - June 5

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 80%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 69%, Sharks 15%, Dorado 12%, Other 10%

 

Greg & Zane Cantrell from Tennessee release a striper aboard Andrea.

BILLFISH:  Even with a full moon this week, billfish catches were very good. The striped marlin are still present in good numbers with the 11.50 spot still holding as the top location.  As the week progressed the weather became very muggy as a depression formed below us that turned into Hurricane Blanca – not all bad, that kind of weather, when it gets really hot, produces blue marlin and we had two this week.  Speedwell had anglers Dave Thelen, Scott Wolf & Emily West on board when they hooked blue marlin on a guacamaya lure that was estimated at 230 lbs.  - they also caught a 20 lb. dorado.  On the last day of this report Valerie  had anglers from Alberta, Canada n board, headed up by Daniel Loeb – their fish also took a lure, but a yellow and green one and was estimated at 250 lbs.  The striped marlin stuck to live bait and Yahoo was fortunate to release five marlin up to 150 lbs. just below the 11.50 spot for Carey & Richard Kernion and friends.  This same day, June 1st, Tracy Ann was not far behind with four marlin in the same class for the Ross family from Lufkin, Texas.  There were plenty of other catches of one to three fish per boat per day and even a sailfish.  Marlin were by far the most abundant species this week accounting for sixty nine percent of the catch.  Pisces anglers caught a total of 73 billfish consisting of 70 striped marlin, 2 blue marlin and 1 sailfish – 98% were released.

 

Trey, Tyler & Patrick three friends fished aboard the aptly name panga  “Tres Amigos” – nice mix.

 

OTHER SPECIES:  Over a decade ago catching sharks was quite common, then we went through dry years where hardly any were caught and when they were, they were small in the 20 to 40 lb. class.  Thing have changed and they have made a comeback with multiple shark catches common right now and of different varieties.  For instance on May 30th Yahoo had an outstanding day for the Bryan family from Mississippi, releasing two striped marlin two thresher sharks over 100 lbs. and one pilot shark around 80 lbs.  D.J Novotney also released two thresher sharks around 120 lbs. plus a striped marlin aboard C Rod and Valerie released three pilot sharks between 70 and 80 lbs. as well as landing our only tuna of the week for David McBride and party from Louisiana. Our only wahoo of the week was a 40 lb’er caught aboard  Bill Collector by Mark Chiavetta.  The pangas we sent out caught jack crevalle, grouper, triggerfish, sheephead and bonitas.

 

LOCATION: Sea of Cortez 11.50 spot.
WEATHER: Hot and humid all week, with tropical storm Blanca causing the port to be closed at present.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 77 F
BEST LURES: Live caballito, green/orange/yellow, dorado colors.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report May 23 - 28, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 95%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 89%, Other 43%

BILLFISH:  A superb week in Cabo with superb catches throughout the week.  The good old days are back!  Striped marlin were thick and a few sailfish and blue marlin were in the mix too.  The Papazyam family from Los Angeles had one of the best catches of the week when they released six striped marlin in one day aboard 28 ft. Adriana at the 11.50 spot, which has been holding impressive numbers of marlin for the past two weeks.  This same day May 24th Valerie released five marlin for another family from Los Angeles – these fish weighed from 100 to 150 lbs.  and were all caught on live bait, also at the 11.50 spot.  On May 26th, Flora T did very well to release six marlin for Robert & Trevor Patel from Atlanta.  A really outstanding day was had by C Rod for Robert & Debbie Adams and friends; they released four striped marlin, a 180 lb. thresher shark, 120 lb. pilot shark both released and a 20 lb. dorado for the table.  Ruthless released five marlin for John & Katie Staples and we had many catches like this as the week went on.  Anglers regularly caught and released between one and five marlin, as well as many sharks.  Attitude Adjustment was our only boat to catch a blue marlin, just under 200 lbs., and this one was caught five miles outside the 11.50.  Pisces Sportfishing anglers caught a total of 154 striped marlin, 1 blue marlin and 2 sailfish; all but two fish were released.

OTHER SPECIES:  A lot of sharks were caught this week and many of a good size in  the 80 to 180 lb. class.  The most abundant was the pilot shark, which we believe is a silky shark – we had twenty two of these this week, as well as three thresher sharks, one bull shark and one mako shark.  Some boats caught as many as three sharks in a day.  It should be noted that all sharks are being released at this time as there is a ban on taking these until July 31st.  Just a smattering of dorado were caught.  Inshore fishing had some slow days, where pangas got skunked but on other days they did well on jack crevalle, grouper and triggerfish.  Roosterfish, wahoo, group and skipjacks were caught in lesser amounts.

LOCATION: 11.50 spot, Chileno, Punta Gorda.
WEATHER CONDITIONS:  Hot, clear sunny skies, calm to moderate seas.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 78 F
BEST LURES:  Live bait.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report May 16 - 22, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 87%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 70%, Dorado 7%, Other 42%

 

Adriana, one of our top boats, SIX marlin in one day!

BILLFISH:  This week produced great catches that remained consistent throughout the week and some red hot fishing that we haven’t seen in months.  The striped marlin bite was great at the 11.50 spot as far as Punta Gorda & multiple marlin catches per boat occurred on several days.  One of the best days was May 21st, when 28 ft Adriana caught six striped marlin up to 150 lbs for Alex, Brenda, Jeff & Joe from Kalispell, Missouri.  Listo the 35 ft Cabo, also had six marlin all on live caballito for a group from Colorado.  Joseph Capezio from & friends from California had an amazing time aboard Tracy Ann as they released four striped marlin & five pilot sharks.  Calvin Baker from North Carolina also figured in our top anglers for releasing five marlin up to 120 lbs on the La Brisa with Captain Rey Winkler.  The Valerie had a quadruple marlin day for the Bateman’s from Texas on May 20th.  Striped marlin were not the only catch this week we also had a couple of sailfish both aboard Rebecca – the first catch was for the Rasmussen family from New Mexico – they had a busy day, releasing the sailfish, plus three striped marlin & two pilot sharks – what a day!  The next sailfish was caught by Jake Steinsberg who also released three striped marlin at the 95 spot.  Catches for other boats were of one or two fish.  We also heard of a 700 lbs blue marlin caught out of San Jose, however, the disturbing part is that we were told it was never weighed but was sold on the black market – remember marlin is a species reserved for sportfishing & cannot be sold commercially.  Pisces anglers caught a total of 96 striped marlin this week & two sailfish, all released except one.

 

This unusual catch of a sheep’s head was on the panga Salsa

 

 

OTHER SPECIES:  A lot of sharks were caught this week mostly pilot sharks (presumed to be silky sharks) with as many as five caught on a single boat.  A couple of thresher sharks were fought, one aboard Listo estimated at 160 lbs by Russell Daniel, who also released three striped marlin at the 11.50 spot.  The other was caught aboard Shambala & was around 120 lbs.  We saw a slight increase on dorado this week with a half dozen caught up to 30 lbs.  Wahoo catches also picked up with a nice 50 lb’er aboard Bill Collector at Destiladeras.  Knot Workin did not catch as big a wahoo but did catch eight up to 35 lbs off of Cabeza de Ballena for Richard Campbell & friends.  Smaller game accounted for forty two percent of the catches this week.  Skipjacks, grouper, bonita, triggerfish, mojarras, roosterfish, snapper & sierra were all caught.  One of the more unusual catches was a “vieja” or sheep’s head aboard the panga Salsa.

Knot Workin’ worked hard to catch EIGHT wahoo!

 

LOCATION:  11.50 spot, 95 spot, Punta Gorda, Destiladeras.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy skies, calm seas.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP:  76 F

BEST LURES: Live bait

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report May 9 - 15, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 79%

Numbers at a glance: Marlin 65%, Other Species 43%

Hugh Williams from Ohio aboard Andrea with his first ever marlin

BILLFISH:  Once again we had an up and down week with unusually cooler and windy weather as well as unseasonal rain on Thursday.  After a flurry of good catches the fishing again started out on the inconsistent side, with choppy seas and crews often spotting numbers of marlin in the Punta Gorda area who were reluctant to take the bait offered by some boats, but others fishing the same area the same day did manage to hook up a few.  As the week progressed the catches began to improve with Rebecca leading the way on May 10th with two striped marlin and a mako shark released off of Palmilla for Darryl & Jill Yarbrough.  The next day out Neil Darling & Wade Ryan from Canada, did really well to release four striped marlin up to 120 lbs. at the 11.50 spot aboard C Rod. Fishing alongside them was Cabolero with three marlin released for Kevin & Holly Corlton.  By May 12th nearly every boat from Pisces had one to three marlin, with Tracy Ann & Valerie topping the report this day and the majority of catches at the 11.50 spot.  The day before this we had a first on the Valerie with angler Vincent Biesiot from North Dakota; he released a 130 lb. striped marlin, not unusual, but then the crew spotted a whale shark behind the boat and gave Vincent and his buddy the opportunity of a lifetime to jump in and swim with the gentle giant – rare to do on a fishing trip.  At the close of the report C Rod excelled with five striped marlin released on May 15th for Casey Stencil and friends again at the 11.50 spot.  Striped marlin where the top catch in Cabo this week with sixty five percent of our boats catching a total of 78 fish; all but one released.

Once in a lifetime chance, Vincent Biesiot & buddy swim with a whale shark during their trip aboard Valerie

OTHER SPECIES:  We have a lot of sharks in the area right now and after marlin they were the most caught fish. We had mako´s, blues and pilot sharks – a local name given that is hard to identify; hopefully we will have a picture of one soon to be able to do some sleuthing.  Rebecca released a 70 lb. mako off of Palmilla on May 10th.  Bill Collector released four pilot sharks up to 150 lbs., plus a striped marlin for Brian Cooper from Phoenix on May 12th.  Whilst La Brisa released three pilot sharks between 80 and 100 lbs. for Gary, Mike & Linda Wagner at the 11.50 spot on May 15th.  It should be mentioned that there is as “veda” in place for sharks put in place by the Mexican fisheries department, this means that no sharks can be killed, though they can be caught and released.  The period of abstention from killing sharks is from May 1st to July 31st.  They make beautiful mounts so replicas are recommended for this species.  Very few dorado were caught this week, the only exception was Tracy Ann with four caught at Los Arcos on the small side at around 12 lbs., they also managed to release two large striped marlin, estimated at 160 & 180 lbs. at the 95 spot for the Eppes family from Fairfield, Texas.  There were no real numbers on other small game fish but a few sierra, grouper, skipjacks, jack crevalle, triggerfish and snappers were caught. 

A nice dorado caught aboard Tracy Ann

WEATHER CONDITIONS:  Windy, partly cloudy, seas choppy, rain on May 14th, close of week saw clearer skies and calmer seas.

LOCATION:  11.50 spot, Punta Gorda, Palmilla, 95 spot.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP:  76 F

BEST LURES:  Live bait, frozen ballyhoo.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report May 2 - 8, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 58%

Numbers at a glance: Marlin 38%, Other 28%

 

 

BILLFISH:  After a great couple of weeks of increasing catches and improvement in billfish rates, this last week was a bit disappointing, as we were slammed with huge ground swells causing the port to be closed to small vessels on a couple of days.  Added to this were some strong winds and full moon; a recipe for tough fishing.  This was frustrating for crews and anglers alike, but that said we still had marlin catches throughout the week with some days better than others.  We also heard of an eleven foot sailfish being caught and a small black marlin.  When fish were caught the most likely encounter was with striped marlin.  Catches started out at the 95 spot and 11.50 spot then gradually moved up the Sea of Cortez to Punta Gorda and Destiladeras.  The most any boat got was two marlin in a day, usually on live caballito, though there were some lure fish too.  The size on the stripers has increased slightly at 120 to 160 lbs.  Tracy Ann and La Brisa were two of the better boats this week with five marlin each.  Even though this report is a bit glum, we are not discouraged as the wind has died as we write this, the sun has come out and the moon is getting smaller.  The last day of this report nearly every boat had at least one marlin released.  Pisces anglers released 27 striped marlin this week.

OTHER SPECIES:  Most boats concentrated on marlin as that was the best odds of a catch this week, we did however get a couple of dorado.  La Brisa released a 45 lb. mako shark for Lovene Helt & Michael DeMeo from California.  This boat was also the only one to catch a wahoo this week, of average size at 35 lbs.  The port was closed a couple of days for pangas, which fish, so less smaller game was caught.  There were a couple of grouper, bonita, jack crevalle, needlefish, skipjack, triggerfish and sierra caught.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Windy, cloudy, big swells, rough seas – now calming and getting better.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 73 F

BEST LURES: Live caballito, ballyhoo, orange/black, blue lures.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report April 25 - May 1, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 91%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 87%, Other 11%

Ruthless was the first boat of the week to release 6 marlin in a day.

BILLFISH:  We had a fabulous week for striped marlin, the best so far this year.  The fish started to appear at the 11.50 spot on the Cortez side and were stacked up for several consecutive days.  Not every boat caught marlin, but even then; they at least spotted them and threw bait but were simply unlucky.  On April 25th Karl & Shari Krueger from Meza, Arizona did exceptionally well when they released six striped marlin from 90 to 140 lbs aboard Ruthless.  A couple of days later Rebecca equaled this with six marlin of their own for anglers Lucas & John Goudreault from Derry, New Hampshire, who’s’ fish were a little bigger at 100 to 150 lbs. …they did well to muscle in around 750 lbs. of marlin, which were all released.  Darry & Laura Wodecki from York, South Carolina also managed to release six marlin at the same location, the 11.50 spot, on April 29th aboard the 35 ft. Cabo Listo.  Closing out the week with a high catch was Flora T II with five marlin released by Todd Mikles and friends from Los Angeles.  Other boats caught between one and four marlin each, giving us a total of 100 fish caught of which all but one was released.

 

OTHER SPECIES:  Seeing as the marlin bite was so good nobody was really concentrating on anything else.  The pangas we sent out caught a few bonitas, skipjacks, jack crevalle and roosterfish.  Dorado fishing was slow with just a couple caught and no tuna this week.
WEATHER CONDTIONS: Sunny but fairly wind all week, blowing hard on the Pacific. Seas moderate.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 73 F
BEST LURES: Live caballito.
Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report April 18 - 24, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 87%

Numbers at a glance: Marlin73%, Dorado 6%, Other 20%

BILLFISH:  This week we saw a marked improvement in the Cabo fishery, as striped marlin finally put in a steady appearance.  The area in front of Cabeza de Ballena the 95 spot and the 11.50 sport, all on the Cortez side is where the marlin could be found and on most days enticed to bite.  The few boats that did not achieve a catch did see and bait fish, but they were not always hungry.  On April 20th C Rod had an outstanding day catching and releasing five striped marlin and boating a wahoo for Greg Kent.  This same day Listo released four marlin ranging in size from a tiny 60 lb. fish up to a 120 lb’er the largest they caught, for John Nelson and friends from Woodbury, Minnesota.  This same group went out a couple of days later, this time aboard Cabolero  and again released four marlin, this time a little larger in the 120 to 140 lb. class, all caught on caballito (green jacks).  Earlier in the week it was the Ruthless that released four marlin from 100 to 120 lbs. on a combination of bait and lures for Kim & Paul Salceda from California.  The fishing stayed concentrated in this area producing catches of one to three billfish for seventy three percent of our charters giving us a total of 82 striped marlin and our best week for this species so far this year.

OTHER SPECIES:  The marlin fishing was so good this week that boats did not really try for much else, nevertheless there were a few interesting catches such as Bill Collector  on April 23rd,  with two thresher sharks, estimated at 90 and 110 lbs. released.  We also had a couple of pilot sharks, both around 80 lbs. released.  Inshore some sierra, skipjacks and rooster fish were caught, which accounted for twenty percent of our catches.  Just four dorado were caught this week, one a nice size at 45 lbs. aboard Tracy Ann taken by Rick Falk from North Field, Minnesota.  We also had one smallish wahoo.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Windy on the Pacific, fair on the Cortez side, mostly sunny.

LOCATION: 11.50 spot, 95 spot, Cabeza de Ballena.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 78 F

BEST LURES: Live caballito.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report April 4 - 17, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 79%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 54%, Dorado 12%, Other 49%

The Farbers from Miami, released five marlin on Tracy Ann, our top boat in this report.

BILLFISH:  This report covers two weeks as we were unable to get one out last week, as we were having too much fun enjoying the Sea of Cortez.  Inconsistency has been the watch word for the last two months and the first part of this reports seemed to follow the same vein but as we entered the latter half of this report, things turned around and we started to see multiple marlin catches on a regular basis.  It may be to do with the weather, as we started to have some colder nights.  Marlin were seen with more frequency, though they were not always hungry.   Tracy Ann our 31 ft. Bertram was easily our top boat this report.  This was the crew that kicked the door open on April 8th, when they released five striped marlin for Bob Schneider from Youngstown, Ohio fishing at the 95 spot.    They followed up a few days later with five marlin and four skipjacks at the Cerros de Arena for Brad & Robert Dickinson from Washington and then went on to release four marlin up to 160 lbs. plus a dorado for Daniel Alonzi & friends from Lone Tree, Colorado.  As if this was not enough they finished the week with another five marlin at the 11.50 spot for Mark, Cary & Saul Farber from Miami.  This boat caught and released twenty nine striped marlin in this report.  La Brisa headed to the 11.50 spot on April 17th with Kevin & Tom from Wauwatosa, WI, aboard and managed to release four marlin up to 130 lbs., which all took live caballito.  We saw a definite improvement the second half of this report when boats regularly caught between one and three marlin giving us a total catch of 118 stripers of which all but one were released.

OTHER SPECIES:  The most notable catch was a mako shark we heard of that came in around 9.00 pm on April 18th – this was not aboard a Pisces boat, but we were able to obtain photos, though not full details as yet.  We know it was caught aboard a boat called Griscelda and seeing as the scale was closed the weight was estimated at 250-350 lbs. – more details to follow shortly.  Nevertheless this is the largest Mako we have seen in years, with the average weight usually around 40 to 80 lbs.  Dorado catches had a bit of a comeback with twelve percent of boats catching one or two fish over a widespread area in the 15 to 30 lb. class.  Smaller game catches, mostly inshore, were pretty good accounting for forty nine percent of our catches.  There were lots of skipjack, sierra on some days, roosterfish, needlefish, amberjack, jack crevalle, triggerfish and a couple of smallish wahoo.

LOCATION: Old lighthouse, Los Arcos, Margaritas, Cerros de Arena, 95 spot, 11.50 spot & Palmilla. 

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear, sunny skies, light winds all week, causing some whitecaps on the Pacific.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 76 F

BEST LURES: Live bait.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing, Cabo San Lucas, by Tracy Ehrenberg.

What you need to know when you take your fish to be cooked

Recently we have received questions from fellow anglers regarding if you need to show your fishing license when you take your fish to have it cooked?  The answer is yes, and no.  Let us explain:

By Mexican law, each restaurant has to have documents proving the legality of their fish.   In case of marlin, dorado, sailfish and rooster fish, these are all fish that cannot be traded, unless the restaurant has a proof that the fish has been legally caught by an angler.  If the restaurants have such fish stored in their freezers without proof to verify that it is legal, they can be fined.

Many restaurants in Los Cabos provide a “You hook it, we cook” service.  In case of the above mentioned fish you don’t need a licence in case the restaurant will prepare the fish at the moment you bring it to them.  But if the customer brings his fish in the morning to come to have a dinner from it in the evening, they do need to provide a copy of their license to support the restaurant, in case the authorities come to do an inspection, so they can see that fish is caught legally by a client.  Please note that if the fish is caught from the shore, you do not require a fishing license, and you won’t be asked to show the license when you bring it to the restaurant.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report March 28 - April 3, 2015

Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 74%

Numbers at a glance: Billfish 57%, Dorado 9%, Other 29%

Top boat this week was Tracy Ann on March 30th for catching and releasing three striped marlin.

BILLFISH:  We are pleased to report an improvement in fishing this week both generally and for billfish.  Nevertheless it still could not be described as great.  Water temperatures remain higher than normal for this time of year which could be a factor.  More marlin were spotted this week but they tended to be fussy eaters.  We had catches at both ends of the spectrum of our fishing grounds, from Destiladeras on the Cortez side to Margaritas and Migrino on the Pacific side.  Top boat this week was Tracy Ann on March 30th for catching and releasing three striped marlin at Pozo de Cota for Jamie, Benjamin, Gretchen and James from Easly, South Carolina.  All three fish took live caballito and were of a good size at 140-160 lbs.  It was nice to see boats catching more than a single marlin and a little over a third of the charters managed two stripers and often some smaller game too.  Valerie, Tracy Ann, Attitude Adjustment, Adriana, La Brisa, Rebecca were all boats that caught more than one marlin in a day.  The fishing is becoming more consistent but has still not stabilized, for example on April 1st a lot of the boats were skunked despite spotting multiple marlin but the following day every boat out caught one to two marlin, even those on shorter days.  Fifty seven percent of Pisces Sportfishing boats caught marlin this week, giving us a total of 46 fish, all released, except one.

OTHER SPECIES: There was a not a lot of action on smaller game this week with dorado catches continuing to drop and just nine percent of boats finding the odd fish here and there whilst trolling for marlin.  Most of the dorado were taken on live bait on the Pacific and weighed from 20 to 30 lbs.  There were a half dozen mako sharks caught between 40 and 80 lbs.  Flora T had a very nice day on March 30th for Owen Kilmury from Huntsville, Alabama.  They caught and released a striped marlin, a 70 lb. mako shark, skipjack and sierra between Pozo de Cota and Migrino.  Other catches closer to shore were a few sierra, skipjacks, jack crevalle and the odd grouper.  These smaller game catches accounted for twenty nine percent of the fleet production.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy skies, otherwise sunny, seas moderate with light winds.

LOCATION: Migrino, Los Arcos, Pozo de Cota, Margaritas, Destiladeras – catches were better on the Pacific.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 75-76F

BEST LURES: Live bait, petrolero, tigrillo.

Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.