746 LB BLUE MARLIN, ONE DAY BEFORE BISBEE!

746-Pound Monster Marlin Caught on Bisbee Registration Day!

The Little Boat that Could…Pisces’ Tracy Ann!

The Pisces Group Cabo is reporting that a 746-pound pound Blue Marlin was caught this morning at 10AM, October 18th, 2011 about 1.5 miles offshore on the Pacific side. The Tracy Ann is a 31-foot, popular and affordable standard boat within the Pisces Fleet and boasts Twin Catepillar 3208 engines providing more maneuverability. A local fishing icon captains the Tracy Ann by the name of Sr. Julio Castro. He is a long-time favorite captain of the angler friends Patrick Neville, his wife Jean, Thomas Heinz and his wife Penny all out of Florida, USA.

Coincidentally, the 746 pound, monster Blue Marlin catch has happened on same day that check-in and registration begins for the World’s biggest Black & Blue Marlin Tournament, “Bisbee’s.” Patrick Neville and his wife Jean are repeat clients with Pisces Sportfishing for nearly one decade fishing with Captain Julio Castro and on the Tracy Ann each year, three times per year. Their friends Thomas Heinz and Penny Heinz met the Nevilles 7 years ago in Florida, as both couples are avid boaters and fisherman and woman.

Patrick Neville added, “This morning, Captain Julio asked us if we would like to fish for Marlin because he felt today may be a good day so we looked at each other and said, ‘sure, sounds great!’ We never had any intention of catching a massive fish but that is all part of the adventure when fishing in Cabo San Lucas during this time of year!”

This catch was unique is that it happened quickly but like a high-speed car chase. At 8:30AM, lines were dropped in the water. 10 minutes later, the Blue Marlin hit the line and the chase was on. In fact, Captain Julio immediately shouted to the group of angler friends below, “Big Blue!” as they saw the fish jump 45 feet behind the boat.

The Blue Marlin literally ran out the line to the very end with just the knot remaining on three different occasions over a 15 to 20 minute timeframe, forcing the boat to race to recover line. The anglers were using 80-pound test with a medium size yellow-orange lure so there were quite concerned that the line wouldn’t hold with a fish of this strength.
 After a quick bit of a tug-of-war and around 9:00AM, the monster Blue Marlin tired, sounded and died. Then the hard work began, with three people on the rod, one in the chair, two helping lift the rod, plus the captain and deckhand hand lining it up, for one hour and forty five minutes of pure physical exertion – leaving them with blisters, to bring the 746-Pound Blue Marlin to the boat . The other odd thing about this Blue Marlin was the fact that it did not have a bill, apparently lost probably to a predator at a young age because the tip was completely healed over.

Patrick Neville trusts the boat and captain saying, “Why change a good thing, it works for us and we are a great team together. Over my 10 years in coming to Cabo for sportfishing at Pisces, we have caught over 40 Striped Marlin, we love the destination, we love the people and when we first met Julio, we were ‘hooked.’ This is our third time fishing with our friends Thomas and Penny and it looks like, the third time was the charm!”

Captain Julio Castro added, “This is the 2nd biggest Blue Marlin catch in my life, the other being 758 pounds but the experience this time is second-to-none. We were blessed with a bit of luck today.”
A buzz was in the air all day as news of a giant Blue Marlin catch circulated around Cabo San Lucas quickly amongst the locals, tourists and heavy-hitting anglers readying and registering for the Bisbee’s - World’s Biggest Black & Blue Marlin Tournament. As the boat drew near to the weigh station at center stage right in front of the Puerto Paraiso Mall, a big crowd of anglers and media outlets had gathered in anticipation.
 Another twist in the story was the size of the boat itself. A modest-sized boat at only 31-feet drew attention itself when the fish was being pulled up to be weighed. Onlookers and anglers were asking around, “is that the boat that pulled in the huge Marlin?” Jean Neville and Penny Heinz said to a few people that, “If we hadn’t had the Tracy Ann, we might have lost the fish because of the ease in maneuvering with the Blue Marlin. Literally, we had to keep up with the marlin and angle the boat on a dime throughout the catch.”


Quoted by Mrs. Tracy Ehrenberg, General Manager of Pisces Sportfishing and Yacht Charters in Los Cabos for more than 30 years, “You don’t need to have a big boat to catch a big fish. The Tracy Ann is only a 31-foot boat. It really is about being in the right place at the right time. Most often, a great captain who knows the local waters will be able to guide anglers to excellent fishing areas, which will change, on a daily basis. A combination of having a great captain, maybe even the right bait or lure and then as with any sport, you need a little bit of luck for the best opportunities sportfishing in Cabo has to offer.”
 Mario Bañaga, photographer, videographer and Dock Master for Pisces Sportfishing also noticed a peculiar thing on the Blue Marlin…an old wound on the right side of this female fish. “Most likely, a good-sized squid may have attacked the Blue Marlin years ago because when you look at the coloration and damage that was caused, it is like an old mark in the skin.” Mario added, “It brings me great joy to see friendly repeat clients like the ones who caught the 746-Pound Marlin enjoying themselves. They never expected to catch a huge fish but were here for the adventure. It just so happens that they achieved greatness today.”

Captain Julio Castro has been awarded the Billfish Foundation award in 2005, 06, 09 and 2010 for most striped marlin released worldwide. Patrick Neville, Jean Neville, Thomas Heinz and his wife Penny Heinz will all be back fishing this Thursday on October 20th again on the same boat, with the same captain and looking for another huge marlin catch.

We asked what the friends were going to do with the 746-Pound Blue Marlin and they said, “Give it to the best captain in Los Cabos and go have a party. And…get some rest and be ready for our next fishing days on the Tracy Ann this Thursday and Friday of this week!”
by Seth Romans

The Cyclops Shark Resurfaces

As you remember the photos of the one eyed albino shark that we posted here went viral a few months ago causing a sensation. Well the shark was considered so bizarre that it made onto Cracked.com and to number four on their list of "The Six Most Mind Blowing Things Ever Caught by Fishermen" with the title "Mexican Fisherman Renders Photoshop Obsolete" . This rather tongue in cheek site, has some pretty funny stories. The paper written by shark expert Felipe Galvan is about to be published and we will bring that to you when it is ready.
You can see the cracked story here:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19466_the-6-most-mind-blowing-things-ever-caught-by-fishermen.html

Pisces Weekly Fish Report October 1st to 7th 2011

Overall Catch Success Rate 97%

BILLFISH:  Regular Pisces client Art Hevener from Philadelphia,  started the week out with a bang, fishing aboard  “La Brisa”  with family and friends, with a catch of two blue marlin, around 200 lbs each and an approximate 130 lb striped marlin; all released at the Golden Gate, with both blues on lures and the striper on live bait. October 3^rd, was also a good day for blue marlin, albeit smallish ones with both “Tracy Ann” and “Rebecca” getting solid hook ups, on blue/green lures.  Jeff Raben from Scottsdale, Arizona was the angler on “Rebecca” and he was very fortunate to go on to catch seven and a half tuna – with a shark helping itself to lunch as the last tuna was reeled in. “Tracy Ann” had a fabulous day on October 3^rd with a blue marlin and two for John A. Guerrieri from Bromn OH and Steve Wood from Haslet TX. The blue marlin was a lure fish, whilst the sailfish were boat taken on live bait. Dennis Strunk from Ferguson Kentucky went out on “Andrea” with this boat deciding to go a different direction to most boats, into the Sea of Cortes and up towards Palmilla to the 11.50 spot, where their hunch was proved right, leading them to release a blue marlin, a striped marlin and land three dorado.    Dale Darmante from New York was pleased to release both a striped marlin and a sailfish aboard “Adriana”, also at the 11.50 spot. Last year we had angler Maarten Durant, travel all the way from New Zealand to fish with us aboard “Shambala”, a beautiful 60 ft Hatteras, he was impressed and came back this year and released a blue marlin and a sailfish both on lures at the 95 spot. On October 4^th “Rebecca” loaded upon fish, on the Pacific side near Pozo de Cota for Paul Colombo and friends from Chandler, Arizona – they released a blue marlin that took a dead ballyhoo, a nice 40 lb wahoo and seven. Forty-two percent of boats caught billfish, consisting of 11 Striped Marlin were caught, all released, 13 pacific sailfish, all released, and 8 Blue marlin, 7 were released.

OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches remain steady, with sixty percent of boats catching fish in the 20-30 lb class, with catches of one to seven fish per boat in diverse areas. Thirty three percent of charters caught tuna, but we are seeing some real size on this species with catches of 100 lb plus fish not uncommon. Biggest one for us however, was by Steve Wood, mentioned also for billfish in this report. Steve hauled in a 210 lb beauty aboard “La Brisa” on a yellow and orange lure, thirty miles from the Old Lighthouse. The same day, “C-ROD caught 10 yellowfin tuna between 20 and 180 lbs in the same area for Rick Rudd from Danville CA. Inshore  boats reported some nice multiple wahoo  catches on the Pacific, as well as some, as well as some roosterfish and pilot sharks.

LOCATION: Golden Gate, Jaime Banks, 95, 11:50 spot, Old Lighthouse.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: 90 to 92F.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 85 – 87F

BEST LURES: Dead ballyhoo, blue & green, yellow orange.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg and Jorge Narro

Pisces Weekly Fish Report September 24th to 30th

Overall Catch Success Rate 93%

BILLFISH: Very exciting week for marlin, as many of you have probably read on our blog, a 1213 lbs Blue Marlin was caught last Saturday by Richard Biehl from Traverse City, MI, he went aboard the “Go Deep”, hooked a marlin and fought for it for 28 hours straight, for the full story visit http://preview.tinyurl.com/3d8tfq9 .

Besides the monster blue, we had some impressive catches, Kathie Neyman & Henry Skooh from Roswell GA, each released striped marlin estimated at 200+ lbs aboard the “Adriana”, this species weights an average of 140 lbs. “Attitude Adjustment” released a 250 lbs Blue Marlin for Chris Howe from Pendleton IN. On the 26th, was caught using pink & blue lure 22 miles straight out from the Old Lighthouse, “Tracy Ann” released the 2nd and last blue of the week, estimated at 200 lbs and landed a 30, a 70 and an 80 lbs yellow fin tunas for Marshal Beckham from Sullivans Island SC, marlin was caught on a yellow lure at San Jaime. On September 27th, “Adriana” released 2 pacific sailfish for Bill Spitteri from San Bruno and Ray & Judy Morris from Irvine CA. “Falcon” released one striped marlin, one pacific sailfish and landed 5 dorados and 5 yellow fin tunas for Greg Taylor and Ed Madden from Palo Cedro, CA. 32.5% of Pisces charters caught billfish, a total of 9 striped marlin, 5 pacific sailfish and 2 blue marlin, all of them released. * the 1213 lbs marlin was not caught on a Pisces boat.

OTHER SPECIES: Great week for Dorado and HUGE tunas, “Andrea” caugh 12 tunas for Mark Ihme from Denver CO, one of them weighed 135 lbs, this guy was on the same party of John David, the star of the report last week, they brought tuna stakes for the whole state of Colorado between them, however, “C-ROD” broke this week’s record with a 285 lbs yellow fin tuna for Brian Nelson from Dallas TX. “Rebecca” boated a 190lbs yellowfin for Paul Holman from Santa Fe NM and Barry Kriegsfield from Phoenix AZ. Then “Tracy Ann” caught a 130 pounder for the Wesneski family from Maryland and New Jersey. 32.5% of our boats caught yellow fin tuna this week, and 68% caught dorado.

Timothy Caruso with his Dorado caught aboard the 37ft "Falcon"

LOCATION: San Jaime, Old Lighthouse, Los Arcos, Destiladeras, Pozo Cota.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: 90 to 94F.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 85 – 88F

BEST LURES: Caballito, green lures, petroleros.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Jorge Narro

Wish It Was The Tuna Tournament Already....

We wish it was the tuna tournament already, because we are sure our boats would be in the top places. We have had a slew of 100 lb plus tuna in the last two weeks, so lets hope they stay until early next month.  This 210 lb beauty was caught aboard "Rebecca" with Captain Rey Winkler at the helm (not related to Fonzie)  and angler Steve Wood from Haslet, Texas on the rod. The fish took a live caballito 25 miles off of the Old Lighthouse and took two hours to bring to the boat on 60 lb test line. Nice fish!

Tuna Time in Cabo

This video was taken yesterday by our dockmaster Mario. Despite everything that is going on the economy etc. it is always important to make time for friends and family and invest in some lifetime moments that money can’t buy. Do something fun and cool like Cabo for fishing. These guys did very well to land some large tuna that will keep them in fillets of organic (seeing as that is the fashion) tuna for months to come. Well done!

New Record in Cabo? Blue Marlin 1213 lbs!

A 1213 lb Blue Marlin was caught in Cabo San Lucas yesterday, or should we say Saturday, as the fish took 28 hours to boat!

“That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life by far. I’ve shot bull moose and trekked out with 200 lbs on my back and it doesn’t even compare. It was the greatest experience of my life. I travel all around the world, Africa, Asia and nothing comes close to this”. Angler Richard Biehl,  Traverse City, MI



The monster, which could be a new Cabo record was caught by Richard Biehl from Traverse City, MI, aboard a 31 ft Blackfin “Go Deep”. We had a chance to speak with the crew and get the whole story. Captain Luis Abaroa comes from a long line of fisherman, all great in their own right; his grandfather, father, uncle and brother have all landed fish over 1000 lbs.

They took off from the dock at 7.00 am on Saturday morning with two anglers on board and headed to the 95 spot, where Luis thought he could find some marlin. Lines were in the water by 7.30 am and they started to troll. At 8.20 am a huge marlin crashed on the right outrigger which was set up with a small Zuker guacamaya lure (orange/green/yellow) intended more for striped marlin. They saw the fish jump completely out of the water about 400 feet from the boat and looked at each and other and told the angler, “That’s a big fish, around 700 lbs”, the fight then began, with the captain being super careful, knowing he only had 60 lb line, on a Shimano 50. Luis would wait for the fish to take out half the spool then quickly follow him, recover the whole spool of line and then follow again; his objective was to not let the fish go down but to follow him around , as he said “kind of like taking a strong dog for a walk on a leash”.

 Poor Richard slaved away at the reel, barely seeming to make a dent in the brute strength of this fish. By 5.00 pm they were out of food and water and had to resort to drinking the melted ice water in the cooler. Luis called his brother Frankie another captain, who showed up with supplies and to keep them company. The fish jumped one more time before sunset, this time closer and they reconsidered their size estimate, to 800 to 1000 lbs. By this time Richard could not go on and, Frankie’s deckhand went aboard to work on the fish, reeling and waiting. They continued to be patient and settled in for the night, with the guys struggling to stay awake at times. Frankie’s boat provided light so they could see the line. As the sun rose the fish continued to fight on and the deckhand was relieved by the angler. By 9.00 am the crew decided they had to do something; they rigged up a special snag set, consisting of four hooks, tossed it  at the fish and hooked it in the cheek. Now with two anglers pumping away at the fish it finally tired and they were able to get it alongside the boat. 



Frankie rigged up a snag set to help bringthe marlin to the boat.

Even With Two Anglers on The Fish It Still Took Another Three Hours to Bring to the Boat

Richard the angler, said, “It’s a once in a lifetime fish. I want to take him”. That said, they gaffed him and tried to get him on board, but the huge body would not fit through the transom door, so they had to leave half of the fish in the water and motor back to port. The fish had taken them a long way, with them ending up 30 miles off of the Old Lighthouse. The leader was 300 lb but had stretched so much, it looked like 100 lb, and one of the hooks in the lure had also sheared off.


The Fish Was So Large That It Wouldn't Fit in the Boat

 Back at the dock, they had to borrow an electronic scale from another boat which showed 972 lbs, however they could not get it completely clear of the floor, so measured the fish which was 137 inches long, without the bill and had a girth of 75 inches. According to the formula used the fish was 1213 lbs. Richard must be a real aficionado though, he went out again today and released a striped marlin and caught a tuna, but then believe it or not got sea-sick! Anyways just shows Cabo and Mexico are still the best spot in the world for fishing

The Boat Motored Back with Half  the Fish in the Water

*please note the fish was not caught aboard a Pisces boat. Fish was caught aboard a local charter boat "Go Deep"

Pisces Weekly Fish Report September 17th to September 23rd

Overall Catch Success Rate 97.7%

BILLFISH: Excellent week, billfish are starting to pop again and in good numbers. We are beginning to see more Blue Marlin as October closes in, the “Great Escape Jr” caught a 280 lbs Blue for Graham Osborne from LA, CA.  “Tracy Ann “ released a Pacific Sailfish and landed a 22 lbs tuna and a 20 lbs dorado for Ivan Kury from Monterrey, Mexico. Same day “Ruthless “ caught another Blue Marlin of 210 lbs, for Daniel Mirisola also from Los Angeles. On the 18^th “La Brisa” caught a 200 lbs Blue marlin and 3 tunas for George Willard, from Lebanon OR, same day “Andrea” caught two Striped Marlin one was weighet at 140 lbs and the other one was successfully released by Nila Vanacore from Cedar City UT. September 19^th, “Andrea” hooked a Blue Marlin estimated at 200 lbs for Walter David, he struggled with the fish for a little over two hours, to successfully release the fish, little after, they had a triple hookup, 3 tunas about 40 lbs each, the anglers were thrilled already with the success of the trip, when a 4^th line zipped off, the line was almost gone so Captain Nicolas maneuvered the boat until one of the anglers could take the rod, John David was the lucky guy, he fought the fish for an hour and forty-five minutes to boat it, it was a very nice 160 lbs yellow fin tuna. 33.3% of the boats caught billfish this week, 6 striped marlin, 5 released, 4 pacific sailfish, all released, and 6 blue marlin, 3 were released.

OTHER SPECIES: Good week for small game as well, with 50% of the boats returning with Dorado flags and 48% with tuna.  Dorado catched started slow with only one or two fish per boat, later it got much better as they were coming back with 4 to 8 dorados per boat, this week we caught a total of 86 dorados. Tuna was average, between 3 to 6 fish per boat, ranging from 20 to 45 lbs except for the 160 lbs John David caught as we mentioned before. There were some nice catches, “Falcon” caught 14 tunas from 20 – 30 lbs for Ricky Stutts from Magnolia TX, “Andrea” again for John David’s party, 14 yellowfin from 10 to 40 lbs, Castle Rock CO will be eating a lot of fish for a while.

LOCATION: Herradura, 20 to 30 miles from the Old Lighthouse, Los Arcos.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: 90 to 94F.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 84 – 86F

BEST LURES: Green petroleros, caballito.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Jorge Narro

What Does Your Office Look LIike?

Well we don't know what your workplace looks like but this photo shows what our crews "office" looks like. Shown here is Beto Lira from Ruthless prepping for a day of fishing.

So What Did You Do Today?

Well most of spent a long day at the grindstone working, but not John David from Denver, Colorado, he is much smarter than us. He spent a day on the water aboard our 28 ft "Andrea", under blue skies and hooked this big tuna 25 miles off of the Old Lighthouse. He got a work out though, as it took him one hour and forty five minutes to bring this 160 lb'er to the boat after it took a live caballito.