PISCES WEEKLY FISH REPORT December 1st - 7th, 2018
Capt. Tracy Ehrenberg
December 9, 2018
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Overall catch success rate, all species combined: 95%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 64%, Tuna 13%, Dorado 46%, other 10%.
Another amazing week of fishing in Cabo! The Finger Bank continues to delight us with EXCELLENT fishing, double digits of striped marlin and sailfish for anyone that heads up there. Blue marlin caught this week as well, along with a larger number of wahoo compared to last week, and dorado numbers holding strong. There has been more variety in what anglers are searching out this week too, but Cabo fishing has proven why its #1 in the world, as those seeking other species have found them, including roosterfish, sierra mackerel and grouper, as welll as tuna. Beginning this week, as mentioned briefly in our previous fish report, the Pisces 32' Bill Collector landed a monster 201 tuna, to continue their amazing fishing streak this week!
This week Pisces 31' Ruthless has been on fire! They headed to the Finger Bank various days and caught and released a total of 68 striped marlin there. They also landed 16 yellowfin tuna in one day and were one of our top dorado producing boats.
The Ruthless' most productive day was December 4th, with anglers the Jackson family from California releasing 27 Stripers! The majority of fish weighed approximately 100 - 130 lbs, while a few were about 150 plus. They used live mackerel bait. The next day, the Ruthless headed back up to the Finger, this time with anglers from Colorado Springs, who caught and released 23 striped marlin around the same size and weight, using mackerel bait once again. Their yellowfin were caught on December 7th by anglers from Idaho and ranged in size from 10 to 25 lbs each. These were caught outside of the Golden Gate area on feather lures and cedar plugs. They also landed a nice wahoo of about 30 lbs at Gaspareno earlier in the week, along with 8 dorado that ranged in size from 10 to 20 lbs; these hit on mackerel bait out of Cerros de Arena spot.
Pisces 42' Caliente caught and released an impressive 36 Striped Marlin at the Finger this week as well, all fish ranged between 80 and 100 lbs each, using mackerel and ballyhoo bait. Both the Pisces Tag Team Viking Yachts fished the Finger this week with anglers John Sercu and friends. The 72' Tag Team caught and released 14 striped marlin while the, while the 37' Tag Team III released 17!
The Pisces 31' Tracy Ann, also had very consistent catches out at the Finger but closer to Cabo as well, as we have started to see the marlin move down to the Golden Gate Bank this week. Brenda and Darren Ottenbreit from Saskatchewan fished with Captain Julio and Deckhand Martin.The couple have been fishing with the Tracy Ann for the past five years, but had never experienced the Finger. I can't say it any better than they did, so here it is:
"We were hoping to catch around 10 marlin but we kind of underestimated what the Tracy Ann crew could do. We have fished with them 4 times now and they always produce but this was an epic adventure ending up with 23 striped marlin caught and released safely. Martin was so quick at getting the bait out and hooked up that we hardly had time for pictures or even a drink of water. Julio always got us back to the feeding fish quickly after we released the ones we fought hard to get to the boat. We had a double header every time and a couple times were triple headers as Martin got in on the action too! The action in the water was amazing watching the lit up marlin tear through the bait balls.
It was great to be with guys who just love to fish. Plenty of smiles and laughs along the way as well as super sore arms and backs and blisters on the fingers. Took about 3 days to get back to normal but it was definitely worth it. Can't wait till the next time."
On December 6th, anglers David Palmer and James Schrank from Texas caught and released 14 striped marlin between 100 and 150 lbs approx at the Finger on mackerel bait with Tracy Ann as well. The next day the guys decided to stay closer to Cabo and had an awesome day as well, catching and releasing 3 striped marlin this time and 10 dorado! They used ballyhoo and mackerel bait as well as green/blue lures fro the dorado. They fished out of the Cerros de Arena area.
More marlin closer by to Cabo at the Golden Gate bank by Tracy Ann, where they released 6 stripers of about 120 lbs each. They used mackerel bait and landed a dorado and wahoo as well. Anglers were from Golversville, New Jersey. Angler Nathan Crowe set out on a solo fishing mission with Tracy Ann as well, bringing 4 striped marlin to the leader and releasing successfully. He also caught 2 dorado of about 10 - 12 lbs at the Cerros de Arena. And on another solo fishing mission, angler Justin Fischer (appropriately named), caught and released 9 striped marlin (they hooked 12) at the Golden Gate bank on Pisces 31' Rebecca with Captain JR and Mate Luis Cota. The largest of the stripeys weighed approx 160 lbs, while the majority were in the 120 lbs size range.
Pisces 32' Bill Collector had an impressive half day of fishing, releasing 4 striped marlin between 100 and 140 lbs each at Los Arcos on mackerel bait. They also had a very nice day of dorado fishing, with owner Mark Chiavetta on board. They caught 27 dorado of which they released 19, respecting catch limits. They also caught 4 yellowfin tuna! And of course, the most notable catch for the Bill Collector this week may be the 201 lbs yellowfin tuna caught last Sunday by anglers Annett, David and Jacob Barton from CA. They also caught another 4 tunas, of about 15 lbs each.
And for the only blue marlin of the week, we saw Pisces 38' C Rod catch and release an approximate 200 lbs blue out of Cerros de Arena on mackerel bait. There they landed 4 dorado on mackerel as well; ranging in size from 10 to 15 each approx. Anglers were the Pedroni and Etcheber families from Novato, CA.
For more on other species, the Pisces 31' Cabolero did well to land two nice wahoos this week, one of about 15 lbs and the other of about 35 lbs. The fish hit on mackerel bait and feather lure at Los Arcos.
Pisces 35' Knot Workin searched out and found the tunas with 6 yellowfin (20 lbs each approx) caught out at the 240 Spot on hoochi lures. Anglers Bill Bunting and Robert Schwab also caught 3 dorado of about 15 - 20lbs each.
There was also a few roosterfish, grouper and needlefish caught by inshore anglers, the most notable catch being that of Mr. Victor Caldwell from South Carolina who had the rooster fish on his bucket list. The rooster fish which was about 30 to 35 lbs approx took mackerel bait out at Las Margaritas and was successfully released aboard Pisces 23' Panga Samantha.
LOCATION: Finger Bank, Cerros de Arena, Golden Gate Bank.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Calm seas, wind picked up beginning the week one or two days. Some rain on Dec 7th, but didn't affect fishing.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: Temperature varied a few degrees depending on location, from 76 - 81 F.
BEST LURES: Mackerel bait, ballyhoo; Varied lures: green/blue, hoochis, cedar plugs, feathers.
Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing Fleet and written by Rebecca Ehrenberg
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