FAST AND FURIOUS MARLIN ACTION AT THE GOLDEN GATE
Overall Catch Success Rate, All Species Combined: 98%
Billfish Catch Success Rate, 59%, Tuna 26%, Dorado 64%, Other Species 10%
Another successful week of fishing in Cabo with Pisces, as 105 out of 108 boats that went out caught fish. 59% of catches were billfish: striped marlin between 80 and 130 lb mostly. We released 355 marlin in total, which was lower than last week. Also, whereas last week most big marlin release numbers were produced at the Finger Bank, this week we saw better numbers at the Golden Gate.
Top boats at Golden, like Pisces 42’ “Yahoo,” released up to 14 marlin in a day, and many other boats also had nice dorado catches there. Still, Finger Bank action early on in the week was good, with top boats like Pisces 46’ “La Chingona” releasing 73 marlin in one day.
Dorado were the most productive target species this week, with 227 fish caught.
Tuna caught was mostly football-sized: 185 caught total for the fleet, making up 26% of our catches.
In our “other species” category we had a few boats opting for inshore fishing. They succeeded in releasing quite a few nice roosterfish: up to 6 released in a day, for example, by Pisces 37’ “BBII.”
This week again we had a few shark releases, including some nice makos and threshers. Other species caught were sierra mackerel, bonita, skipjack, grouper, and triggerfish.
Regarding billfish catches, Pisces 46’ “La Chingona” had 123 marlin released total this week: she was our top billfish boat. The big release numbers were a result of heading mostly to the Finger Bank; for comparison, on a day close to home they had 8 marlin released at Golden Gate.
Pisces 46’ “La Chingona” had 42 striped marlin released on mackerel bait, with fish averaging 100 lb each for the Low family and friends. The next day out at the Finger Bank, they released 73 Marlin.
Pisces 42’ “Yahoo” had a great week with 44 marlin released in total close to Cabo, mainly at the Golden Gate. On the best day, they released 14 striped marlin, and had 5 dorado and 2 tuna. All marlin were caught on mackerel, with most billfish averaging between 100 and 130 lb. On another day, 5 striped marlin were released on live mackerel at Golden and 3 dorado up to 20 lbs were caught.
Pisces 45’ “My Way” had 8 striped marlin released between 100 and 120 lb on mackerel at Golden Gate.
Pisces 60’ “Happy Ending” released 2 striped marlin on mackerel and ballyhoo as well as 3 dorado of about 10 and 20 lb, also on mackerel, at Golden Gate for the Sposeto family.
Pisces 31’ “Ruthless” had dorado and 10 yellowfin tuna of about 15 lbs each at San Jaime Bank on cedar plug lures. Of note are the 13 tuna averaging 20 lb for Pisces 30’ “Karina” for angler Ben Crafton and friends out at San Jaime Bank.
In our “other species” category, Pisces 35’ “Valerie” opted for a half-day inshore with angler Mike McCoy and friends. They landed a little bit of everything: 1 dorado of about 12 lbs at Migrino on feather lure, 15 sierra mackerel on hoochies and rapalas, 1 bonita, 6 needlefish released, and 4 triggerfish. On another day, Pisces 35’ “Valerie” had 8 sierra mackerel for the Scully family from Idaho.
Pisces 31’ “La Brisa” also enjoyed some fun days inshore with 15 sierra mackerel ranging between 6 to 10 lb on hoochies, plus triggerfish and others.
There were still a few decent wahoos coming through! Pisces 42’ “Sea Señora” had a 50 lb wahoo with angler Frank Cvar and also released 2 striped marlin.
Pisces 28’ “Adriana” had 1 mako shark released of about 80 lb caught on mackerel at Golden Gate.
LOCATIONS: Golden Gate Bank, San Jaime Bank, Finger Bank. Inshore: Old Lighthouse to Migrino.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Some days calm, with 2-3 feet waves. Other days the seas were choppy, with wind towards the end of the week, mostly in the afternoon.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 69-72 F
BEST LURES: Mackerel, ballyhoo, cedar plugs.
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