Overall Catch Success Rate, All Species Combined 91.59%
Billfish Catch Success Rate 91.59%, Billfish, 64.49% Dorado 48.60% Tuna 15.89% Other Species 16.82%
We began this week with 5 to 6-foot waves, just as we did last week, and once again, we had 11 to 12-knot winds. However, that didn’t deter Captain Osiel and his mate Joel from heading out to one of their favorite sites, the Los Arcos Bank, aboard the “BB ll,” in a tricked-out 37′ Viking. Long before they arrived, they could see the “bird schools” in the Binos hovering above bait balls driven to the surface by the feeding striped marlin.
Guests Antonio Moreno, Gonzalo Castro, Jesús De Luna, and Rodrigo Gutiérrez from San Antonio, Texas, watched in awe as the boat slid onto the spot. Mate Joel put out the lures before adding a couple of cocinero bait fish on the bait rods to drop back if the stripers should appear behind the colorful lures as they bubbled in the wake.
It seemed like only minutes before a telltale iridescent blue dorsal and tail quivered behind the lure on a line attached to the portside outrigger. Before anyone could drop the hooked bait back, the clicker on the trolling reel howled as the hungry fish inhaled the lure and streaked off toward the horizon.
Throughout the morning, the scene repeated itself over and again. The colorful dorado wanted to play in the game and competed with the stripers for the lures and the dropback bait. Before it was over, the gang of anglers had caught and released four striped marlin estimated to weigh between 100 and 120 pounds, plus four dorado weighing between 15 and 20 pounds!
In an entirely different area, Captain Bruce and Mate Mario aboard a 28′ Uniflite, the “ADRIANA,” had heard some information from a fellow Captain that striped marlin were found at the Cabeza De Ballena the day before.
Hoping to avoid the crowd, they headed in that direction with their group, Lincoln and Melanie Mayer and T J Leadbetter, all from Houston, Texas.
They found lots of bird life, which was an encouraging sign. Before long, a few feeding fish began to appear on the surface of the 72-degree water! By late morning, they had scored! They had caught and released four striped marlin in the 100 to the 120-pound class range, and all were taken on caballito despite the 8 to 10-knot breeze.
Throughout the week, the trick was to figure out where the fish would be the following day!
Fortunately, many of the members of our Pisces Fleet have acquired extraordinary knowledge of the waters surrounding the tip of Baja for their entire lives, as well as being welcomed as members of the Cabo Sportfishing community, which allows them daily updates from the local networks.
“BILL COLLECTOR II,” a 35′ Cabo Flybridge run by Captain Lopez and Mate Martinez, managed to locate four striped marlin weighing an estimated 100 to 120 pounds for guests, Carl and Monica Townsend, Janice Littlefield, and Karen Hamilton. They released all the marlin, plus they caught one dorado. All the fish were caught on Ballyhoo at Cerros de Arena and Primera Piedras.
“ADRIANA,” a 28′ Uniflite with Captain Frank at the helm and Mate Noe overseeing the cockpit,
ran to a spot 26 miles from the harbor entrance where the yellowfin had been caught the day before. Scott and Tegan Huska from Drayton Valley, Alberta, Canada, had quite a day catching nine yellowfin tuna.
Captain Rosendo Gomez and Mate Carlos Santos took their clients Randall King, Abigail Shovlin, Daniel Shovlin, and Julie King from Monroe, Washington, aboard the “TIBURON,” 31′ Bertram to the Cero del Golden, where they released one striped marlin of approximately 100 pounds, plus they caught a dorado weighing 21 pounds on a lure.
“LA CHINGONA,” a 46′ Viking run by Captain Miguel, and Mates Nestor and Pablo for anglers Adrien Stern, Elisa Morcira, Jacob Mustaklen, Nikoloz Darchiashuilli, Kristan Curtil, Vannis Meche from California, caught and released eight striped marlin weighing from up to 100 pounds on Ballyhoo released at the Brecha Bank plus two dorado in the 15 to 20-pound range on Ballyhoo at Migrino Bank.
The “SEA SENORA,” a 42′ Post Sport Fisher with Captain Carmelo and Mate Omar released two striped marlin ranging from 100 to 120 pounds on caballito at CABEZA DE BALLENA.
“BILL COLLECTOR II” Flybridge Captain Lopez and Mate Martinez found a prize catch of a 15-pound wahoo on a feather lure at Gorda Cerro COL for lady angler Regina Ruggiero.
“BILL COLLECTOR II” Flybridge Captain Lopez and Mate Martinez found a prize catch of a 15-pound wahoo on a feather lure at Gorda Cerro COL for lady angler Regina Ruggiero.
LOCATION: Los Arcos, Magrino, Lobera, Brecha Bank, Cabeza de Ballena, 26 miles at 150, Pamilla and 1150 spot,
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Overall calm seas, moderate winds on some days tapering off by midday – between 5 and 11 kts.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 71-76
BEST LURES: Mackerel, Ballyhoo and Cosinero, Cedar Plugs. and marlin lures