Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas!

A Different & Beautiful Christmas Story

The real Christmas story is impossible to beat, but spending time with family and friends is the best part about Christmas these days. So this is what the Hall family from Camarillo, California are doing. After much planning they decided on Cabo San Lucas and seeing as they wanted a really special fishing trip, they decided to book "Shambala" our 60 ft Hatteras with Captain T.J Dobson. This trip was to be one of firsts, not least when 87 year old Lynn Hall caught and released his very first striped marlin.

A Spry Looking 87 Year Old Lynn Hall, Poses with his Striped Marlin Before Releasing It.
 Not to be outdone the younger generation got in on the action as Lynn's grandson, Eric Olson from Corona del Mar, California, also released a striped marlin.

Eric Olson from Corona Del Mar, Ca. also released a striped marlin.
They then decided to look for some sharks to try something different and they soon spotted something on the surface. They motored over to find a poor turtle caught in a commercial fishing rig consisting of buoys and lines.

The Distressed Turtle was Brought on Board with his  Unwanted Appendages
He had become entangled around his left front flipper and the thick nylon rope had already cut deep into his flesh.

The Nylon Line was Deeply Embedded Around the Flipper
 They pulled him aboard and quickly set about cutting the nylon line away, before safely setting him back into the ocean.

Without their intervention he would have been facing death in a short time, so it was like he got a new lease on life and was born again.

Lines were set back in the water and almost immediately they got hit; the prize turned out to be a 60 lb wahoo reeled in by Tony Westover from Arizona.


 It was like a reward from heaven for their good deed. Call me sentimental if you like; I am. What a memorable day for this family and a Christmas they will  never forget.
The Hall Family & Friends, 87 Year Old Patriarch Lynn Hall  Shown Center in Place of  Honor.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Just another day at the office...

David Evans, From: Vancouver, B.C.  grabbed a Striped Marlin approximately 160 lbs. fought with him for 45 min. 3 miles from the old lighthouse, also grabbed 3 tunas as 20 to 25 lbs. photos taken by his partner Dannielle Carter-Brugman.

Boat: Adriana Capt. Enrique Martinez & Fernando Noyola.   



Sunday, December 18, 2011

This Weeks Fish Report

December 10th to 16th, 2011

Overall Catch Success Rate 84%
Valerie was our top boat this week; shown here newly refurbished
BILLFISH: Once again this week not many boats out fishing due to the lack of visitors in Cabo, nevertheless there were quite a few good catches, such as an out of season blue marlin of 450 lbs caught aboard the Yahoo, just three miles off of Pozo de Cota where they were targeting dorado (perhaps the reason the blue was there). Craig Alterman from Newport Beach, Ca managed to reel this large fish in an hour and half after it took a green and yellow lure intended for dorado, which they had also caught earlier as well as a striped marlin. One of the best catches of the week was on December 10th, by “Valerie”, our recently refurbished 35 ft Bertram, who had Larry Harrel & Bob Engstrom from Gilette, Wyoming on board. The fished from Gaspareño to Golden Gate, on the Pacific side and did extremely well to release four striped marlin on live bait and to catch nine dorado. A couple of days later these same anglers aboard the same boat released another two striped marlin and caught eight doardo and a wahoo too. There were a couple of other boats who had two marlin days, such as Shambala and La Brisa, but with a big moon all week, fish were a little reluctant to bite. Besides this location did vary; they could be found at Gaspareño, Golden Gate and on a couple of days the complete opposite direction at Palmilla. Fifty two percent of our boats caught marlin, giving us a total of 19 billfish this week.
Larry Harrel from Gilette Wyoming, had a great time on Valerie this week fishing with his favorite captain Roberto Sandez - six marlin, (released)  seventeen doardo and a wahoo.

OTHER SPECIES: Surprisingly there are still a lot of dorado around and this species was our top catch this week with sixty percent of charters catching between one and fourteen fish in the 15 to 25 lb class. Matt Basco from Los Angeles, California was our top angler for this species, with fourteen fish caught, some released, caught between Gaspareño and Los Arcos on a combination of mackerel, caballito and green and orange lures – our dorado tally was 53 fish. Yellow fin tuna dropped right off this week and were found seven to twenty eight miles off shore, but when found catches were rarely more than three fish around 20 lbs. There were a couple of very small wahoo plus the odd sierra. Steve Sprint from Lakeville, Minnesota released a 60 lb hammerhead shark off of Las Margaritas after it took live jurel bait.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy all week, unusual grey skies but no rain, seas mostly calm.

LOCATION: Gaspareño three miles out, Los Arcos, Migriño, Golden Gate, Pamilla.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 72-74 F
BEST LURES: Live mackerel, caballito, green/yellow and orange colors.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Out of Season Blue Marlin for Yahoo

On December 11th, "Yahoo" the 42 ft Bertram was in for a surprise; they were cruising near the coast, three miles off of Pozo de Cota on the Pacific, on the look out for dorado. Angler Craig Alterman, from Newport Beach, Ca. was on board with friend Alvin Franklin from Rockwall, Texas. They were already into the dorado, when a large marlin hit a medium size green/yellow lure on Craig's rod. It took him an hour and a half to bring the 450 lb fish to the boat, whilst Alvin managed to release a striped marlin.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Cool Photo by Mario

Mario Bañaga our dockmaster has a lot of talents; one of them is photography, an art he learned from his father from a young age. Here is a sample of Mario's work. He caught these dolphin in action a few days ago, from the Valerie. Dolphin are usually a sign of tuna in the area.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Updated Fish Report

DECEMBER 3rd to 9th, 2011



Overall Catch Success Rate 73%


Deckhand Fernando  aboard Adriana prepares to leader this active striped marlin.
BILLFISH: This week fisherman were scarcer than fish as we entered what is traditionally known as the slowest time of year for visitors, in the period after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. With the moon waxing, fish were less hungry than normal and at times even when marlin were found they could not be coaxed to take the live bait offered them. Some boats though, did quite well, such as “Ruthless” our 31 ft Bertram on December 4th, who fished at Los Arcos with anglers Joseph Lanigan & David Brown from New York aboard, they were able to release three striped marlin in the 110 to 130 lb class on live “jurelito” which is a type of jack as well as boat a 20 lb dorado that took a red lure. “Valerie” now back in the water after a total refit, was out on December 6th, just below the Golden Gate with Pat Currie and friends from Summerland, Canada where they were able to release three striped marlin, boat a dorado and wahoo too. Our last triple marlin day was had by “La Brisa” on December 8th this time closer at Gaspareño with Dinah and David Oppenheim from Midpines, California aboard; they also landed a dorado. We had a solitary sailfish aboard “Attitude Adjustment” for Roberto Joseph from Gary, Indiana, who also released a striped marlin both at Golden Gate. We heard again that there are marlin just below Mag Bay, so they should be working their way towards Cabo in the coming weeks. Fifty five percent of our charters caught billfish this week consisting of 17 marlin and 1 sailfish – all released.


OTHER SPECIES: Marlin was the top catch this week, but dorado catches were steady with twenty seven percent of boats catching form one to four fish in the 15 to 25 lb class. All were on the Pacific at various locations. Tuna catches were less common with just eighteen percent of boats finding patches of them around the Herradura. When found boats managed to boat up to ten in a day of fish up to 35 lbs. Inshore just a few roosters and needlefish for us.

LOCATION: Pacific Los Arcos to Golden Gate, also Herradura for tuna.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy, some windy days which caused rough seas, some chilly nights.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: Although it doesn’t feel like it surface sea temperature charts show the water around Cabo to be 77 F.
BEST LURES: Live bait – mackerel was scarce so ballyhoo, caballito and jurelito were used; cedar plugs, guacamaya, red.


Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Friday, December 09, 2011

Meet Flor

 The newest member of Pisces Group Cabo is Flor Saldana who started with us on December 1st. Of course as part of the induction she had to meet the crews, drive a boat and catch a fish. What a tough job - sigh.... We are thrilled to have Flor joins us as she brings a lot of skills that will compliment our team, plus a beautiful smile.


Monday, December 05, 2011

Fish Report Nov. 24th to Dec 2nd, 2011

Overall Catch Success Rate 99%


BILLFISH: This week we saw some truly outstanding catches on striped marlin with six plus in a day not uncommon. So we are in suspense as to which way the fishing will go, it could suddenly explode with the never seen before numbers we experienced in 2008 or it could come in waves of super hot fishing days, followed by more standard catches, which by everywhere else’s standards are superior anyway. We just received photos from the Swedish group that are making a documentary and we have to say that the images they sent us are truly some of the most spectacular we have ever seen. Seeing as they are from their upcoming film, we have to obtain permission from them to post these but keep tuned to our blog for these amazing photos of kayak fishing. Billfish action predominantly on striped marlin was kept most anglers busy this week with sixty three percent of boats catching from one to nine fish in a day in the 90 to 160 lb class. All catches were on the Pacific with live bait being the most effective method of getting hook ups. “Shambala” makes the fish report again this week, for eight striped marlin released between 110 to 160 lbs just outside the Golden Gate, as well as three dorado for long time client Barry Suave and family from Houston, Texas fishing with guest Maria Lima from Brazil. On November 26th, 31 ft Bertram “Rebecca” topped even this catch with nine striped marlin released , plus two dorado, just two miles offshore at Gaspareño for the Delaporte family from Bernardsville, New Jersey. Fishing in the same area, aboard “La Brisa” we had Chic McSherry from Scotland, who wearing his kilt fishing for the first time, met with fortune to hook up five striped marlin, with friend Paul Young and also land two dorado. Chic we admire your courage to wear a skirt in the macho Mexican environment of the marina.

Everybody thought Chic McSherry from Scotland was brave when he showed up at the macho Mexican environment of the Cabo Marina, sporting a plaid "skirt".

 “La Brisa” scored again, this time with six striped marlin released plus a sailfish for Justin Ardoin, from Lafayette, Louisiana on November 30th. Top anglers though has to go to Lori & Ron Chabot, along with Gerry Richmond from Florida. They had a total of fourteen striped marlin over two days aboard “Rebecca” fishing at Gaspareño and the outer edge of Golden Gate. Pisces anglers caught a total of 95 billfish, consisting of 93 striped marlin and 2 sailfish; all released.
Noboy was laughing in the afternoon though, when Chic reported one of the best catches for the fleet of five striped marlin released and two dorado for him and friend Paul Young. Must have been his lucky kilt.
OTHER SPECIES: We had good action on dorado this week, though none of were notable size, with the average being 15 to 25 lbs. Sixty one percent of boats caught this species, though when found the numbers of fish caught was good ranging from one to twenty two with some good catches, close to Cabo in range of the pangas. Pisces anglers caught a total of 161 dorado this week. Tuna catches have slowed down somewhat with just seventeen percent of boats finding this prized catch, nevertheless the total tally on tuna was 67 fish. Top angler for sheer numbers was W. Etten from the Netherlands, aboard “Andrea” for twenty two fish caught up to 44 lbs, just below San Jaime, taken on cedar plugs and caballito (goggle eye). The most impressive fish though was caught by Mark Chiavetta from San Jose, California, aboard “Bill Collector”, he was fishing just above the old lighthouse and caught some smaller fish first around 20 to 25 lbs, but then thought he had hooked the bottom of the sea as he struggled to muscle in what turned out to be a 220 lb yellowfin tuna. The smaller wahoo are still around and “Fearless” was one of the boats that did well on these for angler Robert Alvarado, catching five wahoo up to 20 lbs and seven dorado. Closer to home boats caught roosterfish, needle fish and a few snappers.

LOCATION: Pacific Land’s End to Golden Gate.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: We are starting to feel a winter chill early morning and evenings; we had rain for a couple of hours on the 26th, seas some days calm others choppy.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 76-79 F

BEST LURES: live bait, red/black, guacamayos, cedar plugs.

Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Thursday, December 01, 2011

"Right Place, Right Time, Right Boat"

"Right time, right place, right boat", was what Justin Ardoin from Lafayette, Louisiana had to say after a day out aboard 31 ft Bertram "La Brisa" - and why wouldn't he say that, after all he did catch six striped marlin, averageing 120 lbs each and an 80 lb sailfish and to top it all he was fishing just three miles off shore near Gaspareño on the Pacific. Justin's release certificate is a testimony of his catch which he proudly displayed for the camera at Pisces Sportfishing headquarters....Justin a bigger smile is in order.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Why are you still freezing back home when you could be here catching marlin?

Ron & Lori Chabot from Melbourne FL, went out fishing yesterday aboard the Rebecca, they released 8 Striped Marlin from 100 to 140lbs while you were freezing back home. 


What are you waiting for?



Monday, November 28, 2011

It pays to wake up early in Cabo

Meet Greta, Pisces Group newest sales agent, she decided to go to the Marina really early this morning to see how Dockmaster Mario dispatches the boats. As soon as they were finished they grabbed a piece of live bait and threw a line in the water, after a couple of tries, there was a bite, and after 15 minutes Greta landed a beautiful 8lbs Roosterfish. This was Greta's1st time fishing from the dock and 1st Roosterfish ever. So what are you doing back home in the snow? Come on and catch some fish with Pisces!



Friday, November 25, 2011

Pisces Weekend Special

Thursday, November 24, 2011

FISH REPORT

Pisces Fish Report



November 4th to 23rd, 2011


Overall Catch Success Rate 95% (all species combined)


BILLFISH: We have had a hectic few weeks and have been unable to produce a fish report, so here is a roundup of what has been happening. First we are happy to report that we have had a taste of some of the incredible catches, like we had back in 2008 at this time of year. Case in point would be “Shambala” who on November 21st released seven striped marlin, fifteen wahoo and fifteen dorado for Barry Suave and friends from Houston at the outer edge of Golden Gate. There were quite a few catches of double striped marlin days mixed with lots of dorado, but we also had blue marlin too. “Attitude Adjustment” released an almost 400 lb blue for a client from Australia, Marco Zimit, which they hooked on a blue and orange lure off of San Jaime on November 6th. Both “Bandito” and “Adriana” also had blue marlin at the Los Arcos area in the 200 to 300 lb class. We have also had a group from Sweden that are producing a documentary and are fishing from kayaks. They have been very pleased with the action they have been guided to by the crew of “La Brisa”, even though releasing one of the marlin caused them to capsize their kayak. Forty three of charters have caught billfish, consisting of 72 striped marlin 9 sailfish and 3 blue marlin.
OTHER SPECIES: This could be called dorado month, with our boats tallying up a total of 746 fish this report, with sizes averaging 20 lbs per fish. Everything has been on the Pacific with dorado found at most of our popular fishing spots. Mostly lures have been productive though some have also been caught on live bait. Eighty five percent of boats caught dorado with catches ranging from one to thirteen fish. Tuna catches dropped considerably but there have been some really big fish 200 to 300 lbs and we also know of a new Cabo record which will be posted on our blog shortly. What was really nice was to see the amount of wahoo being caught, though most were babies and released. Nevertheless, Bill Collector did have a couple of 50 lb’ers. Boats often caught four in a day and the most was fifteen aboard Shambala. Our total wahoo count was 44 fish. Inshore we had some roosterfish, pompano, skipjack and small cabrillas.

LOCATION: Pacific, Lighthouse to Golden Gate, popular spot was Gaspareño, Los Arcos, Golden Gate.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Beautiful…mostly sunny skies, though we did have our first rain of the year during the night last week which lasted three hours and damped the dust down. Slight chill at night, seas mostly calm.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 78-79 F

BEST LURES: Live bait for striped marlin, orange/yellow, green, black lures.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Thanksgiving in Cabo

Happy Thanksgiving everybody, from a sunny and beautiful Cabo San Lucas. So how is it celebrated here? Well Americans do the whole thing, turkey, friends, get togethers, it's a big deal. Mexicans are kind of  puzzled thought they know its "tanksgivin o somin, elike dat" and are pleased if they get invited to eat something delicious and to join in. So we couldn't find a turkey picture, but thought you would enjoy this one, of a burro getting gasoline in Todos Santos

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Can You Catch Fish From the Dock?

Fishing in Cabo is very reasonable when compared to elsewhere in the world, but not everybody can afford to rent a boat. You often see locals fishing from the rocks at the entrance to the harbor and along some of the beaches, their equipment is usually very basic, sometimes just a Coke can with line wrapped around and we see them get hooked up. Dave and Megan Nolt, from Lone Tree, Colorado have fished with us many many times and were out last Thursday aboard Tracy Ann and caught four dorado, but their experience continued when they got back to shore. Mario had spotted roosterfish around the dock, borrowed a  rod from one of the boats, gave it to Dave who got this beauty. So if you don't want to rent a boat, talk to Mario and maybe he can get you hooked up.

Does This Guy Look Happy Fishing or What?


Dean Strawn from Arvada, Colorado was thrilled to catch this 40 lb yellow fin tuna and be in Cabo, from the looks of things he will be back.



Mississippi Anglers Kept Busy on Tracy Ann

Gary Owen was visting with his wife Leslie from Brandon, Mississippi and fished aboard Tracy Ann our 31 ft Bertram on November 8th, 9th and 10th and had such a good time they already booked for November of next year! This is what Gary had to say and the pictures say even more:

"Ady,
Buenos Dias, I just wanted to say "Thanks" for your help organizing our trip. We had a blast! My wife (Leslie) caught her first Dorado and first Marlin on this trip. I also caught my first Marlin!
I cannot say enough about Julio, Martin, and Abraham, they were so nice and helpful to my wife, as this was her first, Blue Water fishing trip. We cannot wait until NEXT YEAR!!!!!! see you then.

I attached some pics for you too. The first one is a double on dorados. Then the dorados from the double, then the pics of our FIRST Marlin each! Thanks again, Hope you have a great weekend."
Best Regards,
Gary



Gary &Leslie Owen Spend Time Together Fishing off  of Cabo on the Pacific

Leslie Caught her First Dorado....nice size too.


Leslie's First Marlin All Lit Up with Stripes Clearly Visible from the Fight, about to be Released


Gary's First Marlin was a Good Size close to 170 lbs, about to be Released


Monday, November 07, 2011

Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot 2011 report.

This Years WinningTeam with their 213 lb Tuna.  Foto Mario Bañaga

This year’s Western Outdoor News Jackpot Tuna Tournament could be considered the best to date. Great participation made it the largest tournament of the year on the Cabo calendar with 108 boats participating. Many of the anglers returned from previous years, with some even fishing it since its inception thirteen years ago.

What is so nice about this tournament is that it is accessible to anybody. You don’t have to be a millionaire to enter or own a fancy boat. In fact the first year Estrella de Mar a panga from San Jose took first place.  Although only costing $800.00 to enter there are optional multi-level jackpots which can pay off some serious money.

I cannot say enough about this tournament, the organization, the fun element, the giveaways by the sponsors, the great parties. Most tournaments just do an awards dinner, this one gives the anglers at least two fully catered dinners, fun events, a casting competition and the rules are easy.

Day one of the competition saw boats streaking out of the harbor after the 7.00 am shotgun start with probably seventy percent heading to the Pacific and the rest to the Sea of Cortez and the Gordo Bank. Around 10.00 am we got a call from “Fisherman” one of the tournament favorites, who reported that they had lost a propeller and were on one engine. This was the team that set the tournament record with a 383 lb fish, in 2009, so definitely one to keep an eye on, even with only one engine.

The afternoon weigh in, which started at 4.00 pm showed some nice fish showing up. We all took notice when Captain Jobe Villavicencio arrived aboard Angelina; he is a past winner and the first to break the 300 lb barrier, when he weighed in a 318 lb’er several years ago, taking first place. Of course Jobe weighed in a nice fish, 198.10 lbs and went into first place; this team however was not entered in all the jackpots, leaving quite a bit of money on the table. Nevertheless it looked as if team Angelina would get a payday of over $35,000.00.

Day 1 Big Fish Aboard Angelina 198.10  lbs .photo Brandon Hayward
The team aboard Precision III showed up with a less than impressive fish weighing in at only 48.1 lbs, but they had put up some jackpot fees and were in the $10,000.00 optional daily jackpot, one which few boats has entered and as it turned out they ended taking that jackpot this day giving them a tentative payoff of $24,000.00 if nothing bigger came in for a team entered in this same daily optional.

Team Fisherman limped in to port on one engine, barely before the allotted time to be in the harbor  by 6.00 pm, but they were not down, they had a nice fish on board 107.7 lbs to be precise, which would be worth $94,000.00 come Saturday nights awards.

No dorado were weighed in that could make the 30 lb minimum on day one but team Checkmate did bring a 55.5 lb wahoo to the scale assuring them of a $36,000.00 prize come Saturday night, or to look at it a bit differently that fish was worth $654.00 per lb!

Day two saw hopes high for most teams as the wind had died down and seas looked more comfortable as boats took off again at 7.00 am. A few more headed towards Punta Gorda as everybody knew that team Fisherman had caught their fish in that direction, but others decided to stick with their game plan of the Pacific.

It wasn’t long that boats started to show up with big fish, some even before lines were out and soon the first 200 lb plus fish was weighed in, Bottom Line headed up by team captain John Buchan from San Jose del Cabo was thrilled to learn that his fish weighed 205 lbs, putting them immediately into first place, but seeing as they were not entered in any jackpots, the big prizes were still up for grabs.

Lots of fish came to the scales over 100 lbs; Pisces Bill Collector, with a  beautiful 192 lb’er  and they were in nearly all the jackpots, so angler David Bick waited around, hoping  nobody else would bring in a bigger fish. He was on edge, as Cabo Magic pulled up with a sizeable tuna looking a lot like his, it was only 30 minutes before the scale closed and a roar went up from the crowd as Pat McDonnell called out the weight of “213 lbs”, however this team was not in the jackpots either.  We wondered how this angler had managed to pull such a big fish in on a 6/0 Senator Reel, pretty much obsolete these days in tournament fishing.

Team True with their 206 lb Fish that Earned  $158.520.00 photo Brandon Hayward
There was a line of boats waiting at the dock that still needed to weigh their fish and one in particular that got our attention, True XII, they had a nice tuna on the deck, but also gave us a sneak peek at an even larger one they had in the refrigerated fish box, below deck. It was hard to guess the weight but it looked good. 
This boat could not have had a more experienced team aboard, Steve Geary, a charter boat captain that has run boats under the Pisces banner,  a very very good fisherman and a proponent of kite fishing ,fairly new to this area, who has been teaching a lot of the guys here how to fish this technique. Also aboard were Brett Eller, captain of True, Tom Aland, Rodalto Hemeniz and Chris Fuller and Cubby another captain who has been here forever. They had clubbed together to get the entry fees together and were fishing for themselves.

Team True, teased the crowd, choosing to weigh their smaller fish first, which turned out to be 164 lbs, before pulling out the big guy, who tipped the scales at 206 lbs, causing immediate celebration on the part of the team as they had entered across the board. We asked them how and where they had  caught their fish and they told us that they were fishing 7 to 8 miles off of Gaspareño on the Pacific 10 miles north of Golden Gate and had caught it on a flying fish lure attached to a kite.

After the scale closed and they were setting up tables for the dinner on the marina boardwalk, we had a chance to speak with the angler of the 213 lb winning fish, Orville Henseler from Springtown, Pennsylvania. He was looking very pleased so we wanted to get some insight into how he caught his fish. We asked him if this was his first tournament and his answer kind of surprised us when he said, “Yes” and that it was his “first time in Cabo”. 
He told us that it was really hard to reel in his fish, which they had found straight off the Old Lighthouse and hooked on a live caballito (google eye), with 60 lb test on a Senator 6/0 reel, in fact it took him four hours and forty five minutes to bring to the boat. It was hard not to notice that Orville was missing his leg from the knee down so we asked if that was a factor, his answer moved and surprised us. He told us how eight months ago he had been involved in an industrial accident, when his shoelace had been caught in machinery and he had been terribly mangled by the large Harley rake that had grabbed his leg and destroyed it. He had had to cut himself free of the machine by cutting through it (the machine). His laborer saved his life by calling 911 and he was air lifted off the job by helicopter. Orville was in and out of hospital for months until the leg finally succumbed to infection and had to be amputated from the knee down. He has only had his prosthesis for three months and does not find it easy or comfortable yet, but he told us that after the accident his whole view of life changed, he and his wife came up with their “bucket list” and one of the things on it was to fish in Cabo San Lucas.

Even though they couldn’t really afford it they booked a vacation to Cabo San Lucas and put it on a credit card. When they saw that a tournament was to be held the week after they were supposed to leave, they called and changed their dates so that they could enter the fishing competition. They never thought in their wildest dreams that they would win. 
The captain added some insight and said that “Orville was so tenacious, that he would not release the rod, even when it was time to gaff the fish, he wanted to do it himself while still hanging on to the rod” he told the crew “Don’t touch my fish, I can do this on my own, I do this in Alaska”, but salmon are a bit different than a large tuna, so they ordered him to sit down, while they quickly dispatched the fish and got it on board. Orville was still clutching his rod as he made his way to the weigh station.

Orville his wife and even the captain were overcome with emotion as they took their place on the stage to receive their trophies and check at the Saturday night’s awards banquet, with “We Are the Champions” played over the sound system, tournament director Pat McDonnell recounted Orville’s story to the crowd, while a few tears escaped the teams eyes.
Team Cabo Magic along receive their check.
Fishermen were not the only ones honored that evening, Admiral Felipe Solano was asked to come up with the medic from his base to be recognized for keeping Cabo seas safe and for saving the life of Hollywood screenwriter Kay Alden in a dramatic rescue that she calls a miracle and was awarded a handsome Reactor Watch.
Sponsors and anglers were also generous and raised $17,800.00 for charity to be given to a local kid’s shelter.

That’s why we love this tournament, its fun, it’s real and there are a lot of fish.  It’s amazing to think that a first time tuna fisherman and visitor to Cabo could beat out the likes of the fishing greats of team True. Not only that but one day after the tournament “Shambala”, captained by TJ Dobson, also a past winner of this tournament, boated a 210 lb tuna  - that’s Cabo for you.
See below details of tournament payouts:

1st Place  Cabo Magic  213 lbs Orville Henseler                  $36,720.00

2nd Place  True XII 206 lbs Tom Aland/Chris Fuller           $158,520.00 with jackpots

3rd Place  Bottom Line 205 lbs John Buchan                          $2,160.00

Day One Jackpots
Fisherman  Hugo Pino 107.70 lbs                                         $94,400.00
Angelina  Marty Griffith 198.10 lbs                                        $35,800.00
Precision III Mark Callahan 48.20 lbs                                    $24,000.00

Wahoo/Dorado Category:
Day 1 Checkmate 55.50 lbs wahoo  Ed Dona                        $36,000.00
Day 2 Reina del Wahoo 39.20 lbs wahoo Miguel Angeles     $36,000.00       
Report by Tracy Ehrenberg                                    

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Here's The Weekly Fish Report

October 29th to November 3rd, 2011

Overall Catch Success Rate for All Species Combined: 96%

BILLFISH: This week billfish did not seem to be the main target as boats loaded up on abundant catches of dorado and yellowfin tuna in preparation for the Western Outdoor News Jackpot Tuna tournament. Nevertheless some boats did find marlin and sailfish. On the last day of the month “Ruthless” with captain Leon & deckhand Beto, guided Robert and Janna Maddox from Dallas, Texas to the right spot, Migriño and Pozo Cota and got them hooked up to two sailfish as well as fifteen dorado. This same day “Cabolero” fished a little further up the coast at Golden Gate with John Beekman & Ron Zutz from Red Deer, Alberta on board who did extremely well to catch and release a striped marlin each and seventeen dorado. Next day out it was “La Brisa’s” turn with a sailfish and striped marlin released as well as two dorado boated at Los Arcos for the Mercier group from Punta Gorda, Florida. Just eighteen percent of boats caught billfish this week, which is pretty low for Cabo; however we have received reports from boats coming down from San Diego of huge amounts of striped marlin at Mag Bay, which is a good indicator for the marlin bite to take off here in Cabo soon. Pisces anglers caught seven striped marlin and three sailfish, all released.

Janna Maddox from Dallas,  shows off her sailfish before safely releasing it.
OTHER SPECIES: Dorado have been thick off of Cabo for the past couple of weeks but have now begin to peter out or have moved elsewhere, nevertheless catches were such that we ended up with 209 total with sixty eight percent of our boats catching between one and seventeen fish in the 15 to 25 lb class. It should be pointed out that many of the dorado are being released. Tuna catches were not far behind with our boats landing a total of 199 fish from 18 to 180 lbs, with the largest being caught aboard
This dorado took a guacamaya lure.
“Cabolero” by the guys mentioned above from Red Deer. Catches varied from three to twenty fish per boat. Wahoo were scarce with just a 35 lb’er caught. Inshore we had a few roosters and needle fish.
Robert Maddox from Dallas, hoists his dorado aloft for a photo
LOCATION: Everything is on the Pacific right now from the Old Lighthouse to Golden Gate.

AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 80 F

LIVE BAIT: Mullet was available as well as ballyhoo and boats used a combination of live bait, dead bait and lures, which worked equally well. Lure colors that were popular were green, guacamaya, orange and black.

 
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg