Sunday, October 30, 2011

Good Sign For the Upcoming Tuna Tournament

To be honest tuna fishing  has been on the slow side, or has it? A lack of tuna in our fish reports, does not mean they are not there, it can mean that boats are concentrating in different areas for dorado and marlin which have been a more sure thing. However, "Cabolero" gave us high hopes for the upcoming Tuna Tournament, which will take place next Thursday and Friday. On Saturday this vessel, a 31 ft Cabo, captured a respectable 180 lb tuna for Ron Zutz and John Beckman from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Captain Lupe is not saying where it was caught or what he caught it on and we can understand why.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Bisbee Results 2011

The Bisbee Tournament is over after what can only be described as mediocre fishing during this event, nothing came close to the 743 lb'er caught before the day before the competition by Tracy Ann.
A total of 101 boats participated and winnings were as follows:
Top Marlin
1st Place
Bad Medicine, angler Luis Arballo: $394,090.00
409 lb. blue marlin, Day 1 $200, $500, $1,000, $2,000 Jackpots
2nd Place
Tiger Spirit, angler Luis Alberto Liera: $1,162,842.50
395 lb. blue marlin, Day 1, 2 and 3 $5,000 & $10,000 Jackpots
3rd Place
Pegasus, angler Vicente Rangel, $283,752.50
329 lb. blue marlin, Day 2 $200, $500, $1,000, $2,000 Jackpots
4th Place
El Lobo, angler Steve Skola: $259,745.00
313 lb. blue marlin, Day 3 $200, $500, $1,000, $2,000 Jackpots
Top Release Teams
1st Place
Hammertime, $47,791.25
900 points / 3 blue marlin + 1 striped marlin (on time)
2nd Place
Big Time II, $16,543.13
900 points / 3 blue marlin + 1 sailfish
3rd Place
Reel Energy, $9,190.63
600 points / 2 blue marlin (on time)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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 BaƱaga, 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

Monday, October 10, 2011

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

Sunday, October 09, 2011

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 3rd, 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 3rd 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 4th “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

Sunday, October 02, 2011

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

Saturday, October 01, 2011

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!