Pisces Fish Report—October 29th to November 4th, 2016
PISCES FISH REPORT
October 29th to November 4th, 2016
Overall catch success rate, all species combined: 78%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 46%, Tuna 22%, Dorado 22%, other 12%
This week saw the last of the big tournament’s of the season in Cabo take place, the 18th edition of the Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot. There was huge turnout this year with 168 teams and 612 anglers registered, the second largest field in the tournament’s history. All vying for a chance at the large tuna known to inhabit the waters off of Cabo and almost $750,000 in prize money. As far as our regular fishing went, we saw good billfish catches, mostly striped marlin and some blues. While there was a lot of big tuna landed, this probably has more to do with the fact that boats were specifically targetting these fish for the tournament. There were also some decent dorado catches, as well as some wahoo and even the odd grouper for those fishing closer to shore.
The marlin bite was particularly good, albeit it 60 miles away from Cabo at the Finger Bank near Todos Santos. For those willing to pay the extra fuel and bear the trip it was worth it. Starting the week off on the the 29th, we saw both the Pisces Rebecca captained by JR Alucano and the Pisces Ruthless captained by Roberto Padilla, landed identical catches at the Finger Bank. Both boats caught and released seven striped marlin each, which they landed with caballito live bait. While the Pisces Speedwell captained by Victor Sandez, landed two nice dorado at Las Margaritas for a group of anglers from Louisiana. One was 20lbs while the second one was definitely bigger than we’ve been seeing lately at 40lbs. The Finger Bank worked its magic again on the 30th, as the Pisces Tracy Ann, captained by Julio Castro became the top marlin boat of the week. They caught and released a whopping fourteen striped marlin! All this for two anglers who must have ended up with very sore arms afterwards. The Pisces Bill Collector couldn’t top those kind of numbers, with captain Juan Carlos Lopez putting his anglers on eight striped marlin that they caught and released, with mackerel as live bait. Halloween was a particularly good day also, with the Pisces Andrea captained by Orlando Murillo catching and releasing three blue marlin of around 100lbs, just out from the 120 Spot for a group of anglers form Washington. The Pisces Ruthless caught and released ten striped marlin of around 100-140lbs out at the Finger Bank on the 31st, for some anglers from Michigan. While the Pisces Bill Collector captained by Juan Carlos Lopez caught and released eight striped marlin of between 100-180lbs at the Finger Bank for Mark Chiavetta and friends from California.
As far as the yellowfin tuna bite goes, we saw the big boys this week. The first place fish in the Tuna Tournament weighed a whopping 298lbs, and Pisces boats didn’t shy away from these big cows either. On the 31st we saw the Pisces Bill Collector catch seven tuna, mostly in the 40-50lbs range and with one big one of 118lbs about 40 miles out at the 230 Spot. The Pisces Knot Workin, captained by Tito Olascoaga had a 128lbs yellowfin landed for an angler from Santa Barbara, California on the 31st as well. The next day, November 1st, saw the Pisces Knot Workin land another big tuna of 130lbs on a yellow lure out of the 95 Spot. The 1st also saw a 115lbs tuna come in on the Pisces Adriana, captained by Nicolas Winkler for some anglers from Washington state.
The Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot started on November 3rd, with the Pisces Andrea captained by Orlando Murillo landing a decent 157lbs yellowfin tuna on caballito live bait, at the Cabrillo sea mount. The Pisces Ruthless decided to head back out and try their lucka at the Finger Bank, and it certainly was a good choice. They landed the largest tuna for the fleet this week, at 211lbs. Which also snagged them third largest fish for the first day of fishing in the tournament, for a group of anglers from Nebraska. The Pisces Valerie captained by Roberto Sandez, was also in the tournament and they landed a 180lbs tuna, as well as a 22lbs dorado out at the San Jaime Bank, for a group of anglers from British Columbia. The Pisces Tiburon landed a 128lbs tuna, and caught and released a 200lbs blue marlin; while the Pisces Speedwell brought in a 30lbs and a 130lbs tuna for some anglers in the tournament also. The 4th was the last day of the tournament, and the Pisces Bill Collector had a very nice day. They caught five yellowfin tuna, mostly in the 40-50lbs range, as well as a 147 pounder. And last but not least was the Pisces Speedwell captained by Victor Sandez, catching a a 164lbs tuna near the 190 Spot. They also caught and released a small dorado, as well as a silky shark and a big 300lbs thresher shark for the Koretoff’s from Arizona.
LOCATION: Pacific side, striped marlin bite at Finger Bank, 120 Spot.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear skies and calm seas, with an average air temperature of 85ºF.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 83ºF.
BEST LURES: Caballito live bait, mackerel live bait, green lures and blue/white lures.
Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing Fleet by Glenn Ehrenberg