Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 89%
Numbers at a glance: Billfish 51%, Dorado 45%, Tuna 37%, Other 13%
BILLFISH: This week we have a much shorter report than normal as the port was closed for three days due to the proximity of hurricane Dolores. The storm caused no ill effects in Cabo except for big surf and a smattering or rain but as a precaution the boats were told to stay in, leaving many anglers frustrated as they didn’t get to fish. The fishing was exactly as it should be at this time of year, with a bit of a drop on striped marlin and an increase on blue marlin and sailfish. We had several blue marlin this week; David Gonzalez from Houston, got a nice fish on Speedwell as did the Bowen family from Emmett Idaho, who caught a blue marlin estimated at 160 lbs. at the 95 spot aboard Rebecca. July 13th saw 28 ft. Andrea catch a 300 lb. blue marlin at the Herradura on an orange and black lure for Claude & Kathy Callahan from Virginia. This same day Tracy Ann had a smaller blue in the same area for Houston anglers, the Villarreal family. Surprise of the week was for Cody Jeffcott from North Carolina, who had rented a panga by himself; he was shocked to catch a 360 lb. blue marlin just five miles off of Lands’ End as well as four tuna and two dorado. Buddies Jaxon Bates and Brad Jacobs from Boise, Idaho & Snohomish, WA, respectively were thrilled with the fishing and service they received aboard Tracy Ann where they were able to release a striped marlin each in the 120 lb. class on July 14th. The majority of the fishing was on the Pacific side this week with a good success rate, though there were some boats “skunked” mostly those who opted for half days. Pisces anglers caught a total of 27 billfish this week consisting of 17 striped marlin, 5 sailfish & 5 blue marlin.
OTHER SPECIES: It was nice to see the dorado starting to appear this week – right on time for the Dorado Shoot Out at Los Barriles and another dorado tournament out of Cabo San Lucas. The fish however tended to be on the small side, though some medium size fish were caught, such as a 25 lb. fish on Rebecca who had a total of ten ranging in weight from 10 lbs. upwards to the largest mentioned here. Some of the dorado were as small as 3 or 4 lbs. and were released. Our total dorado catch was of 68 fish with some boats catching as many as fourteen in a day. Tuna catches were of small school size fish with catches of between one and thirteen fish for thirty seven percent of our charters. No real size to any of the tuna this week in the Cabo area, though we did hear of a 300 lb. plus tuna out of San Jose. With the big surf inshore fishing was not great but we did catch triggerfish, skipjacks and needle fish. A few wahoo were caught whilst trolling but none over 40 lbs.
LOCATION: Herradura, San Jaime, Pozo Cota, Old Lighthouse 3-10 miles out, Migrino, Golden Gate.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Port closed three days, big waves, partly cloudy skies, seas now flat.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 83-86 F
BEST LURES: Live caballito, green/yellow, purple, white/blue, orange/black
Based on the catches of Pisces Sportfishing by Tracy Ehrenberg.