OUTSTANDING STRIPED MARLIN FISHING
FOUND BY PISCES FLEET CHARTER BOATS

Nov. 5-10, 2005, Tracy Ehrenberg, Pisces Fleet, Cabo San Lucas fishing, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

We've had a fabulous sportfishing week for marlin here in Cabo San Lucas.

Fishing for striped marlin was outstanding, giving us our highest numbers for the year, with a total of 174 striped marlin this week. Some of our charter boats had the kind of day that when you tell people they don't quite believe you, but it's true.

Thomas Matthew Hardy from Centerville, Maryland, caught his first Cabo San Lucas marlin aboard Tracy Ann, when he was just 7 years old. Back again in Cabo with dad and now 12 years old, this youngster did incredibly well to release 26 striped marlin over three days, of course on Tracy Ann.

Greg Burnett from Lake Havasu, Arizona, fishing with his brother in law Eric, caught and released 14 striped marlin on Nov. 5th and followed up with another 7 released the following day plus three dorado.

Blue Thunder released 13 striped marlin on the 8th, at the finger bank on the Pacific.

At the end of the week Ni Modo was again the high boat with 12 striped marlin released for Amanda and Jimmy Meeks from Florida.

Nearly every boat caught between one and three striped marlin, though there was the odd boat here and there got skunked.

The Golden Gate bank was the most productive area. Some Cabo San Lucas sportfishing boats when further up the Pacific to the Finger Banks, located about 54 miles from Cabo, and this was where the marlin were thickest, meaning it is just a question of a week or two until they are at Cabo San Lucas in full force, about one month earlier than usual.

Eighty percent of the striped marlin were caught up on the surface with live bait, with the other twenty percent, also on bait but deeper down.

Our overall catch success rate for all species combined this week was a very decent 90 percent, with 88 percent of charters catching striped marlin. Pisces anglers caught a total of 174 striped marlin of which 170 were released, and we also released one blue marlin.

Cabo San Lucas fishing for smaller game was not that great, but dorado catches were not bad with 32 percent of charters landing fish in the 15 to 45 pound class. Catches were one to three fish. One boat, Libre, did get ten in one day. Found both on the Pacific and Cortez side, nearly all dorado were picked up trolling.

Yellowfin tuna catches were slow at Cabo San Lucas with just 10 percent of out boats picking up a fish here and there. We did have one boat that found tuna just 6 miles off of Land's End and boated 12 fish from 20 to 50 pounds.

Wahoo catches were quite good with several fish to 50 pounds.

Inshore pangas did well on roosters to 30 pounds as well as picking up a stray marlin from time to time.

The best fishing location was on the Pacific Golden Gate to old lighthouse, with some catches on the 1150 on the Cortez side too.

Cabo San Lucas weather had clear sunny skies, warm days, nights cooling, seas mostly calm with some chop in the afternoons, average water temp 77 degrees.