Cabo San Lucas Picante sportfishing reports some big marlin showing

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

The water has been hot and the fishing has been getting hotter, and not just because of the number of marlin, but also the size of them -- even surprising some of the locals.  

The week started with some great catches. On Aug. 9, the Booth family hopped aboard Picante’s 35-foot Cabo Express, Cisco, and raised out of the depths a black marlin estimated to weigh more than 600 pounds. The fish hit a trolled jig and the fight was on. After an hour and a half the marlin was boatside for a clean release. The Booths also released a striped marlin plus boated a couple of yellowfin tuna for a great day of Cabo fishing.

On Aug. 10, aboard the 24-foot Shamrock, Picantito III, the Turrisi party had a big time, with Joe catching and releasing a striped marlin, Adrian a nice dorado and Gabriel a skipjack tuna. Also on Aug. 10, Einer Lindholm, aboard the 35-foot Cabo Express, Salsa, released two nice striped marlin.

Aug. 11 saw the Mercker family catch and release their first blue marlin together aboard the 40-foot Cabo Flybridge, Caliente. The marlin was estimated at 300 pounds, and the fight to the boat only took 40 minutes. They also caught and released a striped marlin which weighted about 120 pounds.

Thursday was another big fishing day. The Popplewell charter went out on the Picante 29 and managed to catch and release three striped marlin. And on the Picante 45, Todd Fibich, from League City, Texas, and his party caught and released a striped marlin and a nice blue marlin, as well as landing a couple of yellowfin tuna, making for a great all-around day of fishing.

Things slowed down the rest of the week until Sunday, which turned into a productive fishing day. The Caliente managed to catch and release both a blue marlin and a striped marlin, along with a couple of dorado, while the Picantito I released a striped marlin and a yellowfin tuna. And the "Senor Sweet" group aboard the Picante Dream had a great day, landing eight yellowfin tuna with most in the 35- to 50-pound range. But the exciting trip of the day had to belong to Angel Gomez and his sons, aboard the Picante 29. Spending most of the day trolling with not much luck, on the way in they hooked and released a blue marlin estimated to weigh 500 pounds, and also caught and released a striped marlin, making for a memorable end of the day. 

Picante Sportfishing fleet total, Aug. 9 through Aug. 15: One black marlin, six blue marlin, 21 striped marlin, 11 dorado, one wahoo, 15 yellowfin tuna, one jack and four snapper.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: This black marlin fought for more than an hour before the Booth family got it boatside and released. Credit: Team Picante

Cabo San Lucas Picante sportfishing reports water and fishing both heating up

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

With water temperatures in the 80s, the fishing has been as hot as the water. Its been "Marlin City" this week, with striped marlin, along with some nice big black and blue marlin, causing the Cabo fishing charter boats to fly their marlin flags. Those flags and happy fisherman go hand in hand, and there were some giant marlin-fishing smiles.

On Aug. 2, aboard the 35-foot Cabo Flybridge, Picante Dream, Ronny Wilson and his family made some fine Cabo fishing memories with nice striped marlin action, catching and releasing two striped marlin. 

Ron Stell and family went out on the 29-foot Blackfin, Picante 29, on Aug. 3 and his sons got their first opportunities to fight striped marlin, catching and releasing two, as well as boating a couple of yellowfin tuna for dinner.

The big fish of the week was landed Thursday, when Michael Jourdan and his family went out on the 32-foot Cabo Express, Picante Express. Jourdan hooked a black marlin, and after a fight of more than three hours boated the fish estimated to weigh 550 pounds. 

To end the week, the Picante Express' Capt. Antonio Romero and deckhand "Chikis" did it again, this time helping the Ross family catch and release six striped marlin, one sailfish and a yellowfin tuna. It certainly looks as if the fishing is just getting better each week.  

Total Picante Sportfishing fleet total, Aug. 2 through Aug. 8: One black marlin, 20 striped marlin, three blue marlin, two Pacific sailfish, 19 dorado, 22 yellowfin tuna and two skipjack tuna.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Michael Jourdan and his family with the 550-pound black marlin caught aboard the Picante Express. Credit: Team Picante

Cabo San Lucas Picante sportfishing still going strong

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

Cabo fishing is still hot. The fishing has been great with both blue and striped marlin being caught every day.

On July 26 aboard the Picante Dream, Frank DeSolis and Robert Lyons caught and released a nice striped marlin and boated three dorado, making for a great fishing day. 

The Cepeda party went out on Wednesday aboard the 32-foot Picante Express and were rewarded with catching  a blue marlin estimated at 200 pounds, which was released (sorry to say, no pic).

Thursday turned out to be an even better day for the Picante fleet, with six boats going out and fleet production of five striped marlin, one sailfish, 12 dorado, five yellowfin tuna and one mako shark.

On Saturday the "Boys from Beaumont," visiting from Texas, headed out aboard the Salsa and landed 15 yellowfin tuna between the three of them -- some pretty even fishing.

Sunday saw the Brown group, aboard the Picante 29, bring in 12 yellowfin tuna and one blue marlin, making for both a nice day of fishing as well as a good start to the new month.

Total Picante Sportfishing fleet total, July 26 through Aug. 1: four blue marlin, 12 striped marlin, one sailfish,  52 yellowfin tuna, 14 dorado, and two roosterfish.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A member of the "Boys from Beaumont" party shows off one of the yellowfin tuna he caught. Credit: Team Picante

Father and son land memorable souvenir sportfishing off Cabo San Lucas

Outposts will try to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week. There were some technical difficulties in sending the report this week, but Picante did manage to share the following tale of a father and son who ended up with an awesome Cabo souvenir:

Cabo fishing has been good again this week, and the marlin bite has been on. 

The big story for the week is Jerry Smith of Caldwell, N.J., and his son Jerry, who on July 17 went out for an impromptu day of sportfishing aboard Picante’s 24-foot Shamrock, Picantito III.

The Smiths had planned on spending only three or four hours out fishing, and while out trolling for marlin caught two dorado, a 25-pounder and a 15-pounder. They mentioned to the crew that just before catching the first fish they had seen a white butterfly or moth flying over the water.

On the way back to the harbor, the Smiths happened to spot another white moth -- and then they hooked the fish of a lifetime, a 500-plus-pound marlin.

It turned into an epic battle, with the elder Smith giving all he could to finally get the fish close to the boat, enlisting the help of crew and other anglers on board to help with the fight (at one point even the vessel's captain, Francisco Acevedo, lent a hand). Finally, after 3 1/2 hours, the marlin was landed.

It was a long battle, but both father and son were, to say the least, ecstatic.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Jerry Smith and his son Jerry of Caldwell, N.J., landed this 500-plus-pound marlin. Credit: Team Picante

Cabo San Lucas Picante Sportfishing reports fishing on target

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

Cabo weather has been great and the fishing has been on target. The fish seem to be hanging around the Gordo Banks and Iman Bank, just east of Cabo. Picante fleet is catching both blue marlin and striped marlin, as well as yellowfin tuna, the occasional skipjack tuna, dorado and wahoo. Still not many boats going out, but the catches are good.

Early in the week, the Vidrine family spent the day aboard Picante’s 35-foot Flybridge, Picante Dream. They caught and released two striped marlin and boated a dorado.

The next day, the boat of the day was again the Picante Dream, with the Kennedy charter releasing three striped marlin and also catching a dorado. 

The busiest action of the week seemed to belong to the Johansson family, which had a great day aboard the 35-foot Cabo Express, Salsa. They released one striped marlin, two mahi mahi, one skipjack and four roosterfish. Their smiling faces showed what a busy but enjoyable day they had.

Cabo San Lucas Picante sportfishing reports more fish spotted than fishermen to catch them

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

With lots of fish being spotted by the boats, it's a shame that there aren't more fishermen out there. Crowds picked up a little this weekend, but there is still some good fishing being missed. The westerly winds have been blowing and pushing the fishing to the Gordo and Imen Banks. It was a little bumpy on the Pacific, but those that endured were catching fish.

Some of the highlights for the fleet included the Killion party, from Texas, who chartered the 35-foot Picante Dream and had some big times around the peninsula, catching two striped marlin (which they released), and boating a dorado as well as five big red snapper.

Michael Soper also made his second visit in a month, bringing friends and clients to chase marlin. The group chartered the Picante 29 and caught and released two striped marlin, then caught three dorado, which they kept for their dining pleasure.

Aboard the 35-foot Sportfisher, Cisco, the Ellis group was rewarded for their time with a fun day of fishing, bringing in a total catch of three marlin, five yellowfin tuna and five dorado.

The Antis party had a great day fishing on July 4 aboard the Salsa. They boated three yellowfin and two dorado, plus two striped marlin, caught and released.

Total Picante Sportfishing fleet total, June 28 through July 4: 10 striped marlin,10 yellowfin tuna, 11 dorado, five red snapper and two amberjacks.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: An angler from the Ellis party shows off the dorado she caught. Credit: Team Picante

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Cabo San Lucas' Picante Sportfishing reports the blue marlin have arrived

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

After all the ups and down of the last few months, it looks as if the summer routine is settling in. With baitfish not being around and the striped marlin bite being on and off, it has been a disappointing spring. Lots of striped marlin have been seen sunning on the surface -- some boats reported seeing a dozen -- but few seemed interested in lures or live bait. 

It was just a matter of time before the blue marlin made their way to the underwater mountains surrounding the Baja Peninsula. With water deep blue in color and temps in the low 80s, this was the week it happened. June 23 started it off with Picante's 35-footer, Salsa, leading the way. With Capt. Juan Carlos Lopez at the helm, the Turchin family hooked a nice blue marlin, estimated at about 400 pounds. The fish took some coaxing but finally took, and then it put on a show with some great runs and jumps. After about an hour and a half, the fish was released. 

Also, Capt. Emiliano Arenas, aboard the Picante 45, put the Sherman family onto some real fishing memories -- before lunch they caught and released two blue marlin. Both were about 225 pounds, and were firsts for both anglers. The group also boated some nice tuna. 

On June 25, another blue marlin was caught on the Salsa for the Hagedorn party. But the boat of the day ended up being the 32-foot Cabo Picante Express, with Capt. Antonio Romero. Mark Rowan and his friends, fishing in  the 13th annual Stars and Stripes tournament, caught and released four striped marlin.

Total Picante Sportfishing fleet total for the week: four blue marlin, 15 striped marlin, two dorado, four wahoo and 43 yellowfin tuna.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: One of the marlin caught (and released) on the Picante 45 this week. Credit: Team Picante

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Cabo San Lucas' Picante Sportfishing finds the marlin

Outposts will attempt to post the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, saltwater sportfishing report, courtesy of Team Picante from Picante Sportfishing, each week:

The marlin are back. More striped marlin were caught in the last week than in the last month, and they were found all around the peninsula. From the San Jaime Bank to the 1150 Spot, Cabo sportfishing was living up to its reputation. It seemed as if someone turned a switch -- during the week, 38 striped marlin were caught by the Picante Sportfishing fleet.

On June 14, Jeff Beach and his friends, aboard Picante’s 35-foot Cabo Express vessel Salsa, caught and released four striped marlin. Under the expert tutelage of Capt. Juan Carlos "Brincos" Lopez and his mate Hugo, they not only released the four fish but had a double hookup. The group also boated a nice yellowfin tuna, which they kept for dinner.

Beginning  June 15, the Sanofi group began its three-day annual fishing convention in Cabo San Lucas, having a great day aboard the Salsa by catching and releasing three striped marlin. The next day the party headed out on a different vessel, the Cabo Express 35-footer Cisco, and caught and released two more striped marlin and also hit a big jack cravalle estimated to weigh 40 pounds. On the last day of its  sportfishing venture, the group started the morning slowly but improved, with a 45-pound wahoo and a couple of nice dorado ending up on board by day's end.

The overall fleet production for Picante Sportfishing during the week of June 14-20 was 38 striped marlin, two roosterfish, five dorado, 16 yellowfin tuna, six wahoo and two mako sharks.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Two members of the Sanofi charter group show off a marlin. Credit: Team Picante

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Sailor Abby Sunderland, 16, in Cabo San Lucas for vessel repairs

Abby Sunderland arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in pouring rain on Tuesday to get some  repairs done on her 40-foot sailboat, "Wild Eyes."

The 16-year-old reported that the vessel is having equipment issues -- the wind gauges have stopped working and the solar panels and wind generators on board are not creating enough power to keep up with energy needs.

The Thousand Oaks teen was met by her father, Laurence, as well as members of Team Abby, who flew down to lend a hand with the necessary repairs.

In the meantime, Abby has been keeping busy -- when not working on the boat -- posting pictures and updates on her blog. Here's an excerpt from her latest post:

I got in Tuesday afternoon in the pouring rain.

The work on the boat is going as well as can be expected. We couldn't get a whole lot done on Tuesday because it was getting late and raining pretty hard, but six o'clock this morning we were all hard at work and luckily the weather has been sunny and warm all day!

Sailor Abby Sunderland, 16, heads to Cabo San Lucas for vessel repairs

It's been 11 days since Abby Sunderland departed Marina del Rey on her 40-foot sailboat "Wild Eyes" in her attempt to solo circumnavigate the world, nonstop and unassisted.

The 16-year-old, however, already has a bug in her plan, which will force her to make a stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to have some repairs done on her boat.

According to Abby's blog, "Wild Eyes" is having equipment issues. Her wind gauger's have stopped working and the solar panels and wind generators on board are not creating enough power to keep up with energy needs.

Here's a blurb from Abby's post dated Saturday:

"The fact is I am just not able to generate enough power. We didn't budget enough fuel for me to run my two alternators as often as I have been needing to so....A new battery or two and more fuel will be put on board in Cabo. Also, the trouble with the wind speed gauge seems to be in the wiring in the mast. I have tested everything else so that needs to be fixed as well."

Cabo San Lucas striped marlin bite drops off, now only fair

So much for the wide-open marlin bite off Cabo San Lucas. Captain George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing, in a report issued today, referred to last week's bite as a "two-day wonder" and says fishing for billfish has tapered off. Here is Landrum's report (edited and abbreviated):

BILLFISH: I did not hear of any blue or black marlin being caught this week, even though the water temperature is fine for them. The striped marlin bite we had at the tail end of last week was a two-day wonder, lasting Sunday and Monday. Since then the better catches have been topping off at three fish per boat, but the average is probably less than one release per boat per trip. More have been seen on the Pacific side than on the Cortez side, and the ones that are being caught show a preference for artificial lures over Caballito, and for mackerel over artificial lures. There have been some very small fish in the releases, but the average seems to be staying around the 100- to 110-pound mark, with an occasional fish in the 160-pound range.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: Still a slow bite on yellowfin, with a few fish being found on the Golden Gate Bank every few days, as well as off Palmilla on the Cortez side. A few boats have been going as far out as 50 miles to the south and west with little luck, and the fish they have found have mostly been football-size.

DORADO: The water temperature across the area warmed back up and dorado have remained in the area, but the bite has been slower than it was last month. This week was a repeat of last week as boats were averaging four to eight fish per trip, with an occasional limit. The fish were averaging 12 pounds with a few large fish in the pick but no big numbers of them. Live bait seemed to do the trick this week, slow trolled in areas where frigate birds were seen to be working. The fish were spread across the area, but the best results seemed to be close to the shoreline and close to Cabo.

Cabo San Lucas striped-marlin bite breaks wide-open

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the undisputed striped marlin capital of the world, is once again living up to that reputation.

The bite is a bit late this season, but with the recent cold snap the scrappy billfish seemed to flood into an area north of Cabo on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula.

"It was as if somebody flipped the switch to winter ... and the cooler water has bought mackerel, the bait of choice for striped marlin," said a post on the Pisces Sportfishing blog.

Pisces, which last November alone logged more than 2,000 striped marlin releases, is off to a good December start. Anglers on the vessel Cabolero on Sunday had 14 marlin releases, one sailfish release and two dorado, which presumably were kept for table fare. They were fishing close to Cabo off the Old Lighthouse less than two miles from shore.

Anglers on Rebecca released eight marlin, and a group aboard Tracy Ann released seven marlin and caught three dorado a bit farther up the coast at Pozo de Cota.

Strangely, all three charter groups were from New York.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo credit: Pisces Sportfishing