Striped marlin lit-up released by Chic McSherry aboard Tiburon
MARLIN: We are sooooo happy to finally have some stable
striped marlin catches and in fact they were our top catch this week. Pisces
Rebecca lead the way with four marlin up to 140 LBS and a pilot shark released
on May 7th for Michael Francesconi and party from Georgia at the 11.50 spot.
Michael’s friends were out on Tracy Ann the same day and managed to release
three marlin in the same area. It’s easy to see why Rebecca is one of our top
boats, as they again released four marlin up to 170 LBS on May 9th for anglers
Charlie Piermarini, Jack Piermarini and Bob James – all on live bait at the
11.50 spot. Tracy Ann had another triple header day on May 11th for Jason and
Christy White from Colorado, once again the 11.50 spot was the place and
caballito the bait. Back to the 31 ft. Bertram Rebecca they had an amazing day
for Trey Simon, Kristi Istre Ricky & Angie Chavez from Texas, with three
striped marlin up to 160 LBS and FIVE pilot sharks up to 120 LBS, all released
– thank you. The Engel families, fellow Texans, were out on Valerie the same
day and were pleased to release three marlin up to 140 LBS. Fifty two percent of our charters caught
marlin this week with many have more than one fish, giving us a total catch of
54 fish, with all but two released. Our overall catch rate was 80% for all
species, though we noted that those anglers that opted for a half day had
significantly lower catch rates – moral of the story; take a full day.
OTHER SPECIES: So plentiful are sharks right now that they
almost need a dedicated section, of course the shark ban is in place until July
31st, but that doesn’t stop you from catching and releasing them. This week we
had pilot sharks – local name but probably silky or bronze whalers, a blue
shark and threshers. Shambala our 60 FT Hatteras caught three thresher sharks
up to 180 LBS as well as a pilot shark for Maarten Durent and friends from New
Zealand. Overall thirty nine percent of our charters caught sharks with a total
of 30 caught and released. It was nice to actually see some dorado this week,
not many, but at least a start. Ruthless out on a half day managed to catch six
up to 18 LBS eight miles out from the Lighthouse. Just five percent of charters
found dorado. Tuna catches began to show this week as well with seven percent
of boats managing to hook a few, most were school size fish, though Bill
Collector was the exception with a 75 LB tuna caught by Art Muff from New
Jersey, who was also very fortunate to release two striped marlin and a jack
crevalle. There is still small stuff
available in shore but with the big game catches vastly improved not many boats
tried for these species unless they were on half days, as there wasn’t enough
time on these shorter trips to get to the marlin grounds and back. Nine percent
of our boats caught a mix of skipjacks, sheephead, triggerfish, lady fish and
grouper.
LOCATION:
11.50 spot
WEATHER
CONDITIONS: Sunny, seas moderate, still windy on the Pacific.
AVERAGE
WATER TEMP: 78 F
BEST LURES:
Live caballito
Based on the
catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg