PISCES WEEKLY FISH REPORT AUG. 28- SEP5 2002 PISCES WEEKLY FISH REPORT AUG.29TH TO SEPT. 5TH 2002 BILLFISH: There was a slight decline in billfish catch rates this week. This was due to the weather warming up considerably; we saw a drop off on striped marlin and an increase on blue marlin and sailfish. Small game catches for dorado soared and we also saw some nice tuna landed, giving us an overall catch success rate for all species combined of 93.5%......in other words fishing is really good, despite the fact that only 57% of charters caught billfish this past week. Most vessels out spotted striped marlin, but at times they were “finicky” and couldn’t be persuaded to take bait. Practically all of the blue marlin this week were taken on lures. We did hear of a huge 800 lb plus blue marlin, being caught mid-week, aboard Juanita 8, but could not find more information. Fishing is now on both sides up as far as Redhill on the Cortez side and as far as San Jaime on the Pacific, with the area between the Old Lighthouse and the Jaime Banks most productive. On August 29th Mark Blewett, did well to release three striped marlin and boat five nice dorado and a 60 lb yellowfin aboard “Andrea” at the Jamie Bank. September 2nd, was one of the better days, with “Rebecca” scoring a 300 lb blue marlin as well as four dorados and a tuna for Gary Cripe from Upland Ca. This same day “Tracy Ann”, released a 250 lb blue and a sailfish and boated two dorado. Anglers of the week were David Rogerson and Anne Gillen from Garthersburg, Md, for releasing a blue marlin, two striped marlin and boating two 50 lb plus tunas, aboard “Valerie”, on September 3rd. Pisces anglers caught a total of nine blue marlin this week, with six released, 30 striped marlin, all but one released and five sailfish all released. OTHER SPECIES Dorado were the most commonly caught fish this week, with boats catching from one to eleven in the 20 to 40 lb class, though the average catch was two to three per boat. There weren’t a whole lot of yellow fin tuna, but when caught they, were of a good size. David Wasson from Tucson, AZ had a beauty, which tipped the scales at 110 lbs, taken 15 miles off of the old Lighthouse aboard, “Ruthless” on September 4th (see photo below). Other tuna caught averaged 45 to 70 lbs, not as big, but still a great fight. Wahoo catches were on the slow side, with just a few taken in the 40-50 lb class, we also have one Mako shark released. Inshore pangas had small dorado, skipjacks, the occasional marlin and the odd roosterfish. LOCATION: San Jaime, Old Lighthouse, Cabeza de Ballena, Chileno. WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear, sunny skies, we did have a 5 minute downpour on September 3rd, but all threats of storms dissipated, seas fair. AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 84 F BEST LURES: Live bait, petrolero, green/orange/yellow. Based on the catches of Pisces Fleet by Tracy Ehrenberg