PISCES WEEKLY FISH REPORT APRIL 2ND – 8TH, 2004 BILLFISH: We didn’t really have many billfish this week, in fact this fish report, should really be called the tuna report. We did have some marlin around and quite a few boats spotted a few in a day but overall it was pretty slow for stripers. With them being scattered over a wide area and then when found not usually hungry. We have had swordfish in the area too, on April 7th, the crew aboard “Valerie” spotted three off of the Sea Mount in the Sea of Cortez, but couldn’t entice them with anything. A couple of days before this the Karina hooked an approximate two hundred pound broadbill, which they had on for fifteen minutes before losing. The consolation for lady angler Sandra Latvia from Ishpening, Michigan, was nice striped marlin, which she successfully fought and released. April 2nd was one of the better days, with “Adriana” releasing a 160 lb striped marlin for Jeff Poosch, as well as landing three yellowfin and a dorado. Mr. Pulkrabek, was out other lucky angler, this time aboard “Rebecca” also releasing a striped marlin and landing four tuna and three skipjacks. On April 8th, Denny Bullock from Palmer, AZ, found “Adriana” to be the lucky boat, releasing a striped marlin and boating fourteen yellowfin tuna. Pisces anglers released a total of six striped marlin, with the catch rate for this species a low eleven percent. Our overall catch success rate for all species combined was close to ninety-six percent. OTHER SPECIES: Yellowfin tuna were really happening again this week, which is a good thing seeing as there were so few marlin around – Pisces anglers caught close to five hundred. Pretty much every boat in Cabo returned with tuna. Catches were from two to twenty plus fish, in the 15 to 30 lb class, though occasionally there were few up near the 100 lb mark. They were found mostly in the area between the Old Lighthouse and Land’s End 15 to 20 miles out. Dorado catches slowed considerably this week with only seven for our fleet and weights were on the small side at 18 to 35 lbs. Inshore lots of skipjacks as well as some sierra, yellowtail and amberjack. We did have some giant squid that took lures, with some measuring over five feet. We also released a small hammerhead shark. LOCATION: Varied, Old Lighthouse, 12 miles out from Cabeza de Ballena, Cabo Real., 30 miles straight out from the arch. WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sunny all week, but pretty windy too, whitecaps on the Pacific some days, seas moderate. AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 66-70 F BEST LURES: Cedar plugs, assorted lures.