The "Aries IX", skippered by Captain Gilberto Quintero and "Aries II", skippered by Captain Victor Nunez, landed the only two blue marlin for the week, both smaller fish and in the 225-250 lb. ranges. The overall billfish catches were a little slower this week but most of the boats had at least one opportunity through the fishing day. We did see an upswing in the dorado and tuna counts that helped keep the anglers busy. The overall fish counts for a total of 15 days reflected 2 blue marlin, 1 striped marlin, 3 sailfish, 26 yellowfin tuna, (all in the 20-40 lb. ranges) and 39 dorado for the offshore fleet. The inshore super pangas fished a total of 7 days and produced limits of dorado and 10 sierra.

Mazatlan Climate: Mostly cloudy with a little humidity and temps from 78 nights to 91 daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Excellent conditions overall with temps in the 82-83 degree range and clean, clear and blue water at 12 miles from the Marina El Cid.

Best Lure/Bait: Blue marlin taken on artificals. Striper and sailfish best on rigged baits. Dorado on both, rigged baits and lures and tuna on cedar plugs and feathers.

Best Fishing Area: Continues to be out to the southwest of the Marina El Cid, starting at about 18 miles and working outbound from there to about 28 miles.

Bait Supply: Excellent for both, rigged and live bait.