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The forbidden fruit Mother nature has finally given the East Cape a break from north winds and the last three days have been gorgeous. Fishing continues to be action packed with dorado, striped marlin and wahoo providing action daily. It is interesting how organized and vigilant the Mexican authorities have become enforcing fishing regulations. A few years ago it was difficult to even find a fishing license and most anglers went without. Now charter operators acquire them online for their guests and most conform to the law. The new vigilance has also made anglers more aware and respectful of bag limits. Last week I bumped into one of our local commercial fisherman who has always enjoyed the reputation of being a "bandit". The whole community is aware that he has no regard for fishing regulations and poaches our sea. He is not bashful boasting that authorities have never been able to catch him with a smoking gun. Last year a sting to catch poachers was set but this guys is smart. One night in the dark while pulling his net a patrol boat tried to approach. He heard them coming and the chase was on. The faster patrol boat started to gain on his fishing panga so he started to do "S" turns all the time paying out line behind him. Finally the patrol boat came to a stop when the line fouled the propellers of the inspectors boat. Like I said this guy is smart. In a conversation we had last year the "bandit" told me in his soft spoken voice with a smirk and chuckle "the forbidden fruit is always sweeter". Now he tells me he is not fishing and went on to explain that there is just too much vigilance and poaching is too risky. The point of my story is Baja has come a long way from the wild frontier it once was. We still have a long way to go but it is good to see steps are being taken to protect our resources. I have chosen an image captured from each month of last year and posted what a Jen Wren Sportfishing Calendar would look like if I ever got around to publishing one. January Struggling through our East Cape winter February While boats were in dry dock mama made herself at home on our bow pulpit March We experienced an insane yellowtail bite April Striped marlin started to show in numbers May The bite moved to high gear. Marlin, dorado and wahoo June The East Cape is on fire! July Tuna finally showed, marlin fishing was ridiculous and many broadbill were sighted August Outstanding fishing continued and 2013 was tuning into a banner year September We dodged a couple tropical storms but the bite never slowed October Yes, 2013 turned into a year to remember November North winds made it a bit uncomfortauble but it didn't bother gamefish December Yikes! Prices are rising. Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Is she or isn't she? Finally we are experiencing nice weather on the East Cape. The wind has been relentless for weeks now. I have no first hand fishing reports but have heard that those willing to brave the wind have been rewarded with marlin and dorado. Even an occasional wahoo is still stirring. Not wanting to get beat up in the wind has made it a little easier to have my head below the decks of the Jen Wren boats performing maintenance. Every time I start to see the light another gremlin pops ups but it is all to be expected. Inspecting all of the systems because I know it is not a matter of if they will fail it is a matter of when. The game is to anticipate a failure before it happens and perform service to prevent it. The end of the year is time for reflection so I have started to review some of the incredible photos we were lucky to capture during 2013. There are way too many to post up all at once but for now I have decided to pick a few of my favorites and then post others that turned out to be most popular. 2013 wasn't the year of the tuna for the East Cape but we had our moments Dorado were plentiful this dog went 58 lbs. It was a banner year for striped marlin Yes, marlin were as thick as cockroaches most of the year My favorite for 2013 was this shot of a broadbill swordfish Okay, by popular demand posted are photos that received a lot positive comments over 2013 This image was captured from the deck of our home in February and posted it on our Jen Wren Facebook page. It received more than 57,000 views. Birthday celebration on Jen Wren III 1st sailfish of the season Guys are still talking about the "red bikini" Drum roll……. Most popular photo 2013 Is she or isn't she? Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Sticker shock! There hasn't been much publicity about Mexico's new Federal tax reform law going into effect next month and it is a biggie. The legislation will raise the sales tax in Baja California 5% over night. What does this mean? It means those of us that live in Baja will have a cost of living increase a minimum of 5%. Fuel, water, electricity and all goods are going to take a hike. The law is supposed to exclude food but I will have to see it to believe food doesn't increase as well. Visitors will also be impacted with higher prices. I have never been one to beat around the bush and want to let everyone know our charter fishing prices have been increased for 2014. This increase isn't to make profit but is to pass on to consumers our added expense. It is the only way we can maintain the quality of our boats and the service we provide. Looking at the world picture our fuel costs will still be lower than the US and most international fishing destinations. Coupled with one of the richest fisheries on the planet Baja will remain a bargain comparatively. Sticker shock General consensus blames the upcoming tax increase on the corrupt Mexican government and believes politicians are lining their pockets. I can't say that isn't so but living here 24 years I have observed some incredible progress. The standard of living of local Mexican people has improved dramatically. Today there is opportunity for everyone to have a cell phone and satellite TV. Many kids in school have their own computers and if not most classrooms have them available. Mexico has a health care system that works and encompasses even the poorest. Most own cars and highways are no longer littered with pot holes. The days of visitors trading Hershey bars and Playboys are long gone. The new tax reform will also initiate a new electronic recipt (factura) only policy. This will create more accountability and eliminate much of the black market. This is a huge move and demonstrates progress in modernization and eliminating corruption. The powers in Mexico City might be self serving but they are also allowing the good people of the country to improve the way they live. Contrary to the perception the media has tried to portray, Mexico is a safe and wonderful place to raise a family and an outstanding tourist destination. My statement about the media reminds me of a story I just have to share. In October my brother-in-law and his brother were visiting to do a little fishing. About a week after their return home to Wisconsin one of them went on a hunting trip. Returning from hunting he developed a blood clot and was hospitalized. It blew my mind when I heard the doctor treating him suspected he got the clot in Mexico. I'd like to know how you catch a blood clot in Mexico? It is perception created by the media that everything bad happens in Mexico and it just aint so. I don't know how I got on this rant but am going to jump down off my soap box now, go have some holiday cheer and hang my stocking on our chimney. Wishing everybody a warm and wonderful holiday season. Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841 If you have questions or want more info please let me know.

I messed up the photos in this post and can't figure out how to edit. Here they are: First day out of the gate at Mag we found what we were looking for. We found a small spot of bait and our photographer got in position just in time to watch a bryde's whale scoop the whole ball up in one bite How did Frank on El Regalo manage to slip us a banana out at the Thetis bank? No place like home! Great to be back at the East Cape.

Only in Mexico It has been more than 5 weeks since I wet a line. Now I'm watching the north wind blow and getting a little cranky. It has also been that long since I've been able to compose a report and here is a little story of a wild ride. We were contracted to take Jen Wren III to Mag Bay for 3 weeks departing a few days after WON's tuna tournament. Our agreement was with an England based production company putting together a film for the BBC. I put together enough food and supplies for us to stay on the boat the entire time. We also provisioned a scuba air compressor to fill tanks. Jen Wren III is equipped with a water maker so basically all we needed for continuous operation was to take on fuel. Our mission was to find underwater bait balls under attack by predators like marlin, dorado and tuna. Aboard was an accomplished award winning underwater photographer who filmed parts of the Blue Planet and Planet Earth. The camera equipment was the latest state of the art gear. It was explained to me that Blue Planet was filmed more than 12 years ago and with the advancement in cameras they intended on raising the bar. Also past productions had eye catching photography but not really a story. The goal now was to tell a story from a predators point of view. Most think about the poor bait and how difficult it must be to be prey. This was intended to take a little different wrinkle demonstrating that it is not easy to be a predator having to find and capture food everyday to survive. We departed Cabo San Lucas marina in the morning after loading 11 Pelican cases of camera equipment and a couple of personal duffel bags for our photographer and his camera man. After a quick dive outside the arch to check out the cameras we were off. I intended to run up near Todo Santos to get out of the Cabo boat traffic before slowing down to look for some action on our journey up to Mag. We would be able to look around for a few hours and still make our destination before sundown. As we were nearing Todo Santos our port motor lost power. After about 15 minutes of checking things out Chuy and I decided we had blown the turbo in that motor. Oh boy, now what? Our crew indicated they wanted to continue on. Now our top speed was 9 knots and I calculated we wouldn't make the anchorage at Mag until 2:30 or 3 in the morning. Now we need to figure out how to get this baby repaired. It dawned on me I better get with it because once past Todo Santos we wouldn't have cell service again until we arrived at Mag. My first call was to Francisco Vindiola in La Paz. His shop rebuilt the motors in Jen Wren and he has a huge supply of Cummins parts and also rebuilds turbos. There was no answer and I was starting to get a little frantic. Next call was to my wife Jennifer. I explained the situation and that she needed to find a turbo somewhere, someplace. In the morning I was able to download e-mail and received the news that Vindiola didn't have a turbo. He indicated he did have the parts to rebuild ours but that would mean getting it to his shop in La Paz. That would never work but my wife was busy on the phone. A complete turbo was located in Irvine California and my brother was scheduled to arrive in Los Cabos in 2 days. I was barely able to get a phone signal, but called and broke the news that he needed to pack a 50 some pound turbo on the plane. He was not excited about the idea but agreed. The day after his arrival Frank Fink was to drive to San Carlos from Los Barriles to meet his boat El Regalo. It was all falling into place as Frank agreed to bring the turbo. After the early morning calls we gimped out of Mag at a steaming 9 knots in search of action. Luck was on our side and 2 miles outside the Entrada frigate birds were in a frenzy and we could see a huge school of bait getting hammered by predators. It was nothing short of a spectacular sight. The bait hung together and we were able to work it over getting some unbelievable video footage for more than an hour. Outside the Entrada we weren't able to get any signal so had no phone or mail communication all day. Upon return I had mail stating Vindiola had put a turbo cartridge on the public bus to San Carlos and we needed to pick it up. I called and was little upset. Only in Mexico! I couldn't believe he put parts valued in excess of thousand dollars on a public bus plus we wren't equipped or prepared to rebuild a turbo charger on the deck of Jen Wren III. Here is where I learned more about turbos then I ever wanted to know. Francisco explained that with just taking out 4 bolts the turbo would break in two and we could change the cartridge. It all sounded too easy. The Port Captain at Puerto Magdalena agreed to have someone meet the 1PM bus at San Carlos when it arrived. We planned to be out filming. Upon our return we were informed our parts had not arrived. It was really no surprise to me I never expected they would. What was a surprise was when a panga came up next to us around 9PM while we were barbecuing some fresh lobster for dinner. The pangero smiled and handed me our turbo parts. Apparently they arrived on the 7 PM bus and jungle drums in the small town alerted the people that needed to know. In the morning it went just like Francisco said it would and in less than an hour we were up to speed. Yes, now we have a spare turbo charger. Part of our agreement with the film company was that we wouldn't take photos. With that I didn't get much but have posted a few. More on our adventure later. Our integrated Simrad electronics worked flawlessly and made traveling at night easy. First day out of the gate at Mag we found what we were looking for. We found a small spot of bait and our photographer got in position just in time to watch a bryde's whale scoop the whole ball up in one bite How did Frank on El Regalo manage to slip us a banana out at the Thetis bank? No place like home! Great to be back at the East Cape. Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

East Cape continues to rock and roll I believe it is safe to say our weather has turned the corner. Water temperature in the Sea of Cortez has dropped from 87-88 to 85 degrees as days get a little shorter. Walking the beach this morning at day break I could almost feel a chill in the air. Visitors still feel it is plenty warm but myself being acclimated to the heat and humidity can detect a change. The difference in weather has not affected aggressiveness of game fish. Billfish, dorado and tuna all have a big appetite and have been pleasing anglers with no relief for several months now. Last week we had our first double hook up of the season with blue marlin. There was a third fish in our lure pattern and I'm glad it missed our stinger rig. One blue marlin is a hand full and having 2 hooked at the same time is pure chaos. Accurate Fishing Products, Jack Nilsen recently fished with us for a few days. Not only does Jack make the finest reels on our planet he has become very proficient at putting together great video that depicts the action. If you love to fish this will surely give you a stiffy: In other news this is the height of our sea turtle season and conservationist Noe Ariza has harvested more than 20,000 eggs from our beaches for incubation in our East Cape nursery. Baby turtles from the nursery are now being released daily. Jen Wren skipper Chuy Cota aka "Captain Tuna" was the big money winner in the Buds and Suds invitational last week bringing the largest tuna to the scale both days of the event. Striped marlin Blue marlin Sailfish Dorado Yellowfin tuna Noe Ariza out every morning at first light saving the turtles Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Oh! What a relief it is. It is hard to believe it was just a week ago that tropical storm Manuel was bearing down on us. It huffed and puffed and threatened to blow our house down but then turned East. We experienced one day of pounding surf and the Sea of Cortez has been like a pond ever since. The storm never slowed down tuna, marlin, sailfish, dorado or wahoo. It is a skippers dream to depart in the morning day after day knowing the day will be action packed. The spectacular fishing has been going on for some time and anglers are going away with big smiles and life long memories. Back in late July I asked readers to tell me why. The question was if you aren't getting ready to go fishing or just returning why? That was because the bite was unbelievable and I'm here to tell you it is still full speed. Sashimi time Marlin Azul Mahi mahi Striped marlin Sailfish Ceviche time This was a white sand beach before the pounding surf from Hurricane Manuel After Manuel I had the day off yesterday Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

The come back kid Outstanding East Cape fishing continues with tuna and dorado filling anglers coolers and billfish putting on a show. Availability of good bait has made it easy to get the game fish to cooperate. Humbolt squid has been the mainstay for more than a month but now live sardines have become available adding to our arsenal. Both baits are working well on all species. Last week while fishing for tuna off La Ribera we had a double hookup on marlin using sardines. Slow trolling humbolt tentacles has worked well on the dorado and once in a while a billfish will also bite this bait. Tuna have been less consistent providing limits one day and vanishing the next then reappearing a day or two later. Tropical storm Manuel made landfall in mainland Mexico and devastated the area around Acapulco with flooding and winds. We hoped that would be the demise of the storm but remnants have re-entered the Pacific and Manuel appears to be making a come back. Forecasters are unsure at this point but feel the storm may strengthen and travel up the Sea of Cortez. Will our luck hold out? Only time will tell. This week downloading my cameras I found some cool billfish photos and have posted them up. Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

In the dark of the moon The outstanding fishing we have been experiencing most of this season has slowed. In fact I would call this week the toughest fishing of the summer. That is not to say we are not having success. It is just not insanely good like it has been. Billfish have become hard to find. Fish we do find are jugged with squid and don't want to bite. Tuna have not wanted to cooperate as well. There are lots of porpoise schools holding tuna 20 to 40 miles off shore but the fish have become boat shy and also line shy. Even the inshore roosterfish have become lethargic and are not aggressive. It is a little odd that coming off the dark of the moon game fish don't want to go. It kind of shoots down the full moon theory as the last 2 full moons have been full speed fishing. I believe it is because there is so much squid in the water. If you ate Snickers bars all day you might not want lunch. Looking at the photos I have posted below conditions certainly aren't bad. We are just working harder to make it happen. A couple of dandies went for the chunked squid Working hard pays off More schoolie sized dorado and less quality this week Hard to get the marlin to go Ron Wade met his match Nice fish! Tom Bocarelli and his buddies had a couple of tough days but hung in and it paid off. The wind blew one day so we decided to stay inside and filled the box with nice snapper Roberto nailed this bad boy while we were on anchor cleaning up Jen Wren The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

No stinking badges! It has been another action packed week on the East Cape. Striped marlin, yellowfin tuna and dorado are all on the prowl. Now a few blue marlin are showing and a huge volume of humblot squid have arrived. It is pretty hard to go out on the water and have a tough fishing day right now. That is not to say there aren't lulls in the action but at the end of the day if your fish box isn't full something went wrong. The marlin are not all over the board like it has been and are mostly just a couple of miles off the beach. Tuna are with the spotted and spinner dolphin and spots are being found to the north and south from just a couple miles off the beach to 40 miles out. It is anybody's guess where they will be tomorrow. Over the last couple of weeks it appears to me a huge fuss has been made over the fact that Mexico is no longer offering paper fishing licenses. Now the only way to obtain one is on line. Some negative press has come out which has caused some of our clients to contact us in a bit of a panic. I'm here to tell you the new system is better than the old one. It is just Gringo nature to need something to worry about. We are buying licenses for our clients on line for less money than before. We know the money is going where it belongs and can print as many copies of a persons license as they want. For the day guy that may not mean much, but for a guy that frequents Mexico it is very convenient to make as many copies as a person wants. Enough of that. We just installed an entire new Simrad electronics package on Jen Wren. Simrad's new NSS touch screen multi function GPS's are incredible. It is almost a curse because after using one it is hard to go back to the old technology. We also installed a new 400lb a day ice maker in our boat house. Now that we are making snow the fish coming off the Jen Wren boats are nice and frosty. This bad boy fell for the plastic. The dodos are not full speed but we are finding one in our fish box most days That looks like a ceviche smile to me Tuna candy is here! Bill fishing has been exceptional Hang baby hang! Don't try this at home boys and girls. It is not as easy as Diego makes it look Look close and you will see a red coronet tail in this stripers mouth. The marlin reminds me of my labrador retriever. When we grabbed to release it, there was a half dozen tails hanging out of his mouth, but by the time I found my camera the fish had sucked them all down. Great way to start the day Buttoning up after a great day fishing. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Tell me why? It has been another banner week on the East Cape with very constant action for all anglers. I have run out of ways to describe how sick the bite is. If you are reading this report and haven't just returned from fishing or just getting ready to go I would like to know why? The weather couldn't be nicer, the Sea of Cortez hasn't yielded like this in a long time and airfares to Los Cabos are at a bargain price. The Dorado Shoot out and EC Bisbee are now behind us for 2013. While no record breaking monster fish were landed both events were well attended, very successful and loads of fun. During the Bisbee 183 striped marlin and sailfish were released. Good lord, teams weren't even fishing for those species. Broadbill swordfish are still popping up everyday. We had one in our sights today on Jen Wren III but it sank out before we could present a bait. Mark Rayor OUT! I'm going fishing! Dorado Tuna Record numbers of marlin Lit up! Puttin on a show Diego has a live one Sea of Cortez always exciting! Orcas among us It's a bird no, it's a plane no it is a monster hammerhead Turtle season is here. Momma tracks up the beach to make her nest. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

History East Cape fishing remains incredible and I am seeing nothing but smiling faces at the end of the day. Ed Pafford of Bakersfield visited the East Cape the first time in 1981. As he described " the first year we took a jet to La Paz and then a DC3 to the East Cape. We didn't know where we were going and the plane just dropped the 6 of us in the desert". Ed has returned to the East Cape every year since. Last week after his first day he came up in the bridge of Jen Wren III and described his day as "the best I have ever experienced". That is a mouth full but true for most anglers visiting our area right now. Marlin, sailfish, dorado and wahoo have all been giving anglers a hand full. After showing up a bit late the tuna bite has just gone insane. Even Broadbill swordfish have made an unprecedented July showing. To top it off our weather has been outstanding. Boys and girls I can't imagine how it could get much better. Ed Pafford pulled a white bonito out of the middle of a tuna bite Yellowfin showed up late but are now in huge numbers Small reel nice fish Full fish boxes are norm Swordfish in July. Unheard of! Proud grandfather. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Don't let the door hit you in the tail! Holy Cow! No joke, we are experiencing the best fishing I can remember in many years. Billfish are aggressive and can be found anywhere from 3 miles off the beach to 30 or 40 miles out in any direction where schools of spotted and spinner dolphin are holding tuna. Most of the tuna are 10 to 20 pounds but there has been some bruisers in excess of 200 pounds brought to the scales in the last week. Dorado have not been as plentiful but most of the fish landed have been trophy size. Most days we have been returning with a mixed bag of tuna, dorado and billfish. Oh, and lets not forget about the swordies. Broadbill swordfish have also made an unprecedented July showing. At least one or two fish are being sighted everyday and three were brought to East Cape scales this week. After sighting several we finally got one to go. It was a one hour ten minute battle and the fish weighed in at 165 pounds. I love when we have to use the transom door. We were all standing around in a daze after the battle when this swordfish came to life and tried to jump back in the water. It was no easy job subduing the gladiator of the sea jumping up and down on the deck. It was a scramble to get the door shut. Yours truly with lucky angler Drew Hagen. This fish was landed on the Accurate Boss B2-30 in the photo. The day prior we landed 150 pound tuna on the same reel. Big tuna! Are we having fun yet? Halco Lazer Pros and Accurate reels are a deadly combo Reid Jenkins and his buddies sharing his birthday tuna Limits of tuna and smiles all around Alan Mouchawar shared this photo of his son landing a nice yellowfin on Jen Wren All the dorado have been good grade This fish bit a marlin lure This fish pigged out on a green jack Choking up squid. I believe the abundance of squid has contributed to the huge volume and variety of gamefish we are enjoying. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

A non-event The bite has been epic all week and then came Hurricane Erick. It was a storm that threatened to take a path right through Cabo's back yard. In the end it hit cooler water, fell apart before getting here and turned into a non-event. Not enough rain to measure and not enough wind to cause concern. Hurricane Cosme that skirted us 2 weeks ago did turn the water in shore upside down and made it cold and ugly green. There is a hard break at about 20 miles and game fish are piled up out there just waiting to put anglers to the test. Marlin, dorado, tuna and an occasional wahoo are all on the menu. Dorado are not huge in numbers but are huge fish when you hang one. 84 year old Peter Gavallos still hittin it hard That big tuna was landed with that little Accurate Boss reel. They are sweet. Marlin are as thick as cockroaches Putting on a show This old guy keeps showing up on my camera roll. Looks like he might be starting to lose his hair? Live bait is a little hard to come by in the mornings but easy to catch at the bouys. These "camisa's" pilot fish have been like candy Simrad's touch screen technology is the bomb. Would hate to have to go back to the old stuff. Among many other features finding the temperature breaks are easy. First billfish, a wonderful family memory. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Then Cosme blew by Last week I couldn't emphasize enough how epic fishing was. Last Monday afternoon when we tied up our boats for the day the water temperature was 85 degrees and conditions couldn't have been better. Then Hurricane Cosme blew by. It wasn't a big storm as storms go and passed more than 250 miles south of us. It did have an adverse effect on our conditions though. Thursday morning I fired up Jen Wren III to go fishing and discovered the water temp had dropped below 64 degrees. Holy smokes more than a 20 degree drop in two days. Now 5 days later we are still running out 20 miles to find bluish color water in the high 70's. Closer to shore the water is an ugly green and cold. On the outside things have perked up. The marlin and dorado bite is decent again and more schools of spotted and spinner dolphin are being found holding tuna. Live bait has been a huge problem but now the shark buoys on the outside are all loaded with camisetas, horilitos, and bullet tuna. With just a few drops of a sabiki a bait tank can be plugged with great bait. Holy smokes! Am I still in Mexico? This week having surface temps at our finger tips from the satellite weather on our Simrad touch screen plotters have been huge in finding the breaks and warmer water. Bendo! Most of the dorado have been quality bulls. This baby went 50lbs Sitting Bull with a bull Speaking of bulls, a bull shark got the better part of this tuna Landed our first blue of the year. Mark Locken pulled the old bucket trick on his brother. He was very impressed with how well our Accurate reel performed. A slow bite doesn't stop us from havin fun. Marlin bite is bouncing back. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Moon is bright, fish wana bite. "Super Moon Weekend" and the laundry is out. So much for the "fish don't bite on the full moon" theory. The bite started to come on strong the 1st of June and now we are experiencing the best fishing of the season. In fact the bite is better than anytime I can recall last year. The billfish can be found almost anywhere in East Cape waters and the bite is just ridiculous It reminds me of Mag Bay fishing. It is not uncommon for boats to have double and triple hook ups and return having released numbers in double digits. Now yellowfin tuna have arrived on the scene as well. Several schools of spotted dolphin have moved in all holding tuna. Most of the tuna are pee wee size but hit the right school and there are some bruisers Yesterday a 176 pounder was brought to the scale. A few good grade wahoo are also mixed in feasting on football tuna. Dorado are not schooled up in numbers but the ones being found are trophy sized bulls. Our weather couldn't be nicer and fishing is about as good as it gets. Nothing as beautiful as a big bull dorado Our AFTCO bat being put to the test 13 year old Austin Miller with his first dorado. It weighed in at 58 lbs. The marlin bite is insane This is how they come unbuttoned. Check out the hook on this fishes bill. As soon as he shakes his head it is adios amigo Ready for release Lots of sailfish in the mix Sashimi time! The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Missing in action! It has been an outstanding week with sailfish, striped marlin, dorado and wahoo providing an incredible amount of action. A huge volume of gamefish are spread out off shore over most of East Cape's waters. Boats can head out off shore in almost any direction and find fish. The key is finding bottle nose porpoise and storm petrols working. Find the birds and the porpoise and the fish are sure to be close by. Finding live bait has been a difficult and sometimes impossible task but ballyhoo have been working well. I believe it is the many pods of bottle nose in the area feasting on bait that has made it so difficult. Noticeably absent from the game are yellowfin tuna. Normally here by the first part of May it is anybody's guess why they haven't shown. It is lucky the billfish have been holding up their end providing non-stop action while we wait to see when the tuna will appear. On several occasions while watching our jig pattern I'll spot sailfish under one jig... oops two jigs... OOPS every jig out there is being stalked by a billfish! Now that's what I'm talkin about. All of this plus warm days and calm seas it doesn't get any better! We were pleased to have AFTCO's Greg Stotesbury and Vivian Hayes fish with us several days. Stotes is an accomplished angler and was blown away by how many opportunities we were presented with. Sailfish have appeared in force Taking up the slack Double hook up for team AFTCO Greg putting on the heat. Vivian is close Pez vela Say ahhh Bottle nose frolic but tuna are MIA Lots of good grade dorado Ceviche time! Love our fiberglass AFTCO gaffs. Look at that baby flex! Greg and Vivian with a dandy Bulls Marlin are lighting up the East Cape! The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

One picture is worth a thousand words The East Cape has lit up! It is report time and I'm out of words. Just going to let TODAYS photos do the talking. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Current events Satellite weather on our Simrad NSS 12 displays surface temperature. This shot shows how a cold current has pushed warm water our way. Having latest info at our finger tips really helps us find the temperature breaks It is amazing how fast conditions can change. Last week the main body of schooling marlin were some 40 miles to the south and we were running down and fishing with boats coming up from Cabo San Lucas. Now a strong cold current has pushed the fish northward right into our front yard. Right now it is not unusual to see 60, 80 or even a hundred marlin in a day jumping and tailing. The problem is they are in spawn mode and not very interested in baits we are offering. This happens every year where we go through a period that the bite is tough. Good news is they will get hungry soon and the sheer volume of fish we are looking at gives assurance that when they decide to go we will have our hands full. Also everyday a hand full of quality dorado and wahoo are being taken in the same area. In shore the roosterfish bite has picked up a little but still far from full speed. We have sighted some Bubba sized fish but live bait has been hard to come by which is key for real success fishing on the inside. A few dorado are in the mix Lots of tailers Marlin surfing down swell are easy to spot Not many biters Diego lets this roosterfish go This bad boy munched a sardine off the beach at El Cardonal 94 year old John Cary battling a roosterfish This crusty old guy didn't pay any attention to us. Sardines are hard to come by. We found a pangero selling them at Ceralvo Island one morning. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

W A N T E D A L I V E! The best game in town is striped marlin fishing. There has been a few dorado and wahoo in the counts but not like the last couple of weeks. As the hot marlin action off Punta Pescadero died a huge body of fish popped up south of Los Frailes. It is a bit of a run for us but once there the action has been non-stop. In shore the roosterfish are cooperating one day and gone the next. Live bait has been tough to come by making it hard to target the roosters. Tuna? We are just holding our breath. The marlin action has been very entertaining but somewhat frustrating at the same time. By far rigged ballyhoo has attracted the largest percentage of fish. The problem has been they are grabbing the baits and just holding them in their beaks and not swallowing them down. We found rigging the ballyhoo with circle hooks to be most effective. The J hook swing was just yanking the bait away from the fish and tearing it up. With the circles we just point the rod at the fish and apply the brakes. If the we don't get a hook set the bait is not getting as torn up and the marlin will come after it again. This method was working well and we thought we had it figured out until yesterday when we went 2 for 10 and ran out of ballyhoo. We released 2 fish and had action all day so it wasn't all bad. It was just amazing how many fish were there and how much opportunity we had. I must say the smooth drag of an Accurate reel does make a difference. The twin drag is the real deal. It takes less inertia to start the spool turning with the brakes applied which results in less jerk. With less jerk greater pressure can be applied with less risk of line breakage. This week we had four guests catch their first marlin ever. Smaller reels and smoother drags makes even a beginner look like a pro. Snapped a few good shots this week The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

It was a mixed bag Obviously East Cape game fish have not been studying the play book. The book says a little wind and chop on the water makes them go. This is the second week in a row that a couple of days of wind has driven the fish down and shut off the bite. Yesterday was the third day of calm since the blow and the place is perking back up again. A few boats in the area off Punta Pescadero had double and triple hookups on marlin in the late afternoon as the fish charged the jigs. Strike one Strike two Bingo! Nothing better than helping a kid get his first billfish Our first tuna of the season came on a fly No monsters but it is a start In shore is picking up as well Snapped a shot of Rick Collins before releasing this nice roosterfish Accurate reels rock! Elephant seal is a very rare sighting for us. This photo does not give perspective of how mammoth in size these animals are. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Hello Sista This week started as last week ended with great weather and tough fishing. Off shore we found 77 degree blue water loaded with game fish but they just wouldn't cooperate. As the week went on we experienced a couple of windy days and marlin seemed to disappear and none of the fleet boats were able to find the fish. It was very puzzling as normally marlin are easy to spot in the chop and become more aggressive in windy weather. Well, after a couple of days the wind died, the current off shore changed direction, water temp dropped, it turned off color and the fish popped. It bewilders me how adverse conditions could make fishing better but all of a sudden the marlin have turned on and most boats are returning flying multiple flags. Many fish are plugged with squid and spitting it up during battle. Our friend Andrew Hughes shared some photos of the squid that he snapped yesterday that I have posted below. In shore has improved as well. I am starting to see more birds working the shore line and roosters and jacks crashing bait. Early in the week marlin strutted their stuff but wouldn't bite Finally! The bite has turned around We ran across the largest pod of orcas I have ever encountered. It was the first time I have ever seen 3 males in one group. Strange? We didn't see any sea lions that day Squid floating in the afternoon This shot was taken about a mile from the Cabo Riviera Marina entrance Buena Vista resident Andrew Hughes had some luck in shore. Am I seeing double?? Our neighbor Frank Fink has brought a sister ship to Jen Wren III to Buena Vista. This isk a welcome addition to help raise the bar and provide better service for guests visiting the East Cape. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Every dog has their day. This week I'm finding it hard to gather my thoughts to write a report. Trying to keep it positive I can say the weather has been gorgeous. Comfortable temperatures and dead flat seas. There has also been hoards of sea life. Humpback whales are near shore in Palmas Bay and putting on a show for anybody who cares to watch. This week we also sighted huge schools of porpoise and many sea turtles. That was the good news. The tough news is there has been very little live bait available and the bite has been very slow. In shore there has not been much action on roosterfish, sierra mackerel or snapper. Off shore striped marlin can be seen jumping and tailing but for the most part have lock jaw. There are a few quality dorado being caught but no concentration so it is just a matter of being in the right spot at the right time. There have been a few broadbill sightings which is very exciting and a few of the guys down south have gotten them to go. No matter how tough things are it seems like someone always gets em. One day this week while it was very slow for most, one boat fishing the same area as us went 4 for 10 on striped marlin. Fishing within sight of that boat we only had one bite all day. For the most part I feel the deck is stacked in our favor with all Accurate reels, Calstar rods and Simrad electronics but every dog has their day and it was ours. On an average most guys are sighting many fish but only really getting a couple legitimate shots at fish showing interest in the bait presented. It is ironic how quickly folks will change travel plans based on a report like this. After all it is fishing and there is always going to be ups and downs. It is these types of over-reaction that cause some operators to always have glowing reports when maybe fishing is not wide open. They choose to talk about the boat that went 4 for 10 and not give perspective of what the East Cape fleet is doing. I can tell you just like Arnold the bite "will be back". In wrapping this up I want to talk a little about our bait situation. Last week I received mail from one reader asking for a report on the live bait situation and expressing he wasn't coming down without assurance there would be live bait available. It made me think about the first broadbill swordfish I ever caught. It was April 1995 and we used a frozen greenback mackerel for bait. One might ask why frozen bait? The reason was no live bait was available. It would have been easy to stay home because we couldn't get bait. I chose to go fishing and ended up catching the fish of a lifetime instead. My point is that it all cycles. The game fish will turn on soon and we will also have live bait. With it or without it there is no reason to not go fishing and have a positive memorable experience. Nothing more colorful than a dorado Love those Accurate reels April is prime time for swordies on the East Cape Two boats no waiting Lights out! Another spectacular East Cape sunrise The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

Moon is bright. Fish won't bite. This week started off the same as last week. Flat calm seas and a good bite almost everywhere. At Ceralvo the key was finding bait with our Simrad sounder. Once on the meter mark it was just a matter of dropping a bait 200 plus feet and bendo! The yellowtail were instant. Closer to home dorado and marlin were plentiful and cooperative. In shore was also productive for sierra and roosterfish. As the week wore on the moon got brighter and fishing got tougher. The bait at Ceralvo dried up and were nowhere to be found. The yellows were still there but without live bait it was hard to get em to go. Striped marlin were easy to find sunning on the surface but showed no interest in baits presented and would just sink out. Roosters and sierra also disapeared. So the burning question. Was it the full moon turning off the fish and making bait hard to find or just the natural cycle of the sea? When the bite gets tough the fleet spreads out in search. Guys heading south some 40 miles to the distiladera found marlin and dorado very aggressive and kamikaze-ing baits. Also sighted were big meatballs of mackerel. That kinda shoots down the moon theory but kind of puzzling that the fish down south were hungry and the fish here were not. I can't explain it. The good news is the fish from the south are moving this way. Yesterday we ran down south and ended up meeting boats from Cabo San Lucas in the middle. By the end of the day we had chased marlin all the way back to Los Frailes. I just hope they stay hungry. East Cape full moon over the Sea of Cortez There is an incredible showing of humpback whales in Palmas bay right now. I caught this young pup in mid air. Gary Bielat of Houston Texas sent us this photo of his group on the Rancho Leonero pier after a great day of fishing on Jen Wren III. These guys instantly bonded with our crew and were about as much fun as they come. Kevin Freeman in his last year at University of WA battles his first ever striper The fish put on a show The bite got tough at Ceralvo but Bob Bayt and Ray Hafsten still managed to sneak out a couple nice ones. Dorado! New deck hand Manuel (aka Chongo) Alberto Cosio Montes on his first day at the job. This guy has eyes like a hawk, loads of enthusiasm and is a character who loves life. I'm certain he will entertain everybody who gets to fish with him this season. He is the one on the right not to be confused with Ray Hafsten of Indianapolis on the left Mahi mahi time Wes Corbit of Santa Barbara releases his first ever striper on his birthday Hmmm? Not easy to release a marlin with no snout to hang on to. Diego bagged his families Samana Santa dinner yesterday afternoon right out front in 100 feet of water trolling a deep diving Rapala. The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841

It was a shake down Spring is upon us and the weather for the past week has been about as nice as it gets. Cool evenings, warm days and seas as flat as a pancake. The big issue the last few days has been finding live bait. A school of bottlenosed dolphin moved in and have been scattering all the mackerel and caballitos making it impossible for the East Cape bait pangeros to produce. Ballyhoo have been plentiful and working well on dorado and striped marlin but for the yellowtail not so much. Jigging iron has produced a few fish but live bait is the ticket for real success. Without bait the forktail bite at the East Cape has become tough but there has been reports of a hot bite off Ceralvo Island. A few days ago we launched Jen Wren III for the 2013 season. I have been antsing to get in on the yellows while the getting is good and decided to do an over nighter to the Island for our shakedown. The hot spot has been 38 miles away and I figured we could fish late, spend the night and be on the spot in the morning. Cruising down the East side of Ceralvo the 40 some pangas all fishing in a small area was a dead giveaway that we were in the right spot. Metering a depth of 270 feet we dropped our ballyhoo and started fishing. One by one we could see the pangas around us hanging fish but we couldn't get them to go with our offerings. We tried to get a few different pangeros to sell us a few live bait but nobody was willing. The morning was pretty frustrating watching the other boats action until about 11:30 when Diego finally hung one. Shortly after I got lucky. We had finally broken the ice and things were looking up. There was a second group of pangas about a mile from us and we decided to move and check them out. Just underway for a few hundred yards our Simrad sounder went off and we could see a huge school of bait at depth. A couple drops of the sabikis and we were in business with live mackerel and sardinetta. We pinned on the fresh bait and dropped them down on the same spot. Kazam! It was an instant triple hook up. We boated the fish and went looking for the bait again. Every time we dropped on meter marks it was an instant bite. With limits we decided to just meter around and make bait for the following day. The bait always seemed to be ganged up just a few hundred yards away from the grouped up pangas. Making bait was easy except that the yellowtail kept hitting the bait we had just hooked on our sabikis. We tore up several bait rigs and lost a few sinkers but soon our tank was plugged. It was a wonderful evening anchored up tight to the island listening to our music, preparing out of this world fresh hamachi sashimi and then dinner. There is nothing like having a limit under your belt. I thought star gazing at home was good but on a clear night out on the water it is spectacular. In the morning we were on the spot in time to watch the sun rise over the Sea of Cortez. I thought we would slay them at first light and could meter bait but the yellowtail didn't seem to be with them. It was about 8AM when someone must have rung the breakfast bell and the bite was on. Before noon we had our second day of limits and with both of Jen Wren III's fish boxes plugged we headed for home. It was the best shakedown trip the Jen Wren crew including myself has ever had. Finally back in the saddle! It has been a long winter Quality forktails in the 25 to 35 pound range Diego's bit Accurate reels rock! I'm in the game! (is my forehead getting bigger?) Chuy hangs a fish Our Simrad was key to our success When we finally figured it out the bite got silly Limits of quality grade fish It's hamachi time! Nothing like it. I never get tired of the sunrise over the Sea of Cortez The best source for the latest East Cape fishing conditions "like" www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing Mark Rayor teamjenwren.com markrayor.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing US cell 310 308 5841