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Archive for December, 2007

PHOTO 1: Although offshore fishing has been shut down by winds, the inshore fishing, especially for sierra has been very good with schools of the speedy fish just about anywhere along the beaches, drop offs or around reefs and structures. Our amigos, Tim and Angela Farrell from Oceanside CA hold up a double pair.

INSHORE FISHING GIVES ANGLERS SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN BETWEEN STRONG NORTHERN WINDS

THE FISHING REPORT

Not much jumping around to do this week. Frankly, it was pretty tough to do much of anything. Even scuba divers were staying in rather than get bounced around and getting wet. The northern winds are expected to continue through this coming week as well.

Nothing unusual, that’s just the time of year. There’s a reason this is called W-I-N-T-E-R! There’s a reason not many folks come down this time of year so if you do, you just gotta roll with the punches and be flexible. Fortunately, most folks are pretty cool about it. Others come down thinking it’s gonna be like July…and it’s not. We think it’s COLD right now, but at 71 degrees during the day, it’s still better than most spots on the planet and a nice time to be in town.

As for the fishing, we’re still doing most of our fishing out’ve Muertos Bay. Sure, it takes and hour for us to shuttle you there, but the bay faces south so at least you’re relatively protected and the fishing is close…that’s the key. Inshore, there’s sierra; cabrilla (seabass), jack crevalle and snapper. Every now and then, you never can tell. We had one day where a batch of dorado moved in so our anglers got themselves a nice surprise. Pargo and bonito have also been moving in and out of the areas as well. So, there’s fish to be caught.

If you’re coming down, bring a sweatshirt, windbreaker or light jacket for those windy chilly mornings. You can always take it off!

WHALE WATCHING

We’re starting to take reservations for the upcoming whale watching season. Mid to late January until about mid-March, the California grey whales park themselves over in Magdalena Bay by the thousands. It’s a great event if you’ve never been up close on one of the beautiful animals. If you’re like to check this out, bring your family and give us a shout for more details.

TRADE SHOW SEASON

We’re about to hit the road again! We’ll be on the road for about 3 months hitting YOUR town!

We start things off in Northern California.

January 1-13 at the San Mateo Expo Center for the International Sportsman’s Expo

January 17-20 at the State Fairgrounds in Sacramento for the International Sportsman’s Expo

For the San Mateo Show, we have 5 pairs of tickets to give away to the first 5 of you who ask for them. Total of 10 tickets. So give me a shout if you’d like a pair.

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355
FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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PHOTO 1: Verda Boyd from the Bay Area of San Francisco had a nice few days of fishing with her husband and fellow Sherriff’s officer, Tim Zimmer. They got tuna, dorado, sierra and alot of skippies and bonito as well. Things are definitely tapering down. Getting cooler and windier as we move into our winter mode.

PHOTO 2 : Randy Lyons holds up our bread and butter fish right now. These speedy toothy sierra are abundant and great fighters and you can hook dozens of these a day if you get into the right spot. They are also very delicious. Might now taste so good with bread and butter, but with lime, salt and garlic they are outstanding table fare!

NOT MANY ANGLERS AROUND AND WINDS DON’T HELP ALTHOUGH SIERRA BITE AND EVEN A FEW DORADO STILL CRUISING THE WATERS!

SAFE AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Before we hit the fishing report, we just wanted to make sure we pass onto all of you, clients or not, anglers or not…the very best for a safe and happy Christmas. We are blessed, privileged and honored to be able to do what we do and then pass on our experiences and enthusiasm to all or of you who visit us in La Paz or vicariously join in the fun by reading our reports each week and all my ramblings. The best part of this job is that so many of our clients and readers become friends. We’ve been at it here in La Paz now since 1996 and I think in that time, I’ve missed only a handful of these weekly reports. Glad you’re reading. Hope you’re enjoying.

Peace and Happiness to you now and always from the Tailhunter Family to yours!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Dec. 23, 2007

Well, we’re in the lull before Christmas and seriously…all is calm…except for the wind which happens to be shredding at the moment. Been that way the last few days. Even scuba diving…where you get wet anyway…has been tough to do.

Not many anglers to speak of but we did put out a few boats this week. Everyone fished out’ve Muertos Bay where we could keep everyone close to shore and where we know there’s still fish.

Nice mix of inshore fish. Of course, the sierra were study on the chew and if you put in enough time and devoted the day to them, you could fill a box with the toothy speedsters. However, there’s obviously still some warm water around too as we put a few dorado in the boats as well. No way to know if tuna are about as we couldn’t get over to the south island because of the wind. It’s not that it’s far, but it’s a rough ride out there if the winds are shooting from the south. As well, inshore cabrilla and snapper were also in the counts.

WHALES ARE COMING!

The California grey whales are on their way. From January to March we run day-long trips out to Bahia Magdalena. February is the prime time as the big creatures come to the warm calm waters of the bay to mate, give birth and spend the winter. It’s an incredible experience for the family. Let us know if you’d like us to set up a trip for you including transportation, hotels and whale watching (couple it with some fishing too!). We’re taking reservations now!

2008 SHOW SEASON

Tailhunter International is coming to your town! Hope to see you. Alot of you have been asking for our show schedule for the 2008 fishing and outdoor shows. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing you!

January 10-13 International Sportsman’s Show/ San Mateo Expo Center

January 17-20 International Sportsmans’ Show / Sacramento Cal State Fairgrounds

January 24 – 27 Internanional Sportsman’s Show / Denver Convention Center

February 6-10 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Expo/ Portland OR

February 21-24 Evergreen Sportsman’s Expo/ Monroe WA March 5-9 Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show / Long Beach CA

March 13-16 International Sportsman’s Show / Salt Lake City UT

We will have 10 free tickets for San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver and Salt Lake City shows to give away a week before the show. We’ll keep you posted on the giveaway.

That’s my story! Felices Fiestas, Amigos!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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PHOTO 1 : CHP Office Randy Lyons from Elk Grove CA makes two trips a year to La Paz. One in the summer and one in the winter. He never envisioned the type of fishing he had this week. Squeezing in a two days of fishing in between wind and rain, he ripped the fish population. Here he holds up two nice yellowfin tuna he got at the south end of Cerralvo Island. According to Randy, “They were boiling all over!”

IN BETWEEN WEIRD WEATHER THE FISH ANXIOUS TO BITE WITH TUNA, DORADO, SIERRA, PARGO CENTER COURTS!

LA PAZ / LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DEC. 16, 2007

PHOTO 2: Hard to believe this is December fishing. Stacks of tuna with a few dorado mark the catch of the day for Randy Lyons here with our Captain Adolfo. Randy had two days of this and finally pulled away with bites still going off!

THE FISHING REPORT

Hard to believe it’s December until you come down here. For the most part the whole week we were walking around in long pants and jackets. It was COLD! It even rained all Monday pretty hard. But, what’s up with the fishing?

In between the weather bumps, we got clients out to Muertos Bay and kept them on the lee side of things even as northern winds whipped up the surrounding waters. Go figure! It’s December and we slammed the fish! Yellowfin tuna were thick and hungry. Limits in the box with fish foaming around the pangas! Dorado shooting through the boils. Sierra along the shores tearing up the light tackle and pargo…yes, PARGO…already in as well. One of our captains got 6 of the big red guys losing as many to the rocks.

Hard to figure what’s up, but no one is complaining. In fact, the problem has been worrying if the ice chests headed home stuffed with fillets will be too heavy for the planes! They’re going back stuffed.

All of this is, of course, dependent on the weather. I kid you not, it was freezing for us. The winds blew. Early in the week, it rained…HARD! I felt bad for the folks that came down expecting to lie on the beach all day…but it’s WINTER!

Just glad the fishing held out. I don’t know how much longer we can continue catching these warm water fish, but we’ll keep you posted.

WHALES ARE COMING!


The California grey whales are on their way. From January to March we run day-long trips out to Bahia Magdalena. February is the prime time as the big creatures come to the warm calm waters of the bay to mate, give birth and spend the winter. It’s an incredible experience for the family. Let us know if you’d like us to set up a trip for you including transportation, hotels and whale watching (couple it with some fishing too!). We’re taking reservations now!

2008 SHOW SEASON

Tailhunter International is coming to your town! Hope to see you. Alot of you have been asking for our show schedule for the 2008 fishing and outdoor shows. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing you!

January 10-13 International Sportsman’s Show/ San Mateo Expo Center

January 17-20 International Sportsmans’ Show / Sacramento Cal State Fairgrounds

January 24 – 27 Internanional Sportsman’s Show / Denver Convention Center

February 6-10 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Expo/ Portland OR

February 21-24 Evergreen Sportsman’s Expo/ Monroe WA

March 5-9 Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show / Long Beach CA

March 13-16 International Sportsman’s Show / Salt Lake City UT

We will have 10 free tickets for San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver and Salt Lake City shows to give away a week before the show. We’ll keep you posted on the giveaway.

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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PHOTO 1: A last minute trip from Atlanta GA brought Leif Dover down for some quick fishing and it paid off. Check out the wahoo taken on an orange and black Rapala. That’s Captain Yofo behind him goofing the photo. The wahoo bite was still rolling early in the week until winds and some rain pushed just about everything off. Weather has been inconsistent all week and it remains to be seen if it will have long term effects on the nice surface bite.

THE SEASON FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH THE FIRST BIGGER WINDS OF THE SEASON BRINGING RAIN. HOWEVER THERE’S STILL FISH BITING!

LA PAZ / LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DECEMBER 9, 2007

PHOTO 2: Even though it’s almost winter, there’s still dorado around. Before the current weather pattern hit late in the week, fish like this were still swimming in many areas. Captain Bryan Zulka from San Diego area hold ups a nice little bull. Bryan did good working the fish on light tackle.

PHOTO 3: Kevin Todd from Austin TX, rolled up a few fish around the islands including this nice dorado. Waters are cooling and I don’t know how much longer we’ll still have dorado around. More cooler water fish are starting to show up.

PHOTO 4: Seems like folks from all points have been popping down lately! All the way from Anchorage AK, Diana Cote and Captain Jorge hoist a yellowfin tuna. Check out the calm water! This is how it’s like when the wind isn’t blowing right now. Flat days interrupted by winds. But, the good news is that the tuna still seem to be around and this size football is a blast to catch.

PHOTO 5: Bryan Zulka chomped into the tuna last week. OK, so they’re not big, but they’re almost casting distance from the shore and on light tackle, they’re a hoot and ready to chew.

THE FISHING REPORT
Well, it’s definitely NOT summer fishng anymore. We had some nice fishing early in the week, then the winds and even some rain hit us and well…that was that. We still fished, but it definitely wasn’t shorts and t-shirt weather and the complexion of the fishing changed too.
Early in the week we were still into the yellowfin tuna, dorado and even some roosters. But, I knew we were living on borrowed time. It’s not often we have that kind of fishing this late in the season.
But, there’s no doubt fishing is changing. We are well into the sierra now. The toothy fighters are getting thicker and thicker. Also, the pargo seem to have moved in as well. One of our guys got 6 big pargo lisa the other day and lost a handful of others. The captain estimated these were all big 20-30 pound fish. Just wish I had gotten some photos.
As I write this, it’s calm outside at night, but raining a bit. It’s comfortable. No wind. Yesterday was bright and sunny and calm. Perfect fishing weather. However, later in the week, we’re expecting a bit more rain and stronger winds by the end of the week that might make it tough and uncomfortable to be on the water.
FIRST PERSON – THANKS GUYS!
Here’s Bryan Zulka’s story.
“…. Headed over to the bay and found our boat and Captain Victor ready to go. 10 min. ride to get some small sardinias from the bait guy and back to the bay where we left from to fish. I was like “are we going to troll” , Victor was like “no, we have sardinias” Now we are less than a mile off the beach, he backs off the motor and there are fish already boiling up. Instantly bit. Dorado everywhere!!!
So for the next 5 hours we went no more than 10 min. without a bite!! We left tuna to find dorado! Non-stop all you wanted YFT to I’d say an honest 18 pounds. I fished with my travel rod most of the time, a #15 outfit. But with the boats 4/0 they were fun as well. It was actually like fishing, toss some bait, fish boil! And they all wanted to die. We ended up with over 25 YFT, never counted the big Skippes and over 10 Dorado. We cut loose countless fish.
It was truly amazing. Fished untill 11:45 or so, they headed in. Reeled in the last bait, tossed the rest over and the place erupted with YFT! I could have held my breath from the spot we caught our last fish to the beach. It was that close. Victor filleted our fish, we tipped him well, bid him farewell and thanks and off in the van back to La Concha.Overall can’t say enough good stuff about Jonathon’s operation. Just worked out perfect for us. We that kind of fishing, you don’t need any more time thats for sure. And we had a nice Marlin jump about 6 times withing 100′ of the boat. Nice touch!”
This is from Leif Dover…
“The fishing was absolutely incredible, we had an outstanding time. The day we fished in La Paz was a little disappointing (but only in comparison to the days in Las Arenas), we had wind out of the north and no sardines, but we still managed to get 4 sierra and 2 nice dorado on artificial and skipjacks we caught. As far as Las Arenas, what can you say? All the tuna you could wish for, plus I got my first wahoo (a pretty nice one too according to everyone that saw it) and a number of nice dorado. The last day we literally ran out of bait the tuna fishing was so good, as quickly as Adolfo would rebait us, we had another nice tuna (or bonita sometimes) on the line.”
HEADS UP
For 2008, we’re already getting quite a few reservations. It’s not too early, amigos. Especially if you have a big group or want a certain hotel or certain captain. We already have some days sold out! In 2007, we sold out many many dates and had a waiting list for certain captains and hotel rooms. Once we start out fishing shows in January, we expect that the reservations will start rolling in. We want to make sure you’re covered so give us a jingle or e-mail shout.
Looking foward to another great 2008. Also, if you don’t have your passport…get on the stick and get rolling. Don’t get caught up in the rush like so many others last year who had to sweat it out.
That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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PHOTO 1: Count them. Yes. That right. What are the chances? Five family members go fishing on the same day. Five wahoo come back with them! We have had and continue to have an awesome wahoo season. I have no idea where they all came from. We got our share every year. But, last year, I think we caught FOUR in our fleet the whole season. The Noonan Family fished with us a few days and hammered the tuna and dorado but then went out one day on a friend’s boat and hit the mother lode of wahoo. Guys fish year-after-year with us to just get ONE sniff from a wahoo. This is just incredible. Wahoo are still biting. See below. For the record…the anglers in the Noonan Family from La Jolla CA (except Patrick who lives in D.C.) are: Ryley, 17…Greg (dad) …..Patrick, 22,…..Conor, 16……Charlie, 21…….Marilyn (mom). If mom had fished they probably woulda gotten another one! What day. THEY LOST 4 OTHERS!

RAINS AND WIND COME LATE BUT WAHOO AND TUNA MAKE A GREAT EARLY SHOWING AND FILL BOXES!

THE LA PAZ/ LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DEC. 1, 2007

This is one of those weeks when I’m gonna let the photos and the anglers themselves tell you their stories. They do it so much better than me!

Let me just say that once again, the tuna bite mixed with dorado out of Muertos was well…pretty darned good! I’m running out’ve adjectives. It’s not usually like this, but so far, this is the best fall fishing in ages…especially for the tuna! Live bait…a hook…put it in the water about 100 yards from the beach and WHAM! It’s not rocket science! Don’t make it harder than it has to be!

On top of that, what’s up with the wahoo? Again, the dark larger Rapalas were effective, but so were Marauders and…get this…ORANGE Rapalas! The wahoo have ignored the orange Rapalas all season, but this week I guess they decided to try a different flavor or something.

As well…roosters are still stacked up along the beach plus sierra, pargo and cabrilla! Everyone is still getting fish!

See below…

PHOTO 2: Earl “Butch” Lawson and his son Earl from the Monterey Bay area were on their second visit this year to us and had an incredible outing. They blew up the tuna schools in Muertos showing off some of their catch on the beach.

PHOTO 3: Butch Lawson and popular Captain Jorge holding up a nice bull. It’s almost Christmas and there’s still dorado to be caught on both sides of the peninsula despite waters cooling every week.

PHOTO4: Charlie Noonan (same Charlie holding a wahoo in the first photo) here displays some of their yellowfin tuna. Mom told me they gave away as much fish as they took home. The tuna range from 10-30 pounds and have been chewing since late August.
PHOTO 5: You gotta love his style! Earl Lawson does it like I like to do it. Light tackle! Try doing fish on a little baitcasting rod and 12 pound test sometime. Fish feel like monsters, especially tuna! This rocks!

THE WORD FROM THE TRENCHES!
I told you I’d let the anglers tell their stories! Thanks, guys! Earl Lawson above wrote this up for me:
” I had very low expectations for November, and we just killed them. We had a great time and everything was perfect. My dad and I fished the first two days with Jorge and he was a great skipper. We loaded up on tuna and caught some Sierra and Dorado as well. The third day we fished out of La Paz with Joel and we were on fire. After bringing in 9 Dorado, we were all ready to call it a day. I have been going to La Paz for about 10 years and that was the most consistent fishing and the most fun I’ve had.”

Patrick Noonon who had the epic wahoo day with his family rolled with this great story:
“We just experienced 4 days of the best fishing I’ve ever had, out of bahia de los muertos. Day
#1: Flat seas, sunny skies, and about a five minute boat ride to wide open 12-20lb YFT all day. My dad, who is not the most experienced or graceful angler ever, landed the most fish. He was able to make Victor (panga capt.) bust out laughing after swinging on a fish while doing a full 360 turn in the boat. After about 4 hours of yankin on tuna, we moved inshore for some steady chico pez gallo.
Day #2: we had more yft with some smaller dorado mixed in. My two younger brothers set out claiming that they were going to go after wahoo. We hadn’t heard of any being caught so I was a little skeptical when after only 5 minutes of having lines in the water they radioed over claiming they landed a decent hoo. I called bullshit, but then I saw a big long silhouette being held up from about 200yards away. Damn! I immediately tied up a wahoo bomb and a rapala and started trolling. After about an hour my 20lb rig got bit and started ripping line until it broke. Lesson learned, bring more than a saltist with 20lb if you want to land some wahoo. Later went inside to fish the small roosters before getting back in by 12 for some cold pacificos at the giggling marlin.
Day#3: Didn’t head out with jonathan’s pangas today. Instead we went out with a gringo that the mexicans call oso loco. He’s a hairy mf who knows how to catch wahoo. Today it was blowing hard and we got pretty soaked on the way out in a 33 ft center console. trolled two rapalas and two marauders on avets with 30lb and 60lb. immediately got bit about 4 times in the first half hour. My brother landed the first. I lost the next two…one got to gaff that oso estimated 60-70lber but broke off. I finally landed one on the 3rd try (30-35lbs). fished til 12:30. We landed 5 wahoo (all our firsts) and lost about 4.
Day #4: Headed out on a panga with Victor and my little bro Conor in search of some bigger dorado and pez gallo. Conor hooked into a nice 20 lb bull right away…but lost it after about 2 minutes. He had a small hook on from the day before when we went after the smaller roosters. we kept heading south…and got a little frustrated when victor passed up my brother Charlie’s panga that was surrounded by jumping dorado. Trolled for about 2 hours for nada. Then we rigged up a thick mono leader with a 4/0 hook to troll a 10inch long bonito. Immediately this thing got whacked over and over, but nothing stuck. After a while, the bonito had most its skin off and guts hanging out. No dodos big enough to get it’s chompers all the way to the hook. Then started slow trolling fillets of bonito and it was non -stop dorado for about 2 hours. Biggest bull was 17lbs. Conor and I somehow hooked into the same fish, brought it to gaff and it came off; conor’s line broke on the propeller but luckily mine stuck and i fought the fish for another 5 minutes before landing the 15lber. Kept on slow trolling, even fly lining a bonito fillet produced fish. We finished the day with 11 dorado, and a 5lb rooster. Charlie brought back 6 dorado and even hooked into a 200 lb marlin that broke off after a fun 5 minute fight.
All in all, having never fished south of Ensenada, I had an awesome time. I landed my first wahoo, biggest dorado, first rooster, and biggest yft. Jonathan runs a great operation and can’t wait to get back. The panga captains are great and I caught more fish in 4 days than I did the past two summers. Here is a link to some pictures: http://noonanfishinglappaz.shutterfly.com
That’s my story
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: Paseo Alvaro Obregon #755, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico 23000
Phone: 626-333-3355
Cell: 626-278-1585
Toll Free to U.S. Office : 877-825-8802
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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