Big yellowtail were again the focus and highlights of the week with good actions just offshore close to the beaches and rocks. This big fat yellowtail is so thick, it almost looks like a yellowfin tuna! Jerry Clark from Kansas City poses on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos. Our pangas this week took 2-4 of these yellowtail per day but lost others to the rocks!
There was some nice variety this week. Our amigo, Don White from Oregon, holds up the kind of jack crevalle we got this week. Related to roosterfish, yellowtail, pompano and amberjack, the jack crevalle schools come rolling up close to the shores and are voracious and tenacious feeders and fighters. They just don't taste very good so they're great sport, especially on light tackle, but most get released.
Typical of this time of year, pargo like this trophy barred pargo (pargo mulato) that Stacy is holding here at Muertos Beach are good targets. Again, these guys are in the rocks but attack the baits ferociously with a big set of teeth and powerful shoulders. The pargo were really hot for the guys using ballyoo as live bait slow slow slow trolled over the reefs.
It was another good week for cabilla (Mexican seabass) fishing as well. Donna Thompson, our amiga from Ventana, seems to have a knack for the cabrilla. The cabrilla are eating live bait, but will also fall for slow trolled Rapalas or other crank baits close to the rocks.
The Tailhunter International Road Show leaves it's 8th show after a great expo in Phoenix and now heads this week to Boise, Idaho for the Boise Fishing & Hunting Show this Thursday to Sunday. Come say hi. We'll be in our booth!
BIG YELLOWTAIL AGAIN STAR FOR ANGLERS
La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 19-16, 2012
Not a bad week of fishing here in La Paz. Some days the wind really kicked like a mule, but it all depended where you were. The unique thing about La Paz is that there are so many micro- climates. You can be tied to a palm tree in one part of the area trying not to get blown away and then be just a few miles away on the beach and there’s barely a ripple. A few hours later, the situation is completely reversed. It’s typical winter weather in Baja. Anyway, just-to-be-sure, we’re doing most of our fishing out of the Las Arenas/ Bahia de Los Muertos side. At least, even if the winds are blowing, we’re closer to shore and the lee side of Cerralvo Island offers some protection for our anglers and there’s less of a boat ride for them since the fishing isn’t that far anyway.
We did hear of some good concentrations of yellowtail out at El Bajo north of town, but the winds are just too ripping to get out there. And really, there’s no need to run that far if the fish are much closer to shore without getting your kidneys knocked around!
That being said, we had some nice jags of yellowtail again…but all with our Las Arenas/ Muertos Fleet. Surprisingly, even on some of the windiest days, the fish still bit! Some of the fish were real horses up to over 40 pounds. The range of the fish went from firecracker 10 pounds up to the larger models. Personally, I think the smaller ones taste better, but nothing fights like a yellowtail. Sardines, mackerel, jigs and ballyhoo all worked well. The trick isn’t getting them to bite. The trick is getting them stopped from the rocks once they hook up as that’s their first inclination to head back to structure!
So, sometimes, even tho’ the counts might look smaller than we’d like, when you talk to the anglers, they’ll tell you that they lost 1, 2, 3 or more fish to the rocks and just weren’t ready to stop the fish. If you’ve never had one of these sluggers on your rod, you can’t sit there and goof –around or rest or think you’re gonna tire the fish just by holding the rod! You gotta pull and you gotta turn the reel handle the get the fish’s head turned towards the boat and away from the rocks!
Speaking about heading back into the rocks, another mean customer, the big pargo liso snapper were also biting this week. Ballyhoo, especially the larger ones, were especially effective baits in getting the big red fish to bite. Slow trolled over the rocky areas produced some monster bites. But that was also the problem. By slow trolling…literally kicking the outboards in and out of gear…means that you have quite a bit of line out behind the boat. When you hooked up, the fish already have the edge by taking all that excess line straight down to the reef. Ergo…adios! Bye-bye. Fish gone! But there’s nothing quite like seeing a 20-50 pound fish attack a bait on the surface. So, you tie on another bait and drop it back and go again. It’s addicting. Like dropping another quarter in the slot machine. There’s always “hope” but we all know the casino usually always wins! So, we got some nice bites on pargo…but sadly the ratio of fish put in the boat to fish hooked wasn’t that good!
Other species included some fun biters on the schools of jack crevalle and bonito that moved in. They provided lots of fun furious action even tho’ most of the fish get released.
TAILHUNTER HEADS TO BOISE!
Yup…we head back north this week after an incredible great show in Phoenix at Phoenix Football Stadium. Come say hi and talk to us about fishing in La Paz this year. We’ll be at the Boise Fairgrounds for the Boise Fishing & Hunting Show this Thursday to Sunday.
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: www.tailhunter-international.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
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Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm
Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate
“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.”
Tailhunter Fish Report 