La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report from Tailhunter La Paz Fleet for Week of March 16-23, 2014

March 24, 2014 by riplipboy

sierra cindy from Oregon 3-14 small tags

That’s a big sierra! Great eating and feisty on light tackle, Cindy holds up a trophy sierra she nailed trolling Cerralvo Island with the purple rapala you see in the photo. Cousins to the wahoo, these guys make super ceviche! (Thanks for the photo, Hawk!)

Dorado were the mainstay for our anglers this week as waters up to 80 degrees have moved into our fishing holes bringing the warm water species as well. This female was hooked just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos and released, but we’ve been getting some bulls up to 20-25 pounds.

Dennis McGuffee tags cabrilla small 3-14

Inshore action has been good for light tackle and the flyrod like this cabrilla (Mexican seabass) that Dennis McGuffee caught fishing with Captain Archangel from Tailhunters. Dennis is from Colorado.

Here is why we're getting so many warm water fish...WARM WATER! This is the latest ocean satellite reading from www.terrafin.com showing water temps. The copper colors are in the 80's and the greens are the high 70's!

Here is why we’re getting so many warm water fish…WARM WATER! This is the latest ocean satellite reading from http://www.terrafin.com showing water temps. The copper colors are in the 80’s and the greens are the high 70’s!

After 3 months on the road, we’re back in home grounds of S.California for the Fred Hall Fishing Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego! Show is from Thursday to Sunday! Come visit us in the booth and set up your 2014 La Paz fishing trip!

WARM WATER SPECIES AGAIN TOP CATCHES

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 16-23, 2014

Unless something dramatic happens, which might not be good, I would venture to say that cold-water fishing is pretty much done for the year. Given the patterns and catches all winter, our chilly-water season has come and gone…what there was of it!

Whether that’s good or bad depends on how you look at it. For fishermen coming in the spring to chase yellowtail, I think they might be disappointed. There’s still yellowtail around, but certainly not in the numbers we’re used to seeing this year. Our divers say there’s a colder water thermocline down deep that seems to be where the fish are holding. But, the warmer waters on the surface…up 78 degrees around Cerralvo and into the 80’s on the outer banks! There are still some other species around that are great fun like the spawning pargo and reef-bound cabrilla, but frankly no one has really been chasing these challenging species, not when there’s top water species around that are easier to catch and less frustrating.

That would be the other way to look at things.

The warm water species have really not left. They’ve slowed a bit, but folks…we’ve been catching dorado since Christmas. We’ve had little jags of wahoo and even tuna throughout the winter and even the occasional marlin. These are all “glamor “ species we don’t see until later in the season…at least late spring or so. The warm waters have kept these fish in the area and that’s what folks have been catching. They’re fun. They’re impressive fighters. They’re great eating. What’s not to like? Captains, as a pragmatic issue, will also follow the path of “least resistance.”

No sense in chasing bottom fish like pargo or amberjack that will bite, but will frustrate the anglers and possibly send them home with empty fish boxes when dorado are swimming around and make for fast action and great fun and Kodak moments on the beach. Same with cabrilla which are tasty and small…3-5 pounds…then there’s 20 pound dorado swimming around. Yes…20 pound dorado…and some larger!

This past week our some of our pangas got limits of dorado up to 25 pounds…plus cabrilla…plus a few small roosters…bonito and jack crevalle. Good action. There were some yellowtail caught by commercial guys around Cerralvo Island and north of La Paz, but early in the week there were some huge winds that kept everyone close or not even going out.

At the beginning, I said that a dramatic change might not be good. Given the current warmth of our waters, if something dramatic happens, like a sudden decrease in open temperature and everything got cold, I don’t think that would be a good thing. In our past experience, that might just shock the waters and the fish. The waters would turn green and murky and fish wouldn’t bite. That’s just speculation on my part, but I’d rather have fish biting than possibly none at all! Even if they are dorado and billfish! Nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with the ocean either! It’s just another cycle that we go through and this year just happens to be warmer than normal!

END OF THE ROAD! WE’LL BE IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEK!

Sr. Agustin Olachea, head of the La Paz Hotel Association, came all the way up from La Paz to visit us at the Long Beach Fred Hall show! He does alot to help bring tourism to La Paz and Baja, Sur. Great to have him visit us to see what we do at the shows!

We’re coming back to La Paz! The scene at our booth in Long Beach two weeks ago as Jill and Don Busse and his gang of amigos toast the upcoming fishing trip returning to fish with us in October!

Our Tailhunter 2014 Road Tour started at the end of December and it’s finally coming to an end..sadly! Because we’ve had a blast driving all over the country and visiting so many of our amigos at the west’s largest fishing and hunting shows! We’ve been doing it now for almost 20 years! Our road show started with us driving from San Diego to the Sacramento ISE show….then across to the Denver ISE show…then to the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Washington. Then it was just south to the Portland Expo Center. From there to the fairgrounds in Yakima, Washington.

We then took that long drive from Washington all the way to the Phoenix ISE show at the football stadium. Then back north we went to Boise, Idaho for another great show. Then back south to the Long Beach Fred Hall Fishing and Boating show. Last week we drove to Salt Lake City at the ISE show there in Sandy, Utha. Now, we’re here in San Diego! Finally! What a long fun trip it has been! We rocked!

So, come see us starting Thursday for the Fred Hall Fishing show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds near San Diego. The show goes until Sunday and both Jill and I will be in the booth. Come say hi and let’s chat about having you come fishing this year in La Paz. Here’s more information about the show and how to get discounted tickets! Click the link:

FRED HALL SAN DIEGO FISHING & BOATING SHOW

Also, click on the video below!