GOOD DAYS…BAD DAYS…STRANGE DAYS!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of June 11-17, 2022
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FISHING IN A NUTSHELL:
WEATHER: Very erratic. Chilly mornings one day. Warm the next morning. Daytimes usually hot and sunny. Sometimes very humid. Some mornings very windy. Other days, the afternoons and evenings are blustery. Overall, for June much cooler than normal.
WATER: Slowly very slowly seems to be clearing up, but largely still cooler and off-color than normal. Green cold water still in many areas. It doesn’t help that we keep getting winds that stir things up. Sometimes it makes getting bait difficult.
FISHING: Up-and-down to be honest. Varies from day to day and boat-to-boat. Nothing consistent because of the changing weather and water. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best, I’d say it’s a 2 at worst. 5 at best.
SPECIES: Yellowtail, roosterfish, lots of white bonito, barred pargo, pargo liso, dog-tooth snapper, cabrilla, triggerfish, jack crevalle, rainbow runner, trevally, pompano, some dorado. Got our first sailfish finally and our 2nd marlin of the season.
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MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Chris Stark from Yucaipa CA rocked this big bull dorado. We should be thick with dorado right now, but conditions are much cooler than normal.
Gerald Damge and Jim Caskey pose with a nice pair of hefty yellowtail caught north of the city. Both guys are from the Denver area.
Daniel and dad, Jim, Bovee! OK…nice yellowtail with Daniel. But, check out Jim. That’s a halibut/ flounder! Just shows you how cold the waters are! In 30 years down here running our operation, I’ve never had an angler hook a flattie! It ate a whole mackerel. Maybe we should start running halibut charters! (Yes, I know it’s a flounder, but locals call these halibut!)
Love this shot! Alan Hed has his big rooster, but Mike Jennings happily photobombs the shot while fighting his own rooster! Both were released. Check out Mike’s big fish below. The guys are from Washington.
Jerry Rost with Captain Rogelio got this big bull while fishing in shallow water right up against the rocks! Crazy fishing. Jerry is from Idaho and, although you can’t see the whole fish, we taped it out at 54″ long!
I have never seen so many white bonito being caught as we have had in the last week. Alex Cardenas has quite a table spread of bonito with Captain Armando. These bonito are quite tasty.
First trip to visit us from Colorado, Phoebe Bleichrodt had just one day to fish and made it a good one! Great weather and several yellowtail in the fish box!
Shane Lindquist from the Logan area of Utah has been talking to me for years and we finally got him down where he got a variety of fish including a personal best dorado. Good to have him be part of the Tailhunter Tribe finally!
I think Mike is sticking his tongue out here. Not sure if it’s meant for the photographer or because the roosterfish tuckered him out. Great shot and great fish. (released)
This is just a great photo! Grant Checa from Denver has a great story to tell when he gets home. Starting early!
Two more of our Utah amigos that got initiated into the Tailhunter Tribe this week. First timers Andy and son Brandon Nebeker pose with a big first-time roosterfish. The fish was released.
Here you go! Great shot. Long-time amigo, Rich Keogh, with Armando and a sizeable amberjack. Rich gave the fish to a very happy Armando.
First sailfish of the year! Captain Pancho with Tanya and Brandon McGarr from Rock Springs, WYO took this on the east side of Cerralvo Island. Not able to release the fish, much of the meat was donated. They were able to release a striped marlin.
Dave Johnson has fished with us before, but this time, he brought his wife Rachel who took to things very nicely and spent 3 days fishing. Our amigos are from Denver CO.
John Lowdermilk has visited us a number of times and said this past trip was the best fishing has has ever had. Big boy yellowtail on the gaff. John caught about a dozen different species.
Brandon McGarr took only our 2nd marlin of the season with Captain Pancho. Normally, this should be well into billfish, but conditions just aren’t right…yet! Brandon was able to release the fish.
There are lots of big toro (Jack crevalle) running around right now. They are a tough fish to have on the end of your line. “Toro” is the Spanish word for “bull.” Jeri Damge gets a hand from Captain Boli.
Big smiles and a good shot of Greg Saubolle and one of his yellowtail from a really good day on the water. I recall that the boat took 4 or 5 yellowtail that day.
Daniel Bovee always does pretty well. He found a nice amberjack hole and pulled these two sluggers out while trolling for wahoo at the south end of Cerralvo Island with Captain Pancho. Daniel lives in Costa Mesa CA.
Fun family with Captain Gerardo. Noha, Stephanie and Chris Stark got a few rare dorado plus I see more fish on the cutting table as well.
Two of our best goofy friends, Bob Duncan from Santa Barbra fish slaps everyone’s favorite guy Jorge Romero. They got 5 nice yellowtail on the day.
A good start! Utah in the house and first day catch for Shane Lindquist and Aaron Rudie with yellowtail meat for the box.
Jim Caskey has his first roosterfish for a quick photo and release! Jim came to visit us from Denver.
Flat seas and good fishing. Brett Bleichrodt only had one day to fish but had one of the better days with the yellowtail.
Personal best rooster for Alan Hed with big smiles and Cerralvo Island in the background. I think they hooked and released 4 that day.
This is a classic slugger yellowtail. Mike Jennings hammered this forkie on a live mackerel towards Espirito Santo Island.
Tanya McGarr gets a hand from Captain Pancho on her big rooster battled just off the beach near Punta Arenas. The fish was released.
Captain Joel gives Andy a thumb’s up on his yellowtail. His first!
Oh wow! Robert and his brother Jerry Rost hoist a trio of bull dorado that make quite a surprising catch just off the rocks of Espirito Santo Island.
After fighting a fish, it can be quite a chore to lift it for the camera. Chris Stark gets some grins watching his son, Noah, try to pose for the camera.
Tiffany Floyd from Idaho is one of the funnest folks that ever visits us. Captain Joel helps with a big yellowtail caught actually inside La Paz Bay of the San Rafaelito lighthouse.
Jeff Floyd has one for the box amid a good yellowtail bite they found just outside of La Paz Bay.
Ryan Melnick was on his first trip to visit us and got his first yellowtail worth the big smile and a good photo!
I just don’t know what to make of this season except to say, nothing is predictable. Nothing is “normal.”
Looking at all the photos, it looks like wow!!! Fishing MUST be great!
Here is the general picture. It has been a very cold cold season. Waters are 5 to 10 degrees cooler/ colder than normal. That might not seem like much, but it makes all the difference in the world to fishing. Air temps are getting warmer, but the daytime temperatures can vary from 25-35 degrees during the day. Cool and cold in the mornings then blazing hot in the afternoon. Some days very windy and choppy. Some days calm .
Some waters are green and cold. Some water is blue and clear. And that is just on the surface!
Down below under the water, our divers are saying there’s a big thermocline 20-30 feet below the surface that is another 5 more more degrees colder.
Every day seems different. Every location is different. Two fishing boats can be in easy sight of each other and have such completely different experiences that you wonder if they were even in the same ocean.
On top of it all, we had a “SUPER MOON” this week to thrown another wrench in the mix. A super moon is not just a full moon (which can be problematic all by itself!). A super moon happens rarely but it means the moon is something like 50,000 miles closer to the earth . The means huge tide swings. It means stronger currents. It affects the whole fishing environment.
In fact, I want to be perfectly honest. We had 2 of the worst days fishing this week that I can ever remember. Even on “bad” days folks still catch fish. Maybe not as many or not the species they wanted. But, they still get some action .
There were two days this week when the ocean was like a desert! Some boats didn’t get a single bite. Not even from “junk fish.” Some boat got maybe one little fish. Our captains were frustrated. Our anglers were frustrated. Everyone working hard at it, but nature just didn’t want to give it up!
That’s just the way it is. Some really “off days.” Then a good day. We get excited. Then a so-so day. Then a good day. Then a bad day. The fishing is really sideways. One boat catches fish. The boat right next to it can’t even get a seagull interested.
We should be into our summertime bite right now with dorado, tuna, billfish and wahoo.
Instead, we’re still getting cold-water species. It’s not terrible fishing. It’s just strange fishing.
We’re having an incredible yellowtail season with fish up to 35 pounds or so. But normally, the yellowtail are done by April, maybe May. But, when they have been biting, it’s been great. But even the yellowtail take a day off or two.
There’s a few dorado here and there. We got only our 2nd marlin of the season. We got our first sailfish of the season. Thankfully, big roosterfish up to 60 pounds or more are still in the area and willing to bend the rods.
Other than that, lots and lots of white bonito, pargo, cabrilla, plus trevally, amberjack, rainbow runners, jack crevalle and (just to show you how cold it is) we even got a halibut. Well, a flounder, but the locals call any flat fish a “halibut.” But in 30 years down here, I’ve never seen anyone catch a halibut/ flounder. Usually, those are in very much cooler waters.
So, if you’re coming down, just be prepared for anything. Perhaps more cold water will continue. Or, suddenly things will click and everything will change!
UPDATE: Can’t catch a break. Even as I write this, we have to weather situations to the south of us. Hurricane Blas and Tropical Storm Celia are formed up way way way down the south of the Mexican Pacific Coast. They are NOT going to hit us, but nevertheless are sending up big waves and swells as well as strong winds. There’s a possibility of some afternoon rain.
The total effect is that it looks like for the next 2 days, the sun will be out, but the waters could be rough and for our Las Arenas fleet, my captains tell me there will be no live bait for fishing out’ve Las Arenas. So, we’ll probably have everyone fish with our La Paz fleet.
ON THE UPSIDE: No more covid testing to return to the U.S. They finally got rid of it!
Tailhunter Sportfishing
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Phones:
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from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
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Ice report Jon. Say hi to Jill for me.
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