La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Marc. 10-17, 2023
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Not a bad day! 3 yellowtail and a dorado headed for the ice chest for Pepe and Miguel!
Jorge Romero…has a well-deserved grin after landing this hefty yellowfin fishing at the southend of Cerralvo Island off the high spot where tuna as well has yellowtail have been breezing. He took advantage of lowered winds to get across the channel.
Captain Victor poses with Curtis Popp and his yellowtail joined by his family on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
Gary Wagner at his place at Costa Baja at Bahia Muertos. Gary has a knack for landing trophy cabrilla.
It must be the great shirt! Using both jigs and caballitos, Jorge shows off his catch of yellowtail and a singular tuna. He said he lost another 4 big fish in the rocks.
Scott Kratzmann and Steve Kehler had a nice bit of action squeezing in one day of fishing with several smaller yellowtail, bonito, sierra and Scott said they lost several other fish.
Miles Wagner with a toad yellowtail and a big smile. Staying at his dad’s place at Muertos Bay at Rancho Costa. Miles is from Colorado Springs CO.
What a difference a week or even a day-or-two makes!
It’s been one of the coldest, windiest roughest winters than we can remember in our almost 30 years in La Paz and it’s been close to impossible to get on the water, let alone to fish! That’s why, even in a normal winter year, we consider November to April to be off-season.
However, we know there are fish out there and really for the first time in months, we had a few days of manageable winds and calmer seas as the gusts diminished enough for locals and visitors to get out on the water.
It was some of the best fishing we’ve seen in a long time.
We knew yellowtail had moved into the area, but for a few days this week, they were crashing the boats all over the La Paz area! North, south and east sides of Cerralvo Island were hot as well as points around Espirito Santo Island. Areas near Bahia Muertos, Punta Perrico and Punta Arenas also produced fish that ran from 10-40 pounds with many fish lost in the rocks, reefs or just because it’s like hooking a freight train!
A nice day’s catch laid out o the cutting table of yellowtail.
As well, some nice-grade 30-70 pound yellowfin tuna were also hooked.
Many of these are areas we could not have gotten to if the winds were blowing so the wind was really the dispositive factor.
The fish ate a variety of live baits including sardines, mackerel and caballitos. They were also willing to hit y0-yo and knife jugs plus trolled deep-running Rapalas , Yo-zuris and Nomads.
Inshore, there was some great action as well on cabrilla, sierra, jack crevalle, bonito and snapper. Plus some free-swimming dorado were also boated.
The captains have their work cut out for them…so to speak. Lots of fish to clean and fillet! It’s a good thing!
GRANDADDY COMING UP!
Just finished a fun show at the Kern Co. Fairgounds in Bakersfield with the Central Valley Fishing Boating and RV show. Thanks to everyone who came by to say hi and chat us up at the booth about coming to fish in La Paz.
Now, it’s onto one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year. It’s back! It’s been the big show for 75 years!
Long Beach Convention Center for the Bart Hall Fishing and Boating Show.
After a 2-year hiatus, it’s back and promises to be a super show. Great gear, boats, RV’s, seminars, activities and more! We’ll be in the booth a full 5-days from Wednesday to Sunday! Come see us!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Feb. 26-March 9, 2023
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Nice catch of yellowtail for Paul Le Claire and his amigo who found a little window between winds to hook these tasty forktails.
There’s lots of good eating on the table as Gary Wagner, who owns the Rancho Costa Resort poses with Mauricio and his son and a whole mess of sierra.
Attorney General of Kansas, Kris Korbach with Gary and some unseasonable dorado caught outside of Bahia Muertos. There must be some warmer water around!
I’m sorry for not posting up sooner. I know the report is later than normal, but we’re still on the road and I’ve been a bit under the weather plus losing my voice!
But, again, not really a whole lot to report.
The wind really dictate what’s going on and as I’ve heard so often this season, this is the “coldest and windiest” winter anyone can remember. It very much mirrors what’s been going on for the entire west coast and much of the country with crazy cold, winds, snow, rain and more.
Not much of anyone on the water and many of the days, it’s so rough the port captain shuts down the port to all boating traffic.
The key is to find the small windows between the winds to get out on the water. If you pick the right day, there’s quite a variety of species willing to bite.
Colder water species like yellowtail, amberjack, sierra, pargo, cabrilla and snapper have been available over the reefs and rocks. Some warmer water species like dorado have surprised us. Live and dead bait is best, but casting lures have also been productive.
It does look like the yellowtail bite is starting to heat up. Hot spots at the north end of Cerralvo Island as well as the south and east side of the island have been productive as well as parts off the rocks near Punta Perrico and Punta Arenas. Some jags of the fish have also been hit around Espirito Santo Island as well. The trick is finding those times when the wind isn’t blowing.
Some nice hog-size fish are getting taken and there have been schools of big breezing 100+ pound tuna that were moving too fast to jump on.
MAGDALENA BAY REPORT
We had Jim Gibson and his sons, Dan and Patrick out at Mag Bay with us for several days of whale watching and 2 days of fishing the mangroves.
Although the winds got to them, they had lots of whales in the bay coming up to their panga!
For their two days of fishing, they had plenty of action. According to Jim:
“We caught Black Snook, Corvina, Pompano, Red Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Dog Snapper, Triggerfish, Broomtail Grouper, Spotted Bay Bass, Cabrilla (Spotted Cabrilla, I think), Pacific Porgy, various Grunts, Barred Pargo, and a pretty good sized Scorpionfish. And a couple of octopus, maybe some other species I’ve forgotten. And we got rocked by at least one huge grouper when Rigo took us outside the Bay to fish a favorite rock pile of his. We were under-gunned for that experience!”
TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR
To anyone that came out to the Orange Co. Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa CA last week for the Pacific Coast Sportfishing Show, you had quite a treat with a super-great show with hundreds of vendors and sold-out crowds every day at the fairgrounds.
Thank you so everyone who came by and it was so great to see so many old friends and Tailhunter Nation after several years of no shows in S.California. We had a great time and we’re looking forward to seeing you in La Paz this year. Thanks for you reservations.
Now onto…Bakersfield!
We’ll be at the Kern Co. Fairgrounds from March 11-13 from Friday to Sunday. Great fun for the whole family. In addition to the fishing halls, they will also have a hunting hall with guns and ammo plus the fairgrounds will be covered with RV’s and boats as well as great activities like the tractor pull and custom car exhibits. Hope to see you there!