La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of April 17-26, 2025
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER – Mornings and evenings have really been windy, but then usually diminishing by mid or later morning to sunshine although there were some cloudy days. Day time temps around 80-85, but not much humidity. Nights are cool. About 60 degrees. Overally a really nice time to be down here .
WATERS – Real simple. If it’s windy it’s going to be bumpy. At times, even white caps if the wind is blowing strong enough. But mostly calming down when the winds cut back later in the day.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Yellowtail, amberjack, sierra, pargo, snapper, cabrilla, bonito, jack crevalle, pompano, triggerfish, roosterfish
BAIT: Live sardines and mackerel most days.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY
Amigo, Jeff got out north of La Paz towards Espirito Santo Island and rocked a nice fatty yellowtail!
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Well, the transition is one. It’s not quite winter conditions and not quite spring or summer. But it’s getting there.
It’s kind of a nice time to be here. Air temps are in the lower to mid-80’s without the humidity that comes later. Night are cool. Actually the nights and mornings can be VERY cool as I find myself wearing a sweatshirt wandering around in the evenings and especially launching boats in the morning. It can also still be very breezy and bumpy. A few days this week there were still whitecaps on the bay and that didn’t help fishing .
But overall, you can feel the change.
Cooler water fish like yellowtail are moving out. Some days we find them. Some days we don’t. Or the fish are lockjawed. The fish are overall moving deeper to find the colder water. Deep yo-yo jigs and live bait like mackerel or the larger sardines are still good for hitting 10-25 pound forkies.
The same areas are still producing some amberjack as well. But clearly, with waters warming and getting more blue, the cooler water fish are moving on.
But, we’re still getting some nice cabrilla and snapper along the rocks and over the reefs plus sierra and pompano nearer the sandy beach areas along with roosterfish that are now in the 5-30 pound class (all released).
Big pargo liso are here as well which have migrated into the areas around Cerralvo Island and south along the shore from Punta Arenas. We’re seeing some 20-30 pounders, but these are tough fish. Don’t underestimate them! If 10 of them bite, we’re lucky to get 1 or 2 to the boats! Vicious tenacious fish and among the most frustrating because you can see the schools on the surface and you throw a bait on them and it explodes and you literally get yanked outta your socks!
A few dorado here and there. We’ll see more as the waters warm and some marlin and sailfish now starting to show on the surface although their not quite ready to chew. Bonito and jack crevalle schools are also providing action!
The Easter and Spring Break crowds have mostly dissipated. Check out the difference at Tecolote Beach! Someone told me there were as many as 3,000 cars there daily during Holy Week. Yikes. More back to normal again!
Nice time to be here before the summer crowds come down, but nothing is anywhere near like Easter time!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of April 9-16, 2025
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Cooler than last week, but daytime temps still in the low 80’s. Nights and mornings a bit chilly down to the mid-50’s. Breezy at times.
WATER: Warming and getting bluer and clearer, but down deep it’s still chilly and dark, but changing every week. Nice mackerel and sardines for bait. Can get bumpy if the wind is blowing.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Yellowtail (fewer), pargo liso, barred pargo, yellow snapper, roosterfish, bonito, sierra, jack crevalle.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Tailhunter’s own and everyone’s favorite, Jorge Romero, was out north of town near Punta Coyote and the yellowtail weren’t being very cooperative, but he got this one on a live mackerel. Usually, he has a big smile, especially when he is fishing and he always catches fish.
Our amigo, Jimmy Williams was out at the north end of Cerralvo Island looking for yellowtail that never showed up, but Jimmy tied into some big pargo liso that are as tough as you can find down here for fighters! He and his pals also nailed some nice snapper. Jimmy thinks the yellowtail bite has dwindled.
Popular Captain Chito is one of the best. Poses here with a trophy cabrilla that I’m sure ended up whole in the fish box then onto the grill!
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A little cooler overall this week, but still clearly we’re on a warming trend with temps in the mid-80’s and mostly sunny days. Windy days can still pop up, but are more the exception than the rule. But, there’s still some breeze out on the water. Nights and early mornings are where you really need to take care because temps drop into the cooler mid-50’s.
With the warmer temps, the waters are also warming…on the surface. Down deeper waters are still cool. There’s a thermocline down about 40′ where the waters are darker and colder although surface temps show clearer, bluer water.
Lots of changes…
it would seem as predicted, the yellowtail bite for the season is tapering off. The fish are getting harder to find. Some days there are no biters. Even with all the great live bait like mackerel and sardines. Even dropping the jigs on them. When we do find them, there are fewer fish.
Just the way it is. Yellowtail are colder water fish and they are moving off to deeper cooler waters. Last year, our waters stayed cold so we were actually still hooking a few yellowtail into August. Unheard of!
But, the departure of the yellowtail doesn’t mean there’s a lack of action. There is still a good variety of fish to chase that are biting.
Most notable are the big schools of pargo liso (mullet snapper) that have moved into the shallows. These incredibly tough-fighting fish move in during this time of year to spawn and are both exciting and frustrating to hook! Some would argue that pound-for-pound, these might be the best slugger fish on our waters. With their sharp teeth, sharp gills, armor plating, powerful muscular backs and fins plus being in the rocky areas, these fish have anglers at a huge disadvantage! These fish range from about 5-40 pound right now.
Best spots so far have been the backside and north side of Cerralvo Island, the high spot off the south end of Cerralvo and Punta Perrico area near the Las Arenas lighthouse.
Not seeing any dorado just yet, but hopefully, the waters get warmer and the fish show up. We do know that there have been some sightings of tuna and marlin which are both warm water fish, but hook-ups from anglers to speak of at the moment.
Roosterfish are getting more active. Not the big pigs yet that go up to 100 pounds, but some sporty 20-30 pounder have been getting hooked and released over the sandy areas and shallow rocks south of Bahia Muertos and the east side of Espirito Santo Island.
Other species biting include some sierra, smaller amberjack, barred pargo, yellow snapper, triggerfish, jack crevalle and pompano.
A STILL A FEW SPOTS TO FILL TO COME FISHING IN LA PAZ!
We got a great response last week from these so I thought I’d put them up again…
Reservations are coming in daily and, after 30 years at this, we have so many great regulars who visit us year-after-year! Many dates are filled or filling pretty fast.
However, we have some limited spots here and there with some space just for you! Also, don’t forget that Alaska Air is now flying direct to La Paz. It’s the first time we’ve had direct flights in 12 years!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of April 1-8, 2025
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Mostly sunny mid-80’s to low 90’s in the day, but drops to high 50’s at night. Fewer windy days, but still some very windy gusty bouts here and there.
WATER: If the winds are blowing, can be rough and bumpy. The less wind the calmer the waters. Getting bluer and clearer. Waters warming and sargasso building up so maybe warm water fish like dorado will start moving in.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Yellowtail, dorado, dog-tooth snapper, barred pargo, pargo liso, yellow snapper, roosterfish, bonito, jack crevalle, golden trevally, triggerfish, sierra,
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
A good day! Long-time Tailhunter friends of ours, Henry Vuong and Marline Casillas with a nice table of snapper, pargo, cabrilla, a sierra and a hefty yellowtail that Marline caught!
Brian Pierce just had one day to squeeze in for fishing and had a nice day with plenty of action including sierra, triggerfish, cabrilla and pargo. All great eating.
Finally some larger roosters starting to show up. Darrell got this one on a live sardine for a quick photo and release. Hopefully, bigger ones are around the corner!
Jeff and Marianne Sakuda have fished with us and Captain Jorge over 20 years! Some great catch and eat with the table full of sierra!
A tough day! Actually, hard to get better than this for Darrell Manginelli with a big yellowtail, a big trophy cabrilla, a triggerfish, a pargo, a sierra and Captain Pancho holds up two tasty golden trevally!
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No doubt, conditions are changing. Maybe too fast! But, it is what it is!
The weather, especially the winter winds are calming down. Not so many windy days and the windy days aren’t as bad as they had been. So more days are open to fish. But we still had a couple of blustery days. We were able to get boats out to wet lines, but winds prevented us from getting to some of the spots holding larger or better quality fish.
Still, we had a good week of action with plenty of variety!
With daytime temps now hitting the low 90’s with not much humidity, it’s a pleasant time in town. Evenings and mornings can still be chilly down to the high 50’s so a good idea to keep a sweatshirt or windbreaker handy that can be taken off later.
Of course, the focus has been on the yellowtail bite. Still getting some quality fish around Cerralvo and Espirito Santo Island with fish up to 30 pounds, but most hovering around 10-20 and willing to eat live sardines, mackerel a swell as cast or tossed jigs.
Many of the same area are holding amberjack, pargo and cabrilla as well.
The “problem” if you want to call it that is that the waters are warming faster than normal. That means that the yellowtail and other cold-water species will likely start moving off. In fact, it seems there were fewer yellowtail already around the islands.
However, this means that warm water species like dorado might start showing up early as well as possibly tuna, wahoo and billfish. In fact, the winds have been blowing big patches of sargasso into bunches north of town which is perfect habitat for baitfish and brings in the dorado.
Also, for the first time in many many years, some of the giant squid are showing up. They come up from the deep trenches. Not only are they fun and a handful to catch and make tasty eating, but in the past often the tuna follow the squid out of the deep trenches! We’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, no shortage of inshore action on the aforementioned cabrilla and pargo, snapper, triggerfish, sierra, pompano and trevally among others.
One exciting aspect is the big pargo liso are now spawning in the shallows. Real brutes when hooked on rod and reel and difficult to bring to the boat and one of the most frustrating fish in our waters. With sharp teeth and scales and powerful bodies, they school over the rocks and reefs and broken lines are the norm. They look like giant red carp!
Lastly, some nice model roosterfish are also showing up finally as well. Previously, small fun 5-pounders were around, but we’re now seeing some 10-25 pound grade fish. Hopefully, the big truck roosterfish will be around soon!
A FEW SPOTS TO FILL TO COME FISHING IN LA PAZ
Reservations are coming in daily and, after 30 years at this, we have so many great regulars who visit us year-after-year! Many dates are filled or filling pretty fast.
However, we have some limited spots here and there with some space just for you! Also, don’t forget that Alaska Air is now flying direct to La Paz. It’s the first time we’ve had direct flights in 12 years!
Check out these specials.
Spaces are limited and some restrictions apply, but contact me directly so we can get you set up!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Mar. 24-31, 2025
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Mostly pretty nice and sunny. Daytime temps in the mid-80’s. Nights in the 60’s and comfortable.
WATER: Still mostly cool, but at least it’s getting clearer and bluer
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Yellowtail, pargo, milkfish, cabrilla, sierra, triggerfish, small roosterfish, bonito
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Using a live sardine, Pancho got Jesus in this slugger yellowtail!
Happy girl! Marline Casillas and Captain Arcangel went all the way to the north end of Cerralvo Island. Fishing was sketchy, but this big yellowtail topped the day.
The pargo liso have started moving into the shallows to spawn. Really tough powerful fish to pull out’ve the rocky areas, but Paco stuck this one nicely!
Really really rare milkfish! I’ve only seen a handful in only 3 decades in La Paz. You see the schools quite often and they are frustrating because you get all excited, but these tasty fish don’t eat bait. They are herbivores! All the most surprising that Gerardo caught this on a live sardine!
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Things are getting better.
Things have gotten better. Warmer days. Less wind. Better water.
But, I’m not quite celebrating just yet. Although we’re technically in springtime, I don’t think we’re completely in the clear. I think we’re still going to get some windy days. The fishing is better, but it’s still not full speed.
So, although I’m excited, I’m still pumping the brakes just a bit.
Yes, yellowtail are biting. It’s a good bite. There’s some good fish. Running 15-30 pounds. Some days can be pretty spectacular. But, it’s not all the time or everywhere.
Some days the fish don’t bite. Some days, the fish have moved. Some days, they eat sardines. Sometimes, they want mackerel. Other times like all fish, they want jigs or trolled lures. But.yes, I would say the yellowtail season is on.
Best spots are high rocky areas or the mounts around Cerralvo and Espirito Santo Islands. North and East sides of Espirito Santo and the north and south end of Cerralvo Island have been the most productive.
Not seeing much in the way of surface fish like dorado right now because most folks are chasing the yellowtail or inshore, the pargo liso have shown up the spawn. These tough fish are some of the most difficult sluggers in our waters, but can be incredibly tantalizing to see these huge schools of red and copper-colored fish boiling on the surface. Especially, when these look like giant red 10-30 pound carp. With very sharp teeth too!
Other species like sierra, amberjack, smaller roosterfish, cabrilla and snapper pretty much rounded out the catch this week the usual bonito, jack crevalle and triggerfish.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
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8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
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