THAT FULL MOON BITE!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of May 13-21, 2025
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Getting warmer with temps in the 90’s now but the evenings are still very comfortable. Some windy gusty morning and evenings to deal with and can be a little breezy some days, but calming overall.
WATER: Getting bluer, clearer and warmer each week. Water temps on the surface are in the mid-70’s with a big patch of warm blue water coming down from the north.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Honestly…I lost count and lost track. One of our young anglers caught almost 2 dozen species in 3 days. But here goes…wahoo, marlin, roosterfish, barred pargo, dog-tooth snapper, pargo liso, yellow snapper, cabrilla, sierra, rainbow runner , yellowtail, amberjack, triggerfish, sheephead, hawkfish, spotted bay bass, grunts, surgeonfish, trumpetfish, pompano, trevally, bonito, jack crevalle, grouper …even a small halibut!
FISHING SCALE :1-10: solid 7
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Mike Vandenberg was intent on getting a roosterfish on the flyrod. He got more than one! First time visiting us with his family from Idaho. All fish released!
Rick Choate had a sweet 2 weeks with us with numerous species and quite a few trophies like this big bull dorado right off the Punta Perrico rocks! We don’t have to go far for big species down here.
Two more first timers! Doug and his son Benji from Oceanside CA also wanted to get a rooster! They got more than one like this fat gallo that they hooked on light tackle and tag-teamed to get it to the boat . The fish was released and swam away strong!
Randy Choate finally got his wahoo after so many years at the south end of Cerralvo Island. He also busted off another one. His retirement gift to himself was a whole month fishing with us!
Stuff happens! Sam and Owen weren’t trying to catch a marlin but this striper came up and wolfed down a little sardine on a small hook and the fight was on! Their first time fishing with us and the were not able to revive the fish because the hook had gone straight down, but they donated much of the meat. It’s our first marlin of the season.
Nice bull for Carter Vandenberg who mostly fished all week with the flyrod, but took this mahi on conventional tackle north of La Paz near Espirito Santo Island.
Don’t let the size fool you. Pound-for-pound among the most powerful and frustrating fish in our waters, but Doug Fowler caught two of these pargo liso!
Whoa! Trophy cabrilla/grouper for Pat Duggan while fishing with Captain Alfredo over the reef!
Mike gives wife, Leslie, a hand posing with her big roosterfish! That’s the sand of Punta Arenas in the background. The fish was released!
I think that is Galen Wilcox behind that mask with Captain Armando. Galen has a rooster on his bucket list and got several. All released.
Captain Hugo with Mike Strain from Minnesota with another ‘hoo. Hugo has had a knack for hooking the wahoo lately. Mike was staying at Gary Wagner’s place at Rancho Costa at Bahia Muertos!
All the way from S. Carolina! Brad Sleder with one of his roosters that he released. Always good to see him here.
Mark Bonsack always rocks the fishing. Nice rack of assorted pargo, snapper, cabrilla and I also see a trevally. All good eating. Mark visits us several times a year from Washington.
Happy fella! Pat Duggan with another rooster just south of Bahia Muertos near the beach. Fish was released.
First day fishing rooster! Captain Jorge and Sam!
Frameable shot of 15-year-old Benji Moreau with another rooster. This young man caught 22 different species of fish over 3 days and released them all!
You know it’s a big fish when a flyfisher has to hold his rod in his mouth! Nice job, Randy!!! That’s a pig rooster!
Some tasty trevally and some other good eaters on the cleaning table for Galen Wilcox and Pat Duggan who also caught about a dozen species this week.
Start small at the beginning of the day, Sam! They got bigger!
Galen poses and Captain Alfredo tries not to get whacked in the head by the big dorado! All fun!
Rick with another rooster to CPR…catch…photo…release!
Mike Vandenberg came to catch roosters on the flyrod and he got some big boys, but he was really impressed with the power of these jack crevalle! Another good fish to release!
Just a gorgeous shot of the water, the land, the fish and the fisherman. Randy Choate with another rooster on the flyrod.
There’s a reason the locals call jack crevalle “toros” (Bull) because these fish will yank you outta your socks and your arms from your sockets! On the flyrod, Carter poses with a hefty toro.
Two big roosters…same day…light tackle! Doug and Benji again. I think they will be coming back to visit us!
Pat with another fat cabrilla!
Another day…another dorado . Captain Armando with Galen Wilcox.
First day fishing. First roosterfish right offr the bat at sunrise for Carter Vandenberg! Another photo and release!
Ben came for roosterfish and he got roosters and much more . First day fish to start the trip!
Great colors and a great photo! That’s Espirito Santo Island in the background north of La Paz and I think that’s Galen Wilcox behind the mask!
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The last report, I told you that it had been the best week of the season. It was pretty darned good. Then, we got the full moon and although I don’t think it really affects us too much down here, I always have a little anxiety about how it will affect the fishing especially this early in the season .
Well…FULL MOON? In a word, the bite got even better!
Hey, I’m not kidding. We hooked over 24 different species of fish and one of our young anglers, Benji Moreau…just 15 years old…decided to count and over 3 days, he hooked and released 22 different species!
I think if you just look at this week’s fishing gallery, it’ll give you a good idea better than me writing long narratives.
The roosterfish weren’t off the charts like earlier in the month when they were almost jumping into the boat, but it was more “normal” with maybe 2-4 roosters per boat per day. But, they were mostly BIGGER this week. Some fish hitting the 30-60 pound class! We had some other larger roosters that might have been bigger that were lost. But, all fish were released and the bottom line is that everyone who wanted a rooster got a rooster…or 2…or 3 or more! Fun fishing!
Our flyfishers, especially had a good time which is alot of work, but they spent a good deal of time bent on the roosters, jacks, bonito and other species!
The waters and air temps are definitely warming up and this is a pretty typical spring bite. The marlin are waking up and we got our first billfish this week although we weren’t able to release it. Two others were lost.
We also FINALLY put some wahoo in the boat!
We’ve had some biters get lost the last 2 weeks, but finally had a few stick and put in the boat. Good legit 30 pound wahoo off the south end of Cerralvo Island. It’s good to know they are finally there and ready to bite.
Also, the big pargo liso are still spawning in the shallows and these big red vicious critters will tease and then crush baits and your spirits and pull you out’ve your socks! If you get 5 hook-ups and just one fish to the boat, you’re doing good.
More dorado starting to show up as the waters warm as well. Not many. Not yet, but the ones we’ve hooked have been quality 15-25 pound fish.
I can’t even begin to name some of the other species, we got. However, in addition to the roosters, marlin, wahoo, dorado and pargo liso, I also saw bonito, jack crevalle, amberjack, sierra, rainbow runner, yellowtail, grouper, cabrilla, triggerfish, trevally and pompano among others!
It’s getting warmer! Daytime temps are in the low to mid-90’s now! But, it can still be breezy on the water especially in the mornings and evenings!
If you wanna go fishing, write me directly: tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
We’ll see you down here! Let’s get you bent!
That’s my story!
Jonathan & Jilly
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
Tailhunter Fish Report 