La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 18-25, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY...
Former San Diego Chargers linebacker now retired high school football coach, Donnie Rea from Camarillo CA fishes yearly with us and has been our amigo for many many years. He was with Captain Blas when they hooked this baby sailfish. Captain Blas gently cradled the fish to pull the hook and was the only one to touch it and supported it completely to take a quick photo then release it. They said it swam away strongly.
Newly engaged with just one day to fish, Elijah Rush and Julianne Argent from San Diego put some quality dorado in the boat while fishing with Captain Gerardo. Check out the catch standing on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
From San Diego and here for Thanksgiving week, Mike Jaso and his son, Jacob pose with some of their dorado after a day of fishing.
Nice bull! Elijah and Captain Gerardo just off el Cardonal.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Overall, a pretty nice week. Temperatures have dropped to a very comfortable 79-82 degrees during the day with alot of sunshine. Nights are a cool 61. Interestingly, water temps are actually warmer than the air temperatures and are holding at just about 80-85 degrees which is keeping the warm water species around.
North winds are starting to blow which will eventually drop water temperatures and change the fishing to a cooler-species production like sierra, amberjack, pargo, cabrilla and snapper. Not to mention it could be getting rough and choppy.
Pretty lady and pretty fish. Great shot of a fresh dorado with full colors that Julianne caught.
In the meantime, with just a bit of breeze, most days were pretty nice and the warm-water species like dorado, wahoo, smaller roosterfish, and billfish stayed productive. Most of the catch focused on the dorado which are fairly abundant once you find the right spot and limits can be the rule rather than the exception. Fish are running 10-20 pounds on the average with some larger units mixed in. Live bait has generally not been an issue.
Still no tuna, but it’s been like that all year in one of the strangest years ever down here. However, there’s a good jag of wahoo on the south end of Cerralvo Island with fish as small as 20 pounds, but as large as 50 pounds. The ticket seems to be to fish them on the right tide change and then dragging dark colored Rapalas, Yo-Zuris or similar lures .
Our amigo, Roger Thompson, has the wahoo honey-hole south of Cerralvo Island dialed in!
Honestly, not that many folks fishing these days in the lull between the end of summer vacations and the holidays, but alot of snowbirds are filtering in to enjoy the sunshine to get away from colder areas. Many flights are pretty full. Also, folks just seem to have “quarantine fatigue” and just need to get out and away.
Great news in that after being closed since March, we are finally allowed to swim with the baby whalesharks in La Paz Bay. Normally, the season run October to April, but once the Covid quarantine began, all activity was shut down at the end of March. The government has issued only a limited number of permits to escort folks to swim with the whalesharks and only certain outfitters are allowed to participate so as not to crowd or harm the animals. Our Tailhunter captains have received these permits and we’ve been taking folks for the swim.
The animals are in about 10’ of water and at times there have been over a dozen of them in the shallow water!
That’s my story! Have a safe, happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 10-17, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Our Captain Victor looks on while Gerry and Jeri Damge from Colorado put another dorado in the boat.
Sherri Foster from California had never been fishing in Saltwater and came down with friend, Larry Roemer from Colorado. Her very first ocean-fish was a wahoo and then she followed it up with a nice day of dorado fishing for the couple who were with Captain Jorge.
Our buddy Roger Thompson with his amigo, Joel Zarmati from Paso Robles CA got double-hookups near Cerralvo Island and landed a box of nice wahoo.
More fillet for the ice chest. Larry and Sherri on their 2nd day out with Captain Jorge put them on another wild dorado bite. As long as the waters stay warm, the dorado will hang around!
Gerry and Jeri again with another hook-up!
Winds were blowing strong earlier in the week but gave us a break as the week went on and provided some windows for some very good fishing. There just aren’t many anglers this time of year, especially as we get closer to the holidays.
Most of the town is starting to fill with folks just looking to enjoy some sunshine, especially with temperatures being very comfortable in the low 80’s during the day and low 70’s at night. It’s a good time to be in town. Just not that many folks are here to go fishing or, if they do, they just want a single-day on the water or so.
For the few we had, the dorado provided some great biters with generally larger fish than we have seen in the previous weeks. Fish in the 15-25 pound class were not unusual and many smaller fish were thrown back. In addition, at the south-end of Cerralvo Island, there’s still a nice spot of wahoo there if you hit it at the right time.
On the day when the winds were a bit too strong, we fished inside along the reefs and rocks and had some great action on pargo, cabrilla, jack crevalle, snapper and even some amberjack and sierra. Still no tuna, but some of the commercial guys hooked some hogs in the 100-pound range.
Live bait has not been an issue unless the winds are blowing too strong for the bait guys to throw nets in the shallow bait areas and big waves prevent them from catching the bait.
Winds are supposed to be coming up this week but there’s some windows in-between. Check with us. We keep a tight watch on the weather for you!
THE WHALESHARKS ARE IN THE BAY AND SEASON FINALLY OPENED!
Whalesharks are now in the bay in the shallow water just a few hundred yards from the malecon. We’re running trips to go swim with the whalesharks now. Ask us about this incredible adventure!
After being closed since the Covid-quarantine back in late March, swimming with the whalesharks has been prohibited in La Paz Bay. Well, they finally issued permits and the season was re-opened this week! It’s pretty exciting to swim with these magnificent animals in the shallow warm waters of La Paz Bay. It’s totally National Geographic stuff and a life-time experience.
Ask us about trips. We can set up the whole package with lodging, activities, transportation, fishing and more…and of course, swimning with the whalesharks! You can write me directly: tailhuntersportfishinglapaz@gmail.com
WHALEWATCHING SEASON COMING TOO!
The grey whale migration has started from the Bering Sea and the whales are headed to Baja’s warm waters and prime time whale-watching at Bahia Magdalena is late January to March! We’re putting packages together to spend time with the largest migratory animals in the world in the warm-calm waters of Bahia Magdalena. Reach out and touch!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos for Week of Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Yup…those are yellowfin tuna! Only the 2nd batch of tuna we have seen all season in a STRANGE year! Leif Dover from Atlanta GA and Mark Bronge from Los Angeles CA went south almost to the northern east cape to find the fish as well as a nice dorado and a big triggerfish. The next day, winds came up and they weren’t able to get to the spot again.
Surprising to still find roosterfish this late in the season, but Mark caught and released his first rooster just off Punta Perrico.
Our amigo, Gary Wagner, from Colorado loves to fish the twilight bite when staying at his Rancho Costa Resort in Muertos and shows off a tasty barred pargo.
Captain Alfredo helps Alla Cazier from Arizona on her first trip to La Paz and found some nice dorado north of La Paz.
Oh yea, this is the right kind! Leif has a big dog-tooth snapper on the gaff caught the last of 6 days on the water with us.
If you find the right spot, the dorado can go nuts! First day success for Leif and Mark with some good-looking mahi on the cutting table.
Well…we can definitely tell the seasons are changing. The air temps are getting cooler with the highs this last week a really comfortable 85 on the average and really pleasant evenings.
However, with the change in temperature, we’re also getting more winds, especially the north winds that blow from about November to April that can make fishing a little bumpy and choppy. It can also hinder our ability to get to certain fishing holes and even to get to the places where we get live bait.
That’s what happened this past week. We had 2-3 days of pretty good windy conditions and whitewater on the ocean. For better-or-worse, not too many folks fishing this week which will be typical as we get closer to the holidays. More snowbirds looking for sunshine coming to town than anglers. More walk-in anglers to our offices and folks just looking for one day of fishing out on the water.
All that being said, there was still some excellent fishing to be had. Some boats did better than others. Some area were much more productive than others.
Our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet had the most variety.
We actually got into some tuna…finally…after almost an entire season with no tuna. The guys had to run really far, however. They went south almost to the north end of the East Cape. They made it one day, but then after that, it was too windy to get there on subsequent days.
Still, there were some legit 10-20 pound dorado, cabrilla, snapper, jack crevalle, bonito, several types of pargo and we even got one big dog-tooth snapper as well pulled out’ve the rocks.
For our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet, several days, it was simply too windy. All whitecaps and rough water. However, there’s dorado right in the bay around where the big tanker ships are anchored off Punta Prieta only about 5 minutes from where we launch. There’s also sierra under those big boats.
Outside, seeing more marlin although we couldn’t get any of them to bite this week.
This coming week, it’s going to be breezy again, but not as bad as last week.
END OF YEAR SPECIALS TO LA PAZ
If you’ve got a bad case of “cabin fever” after a year like this, how about a quick getaway to come see us in La Paz?
We’ll customize whatever you want to do. Trips as low as $899 per person (double occupancy). Take a look at this sample:
4 days in La Paz
3 night water-facing room
2 days panga fishing
Fishing includes: boat/ skipper/ tackle/ ice/ fish cleaning/ breakast/ lunch/ soft drinks and water/ shuttles to the boats/ all taxes
Based up availability
WHALE WATCHING SEASON COMING UP!
Don’t miss out on some “COASTAL DISTANCING!”
Our 2021 Whale Watching season is coming up soon. Prime dates are mid-January to March and spots are filling fast! We can set up daily trips from La Paz or multi-day trips to Lopez Mateos to get several days spent with these beautiful creatures! A fantastic family experience in the calm waters or Bahia Magdalena. Let us set you up with an entire package and maybe even get in some fishing too! Get in touch with us directly: tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 10-17, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY
Not a bad way to start the fishing week for Tim Butterworth (behind the big wahoo) and Paul Machado with the the dorado. The wahoo was caught trolling a Nomad lure just outside Bahia Muertos. They went on to get several wahoo and some larger dorado (see more photos below).
Birthday boy, Bob Layko with a big wahoo, Captain Armando and Craig Brown with the dorado. Craig brings his cousin Bob down to see us every year as a birthday present. Craig is from Vancouver and Bob is a merchant seaman based in Portland, Oregon. This is their 8th year with us.
First timers score dorado! Our captain Jorge with Rick Lopez and Sean Price from Seattle who visited us for the first time and fished 3 days and took home a nice load of dorado.
Always great to see Craig and Kathy Sanford from Phoenix who have visited us for years. Fishing with Captain Jorge, they found some dorado and a big triggerfish.
Tim got his the first day, Paul Machado tore up this big wahoo on their 2nd day! Tim has the dorado and sierra this time.
With the purple Rapala sticking out’ve it’s mouth, Edgar Gutierrez poses with his early morning wahoo. He only had one day to fish and stuck it! Captain Gerardo gives the thumbs-up!
No down time! It’s a fishing vacation. Even when he’s not in the panga, Scott Herman from Redondo Beach CA grabs a kayak and paddles out behind the hotel. He’s got a nice little barred pargo he took back to the hotel for dinner!
Ashley Sanford has fished with us many times, but this year, brought her boyfriend Nate for his first time. With Captain Victor, they started the trip off with some nice dorado for the cooler!
Iovanni and Ivan had a good day on the dorado as well. Both are from La Paz. Those are tasty white bonito on the cutting table with the mahi.
Great colors for the afternoon. Fishing with our La Paz fleet, Scott Herman and Brent Skaff put dorado in the box for 3 days!
These guys again! Our amigos, Tim and Paul. No wahoo this time, but some of the larger dorado of the week. Always good to have them visit. Tim has been with us since the days I worked at Hotel Las Arenas.
There’s some good eats here…nice barred pargo for Steve Manney and Captain Gerardo. These are tough fish to pull out’ve the rocks, but some of the best eating!
Bahia Muertos in the background, Paul Machado is pretty happy with this nice bull mahi mahi!
After last week’s slow fishing we were ready for a come-back and we were happy to get it. The fishing has been up, down and sideways all season so it was good to see more smiles than frowns this week.
Despite some light rains early in the week and some post-storm chop that made it rough, we were able to get out every day. Not every boat did well. Not every day was great. But overall, compared to previous weeks, the fishing took a definitive upturn as dorado finally decided to blow back into the picture.
The better fishing was with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet where easy fast limits were the rule rather than the exception with fish somewhat larger than previous weeks where most fish were 5-10 pounders. This week 10-15 and even 20 pounders were found. Many times our boats got into the schools and came back early or, simply stayed out and released fish for the rest of the day.
Our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet made up for the quantity of fish found outside of La Paz Bay, but turning in quality fish. So…fewer fish and you had to work hard to find them, but the fish were larger. They included some nice-sized 30-50 pound wahoo that bit on dark Rapalas and Nomad lures trolled just outside Bahia Muertos or on the south side of Cerralvo Island. Many times the fish were found in shallow water and about 1/2 the fish hooked were lost.
Even if the wahoo weren’t forthcoming the dorado that bit tended to be larger and thicker fish between 10 and 20 pounds.
No roosterfish or tuna this week, but catches were supplemented with jack crevalle, white bonito, skipjack, pargo, snapper, triggerfish and cabrilla.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER SPECIALS
If you’re looking for some get-away time and have Cabin-Fever from too much downtime like the rest of us, we’ve got some fall specials for some great deals:
4 days in La Paz 3 nights water-front hotel 2 days panga fishing (includes: boat/ skipper/ tackle/ ice/ fish cleaning/ breakfast/ lunch/ soft drinks/ water/ shuttles to the boat/ all taxes) As low as $859 per person (double occupancy)
We can customize pretty much any package! Just tell us what you want to do! We also have suites and condos as well!
2021 BOOKINGS
With so many cancelations in 2020, lots of folks are giving us new dates for 2021 and our calendar is booking up pretty heavily. Some dates are already sold out or close to selling out. Don’t wait.
It doesn’t look like the sportsman’s shows will be happening next year so we won’t be on the road to visit many of our favorite areas to take bookings. So, get in touch with us as soon as you can, especially if we’re holding your deposit credits from 2020. We want to make sure we have you covered and you get the dates, hotels and captains you want!
Also, don’t forget whale-watching season from January to March is fast approaching. These trips sell out fast as well so check your calendar and come join us! Daily and overnight trips are available as well as packages to also fish Bahia Magdalena in the mangroves and La Paz fishing as well!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
An exciting day for Rich Davidsmeier from Boise, idaho with our Captain Joel with this larger-than-normal sailflsh caught north of La Paz on light tackle . The fish estimated at 120-130 pounds (hard to see, but he’s really thick) was caught on 40 pound test while fishing for dorado. The fish could not be released, but Rich donated the meat. The trip was especially remarkable because Rich was celebrating his retirement, his birthday AND his anniversary!
The big fish legend, Roger Thompson popped three of these big dog-tooth south of Bahia Muertos on slab bonito. Scroll down for a photo of one of his other big slugger fish!
Hugo gives a thumbs-up on 6 wahoo boated at South Cerralvo Island on Rapalas! First real wahoo of the season!
A good day for John Ehlers and Captain Pancho with a table-full of dorado plus a nice barred pargo! John has been visiting us for years, sometimes more than once-a-year from Denver.
Two of our newest amigos! Rick and Beth Farrar with a pretty bull dorado. Rick and Beth spent the week from us and own the gorgeous Eagle’s Wings Wilderness Retreat in Alaska and came down to enjoy some sunshine!
Always fun to have John Stone and Jason Correia down to fish with us from San Diego. Some nice meat on hand with some fat cabrilla and tasty triggerfish that ended up at our Tailhunter Restaurant as ceviche!
A happy Neil Preston with his sailfish. Thanks to Gary Wagner from the Rancho Costa at Bahia Muertos.
One of the three big dog-tooth snapper caught by Roger Thompson. You can see why they’re called “dog-tooth!”
Manny Lucero with a speedy thick wahoo! Taken on the troll from Bahia Muertos. Thanks for the photo, Gary!
One of the sweetest ladies ever! Captain Pancho helps on a dorado for Dolores Ehlers who caught several of these mahi on a light tackle spinning rod.
I promised Julio Cornejo from West Covina CA that I’d put his big pargo in this week’s report!
Another sailfish ready for release! It was a good week for sailfish!
John Ehlers know he’s got some good eating on the gaff with this barred pargo.
It’s been that kind of year where so much is unpredictable. We have a good week. Then we have an so-so week. Then a good week again. No changes in temps. No changes in the water. No changes in any of the variables.
…and this was a “so-so” week at best. So, if you’re coming next week, we’re on schedule for a good week of fishing!
But this past week, we really struggled and our captains and clients worked hard to find fish.
…and when we did find fish, it was 99% dorado. That’s it. We should be deep in tuna, billfish, wahoo and others. And they are NOWHERE to be found. Sure, the occasional biter, but nothing worth mentioning. And the dorado are fun, but 5-20 pounders is the typical fish. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone who wants fish is getting fish, but this past week we could have used a bit more quantity as well as quality. (more and bigger). But that’s fishing.
We’re still getting some nice roosterfish up to about 50 pounds. All fish are getting released.
Add in a few bonito, jacks, pargo, cabrilla, triggerfish, snapper and way too many needlefish and that was pretty much our whole week. So, next week we’re gonna get geared-up for a big comeback!
For sure, there could be bubbling up. Late in the week, for the first time all season, we started landing some nice wahoo and sailfish also started showing up. Where have these been all year?
We got a full-moon on the rise, but our last full-moon turned out to be one of the best weeks of the month!
2021 BOOKINGS ALREADY FILLING!
Lots of dates for next year are already starting to fill, especially with amigos that had to cancel 2020 fishing trips. Don’t miss out! We’ve still got spots so contact us soon to get your favorite captains and hotel rooms! Also, if you’re waiting to see us at the sportsman’s shows like usual during the early part of the year, it looks like all the sportsman’s shows are being canceled as of right now. So, we won’t be hitting the road. Check us out at: http://www.tailhunter.com. Or write me directly at: tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 17-24, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Happy Trio! Jim Stahlman from Idaho on his 2nd trip with us this year; Jim Morelli from Oregon and Captain Jorge show off some of their dorado catch on the beach at Muertos Bay.
Mark Whisler with his first-ever billfish…actually our first sailfish of the year. Caught north of La Paz with Captain Luis. The fish could not be released and meat was donated. Mark is from the Carmel area of California on his first trip with us.
If I ever need a good photo with a big fish, it’s Roger Thompson who hooked one of the rare wahoo of the season. Fishing with his Captain Hugo.
New Tailhunter friends! First time visitors from Arizona with us, Frank and Jadwiga Francuzik had a nice week of dorado fishing. Here with Captain Adolfo and some nice bulls.
From Cambell CA, Rob “Leon Chilibean” Martinez holds up one of several roosterfish he caught and released out’ve Bahia Muertos.
Long time, Tailhunter amigos, we have watched Sean Rose coming here with his dad, Dave for many many years and always good to see them. The Rose’s are from Washington.
Brandon McGarr had a banner day on the roosterfish catching and releasing 3 big fish like this one! Brandon is from Rock Springs, Wyoming. (Thanks again for the jalapeno pickles, Tanya!)
If you look really carefully, you’ll see Greg Saubolle giving a thumbs-up with a big bandaged thumb! Nice catch of dorado and triggerfish for the day.
If you only have one day to fish together, this isn’t bad for Dan Millikan and Mari Benson who fished with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet and Captain Alfredo who put them into a school of dorado.
Our San Francisco amigos, Mich Nekota and Paul Nagata added more dorado to their fish box.
These guys are always goofing. Andrew Harrison and Jon Eide with Captain Gerardo.
Greg has some nice variety for the day including a few dorado, some triggerfish, snapper and cabrilla. All great eating!
It’s been a pretty good week of fish and weather down here. Everyone who wanted fish, caught fish! Everyone who wanted to bring home fish, brought home fish! Whoever wanted to jump in the ocean or play on the beach; dive or snorkel; dine at a La Paz restaurant was pretty much covered and went home with smiles!
I guess I could end the report. That says it all!
Air temps were in the low 90’s in the day and night temps were in the high 70’s. Both unseasonably cooler than normal, but made life much more pleasant than normal too with less humidity as well. We did have some afternoon thunderstorms pass through that were very tropical, but they blew through quickly and were generally after the fishermen were already back from being on the water.
The fishing was steady-to-good! Again, dorado were the main catch with fish scattered all over wherever the warmer water was located. It could be a pick day with a fish-or-two here and there and at the end of the day you had a good box of fish. Or, anglers could run into a nice school and it would be crazy pandemonium with fish slashing all over and quick limits.
Surprisingly, roosterfish up to about 50 or 60 pounds are still here as well. Most of the fish are around Las Arenas and all our fish were released. But normally, these fish are long gone for the most part. It could have something to do with the cooler temperatures.
Other species included the random (and rare) wahoo that must be hanging out with the tuna that still have not shown up. Plus, inshore species like pargo, cabrilla, snapper, bonito, jack crevalle, cabrilla and even “cold water” sierra.
We did get our first sailfish of the season. Normally, by now we are usually smack in the middle of billfish season, but there have been very few all year. Same with tuna. Just haven’t been around this year…yet!
Honestly, with all the variables, this seems more like late June/ early July fishing. Crazy year.
Surprisingly, some of those species like dorado are right here in La Paz Bay only a few hundred yards off the beach and within minutes of leaving the beach.
HUGE NEWS…DIRECT FLIGHTS STARTING TO LA PAZ!
For the first time in almost a decade air service will be coming directly from the U.S. to La Paz! American Airlines has announced flights beginning this December through April. Then again for the summer. This is huge big news!
For almost 10 years, we have had most of our folks having to fly to Cabo San Lucas then have us shuttle you all up 100 miles to La Paz and a 3-4 hour van ride! Also, if you don’t have to drive that route and can fly directly, that’s a huge savings (more beer and fishing money available!)
At this time, flights are only from Dallas to La Paz. However, American is huge and this hopefully, will mean that other airlines will follow-up or American will add routes from other U.S. cities.
BOOKING FOR 2021 – CHECK YOUR CALENDARS!
Dates for 2021 already filling!
With many folks having to cancel their trips in 2020 because of you-know-what…many have already given us new dates for 2021. Many dates are already filling up. So, give some thought to your calendar, especially if you want a certain date…hotel…or your favorite captain!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 20-27, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Almost looks like a poster! Hard to find a better photo than Mark Bonsack and his 66-pound roosterfish. He had it on a scale before releasing it. He got 3 this day.
Orrin Grant has some nice fillets to take home to Utah.
Big smiles from Brad. He caught and released 3 roosterfish. Cerralvo Island in the background.
They are big and they’re not in very deep water. Roosterfish almost to the boat. Great shot by Mark Bonsack.
Start of 3 days fishing wasn’t too bad. Tom Worrell and Rob Markarian with 4 bull dorado at Bahia Muertos. Next day they slammed ’em.
If Brad looks a little gassed, this was his 3rd roosterfish of the day. Caught and released.
You may not recognize him, but that’s NBA Hall or Famer Rick Barry who won the NBA championship in 1975 and has himself a dandy bull dorado. He was staying at Rancho Costa at Gary Wagner’s place.
Gary at Rancho Costa with another NBA All-star Clifford Ray who played center when Rick Barry was with the Golden State Warriors.
Another one for the photo gallery! Brad with another rooster before releasing it.
Mark with another monster roosterfish that hit the 60 pound mark on a scale before Mark released it.
Pretty cool underwater shots of Pancho and Brad and a seriously bent rod and a roosterfish at color.
Almost to the boat!
We sure don’t see many amberjack in August. These are normally cold-waterfish but great eating. Mark Bonsack is taking this one home!
I guess in a weird way, I’m glad we didn’t have many fishermen this week. About 1/2 the week we had weather issues with Hurricane Guenievere that came up the Pacific Coast. Inititial forecasts predicted as much as a category 3 or 4 blast. It wasn’t supposed to make landfall, but brush into Cabo then veer up the Pacific side of Baja with 3-4 inches of rain.
By the time it hit it had been downgraded to a category 1 and didn’t slam as hard as predicted, but down in Cabo there was extensive flooding and for the rest of us, alot of wind and waves that kept us off the water for a few days and had the city of La Paz locked down pretty tightly. As it was, here in the city, it didn’t even rain hard enough to clean the dust off my car windshield, but it probably wasn’t very comfortable to be out fishing.
So, about 1/2 the week was pointless.
The rest of the week gave us sporadic cloudiness and sunshine and a mix of dorado and inshore fish that surprisingly included cool water fish like amberjack and sierra mixed with jack crevalle, bonito, cabrilla, snapper and pargo. Decent action, but nothing spectacular to be honest, as the waters settled back down.
Thankfully, again, there were the big roosterfish. Not good eating, but the beasts still slugged it out with fish in the 20-65 pound class along the Muertos/ Las Arenas beaches. All fish were released.
Heads-up! There’s a couple of weather disturbances to the south of us. They’re not fully-formed yet and are not hurricanes or tropical storms, but we’re keeping an eye on them. Right now, they look like they might bounce west out to the Pacific, but might still bring some afternoon thundershowers over us by the end of the week.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 12-20th, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
Apologies, amigos. I tried to hold out as long as I could, but I lost my voice this week and I just couldn’t do the video. I was already starting to feel it go on last week’s video and it just went downhill. I feel fine. Just wracked my voice! I sound like Mike Tyson right now. More tea and honey! Thanks for understanding.
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Tony Toven’s big roosterfish gets him grinning! That’s the beach at Punta Arenas behind him. The fish was released.
Orrin Grant all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah for his first saltwater fishing experience and his first fish is a big roosterfish. He caught and released several over the week and had some long battles.
One of our funnest guys who’s known us for years, Jim Newman comes down from Chicago for quick get-aways and loves his fishing. Check out the nice dog-tooth.
A good start to the fishing trip! Austin and Dan Dorati show a table-full of dorado headed to the freezer!
Finally!!! After watching his son battle a few big boys, Grant Parr from Utah, finally gets a rooster of his own. Well done and a strong release.
With football season getting postponed, Tommy Newman was able to come down a few days with his dad and get some dorado and other species with us.
Some fine fish meat for the table! Captain Gerardo and Tony Toven show off a pair of great barred pargo.
The masked fisherman is Austin Dorati with a fat roosterfish to start the day. The fish was released.
This week was a tad better than last week, but still wasn’t quite where it should be. This is turning into a funky season in more ways than one. It’s like the fish have been affected by world events or something like the rest of us.
One day, it feels like summer fishing with specias like dorado and billfish in the counts. The next day, it gets rougher and cooler and the wind pick up and the waters turn over. And we’re back to spring-time fishing catching cabrilla, pargo, amberjack, snapper, jack crevalle and other inshore fish. All very fun, but not typical this late in the year.
Thankfully, big roosterfish are still hanging out and throwing some thrill at the anglers.
Honestly, it’s been up and down. If you fish a few days, you’ll do OK. Some days some boats do better than others or one spots is hotter than another. If you only fish 1 day, you could be that one boat that just has a slack bite.
It’s just hard to get any consistency. Just when I thought we were on an upswing, Hurricane Genevieve came up mid-week and was supposed to be a big one. Just what we needed. Lots of clouds and winds came up. Everything got shut down. Cabo got flooded. Here in La Paz, we waited and waited.
And other than strong winds, there wasn’t even enough rain to clean the dust off my windshield. We actually could use a little rain. So, ho-hum.
Cooler than normal at 95 degrees during the day. There’s still bands of very cold water on the outside.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 27-Aug. 5, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Full moon bull! Lynn Crooks from Sparks, NV, battled this big bull “until her arms fell off” but with the help of Captain Joel, got it to the boat! Fillets were eaten here in town that night, but she donated the rest of the meat to local folks.
Grins and smiles from Roger Meyer (head) and Joe Duryea (tail) from Phoenix, AZ. Roger caught this slugger of a roosterfish just off the point at Punta Arenas with the Tailhunter Fleet using live bait. It was his biggest and was released.
Some good eating pompano in the hands of Jake Oosterman. Members of the jack family related to yellowtail, roosterfish, jack crevalle and amberjack.
You do not have to go very far to get big fish. With the rocks of Punta Perrico just over his shoulder, Dave Roos, from Escalon CA, is pretty happy with this dandy roosterfish. It’s alot bigger than it looks as Dave is NFL lineman sized 6’3”. He released the rooster.
Personal best roosterfish for our amigo, Bernie Crooks visiting us from Sparks, NV with Captain Moncho. That’s the beach at Punta Arenas behind them. Bernie released the big rooster.
Mauricio made the trip up from Cabo to visit Rancho Costa at Bahia Muertos and was out with Gary Wagner when he put this dorado on the deck.
…and here’s Gary at his place there in Bahia Muertos with a tuna he told me ended up as ceviche at Rancho Costa.
Darrell Manginelli visits us once or twice a year from Camarillo CA and started his trip out finding a nice school or dorado.
It was a good week for big roosters! Lynn back on the board with Captain Moncho and her own big rooster for a quick photo and release.
Nothing prettier than a lit up dorado in the water!
Like everything else in the world, this definitely is not typical summer-time fishing. For sure, this isn’t typical August fishing. Temperatures are cooler with day time highs in the low 90’s. Humidity is down. It can be breezy. So, it’s been rather more pleasant as far as being in town. But, waters are also cooler. That’s not to say fishing is bad. There’s definitely action to be had. It’s just very different.
Oh…and although I’m not a big “full moon” believer, combined with other variables like temperatures, winds and water clarity, can make a big difference so that surely had some bearing on this week’s past bite.
So…
Instead of mostly pelagic species typical of this time of year like dorado, tuna, wahoo and billfish…the blue water species…of a normal year, catches have been marked by a variety of fish more characteristic of later spring fishing.
Sure, we’re getting some good bites of dorado there’s some billfish mixed with the occasional tuna and wahoo, but anglers are also still getting big roosterfish up to about 70 pounds these past weeks. At the end of the day, I’m seeing fish boxes with species such as dog-tooth snapper (pargo perro), mullet snapper (pargo list), barred pargo and cabrilla. As well, this past week, there were catches of jack crevalle, yellow snapper, bonito, big triggerfish, pompano and even sierra…a fish we see between November and March when waters are colder.
Bait such as sardines and mackerel and ballyhoo are pretty good this year and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.
ALMOST THERE!
Regretfully, back in March when the quarantine hit La Paz, we had to close our fun and famous Tailhunter Restaurant. It was a sad moment after 12 years of great memories.
However, after almost 2 months of re-model and crazy work with our team, we’ll finally be opening up our FUBAR COCINA CANTINA. It’s not the Tailhunter Restaurant but the closest thing to it…it’s our first floor right on the Malecon waterfront. We’ll have a new expanded street-side dining menu plus full bar featuring our new Bloody Mary Bar.
We’ll have many of your favorites that we had upstairs:
Huge burgers
Street hot dogs
Fish and Chips
Shrimp, Fish and Carne Asada Tacos
Fubar Fries and Loaded Nachos
Your Fish Preparations
…and more!
Hopefully, live music again too!
We’ll also be opening our Sirena Mini-Super Market with beer, sodas, munchies, souveniers plus beach gear as well. Of course, we still have our fish processing plant as well.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 12-20, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…(Part 1)
Suitable for framing with great colors and a great ocean! Our amiga, Alicia Clegg with a fresh mahi for the camera!
Behind the mask, Jess, Sean and Adam with a striped marlin at Bahia Muertos. The fish hit a bait then snagged on the side making it extremely difficult to reel and a tough fight for over an hour which exhausted the fish. The guys donated a majority of the meat as good sports.
It’s a keeper! Quality over quantity! He didn’t get many, but Al Vasquez from Santa Ana with a beautiful bull dorado caught outside La Paz Bay.
There’s a some nice bull mahi running around. Early in the week, there weren’t many dorado around or you could find them, but they weren’t interested, but some that were caught like this one by Santiago were gems!
They’re not much for eating, but they’ll put of an incredible battle just off the sandy beaches like this jack crevalle that Jesse is cradling for the photo! The fish was released.
It’s just what he wanted! First wahoo for Jim Stahlman and first wahoo of the season for us. The fish ate a blue Rapala.
Martin Santiago with family members, Tony and and Sergio hold a fat roosterfish they released.
Alicia again with double fisted mahi.
The week started out kinda slow and picky. After Tropical Storm Christine moved through the winds on the backend left us with some blustery days that really made fishing tough and we had to work hard for bites. Captains really pushed hard trying to find fish, but the winds not only made it choppy, but pushed cold waters up from the deep resulting in off-color green water more reminiscent of spring-time seas instead of July water.
Either fish weren’t showing up and were lock-jaw or we saw schools and they just weren’t interested in chewing.
Consequently, the first few days of the week resulted in a mixed bag of school-sized dorado, bonito, and not much else, although there was lot of inshore action on small roosterfish and tough jack crevalle which provided some great action for our folks using light tackle. Some smaller cabrilla and pargo and triggerfish also wound up on the lines. Lots of fish tossed back.
As the week went on, waters cleared and consequently fishing improved…somewhat!
More dorado came through with some fish up to 30 pounds. Several marlin were hooked, lost and/or released. We got our first wahoo of the season as well, some larger roosterfish came back. Everyone who wanted fish, got fish, but not as much as expected and we had to push a little harder than normal for this time of year. However, with waters turning blue again, we’re looking forward to a better week. Got our first wahoo of the year too so that might be a good sign!
BUT WAIT!!!!! (Fishing Report Part 2)
Just as I was about to publish all this…the ocean exploded!
“Wow! And we still have 4 more days to fish. Plus we got dorado too!” Captain Pancho put Kelly and Diego Jimenez and grandson Roman from Loveland, Colorado on the first tuna of the season!
From Utah, Bryan Richardson brought his boys, Cole and Cameron down and hit it just right on their first day on the water with a load of fish to take home!
…and yes…they also caught dorado in addition to all that tuna. They say they released and lost way more fish than they caught!
Uh yea…not who’s gonna clean all of those? Everyone disappears when it’s time to clean the fish!
.
I was in the process of posting the report. Everything was ready. The video was set up. The photos were edited and ready and was about to press send and all of a sudden…WHAM!
The fishing blew up at Las Arenas…off the charts…off the hook!
“We could have put 50 fish in the boat! We kept 9 but released and lost almost as many. We could have stayed there all day. We ran outta bait and had to go buy more!”
“The fish were in shallow water and we could see the tuna swimming under the panga!”
“We got tuna, then went over to the buoys and the dorado went nuts! I don’t remember how many we lost and released. I had my GoPro camera under water filming it all!”
There were already plenty of tuna and dorado in the box and decided to go for roosterfish and pargo and those went crazy too. We released so many fish!
My…how things turned around. Best day of the year so far! Will it continue? I have no idea. We can only hope this is the start of good things! We’ll keep you posted!
Tailhunter Fish Report 