La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 18-24, 2022
THE MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Our long-time amigo from Camarillo CA has another big-head bull dorado to put in the box. Note the clouds, but flat seas.
Big smile…Raleigh Inglis fishing off Espirito Santo Island with some mahi fillets for dinner.
Idaho John Stevenson fishing just off La Ventana got an early morning dorado to put in the box.
I’m always teasing Roger that he doesn’t smile enough when he’s fishing! With Captain Rogelio in La Paz Bay.
Jeff Inglis with a fresh mahi coming over the rail!
Shiloah and Pete Wilson had a good day on the water!
Shelton Donnell looks a big disheveled after battling a tough jack crevalle, but he’s been fishing with us for decades and he’s always up for the fight. His 2nd trip this year from Portland.
It was another decent week of fishing overall except for two things that made it different. Once again, dorado were the mainstay of the bite with fish running 5 to 15 pounds on the average and conditions being mostly hot and humid.
However, the week had a few bumps in terms of the weather. We did have a couple of those little baby tropical rainstorms blow through that really kicked it up. Not that we don’t need some rain, but when it rains down here, it really rains. Flooding is not unusual.
Often, these storms are not on the weather radar. With all the heat, they suddenly just build into a big weather conditions.
Usually, it’s sporadic and isolated. For example it can rain in one spot, but 200 yards away it’s dry. It can rain for 10 minutes solid or an hour solid, then the sun comes blazing out. If it happens while you’re on the water, you need to either come back in and hunker down for a bit and let it pass or, if possible, at least drive to a spot where it’s not raining.
We had one day, when one of these storms raced up and it was big enough to chase all the boats off the water. These things are to be expected this time of year. At least (so far), none of these has been a hurricane. Just alot of wind and rain.
The other thing that happened is that there was a noticeable downtick in the number of fishermen on the water and folks in town. This is the bit of slowdown during the season when many families and fishermen are ending summer vacations. Kids are going back to school. Parents have family things to attend to like football and other school or athletic-related activities. So, while fishing remains good, the crowds are diminishing.
Although dorado are the central focus because they are numerous, we also hooked a few striped marlin plus rounded out catches with bonito, jack crevalle, small roosterfish, cabrilla and snapper.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of June 25-July 1, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
First day biggest fish ever! Chris Graham from Louisiana hit his personal best fish on his first day out with this big roosterfish just off the Punta Arenas lighthouse. The fish was released.
Long-time Tailhunter amigo, Dave Conklin, was fishing deep just off the rocks near Punta Coyote when he stuck this nice yellowtail to add to his fish box.
She’s a regular poster-girl for Tailhunter ever year with the fish she catches . Alicia Clegg is always on the fish. Big bull dorado and she obviously could have used one more hand with that dorsal fin!
Young Kale Jenks from Washington had himself a banner week of fishing and got a hand from his dad, Justin, on this big sailfish he caught on a sardine off Bahia Muertos
It’s been awhile since Kevin Beehn from Lake Tahoe CA has visited us but he picked up right where he left off putting fish, like this big yellowtail onto the deck.
Funnest family! Kelly and Diego Jimenez from Loveland CO always come down this time of year and usually bring one of the grandkids. This time Neriah got the nod and a table full of fish including rainbow runners, a hawkfish and pompano.
Montana in the house! Andy Malone was with us for the first time this week and really wanted a roosterfish! Not a bad first try. Good catch and release with Captain Gerardo.
One of the nicest guys on his first trip with us. Justin Jenks from Washington sure went home with alot of fish including some nice yellowtail fillets!
Thumbs-up from Captain Jorge and Robbie Sickels, Jr. who put this big roosterfish aboard on his 27th birthday! The fish was released. Punta Perrico in the background.
A great fishing team every year. Captain Joel and Bennett Clegg know how to put fish on a rod like this yellowtail north of La Paz Bay.
Captain Pancho estimated this roosterfish to go 40 kilos…about 85 pounds and his biggest of the season. It was also the biggest fish ever for Andy Lauber as well! Andy was able to release the big gallo and is from New Orleans.
We sure don’t get many of these! Ken Smith from Idaho picked up a rare barracuda! I’ve seen schools of the while diving, but maybe only 2 or 3 caught on hook and line in my 30 years here.
Our own Ms. Michele! Big smile and a big yellowtail on the gaff for Michele Conklin who has visited us many times over the years from Spokane WA.
Not many dorado so far this year, but Bennett Clegg found a few one day including this nice bull.
Not a bad start for Kale Jenks. His first time to La Paz. His first day on the water. His first bait in the water! And this striped marlin picks it up! Captain Boli with the smiles and asssit!
Just another day in paradise for Alicia who never fails to put fish on the deck. She can fish! Nice yellowtail, Alicia!
The bonito are all over and voracious! Ask Kelly Jimenez! These bonito are actually the white bonito and very good eating. They are all over this season.
Louisiana in the house! Chris and Andy with two big yellowtail ready for the fillet table.
If Captain Jorge has his thumb in the air, it’s always a good sign. Rob Sickels, Sr. got his first catch-and-release rooster right up against the rocks of Punta Perrico.
Tough-fighting jack crevalle will pull you all over the panga! Ken Smith would probably agree!
It’s the lucky sunglasses. Dave with another yellowtail. Flat waters like a lake!
Well…we sure have alot more photos than last week! It makes for a better looking fishing report, right?
But, remember, to be perfectly candid, it’s like watching the NFL highlights on a Sunday night. You get to see all the touchdowns and the all-star moves! You’re not seeing all the plays that got stuffed!
It’s been like that with fishing. Mother Nature just won’t give us a break. C’mon, Man!
Not only are we in a La Nina year when it’s obvious by now that waters are colder and cooler than normal along with the air temperatures…all affecting our fishing. But, the weather gods threw another wrench at us this past week.
Tropical Storm Celia hit about 500 miles south of us. It didn’t come any closer. But, that didn’t stop it from sending strong winds and big waves up our way and really jacking up our south-facing fishing areas…like Las Arenas where we had to cancel fishing for 2 days and have everyone fish with our La Paz fleet. Even after the storm conditions had passed, it’s been several days now, but waters there are still turned over, dirty , green and cold. It’s difficult to get live bait as well because of the conditions. Check out this video below and turn up the sound:
So, fishing with our Las Arenas fleet, which should be on fire under normal conditions, has been sticky and picky to say the least. There are still some big roosterfish around between 10 and 80 pounds, but other than that, there’s just some inshore action on lots of bonito, rainbow runners, pompano, trevally, jack crevalle, pargo and bonito.
I think until the waters clean up, that’s the kind of fishing it’s going to be over on that side. Our captains and clients are working really hard to find fish for sure!
For our La Paz Fleet, thankfully, the fishing closer to La Paz has rescued us much of the time. The yellowtail bite continues strangely. I say “strangely” because the yellowtail are a cold-water fish that are usually gone by April.
However, here it is in July and they are still around and have been biting strong. Fish between 20 and 40 pounds are not uncommon. Lots of these strong fish have been getting lost. They’re beasts and surprising alot of folks with their power.
We ARE starting to see more dorado so maybe that’s an indication that waters are warming (I hope!). I don’t want to get too excited. We should be thick into dorado by this time, but it just hasn’t happened. However, we did catch more dorado this week than we have all season. So, fingers crossed!
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!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of April 18-25, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST OF THE STORY…
Our Oregon amigos, Jeff Killian and John Chung hung these 3 nice yellowtail using live caballitos of Espirito Santo Island.
Cheers from Patty Killian and Tracy Chung on their way back to La Paz from Espirito Santo Island with 7 big yellowtail on the deck!
Now THIS is a trophy cabrilla that Kahuku Oades caught right off the shoreline in front of Punta Perrico.
Mike Luna from Utah on his first visit to La Paz got our first big dog-tooth snapper (Pargo Perro) of the season.
Easy to see why they’re called dog-tooth snapper! Check out the choppers on this bad boy.
Randy “Doodles” Gumns had a banner day with a variety of fish including this bonito, snapper, cabrilla and others.
Brent Gumns had only one day to fish and squeezed in a day with Captain Gerardo and got these two cabrilla among others.
First time out and first day fishing, Mike Luna caught and released 3 roosterfish off Bahia Muertos.
We had some strange weather this week. Very windy mornings then calm afternoons. Calm mornings that turned into windy afternoons. Warm water current. Cold water currents. We even had a rare day of thick fog that made it look like something out’ve fishing the Oregon or Washington Coastal areas!
Except for the fog, of which I’ve only seen a handful of times in 30 years here in La Paz, the rest is pretty typical of this transition time between our cold water and warm water seasons. The weather (and fishing) can be erratic an unpredictable. One hot spot one day becomes ice cold the next day for fishing. One species of fish that is foaming one day can completely disappear and a different species pops up somewhere else.
It does, however, make for some fun fishing with some crazy variety.
A week ago, I was predicting that the yellowtail and cooler water fish were diminishing and moving off. Yellowtail counts were down and so were other cooler water species like the sierra and snapper. We were seeing more of the warmer water species like dorado and billfish starting to show up.
Well, I guess I was wrong. The yellowtail bit strong again, especially north of La Paz toward the Espírito Santo Island area where waters remain cooler than further south around Cerralvo Island. The fish were a healthy 15-25 pounds and willing to take live sardines, caballito and jigs. Lots of bigger fish are getting lost to the rocks, inexperience and simply being tough fish!
Further south for our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet, not so much in terms of yellowtail. The waters were windier, rougher and more of the fishing was confined closer to shore. As mentioned above, one day it was not only cold, but so foggy, it was impossible to even see Cerralvo Island across the channel and the bait guys couldn’t find the bait spots. So, anglers had to use lures and jigs for the day.
But, the good news is that more roosterfish have moved into the area, especially close up to the rocks and those long stretches of flat beach. Most of the fish I’m seeing are 15-30 pounders and, as far as I can tell, all getting released. Hopefully, especially if the larger ladyfish baits or mullet move into the shallows, we’ll start seeing the really big monster roosters up to 100 pounds!
Along the rocks, some big cabrilla getting taken along with snapper, pargo, sierra, jack crevalle and lots of common and white bonito.
THANK YOU BRETT!
For almost 15 years, the Tequila Bandito has wandered the tables of our Tailhunter Restaurant as a purveyor of fun and conduit to free tequila shots to our guests. His famous bandoleros were shadows of their former glory and the leather was literally disintegrating daily and was due to be retired. If only that belt could talk and tell stories!
New ones are impossible to find. The guy down in Baja is no longer in business. Can’t find any makers on the internet or in the states.
The newly- retired bandoleros. So disintegrated the shot glass holders were splitting and able to hold only a handful of “shot bullets.” Had to duct tape the belts to keep them on.
Thank you Brett Bleichrodt who recently gifted the Bandito a brand new hand-made set of shiny bandoleros! Brett is a leather-goods artisan from Colorado who has fished with us for several years and makes some dandy leather items. The bandolero is his first, but probably not his last. If anyone wants a set, I can put you in touch with our amigo! Muchas gracias, Brett!
Armed and ready! The new set and enjoying with Rita Luna from Utah!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of March 18-25, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Great shot that sort of captures the whole thing. It’s like a travel poster shot…Mariah Vitolo in the warm sands and blue waters and a nice looking yellowtail. Mariah was staying at Bahia Muertos at Rancho Costa.
Captain Blas with his dad Captain Alfredo found a nice school of yellowtail off Espirito Santo Island on one of the nice calm days this past week.
OH yea! Another ‘tail in the box. There’s were some nice spots of yellowtail around Espirito Santo Island and the north and south ends of Cerralvo.
Whitney Jones only had one day to squeeze in for fishing with her husband and caught a couple of bonito and a sierra that they had us cook up at our Tailhunter Sea Level Restaurant.
A big slug toad yellowtail for Dr. Sergio caught on a Rapala.
Although winter winds still persisted, things appear to be slowly improving as spring approaches and there were some nice highlights to the week with waters warming and a handful of really nice fishing days.
There still aren’t that many folks fishing yet, but we did have a few out and fishing ranged to so-so to very good. It really all depended on conditions. The windier the days, the slower the fishing.
On the windier days, boats were restricted to fishing closer to shore or having to do more trolling than we normally like to do because of the lack of live bait which is difficult to get if it’s too rough or there aren’t many fishermen. The bait guys simple don’t go out.
The inshore bite consisted of mostly some scratchy cabrilla, snapper, bonito, jacks and sierra. We did have a few boats try for wahoo unsuccessfully. A handful of dorado were also picked up which is very indicative of the warming trend in the waters as we head into spring.
The highlights for the week were the nice grade of yellowtail. Again, dictated by wind and water conditions. On the calmer days, our boats got 1-5 really tough-fighting yellowtail each ranging from 20-30 pounds. Larger ones were lost to the rocks.
A good day on the fishing grounds this past week!
The fish fell for a variety of bait including sardines and mackerel as well as jigging with knife jigs and deeper running Rapalas and Yo-Zuris in darker or mackerel colors. The fish were found generally over structure like deeper rocks and reefs around both Cerralvo and Espírito Santo Island as well as Punta Perico and Punta Gorda fairly close to shore.
Darker mackerel-patterned deeper running lip-baits like this Rapala XRap 20 have been effective on the yellows.
Knife jig for straight drops.
Tried-and-true candy bar style yo-yo iron. This is a Tady 4/0. This zucchini color is good as are blue/white and all chrome.
BAHIA MAGDALENA
They mangroves of Bahia Magdalena! Miles and miles of inlets and changing currents and shoals!
Carolyn Cain had a nice day on the light tackle with a bunch of grouper taken in the shallows as well as a mess of corvina as well. I see a halibut in there as well! They donated all the fish to the local families.
The Lopez Mateos mangroves holding some incredible fish and wildlife.
Not a bad start for Jim Molinari and Kip Slaugh for the Salt Lake City area with a load of corvina, grouper and spotted bay bass.
IT’S A WRAP!
After 3 months on the road, Jill and I are finally coming home.
As you’re reading this, we’re closing it up at our last show here in Colorado at the Denver Convention Center.
We’ve been through more than a dozen states and want to thank everyone for all the hospitality in all our show cities of Reno, Sacramento, Puyallup (Seattle), Salt Lake City, Portland, Redmond, Spokane and now here in Denver. Plus all the dozens upon dozens of little cities, towns and cross-roads in between criss-crossing the western U.S. Hey folks…it’s still a great country with great people! The best!
Thanks to all the amigos and Tailhunter Tribe members who came to see us these past months at all the shows and are coming to see us this year in La Paz!
It’s been great. It’s been liberating to be out again and see so many of you out again. We’re blessed as we watch everyone trying to climb and claw out of the calamity of the last 2 years.
But for now, I think we’re done with late night Denny’s meals, microwave burritos and hotel oatmeal breakfasts. Middle-of-the-night laundry. Tired backs, legs and hoarse voices from 10 hour days in the booth 4 and 5 days per week. Waking up in hotel rooms and not sure what city we are in! Snow…ice…rain…wind…
…and 10,000 miles of driving while gas prices rose over 5 bucks a gallon.
Jilly the road warrior driving through the snow and ice!
Microwave burritos from countless truck stops along the way. Oh…3 months on the road and 10,000 miles of driving watching gas prices shoot over 5 bucks a gallon!
Me and my girl in the booth!
So….
We’re headed home to La Paz! Ready to put our toes in the sand! Let’s get this season rolling and get cranked up for SHOWTIME in LA PAZ! We’re looking forward to seeing you in 2022!
When it’s as calm as this in Muertos Bay, the winds are down and the fish go turbo. Or you can just park it on the beach and throw your cell phone as far as you can. It’s like living in a postcard!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week Feb. 7-14, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Gary Wagner, owner of Rancho Costa, gives a gaff-assist to Reagan Kobach from Kansas. Crazy dorado in February!
This is a first! In almost 30 years and thousands of fishing clients in the area, I’ve never seen anyone catch a barracuda. I’ve seen small schools during scuba diving, but this is really unusual. In fact, it looks very much like an Atlantic barracuda with it’s big head and jaw rather than the typical skinny Pacific barracuda. Kris Korbach with the smiling pose!
These fish might look small, but they are powerful fun action fish! Kris and Lily hit a bunch of these white bonito which are not only fun, but great tasting!
GW in the house! Actually, Gary Wagner in HIS house as the owner there of Rancho Costa Resort with a big sierra. Knowing Gary this ended up as bowls of ceviche for dinner!
I had a feeling this would happen. After so many crazy day and weeks of wind with so very few windows of opportunity to fish, the wind actually took it’s foot off the pedal for more than a day. The waters settled down. The ocean flattened out.
And sure enough we had some fish bite!
Once again, we had some nice slugger yellowtail in the count up to about 25 pounds feeding off the high spots south of Cerralvo Island and then north around La Reina and La Reynita. Some larger fish…maybe even big amberjack might have been hooked in the same area as the anglers said, they were getting hit by something much much larger down there more powerful than the yellowtail.
WHAAAAAT? DORADO IN FEBRUARY?
Additionally some dorado crept into the counts as well which is indicative of either some warm patches of surface water or else a sign that our waters are warming early this year. The fish averaged about 10 pounds. Not too big, but lots of fun and good eating. Surely, no one was complaining about the surprise biters on the chew. Dorado in winter? Usually, we don’t see dorado until late April!
On top of that, the usual inshore fish of sierra, pargo, lots of Pacific and white bonito as well as snapper and cabrilla were in the counts.
Again, not really that many folks on the water and this coming week looks like the wind are going to come stomping back at 10-18 knots per hour, but good to know there’s some fish out there.
WHALES ARE BACK!
Our whale-watching trips to Lopez Mateos on the Pacific side are in full-swing right now as the vanguard of the annual migration of grey whales have arrived in the shallow warm waters of Bahia Magdalena where they’ll mate and birth for the next 2 months or so. It’s a great opportunity to get close to these fantastic gentle animals.
The whales have been more than cooperative to come visit with the boaters!
HERE WE COME PORTLAND!
We just wrapped up the biggest show of the 2022 road season this week in Salt Lake City at the Western Hunt and Conservation Expo at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City. By far, the craziest and most hectically fun show so far! Jill and I were 10 hours straight for 4 days talking non-stop in our booth. We ran out’ve flyers and brochures as the aisles were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with folk coming to check out the more than 700 exhibitors from around the world.
Shout out and thank you to everyone who came by to say hi and we’re looking forward to seeing you in La Paz this year!
We got so many bookings and reservations for this year to come fish that each night, Jill and I were up another 3-4 hours logging all the reservations back in our hotel room! Dates are filling up and now we’re headed to another huge show in Portland!
We banzai drive from Salt Lake City back to the Pacific Coast! We’re probably on the road by the time you read this!
The Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Expo runs Wednesday to Sunday (Feb. 16-20) and is held at the Portland Expo Center at the north end of the city by the river. We’ll be in the booth all 5 days and looking forward to seeing you.
There are hundreds of booths and exhibits each year with seminars, displays, lots of gear to check out and buy and exhibitors from all over the world for hunting, fishing, camping, RV’s, boating and so much more!
Dates are filling really fast and Mexico has dropped all covid restrictions as of last week! Mexico has become the #1 international travel destination! Don’t wait. We have 4 more shows coming up, but our fishing calendar is filling. Get in touch with us! ( Write me directly jonathan@tailhunter.com )
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 11-17, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Randy Shue brought his group from Montclair for two days of fishing and did pretty well on a variety of fish but surprisingly well on the dorado this late in the season.
Go figure. I guess there’s still some billfish around. Haven’t seen any in a few weekd, but Christian Espinoza was with Captain Pancho and hooked this striper.
It’s been more than a decade since John Jordan fished with us (left) but had a terrific day with the dorado and pal Milo Crowley.
…and yes a wahoo the same day for Christian! A fat one! One of the rare ones this year.
Nick Jordan on his first time on the ocean and first time in La Paz came down with our long-time amigo…and his dad…Richard and got into some nice dorado!
And a dorado too! Almost as colorful as his shorts.
Dorado up-close-and-personal. A bunch of it ended up on the table at our Tailhunter Sea Level Restaurant for dinner.
More dorado and this time some great – eating cabrilla (seabass)
Contrary to what I’ve been saying the last week or two, maybe the warm-water season isn’t quite over yet! The strong cold northern winds that had started to plague us for several weeks making for rough waters and difficult fishing, gave us a reprieve for a few days and made for some decent fishing and catching!
It was still a bit breezy, but while fishing wasn’t spectacular, it was a whole lot better than we expected or what I had predicted. Surprisingly good numbers of 10-15 pound dorado were willing to bite and apparently have not yet left the area. Live bait was the best bet and having the weather calm-down allowed the bait guys to get sardines. Most boats got 2-5 dorado each with other fish lost.
Additionally, there were even a few marlin, wahoo and the occasional tuna around. These are all fish I would have told you two weeks ago, have left the area. Especially tuna which never really even showed up this year.
In addition to the aforementioned species, the inshore areas continued to be productive for snapper, pargo, cabrilla, triggerfish, several species of bonito and jack crevalle as well as amberjack and palometas. It made for some good action. Overall, just a nice week to have been on the water. Some boats did better than others, but usually it could change the next day depending on conditions.
WHALESHARK SEASON FINALLY OPENED
After almost 6 weeks of waiting, authorities finally opened up the whaleshark season. Normally, the season run October 1 thought the end of April, but Covid restrictions curtailed the season the last 2 years. The gentle animals have been there in the shallow waters of the bay. It’s just that it was prohibited to swim with them.
As it is, captains of watercraft taking folks out to the animals, must have special permits and attend special classes in order to obtain those permits. Guide services and captains have been chomping at the bit to get folks in the water. Understandably, it’s a popular activity and folks come from all over the world to have the opportunity to participate.
This past week, there were anywhere from 5 to over a dozen of these “baby” whalesharks up to about 15′ long. The problem, at times is that too many folks want to get in the water with too few animals. Only 5 persons are allowed in the water per whaleshark so as not to intrude too much on the animals while they feed on plankton.
Therefore, swimmers often have to wait for time slots in order to get in the water which sometimes can take several hours. Plus, there’s no tellng how many animals will be present on any given day or how long they will stay around or show up. So, there’s no guarantees.
Still, it’s quite an experience to get in the water with these gentle babies. Their parents can grow to over 50′ long! Hopefully the season wil remain open as usual.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 3-7, 2021
The Mexican Minute Video Report
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
When you only have one day to fish and you do pretty well…John Fergione with dad (John) and son (John)! Doardo and others posing on the beach at Muertos!
Great shot of first-timer Hysby Rodriguez from Glendale CA with a smiling Captain Arcangel and another of her dorado for the fish box.
Taky and Marlene Kikuchi had a few nice days on the water before the winds came up.
Not much to crow about lately. Things can be summed up pretty easily.
Winds are up. Waves are bigger. Air temps cooling. Fishermen are down and snowbirds increasing.
That’s kind of it in a nutshell. Not many folks fishing or even on the water this past week as winter winds grow stronger from the north and cool things down. It’s still nice to be out on the beach or hang at the pool with lots of sunshine, exactly what the snowbirds are here for. The thermometer is pretty long with daytime temps in the mid to high 80’s and night time temps drop to a cool (for us) 63 degrees. However, other than that, it hasn’t been a great time to be fishing.
There are still some nice days to be out. You just have to pick your spots.
The few fishermen we’ve had out found the catch to be erratic at best. Some boats dinked around for a scratch of dorado or rockfish at best. Others hit a few spots and did better with a variety of mostly inshore species like pargo, pompano, palometa, sierra, cabrilla and roosterfish. If lucky, maybe even few holdover dorado. It’s quite a mixed bag as we transition to cooler-water fishing.
Alot, of course, depends on the live bait situation. If the winds are waves are big, then it’s hard for the bait guys to get into the shallows to get live bait. Also, with the diminished number of anglers, economically, it makes no sense for the bait guys to go out at night or the mornings when they know there won’t be any or many fishermen to buy bait come sun up.
LATE BREAK NEWS…
Just as I was posting this up, some tuna have shown up of Punta Perrico. Not many, but a small jag of them!
BUSY TOWN FOR BAJA 1000
After a hiatus, the Baja 1000 is back and will concluded in La Paz this year. The dates are Nov. 15-20th and town is already filling up with teams and cars. Honest. If you didn’t get a hotel rooms months ago, you could easily be sleeping on the beach or in your rental car!
The internationally famous race starts up in Ensenada cars will roll through some of the most challenging terrain on the planet. Hopefully, in one piece in La Paz. Lots of cars don’t make it! Just finishing is a challenge.
Folks will line the dirt course throughout La Paz and town will be full with lots of parties and roaring cars. Good to have them back!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 9-16, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Triple catch. Daryl Martz with sons Allan and Dale show off some of their dorado caught with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet.
One of the larger dorado models of the week! Good amigo, Dave Lindell, got this one out’ve Bahia Muertos. Dave lives in Pendleton, OR.
Julie and daugther, Kendall Millspaugh from Washington have been fishing with us for years and did pretty well on the dorado and pargo waiting on the fillet table!
His 2nd trip with us this year, fun amigo, John Washington from Carson City NV with captain Gerardo with dorado, palometa and pargo waiting for the ice chest.
Over the years, we’ve watched young Tanner Millspaugh grow up and now he’s ready to hit high school! Nice bull, Tanner!
Never a dull moment when Wiley Randolph is visiting us. He was fishing with Chito when he got this dorado.
Mike Hanson got one of the larger roosters of the week just off Punta Perrico. The fish was released.
Barry Matlack just had time to squeeze in one day of fishing and it paid off with a nice day of dorado including this legit bull mahi.
It takes two! Debbie and Steve Millspaugh have some nice dorado to show off and take home to Washington.
Unfortunately, because of the weather, Jacob and dad, Jeffrey Cooper only got in one good day of fishing, but had some good action with dorado, pargo and snapper. Jacob just returned from his mission and it was their first time visiting us. Only with the weather had cooperated more.
Allan Martz doesn’t see many fish where he lives in Boston!
A good day for Tanner and Travis Millspaugh. On the beach at Muertos Bay. Good to have the family back again. Always great to see them.
Ceci has way too much fun. One day fishing produced dorado and a marlin with Captain Alfredo.
Daryl Martz finally got his roosterfish for a quick photo and release.
Good to have these guys back to see us after a bit of absence! Jim Adair and Brad Baker had a good day on the dorado schools.
MIke and Kirsten Hanson from Oregon with Captain Gerardo got quite a bit of variety including dorado, palometa, sierra, cabrilla and pargo!
Another one for Tanner headed into the fish box!
Most of the week, it was pretty good fishing.
But, you can really tell things are changing sooner than normal. Air temps are cooler. There are more and stronger winds, especially from the north. The water is rougher and colder. The fishing and the fish are changing.
There are still warm water species. In fact, it was a pretty solid week of dorado fishing for both our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet although the better dorado fishing was with our La Paz fleet. Fish between 5 and 20 pounds were the norm and limits were not unusual. Fish could be found in a wide variety of areas and you could have a slow bite all day and then hit the spot and fill the fish box in one stop. Or, you might get single and double fish all day through the end of the day.
Billfish like marlin and sailfish are still around, but it was a slower week on these two species. After an incredible year with more billfish than I have ever seen, perhaps this is the last hurrah for sailfish and marlin.
The biggest indicator of change are, of course, the fish. More cooler water fish are showing up in the counts. Sierra, amberjack, yellowtail, pargo liso are usually fish we see in December or early spring. However, it seems every week we’re getting more of these types of fish.
It’s hard to put a finger on the fishing picture looking back this week. Three of the days were a write off.
Tropical Storm Pamela came up and dropped alot of rain on us. So, one day we had to cut the fishing short as it started getting too rough. The next day, we had to cancel all trips. The port captain shut down the port for safety reasons with 7-9’ swells and breaking waves slamming outside. After the storm, the weather remained erratic and winds continued to tear up the water. Bait became difficult to find. We had some of the worst fishing days of the year, where we had boats out, but it probably would have been best to just stay off the water. Just being honest.
The coming week shows no weather disturbances…so far. But we’ll keep an eye. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that things are changing and getting cooler.
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
Tailhunter Fish Report 