La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Jan. 17-27, 2024
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN REPORT
WEATHER: Highs in the 70’s. Nightime in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny, but also can have gusting winds.
WATER: Mostly off-colored water as the winds create turbidity and stir things up. Key is to find blue warmer water. Best when the wind isn’t blowing.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Snapper, cabrilla, tuna, yellowtail, amberjack, jack crevalle, pargo, roosterfish, sierra.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Typical inshore catch right now. All very tasty which is why the commercial fishermen love these sierra mackerel and cabrilla.
More variety of rockfish caught this time of year including pargo liso (look like mullet), yellow snapper, pargo mulatto and cabrilla.
A really good surprising day of variety with a hefty yellowfin tuna and a yellowtail in the middle of the rack!
Apologies that the “weekly” fishing report took longer than a week to send out!
We’ve been travelling the last 3 weeks doing shows in Dallas, Reno and now Nashville but even more importantly, I kept putting it off. One more day. Then one more day. So on and so on. I was just hoping there would be something interesting to report other than telling you the wind was blowing again.
Even I get bored writing about it and I wanted something interesting to post on the report.
Unfortunately, that’s just the way things are this time of year between November and April. It’s off-season. Not many folks on the water at all, let alone fishing. It’s just mostly too windy and rough most days.
The real downside is that there are definitely fish to be caught including some real surprise species. The problem is finding that rare day when the winds dial-back a few notches so that you can get out fishing.
Most of the reports I’m getting as well as the photos come from friends that are commercial fishermen that have no choice. They have to go out and fish to support their families. The other info comes from other local friends who live in La Paz. They have the luxury of finding just the right day when the winds aren’t blowing so hard and they can get out to fish.
Accordingly…yes, there’s still the usual inshore species like pargo, sierra, jack crevalle, snapper and cabrilla. However, yellowtail have started showing up around some of the high spots near the drop offs. They are healthy legit 20-30 pound models. Some smaller amberjack have also been mixed in.
But the surprise are the 30-50 pound tuna showing up around the island and mounts. We don’t usually see tuna this time of year. As well, there are still some free-swimming dorado as well as marlin, sailfish and…even roosterfish!!! I guess they don’t know it’s winter time! You just never know what’s going to bite right now if you can get out!
WHALE WATCHING SEASON HAS STARTED!
This is the time of year when the gray whales have migrated all the way south from the Bering Sea to the warm lagoon waters of Baja on the Pacific side. They spend the time mating and giving birth and it’s a great time to get close for a life-time experience in the warm shallow waters of Baja.
The whales usually start moving about mid-March so let us know and we can set up an incredible trip for you to go out there and spend time with these magnificent animals!
HERE WE GO TO NASHVILLE!
We just finished up two incredible international shows these last 3 weeks. First the Dallas Safari Club in Dallas Texas. We followed that up with the Wild Sheep Show and Expo in Reno, Nevada. We had a great time and thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to chat and for those who signed up to visit us in La Paz, we’re looking forward to a fun time in 2024.
Jill and I are now on our way to Nashville! This is the big Safari Club International. One of the largest outdoor shows in the world. Vendor and outfitters from all over the world have their booths there and it’s a geography lesson just walking the aisles and seeing all the exhibits.
As well, attendees come from all over the United States as well to book hunting and fishing trip. Last year at the show, I believe I spoke to visitors from 32 different states and 9 different countries including England, France, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Namibia, Japan and Hungary.
Jilly and I will be in the booth and we’d love to chat with you about coming to see us in La Paz this year! We’ll be in the booth every day from Wednesday to Saturday.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 10-16, 2024
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER – Mostly in the 70’s and sunny. Northern winds came back up and we had to cancel a few trips for fishing; snorkeling and swimming with the whalesharks.
WATER – If the winds are blowing, you really don’t wanna be out. Just not worth it.
WIND – Up to 25 mph gusts from the north. We had only 2 days of the week that could have been available.
SPECIES HOOKED THIS WEEK – Tuna, yellowtail, marlin, dorado, sierra, cabrilla, bonito
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Definitely NOT fishing in Canada! Josh puts the gaff to a yellowfin tuna. Josh is from Vancouver.
They had just one day to fish, but Captain Victor pout Josh, Chris and Lyanna onto a good day of fishing including this unusual striped marlin that we rarely ever see in the winter months! The fish could not be released.
A great photo with big smiles and a pretty fish! Lyanna and Captain Victor with a nice bull dorado!
Yup! Let’s get these fish packed up and on ice! Great day on the water and an unusual catch!
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Pretty typical winter stuff this past week.
We had a few folks ask to go out and after showing them the weather forcast wisely decided to sit it out or we had a few that decided to give it a try and we ended up having to cancel because of the winds. This was for some folks that wanted to fish, but also some folks that wanted to snorkel and some that wanted to swim with the whalesharks. On several occasions, we canceled and re-booked only to have the winds cut us down and disappoint.
But, that’s the way it is during the winter. And with all the frigid arctic winter weather taking place in the U.S. this week, it’s gonna have an effect on Baja with cooler temperatures and overall higher winds.
That doesn’t mean there’s no fish.
What it means is that you need to carefully pick and choose the dates you go out on the water. Check with several days in advance or up to a week in advance to I can check the extended forecast and you can make an informed decision.
We did have some folks actually get out one day. It was the only day they had to squeeze it in during their vacation. They picked well.
They got dorado, tuna, and even a marlin! That’s crazy fishing because none of these fish are typical winter-time fish. The catch was even more remarkable because they had very little fishing experience and came down all the way from Canada!
We also know there are fish around because we have friends that are commercial fishermen. They don’t have a choice. They need to make a living no matter the weather. They inform us that there are yellowtail up to about 25 pounds around the high spots of the island.
There are also a few wahoo, tuna and regular inshore fish like pargo, cabrilla and snapper mixed in with sierra.
But, really just not that many folks on the water during the winter.
DID SOMEONE SAY WILD SHEEP?
Jill and I just finished our first show of the season at the Dallas Safari Club Convention held at the Dallas Convention Center and it was 4 incredible days in the booth. Maybe one of the best shows we have had in the more than 30 years of shows we have done.
Thank you everyone who came by to chat with us about coming down to see us in La Paz and especially to everyone who made reservations for 2024. We’re gonna have a great time and we’re looking forward to your visit!
One special event we were invited to by our good friends Kip and Sue Slaugh was the Weatherby Firearms Awards Banquet and Auction. A fantastic black-tie event and I don’t get dressed up for nothing! We had a great time and it was fun getting dressed up and sharing time with our friends and hob-nobbing with celebrities in the hunting industry!
But now, as I write this, we’re on our way to Reno, Nevada. We’ll that’s where we’re trying to go. We’ve been stuck in the airport in Dallas because all the flights around the country seem to have been cancelled because of the winter storms. But, we hope to be on our way by the time you’re reading this!
We’ll be at the:
WILD SHEEP CONVENTION AND SPORTS EXPO
RENO-SPARKS CONVENTION CENTER
Jan. 18th-20th (Thursday to Sunday)
Jilly and I will be in the booth every day and would love to talk to you about coming down fishing with us this year. C’mon by and say hi. There’s so much to see at this show if you like fishing, hunting, camping or anything outdoors!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 2-9, 2024
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
Weather: Mostly mild mid-70’s to mid-50’s. However, the winds came back up to 20-25 mph gusts. Pretty difficult to be out there. Port Captain even shut down the port for a bit. Had to cancel some trips this week. The folks knew it could happen.
Water: Murky and choppy and uncomfortably rough because of the wind
Bait: If you knew were to look in the calmer areas or knew someone who did, there’s live sardines and other species here and there.
Fish Hooked This Week: Nothing by us. We had to cancel folks because of winds, but commercial fishermen who MUST work were out there in the rough seas and hooked tuna, yellowtail and inshore species like snapper, pargo, cabrilla and sierra.
Outlook: Mostly more wind for the better part of the week
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Some nicer grade yellowtail started showing up finally.
Although we didn’t have fishermen out this week, the commercial guys braved the rough wind and seas and stacked up some nice grade yellowfin tuna.
Again, it was the commercial guys who found the yellowtail schools and were kind enough to send photos. Good rack of hamachi here ready to get cut!
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It’s a bit of a conundrum!
As you ‘ve seen from the previous reports that I’ve been sending out, there are definitely a surprising variety of fish to be caught despite it being December and winter. This included, dorado, wahoo, roosterfish, sailfish, tuna and others not normally hooked this time of year.
However, hooking fish was dependent on finding windows of opportunity when the winter winds weren’t blowing everyone off the water.
Well, this past week the winds came back roarding 20-25 mph at times. About the only ones loving that were the windsurfers and kite boarders.
We don’t have many anglers or other clients on the water during the winter, but we actually had a few this week who were ready to take a shot. However, the fishermen had to cancel twice. We also had some folks going to swim with the whalesharks and they cancelled twice also . In fact, the port captain shut down the port to all boat traffic for awhile because of safety concerns from the crazy weather.
Nevertheless, the commercial guys gotta put food on the table and earn a living so they braved the rough seas and found some nice 15-40 pound legit yellowfin tuna around Cerralvo Island and south towards Boca de Alamo launching from Bahia Muertos.
Also some schools of yellowtail up to 25 pound have apparently shown up around Cerralvo as well as Espirito Santo Island.
All that is good news and hopefully, the winds dial-it-back a bit and we can maybe get a boat our two onto the fishing grounds. Right now the next few days still look a bit breezy.
TAILHUNTER ON THE ROAD TO DALLAS!
Jill and I are formally kicking off our 2024 road tour this week as we head to Dallas, Texas for the Dallas Safari Club Convention. This will be in the massive Dallas Convention Center Jan. 11-14 (Thursday to Sunday) and they’re expecting perhaps up to 80,000 attendees.
This is one of the largest outdoor shows in the United States and the waiting list to be a vendor is several years so we’re very fortunate to have been invited the last 2 years. Attendees come from all over the world to this show and there are vendors likewise from every continent on the planet as well as every state with everything from hunting to firearms; fishing to archery; off-roading to scuba, outdoor wear and so much more. It spans several of the huge halls at the convention center.
More importantly, the Dallas Safari Club raises millions of dollars for conservation, education and stewardship of wildlife and habitat around the world.
We will be in booth #339 every day and would love to see you to talk about coming to visit us in La Paz in 2024.
La Paz-Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 23-Jan. 1, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Comfortable day and night temps, but still some gusty seasonal winds up to 20 mph at times that are prohibitive to being on the water whether you’re fishing, snorkeling, kayaking or SCUBA. So, you need to find those dates when the wind is blowing less.
WATER: Simple. If it’s windy, the water will be rough and cloudy. If it’s not windy, the waters settle down nicely. Surprisingly warmer than normal.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Dorado, sailfish, roosterfish, tuna – you gotta be kidding me! Plus sierra, pargo, cabrilla, jack crevalle, yellowtail.
BAIT BEING USED: If it’s windy, it’s tough to get live bait. Plus, this is off-season so there’s not that many fishermen on the water. That means sometimes, the live bait guys won’t go catch bait to sell. Not practical. If you don’t have live bait, then dead bait; frozen bait and lures can still be effective.
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
The right kind! Wow! Hard to believe wahoo in December, but John Davis did the trick on this ‘hoo off Cerralvo Island.
Awww…a “cute” juvenile sailfish boated by Norm Busch fishing with Captain Pancho. The fish was released.
Love the facial expression! Greg Earles battled this hog yellowfin tuna for 2.5 hours. WHOA! Well done!
Double roosters and lots of fun in Bahia Muertos for Norm and Greg. We don’t usually see roosterfish in the winter. The big 100 pounders show up in the spring. These were released to grow big.
Bull dorado for a serious-looking John. Seas look a bit rough!
Love this photo or Norm Busch with another fun winter roosterfish. Another release!
Another dorado for Greg headed for the fish box.
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OK…this is just weird.
Granted…winter is the WINDY season and yes, the winds have been blowing up to 20 mph. But even if you find the occasional window when the winds slack off and you can go fishing, the catch is usually inshore stuff like pargo, snapper, cabrilla, sierra and jacks.
Mostly shallow water species found over the rocks and reefs. Alot of that is because with the winds, it’s not a great idea to go too far out in the rough waters. However, also the waters are cold and the warm water species are still months away.
So, what’s happening in our waters?
As this is off-season, there’s not much of anyone fishing. Mostly locals, commercial fishermen and the occasional visitor. But, the catch has been rather…unusual to say the least.
Yes, the shallow water rock species are still there.
But, were hooking dorado! Fish up to 30 pounds are still swimming around and readily taking lures and live bait.
There are tuna around Cerralvo Island with football-sized fish like 10 pounders, but also sluggers over 50 pounds!
Want more?
How about wahoo also around Cerralvo. Sailfish in the channel up to 130 pounds. And what about the 10 pound roosterfish along the beaches and in the bays. Great for light tackle. Not the big hogs over 100 pounds we get later in the year but some fun feisty roosters to play with.
Totally unseasonable catches and highly unusual. Not sure how long they’ll be around. Probably as long as the waters stay on the warmer side, but alot of fun while they are here.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Dec. 12-22, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Mostly mild. Some clouds, but the key, as far as fishing has been the wind. Earlier, it was really gusty, but then the last week (Christmas week) some of the calmest winter weather we’ve seen in…forever.
WATER: When the winds blew, the water was junk and uncomfortable. But, when the wind didn’t blow, the water was almost glassy blue and flat!
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Crazy dorado fishing…hard to believe this is “off-season.” School-sized dorado of about 10 pound size. But, larger 20-40 pound fish still running around as well. Then, late in the period…sailfish? Yup! Inshore, sierra, bonito, jacks and cabrilla and a few yellowtail also showed up in the boxes.
BAIT: Bait stocks have been good when the wind isn’t blowing. Nice sardines for live bait.
OUTLOOK: Winds will be coming back, but there’s a few windows here and there.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Francisco and Ramiro were out at Bahia Muertos to catch a few filets for the freezer! Wow…never expected a box full of dorado as well as the nice sailfish like this and surely not in December! They tried to release the sailfish but were unsuccessful.
Celebrating his birthday in La Paz, Greg Earles was deternined to get in a day of two of fishing! He had some banner fishing like this nice bull. Amigo, John Davis lends a hand!
Our La Paz amigo, Jimmy Williams with a trophy sail. It almost looks like a fiberglass mount with great colors. Check out the flat ocean. Looks like a lake! Jimmy released the fish, but also caught dorado.
Captain Pancho with Norm Busch. Take a look at the big bull that Pancho is holding up for the photo. It’s a beast! Nice rack of mahi meat!
Another local, amigo, Phil always gets into good fish. Bull dorado like this are NOT typical winter fish. Great catch!
Even the guys who fished north of La Paz where it’s usually windy got into a nice jag of dorado!
Happy Birthday to Greg! Starting the day off right!
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WOW! WOW! WOW!
Hard to believe some of the fishing right now…in December!
I know the fishing report is a little later than usual. I really do try to get them out on a weekly basis now going on almost 30 years. But, as you’ve often heard me say, November to April is off-season. Barely anyone fishing because it’s usually extremely windy and rough!
So, I was waiting a few extra days for something to happen so I could have something a bit meatier to write you about. Even I get bored talking about the same old thing!
I also knew I had some local friends going fishing plus a small group of guys who were going to brave it and go fishing for a day or two. Additionally, some of my friends who are local commercial fishermen were supposed to give me a better report.
Also, well, it’s the holidays. I’m still recovering my my knee replacement surgery even though it has now been about 6 weeks and on top of it…everyone (me included) has gotten the cold/flu bug! It’s that time of year.
So, apologies that it’s a little late, but it was worth it!
Check it out…
Earlier in the period it was typical windy, rough, choppy…blah blah blah. But then, Christmas week, I don’t know what happened.
The winds diminished. The waters calmed down. The waters turned blue! It was like someone threw a switch!
Dorado between 5 and 20 pound schoolies bit like it was summer! Both Las Arenas and La Paz fleets produced some good catches and there were even larger fish up to the 40-50 pound class bulls! Pretty much unheard of.
With plentiful supplies of bait including live sardines, the dorado were ready to chew. Still not much of anyone fishing, but everyone who was out got fish.
As well, inshore fish like cabrilla, pargo, snapper, jack crevalle, sierra and yellowtail more typical of this time of year were also hooked.
The biggest surprise probably were the sailfish that showed up. And these were some nice-sized legit sails running 90 to maybe 140 pounds. Much larger than normal. Most of the fish were released, but especially because many were hooked on lighter tackle, there were some epic battles.
Not sure if this will continue, but the key is the wind and finding the windows when the winds aren’t blasting folks off the water! A great Christmas week of fishing!
LATE BREAK REPORT – Just as I was about to publish…tuna and wahoo biting now!
BLESSINGS TO YOU!
Hard to believe that Christmas has come again so soon, but always a special time. Wherever you are or whatever you’re doing, please…from Jill and I and our Tailhunter family and team in La Paz…we wish you a special peace and happy holidays and Christmas and many blessings for the new year. We hope to have you visit us in 2024!
Cheers and best fishes always!
Jonathan and Jilly
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
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
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 29- Dec. 9, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: A pleasant time to be in town. Daytime in the high 70’s to low 80’s and nightime down to the mid-60’s. Most days pretty nice, but the winds (up to 20 mph) from the north blow for a days then cut back. It’s nice right now, but winds coming back later in the week.
WATER: Definitely cooling and when the winds are blowing, it’s pretty rough, but other days, nice and fishable. However, water visibility is decreasing when the waters are rough. Must be some warm patches as we’re still hooking some dorado.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Cabrilla, sierra, snapper, pargo, bonito, jack crevalle, dorado, tuna.
BAIT SITUATION: Live bait availability is sporadic. Not really many fishermen this time of year so the bait guys might not even go out. Or, if it’s too windy and rough, they can’t find any bait. So, often having to troll or use dead or frozen bait.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Freezer meat for the winter for Miguel Campos from Puerta Vallarta who put a couple of yellowfin tuna and some nice dorado in the fish box.
Jorge Romero was out from La Paz and hit flat water and empty seas to go along with a nice limit of dorado.
The fishing report is a tad later than normal this week because I was hoping something would happen so that I would have some decent information to impart!
No such luck. Same old…same old! It is what it is!
Not much of anyone really fishing right now. Not only is it that lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this is pretty much off-season from November to April when the north winds whip things up.
The windsurfers and kiteboarders love the world-class winds, but not so good for being on the water fishing. Additionally, most of the folks coming down this time of year, aren’t here to fish. They’re shopping, dining and hanging out on the beaches.
It’s actually a really nice time to be in La Paz. Air temps in the day are in the high 70’s to low 80’s with little humidity. Nights are in the mid-60’s. Additionally, Christmas decorations are up and at night everyone is downtown for the Christmas faires every evening with booths, food and music.
Mostly, the only folks who are out fishing…and where I’m getting my reports are from our captains who use this down time to go out with family and friends; commercial fishermen; and other locals who can pick and choose which days would be best to go out when the winds aren’t blowing so strong.
That’s the key. Being flexible to go out on the days when the winds have abated. Most of this week there were some 20 mph gusts, but then towards the end of the week, things settled down again.
Apparently, there’s still some legit dorado around which means there’s still some warm blue water here and there. The fish are reportedly running about 10-20 pounds and being taken on live bait (when available); dead bait; frozen bait and chunked bait.
Some of the commercial guys have reported yellowfin tuna popping up at the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island. Most of the fish are 10-30 pounders, but I heard there were some bigger models up to 100 pound or more running with the porpoise schools.
Inshore, the usual…snapper…pargo (several types)…jack crevalle…sierra…bonito (make great chunked bait).
FROM MY MEMO PAD
They finally opened the season for swimming with the whalesharks. Not sure how long it will stay open. Just depends how many animals show up and also on the water and weather. If it’s too windy, it’s hard to be out there and hard to find the animals in the shallow water!
Reservations are coming in daily and dates are filling up for fishing with us in 2024. Don’t wait. Get in touch with us, especially if you have a favorite captain or hotel! You can write me directly: Jonathan@tailhunter.com
Ice chests full of fish headed to the airport!
Whale watching season over in Bahia Magdalena is coming up. Some whales are already starting to show up in the shallow bay there. Best time is usually February to March. Reach out if that’s something you’d like to do. It’s pretty incredible.
It’s show season again. We hit the road in 2024 and our first show will be:
DALLAS SAFARI CLUB CONVENTION
DALLAS CONVENTION CENTER
JANUARY 11-14
It’s a massive show. One of the largest and it’s got so much to see and check out. We
will be in booth #339. Come see us!
Just one of the massive halls in the convention center in Dallas!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
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
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 21-28, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Daytime in the low 80’s and nights in the mid-60’s. For about the first time in weeks, the winds did not blow and we had almost perfect weather which was reflected in the fishing.
WATER: Without the winds kicking everyone and everything, waters settled down and were relatively flat. Given the fish that were caught, there are obviously still warm and cooler spots of water.
LIVE BAIT: Still and issue and tough to come across so dead and frozen bait or trolling is what we’re doing, but still working well.
NOTES: About 2 months late, but enough whalesharks finally arrived in La Paz Bay (8 of them) to open the season to swimming with them with licensed guides. Not sure how long the season will stay open depends on how many animals stick around. They’re not on anyone’s schedule!
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Gary and Miles Wagner at Gary’s Rancho Costa in Bahia Muertos. Wow, hard to believe bulls like this massive dorados are biting in November, but great catch!
Tailhunter’s own Jorge Romero, got a “kitchen pass” for a few days fishing from his lovely wife, Sandra, so he got out on the water. He was told to get some meat into the freezer. Nice load of dorado!
Wow! Roosterfish in November. Sydney Wagner hooked this pretty gallo in Bahia Muertos and released it. Rooster season is normally, April to July or so! Check the flat waters!
Yup! Even yellowfin tuna this week. Jim Nichols is all smiles. Jim is from Colorado.
Jorge getting his Santa Claus beard in gear for the holidays with another bull dorado for the box.
Our buddy, Jimmy Williams, got out and fished the north end of Cerralvo Island for Thanksgiving and pulled several big dorado up like this beauty. Jimmy is about 6’2″ so you can gauge the size of this bull!
Jorge got out another day. Went south out’ve Muertos and struck out so he headed to the south end of Cerralvo Island looking for wahoo. No wahoo, but two nice tuna and a bunch of dorado plus white bonito on the troll and using dead bait.
Miguel Campos from Puerta Vallarta comes over for quick winter trips to La Paz. Nice YFT!
MIguel with another dorado to get into the ice chest!
Cold water fish, but delicious especially for ceviche. Gary has himself a nice sierra.
Jim Nichols with another surprise roosterfish. Caught and released!
Hope ya’ll had a great Thanksgiving and the holidays are off to a good start!
Well…what a difference a few days make!
For about the first time in about 5 weeks, Mother Nature cut us some slack and those fierce northern winds gave us a break for about 7 days. They’re scheduled to be coming back but in the meantime, it was a great time to be on the water!
Not many folks fishing this time of year, but many of our friends or even our captains got out with their friends and families to take advantage of the great conditions. Hopefully, to put some fish in the freezers for the holidays.
Normally, this time of year because of the weather, the catch is mostly inshore species like pargo, cabrilla and snapper. However, this past week, it was about as good as we’ve had since mid-October!
Schools of dorado came up hungry for both our Las Arenas and La Paz fleets with decent-sized school-fish running about 10-15 pounds, but also larger fish up to 40 pounds. Additionally, tuna up to maybe 30 pounds were hitting at the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island and there were some rumors of a wahoo or two breaking off as well as billfish!
Inshore, yes, cabrilla, snapper, jack crevalle, sierra, white bonito, pacific bonito and two kinds of pargo were biting, but the big surprise were the roosterfish in the 10-40 pound size being caught and released. Normally, our roosterfish season runs about April to early July!
And, the pargo that we hooked were the pargo liso (mullet snapper) that get up to 20-40 pounds and usually don’t show up until the spring that made it into the fish boxes!
Some amberjack were also hooked and the commercial pangeros reported some yellowtail were hooked as well.
Still not much in the way of live bait because of the turbulent waters and also, if there’s not many fishermen, it’s economically a waste of time for the commercial bait guys to go out. So, most fishermen either trolled or made good use of dead or frozen bait like ballyhoo, frozen sardines or chunked bonito.
Enjoy it while we can! Winds predicted to start up again!
WHALE SHARK SEASON FINALLY OPENS
After waiting many weeks, authorities finally opened the popular swimming with the whaleshark season. Normally, the season runs October to April in the Bay of La Paz.
However, that’s dependent on water conditions…if it’s too rough and windy ,it’s hard to find the animals in the shallow waters. And it’s also dependent on how many animals are around.
At last count, there were 8-10 whalesharks in the bay.
The problem is that so many folks want to get in the water and so many operators from all over Baja sell and oversell tickets and trips. Many are unlicensed.
Only 6 persons are allowed in the water for each individual animal and only for a limited amount of time. For the safety and wellbeing of the animal. Plus, having too many boats in the water scares the animals away.
If dozens of people are booked to get in the water on a given day and there are only 3 or 4 animals, most folks will never get in the water or their trips will get cancelled. Even if you get in a boat, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get in the water because there is a rotation of people. And it’s not like the animals are on a schedule or in a cage like at the zoo so there’s no guarantees. You take your chances.
So before you book, check with us or another licensed operator.
RESERVATIONS FOR 2024
Our spots are booking fast for the coming year as we come off an incredible season this past year . Reservations are coming in daily so get in touch with me personally:
We’ll get you set up! Let me know so you don’t miss out on your favorite captains or hotel rooms. Or, if you’re brand new, write me and we can tell you all about our services that we’ve offered here in La Paz almost 30 years now! We’re great for experienced as well as first-timers; families; friends; kids…something for everyone!
We’ll customize a complete fishing/ hotel/ activity package for you!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 11-20, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Mostly sunny in the low to mid-80’s in the day time. Evenings comfortable mid-60’s. Great time for the holidays and all the snow-birds visiting. The problem has been the winds blowing 15-25 knots from the north. Some gusts stronger. Important to choose your activities accordingly. If you’re going to do something, do it in the mornings before winds get stronger
WATER: Cooler and rougher. If the wind is blowing, very choppy. Heading north out’ve La Paz Bay can be wet and bouncy at best. Impossible at worst.
FISH HOOKED: Dorado, bonito, sailfish, jack crevalle, pargo, cabrilla, snapper.
BAIT AVAILABILTY: Erratic. If winds are blowing and it’s rough, the bait guys have a hard time getting live bait and you should plan on a day of trolling or using dead or frozen bait.
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
First stop of the morning for Michael Novotny who had just pulled out for the day and had this pretty dorado hit a trolled feather!
Miles Wagner staying with his dad in Bahia Muertos at Costa Rancho got this nice pargo liso (mullet snapper) to come out’ve the rocks, but not without a tough battle to be sure. Punta Perico in the background. Seas looking a little choppy too! Miles is from Colorado Spring CO.
If there’s fish around, Kevin Shiotano is a fish magnet! He had some rough windy days, but did get a day where the dorado blew up on him. Check out the cleaning table!
Sailfish in November? Almost unheard of, but Michael Novotny hooked this big sail while fishing with Captain Arcangel and they were able to also release the fish.
Our amigo, Gary Wagner fishing with Captain Hugo got one of the nice spawning pargo liso just offshore. Great eating! Gary owns the famous Giggling Marlin Bar and Restaurant in Cabo.
Not many folks fishing right now. Most of the folks arriving in town were here either for the big Baja 1000 race that filled town for a week of race teams and fans or they’re snow birds looking for some sunshine and not necessarily in town to be fishing, or participating in other water sports.
But, we did have some folks on boats. However, most were folks who were flexible on their days or were locals who could pick and choose specific dates when the winds weren’t blowing as hard.
That’s the key. The seasons have changed for the rougher and this weather with strong northern winds is pretty typical during the winter months when it can often make it worthless to even try being on the water.
However, there are some windows and if you can take advantage of those or get your fishing done early before the winds kick in.
We actually got some late-season dorado. Nothing huge, but fun-sized 10-20 pound class fish. Even if the winds might be a little more blustery than wanted, fishing inshore over the rocks is producing some jacks, mullet snapper (pargo liso), cabrilla, sierra and bonito (great to cutting and using for bait).
Surprisingly, we also got a few hookups on sailfish which is very unusual for this time of year.
If you’re planning to go out just be aware that winds could blow you out or force you back to shore sooner than you want. It can also affect whether live bait will be available. If not, you’ll either be trolling or using dead or frozen bait.
BAHIA MADGALENA FISHING
We had some of our good clients out at Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific Coast out fishing with us. Bahia Magdalena (Mag Bay) is about 4 hours drive from La Paz and our guides fish inshore in the zillion miles of mangroves. They also fish offshore on the seamounts.
Mike Jennings and his amigos fished 2 days offshore sticking great fun with tuna and dorado then a day inshore in the shallows in the mangroves for numerous species including, pargo, snapper, spotted bay bass, corvina and others.
BAJA 1000 OFF ROAD RACE
This year the annual BAJA 1000 Race started in La Paz and for the better part of a week, town was filled with thousands of fans; off-road race teams from all over the world and all the festivities that go along with it.
It was pretty much a full-party on the Malecon waterfront 24 hours-a-day with revving motors, crowds, music and more. The drivers and teams are like rock-stars and it was quite an event with the Malecon closed for miles.
FISHING in 2024 BOOKINGS COMING IN FAST!
We’ve been in La Paz now almost 30 years and are coming off one of the best fishing seasons in 2023. Just a heads-up that our bookings for 2024 are really filling things up quickly with reservations coming in daily.
If you want to come visit this year or have a favorite captains or hotel, don’t wait. Get in touch with me directly: jonathan@tailhunter.com
I can check our availabilties before we get filled up. We don’t want to miss you. We’ll customize a special fishing vacation package for you, your friends, family or group!
Right now, we have great openings and boats available:
April 16-30
May 1-8
May 22-31
June 1-12
June 25-30
July 1-31
Aug. 1-11
September 1-30
October 1-24
Hope to hear from you and let’s get you fishing in 2024.
That’s our story! Have a safe, happy and peaceful Thanksgiving and holidays!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
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
THAT TIME of YEAR…HERE COME THE WINTER WINDS and WAVES
La Paz- Las Arenas/Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 31-Nov.10, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER – Mostly sunny, but the season has changed for sure. Temps have gotten cooler and the winds from the north have started and blown consistently now. So less fishermen and more windsurfers and kiteboarders.
WATER – Still taking time to recover after getting messed up and dirty from Hurricane Norma, but it’s better for sure. It’s just not going to be what it was since the northern winds have kicked in now and waters are colder and greener now not to mention rougher and choppier. Expect there will be some port closures at times because it’s too rough. No boat traffic allowed at all in or out.
SPECIES CAUGHT – More inshore stuff now because we simply can’t get to some areas now because of the sea conditions. So more pargo, jacks, snapper, cabrilla bonito. A few dorado still holding as well as some late season billfish. Finding live bait is an issue with the rough seas now.
THE MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Tony Morales was out on one of the calmer days and found a legit dorado in some blue water.
Despite cooling and rougher waters, there are still some patches of warmer blue water holding school-sized dorado although finding live bait has been an issue. The dorado seem willing to bite dead bait; frozen bait or chunks of bonito.
It’s been a little hard to launch our boats since Hurricane Norma 2 weeks ago. This is what’s left of the small boat docks where we keep our pangas. That’s Captain Raul with the baseball hat “supervising” some of the clean-up. The launch ramp was also destroyed. What you can’t see are the boats sunk beneath the surface. Fortunately, our captains pulled their boats out’ve the water before the big storm hit.
More tough times. This is Marina Palmira about a week ago. All of the marinas in La Paz took substantial damage from Hurricane Norma and 6 vessels burned in this inferno caused by an electrical fire. Probably it did not help that with so many sunken and damaged boats, there was alot of flammable debris, gas, solvents, etc. floating in the waters.
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Not really alot to tell you about.
To be honest, there hasn’t been that much activity on the water for several reasons.
First is that we were still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Norma which did extensive damage to the marinas making it hard to launch any boats plus the storm really tore up the waters after 3 days of pounding . Waters were not just cold, but extremely dirty and filled with debris.
As well, the seasons have turned. The northern winds have started blasting making it not only rougher to be out, but also more difficult just to get out’ve the bay or to find baits. It also keeps the waters cooler so we’re not seeing the warm water species now like the dorado, tuna, wahoo, etc.
Instead, we’re looking at more inshore species like the cabrilla, sierra, pompano, jack crevalle and bonito. There are still a few dorado holding here and there, but these are the exception. But, they are still legit 10-15 pound fish.
I expect with the winds blowing consistently, waters will only get colder and rougher which they do during out winters making it not only difficult to fish, but also snorkel, scuba and other water activities except kiteboarding and windsurfing which becomes world-class during the winter months.
Live bait is also an issue. With the rougher seas, the bait areas are getting pounded by the seas making it difficult to get to or find the bait. Also, since there are fewer fishermen on the water, the bait guys just don’t go out as often if there’s no one to buy their bait.
If you do plan to fish, get in touch with us about a week ahead of time. Be flexible on your dates and I can check the forecast to see which dates might be better to go out.
THANK YOU EVERYONE!
Just wanted to give a shout-out to everyone in our Tailhunter Nation for all the e-mails, texts, phone calls and cards wishing me well from my surgery.
The fishing report is a bit (alot ) later than normal this time because I had full knee replacement surgery more almost 2 weeks ago. My left knee finally wore out after years of sports (football, wrestling, running) then 30 years down here carrying ice chests, luggage, scuba tanks and running up and down 3 sets of stairs at our Tailhunter Restaurant.
I needed an equipment “upgrade.”
The docs say the surgery went well and I’m grinding through the post-surgical physical therapy (ouch!) and following all the doctors orders. As I type this Jill has me propped up with ice wrapped around my swollen left knee. She’s been taking stellar care of me. Couldn’t do this without her. Thankful also for the half-dozen “happy drugs” the give me for the pain! But, I’ve been groggy or just out’ve it much of the time so that’s why the report is tardy!
I’m supposed to be down 4-6 weeks, but I’m pushing to be up well before then! I just wanted to tell ya’ll thank you for much for all the good thoughts, prayers and wishes! I’ll be better and faster on the other side of this!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
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
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 24-30, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER – After taking it out on us by sending us Hurricane Norma the blast away at Baja, the subsequent weather was mild by comparison. Windy at times, but mostly sunny. Definitely cooler.
WATER – Mostly a mess. So much runoff from the heavy rains that waters looked like chocolate milk. It got a little better reluctantly each day, but water temps remained on the cooler side. One encouraging thing is the tons of debris in the water. Good habitat for dorado.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK – Not real great, and it took awhile to even have fishable conditions, but we did hook some dorado, sailfish, tuna, bonito. Not alot and not super, but not better than expected after such a tremendous storm.
TAILHUNTER LA PAZ FLEET – The whole bay and outlying waters were a mess of debris and dirty silty water that took awhile to clear up and is still slowly improving. The big problem is that the marinas sustained serious damages and there are many boats sunk. Fortunately, we had pulled all our boats out’ve the water. However, the ramps were destroyed so we couldn’t put our boats back in the water, even if we wanted to. Oh, and no live bait to be found was no help either. And it looks like those pesky north winds are starting up.
TAILHUNTER LAS ARENAS FLEET – Like everywhere else, waters were dirty and turned over. No bait to speak of. But, we had a few exploratory trips and at first nothing more than bonito, but then thing improved. And using dead bait and chunked bonito, some of the dorado started biting again.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT –
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Ryan Brockway is a guide and owner of several lodges up in Vancouver, but still came down to fish after the hurricane and we’re happy he got into some dorado action his last day!
Check out the huge sailfish that Sara Jenkins hooked with Captain Pancho. Son, Ryder lends a hand. Sara fought this on light tackle the whole time and then made a great release as well!
Still a few tuna hanging out. Brandon Cowhey with a great photo of a chunky YFT!
Ryder…9 years old…Love to see this. Great form! This young man loves to fish. His 2nd trip to see us!
Ryan Jenkins was able to get out a few days just before Hurricane Norma dropped in on us and was able to get into some nice dorado biters!
More than a few ended up on the beach.
Many of the owners aren’t in La Paz which complicates the clean-up. Lots of boats piled right onto the Malecon by the fierce winds and waves of Hurrican Norma.
Lots of things in La Paz got turned upside down like these beach palapas after almost 3 days of battering. Fortunately, no reports of injuries.
All the marinas are a mess of sunken and damaged watercraft and trash.
Clean-up is going to take awhile. Especially hard to clean with no running water or power.
Many volunteer groups came down to the beaches to help clear off the muck.
_______________________________________
This is going to be somewhat convoluted for a fishing report because well…it was a convoluted week.
Basically, if you hadn’t heard, Hurricane Norma slammed directly into La Paz . It was alot harder then the experts predicted. It stayed around alot longer than predicted. It hit us with alot more rain and wind than anyone expected.
By the time it hit us it was a Category 2 hurricane with winds well over 100 mph. It dropped 8-15 inches of rain on us. Worse, is that it just sat and sat and pummeled the area for about 30 hours. It’s like getting hit by a boxer over and over. At some point, things start to break.
I’ve heard that over 100 boats were sunk or damaged including some huge yachts. All the marinas sustained extensive damage. Fortunately, all our captains pulled their boats out’ve the water ahead of time, but all the ramps were damaged and there was no way to launch the boats again.
Even moreso, hotels, businesses, restaurants, and homes took it hard. The popular restaurants at Tecolote Beach that had been around for decades, were completely destroyed. The front of our own Tailhunter Restaurant blew away and received extensive other damage.
The bigger issue might have been the loss of water and power with a good portion of the city in the dark (that included cell phone and wifi of course). Many folks were without it for days. Our restaurant had no power for 5 days.
It’s pretty hard to clean up when you have no water or electricity. As of writing this, there are still lots of homes and businesses waiting for the lights to come on.
As for fishing…
We had just started to re-bound after what Hurricane Hilary and the full-moon did to us. Dorado had started to bite again . Waters had cleaned up. Tuna were showing again as were billfish and even some nice-sized roosterfish.
Then up comes Norma.
Waters have been a mess. It’s a big chocolate-colored soup of silt, mud and floating debris. It has taken and continues to take days to clear up.
We have not been able to fish out’ve La Paz. The marinas were wrecked and the ramps were all torn up. There’s no way to launch our boats, even if the conditions looked more promising. I’m just glad we pulled our boats out’ve the water before the storm. Some marinas look like a boat graveyard.
For our Las Arenas fleet, waters cleared a little bit but bait remained difficult or non-existent. Bonito bit somewhat in the begining. As waters cleared, however, the dorado started to come back. Still not bait but we were using dead bait, frozen bait and chunks of fresh bonito.
Honestly, as the season is changing and it’s getting colder and windier, we don’t have that many folks on the water so not that many folks lost any days on the water.
A SPECIAL NOTE FROM US!
To everyone who offered their good thoughts, prayer and wishes and even offered to come down to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Norma, we appreciate you all! We’re all fine. That’s the most important. No one was hurt and this is not our first rodeo. We’ll be bigger and better on the other side.
NEXT REPORT MIGHT BE A BIT LATE…
The other thing…As you’re reading this, I’m headed for knee replacement surgery. I’m told I’m going to be out’ve it for awhile. I’ve done the weekly fishing reports basically every week for over 28 years. Please excuse me if the next report is a tad later than normal! I might be on “performing enhancing medications” according to my surgeon to alleviate the OUCH!!!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
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 