La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Feb. 26-March 9, 2023
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Nice catch of yellowtail for Paul Le Claire and his amigo who found a little window between winds to hook these tasty forktails.
There’s lots of good eating on the table as Gary Wagner, who owns the Rancho Costa Resort poses with Mauricio and his son and a whole mess of sierra.
Attorney General of Kansas, Kris Korbach with Gary and some unseasonable dorado caught outside of Bahia Muertos. There must be some warmer water around!
I’m sorry for not posting up sooner. I know the report is later than normal, but we’re still on the road and I’ve been a bit under the weather plus losing my voice!
But, again, not really a whole lot to report.
The wind really dictate what’s going on and as I’ve heard so often this season, this is the “coldest and windiest” winter anyone can remember. It very much mirrors what’s been going on for the entire west coast and much of the country with crazy cold, winds, snow, rain and more.
Not much of anyone on the water and many of the days, it’s so rough the port captain shuts down the port to all boating traffic.
The key is to find the small windows between the winds to get out on the water. If you pick the right day, there’s quite a variety of species willing to bite.
Colder water species like yellowtail, amberjack, sierra, pargo, cabrilla and snapper have been available over the reefs and rocks. Some warmer water species like dorado have surprised us. Live and dead bait is best, but casting lures have also been productive.
It does look like the yellowtail bite is starting to heat up. Hot spots at the north end of Cerralvo Island as well as the south and east side of the island have been productive as well as parts off the rocks near Punta Perrico and Punta Arenas. Some jags of the fish have also been hit around Espirito Santo Island as well. The trick is finding those times when the wind isn’t blowing.
Some nice hog-size fish are getting taken and there have been schools of big breezing 100+ pound tuna that were moving too fast to jump on.
MAGDALENA BAY REPORT
We had Jim Gibson and his sons, Dan and Patrick out at Mag Bay with us for several days of whale watching and 2 days of fishing the mangroves.
Although the winds got to them, they had lots of whales in the bay coming up to their panga!
For their two days of fishing, they had plenty of action. According to Jim:
“We caught Black Snook, Corvina, Pompano, Red Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Dog Snapper, Triggerfish, Broomtail Grouper, Spotted Bay Bass, Cabrilla (Spotted Cabrilla, I think), Pacific Porgy, various Grunts, Barred Pargo, and a pretty good sized Scorpionfish. And a couple of octopus, maybe some other species I’ve forgotten. And we got rocked by at least one huge grouper when Rigo took us outside the Bay to fish a favorite rock pile of his. We were under-gunned for that experience!”
TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR
To anyone that came out to the Orange Co. Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa CA last week for the Pacific Coast Sportfishing Show, you had quite a treat with a super-great show with hundreds of vendors and sold-out crowds every day at the fairgrounds.
Thank you so everyone who came by and it was so great to see so many old friends and Tailhunter Nation after several years of no shows in S.California. We had a great time and we’re looking forward to seeing you in La Paz this year. Thanks for you reservations.
Now onto…Bakersfield!
We’ll be at the Kern Co. Fairgrounds from March 11-13 from Friday to Sunday. Great fun for the whole family. In addition to the fishing halls, they will also have a hunting hall with guns and ammo plus the fairgrounds will be covered with RV’s and boats as well as great activities like the tractor pull and custom car exhibits. Hope to see you there!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 15-22, 2023
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Local La Paz amigos out’ve Bahia Muertos with a great day catch of cabrilla, sierra, bonito and even a couple of dorado!
Fernando was out with our Captain Pancho and was able to get across the channel to the south side of Cerralvo Island and got this hefty slugger yellowfin tuna on dead sardines.
As storms battered much of the U.S. this week, especially the west coast, it also had an effect on Baja and for us in La Paz. For most of the week it was cold and windy so fishing opportunities were limited which is pretty typical for this time of year.
Most of the folks who were out are locals who have flexible schedules and can pick-and-choose which days or even what hours are best for diminished winds.
Not surprisingly, there are fish to be caught.
If you can make your way across the rough channel to the south end of Cerralvo Island, there has been a little jag of 50-100 pound tuna. Nothing wide open, but a few have been hooked, especially by commercial panga fishermen. But, it can be a really rough ride out there especially with the winds roaring down the channel.
Not surprisingly, however, there is a nice mix of fish closer inside including sierra, jacks, cabrilla, snapper and even some dorado which is surprising and leads me to believe there’s still some warm water patches around. Bait is not a problem and jigs and lures are working effectively also.
THANK YOU RENO!
Thanks to everyone who came to visit us at our booth in Reno, Nevada last week for the Wild Sheep Foundation Show at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center. It was great fun and great chatting with lots of old and new amigos and glad many of you signed up to come down.
It was also fun (for us, but maybe not for alot of others) to get snow. Living in Mexico, it’s quite a novelty to get snow, but know that last week wasn’t fun for many of our friends especially in California with all the rain and snow.
This is the view from our hotel room as the snow started to fall about 2 hours into a 2 day storm in Reno.
Our next show is a BIG ONE. One of the largest we will have this year. It’s the
WESTERN HUNT & CONSERVATION SHOW
Feb. 2-5
SALT PALACE CONVENTION CENTER
SALT LAKE CITY UT
This is a view of only about 1/3 of the show floor
It’s our only show in Utah this year, but it’s massive and if you’re anywhere near the area, you can spend all 3 days in the show and still never see all the hunting, fish, camping, RV’s and more. We’ll be in our booth all 3 days to talk about coming to La Paz. Just look for the booth that has a bunch of our Tailhunter Nation friends hanging out there!
We’re filling up really fast so let us know if you want to come visit us this year to come fishing!
That’s our 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
P.O. Box 159
Hewitt TX. 76643Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay / Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 7-13, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Hugo Rafael from Santa Ana was with Captain Pancho from the Tailhunter Fleet in La Paz and really just wanted to catch some inshore pargo and cabrilla for some dinner when he hooked this massive bull dorado. He was using a dead sardine for the rockfish and only had 25 pound test line. He battled the fish for about 30 minutes before landing it and when they put it on a handscale, it weighed out at 26 kilos (57 pounds). Hugo is only about 5’3” tall! He never did catch any rockfish, but had plenty of meat for dinner.
This is what you call a good fun day. Denver amigo, Joe Hicks with sons, Marco ad Hudson. A box of dorado plus a striped marlin that they all got to pull on.
Rusty Cain has been visiting us for years and was not gonna pass the rod of during his 4 hour battle on 25 pound test with this trophy sailfish. His hand was still cramping and shaking when he posed for this photo. Alot of the meat was donated.
Our long-time San Diego amigos, Byron Shovlain and George Bonner with their favorite captain Arcangel (managing a rare smile!) and some of their yellowfin tuna.
I”ve been waiting almost 3 years for Billy Bates from Idaho to finally make it down after Covid and other things forced cancelations. He finally made it with his son, Royal from San Diego, and they started the vacation with a nice rack of dorado and a legit yellowfin tuna. Two thumbs-up!
Sweetiest folks from Oregon on their 4th visit to us. This is Mari and Chris Bedsaul showing off their first-day catch at Ensenada Muertos.
Kentucky in the house! Doug Dickerson fished with us early this year and had time for two quick days this past week so he brought his son down for two days on the water before heading to Sammy Hagar’s birthday in Cabo.
Carson City, Nevada is where John and Arla Washington live and it’s such a pleasure seeing them each year. Could not be more fun and they pose here with a fat tuna and some good mahi on the cutting table.
Friends since kingergarten, Walt Menda and Dave Wakabayashi have been visiting us for years until Covid hit in 2020, but finally came to see us.
Buddy Middaugh and Mike Gistlink teamed up for a nice table of mahi!
Alan Martz has visited us for several years now with his dad and brother. He’s got another dorado for the box!
There you go! Nice bull dorado for Angelo Oliverio, Captain Jorge and Joe Malone. Outside the photo, there’s also a nice bunch of dorado on the cleaning table.
Austin Texas visiting us with Mark Trutna and Jason Hurst on their visit with us at Tailhunter.
Good start for Marco, Joe and Hudson on a 3 day outing with us from Denver. They rocked it for 3 days on the water.
Captain Julio in the mask with Billy and Royal Bates after a day fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet.
We had Chris Girard from Washington for 14 days of great fun! He gives a thumbs-up on his catch of dorado plus a rainbow runner at the end of the table.
Gorgeous shot of Chris Bedsaul and his bull. Great colors.
Craig Shijo and smiling Walt Menda with a dorado hooked just outside of La Paz Bay.
Dale Martz has another dorado!
Joe and Angelo had some great days with Captain Jorge who has some fish cleaning to do!
Brad Baker needs a pink shirt like Captain Arcangel and Jim Adair. Some big dorado, but check out the nice pargo on the table too!
Fishing inshore in the rocks is a hoot! Mari Bedsaul with one of several cabrilla and pargo she caught.
What’s wrong with this picture of Joe Hicks? LOL. He didn’t realize until I saw this photo. Nice bull dorado!
Kenny (“K.C.”) Campbell one of the best guys ever, brings a bunch of his amigos to visit us each year. Mike Gistlink was on his first visit to us and they were out with Captain Armando.
Nice chunks of meat! Debbie and Chris Girard spent 14 days with us and were incredible fun the whole time!
Even with the full moon and some breezier conditions, still a nice solid week of fishing with a good mix of surface biters. Temporatures are definitely cooling and the seasons are changing a little sooner than normal, but it’s been that kind of strange year and we’re just happy the fish kept biting.
Once again, for both our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet, dorado were the main attractions. Here and there one boat might have a slow days, but overall, it was limits or near limits for all our anglers. The dorado were more numerous for our La Paz anglers, but larger fish seemed to show up with our Las Arenas anglers. But, frankly, you just never knew what was coming back in the fish boxes. If you had a bait in the water, you might hit a ferocious school of 10-15 pound voracious juveniles willing to hit anything and fight each other for it or you might get that 25-40 pound trophy that you never expected and always seems to hit your lightest line and smallest reel! There were definitely some big fish lost.
Most of the fish were caught on live and dead sardines, but trolled feathers and hootchies also worked and many of the larger fish were caught on strips of fresh bloody bonito. Catching the bonito, in and of itself, provided plenty of action in between the dorado bites.
No wahoo to speak of in a year that has seen a dearth of the prized speedsters, but every day we’re still hanging some 20-30 pound yellowfin tuna south of Cerralvo Island. It’s usually an early bite before all the boat traffic shows up.
In addition, we’re having a pretty good bite on billfish. Most are un-intentional hook-ups when an angler is in the middle of a school of bonito or dorado, but we’ve hooked some nice sailfish, striped marlin and smaller blue marlin with most fish getting released.
Surprisingly, even though it’s not the season, some 5-20 pound roosterfish are biting along with sierra and rainbow runners!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 28-Oct. 5, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Another big-headed beast! Captain Pancho holds up the tail end of a huge bull dorado caught by Marlene Kikuchi!
Show me the meat! Good amigo, Dana Murray from Idaho, has a thumbs-up for 3 nice yellowfin tuna and a few dorado for the fillet table!
Honeymoon marlin for Terry Sandmeier and his wife Caroline with an assist from Captain Gerardo. The day before, Terry had a marlin on and it popped off. He want back the 2nd day and this time he rocked it. The fish was not able to be released. The Sandmeiers are from Colorado on their first visit to us in La Paz.
Yes! We finally found some tuna. Funny guys Nat Hargett and Steve Manney hung some nice yellowfin to go along with their dorado. The guys are from Washington and come visit us each year.
Paul Nagata has become a regular poster-boy over the years with all the great fish he has caught . Check out this pretty bull mahi! Paul is from San Francisco.
We finally got a visit from Stan Andre and Terry Hawk who fish with us each year until Covid got in the way two years ago then had to cancel again last year and earlier this year. However, they made up for it. They donated all of this dorado meat to the Captain Pancho and the pueblo.
First timer with us Ken Fritz battled this marlin on light tackle while fishing outside of La Paz Bay. He also put some dorado in the box as well. The marlin could not be released.
First timer who had never been to Mexico, Jim Gibson, was fun to have visit us. Nice day of dorado fishing on the sand at Balandra Bay.
Just a great photo that’s worth framing! Grant Nakagawa and Captain Armando with a legit bull.
Whoa!!! That’s some quality mahi. Wesley Peterson (middle) needs some assistance posing with his big bull dorado.
Jim Barlow from San Juan Capistrano with son-in-law Riley had 3 good days on the water like this one with a cleaning table full of dorado. Jim used to fish La Paz many years ago but hadn’t been down for years until giving us a try.
The hat-trick for Nat! A dorado…a tuna…and a marlin that he shared with his amigos. A good day!
Dale Ringer and Andy Hall pose with Captain Jorge and some of their dorado catch.
Double tuna. Double dorado! Terry and Stan…fishing buddies with us for many years.
First-timer from Oklahoma, John Grigsby had fun with his first time fishing for dorado . That’s Espiritu Santo Island in the background.
Big smiles for the honeymoon couple . Terry and Caroline Sandmeier took home alot of fish after spending a week with us scuba diving and fishing.
Ken Fritz with another bull for the fish box.
Les Bek from Oregon was with us for the first time this week and had some good fishing in the dorado schools.
Captain Armando with Dave Eady and Tom Fausnight after a day fishing out’ve Bahia Muertos.
Pete Walker from Washington got into the tuna that first day they showed up!
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Long story short…Dorado everywhere!
Although we nervously watched the approach of Hurricane Orlene, it veered off and went inland hundreds of miles to the south leaving us with excellent conditions all week and solid fishing with voracious dorado biting all week. Both our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet and Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet hit the mahi every day with easy limits most days and limits hit early that most of our anglers released more fish than they kept.
It seemed there were more but smaller 5-15 pound fish with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet scattered from San Juan de la Costa to Espiritu Santo Island to the channel between the islands. It can be a pick-pick all day to fill the fish box or BAM…hit the spot and it’s madness for an hour or pandemonium with fish everywhere like a trout pond hitting anything that hits the water.
That included sardines, strips of bonito, jigs and feathers and casting iron.
For our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet, fewer, but bigger fish. Good amount of school-sized fish, but larger 25-50 pound bulls were also evident with some of the best big mahi fishing of the year. Many of our anglers caught their largest fish ever.
As well, we had a nice bite of marlin and sailfish with the bills often swimming and feeding in the middle of the dorado schools or, in some cases, feeding on the smaller dorado and bonito. Several “small” blue marlin in the 100-200 pound class were hooked and lost, but several striped marlin and sails were hooked, landed and released. There were a few long long battles on light tackle!
The big surprise was the show of tuna with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet. Fish up to 30 pounds hit baits for the first time all year! No idea if they’ll stick around, but it was alot of fun or a year when the tuna have been scarce. Mostly, it was an early quick bite south of Bahia Muertos. The fish would stick around until all the traffic showed but, but it has been a nice grade of fish.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 18-27, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Our amigo, Tim Larson, has been visiting us for years, but this past week landed his personal best largest dorado. Great shot and a pretty bull mahi!
Captain Alfredo gives Steve Ritz a hand with this big-headed bull. Steve has been with us for years and usually makes two trips a year. He tangled with this dorado on light tackle and fought it for over an hour! Steve is 86-years-young!
First day meat day! Brian Rubino and Mike Martins stacked the dorado on their first day of fishing big time!
Love this photo and this lady! Lisa Hicks from Washington has big smiles with her favorite Captain Victor out’ve Bahia Muertos. We’ve know Lisa for almost 20 years of visits to Tailhunter.
Oh yea! Josh Robert was just here about a month ago from Nashville. He had so much fun he came back and had his way with several big bull dorado like this one.
Two of our long-time favorite characters. Jess Franco from Prescott AZ and Mac Treasure from Reno NV. Both retired fire captains.
Oh my! No, Josh did not catch this. He’s just helping with the photo. Actually, Julia his wife, caught this beast on 30-pound test and battled it for over an hour. She refused to give up the rod even tho’ she said her hands were cramping and her arms were shaking! Well-done!
Captain Victor with Tim Larson and Paul Jordan with a good start to 3 days of fishing.
Vonnie McGonigal is the owner of the famous Vonnie’s Fishing Fleet in Sitka, Alaska. At the end of the season, she treats her crew and lodge workers to a big trip and this year brought them down to see us! Sandy Cromley works in the fish packing area of their lodge and the two ladies cranked out some fun dorado fishing!
Dan and Sammy Hicks! Sammy is 12 now and Dan has been fishing with us even before Sammy was born. Great fun family from Washington and one of our favorites. Lots of meat on the table!
It’s been a few years, but Patricia and Phil Andreason came to visit us after several postponed efforts because of Covid. They made up for lost time with Captain Armando.
The start of 3 days fishing for Grant and Julie Nakagawa who are always fun every year. They’ve already given dates for next year with their favorite Captain Armando.
Love this shot! Gerry Hermosillo from L.A. is feeling pretty powerful after his day of fishing! LOL
Two of our newest Tailhunter Tribe amigos…Bruce and Tanner Robert came down to celebrate Tanner becoming a dentist. Check out the size of Tanner’s bull! Whoa!!!
Captain Jorge with another of our new amigos! Terry Suminski came to visit from Sitka Alaska for some warm-water style fishing.
Our Utah amigos, Bick Lessor has been with us before, but brought first-timer Scott Bowes to come fish with Captain Gerardo. I have no idea how that little pompano ended up getting caught with this good mess o’ dorado!
Two more of our great retired firefighters, Jimmy Andrews and Gary Bowie with Captain Armando got a cleaning table full of dorado.
Fishing with their favorite Captain Pancho, Marlene and Taky Kikuchi hooked up on a good batch of dorado plus a tasty barred pargo.
Josh…with another big bull in the fish box! He had a banner trip on the dorado.
Jon Eide has been fishing with us for years from Minnesota, but never ever got a roosterfish until this past week! It’s even more remarkable since this is not usually roosterfish season! Jon released the fish post photo!
Jeff Sakuda has been with us about 20 years and loves fishing with Captain Jorge! Jeff is from Cypress CA and a retired pilot for United and comes down twice-a-year.
Captain Alfredo approves of Wade White’s dorado he caught just outside of La Paz Bay.
Lee Hazelquist with his first sailfish! The fish ate a live sardine and Lee battled it on light tackle. The fish could not be released.
Rapid City, S. Dakota is a long way from the ocean, but it was fun to have Dick and Lucy Mahlendorf come visit us for the first time. They sure took home alot of dorado fillets to share with neighbors!
Two of the best! On their 2nd visit this year, Steve Ritz and Larry Chastain. The got into a swarm of dorado by the looks of it with their favorite Captain Gerardo.
Two more of our newest Tailhunter amigos who were out with Captain Jorge, Vicky and Mark Sherwood from Washington had a good day on the dorado schools.
Pretty photo and great colors! Juli has another dorado!
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We had a little “tickle” of a storm that was supposed to pass through that had us all watching nervously as it bounced outside to the Pacific and didn’t affect us as we had feared like other storms these past few weeks.
But, other than that and a few cloudy days, it was a wonderfully boring week for weather finally with just super conditions and it left us with some terrifically solid fishing. In fact, it was one of the better fishing weeks of the season.
Not much variety to speak of, but that’s because the dorado were so numerous and voracious! They weren’t giving any other species a chance, but no one was complaining. Some boats were done by 9 or 10 a.m. with full limits of mahi and had released even more fish than they had caught.
The fish were generally legit 10-20 pound fish with some in to the 30 and 40 pound class. Many anglers laughingly complained that they had dorado all around them feeding “like a fish pond” and would see some big dorado on the perimeter, but the “smaller” fish were so aggressive that the big ones never had time to grab a bait.
Still, everyone had fun. Everyone who wanted dorado or had never caught a dorado got into fish!
We also have some decent billfish hook-ups on sailfish and marlin as well, this week with about 80% of the fis lost or released. One big blue marlin actually snapped the rod in half!
Other species included cabrilla, rainbow runners, triggerfish, snapper and lots of tough bonito!
BOOKING FOR 2023 STARTING TO FILL UP!
Just a heads-up that we’re already starting to fill up early for our 2023 fishing season! We’re getting reservations daily and we don’t want to miss you!
In order to accommodate growing tastes we’ve broadened our hotel offerings once again. Lots of different choices depending on where to stay…
OUR OLD FAVORITE LA CONCHA BEACH RESORT – ON THE BEACH ROOMS
HOTEL GAVIOTAS – WATERFRONT BAY VIEW CONDOS ON THE MALECON
HOTEL MORO – OLD STYLE MEXICAN OASIS ON THE MALECON
CASA AL MAR – BOUTIQUE CONDOS ON THE MALECON WATERFRONT
MARINE WATERFRONT HOTEL (Formerly Hotel Marina) – Modern Vacationing
COSTA BAJA RESORT COMPLEX- 5 STAR LUXURY ROOMS VILLAS CONDOS
RANCHO COSTA – BAHIA MUERTOS REMOTE LUXURY
Get in touch with us and we’ll customize a fishing package just for you! If you’re already part of the Tailhunter nation and you want specific rooms or your favorite captain, don’t wait. We’re booking fast!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug 10-17, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Just another good day on the water! Joni and John Stevenson from Idaho with some fish for the freezer!
Kyle Alexander, first time fishing with us and Captain Jorge, hooked two of these striped marlin and released them both. Really well done! On light tackle at that! Cerralvo Island in the background .
Jeanne Cabales from San Diego is always fun to have visit. Check out her two dorado and the rest of the catch sitting on the transom behind her .
Pete Wilson got two of these mahi on the flyrod as well as bonito and took several on bait.
The Blisses just had one day to fish and Captain Jorge put them on some nice dorado.
Long time Tailhunter amigo who has been fishing with us for about 20 years sometimes twice a year, Darrell Manginelli always gets into the fish. Another good day of dorado fishing here with some big mahi on the cleaning table. Darrell is from Camarillo CA .
Brothers Greg and Wade Gomes from Oregon and Nevada respectively have fished with us for years and got in 3 solid days on the dorado schools and topped it with their last day and a box full of bulls.
Mark Alexander from Sacramento CA was visiting us for the first time. He poses with one of his many dorado he caught over 3 days.
Kevin Ritchie from Galt CA finally got down to us and poses with a few of his dorado ready for the cleaning table.
Captain Victor with Elsie Mulcare from Pendleton OR who is pretty happy with her dorado. Looks like husband Kevin in the background might have another on the line.
Big smiles from Joni Stevenson posing on the beach at Bahia Muertos with one of her dorado.
Trophy pargo for Pete Wilson who gets a hand from his wife, Shiloah. They caught this in the channel between La Paz and Espirito Santo Island.
Favorite goofball friends…Ray and Jeanne Cabales from San Diego. Always fun having them visit.
Tough jack crevalle and a big one too! Shiloah with another great shot.
The Wilsons stacked up the dorado over 4 days of fishing with us.
Dan’s a happy fella! Good day on the water.
Nothing wrong with two nice bull dorado in hand for Wade Gomes. Good way to end 3 days of fishing with us. He had more in the fish box.
Ray…always a funny guy! Love these shots!
Going into this week, I was a bit nervous what would happen to our bite because of the big Super Moon that was predicted. It’s the 3rd and last time this will occur this year and is a larger-than-normal full moon. Indeed, especially early in the morning as I boarded our fishermen, the moon was spectacularly huge and gorgeous sitting over the dark waters in the early hours.
However, our fishing bite has been really solid the last few weeks and I was worried what such a big moon might do as it affects currents, tides, the bait situation and how the fishing schools would react…especially the dorado. Over the past 3 or 4 weeks, we have finally gotten into a more typical summer-time bite that we expected for so long and was delayed for several months by La Nina conditions which kept the water chillier than normal.
Well, after all was said-and-done, I won’t say the moon didn’t have an effect, it did. But, not as drastically as I had feared.
Overall, at the end of the day, everyone caught fish. Everyone that wanted to bring home fish brought home fish. Maybe not quite as abundantly as the week before the full moon, but the fishing days were sold, if not spectacular.
Perhaps the fish were a tad smaller. Maybe not as many of those huge trophy bull dorado. And the schools seemed a little more scattered over a wider area and had dispersed along the warmer water currents. However, many days our anglers were back on the beach early with limits.
Most fish were 5-15 pounds. Lots of fish released. Some larger fish in the 20-30 pound class. Overall, lots of action that varied from day-to-day and boat-to-boat. A hot boat one day could find it a little slower the next. And vice versa. Or a cold spot one day could be the hot spot the next.
Fortunately, most of our anglers fish multiple days so slower days for dorado were off-set by better days and everyone went home with fish.
In addition to the dorado, we had a few nice biters or striped marlin. A few scattered roosterfish between 10 and 30 pounds are still hanging out and some of our light-tackle anglers are having a blast catching-and-releasing all the little 2 and 3 pound dink roosters along the shore.
As well, there’s still some horse bonito, jack crevalle, pargo and cabrilla rounding out the mix.
One last thing, no doubt this is summer. It’s very tropical. Very humid! Every day, we get a little rain shower or some intermittent thundershowers that can last 5 minutes to an hour. It can be a drizzle or a downpour. Then, it’s over. Sun comes blazing out again.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Mar. 11-17, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Captain Blas has been rocking the yellowtail when he can get out. This big one ate a live mackerel off Espirito Santo Island.
YEOW! Dr. Jesus Velarde was out with Captain Pancho and nailed this mossback yellowtail on a Rapala outside of Bahia Muertos.
Yea…the yellowtail can be horses right now.
Water condition are changing and definitely warming as indicated by some of the species that are starting to show up. The only issues is the winds still make it rough and difficult to fish. About half the days this week were not fishable or so bad that the port captain shut down all boat traffic. The other issue is that often, because of the winds or lack of fishermen this time of the year, the bait guys aren’t going out to get live bait or the bait is difficult to get.
That being said, we did have a few folks out on the 2-3 days that were fishable. Again, as mentioned, bait was difficult, but using jigs and frozen bait, yellowtail were still the targeted catch, but other species showed up as well. The yellowtail could be close to shore in shallow water and with the fish going 20-30 pounds it could be a tough battle keeping the powerful fish from the rocks. The areas around Punta Perrico as well as the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island were all holding fish as were the west and east sides of Espirito Santo Island inside the coves and high spots.
Other species included some nice jags of sierra, pargo, cabrilla and snapper as well as bonito.
However, some dorado are starting to show up which is a good sign that waters are warming up earlier than normal. There were also marlin sightings although no hook ups .
SPOKANE – BIG HORN OUTDOOR SHOW WASHINGTON
We’ve been on the road for the better part of 3 months now and we’re finally coming to the end of the trail. It’s been great! Thanks to everyone and all the hospitality at the Central Oregon Show in Redmond last week! Incredible fun!
This week, we’re at the Spokane County Fairgrounds for the Big Horn Outdoor Show that runs Thursday to Sunday. This is our first time in this area and it’s a massive production and huge show with almost 500 exhibitors, live music, food, seminars, demonstrations, RV’s, boats and more! Stuff for the whole family. Come out and see us!
After this, just one more show…one of our favorites. The International Sportsmans Expo at the Denver Convention Center in Denver, CO. Then, we head home to La Paz!
Don’t get left out from fishing this year! We’re filling fast. Contact us soon. I can be reached directly at jonathan@tailhunter.com
Even if you can’t make the show, we’ll apply the show discounts if you reach out before the end of March!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 18-24, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Bob and Lisa Foster from Idaho. Bob got the dorado and Lisa battled the marlin…her first. They also released a bunch of fish as well.
Our poster-girl of the week, Taryn Mitoma, is about to start her 2nd year at UC Davis and came down with dad for a few days of fishing. Captain Alfredo lends a hand with one of her dorado.
Bob Cowan has come down several times and had billfish on the line only to lose them. This one ate a tiny sardine on light tackle and Bob had his hands full, but finally landed the sailfish. Captain Joel helps out. The fish could not be released.
We have watched 17-year-old Sean Rose from Washington grow up over the years and he’s now a high school senior then heading into the navy. He has been coming for years with his dad and shows off his first-day dorado.
Taryn and dad, Ed “Beaver” Mitoma with a couple of fun light tackle roosters caught and released.
Big smiles from Jeff Loh and Bob Cowan with a couple of fresh dorado for the box.
Not much to tell. Coupled with some big swell and winds left over from Hurricane Lynda and Kevin that barely touched us and moved outside to the south, it still pushed a tad of rain plus some erratic water conditions. Then, the full moon came up on us. Kinda of a triple whammy on the fishing.
Oh, and then were was Tropical Storm Marty that poked it’s head in as well for an afternoon.
Rain across the bay. Lightning in there too!
Everyone got fish, but we had to work hard for it and the fish themselves were picky.
Most of the bite for our Tailhunter La Paz fleet continued to be dorado up to about 20-pounds. Our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet had a smattering of dorado, but also roosterfish were more prevalent. Along the rocks, pargo and cabrilla were more than willing to chew. Also, still a good number of sailfish and marlin here and there.
Jeff Loh goofing with one of his dorado!
Interestingly, there were some sierra and yellowtail caught. Very strange since those are cooler water fish and it’s still August. Normally, sierra show up about November. Yellowtail are a winter/ spring fish! Just adds to a weird year!
Other than that, to be perfect honest, it was a bit slow. We’ve surely seen better. And things always change down here!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
An exciting day for Rich Davidsmeier from Boise, idaho with our Captain Joel with this larger-than-normal sailflsh caught north of La Paz on light tackle . The fish estimated at 120-130 pounds (hard to see, but he’s really thick) was caught on 40 pound test while fishing for dorado. The fish could not be released, but Rich donated the meat. The trip was especially remarkable because Rich was celebrating his retirement, his birthday AND his anniversary!
The big fish legend, Roger Thompson popped three of these big dog-tooth south of Bahia Muertos on slab bonito. Scroll down for a photo of one of his other big slugger fish!
Hugo gives a thumbs-up on 6 wahoo boated at South Cerralvo Island on Rapalas! First real wahoo of the season!
A good day for John Ehlers and Captain Pancho with a table-full of dorado plus a nice barred pargo! John has been visiting us for years, sometimes more than once-a-year from Denver.
Two of our newest amigos! Rick and Beth Farrar with a pretty bull dorado. Rick and Beth spent the week from us and own the gorgeous Eagle’s Wings Wilderness Retreat in Alaska and came down to enjoy some sunshine!
Always fun to have John Stone and Jason Correia down to fish with us from San Diego. Some nice meat on hand with some fat cabrilla and tasty triggerfish that ended up at our Tailhunter Restaurant as ceviche!
A happy Neil Preston with his sailfish. Thanks to Gary Wagner from the Rancho Costa at Bahia Muertos.
One of the three big dog-tooth snapper caught by Roger Thompson. You can see why they’re called “dog-tooth!”
Manny Lucero with a speedy thick wahoo! Taken on the troll from Bahia Muertos. Thanks for the photo, Gary!
One of the sweetest ladies ever! Captain Pancho helps on a dorado for Dolores Ehlers who caught several of these mahi on a light tackle spinning rod.
I promised Julio Cornejo from West Covina CA that I’d put his big pargo in this week’s report!
Another sailfish ready for release! It was a good week for sailfish!
John Ehlers know he’s got some good eating on the gaff with this barred pargo.
It’s been that kind of year where so much is unpredictable. We have a good week. Then we have an so-so week. Then a good week again. No changes in temps. No changes in the water. No changes in any of the variables.
…and this was a “so-so” week at best. So, if you’re coming next week, we’re on schedule for a good week of fishing!
But this past week, we really struggled and our captains and clients worked hard to find fish.
…and when we did find fish, it was 99% dorado. That’s it. We should be deep in tuna, billfish, wahoo and others. And they are NOWHERE to be found. Sure, the occasional biter, but nothing worth mentioning. And the dorado are fun, but 5-20 pounders is the typical fish. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone who wants fish is getting fish, but this past week we could have used a bit more quantity as well as quality. (more and bigger). But that’s fishing.
We’re still getting some nice roosterfish up to about 50 pounds. All fish are getting released.
Add in a few bonito, jacks, pargo, cabrilla, triggerfish, snapper and way too many needlefish and that was pretty much our whole week. So, next week we’re gonna get geared-up for a big comeback!
For sure, there could be bubbling up. Late in the week, for the first time all season, we started landing some nice wahoo and sailfish also started showing up. Where have these been all year?
We got a full-moon on the rise, but our last full-moon turned out to be one of the best weeks of the month!
2021 BOOKINGS ALREADY FILLING!
Lots of dates for next year are already starting to fill, especially with amigos that had to cancel 2020 fishing trips. Don’t miss out! We’ve still got spots so contact us soon to get your favorite captains and hotel rooms! Also, if you’re waiting to see us at the sportsman’s shows like usual during the early part of the year, it looks like all the sportsman’s shows are being canceled as of right now. So, we won’t be hitting the road. Check us out at: http://www.tailhunter.com. Or write me directly at: tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Sherry Cady from Denver CO, had a pretty good week on the dorado. This is one of the larger mahi of the week she caught fishing with Captain Raul with our La Paz fleet.
Big smiles and bucket list fish for Mateo Rangel from Atascadero CA with captain Jorge and his first roosterfish.
Rob Markarian from Camarillo CA with one of the larger dorado of the week. He and his amigo, slammed dorado all week.
One of our funnest regular amigos, John Washington started his week with a nice load of dorado. He’s from Carson City NV and planning to come back to visit next month!
Somewhere behind that mask, Gary from Florida got himself a big roosterfish outside of Bahia Muertos. Thanks to Gary Wagner from Rancho Costa for the photo.
Mike Welch and his bunch of crazy firefighter friends with just a small sample of dorado from their first day. They started with quite a bang..
More dorado! Rob Markarian and Tom Worrell found some nice schools of mahi north of La Paz near Las Cruces.
When Mateo catches a fish he’s always got the big smile!
Kevin and Tom with a nice load of dorado ready to fillet and bring back to La Paz to our FUBAR Cocina Cantina.
Good day on the flyrod! Ron and Sherry Cady with another dorado day.
Amigo Gary Wagner with yet another nice rooster for the gallery. The fish was released. Gary owns Rancho Costa there at Muertos.
Tom Worrell and his rather large variety of needlefish! That’s a beast. Espirito Santo Island in the background.
A double-fist of dorado! Ron Cady was fishing north around Las Cruces with Captain Raul and got some nice bulls.
NBA All-Star Clifford Ray was staying out at Rancho Costa for a few days and caught this colorful roosterfish as well as dorado. The rooster was released. Clifford played alot of years with the Bulls and Warriors and won and NBA championship in 1975 wit the Warriors.
Well, knock on wood, we seem to have mostly dodged a three chubascos. Two weeks ago, it was Guenevere. This week, it was Hernan and Isella. It’s that time of year.
For the storms, however, that came through…
Although they closed the port, neither did more than bring cloudy skies and a few drops of rain. Actually, the cloudy skies were kinda nice if you were on the water as it was alot cooler and more comfortable than blazing sunshine. Most of the week has been cloudy or given us sporadic sunshine.
It’s been that kind of year, however. Both air and water temps are cooler and it’s made fishing, a bit different than normal.
Even with the cloudy skies, fishing actually seemed to improve. Fortunately, the storms didn’t push alot of wind when they came through so waters stayed pretty flat and the fish seemed to wake up a bit from what they were doing previously.
Big roosterfish are still around off Las Arenas, but it was the dorado schools that seemed to turn on.
Nothing spectacular, but alot of fun 5-20 pound dorado for both our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and our Tailhunter La Paz fleet. Especially, this past week, we had alot of first-timers and couples so having some great dorado fishing plus add in pargo, cabrilla, jack crevalle, bonito and triggerfish and there could be some really fun action.
Live bait was best and included sardines, cocineros and mackerel.
Not every boat did great every day. There’s still some areas of off-color cold water and without as many boats as normal for all the fishing fleets, it’s hard to cover all the spots every day. However, if they were fishing several days, everyone went home with fish and it definitely was better fishing than the week before.
Still no tuna or wahoo showing which is unusual for this time of year, but I hear there’s some biters to the south of us so hopefully, the schools will come north.
BAHIA MAGDALENA
A couple of our regular good amigos from San Diego, Daniel Bovee and his dad, Jim…who’s already fished with us once this year, took a few days to head out to our Bahia Magdalena operation on the Pacific about 4 hours from La Paz. First day they fished inside the mangroves for cabrilla, pargo, snook and other inshore species, but the next day went outside to the ridge and really jumped some nice fatty dorado and legit dorado!
A table full of good fillets coming up…tuna and dorado!
THE BIG WHOOP!
We’re pretty excited here with the news this week that many of the covid restrictions are being eased. For many of us, it’s been 5 months of closures and strict protocols.
Initially, back in late March we were in pretty much full closure at RED LEVEL 6.
June 15th, we dropped to ORANGE LEVEL 5. Better, but still meant only 30% occupancy of hotels, restaurants and businesses. Beaches and the waterfront Malecon were closed. Masks still required. Social distancing maintained at 6 feet.
Well…this past week, the governor reduced us to LEVEL 4 which is great news.
Masks are still required, but that means social distancing was cut in half. Our waterfront Malecon is now open until 11 p.m. at night. Restaurants do not have to serve food in order to serve drinks. That means bars can open.
Hotels, restaurants and other businesses can observe 40% occupancy instead of 30%.
Gyms, churches, spas, salons and other “non-essential” businesses can open with some restrictions. Many have been closed for 5 months.
With restrictions, some of the beaches are now being opened!
The town is pretty elated. People have to work and eat and it’s nice to have a little more space and places to go! We just can’t abuse it. The government warns that they could still reverse things if folks don’t respect the rules. However, they’re optimistic that soon we could be dropped to Level 3 YELLOW.
Tailhunter Fish Report 