La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 9-16, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
William McCarthy and Jimmy Williams had a banner day with big yellowtail and nice cabrilla on sardines on the backside of Cerralvo Island. Jimmy tells me they lost some larger yellowtail in the rocks!
Yeow? Tuna in February? Misael stuck this YFT not far off Bahia Muertos on a sardine.
William has one for the camera and the fish box.
This tuna estimated at 100 pounds landed at the north end of Cerralvo Island by commercial panga fishermen.
Headed for the dinner table, Christian got a couple of yellowtail as well as the big sierra.
For the second straight week, the winds diminished a bit. It was still windy, but at least there were a few days for folks to get on the water or if not for the whole day, at least for the mornings to squeeze in some fishing time before the winds came up.
With temperatures daytime in the low 70’s and mostly sunshine, conditions were not too bad and fishing was surprisingly decent.
Captain Efrens catch. Six legit yellowtail.
Yellowtail between 5 and 25 pounds were the main highlight with fish hitting sardines when available, but also yo-yo jigs worked over the rocks. Knife jigs were especially effective. Hotspots included the areas right outside Bahia Muertos around the point and up to Punta Perrico and Punta Arenas.
Hog yellowtail for our amigo, Jimmy.
As well, there were some big boys taken around the backside of Cerralvo Island on the days you could get across the channel. That same area was also holding some big cabrilla.
Nice variety for this time of year…sierra, yellowfin tuna and a yellowtail!
The big surprise was that tuna are in the area. Very unusual for this time of year. While yellowtail prefer cooler waters which are normal right now, tuna are generally warmer water fish. However, we’ve had reports of tuna moving fast here-and-there with the porpoise schools, but this week a commercial panga horsed in a 100-pounder at the north end of Cerralvo Island and there are some 15-30 pound fish mixed in with the yellowtail outside of Bahia de los Muertos.
Additionally, the fish boxes came back with a nice mix of the usual fish this time of year that included sierra, pargo, cabrilla, and white bonito.
Not many tourists at all or fishermen. Mostly locals fishing. Looks like winds might be kicking back up this week. We’ll keep you posted.
WHALE WATCHING SEASON
The dimished winds this past week also allowed us to get some folks out to Bahia Magdalena for some whale watching. John Sayre and his wife, from Florida got in two nice days with the whales. The whale migration usually lasts through March. Let us know and we’ll set you up!
LA PAZ NEWS
After being closed for quite some time, the authorities have re-opened both sides of the Malecon to foot traffic. The ocean/ beach side of the boulevard had been closed to prohibit gatherings and to promote social distancing. However, Covid cases are diminishing so for now, they have re-opened both sides of the street.
In response to the new CDC rules implemented Jan. 26th, covid testing labs are popping up everywhere. Many of the hotels in Cabo now offer the services and there is a facility now at Cabo Airport. Now, a facility has been set up a the La Paz Airport as well.
The requirements mandate a negative Covid test within 72 hours of your flight and is required for ALL INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT flying INTO the U.S. You do NOT need a test to fly out of the U.S. into Mexico. There are no quarantines involved.
The test takes about 15 minutes and you get results in about an hour. Cost is a minimal $22-24 dollars.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Jan. 26-Feb. 8, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Five for the cooler ready to be filleted! Drs. Beltran and Santiago took some time from their offices in La Paz to fish with us and caught these working the waters with yo-yo iron for these yellowtail.
Not a bad morning. Raul Chollet from La Ventana was out fishing with us and nailed these thick yellowtail just off Punta Perrico.
Mostly locals fishing right now and a great catch is to get into a school of tasty sierra. If you hit a spot, you can load up pretty fast! This one fell to the blue Rapala still stuck in the mouth.
Trophy fish on a dark purple Rapala trolled over th rocks. Raul with a big cabrilla and knowing Raul, every bit of this fish is gonna be part of dinner!
It was chilly and cold again this week but there were finally some opportunities to fish which has been rare the past weeks with lots of gusty winds. However, this past week, the winds let up for about 3 days or, at least didn’t start blowing until late. Since we’re really not having to go very far to get to fish right now, it at least allowed anglers to get in a few productive hours of fishing early before the winds kicked in.
Not many fishermen at all this time of the year. It’s mostly locals or captains fishing for their families.
However, literally within 20-50 years of the beach, there’s a good jag of yellowtail that have shown up near Punta Arenas near Punta Perrico where the old Hotel Las Arenas used to be. The fish are a nice hefty grade of 18-25 pound fish that are taking alot of guys into the rocks.
Sardines are working when you can get them, but it’s often difficult getting live bait because of the winds and the bait guys can’t get to the rocky or sandy areas where the bait usually holds out. Waves either scatter the bait or make it hard for the bait guys to get into the rocky areas which are treacherous.
When, there’s no sardines, the guys are using the yo-yo iron. It’s tiring work, but productive dropping the iron and lifting and reeling back to the boat. Alternatively, trolling lures like Rapalas and Yo-Zuris are also working and producing other species like sierra, jacks, cabrilla and barred pargo.
CDC and COVID TESTING
In case you hadn’t heard, as of Jan. 26th, the CDC has mandated that anyone traveling by plane into the U.S. must show they have had a negative Covid test within 72 hours of their trip. This only applies to air travel. You are NOT required to quarantine once you get into the U.S. although it has been suggested.
Nevertheless, the new rules sent everyone in the tourism industry from airlines to hotels and folks like us into a mad scramble. We were all just on the verge of rebounding after a difficult 2020.
However, the government and tourism boards made rapid adjustments.
Testing facilities have been set up at all international airports including Cabo, La Paz and Tijuana as well as others around the country. According to the Cabo Board of Tourism, all hotels and timeshare operations in Cabo San Lucas now offer testing services and more laboratories and testing facilities are popping up all over.
The test only takes 15 minutes and costs between $20-25 dollars. Results are returned within an hour and you receive either a printed result or get them online to show before you board your flights.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Jan. 15-25, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST OF THE STORY
For the past 25 or so years, I’ve done these reports religiously almost every single week. I think I can only count about a dozen weekends that I missed and one of them was the weekend Jill and I got married 13 years ago when she told me to put away my computer that weekend.
It’s just that with covid happening and then alot of bad weather and no one really fishing, well…I hate sounding like a broken record although I know alot of folks look forward to getting the reports regularly.
I promise things will get better. I has to!
Winter doesn’t last forever and the warmer weather, water and big fish will show up. Like they always do!
They’ll get a handle on Covid too. I have to believe that and have some faith.
But…here you go…to be honest…
Not a whole lot to report. Opportunities to fish have been few and far between with very few anglers around and not many chances for anyone to fish. For almost two weeks it has been cold, windy, rough, rainy or wet. Or a combination of any two of those conditions. The thermometer has been all over the place with temps as low as the lower 30’s and as high as the high 60’s. It’s quite erratic.
In the small windows for opportunity have arisen, it’s mostly local captains or local residents. Mostly sustenance fishing to put something on the table or frig.
Sierra like this are great fun on light tackle and are incredible on the table cooked or a local favorite as ceviche. There’s some nice schools of sierra around La Paz right now.
Our amigo, Keith “Jimmy” Williams went out and caught a mess of sierra and I asked him for a photo I could use. I expected a typical fishing photo. Instead, he sends me this photo of his fish cooked at our Tailhunter Restaurant…which might be even better! Alot of good things going on here…sierra sauteed in garlic…crispy french fries…poblano chili en cream sauce…fresh tortillas…a shot of tequila…a Heineken…a bottle of Topo Chico. He’s got it going on full turbo! Thanks, Jimmy!
Most of the catch has been inshore as not too many folks want to venture very far when the waters are so rough and winds are blustery. It also makes it difficult to catch live bait. So, catches of cabrilla, snapper, common and white bonito, pargo and some nice-sized sierra have made up the majority of the catch.
CDC BIG NEWS – IMPORTANT FOR MEXICO TRAVELERS (MUST READ)
Big news dropped on us last week when the CDC announced that it will now require proof of a negative covid test to enter the U.S. by air. Alternatively, medical documentation that you have recovered from covid is also valid. Needless to say… It sent everyone from airlines to hotels to charter operations and anyone involved in tourism scrambling to find a solution to this since the new restrictions begin promptly on Jan. 26th.
As it turns out a number of hotels in Cabo San Lucas already have testing facilities and more are being set up in that city as well as other cities. The Mexican government is setting up facilities at Cabo San Lucas Airport, La Paz Airport as well as airports in Tijuana, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and others.
The test seems like it will only take about 15 minutes and results online in about an hour. Costs range average about $20-25 dollars with the government trying to obtain further discounts. They’re doing their best to make this as convenient and easy as possible, but ask that you arrive at the airport an extra hour earlier than normal.
For us in La Paz, we’ll keep you posted about facilities at La Paz Airport, but there are plans for some hotels to offer the test and in checking around the city, we found at least a half-dozen labs offering the tests. As this only applies to air travel at the moment, that means “international flights” so for many of you folks that arrive on Volaris from Tijuana, I don’t think any of this will apply to you since you will be returning through Tijuana and not FLYING back to the U.S.
This is a developing story and fluid issue.
As mentioned, this just dropped like a ton of bricks about a week ago. Most of our fishermen don’t even start showing up until April or May so many things could change as this goes into effect and Mexico steps up to meet the challenge of the vital tourism industry. Also, we can only hope that with new measures plus the vaccine, things will get under control.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 25, 2020 – Jan. 3, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Find the right spot and there’s still some water water areas holding dorado between 5-15 pounds as waters get cooler.
An incredible experience to get in the water and snorkel with the whalesharks in La Paz Bay.
It’s been rather quiet and subdued this past week for the holidays. It still has been festive, but like much of the world, things are just at a lower key and lower volume. Most folks coming to town are not looking to fish. They’re just spending vacation time for the holidays and hoping for a little sunshine and and put their toes in the sand!
The glitch in that this week was that it was actually been a bit chilly along with the normal seasonal gusty winds from the north. In fact, it’s been that way for well over a week now. Daytime temperature struggling to get out’ve the 60’s. Night temps dropping to the crazy 40’s! Yes, even in Baja, it can get chilly.
Tourists are still in their shorts and t-shirts, but La Paz residents are talking about 2-3 blankets at night and folks are wearing long pants and jackets.
For fishing, there’s still some dorado around. Most 5-12 pound school-sized fish indicative of the probably the last patches of warm water still lingering around. Inshore, there’s a good smattering of snapper, jacks, seabass (cabrilla) and some barred pargo. For most folks simply looking for a day on the water and a bit of action, these fish are perfect and alot of fun. Plus provide some good fish to take to a local restaurant. Everyone is happy.
Honestly, most folks coming to town intent on some time on the water are mostly here for either swimming with the whalesharks in the bay or headed to a whale-watching trip.
The whalesharks in the bay are mostly 10-12’ juveniles in shallow water only minutes from the Malecon. The only problem is that if it’s windy and choppy it can be difficult to find them.
In the shallow waters of La Paz Bay, the whalesharks are usually 10-15′ long “babies”.
On the other hand, the official start of whale-watching season has started as the annual migration of grey whales has seen them starting to arrive over at Bahia Magdalena where they’ll enjoy the warm shallow water, breeding and calving before heading back north to the Bering Sea around March.
So, we’re booking trips now for the grey whales, swimming with the whalesharks and the occasional fisherman.
THE NO SHOW – NO SHOWS in 2021!
We will surely miss the packed aisles of friends this year!
Normally this time of year, we’re hitting the road beginning our 3 month road-tour to all the biggest and best fishing/hunting expos in the western U.S. With our Catlyn (our rescue cat); the booth, thousands of brochures and lots of winter clothes and tire chains; our road vehicle is packed floor-to-ceiling and right about now we’re on our way to our first show of the year at the Denver Convention Center…then followed the next week in Sacramento at the State Fairgrounds. Each week, a different show to see all of you!
We’ll see you for a cold one in La Paz in 2021!
In 2021, that’s not to be the case, unfortunately, as Covid restrictions have shut down all the shows. So for the first time in about 30 years, regretfully, we won’t be in our booth.
That just means, you’re all staying safe and you’ll have to contact us directly to book trips ( jonathan@tailhunter.com) and come visit us in La Paz!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 4-14, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
It’s not very long this week and to be honest, I recorded it while Jill and I were flyfishing on the Guadalupe River. Our anniversary and not much happening in La Paz so we took off a few days to check on the kids and then a surprise trip to the Texas Hill Country. As good a place as any to do the report!
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY….
John Nagy from Los Angeles had some fun with one of his dorado and Captain Hoel. John was able to get in some fishing, but said mostly by noon, the winds were too strong to keep fishing. He was fishing with the Tailhunter Fleet from La Paz and the fish was caught outside of Bahia Muertos
About the only folks in town right now between the holidays are folks here to find some sunshine from colder places in the world. And indeed, the sun has been out mostly although relatively speaking, we think it’s been on the chilly side. However, I guess it’s definitely sunnier than places in Canada, Alaska and Montana. However, even that wasn’t guaranteed this week as we actually had FOG! That’s right…real FOG.
Yup! Sunny La Paz!
Just like the travel brochures pictured it!
I think in my 25 years in living in Baja, I’ve seen fog only a handful of times and that was up in the mountains. However, a thick London-style fog actually descended on the city that really made it look pretty eerie. Of course, then the sun came out and cooked it all away.
Likewise, as is typical this time of year, the winds did blow, especially as the days wore on with some gusts to 25 knots. For fishing, there aren’t that many anglers around anyway, but for those that went out, it was either pretty rough making it hard to get to fishing grounds and get bait or, they were getting blown off the water by the late morning and early afternoon.
That being said, there’s still some dorado around running up to about 20 pounds. Some wahoo were hit at the south end of Cerralvo as well and commercial guys still keep seeing some big tuna north of the island, although the fish are moving too fast and not taking any hooks. Inshore, cabrilla and snapper as well as jack crevalle provided action when there was nothing further out.
Although fishing isn’t drawing many folks right now, swimming with the whalesharks on those days when the winds aren’t churning the waters in the bay is very popular.
Regulations prevent us from getting too close for the safety of the animals, but it’s a crazy cool experience to be in the water with these gentle animals.
Swimming with the whalesharks in the shallows of La Paz Bay usually runs October to April. There can be as many as a dozen or more “baby” whalesharks at any given time.
Let us know and we can set up a trip for you to include transportation, lodging and of course…a chance to swim with the whalesharks!
We are setting up trips daily weather permitting so get in touch with us: Jonathan@tailhunter.com
We are also getting ready to kick off our whalewatching season over on the Pacific side in Bahia Magdalena. Season runs about mid-January to March when the whales swim back north to the Bering Sea. Don’t miss out!
NOT TOO EARLY TO BOOK YOUR LA PAZ FISHING for 2021!
Dates are already filling up with lots of folks who missed out on 2020. Come enjoy some “coastal distancing” and we’ll set up your entire itinerary for your next La Paz fishing trip. We can put the whole thing together. We’ve been here in La Paz 26 years and we will customize your ideal fishing vacation package. Check us out: http://www.tailhunter.com
A number of dates are sold out or getting close to it. If you have a favorite captain or hotel room, get in touch with us ASAP. We don’t want to miss you in 2021! Click here: tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
LOS CABOS TUNA JACKPOT ANNOUNCED Nov. 3-6, 2021
As some of you already know…
For 2021, I’ve been named as the new director for the Los Cabos Tuna Tournament.
Last year was the 22nd year to “FISH HARD…PARTY HARDER!” The Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot for 2021 will be Nov. 3-6. We’re already getting entries and boats are getting booked up for charters! Even with the protocols in place, we still had a great event with 149 teams and over 600 anglers and almost 1000 of our “closest friends!” More than $1 million dollars was awarded! We’re expecting an even larger field for 2021!
La Paz – Las Arenas / Muertos Bay / Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
Marcus Yoo from Cupertino CA has fished with us numerous times and unfortunately picked two of the roughest days of the season to come out with his flyrod. With all the wind, that was pretty much impossible. He’s a gamer and stuck it out and at least he got some nice cabrilla and pargo to take home and had to do quite a big of fishing from the beach.
Some tasty rock fish was what we had to fish for when we could get out
Not much to tell this week. Thanksgiving week normally doesn’t produce many anglers. Mostly it’s folks in town looking for some sunshine during the holidays. Maybe, they’ll try to get in a day or two on the water fishing, snorkeling, swimming with the whalesharks in the bay or just hanging out on the beach.
The week started well. Good temps. Good water conditions and hungry dorado up to 20 pounds were pretty easy to find and catch. They were spread over a number of areas. If you found the spot, you could go crazy right there and not have to look any further to catch limits. Quite a few smaller fish were released. I heard commercial guys saw big tuna breaking at the north end of Cerralvo Island, but no one could get them to bite.
As the week went on, conditions diminished. Skies got hazy and winds gradually increased. Dorado go a bit harder to find so fishing went inshore for cabrilla, pargo, snapper, jack crevalle and sierra.
However, by the latter few days of the week, the winds were blowing strong enough from the north with gusts up to 20 mph that La Paz Bay was almost completely white water and the surge was creating rideable small waves. Consequently, for safety reasons, the port captain shut down all water activities. No fishing. No snorkeling. No diving, etc. We had to cancel a number of bookings.
It wasn’t just the winds, but add in a full moon; extremely strong currents; colder waters; and really strong tides and it was too much to overcome.
Even as the winds calmed down a bit, it was just better to advise folks to stay ashore and enjoy their vacations rather than bounce around and not have fun.
These winds are seasonal north winds that start up about now and will continue on-and-off through the winter months.
SWIMMING WITH WHALESHARKS and WHALE WATCHING TOURS – BOOK NOW!
Whalesharks are in the bay now and the season is open to swim with these gentle giants. An incredible experience in our shallow bay waters.
Also our whalewatching season in Bahia Magdalena will start up in about 6 weeks from about mid-January to mid-March as the grey whales are migrating down from the Bering Sea to spend the winter months in the warm Baja waters of Bahia Magdalena to mate and calf.
We can book your entire trip to La Paz with activities, lodging and transportation. Write me directly at tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
2021 BOOKINGS FILLING FAST
Ice chests full of fish headed to the airport!
Our bookings for 2021 are filling fast, especially from folks who had to cancel 2020 fishing trips. According to the news, Mexico is the #1 get-away destination for Americans and record numbers of folks are flying in or booking trips. In November, tourism was up 179% over what it was last year. Baja is especially easy to get to; it’s close; and it economical.
Check your calendar and get in touch with us so we make sure we get you on the books. We’re using 2020 prices until the end of the year! We’re looking forward to seeing you on the water with us.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 18-25, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY...
Former San Diego Chargers linebacker now retired high school football coach, Donnie Rea from Camarillo CA fishes yearly with us and has been our amigo for many many years. He was with Captain Blas when they hooked this baby sailfish. Captain Blas gently cradled the fish to pull the hook and was the only one to touch it and supported it completely to take a quick photo then release it. They said it swam away strongly.
Newly engaged with just one day to fish, Elijah Rush and Julianne Argent from San Diego put some quality dorado in the boat while fishing with Captain Gerardo. Check out the catch standing on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
From San Diego and here for Thanksgiving week, Mike Jaso and his son, Jacob pose with some of their dorado after a day of fishing.
Nice bull! Elijah and Captain Gerardo just off el Cardonal.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Overall, a pretty nice week. Temperatures have dropped to a very comfortable 79-82 degrees during the day with alot of sunshine. Nights are a cool 61. Interestingly, water temps are actually warmer than the air temperatures and are holding at just about 80-85 degrees which is keeping the warm water species around.
North winds are starting to blow which will eventually drop water temperatures and change the fishing to a cooler-species production like sierra, amberjack, pargo, cabrilla and snapper. Not to mention it could be getting rough and choppy.
Pretty lady and pretty fish. Great shot of a fresh dorado with full colors that Julianne caught.
In the meantime, with just a bit of breeze, most days were pretty nice and the warm-water species like dorado, wahoo, smaller roosterfish, and billfish stayed productive. Most of the catch focused on the dorado which are fairly abundant once you find the right spot and limits can be the rule rather than the exception. Fish are running 10-20 pounds on the average with some larger units mixed in. Live bait has generally not been an issue.
Still no tuna, but it’s been like that all year in one of the strangest years ever down here. However, there’s a good jag of wahoo on the south end of Cerralvo Island with fish as small as 20 pounds, but as large as 50 pounds. The ticket seems to be to fish them on the right tide change and then dragging dark colored Rapalas, Yo-Zuris or similar lures .
Our amigo, Roger Thompson, has the wahoo honey-hole south of Cerralvo Island dialed in!
Honestly, not that many folks fishing these days in the lull between the end of summer vacations and the holidays, but alot of snowbirds are filtering in to enjoy the sunshine to get away from colder areas. Many flights are pretty full. Also, folks just seem to have “quarantine fatigue” and just need to get out and away.
Great news in that after being closed since March, we are finally allowed to swim with the baby whalesharks in La Paz Bay. Normally, the season run October to April, but once the Covid quarantine began, all activity was shut down at the end of March. The government has issued only a limited number of permits to escort folks to swim with the whalesharks and only certain outfitters are allowed to participate so as not to crowd or harm the animals. Our Tailhunter captains have received these permits and we’ve been taking folks for the swim.
The animals are in about 10’ of water and at times there have been over a dozen of them in the shallow water!
That’s my story! Have a safe, happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 3-10, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Tag-team tandem of Roger and Donna Thompson with a double hookup wahoo while trolling off the south end of Cerralvo Island.
Our own amigo, Jorge Romero pulled this 22-pound (he had a scale) barred pargo out’ve the rocks. He told me he had a big barbecue for friends and family and grilled the whole fish!
Captain Lorenzo was out with a La Paz friend and they took this nice blue marlin.
One day fishing north of town for Joe and Kristen Bettridge produced a box full of dorado like these. They also released fish as well.
Some good eating on the fish cleaning table. Mark Bronge from Los Angeles and Leif Dover from Atlanta GA have some nice barred pargo, snapper and cabrilla (seabass) ready for the freezer to take home.
Dave Hale from Northern California has a pretty typical variety of inshore fish for his efforts. I see some big triggerfish, cabrilla, snapper and pargo.
This is that time of year just before the holidays when there aren’t that many folks around that are fishing. The snowbirds are starting to arrive, but overall, town is pretty quiet and it’s a nice time to be in La Paz with sunny skies and mild temperatures in the day and comfortable temps in the evenings!
The fishing has been surprisingly good, all things considered. Some of the waters are getting cooler as we get more northerly winds that will be increasing over the next few weeks and months and transition in to cooler water fishing.
However, in the meantime, we still have some good bites taking place.
Still no tuna to talk about, but dorado from 5 to 25 pounds are relatively prevalent and are providing lots of fun for both our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and Tailhunter La Paz Fleet. The fish are scattered over quite a few areas, but once you find a single fish, there’s often a whole pack swimming along with it ready to chew.
Sailfish and marlin including both blues, blacks and some stripers have been hooked and lost and at the south end of Cerralvo Island, that tends to be the hot spot for some big 40-60 pound wahoo.
For inshore fishing, that’s where we’re really getting the variety including pargo, cabrllla, dog-tooth snapper, triggerfish, bonito, jack crevalle and dog-tooth snapper along with sierra and amberjack.
WHALE WATCHING SEASON COMING UP – JANUARY to MARCH!
We’re booking our whalewatching season that’s coming up in just a few months. Don’t miss out on this incredible experience. Prime time is late January through March. We can arrange an entire package for you and the family!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 10-17, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY
Not a bad way to start the fishing week for Tim Butterworth (behind the big wahoo) and Paul Machado with the the dorado. The wahoo was caught trolling a Nomad lure just outside Bahia Muertos. They went on to get several wahoo and some larger dorado (see more photos below).
Birthday boy, Bob Layko with a big wahoo, Captain Armando and Craig Brown with the dorado. Craig brings his cousin Bob down to see us every year as a birthday present. Craig is from Vancouver and Bob is a merchant seaman based in Portland, Oregon. This is their 8th year with us.
First timers score dorado! Our captain Jorge with Rick Lopez and Sean Price from Seattle who visited us for the first time and fished 3 days and took home a nice load of dorado.
Always great to see Craig and Kathy Sanford from Phoenix who have visited us for years. Fishing with Captain Jorge, they found some dorado and a big triggerfish.
Tim got his the first day, Paul Machado tore up this big wahoo on their 2nd day! Tim has the dorado and sierra this time.
With the purple Rapala sticking out’ve it’s mouth, Edgar Gutierrez poses with his early morning wahoo. He only had one day to fish and stuck it! Captain Gerardo gives the thumbs-up!
No down time! It’s a fishing vacation. Even when he’s not in the panga, Scott Herman from Redondo Beach CA grabs a kayak and paddles out behind the hotel. He’s got a nice little barred pargo he took back to the hotel for dinner!
Ashley Sanford has fished with us many times, but this year, brought her boyfriend Nate for his first time. With Captain Victor, they started the trip off with some nice dorado for the cooler!
Iovanni and Ivan had a good day on the dorado as well. Both are from La Paz. Those are tasty white bonito on the cutting table with the mahi.
Great colors for the afternoon. Fishing with our La Paz fleet, Scott Herman and Brent Skaff put dorado in the box for 3 days!
These guys again! Our amigos, Tim and Paul. No wahoo this time, but some of the larger dorado of the week. Always good to have them visit. Tim has been with us since the days I worked at Hotel Las Arenas.
There’s some good eats here…nice barred pargo for Steve Manney and Captain Gerardo. These are tough fish to pull out’ve the rocks, but some of the best eating!
Bahia Muertos in the background, Paul Machado is pretty happy with this nice bull mahi mahi!
After last week’s slow fishing we were ready for a come-back and we were happy to get it. The fishing has been up, down and sideways all season so it was good to see more smiles than frowns this week.
Despite some light rains early in the week and some post-storm chop that made it rough, we were able to get out every day. Not every boat did well. Not every day was great. But overall, compared to previous weeks, the fishing took a definitive upturn as dorado finally decided to blow back into the picture.
The better fishing was with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet where easy fast limits were the rule rather than the exception with fish somewhat larger than previous weeks where most fish were 5-10 pounders. This week 10-15 and even 20 pounders were found. Many times our boats got into the schools and came back early or, simply stayed out and released fish for the rest of the day.
Our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet made up for the quantity of fish found outside of La Paz Bay, but turning in quality fish. So…fewer fish and you had to work hard to find them, but the fish were larger. They included some nice-sized 30-50 pound wahoo that bit on dark Rapalas and Nomad lures trolled just outside Bahia Muertos or on the south side of Cerralvo Island. Many times the fish were found in shallow water and about 1/2 the fish hooked were lost.
Even if the wahoo weren’t forthcoming the dorado that bit tended to be larger and thicker fish between 10 and 20 pounds.
No roosterfish or tuna this week, but catches were supplemented with jack crevalle, white bonito, skipjack, pargo, snapper, triggerfish and cabrilla.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER SPECIALS
If you’re looking for some get-away time and have Cabin-Fever from too much downtime like the rest of us, we’ve got some fall specials for some great deals:
4 days in La Paz 3 nights water-front hotel 2 days panga fishing (includes: boat/ skipper/ tackle/ ice/ fish cleaning/ breakfast/ lunch/ soft drinks/ water/ shuttles to the boat/ all taxes) As low as $859 per person (double occupancy)
We can customize pretty much any package! Just tell us what you want to do! We also have suites and condos as well!
2021 BOOKINGS
With so many cancelations in 2020, lots of folks are giving us new dates for 2021 and our calendar is booking up pretty heavily. Some dates are already sold out or close to selling out. Don’t wait.
It doesn’t look like the sportsman’s shows will be happening next year so we won’t be on the road to visit many of our favorite areas to take bookings. So, get in touch with us as soon as you can, especially if we’re holding your deposit credits from 2020. We want to make sure we have you covered and you get the dates, hotels and captains you want!
Also, don’t forget whale-watching season from January to March is fast approaching. These trips sell out fast as well so check your calendar and come join us! Daily and overnight trips are available as well as packages to also fish Bahia Magdalena in the mangroves and La Paz fishing as well!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 3-9, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
First day, right off the bat. Andy Hail with a thick wahoo on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
Our own Jorge Romero cradles a big roosterfish. Unusual for these big guys to still be around. Jorge released the fish. See the next photo.
Unceremoniously back you go, but it works! Roosterfish release!
Bob Larson from Washington (at the head) with his first striped marlin. Posing with Captain Armando and Billy Bigelman. The marlin could not be released and meat was donated. A big dorado also on the table.
Some great variety of good eating here! Steve Manney with the pargo. John Stendstra with the wahoo plus dorado and another big barred pargo on the cutting table.
Happy guy! The sailfish have been larger than usual this past week. That’s Billy Bigelman behind that sail. Caught on live bait
Captain Pancho poses a wahoo with Ted Hamm from Paso Robles CA and Jim Bovee from San Diego who has been down 3 times to visit us this year!
Big wahoo on the troll for Jorge Romero!
This past week presented us with another weird twist-and-turn in an already erratic and chaotic fishing season…and year.
All season, fishing has been up one week and down the next with no rhyme or reason. Fish that should be biting are scarce and the entire season has pretty much been taken up by dorado and roosterfish that should not even be around this late in the year. Frankly, we’re grateful for both because both fish have kept rods bent and people smiling.
With some additional catches of bonito, jack crevalle, pargo, cabrilla and snapper, that’s pretty much been the whole season.
Until this past week…with a full moon at that.
Fishing did not go wide-open. In all honesty, I can’t even say it was great fishing. However, numbers of fish have been replaced by quality.
Billfish started biting. We’re seeing striped marlin. We’re seeing big sailfish that are unusually larger than normal and have caught more sails in the last week than the last several years combined. The sailfish are easily in the 100 pound class or larger.
More exciting are the wahoo. Near the south end of Cerralvo Island and near Bahia Muertos, we’ve been seeing wahoo for a bit ,but they’ve been reluctant biters. This week, they went on the chew with boats often hooking (and often losing) multiple fish as the speedsters with sharp teeth tore into trolled lures. However, the fish have been legit 30-50 pound skinnies.
During this time, the dorado bite that has sustained us had dropped by 50%. Either it’s because the dorado just aren’t biting or folks are spending more time chasing the home run fish like the billfish and wahoo.
Hopefully, we’ll finally see some tuna which are way overdue!
BAJA LIFTS MORE RESTRICTIONS
In case you hadn’t heard, last Monday (Oct. 5), the government of Southern Baja (including the areas of La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, Todos Santos and the East Cape/ Los Barriles areas) eased up on more Covid Restrictions!
The danger level has gone from Red…to Orange…and now YELLOW (level 3). More beaches are open. Increased occupancy in hotels and restaurants, live music in clubs and restaurants and more! All good news.
2021 BOOKING FILLING UP
Many of the folks who had to cancel their trips this year are already booking for next year and many dates are filled or filling. Don’t wait to get your reservations in, especially if you have a certain hotel or captain that you want. It doesn’t look like many of the sportsmans shows are being canceled so we probably won’t be on the road doing our fishing/hunting shows like we normally do. So, get in touch with us.
We are also booking fishing for January to March plus whalewatching trips and fishing at Bahia Magdalena for 2021 as well. Hope to see you!
Tailhunter Fish Report 