La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bania Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for April 3-10, 2022
THE MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
That’s alot of ceviche! Gary Wagner, out amigo and owner of Rancho Costa in Bahia Muertos got himself a big sierra!
Hugo, our popular driver, even got into the bite one day with a fat yellowtail off Punta Perrico.
Kyle Skibsted from Salt Lake City was out with Captain Gerardo again and got a nice variety including the big yellowtail, pargo, sierra, sheephead and triggerfish. All great eating on the table!
Tought day of fishing, but young Jesue Denogean got the lone yellowtail of the day out’ve La Paz. Captain Licho lends a hand. That’s Captain Rogelio in the back who was also aboard that day.
Greg Garrison is back and poses with an good-eating pargo he pulled off the reef. Greg is from Colorado.
Third day fishing for Nancy and Kyle and they have more fish to take home. I see cabrilla, sierra and bonito on the cutting table.
Gary’s taking a tasty yellowtail back to is place!
Captain Gerardo even got into the action with his own yellowtail this past week.
Not too bad of a week. Not great but not bad. There were high and low spots depending upon conditions. Winds came up somewhat again so it did hamper some of the bite and it wasn’t as good as the week before.
However, it’s really hard to tell. This past week is the lull before spring break and Easter Week when the crowds really hit. So, normally we haven’t had many folks on the water and this past week there were even fewer. Most folks coming in are here on holiday and not necessarily to fish. Maybe, they want a day on the water, but that’s it. So, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific bite.
We did have yellowtail again as the prime target. Fish ran from 15 to 30 pounds, but the bite varied from day-to-day and place-to-place. It even varied from boat-to-boat. It really was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The captains and clients all worked hard to find the fish, but it wasn’t always as productive as we would have liked.
Still, in the right spots, the yellowtail fell for live sardines, mackerel, trolled jigs and dropped iron and knife jigs. A number of nice fish were lost to the rocks because these fish hold close to structure which could mean, rocks reefs or other underwater objects. The same areas held their cousin amberjacks and some nice cabrilla (seabass) in the 3-8 pound class.
We did have a few dorado hooked and the marlin are getting more active. We had a couple of billfish shakers, but none of the hookups stuck. No wahoo or tuna yet, but more roosterfish are starting to show up. Nothing big to speak-of. However, some of the anglers had fun on light tackle with 3-10 pound fish. Several larger 20 pound class fish were released. We also had jacks, cabrilla, sierra and lots of bonito in the counts.
Winds might be increasing this week, but overall, we’ve been looking at sunny days in the mid-80’s and nighttime temps in the mid-60’s. Pretty time to be in town!
That’s my story! Happy Easter and Easter Week everyone! Blessings always!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Mar. 26-April 2, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
That’s ALOT of quality meat on the table! Jim Molinari and Kip Slaugh our long-time friends from Salt Lake City started their week with alot of filets for the ice chest! I see big cabrilla, pargo, amberjack, a big yellowtail, sierra and snapper!
Jim Bovee and Pancho are always a good team. Jim ran into some of the winds, but still picked up this good-looking yellowtail on a pink yo zuri. Jim was staying at Rancho Costa this time there at Bahia Muertos.
First-timers from Santa Barbara who only had one day to fish, Jack and son Lucas Bohnet have some terrific fish to take home with this yellowtail and big trophy cabrilla.
Another amigo with only one day to squeeze in, Chris Anthony put this yellowtail in the box, but also battled a big hammerhead shark as well fishing off Espirito Santo Island.
First-time friends from Utah, Kyle and Nancy Skibsted were out with Captain Armando and caught the only dorado of the week as well as some white bonito on the table and a tasty sierra! They also threw back a bunch of hard-charging skipjack.
Here you go!!! On day and BOOM! Captain Gerardo put Mike Gollick and his wife onto a sweet bite of hefty yellowtail plus bonito and sierra.
Bucket list for San Diego angler Jonathan Vilchez. Tough day fishing, but they did get one yellowtail fishing with captain Rogelio and Licho, but Jonathan put the hurt on his first roosterfish and one of our first of the season as well. The fish was released!
No big thing! Jim and Kip again with another good day on the water. Check out the size of these yellowtail plus the nice amberjack as well. I see a triggerfish and cabrilla peeking out as well.
YEOW! Craig Wong and Martin Aguilera have some pig yellowtail in hand there in Bahia Muertos!
This is a trophy cabrilla that Captain Pancho is lipping for Jim Bovee! Jim took it on a spinning rod and trolling a big lip Rapala. Nicely done, guys!
All indications are that with each passing week, the conditions are warming and improving. We’re not completely done yet with the strong northern winds of winter that often blow us off the water from November to April, but we had one one of the better fishing weeks, all things considered.
Still not many folks fishing, but overall the area has become much more fishable with only about 3 days that were gusty. We still had daytime temps in the low 80’s and nighttime temps in the high 60’s.
Fishing success was just really determined by where you fish and what day you picked. If it was one of the windier days, then it was more difficult. Also, if it’s windy, it’s hard to get live bait. Either because the winds make it difficult for the bait guys to catch the bait under the rough conditions or because there simply aren’t that many fishermen out right now, it’s not economic for them to go out if there aren’t enough anglers to purchase the bait. So, that means using alot more lures than normal. Also, alot of it is luck. On any given day, some boats just did better than others.
Two things especially stand out. First, the yellowtail are still around and biting nicely. Not sure how long they’ll stay around, but some nice healthy 20-35 pound fish are being hung on the high spots around Cerralvo and Espirito Santo Island as well as some of the inshore shallower rock reefs. The fish are eating jigs, lures and live bait. Hopefully, these fish will hang out a bit longer, but as the waters get warmer, these fish will move off to deeper water and replaced by warmer water species like the dorado of which we caught a few this week. In the same areas as the yellowtail, we also rocked some nice amberjack which are the cousins of the yellowtail and also pretty tasty on the table.
The big surprise were the big cabrilla (seabass) caught this week. Trophy-sized 5-12 pounders that looked like baby grouper were not uncommon and found in many of the rocky places where we were also hitting the yellowtail and amberjack .
In addition, action was also pretty good on several species of bonito and skipjack, snapper, pargo, sierra and jack crevalle.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of March 18-25, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Great shot that sort of captures the whole thing. It’s like a travel poster shot…Mariah Vitolo in the warm sands and blue waters and a nice looking yellowtail. Mariah was staying at Bahia Muertos at Rancho Costa.
Captain Blas with his dad Captain Alfredo found a nice school of yellowtail off Espirito Santo Island on one of the nice calm days this past week.
OH yea! Another ‘tail in the box. There’s were some nice spots of yellowtail around Espirito Santo Island and the north and south ends of Cerralvo.
Whitney Jones only had one day to squeeze in for fishing with her husband and caught a couple of bonito and a sierra that they had us cook up at our Tailhunter Sea Level Restaurant.
A big slug toad yellowtail for Dr. Sergio caught on a Rapala.
Although winter winds still persisted, things appear to be slowly improving as spring approaches and there were some nice highlights to the week with waters warming and a handful of really nice fishing days.
There still aren’t that many folks fishing yet, but we did have a few out and fishing ranged to so-so to very good. It really all depended on conditions. The windier the days, the slower the fishing.
On the windier days, boats were restricted to fishing closer to shore or having to do more trolling than we normally like to do because of the lack of live bait which is difficult to get if it’s too rough or there aren’t many fishermen. The bait guys simple don’t go out.
The inshore bite consisted of mostly some scratchy cabrilla, snapper, bonito, jacks and sierra. We did have a few boats try for wahoo unsuccessfully. A handful of dorado were also picked up which is very indicative of the warming trend in the waters as we head into spring.
The highlights for the week were the nice grade of yellowtail. Again, dictated by wind and water conditions. On the calmer days, our boats got 1-5 really tough-fighting yellowtail each ranging from 20-30 pounds. Larger ones were lost to the rocks.
A good day on the fishing grounds this past week!
The fish fell for a variety of bait including sardines and mackerel as well as jigging with knife jigs and deeper running Rapalas and Yo-Zuris in darker or mackerel colors. The fish were found generally over structure like deeper rocks and reefs around both Cerralvo and Espírito Santo Island as well as Punta Perico and Punta Gorda fairly close to shore.
Darker mackerel-patterned deeper running lip-baits like this Rapala XRap 20 have been effective on the yellows.
Knife jig for straight drops.
Tried-and-true candy bar style yo-yo iron. This is a Tady 4/0. This zucchini color is good as are blue/white and all chrome.
BAHIA MAGDALENA
They mangroves of Bahia Magdalena! Miles and miles of inlets and changing currents and shoals!
Carolyn Cain had a nice day on the light tackle with a bunch of grouper taken in the shallows as well as a mess of corvina as well. I see a halibut in there as well! They donated all the fish to the local families.
The Lopez Mateos mangroves holding some incredible fish and wildlife.
Not a bad start for Jim Molinari and Kip Slaugh for the Salt Lake City area with a load of corvina, grouper and spotted bay bass.
IT’S A WRAP!
After 3 months on the road, Jill and I are finally coming home.
As you’re reading this, we’re closing it up at our last show here in Colorado at the Denver Convention Center.
We’ve been through more than a dozen states and want to thank everyone for all the hospitality in all our show cities of Reno, Sacramento, Puyallup (Seattle), Salt Lake City, Portland, Redmond, Spokane and now here in Denver. Plus all the dozens upon dozens of little cities, towns and cross-roads in between criss-crossing the western U.S. Hey folks…it’s still a great country with great people! The best!
Thanks to all the amigos and Tailhunter Tribe members who came to see us these past months at all the shows and are coming to see us this year in La Paz!
It’s been great. It’s been liberating to be out again and see so many of you out again. We’re blessed as we watch everyone trying to climb and claw out of the calamity of the last 2 years.
But for now, I think we’re done with late night Denny’s meals, microwave burritos and hotel oatmeal breakfasts. Middle-of-the-night laundry. Tired backs, legs and hoarse voices from 10 hour days in the booth 4 and 5 days per week. Waking up in hotel rooms and not sure what city we are in! Snow…ice…rain…wind…
…and 10,000 miles of driving while gas prices rose over 5 bucks a gallon.
Jilly the road warrior driving through the snow and ice!
Microwave burritos from countless truck stops along the way. Oh…3 months on the road and 10,000 miles of driving watching gas prices shoot over 5 bucks a gallon!
Me and my girl in the booth!
So….
We’re headed home to La Paz! Ready to put our toes in the sand! Let’s get this season rolling and get cranked up for SHOWTIME in LA PAZ! We’re looking forward to seeing you in 2022!
When it’s as calm as this in Muertos Bay, the winds are down and the fish go turbo. Or you can just park it on the beach and throw your cell phone as far as you can. It’s like living in a postcard!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ 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 Mar. 3-10, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Jimmy Williams, pulled this nice yellowtail off Cerralvo Island. See his comments below about a tough day fishing although he and his buddy ended up with two ‘tails on the day.
Justin Sawyer from Salt Lake City had just one day to fish and he and his wife drove all the way up from Todos Santos to squeeze a day on the water. He hooked this slap yellowtail plus a sierra and several big cabrilla (on the table). They also released our first roosterfish of the season.
Our good amigos, Marianne and Jeff Sakuda from Cypress CA with Captain Pancho and a nice rack of sierra plus two yellowtail. They had trouble finding live bait because of the winds so they hooked everything on lures or Rapalas.
A nice week to be in La Paz, but not necessarily a good week, once again, to be on the water. Winds tore things up early in the week, then again, later in the week, the winds came back. As a matter of fact, at the time I’m writing this, the port captain has shut down all boat traffic out of La Paz because of the fierce winds and rough seas. Winds are blowing as much as 20+ mph.
We did have about 2 days of waters that were calm enough to get a few folks out. It was fortunate, because these were the only days that these anglers had to fish. As with so many folks during the off-season, folks are in town for some vacation, not necessarily to fish and then decide maybe to get a day on the water and try some fishing. I always warn them about the weather.
Fortunately for the few anglers this week, they picked the two days that were the least windy. Fishing out’ve Las Arenas and pushing out’ve Bahia Muertos, there was some decent action inshore for sierra, jacks, bonito and hefty cabrilla. We even got our first roosterfish of the season which was released and surprisingly a little early in the season to see roosters, but good to know. There were also a few stray dorado.
Over the inshore drop offs and then over at the north and south end of Cerralvo Island, there were a few yellowtail taken when the weather allowed. These were a nice great 20-30 pound class fish. A few nicer ones broke off.
This is how our amigo, Jimmy Williams, reported about his day on the water:
“Slow day fishing yesterday for us but the fish are there. Only problem catching quality sardines sucks right now. Nothing but pinhead bait for us. We even left the playa at El Sargento at 5: 30 to beat the masses. We went out to La Reina and made green jacks for bait. Big schools of perfect size jacks were all around La Reina. We ended up with 2 yellows for me and Phil lost 1 to the rocks. Nothing else.. Nada.. We fished between north end and La Reina and hooked all the yellows on green jacks. Shaw some dorado being caught as well.”
Captain Alfredo took a few of our guys to the west side of Espirito Santo Island norht of La Paz and hooking this nice yellowtail.
It was a similar story for the few anglers we had fishing straight out’ve La Paz Bay towards Espirito Santo Island. Hiding from the wind in the coves, they found shallow water action on snapper, cabrilla and small amberjack, but also the occasional heftier 20 pound yellowtail.
YEOW!!!!
Just had to post this one up. Captain Alonso is one of the independent panga skippers in the area and he had this client (I wish I knew her name) and 30 pound test jigging at the north end of Cerralvo Island. Take a look at this best of a grouper she battled to the boat! HOLY COW! On 30-pound test and check out the little noodle-stick fishing rod! Well done! Yes…there are still big fish around!
TWO MORE SHOWS TO GO
As you’re reading this, we are currently at the Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond Oregon. The show goes through Sunday.
We’ve been on the road now almost 3 months and 2 more shows to go:
BIG HORN SHEEP SHOW
Spokane, Washington
March 17-20
and the
INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMENS EXPO
Denver Convention Center
DENVER CO
March 24-27
Come see us and let’s get you set up for fishing in La Paz this year. Don’t wait. Dates are filling fast. If you can’t come see us, take a look at this:
Hope to see you down the road or in La Paz this year. The fishing is really heating up already!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 15-22, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY...
Some legit nice grade of yellowtail have been on the chew at the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island as well as other high spots and even in the shallows!
Not a bad mix of fish for February! Some bull dorado, a few good-sized cabrilla, white bonito and a sierra!
The area around Espirito Santo Island straight out’ve La Paz Bay is also holding yellowtail on the days the north winds aren’t blowing in your face and you can get out!
Our amigo, Gary Wagner, at his place the Rancho Costa Resort at Bahia Muertos with an uncharacteristic (for this time of year). dorado!
It was a kinder-gentler week from winter winds this past week. Most of the days were actually fishable much to the concern of all the windsurfers and kiteboarders, but much better for fishing.
Given it’s still technically “winter” the signs have been encouraging. Daytime temps touching the high 80’s and nighttime in the comfortable high 60’s and when the winds aren’t blowing those days been relatively calm for this time of year and good enough to get some folks on the water. There’s still not many as this is off-season, but most folks this time of year just want a day of fishing or so and are in town on vacation unlike the fishermen who show up later specifically to fish for numerous days.
“Catching” hasn’t been to bad either. Often, there’s a big difference between “fishing” and “catching,” but the catching lately has produced a nice variety of fish. In addition to the usual cabrilla (seabass), sierra, pargo, jacks, and numerous bonito including tasty white bonito, along the inshore areas, there are some toad-sized yellowtail coming off the high spots and rocky areas. Fish have been in the 20-30 pound class. There have also been some free-swimmer dorado in the 10-15 pound size starting to show up earlier than normal in the season.
Here’s what one of our local friends, Jimmy Williams, wrote after fishing this past week and hitting the winds, but then finding some big yellowtail he couldn’t stop:
“I fished Wednesday out of El Sargento.. West wind was up when we reached the north end of Cervalvo, so we made beautiful large sardines just south of the red rocks on northeast side. Fished a few areas over there for a while for only 1 grande sierra. Left there and headed to La Riena and got our ass kicked getting out there, but when we drift fished just west of the rock over the pinnacles, we picked up 2 nice Dorado, 8 grande bonito, and some nice cabrilla. We hooked 4 brute yellows on live bait and couldn’t get one to boat. All 4 rocked us and I was using 60# with the drag buttoned down.”
It was also exciting to hear that at the north end of Cerralvo Island, some big 60-80 pound yellowfin tuna were blowing up in the chumlines although there were no bitters. I was told that they came up just aft of a big school of feeding yellowtail.
BUT WAIT!!!!
Just as I was going to post up this report, check out this slugger 150 pound yellowfin tuna caught at Bahia Muertos! YEOW! I guess the tuna ARE around! It took 5 hours to boat this toad fish!
These pig tuna can put the hurt on you in the worst way!!! Be careful what you wish for! LOL
Stand by!!! Maybe more coming soon!
THANK YOU PORTLAND!
Just finished up one of our favorite shows and saw so many of our good friends and clients! It was a crazy 5 days, but always fun. Thanks for all the hospitality, Portland, and we’re looking forward to everyone who signed up for trips to come fish with us in La Paz this year!
NEXT STOP – The Central Oregon Sportsmens Show!
We’re packing up our rig and now headed to Redmond, Oregon to the fairgrounds and we’ll be there March 10-13th. We’re looking forward to seeing you. However, don’t wait. We are filling up so crazy fast! Grab your calendars and get in touch with us so we don’t miss you. Lots of regulars are coming back. Lots of folks are tired of staying home. So, come down and fish with us.
In fact, we know alot of folks didn’t want to venture out into the crowds at the show. We perfectly understand! However, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on our show special discounts! Check this out:
Also, we’ve been doing this 30 years and we know alot of you have stayed with us at La Concha, on the beach, but we have some new locations as well on the Malecon so you don’t need taxis to get around! We have suites, condos and single rooms overlooking the water or on the waterfront so make sure to ask us about them!
WHALES FULL SPEED!
Don’t forget that our whalewatching is in in full-season right now in the shallow waters of Bahia Magdalena. The whales usually stay through March, before heading back north to the Bering Sea. Contact us today and we’ll set you up for a lifetime experience!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week Feb. 7-14, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Gary Wagner, owner of Rancho Costa, gives a gaff-assist to Reagan Kobach from Kansas. Crazy dorado in February!
This is a first! In almost 30 years and thousands of fishing clients in the area, I’ve never seen anyone catch a barracuda. I’ve seen small schools during scuba diving, but this is really unusual. In fact, it looks very much like an Atlantic barracuda with it’s big head and jaw rather than the typical skinny Pacific barracuda. Kris Korbach with the smiling pose!
These fish might look small, but they are powerful fun action fish! Kris and Lily hit a bunch of these white bonito which are not only fun, but great tasting!
GW in the house! Actually, Gary Wagner in HIS house as the owner there of Rancho Costa Resort with a big sierra. Knowing Gary this ended up as bowls of ceviche for dinner!
I had a feeling this would happen. After so many crazy day and weeks of wind with so very few windows of opportunity to fish, the wind actually took it’s foot off the pedal for more than a day. The waters settled down. The ocean flattened out.
And sure enough we had some fish bite!
Once again, we had some nice slugger yellowtail in the count up to about 25 pounds feeding off the high spots south of Cerralvo Island and then north around La Reina and La Reynita. Some larger fish…maybe even big amberjack might have been hooked in the same area as the anglers said, they were getting hit by something much much larger down there more powerful than the yellowtail.
WHAAAAAT? DORADO IN FEBRUARY?
Additionally some dorado crept into the counts as well which is indicative of either some warm patches of surface water or else a sign that our waters are warming early this year. The fish averaged about 10 pounds. Not too big, but lots of fun and good eating. Surely, no one was complaining about the surprise biters on the chew. Dorado in winter? Usually, we don’t see dorado until late April!
On top of that, the usual inshore fish of sierra, pargo, lots of Pacific and white bonito as well as snapper and cabrilla were in the counts.
Again, not really that many folks on the water and this coming week looks like the wind are going to come stomping back at 10-18 knots per hour, but good to know there’s some fish out there.
WHALES ARE BACK!
Our whale-watching trips to Lopez Mateos on the Pacific side are in full-swing right now as the vanguard of the annual migration of grey whales have arrived in the shallow warm waters of Bahia Magdalena where they’ll mate and birth for the next 2 months or so. It’s a great opportunity to get close to these fantastic gentle animals.
The whales have been more than cooperative to come visit with the boaters!
HERE WE COME PORTLAND!
We just wrapped up the biggest show of the 2022 road season this week in Salt Lake City at the Western Hunt and Conservation Expo at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City. By far, the craziest and most hectically fun show so far! Jill and I were 10 hours straight for 4 days talking non-stop in our booth. We ran out’ve flyers and brochures as the aisles were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with folk coming to check out the more than 700 exhibitors from around the world.
Shout out and thank you to everyone who came by to say hi and we’re looking forward to seeing you in La Paz this year!
We got so many bookings and reservations for this year to come fish that each night, Jill and I were up another 3-4 hours logging all the reservations back in our hotel room! Dates are filling up and now we’re headed to another huge show in Portland!
We banzai drive from Salt Lake City back to the Pacific Coast! We’re probably on the road by the time you read this!
The Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Expo runs Wednesday to Sunday (Feb. 16-20) and is held at the Portland Expo Center at the north end of the city by the river. We’ll be in the booth all 5 days and looking forward to seeing you.
There are hundreds of booths and exhibits each year with seminars, displays, lots of gear to check out and buy and exhibitors from all over the world for hunting, fishing, camping, RV’s, boating and so much more!
Dates are filling really fast and Mexico has dropped all covid restrictions as of last week! Mexico has become the #1 international travel destination! Don’t wait. We have 4 more shows coming up, but our fishing calendar is filling. Get in touch with us! ( Write me directly jonathan@tailhunter.com )
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 1-7, 2022
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Keith Williams stuck this nice forkie yellowtail along with bonito and cabrilla. Thanks for the photo BM!
Folks think that if there’s crazy weather in the U.S. that somehow it stops at the border. On the contrary, weather doesn’t stop at border. If things are happening in the U.S., it definitely affects things in Mexico. Accordingly, winds continued from the north although there were some spots here and there where the winds gave us some breaks and allowed a few moments of fishing. They were rare and you had to pick your spots.
However, in addition the usual inshore species like snapper, cabrilla and jacks, some beefy yellowtail started to show up. The usual spots at the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island and off Punta Perico held some nice fish in the 15-25 pound class. The fish were willing to chew sardines, mackerel as well as yo-yo and knife jigs. Slow trolled mackerel-colored Rapalas also kicked in a few bites. Some larger fish were lost insofar as these fish are around structure like rocks and reefs and after a slamming stike, they freight-train back to cover easily busting and cutting lines.
Hopefully, this is the start of a nice yellowtail season if the winds give us more breaks. This coming week, actually looks like the winds will dial back a bit. Not ideal, but more fishable than it has been for any extended period.
ROAD DIARY 2022
Just finishing up another good show here at the Washington State Fairgrounds for the Washington Sportsmans Show. So great to see so many old friends and Tailhunter Nation! Thanks for coming by and we’re looking forward to seeing many of you who reserved spots to come see us this year in La Paz!
By the time you’re reading this, we’ll be on the road and zooming to our next show which is the huge Western Hunt and Conservation Show at the Salt Palace downtown in Salt Lake City UT. This will be possibly the largest show on our 2022 road tour and it’s ALWAYS fun and one of the most dynamic shows in which we exhibit.
Check out this video I made from the 2022 show before the shutdowns…
It runs from Thursday to Sunday and we’d love to see you if you’re in the area. If not, don’t wait to make your reservations to come see us for fishing this year. Dates are filling up rapidly. We’ve done shows in Reno, Sacramento, Washington and now headed to Utah. Many dates are selling out so get in touch with us so we don’t miss you!
WHALEWATCHING SEASON KICKS OFF!
It’s been breezy in Bahia Magdalena for the whalewatching this year, but on the calm days, the whales have been more than cooperative to come visit with the boaters!
Someone needs a nose scratch!
The grey whales have shown up for their annual migration from the Bering Sea to spend the winter months in the warm waters at Bahia Magdalena. It’s a pretty incredible experience to see and interact with these magnificent animals in the shallow bay.
Don’t miss out another year. Get in touch with us to set up your once-in-a-lifetime experience. The whales usually stick around until mid or late March!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 3-10, 202
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY
Yohan and Jessica found that one day of calm and also found some legit-sized dorado out’ve Bahia Muertos.
Tough week to try to fish in La Paz. Most days winds blew 10-20 mph plus some rain. We try to schedule folks when it looks least inclement for fishing, but it’s often hit-or-miss. La Paz has so many different micro-climates, and weather forecasting is hardly an exact science, especially in our area. It can look calm in La Paz Bay, but just outside the bay it could look like the cold crazy North Atlantic. Or, at Las Arenas Point it could look fishable from afar, but when you get there, the current and winds are so strong that only wind-surfers are out there.
Or, in the morning, you push some folks out in a boat, but two hours later after they’ve found live bait, the weather changes. Even finding live bait is an issue. If it has been rough, it’s hard to find bait in the shallows. Or, since there aren’t many fishermen out, it’s a 50-50 chance that the bait guys don’t go out to catch any bait so we might send out a boat, but find out the bait guys didn’t work that night or morning.
There’s some dorado still holding here and there which is strange since they are warm-water fish and some rumors of wahoo, but mostly if folks are out fishing, it’s a catch of sierra, cabrilla, snapper and pargo mixed with bonito or jacks. Fun inshore fish.
WORLD RECORD PARGO!
We did get some good news. We got our latest new IGFA World Record. Doctor Gamaliel Morales caught a 46 pound mullet snapper (pargo liso) last May at the southern end of Cerralvo Island. It beat the standing all-tackle record by a single pound. Dr. Morales saw bait breaking on the surface at the island and thought marlin might be chasing up the bait so he pinned on a caballito and got hit in about 60’ of water by the big pargo. He got it over to our Tailhunter Restaurant where we have an IGFA certified scale and we got it weighed.
It beat the former record of 45 pounds also caught at Cerralvo Island!
Congratulations to Dr. Morales who has been waiting since May to hear!
Interestingly, we caught an even larger pargo maybe 5-10 pounds larger just a few days earlier, but the fisherman cut it up before we could tell him to get it to the scale.
You just never know what will bite if you have a line in the water and the waters around La Paz have produced a number of world records!
WHALE WATCHING SEASON STARTING UP!
It’s coming up on whale watching season. The annual migration has started as the whales come down from the Bering Sea and spend several months in the warm Baja waters along the Pacific Coast mating, and birthing. Best time to get close to these magnificent animals is mid-February to March. It’s an incredible experience. Check it out and get in touch with us for an event of a lifetime!
TAILHUNTER IN RENO THIS WEEK – THURSDAY to SATURDAY
On 2020, our hunting/ fishing exhibition tour got cut short by Covid. In 2021, all our shows were cancelled. However, we’re back on the road again and headed from Texas to Reno as you read this!
Three months on the road! It’s been awhile!
We have 8-10 shows on the calendar this year so hopefully, we’re coming to a city near you!
This week we will be at the Reno Convention Center at the WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION SHOW from Thursday to Sunday! It’s a huge show with tons of exhibitors and it would be great to see you to chat about visiting us in La Paz this year. Here’s a 60-second video of the 2020 show. Keep in mind this was just before Covid hit in 2020. Pretty exciting stuff to see.
Jill and I will be in the booth every day and we’re looking forward to seeing you!
Just a head’s up! Lots of dates are already filling up and many of your favorite captains are getting booked and hotels filled. Don’t wait until the shows to get in touch with us. We don’t want you to miss out on the great fishing this year!
Coming up: The International Sportsman’s Expo at the California State Fairgrounds Jan. 2023!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 26-Dec. 5, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
First-timers to visit us, Jackie and Jose Gochoco from Arizona got in 3 days of fishing and got quite a variety of fish like these from their first day with lots of sierra, snapper, bonito, a palometa and pargo.
Frequent Tailhunter flyer…I think this is his 3rd visit this year…Marcus Yoo visited us via Nicaragua and Costa Rica before spending 2 days fishing and nailed at least a dozen sierra each day as well as other species.
From Chicago, good amigo, Bob Sayre, who went out to kill a couple of hours fishing just inside the bay and found dorado under the cruise ships parked just off the Malecon! You can see the bow of one of the big ships in the upper right corner.
Alaska first-time visitors from Wrangell, Caroline and Travis Bangs with daughter with 3 year-old, Remi, had one so-so day when the winds blew, but followed it up with a nice day with Captain Jorge and a rack of sierra plus a nice bull dorado that they donated all of the fish.
Given the strong winds that normally go along with this time of year, we had some overall very mild conditions this past week. It was still breezy but with temperatures in the sunny 80’s it was good enough to accommodate the few folks that wanted to go fishing. Not too many folks fishing between November and April because of the weather so it was nice to have a bit of a reprieve around Thanksgiving.
There were still a few days there where the winds were blowing pretty rough which not only made for tough fishing, but also made it difficult to get bait. It’s a big issue when the winds blow.
However, for the few folks we had out, there was some surprisingly decent fishing. If the fish weren’t big, at least they were lively and fun. Lots of big sierra were hooked, but also a nice variety of big bonito; snapper, cabrilla, pargo, jack crevalle and even a few amberjack. Nothing huge, but fun inshore fishing and lots of good eating fish as well. We even had a few dorado here and there which is indicative of some patches of warmer water still lingering.
Jorge has big smiles…dorado under the cruise ships!
Dorado fillets to take to Tailhunter Restaurant for cooking up!
In fact, although it could be very windy outside of La Paz Bay, some schools of dorado were found just off the city beaches under the big cruise ships and tankers that anchor-up within site of the Malecon. The big ships attract bait and obviously, the dorado which produced some fun 10-15 pound fish. A good alternative for a short day of fishing or trying to fish outside in the big waves.
Looking like the winds could be coming back fairly strong at the end of this week. We’ll keep you posted!
Tailhunter Fish Report 