Steve Green from Alaska staying at Rancho Costa in Bahia de los Muertos took a nice big cabrilla with some afternoon fishing dragging a deep diver. Thanks Gary Wagner for the photo.
You can tell it’s a little chilly when folks from Alaska like Mic Ward is wearing long pants and fleecewear! But another nice cabrilla off the rocks while staying at Rancho Costa.
Captain Moncho working for Rancho Costa there in Muertos Bay used a Rapala to hang this grouper with Chuck Chandler from Idaho.
CHILLY AND COLD KEEPS THE FISHING TO INSHORE SPECIES
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 5-12, 2017
The cold and windy conditions returned this past week which was the downside. The upside is that there weren’t many folks fishing. But, that’s how it is in the winter off-season. The fishing that could be had was confined mostly to inshore fishing so we couldn’t follow up on last-week’s yellowtail bite over at the sound end of Cerralvo Island. Or look for mackerel.
That being said, slow trolling off the rocky areas of Punta Perrico and just outside the point at Bahia de los Muertos using Rapalas. The areas also produced yellow snapper, jack crevalle and barred pargo. Just off the drop-off, we also found some bonito. Encouragingly, we also spotted some rooster fish off the Arenas lighthouse, but the fish weren’t interested and were moving fast.
Looks like there’s going to be a bit more wind this coming week and a chance of rain. We’ll keep you posted.
WHALES WATCHING SEASON IN FULL SWING
Our yearly whale-watching tours in Bahia Magdalena are in full swing right now. The whales are here usually until mid-March. Check out this video sent to us by our Tailhunter Restaurant manager, Gerry Becerra. Turn up your sound! Write us directly for more info and we’ll set you up for an incredible time! Write to me at: Jonathan@tailhunter.com
THANKS FOR THE HOSPITALITY OREGON!
We just spent an incredible awesome week in Portland at the Northwest Sportsmans Expo…the largest hunting and fishing show Pacific Northwest. Once again, Oregon, you were great and we always have an awesome time and it was great to see so many of our good friends and Tailhunter Tribe! You rock. We are also looking forward to seeing lots of you in La Paz this year and we got lots of reservations.
Now after 5 weeks and 4 weeks of shows…Denver…Sacramento…Seattle…Portland in the books, here we come Salt Lake City and the Western Hunt Show at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City. Thursday to Sunday! Come see us. To wrap up. here’s some fun shots from last weeks’ show.
Thanks to Bob Layko and Craig Brown for the great BEAVER STATE gift. The life ring is actually off a ship that Bob worked on and will look great in our Tailhunter Restaurant if we can find a way to get it down there!
Funny shirt! Posing with Jilly and Shea!
It’s always a party at the Tailhunter Booth! Our Oregon friends toasting with something in those little dixie cups!
The original Bob LeBeau originator of the Hunter Hohner knife sharpener “Making Knives Great Again” who has been on the road with us over 30 years!
Two of the best! Phil and Matt sharing some laughs and an adult beverage with Jilly! Thanks for the “goodies” guys! We love the care package!
Once again, Craig Brown and Bob Layko! They’re coming back to visit us in October for the 5th straight year!
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jilly
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
Not just a pretty fish, but a pretty photo! I hope our amigo and ace fisherman, Roger Thompson, frames this photo of his golden grouper. He’s caught a ton of great fish over the years, but this one is especially cool. He was fishing with his favorite Captain Hugo and took this on a…(wait for it)…a trolled Rapala!
Carl Lange and Ken Gragg from Bakersfield visit us 2-3 times a year and are two of our best winter-time fishermen. As Ken told me, “We caught the only two dorado in the bay!” It’s not normal to see warm-water fish like this in the winter.
Talk about unusual fish in the winter…TUNA? Our own captain Armando was out with his amigo from La Paz and they tied onto these two 30-pound class yellowfin tuna right off the beach near the old Hotel Las Arenas in shallow water using mackerel and squid.
Donna Thompson always gets fish and on this particular day, she nailed two nice yellowtail…our first documented yellowtail of the season…off the south end of Cerralvo Island and they lost a few more they couldn’t stop from busting off while trolling Rapalas with Capt. Hugo.
Happy smile from Chuck Chandler of Idaho with a nice fat cabrilla! Great eating.
Our friend Gary Wagner who owns the Rancho Costa Hotel and the famous Giggling Marlin Bar in Cabo with a nice cabrilla and Ken Ward from Alaska sort of photo-bombing with a sierra over Gary’s head.
It was a great week to pull big fish out’ve the rocks! Steve Green from Idaho with another fat cabrilla.
Not an usual combination this week! Ken Gragg with the cabrilla and Carl Lange with a sierra and their favorite Captain Pancho.
Jack got into the big yellowtail as well. You can see the deep-running Rapala sticking out’ve the fish’s mouth. He was working that area at the south end of Cerralvo Island just across from where he was staying in La Ventana.
Here we come, Oregon! We’ve done 3 weeks of shows now…Denver…Sacramento…and Seattle and we’re doing great with reservations! The Tailhunter Tour now takes us to the largest show in the Pacific Northwest. From Wednesday to Sunday, we’ll be at the Portland Expo Center. More info below! Come see us and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz!
WHAT A DIFFERENCE WHEN THE WIND GIVES US A BREAK!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 28-Feb. 5, 2017
What a difference a week makes! Whereas the past few weeks we had the regularly season strong winds that really stirred things up and made most days unmissable, this past week we had some of the nicest weather in quite a while. It was still on the cool side (our staff used the word “COLD!”), but it’s all relative, right? It still usually required fishing with jackets and sweatshirts. But, having some flat water and lower winds made all the difference.
It wasn’t wide open or crazy fishing by any stretch, but generally speaking, at least we caught fish and there were some real surprises. In addition to the usual cold-water fish we catch this time of year that included inshore species like cabrilla, snapper, sierra, bonito and cargo, we also saw some of the quality fish like yellowtail as well as dorado and tuna.
The yellowtail aren’t a real surprise, although maybe they are a tad early. It’s great news because these are the first yellowtail we’re seeing. But, the real surprise was also having warm-water species like dorado and tuna also in the same areas! Those are the kind of species we might see in May or June mixed together. Again, nothing spectacular in the bite, but still really a bonus to go out on the water and get species like these!
One of the best spots was at the south end of Cerralvo Island. We found some mackerel in the area which is great candy-bait for these fish but also trolling deep-running crank baits like the Rapala 15’s and 30’s worked some of these big fish up.
Hopefully the winds stay down, but generally the windy months continue until March. We’ll keep you posted!
HERE WE COME PORTLAND SPORTSMANS SHOW!
One of our funnest shows and the largest in the Pacific Northwest, we’ll be in Portland this week from Wednesday to Sunday in the Tailhunter booth! We’re looking forward to seeing you!
Here we come Portland! Jill and I will be bringing the new Tailhunter booth plus new shirts and brochures to the Portland Expo Center this week. We’ll be at the Pacific Northwest Outdoor Show from Wednesday to Sunday. Here’s more info and how to get discount tickets:
This is the largest show in the Pacific Northwest and massively huge with tons of stuff for the whole family to see. Come say hi and check out the new t-shirts and brochures and let’s chat about fishing in La Paz this year!
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jilly
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
Turn up the sound! This is some incredible video of what it can be like trying to fish right now. This is normally calm-flat Bahia de Los Muertos. Folks get sometimes upset and disappointed when I try to tell them why this is off-season for fishing.
Robert Hutton hosts another big jack aboard.
Despite the crazy weather, bravo to Robert Hutton who still wanted to go out two days and did remarkably well with big jacks, cabrilla and a few other other species fishing both days with Captain Armando
Cold and Windy Days Mark the Week
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 22-29, 2017
I guess I could fib a bit and finally say fishing was great and conditions are great, but that wouldn’t be true and definitely not do anyone any good. I’d rather be up-front. It was cold. It was windy. There were waves. Even locals hunkered down a bit.
But, I keep getting asked why, it’s like this and why the fishing reports sound repetitive. It’s like this because IT’S WINTER! It’s ALWAYS like this in winter. It’s windy. It’s cold. That’s why it’s called W-I-N-T-E-R. From December to about March or so, this is how it can be. It’s not like winter in say, Canada or Montana or anywhere like that, but relatively speaking, we think it’s kinda chilly when it’s in the high 60’s in the day and down to 50 at night. That’s kinda chilly for those of us south of the border. To our snowbirds that are in town, that are visiting from Massachusetts or Colorado, it’s wonderful and sunny. It beats being in the snow, right?
However, not so good being on the water.
Anyway, despite the less than stellar conditions, we did have some folks who wanted to brave the elements. I was surprised by how well they did. In addition to bonito, some huge yellowtail jacks (not THE yellowtail), smaller pargo, snapper and even some small dorado, we almost had two marlin baited. All of these were pretty much close to shore since we couldn’t get too far out anyway. But, given the weather situation and the time of year, I’m surprised we’ve got marlin and dorado around. But that’s encouraging.
The weather forecast looks to be improving for the coming week, but normally, this is gonna be like this off-and-on until about March or April.
WHALEWATCHING SEASON ROCKING IT!
Our annual whale watching season is in full swing and we’re making daily trips out to Bahia Magdalena at Lopez Mateos where the whales migrate to and hang out every year from January to March. It’s a great family outing to visit the whales in the shallow warm waters for the bay. Contact me directly for more info and how we can set you up. Jonathan@tailhunter.com
THANKS WASHINGTON – TAILHUNTER TOUR MOVES TO OREGON NOW!
Turn up the volume. A quick video of some of the action at our Tailhunter booth at the Washington State Sportsman’s Show this past week!
We had another fantastic 5-day show at the Washington State Fairgrounds this past week. Great to see so many old amigos and we’re looking forward to so many coming to see us again in La Paz to come fish. Here’s some quick shots of some of the fun and friends.
We’re now headed to the awesome Pacific Northwest Sportman’s Show. It’ll be at the Portland Expo Center and this is massive. It’s the largest show in the Pacific NW and it’s huge. Incredible things for the whole family. Come visit us and let’s chat about visiting La Paz this year!
Dave Rose and his family have been part of the Tailhunter Tribe for so many years. He and the boys, A.J. and Sean will be visiting us again in August.
Travis Millspaugh and his family visited us for the first time last year. And they’re coming back this October!!!
What a great surprise to have our La Paz friends, Tom and Jeanne Brown suddenly just jump on a plane and show up in Washington to see us!
Jilly shares some special “Tailhunter Brew” with Matt and Darcia Garrett…and that’s how it started…LOL
Karen Egbert just found out her photo from last year with her big roosterfish just showed up on our new tablecloth and our 2017 brochure!
Dan and Lisa Hicks with Sammy…one of our most favorite of families will be visiting us again this September!
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jilly
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
Ashlee Patterson from Massachusetts got out on the water one day and on the flyrod, got this feisty little dorado on light line off Punta Perrico. The fish was released.
MORE WHALES THAN FISHERMEN
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 8-15, 2017
Honestly, not much going on in terms of fishing. It’s still been windy and there’s just not many fishermen in town this time of year or folks wanting to go fishing either. It’s just that time of year…the lull after the holidays. There’s not even that many folks in town.
We did get out fishing a few days. Surprisingly, given it’s winter and chilly, there’s still some dink dorado around, which are usually warm water fish. Nothing big, but still fun. The rest of the catch focused on bonito, some snapper and cabrilla. Mostly inshore species. The nice days on the water are nice…85 degree sunshine. But, if you mis-time it, the north winds can make it blustery so we always check the weather before we go fishing. If you’re coming down, try to be flexible on your fishing days so we can move you around to the best days to give you a better shot and having a fun day.
On the other hand, whalesharks are back in the bay and starting the year with a great opportunity to swim in the shallow waters of La Paz Bay with these “baby” whalesharks that can reach 20′ in length. If you’re interested, contact us directly via e-mail at: Jonathan@tailhunter.com
GRAY WHALE SEASON STARTS!
Speaking of whales, the grey whales have also returned to Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific side so we’ve officially kicked off our 2017 whale watching season at Lopez Mateos. We’re running daily trips to spend a day or two with the whales in the warm waters there. Again, contact us directly at Jonathan@tailhunter.com. It’s a great family trip! Check out the video above. Thanks to amigo, Jorge Romero for the video! “Touch the mama!”
THANK YOU DENVER! HERE WE COME SACRAMENTO!
Set up our new booth Tuesday night in Denver after a crazy drive through the snow and ice of the rockies the two avalanches that blocked the road.
Me, Jilly and Catlyn in the van. This is how we roll for 3 months like road gypsies!
It was a pretty incredible drive into Denver with ice, snow, road closures, several avalanches blocking the highway and generally nasty conditions…but still, through some of the most beautiful and majestic places you’d ever want to see. Nothing like the Colorado Rockies!
John Rader fished with us for the first time last year. Funny guy!
No matter your political views, it’s a funny shirt.
“Doctor” Art Flippin has fished with us a zillion times and is coming back this year to fish in the fall.
Art and Connie Petz are coming to see us for the first time in La Paz . Fun couple!
Matt Deischel brought us a framed and signed photo of his 38.5 pound barred pargo WORLD RECORD he shot and then weighed at our Tailhunter IGFA scale. Massive fish and Matt is an incredible bluewater hunter. Thanks, Matt. We’re honored!
Charter member of the Tailhunter Family, Jeff Sakuda, visits us at least twice a year. He’s a pilot for United and was on a layover in Denver and he came out to see us. Thanks for the Subway Sandwiches, Jeff!
There’s trouble a-foot! Louis Sanchez brings me the traditional “burrito bomb” burrito for me to eat in the van while we’re traveling!
Well, we just finished our first show of the “Tailhunter 2017 Road Tour” with a spectacular time at the Denver Convention Center and the International Sportsman’s Expo. In our 16 years there, I think this was the best show we’ve ever had visiting with lots of friends and making new ones and signing up an incredible number of reservations to book spend time with us in La Paz fishing this year! Thanks, Denver for once again taking such good care of us!
Now onto Sacramento and historically one of the biggest shows of the year for us. We’ll be at the SACRAMENTO STATE FAIRGROUNDS from this Thursday to Sunday in our booth! It’s Jan. 19-22nd. Come say hi and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz. Get one of our new t-shirts and 24-page brochures.
Almost 700 vendors will be there with lots to see for the whole family! Check out the video:
Hope to see you this week!
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jilly
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
Here we go! We’re starting our 2017 Road Tour! Jill and I will be on the road for our 21st year travelling with our booth to all the best and biggest fishing and hunting shows and this week, we kick it off at the Denver Convention Center for the International Sportsmens Expo. It’s Jan. 12-15th. Come see us and let’s talk fishing!
Whalewatching season is finally on! The whales have started arriving at Bahia Magdalena and Tailhunter is running day trips or overnight trips to spend time with these unbelievable creatures! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Ask me about details: Jonathan@tailhunter.com
Whalesharks are now right in La Paz Bay in the shallow water just a few hundred yards from the malecon. We’re running trips to go swim with the whalesharks now. Ask us about this incredible adventure!
MOSTLY INSHORE FISH and WIND to START THE YEAR
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 2-9, 2017
Not much to tell this week. I think the town and visitors were still in “holiday hangover” from Christmas and New Years. Normally, this time of year, the folks who come fishing are walk-in clients off the street. Instead of being anglers who book months in advance who come for a “fishing trip,” these are visitors to town or snowbirds who’d just like a day of fishing.
However, it’s windy this time of year so either we’re up-front and tell them it can be rough and bumpy or the day they want will be so bad, we don’t recommend going out at all. Or, in some cases, they look out at the bay and see all the white-caps they decide to just soak up the 80 degree sun on the beach with a margarita instead. Nothing wrong with that scenario either!
So, just not many folks out fishing.
HERE WE COME DENVER!
We only had about 2 days this past week that were fishable. Inshore is where most of the action was found with cabrilla (sea bass), snapper, barred pargo and jack crevalle. All fun action especially on lighter tackle, but a few of the larger pargo broke off in the rocks even on the heavier gear. Offshore, a few wahoo bit and were lost, but a few of the commercial fishermen landed a couple and also some tuna were hooked. We’ll keep an eye on that. Pretty unusual to see blue-water species like that this time of year!
Tailhunter Sportfishing starts it’s 2017 “road tour” this week. We’ll be at the International Sportsman’s Expo in our booth at the Denver Convention Center from Thursday to Sunday, January 12-15th. Come visit us and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz this year!
It’s winter. Thankfully bonito are still providing action despite a difficult week to fish because of winds.
There’s a reason the wind and kite surfers enjoy our area so much during the winter. It’s the winds. Great for them. Not so good for fishing. Still bright and sunny, however. Temps in the 80’s .
FISH TAKE THE WEEK OFF – WINDS DON’T
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 25, 2016 – Jan. 1, 2017
In the gap between the holidays, I think the fish took the week off like most folks, but maybe they were smart. They hunkered down because it was a windy week. For one, not many folks fishing, but for the most part, many of the folks that come in right now are walk-in clients or snow birds enjoying the sunshine and otherwise great weather (minus the wind). So, they’re only looking for a day of fishing out on the water.
That’s the dicey part because I always want to be up-front. I warn them about this being the off-season and how windy it might be. If they are flexible on dates then we look at the wind forecasts to try to get them the least windy day. But, sometimes, they only have that ONE DAY to fish during their vacation and, if they still want to go out, we do our best to get them some fish or find areas where it’s less choppy or rough. All we can do is try. You definitely can’t catch fish if you have no line in the water.
However, generally speaking, especially during the winter, if there’s storm going on in the SE United States like California, Arizona and Nevada, that wind/ rain pattern will affect the weather in Baja. It was a stormy week in the lower U.S. Ergo, it was windy in La Paz!
So…
Well, we did our best. Four days this week, I recommended not even going out to prospective fishermen. They’d be wasting their money.
Two of the other days, despite our best, the winds still were stronger than we would have liked and the fishermen got bounced around and only caught some bonito and cabrilla and snapper. Still OK fishing, but we wish it could have been better. The last day, again only some bonito and cabrilla and some small dorado.
The weather forecast this coming week actually looks good. One of the least windy weeks in awhile is on tap so hopefully, better fishing. But, for the sunbirds, if you’re not out on the water getting blown around, it’s hard to beat 85 degree sunny weather in La Paz right now.
WHALEWATCHING SEASON STARTING
We are starting out Tailhunter whale watching tours in about 2-3 weeks. From mid-January to March is when the grey whale migration takes place and thousands of whales migrate from the Bering Sea to places like Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific Coast about 3 hours drive from La Paz. We’ll be running day and overnight trips to the bay where the whales spend the winter in the shallow, warm, calm waters. It’s a great once-in-a-life time opportunity to get up close with the whale without having to go out into open waters.
The whales will often come right up to the boats and seem to enjoy the interaction and it’s really a treat to have a baby calf come right up and want to have it’s head scratched! Check with us and we can set you up!
That’s our story! Happy New Year everyone!
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
It’s so hard to get him to smile sometimes, but Captain Archangel goofs with his “big” yellow snapper and some of the tuna his guys caught.
Captain Adolfo with a nice tuna and a big barred pargo for his anglers.
For almost winter, not a bad grade of tuna this week. And close to shore too!
Captain Archangel again with some of Bob Pettit’s guys from Utah and found some decent dorado plus a big dog-tooth snapper and a yellow snapper. Great eating! They brought fish from their first night to Tailhunter Restaurant to have us cook it up.
Utah guys in the house! Captain Armando got Robert Pettit and his aigo a dorado and huge triggerfish.
Early in the week just as I had published our last report, Terry Robinson, had a small window to fish. His first day, was pretty slow, but on day two, he had quite the buffet of fish including a wahoo, big tuna, some cabrilla, snapper and triggerfish. Other wahoo and tuna were lost. Terry is from Idaho.
WINDY WINTER CATCHES ARE UNUSUAL
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 27-Dec. 4, 2016
Apparently, there’s still some warm-water pelagic species running around this late in the season. There’s not many anglers around as this is the “gap” between the holidays and north winds made some days unfishable and provided scratchy fishing at best. However, the few days we got folks out on the water, there were some surprising catches.
Normally, this time of year, the bite is pretty focused on inshore species and colder-water types of fish like cabrilla, pargo, jacks and snapper. Part of the reason, obviously, is that the waters are colder. But, another aspect is that rougher winter conditions, keep us closer to shore fishing the reefs, rocks and sheltered areas.
This past week, it was cloudy and some days were really uncomfortably windy. There was even a bit of rain as well. However, the few days we had anglers out, it surely wasn’t off-the-wall fishing, but they tagged into some surprising catches. These included some nice-grades of yellowfin tuna in the 20-pound-class. Additionally, our captains found some spots of 8-15 pound dorado and even a few wahoo earlier in the week. Throw those into the box with some nice barred pargo, dog-tooth snapper, a cabrilla or two, red snapper and triggerfish and it made for a surprising variety of fish.
Weather this coming week is supposed to clear up with more sunshine, but winds will be increasing also.
That’s our story!
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
A little of this. A little of that. This is pretty typical of what our catch is like now that the seasons are changing. Some bonito, sierra, pargo.
SNOWBIRDS IN TOWN – THE GAP BETWEEN HOLIDAYS
La Paz- Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 20-27, 2016
Hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving week!
Not much going on this past week. Very few folks in town and most of the visitors are from colder climates and these snowbirds are just trying to find some sunshine. They’re not necessarily in town to fish, or snorkel or participate in other water sports…except for the windsurfers who are starting to head towards La Ventana/ El Sargento near Las Arenas. As our winds get strong and stronger, that area in the channel by Cerralvo Island is world-class for wind sports.
As far as our fishing, well, it is indeed getting windier and not the most ideal for fishing. So, you it is what it is if you plan to fish in the off-season. It’s definitely usually sunny, but winds can make it bumpy and/ or limit the areas we can fish and the types of species we can fish for.
Indeed, that’s what happened this week. No big pelagic to report for the first time all season. No dorado. No tuna. No rooster fish. No billfish. So, maybe the warm-water season has finally ended.
Or, maybe it’s just an aberration. When there’s not many boats on the water, a few boats can’t be everywhere at once checking out all spots. So, there could well be spots of big game fish still out there. Or not. As the season goes along and rolls into December, things will get clearer. It’s definitely a transition time right now.
So, what we got were some cargo, cabrilla, sierra and bonito. Pretty much inshore species. For now. We should get a few more folks on the water now that Thanksgiving weekend is over.
BUT WAIT!!!
Don’t close the curtains just yet…
From Twin Falls, Idaho, Terry Robinson had a great day nailing this huge wahoo…losing a few others…tangling with a big dorado for a bit and also getting the wahoo below.
And here’s the nice tuna. Chunky fish for November!
Just as I was putting out this report to make my deadline, we had some of our anglers hit wahoo and tuna! And lost others! So, hold everything. Maybe it’s not over yet!
That’s our story
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor
TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR Top 5 – Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor
Weather – Pleasantly sunny, but cooling off. Days high 80’s. Nights high 60’s (We’re using blankets at night!)
Water – Relatively still warm in the 80’s, but losing visibility as winds starting to churn up the water a bit
Wind – Becoming more of an issue and now getting more northerns. Had to suggest some folks wait a few days to fish because it was too rough outside and gusts blowing double digits.
Fishing Quantity – Lots of dorado if you fished with our La Paz Fleet. Only 1-2 fish per panga at Las Arenas, but they could be 20-50 pounders.
Fishing Quality – The La Paz dorado continue to be dinks…5-10 pounds. The larger wahoo this week were 40-pound class.
Jonathan’s Forecast – Gonna get windier and cooler as we head towards winter. Not hardly anyone on the water anymore.
Jonathan’s Attitude – Grateful and blessed to have reached pretty much the end of our 21st season here. Another year of great memories and so many smiles with all our Tailhunter Tribe.
THE FULL EDITION FISHING REPORT
That’s alot of wahoo meat! Linda Canizzo and Jack Stewart just had one day to fish but put this phat ‘hoo in the boat at Muertos Bay.
First day on the water for L.P. Hieb and his dad, Paul, produced this nice wahoo and a yellowfin tuna. Several other fish were also lost. It was a week where we got wahoo, but there were alot of bite-offs and lost lures. The wahoo were getting smarter!
You can tell the seasons are changing. From Rock Springs, Wyoming, Brandon and Tanya McGarr show off the type of catch we’ll be seeing more of…a mix of offshore/inshore species with the inshore species becoming more prevailant. But a sweet mix of fish including a tuna snapper, pargo, triggerfish and bonito.
Day 2 on the water for L.P and Paul produced a double handful of more wahoo for them out’ve Muertos Bay.
Happy Fella…Jack Steele spends a good part of the year in La Ventana and fishing with Captain Hugo put the wood to another speedy wahoo.
FULL MOON WAHOO PACE CHANGING BITE & CONDITIONS
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 6-13, 2016
Fishing conditions and seasons are definitely changing.
With each passing week, it’s a little cooler…a little breezier…the sun is going down earlier…the shadows are getting longer. But, it’s still a great time to be here with lots of sunshine mixed with an occasional passing localized pleasant afternoon shower. Temperatures have been in the high 80’s and evenings have been great an in the high 60’s. Fewer fishermen are here. Fewer families are here as well now that we’re approaching the holiday season. However, there’s snowbirds coming for vacations or seasonal residents escaping their colder homes to spend the winter here in La Paz.
As for fishing, once again, it seems that the closer we get to the full moon…and during the full moon…the better the fishing. As I mentioned, there’s not many anglers out on the water so you almost have the whole ocean to yourself and, although we’re seeing more and more cooler water fish like sierras, cabrilla, jack crevalle, pargo and rainbow runner, there’s still some great blue water pelagic fishing to be done. And, as I said, without many folks here, you’ve got the fishing grounds pretty much to yourself and not much pressure on the fish!
For our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet, as it has been been pretty much all season, the schoolie-sized dorado are still the main catch. They’re smallish, but fun and provide lots of action. Catch-and-release has been very common because you can hook way over your limit in short order. Anglers get enough for their limits and coolers or for dinner and then keep fishing just for fun and letting the extra fish go.
Most of the dorado continue to be 5-10 pounds, but occasionally, there’s a 15 or 20 pounder makes it in. Often, there’s so many “squirts” they don’t give the bigger fish a chance to grab the bait! In those same areas, there’s still some marlin and sailfish feeding as well providing the occasional hookups.
For our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet out’ve Muertos Bay, I was really surprised that we are still getting so many wahoo! In fact, almost every day, our pangas were hooking 1-5 wahoo each. Of course, that’s a generalization. It changed from day-to-day. Howver… Maybe getting 1 or 2 to the panga, but these are quality 20-40 pound fish! Great fun and great eating. Experienced anglers are getting even better scores.
One thing…we’ve been seeing wahoo almost all year. Now that we’re at the end of the year, I think the wahoo have gotten a little more clever. We’re sure losing alot more fish than before…even for our veteran anglers. I think the wahoo have learned to hit the trolled Rapalas from the side thereby cutting the lines. Rods go bendo then ZIP!!! Just like that, the lure is gone in a snap.
As well, there’s still flurries of 20-30 pound yellowfin tuna hanging out as well and willing to eat the chunked squid drifted down on a bare hook in the current.
No real roosterfish to speak of this week, but not really anyone chasing roosterfish this time of year. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t still out there. It’s just the wahoo and tuna have gotten (understandably) most of the focus.
But, with the cooling conditions, we’re seeing alot more variety. A little more of this and that and more inshore species. For sure, winds have become more and more of an issue and there were several days this week that we recommended that the clients stay in and wait a day or two before going out on the water.
It’s going to be coming more common as the north winds increase.
TAILHUNTER DONATION NATION
All the way from Alaska, Lonn and Emma Goldbeck brought down school supplies and toothbrushes along with some great smiles. Lonn is a guide for Hellbent Sportfishing in Alaska. Emma is a school teacher.
End of the season big shout out to EVERYONE all year who brought down so many good and great things for our families and kids in the barrio and the orphanage as well as the women’s shelter. Grateful beyond words at what a difference you made in other’s lives and the smiles you all created. I’m sorry that I also didn’t get Brandon and Tanya McGarr’s photo for this week’s donations!
…and one more big thank you from us
Well…eleven months later, it looks like we’ve come to the end of another season here in La Paz. If anyone is counting, I believe that wraps up 21-years! Jill has already left for the states and I’ll be following in a few days to start getting ready to hit the road on our annual tour of the fishing and hunting shows from late December to the end of March.
We have alot to do now to get the booth together…print out a zillion t-shirts…and brand new 24-page brochure…re-build a new website and find all our winter clothes in storage! I’ll post up all the cities we’ll be visiting in a report in a few weeks. I believe we hit 14 cities in 2017 so I hope we see you there!
But before we pull the curtain down, a few parting words…
You can still come to fish. Our awesome staff will take good care of you in our absence.
The Tailhunter Restaurant is ALWAY open and the margaritas and tacos will still be waiting for you along with our great Tailhunter Team so don’t be shy!
Finally, NOTHING happens without you and because of YOU! We are blessed to do what we do and honored that you share your special vacations and Kodak moments with us. We are beyond grateful. How many jobs can claim that “most of our clients also become our friends?” Thank you all. God bless and best fishes!
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jilly
TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL
La Paz, Baja, Mexico
Mexico office: 755 Obregon, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
Phone: 612-12-53311
U.S. Office Mailing Address: 8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178, La Mesa CA 91942
This was done really really early in the morning after we had put out our boats and I did NOT wear my day-glow green shirt this time!
THE ABBREVIATED FISHING REPORT
Weather – Nice. High 90’s day/ high 60’s night Very pleasant. Getting cooler. Had two days quite windy
Water – Blue and generally clear. Surface temps in the mid-80’s. But cooling down with the weather
Las Arenas Bite – The fish were twice as big. But not many. Tuna and wahoo main targets. Lost more fish than we should.
La Paz Bite – All the little dorado you want. Can be like a fish pond. Releasing lots. Some marlin still around.
Forecast – Really tapering off. Gone from 20-40 fishermen a day to 4-8 per day. Holidays approaching. More snowbirds. and folks who just look for some sunshine and not necessarily here for water sports. Town is nicely quiet!
Whalesharks – Got 3-8 right out in front in 10 feet of water. Mostly 10-15 foot “babies” but there’s a few 20-30 footers too! Fun swimming with them!
Quote of the Week – “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can by a fishing rod and that’s pretty much the same thing!”
THE WHOLE ENCHILADA EDITION FISHING REPORT
Now THIS is a good day! Jorge Romero with Captain Ramon “Moncho” Green stuck 6 nice tuna out’ve Muertos Bay using squid.
Rusty Cain has made two trips with us this year and loves fishing with Captain Armando. He got his first tuna and he also nailed this fat speedy wahoo as well!
Our great fun family from Washington, the Millspaughs spent the whole week fishing with us. Check out the variety here…tuna…wahoo…roosterfish…dorado. Left to right, we have Tanner, Travis, Kendell and Julie. They tried to release the rooster, but couldn’t.
Captain Gerardo poses with Kirsten Ettner and Mike Hanson from Oregon and a couple of their Muertos Bay tuna!
Our San Francisco buddy, Paul Nagata visits us each year…sometimes twice a year and poses with one of the heavier tuna of the week.
New amigo from the Bay Area, Scott Evans was always smiling and fished hard despite the tougher bite. He’s all smiles here with one of his tuna.
Captain Armando with Justin Thomas from San Diego fishing with his father-in-law, Rusty Cain from Lemoore, CA. For each of them, it was their first tuna!
The Millspaugh family again with another fun day’s catch of tuna! That’s alot of fillets! They took 6 ice chests of fish home with them after a week on the water.
Captain Jorge holds up Scott’s tuna while he sneaks in a little peck on the cheek!
That’s a hefty chunk of tuna for Travis Millspaugh. The fish this week were definitely bigger…and tougher!
Paul didn’t get many tuna this week, but at least they were quality fish like this tuna with Captain Jorge.
END OF SEASON – FEWER FISH…BIGGER FISH!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 23-30, 2016
Now that we’ve come to the end of the month, I can say to all doubters…the best bite of the month took place during the full moon! We had some pretty great conditions this past week, but it seemed that the further we got away from the full moon the pickier the fish got. Still, everyone got bit. Everyone took home fish. The action just wasn’t as heady as it had been the previous week or the week before. In many respects, the fish were bigger…twice a big as before! But only half as many fish were caught which meant some days some anglers didn’t get anything while their buddy caught one or two fish!
Also, water are getting cooler. We’re coming up on the end of the season and conditions are changing. We’re getting cooler water fish like amberjack and sierra and the winds are also noticeably just a little stronger from the north week-by-week.
LA PAZ FISHING
For the most part, not much changed. I almost don’t even count the fishing anymore. The dorado are there. They have been there for months. Some days all you want. And more! You can catch easily limits by noon. Stay out longer and catch-and-release many more.
The problem is, they’re relatively all small fish. Five pound mahi up to maybe 10 pounds. If you wanna bring the kids or the family or don’t have much experience this is awfully fun and sometimes frantic with double and triple hookups. Fill your cooler!
On the other hand, after a day-or-two, most folks have the “cake” and go for the larger and more elusive fish at Las Arenas.
There are billfish out there still. Mostly eating the smaller dorado. Sent one panga out specifically only for marlin and they hooked four and lost 3 after nice fights.
LAS ARENAS/ MUERTOS BAY
In a word…the fish got twice as big this week. But, there were less than half-as-many!
Basically, whereas we were catching 3, 4…6 ten-to-fifteen-pound tuna before, this week the fish were 20-35 pounds, but the boats only averaged 1-3 fish each. Sometimes not even that. But, these were definitely bigger, heartier and feistier fish. I can only think what the counts would be like if so many fish had not been lost. But, alot were lost!
Several reasons for that…
1. Tougher fish and bigger fish
2. Lack of experience (all part of the fun!)
3. Danged triggerfish (we’re using chunked squid for bait. The triggerfish dive bomb the squid. Their teeth nick up the line. Then a tuna bites. The line snaps under pressure!)
Same with the wahoo. The fish are definitely there and we got a couple. But lost so many more. Seems like the fish are bigger and surely more vicious. Or maybe just smarter. We’re losing alot of trolling lures the past few weeks to fish that seem to know how to hit the lines from the side…or something! Only getting maybe 1 for every four fish that we hooked.
Other species included some late-season rooster fish; scattered dorado; bonito; lots of triggerfish; sierra and even an amberjack. A few marlin hooked too and lost.
TAILHUNTER DONATION NATION
Check out all the sports gear and bags and bags of pencils and pens from Paul Nagata and Scott Evans. Some cool medical supplies as well and backpacks! Jilly jumps into the photo.
Always fun to have them visit, Al Jones and Jeanne Sheasby brought a load of much needed school supplies for us!
Out with a bang! If this is about the end of our season, there was surely no end to the generosity of our Tailhunter Tribal family who continued to bring so many goods for our supported charities. Thanks to all of you and a special shout-out to Vic Patton, Joe Barrera and Tom Maher who brought a huge bag of clothes I could barely carrry it. I didn’t get a chance to take their photo and give them the proper props. You guys rock! Muchas gracias!
That’s our story!
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
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Tailhunter Fish Report 