La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for March 11-20, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Omar and Fay live in La Paz and took the afternoon to fish with Captain Pancho and had a good few hours on the water with nice-sized cabrilla and a trio of yellowtail using yo-yo jigs.
If the conditions are right, limits of slugger yellowtail were not uncommon. Jimmy got these at south point.
Our amigo..Jimmy Williams got out on a flat day before the winds and was able to make it over to Cerralvo Island and took a limit of yellowtail including some big-shouldered ones like this one that jumped on a live sardine.
Nothing but smiles for Paco. He’s taking home this yellowtail headed for the grill.
An uptick in the winds and chillier weather chased off alot of the local folks that were fishing earlier in the month. No question, there was much less traffic on the water. Not so many vacation anglers around, but many locals had been fishing getting in on the good yellowtail bite we’ve had over the last few weeks.
However, in those interim moments when winds slacked off, yellowtail to 25 pounds were still to be found…sometimes alot of them…in the usual hot spots around the backside of Cerralvo Island as well as south point of the island over the high spots. As well, fish were taken just outside of Bahia Muertos and ranging up towards the lighthouse at Punta Arenas following the beach to the north.
The fish took a combination of live sardines; slow trolled lures or yo-yo jigs. Lots of fish getting lost in the rocks. The strong fish need to be turned quickly to keep them from heading back to their structure.
On the windier days or when it’s difficult to get to the yellowtail spots, there’s some occasional dorado biting, but inshore along the shallows, especially over the reefs and rocks, there’s a decent bite of nice-sized cabrilla mixed with snapper, jacks, pargo and sierra.
Town is getting a little more crowded, but mostly just folks coming for Spring Break or Easter vacations. Not many fishermen visiting yet.
FIELD & STREAM
First issue 1899…a different time.
Just 35 cents in 1963!
…and 2014…times have changed!
We were recently interviewed by one of the most iconic outdoor publications, Field & Stream, which has been in print for over 100 years. It was pretty cool. The interview was published about a week ago. Here’s a link to the edition. Hope you enjoy it.
We were not able to do our usual shows these past 3 months because they were all cancelled. However, bookings have been coming in heavy to make reservations for this 2021 fishing season. Many dates are already sold out or your favorite captains have already been taken. Don’t miss out. Get in touch with us ASAP so we make sure we have you covered. You can write me directly at tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com.
La Paz/ Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos Fishing Report for Feb. 18-27, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST OF THE STORY…
Jim and his buddy live in Los Barriles and came all the way up to get in on the yellowtail bite. Fishing with Captain Moncho they got a great load of yellowtail, cabrilla and even some surprise dorado.
Fishing with Captain Pancho, Dr. Santiago is a physician in La Paz and he and Pancho stuffed the fish box with some legit yellowtail on the backside of Cerralvo Island.
Our own popular Captain “Fettucini” Alfredo Gaxiola got out with his wife to fish around Cerralvo Island on one of the calmer days and he nailed this horse of a trophy cabrilla.
Lots of boats were on the hot spots at the backside of Cerralvo Island taking yellowtail like Dr. Santiago’s fish.
Our own Tailhunter amigos and popular favorite van drivers, Jorge and Esteban Romero took the spinning rods out to Bahia Muertos with the plastic jigs and took home a cooler full of tasty snapper and cabrilla. All fishing from the beach and rocks.
Relatively speaking the winds cut us some slack again this past week and we probably had the best week of fishing in the last 2 or so months. While the United States was largely wrapped in ice and snow, things were reversed in La Paz which is normally windy and generally quite windy this time of year making it difficult to fish.
With temps in the high 70’s to low 80’s, sunny skies and mostly moderate seas, anglers were able to get in on that hot yellowtail bite that’s been going on for the better part of two weeks. There aren’t many tourist anglers as this is off-season, but captains, their families and locals from La Paz and as far as Los Barriles (the East Cape) far to the south were jumping on boats to get on top of these fish. Last weekend on Saturday, as many as 80 pangas and other assorted vessels were sitting on the honey-holes taking limits. On Sunday fewer fish with about half the boats counted. But, that’s to be expected when there’s that much traffic on the water. However…
It’s maybe one of the best yellowtail bite we’ve see in years with fish running 10-25 pounds and taking a variety of jigs including yo-yo and knife jigs plus sardines when around. Some reported larger fish are also being lost as these fish are generally in heavy structure and the waters are not especially deep. Therefore, if you can’t turn their heads, these bruising fish are busting anglers off in the rocks.
Hot spots included the areas around Bahia Muertos (Suenos) up to Punta Perrico and then to the areas just around the Las Arenas lighthouse at Castilla. Another spot that has been on fire is Los Pilis which up the backside of Cerralvo Island about 2/3 of the way up the island. One of our Tailhunter captains counted “at least” 40 boats there one day.
But, the travel has been worth it. Boats are landing limits or near limits of the feisty fork tails. I saw photos of the parking lot at Muertos and you would think there was a rock concert going on. There were no parking spaces with all the trucks, cars, boat trailers and vans parked there.
Additionally, there have been white bonito (tasty) plus jack crevalle, cabrilla, snapper, Sierra and pargo mixed in as well.
The biggest surprise was that a few respectable tuna have mixed in and some wahoo and dorado also showed up this week. These are normally warmer water fish and we don’t see these until later in the year unless these are hold-over fish from last season.
At the time of this writing, winds were already starting to ramp up again so hopefully the return of the winds doesn’t knock the bite back down. We know the fish are surely there!
SHALLOW WATER…LIGHT TACKLE…Great results!
Not much going on right now for driving so everyone’s favorite guy and driver, Jorge Romero went out a 2nd day later in the week. In the photos above, he was just out walking the beach with his brother, Esteban. This time he got out on one of the pangas. Still recovering from neck surgery he had at the end of last season, he didn’t want to try tangling with a big yellowtail, tuna or dorado…doctor’s orders! However…
He got in a quick 4 hour trip. It was late in the afternoon. There was not even live bait available. But using dead bait and poppers on light line and light tackle, he had a pretty epic day. All in shallow water close to shore in and over the rocks. A big pompano and lots of feisty tasty cabrilla in the box!
Trophy pompano for Jorge. We usually don’t see these guys until later spring, but I guess some warm water has moved in. These are fun fighters and make great table fare…especially sashime!
This is an epic day on light tackle in shallow water! The cabrilla heads are especially prized for soup and the meat is tender white and highly prized.
Cabrilla that fell to a surface popper.
GOOD NEWS ON COVID FRONT
This past week, the authorities lowered the covid restrictions from orange (level 4) to yellow (level 3).
This allows all work activities again with occupancy increased from 40% to 50% for places like hotels, restaurants and other businesses. The La Paz Malecon has been re-opened with restricted hours that will be monitored.
Also, since the CDC implemented the new rules requiring all international travellers entering or returning to the U.S. (like American tourists coming home from Mexico) to show evidence of a negative covid test within 72 hours of travel, Mexico has really ramped up it’s efforts to construct facilities at hotels, airports, and around the various cities, especially those that see a large influx of international travel.
After one month, Cabo San Lucas (where most folks fly to get to us) has had more than 60,000 international travelers. Of that, only 50 persons tested positive and none of them ended up exhibiting symptoms.
They were not allowed to fly, but hotels now have special discounted rooms, dining and services for those that get detained. They are given a new covid test every 2 days and as soon as they test negative, they are allowed to leave!
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/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 4-12, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Crazy variety for a few hours of morning fishing for Fernando, his brother and son. On the rack…dorado, big sierra, snapper, pargo liso and cabrilla.
They’re early! The big pargo liso (mullet snapper) normally don’t start schooling up until spring-time but they’re already here and hunkered in the rocks and reefs and will bust you up!
It’s January, but yes, those are wahoo on the cutting board along with dorado, cabrilla and tasty white bonito.
Some big sierra crusing around right now like this tasty fella caught by amigo, Gary Wagner, from his Rancho Costa there in Bahia Muertos.
Nothing wrong with these items. Tasty cabrilla (Mexican seabass) posed with Jason and Alisa..
Not many folks fishing post-holidays, but town is pretty busy with escapees from the colder weather in the U.S. and Canada. However, this contrary to the gusting winds normally associated with this time of year, there were some incredibly pretty days right out’ve a postcard this past week. Winds settled, skies cleared and day-time temps reached into the 70’s. We could not have asked for better weather and a great window to get on the water.
That being said, it allowed folks to get out in the bay to swim with the whalesharks finally. The shallow water just inside the bay has been holding 6-10 baby whalesharks to swim with, but often it’s too windy and choppy to find them.
With the fishing, it’s been confusing and mixed…in a good way!
Normally, this time of year, when we can get out, we’re hitting mostly cold-water species inshore because well, the waters are cooler and it’s often too rough to get too far out.
However, not only did anglers find the cooler water species like cabrilla, snapper and some unusually big sierra, but a bit crazy because they also hit dorado, white bonito, wahoo and even a few marlin were seen and hooked!
This is indicative of some warm water still holding over so maybe these species will stick around. It’s making for a great variety of fish. Also with abundant sardines for bait, the fish are ready to chew.
One noticeably event seems to be that the big pargo liso (mullet snapper) that we don’t see until later in the spring have already shown up and are schooling over the rocky areas like Cerralvo Island and Punta Perrico. These tough fish are really difficult to wrestle out’ve the rocks and can test both angler and his gear, but are spectacular fighters and great eating and look like giant goldfish.
Also, flights are now coming in directly from the United States to La Paz now for the first time in 14 years. American Airlines from Dallas and Phoenix has been bringing folks now for almost a month.
Nice to have American Airlines now flying directly from Phoenix and Dallas to La Paz. First time we’ve had direct flights in over a decade. No more long drives up from Cabo. The flights have been very popular since they started a month ago. Easy flights into the uncrowded La Paz Airport then it’s just a few minutes to your hotel.
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/ Bahia Suenos for Week of Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Yup…those are yellowfin tuna! Only the 2nd batch of tuna we have seen all season in a STRANGE year! Leif Dover from Atlanta GA and Mark Bronge from Los Angeles CA went south almost to the northern east cape to find the fish as well as a nice dorado and a big triggerfish. The next day, winds came up and they weren’t able to get to the spot again.
Surprising to still find roosterfish this late in the season, but Mark caught and released his first rooster just off Punta Perrico.
Our amigo, Gary Wagner, from Colorado loves to fish the twilight bite when staying at his Rancho Costa Resort in Muertos and shows off a tasty barred pargo.
Captain Alfredo helps Alla Cazier from Arizona on her first trip to La Paz and found some nice dorado north of La Paz.
Oh yea, this is the right kind! Leif has a big dog-tooth snapper on the gaff caught the last of 6 days on the water with us.
If you find the right spot, the dorado can go nuts! First day success for Leif and Mark with some good-looking mahi on the cutting table.
Well…we can definitely tell the seasons are changing. The air temps are getting cooler with the highs this last week a really comfortable 85 on the average and really pleasant evenings.
However, with the change in temperature, we’re also getting more winds, especially the north winds that blow from about November to April that can make fishing a little bumpy and choppy. It can also hinder our ability to get to certain fishing holes and even to get to the places where we get live bait.
That’s what happened this past week. We had 2-3 days of pretty good windy conditions and whitewater on the ocean. For better-or-worse, not too many folks fishing this week which will be typical as we get closer to the holidays. More snowbirds looking for sunshine coming to town than anglers. More walk-in anglers to our offices and folks just looking for one day of fishing out on the water.
All that being said, there was still some excellent fishing to be had. Some boats did better than others. Some area were much more productive than others.
Our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet had the most variety.
We actually got into some tuna…finally…after almost an entire season with no tuna. The guys had to run really far, however. They went south almost to the north end of the East Cape. They made it one day, but then after that, it was too windy to get there on subsequent days.
Still, there were some legit 10-20 pound dorado, cabrilla, snapper, jack crevalle, bonito, several types of pargo and we even got one big dog-tooth snapper as well pulled out’ve the rocks.
For our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet, several days, it was simply too windy. All whitecaps and rough water. However, there’s dorado right in the bay around where the big tanker ships are anchored off Punta Prieta only about 5 minutes from where we launch. There’s also sierra under those big boats.
Outside, seeing more marlin although we couldn’t get any of them to bite this week.
This coming week, it’s going to be breezy again, but not as bad as last week.
END OF YEAR SPECIALS TO LA PAZ
If you’ve got a bad case of “cabin fever” after a year like this, how about a quick getaway to come see us in La Paz?
We’ll customize whatever you want to do. Trips as low as $899 per person (double occupancy). Take a look at this sample:
4 days in La Paz
3 night water-facing room
2 days panga fishing
Fishing includes: boat/ skipper/ tackle/ ice/ fish cleaning/ breakast/ lunch/ soft drinks and water/ shuttles to the boats/ all taxes
Based up availability
WHALE WATCHING SEASON COMING UP!
Don’t miss out on some “COASTAL DISTANCING!”
Our 2021 Whale Watching season is coming up soon. Prime dates are mid-January to March and spots are filling fast! We can set up daily trips from La Paz or multi-day trips to Lopez Mateos to get several days spent with these beautiful creatures! A fantastic family experience in the calm waters or Bahia Magdalena. Let us set you up with an entire package and maybe even get in some fishing too! Get in touch with us directly: tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 18-26, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Well-deserved thumbs-up from Captain Jorge and Jeff Sakuda who finally got his wahoo on his birthday! You can see the purple Rapala Xrap dangling from the wahoo’s mouth. Jeff also had a really nice week on dorado too. See photos below.
Our friends from Henderson NV, Gary and Lois Tsunoda had a great week on dorado and pose for one-day’s catch on the beach at Bahia Muertos. The fish were definitely larger this week.
In 25 years in La Paz, I’ve only seen maybe one other white marlin caught. Captain Pancho and Leif Dover caught and released this one near Las Arenas. They also caught a mess of dorado and released many of them as well.
John Washington is another of our favorite Nevada amigos. In fact, he and his wife have visited us twice in the last 6 weeks! John got himself a nice late-season roosterfish here that he released. More of their photos below. I think they must have caught about 8 different species.
Now that’s color for you! A fresh bull dorado with Marianne Sugawara and her favorite Captain Jorge.
They didn’t catch ALOT of any one species, but Captain Gerardo got Arla and John Washington on a bunch of different species. On the table, I see dorado, jack crevale, triggerfish, snapper, cabrilla and bonito.
Nothing like those first bites early in the morning on your first day fishing, right-off-the-bat. Nice legit bull dorado in the boat for Jeff and Captain Jorge.
Dorado are incredibly colorful sportfish. Lois Tsunoda has another one to put in the box! She went home with alot of bags of fish!
Some tasty cabrilla headed for the dinner table at his resort in Muertos, Gary Wagner owner of the Rancho Costa.
A good first day on the water for Leif (from Atlanta GA) and Mark (from California)
Alex Grant lives in San Francisco, but stopped in La Paz on his way to go fishing in Florida so we got him on the water for one day and he ran into the dorado schools as well.
A “decent” day of fishing! Jeff and Marianne Sakuda with Captain Jorge on their first of 3 days of fishing showing dorado, pargo and cabrilla!
Despite a few bumps during the week like a bit of drizzle; some wind days; and some bumpy oceans…most of the week was pretty good and for fishing turned into one of the better fishing weeks of the season.
With water temps running about 85 degrees and air temperatures about 95, the dorado really came on strongly. Limits of not unusual.
For our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet, limits were not only unusual, but often folks caught and then had to release so many dorado, they sometimes were back to the beach before lunch. Most of the fish were school-sized 5 to 15 pounders, but lots of fun, especially on light tackle or for first-timers. About half the fish hooked were released either because boxes were already full or folks were only keeping the larger fish.
For our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet, there weren’t as many dorado, but the dorado were some of the largest of the season. No big monsters, but fish were 10-25 pounders…a size we hadn’t seen in many months. Areas included the buoys, Punta Perrico and south towards Los Alamos. But, the schools could honesty show up anywhere. There were a few days when it was bumpy and windy and our anglers had to fish inshore for pargo, snapper and cabrilla, but overall, most folks fish several days with us and they made of for the slow days on their other days when they stacked up the larger dorado.
Additionally, there was always the chance of wahoo as well. Not many wahoo caught, but the fish were definitely there. Maybe one panga per day got a wahoo on the average. The dark Rapalas and dark Nomads were the best lures. The downside was that if you went trolling for wahoo and they didn’t bite, it was often too late to go chase anything else so you stood the chance of missing out on something else to put in the box.
There’s still some 5-20 pound roosterfish around plus a few marlin biters that we haven’t seen in a bit…and there are always rockfish to chase as well.
Just a heads-up that as typical this time of year, the winds are getting strong and from the north. Once these get pretty consistent, waters can start to cool; get rougher; and change the complexion of the fishing. Looking at the forecast for the coming week, several days this week will have strong north winds. It is definitely cooler. Fall is in the air.
2021 FILLING FAST – STILL OPENINGS FOR 2020 WHILE FISH BITE!
Our 2021 bookings are filling fast so check your calendars and don’t wait. We will NOT be attending any of the sportsmans shows this year, as far as we know. It could change, but most have been canceled. So, don’t wait to see us at a show! Get in touch with us. Some dates are already sold out. We still have spots open for this year so how about a quick get-away before the holidays? Write me directly: Jonathan@tailhunter.com!
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 