La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 11-20, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Mostly sunny in the low to mid-80’s in the day time. Evenings comfortable mid-60’s. Great time for the holidays and all the snow-birds visiting. The problem has been the winds blowing 15-25 knots from the north. Some gusts stronger. Important to choose your activities accordingly. If you’re going to do something, do it in the mornings before winds get stronger
WATER: Cooler and rougher. If the wind is blowing, very choppy. Heading north out’ve La Paz Bay can be wet and bouncy at best. Impossible at worst.
FISH HOOKED: Dorado, bonito, sailfish, jack crevalle, pargo, cabrilla, snapper.
BAIT AVAILABILTY: Erratic. If winds are blowing and it’s rough, the bait guys have a hard time getting live bait and you should plan on a day of trolling or using dead or frozen bait.
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
First stop of the morning for Michael Novotny who had just pulled out for the day and had this pretty dorado hit a trolled feather!
Miles Wagner staying with his dad in Bahia Muertos at Costa Rancho got this nice pargo liso (mullet snapper) to come out’ve the rocks, but not without a tough battle to be sure. Punta Perico in the background. Seas looking a little choppy too! Miles is from Colorado Spring CO.
If there’s fish around, Kevin Shiotano is a fish magnet! He had some rough windy days, but did get a day where the dorado blew up on him. Check out the cleaning table!
Sailfish in November? Almost unheard of, but Michael Novotny hooked this big sail while fishing with Captain Arcangel and they were able to also release the fish.
Our amigo, Gary Wagner fishing with Captain Hugo got one of the nice spawning pargo liso just offshore. Great eating! Gary owns the famous Giggling Marlin Bar and Restaurant in Cabo.
Not many folks fishing right now. Most of the folks arriving in town were here either for the big Baja 1000 race that filled town for a week of race teams and fans or they’re snow birds looking for some sunshine and not necessarily in town to be fishing, or participating in other water sports.
But, we did have some folks on boats. However, most were folks who were flexible on their days or were locals who could pick and choose specific dates when the winds weren’t blowing as hard.
That’s the key. The seasons have changed for the rougher and this weather with strong northern winds is pretty typical during the winter months when it can often make it worthless to even try being on the water.
However, there are some windows and if you can take advantage of those or get your fishing done early before the winds kick in.
We actually got some late-season dorado. Nothing huge, but fun-sized 10-20 pound class fish. Even if the winds might be a little more blustery than wanted, fishing inshore over the rocks is producing some jacks, mullet snapper (pargo liso), cabrilla, sierra and bonito (great to cutting and using for bait).
Surprisingly, we also got a few hookups on sailfish which is very unusual for this time of year.
If you’re planning to go out just be aware that winds could blow you out or force you back to shore sooner than you want. It can also affect whether live bait will be available. If not, you’ll either be trolling or using dead or frozen bait.
BAHIA MADGALENA FISHING
We had some of our good clients out at Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific Coast out fishing with us. Bahia Magdalena (Mag Bay) is about 4 hours drive from La Paz and our guides fish inshore in the zillion miles of mangroves. They also fish offshore on the seamounts.
Mike Jennings and his amigos fished 2 days offshore sticking great fun with tuna and dorado then a day inshore in the shallows in the mangroves for numerous species including, pargo, snapper, spotted bay bass, corvina and others.
BAJA 1000 OFF ROAD RACE
This year the annual BAJA 1000 Race started in La Paz and for the better part of a week, town was filled with thousands of fans; off-road race teams from all over the world and all the festivities that go along with it.
It was pretty much a full-party on the Malecon waterfront 24 hours-a-day with revving motors, crowds, music and more. The drivers and teams are like rock-stars and it was quite an event with the Malecon closed for miles.
FISHING in 2024 BOOKINGS COMING IN FAST!
We’ve been in La Paz now almost 30 years and are coming off one of the best fishing seasons in 2023. Just a heads-up that our bookings for 2024 are really filling things up quickly with reservations coming in daily.
If you want to come visit this year or have a favorite captains or hotel, don’t wait. Get in touch with me directly: jonathan@tailhunter.com
I can check our availabilties before we get filled up. We don’t want to miss you. We’ll customize a special fishing vacation package for you, your friends, family or group!
Right now, we have great openings and boats available:
April 16-30
May 1-8
May 22-31
June 1-12
June 25-30
July 1-31
Aug. 1-11
September 1-30
October 1-24
Hope to hear from you and let’s get you fishing in 2024.
That’s our story! Have a safe, happy and peaceful Thanksgiving and holidays!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 24-30, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER – After taking it out on us by sending us Hurricane Norma the blast away at Baja, the subsequent weather was mild by comparison. Windy at times, but mostly sunny. Definitely cooler.
WATER – Mostly a mess. So much runoff from the heavy rains that waters looked like chocolate milk. It got a little better reluctantly each day, but water temps remained on the cooler side. One encouraging thing is the tons of debris in the water. Good habitat for dorado.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK – Not real great, and it took awhile to even have fishable conditions, but we did hook some dorado, sailfish, tuna, bonito. Not alot and not super, but not better than expected after such a tremendous storm.
TAILHUNTER LA PAZ FLEET – The whole bay and outlying waters were a mess of debris and dirty silty water that took awhile to clear up and is still slowly improving. The big problem is that the marinas sustained serious damages and there are many boats sunk. Fortunately, we had pulled all our boats out’ve the water. However, the ramps were destroyed so we couldn’t put our boats back in the water, even if we wanted to. Oh, and no live bait to be found was no help either. And it looks like those pesky north winds are starting up.
TAILHUNTER LAS ARENAS FLEET – Like everywhere else, waters were dirty and turned over. No bait to speak of. But, we had a few exploratory trips and at first nothing more than bonito, but then thing improved. And using dead bait and chunked bonito, some of the dorado started biting again.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT –
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Ryan Brockway is a guide and owner of several lodges up in Vancouver, but still came down to fish after the hurricane and we’re happy he got into some dorado action his last day!
Check out the huge sailfish that Sara Jenkins hooked with Captain Pancho. Son, Ryder lends a hand. Sara fought this on light tackle the whole time and then made a great release as well!
Still a few tuna hanging out. Brandon Cowhey with a great photo of a chunky YFT!
Ryder…9 years old…Love to see this. Great form! This young man loves to fish. His 2nd trip to see us!
Ryan Jenkins was able to get out a few days just before Hurricane Norma dropped in on us and was able to get into some nice dorado biters!
More than a few ended up on the beach.
Many of the owners aren’t in La Paz which complicates the clean-up. Lots of boats piled right onto the Malecon by the fierce winds and waves of Hurrican Norma.
Lots of things in La Paz got turned upside down like these beach palapas after almost 3 days of battering. Fortunately, no reports of injuries.
All the marinas are a mess of sunken and damaged watercraft and trash.
Clean-up is going to take awhile. Especially hard to clean with no running water or power.
Many volunteer groups came down to the beaches to help clear off the muck.
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This is going to be somewhat convoluted for a fishing report because well…it was a convoluted week.
Basically, if you hadn’t heard, Hurricane Norma slammed directly into La Paz . It was alot harder then the experts predicted. It stayed around alot longer than predicted. It hit us with alot more rain and wind than anyone expected.
By the time it hit us it was a Category 2 hurricane with winds well over 100 mph. It dropped 8-15 inches of rain on us. Worse, is that it just sat and sat and pummeled the area for about 30 hours. It’s like getting hit by a boxer over and over. At some point, things start to break.
I’ve heard that over 100 boats were sunk or damaged including some huge yachts. All the marinas sustained extensive damage. Fortunately, all our captains pulled their boats out’ve the water ahead of time, but all the ramps were damaged and there was no way to launch the boats again.
Even moreso, hotels, businesses, restaurants, and homes took it hard. The popular restaurants at Tecolote Beach that had been around for decades, were completely destroyed. The front of our own Tailhunter Restaurant blew away and received extensive other damage.
The bigger issue might have been the loss of water and power with a good portion of the city in the dark (that included cell phone and wifi of course). Many folks were without it for days. Our restaurant had no power for 5 days.
It’s pretty hard to clean up when you have no water or electricity. As of writing this, there are still lots of homes and businesses waiting for the lights to come on.
As for fishing…
We had just started to re-bound after what Hurricane Hilary and the full-moon did to us. Dorado had started to bite again . Waters had cleaned up. Tuna were showing again as were billfish and even some nice-sized roosterfish.
Then up comes Norma.
Waters have been a mess. It’s a big chocolate-colored soup of silt, mud and floating debris. It has taken and continues to take days to clear up.
We have not been able to fish out’ve La Paz. The marinas were wrecked and the ramps were all torn up. There’s no way to launch our boats, even if the conditions looked more promising. I’m just glad we pulled our boats out’ve the water before the storm. Some marinas look like a boat graveyard.
For our Las Arenas fleet, waters cleared a little bit but bait remained difficult or non-existent. Bonito bit somewhat in the begining. As waters cleared, however, the dorado started to come back. Still not bait but we were using dead bait, frozen bait and chunks of fresh bonito.
Honestly, as the season is changing and it’s getting colder and windier, we don’t have that many folks on the water so not that many folks lost any days on the water.
A SPECIAL NOTE FROM US!
To everyone who offered their good thoughts, prayer and wishes and even offered to come down to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Norma, we appreciate you all! We’re all fine. That’s the most important. No one was hurt and this is not our first rodeo. We’ll be bigger and better on the other side.
NEXT REPORT MIGHT BE A BIT LATE…
The other thing…As you’re reading this, I’m headed for knee replacement surgery. I’m told I’m going to be out’ve it for awhile. I’ve done the weekly fishing reports basically every week for over 28 years. Please excuse me if the next report is a tad later than normal! I might be on “performing enhancing medications” according to my surgeon to alleviate the OUCH!!!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Noticeably cooler. Less humidity. Lower temps. MORE WIND. I’m afraid that the season changed on us about a month earlier than normal. The northern winds of winter have started too soon. Not to mention, a HUGE FULL MOON that wouldn’t go away. Hope it was just the full moon.
WATER: It was like someone switched things off. Waters went from blue to incredibly green and murky overnight. Usually, it’s because the waters got colder. but this is weird because the waters got WARMER! It’s almost like we had a secondary plankton bloom. The fish decided not to bite. Waters are HOT…86 degrees!
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Dorado (fewer). Sailfish (fewer). Tuna (fewer). Pompano. Bonito. Cabrilla. Snapper. Some roosters. Tough pickings!
TAILHUNTER LAS ARENAS FLEET: Like night and day. It virtually shut off. Bait disappeared. Green dirty water that was so warm that it seemed like the fish all went deep and stayed there or decided not to bite. Caught a few pompano, a few dorado, bonito. A tuna or two and pargo.
TAILHUNTER LA PAZ FLEET: Went from super great to having boats coming back with almost nothing a few days. Not even a bonito or needlefish. Started to pick up again as the full moon waned and our captains found some rare patches of blue water. But now northern winds are increasing making it tough to fish.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
This lady can fish! Lisa Hicks from Washington has been visiting us for years and despite tough fishing managed several nice dorado like this one fishing with Captain Victor, her favorite.
Wow! Another good-sized rooster caught when they SHOULD NOT BE HERE! Roosters are spring-time fish our long-time amigo, Jeff Sakuda with his favorite Captain Jorge got this beauty right off Punta Perrico. Jeff released the fish as well!
Our Denver amigo, Joe Hicks always bring his two boys, Hudson and Marco down as well as family friends. On the beach at Bahia Muertos with some of their catch. Joe is the one without the shirt!
There could not be a happier character than 88-year-old Raymond Ahner who lives in Yosemite. Love this gent and he said he wants to keep coming back until he has the record of being our oldest fisherman ever!
Tuna were few and far between this week, but Bob Pair got one. He’s been with us for many years!
Tammy Cousins from Oregon just wanted to catch “One dorado please!” She did better than that with Captain Luis, but this is a photo of her FIRST dorado!
Brothers-in-law, Adam Florence (Topeka KS) and Jim Bailey (San Diego CA) got some nice variety on the table including a barred pargo and dorado and a slug 68-pound yellowfin tuna that Jim battled dogggedly for over 90 minutes before getting it to the gaff!
When Al Jones comes down each year from his ranch in Idaho he’s always way fun. He wanted at least one tuna and got it fishing with Captain Gerardo.
Crazy to be catching pompano this time of year, but Hudson Hicks got this one. He’s headed off to college next year and has been visting us with his dad for several years.
Robert Peterson and a doardo on the gaff. Just a great photo . Suitable for framing! Great smile!
Whoa! When I first saw Robby Peterson’s fish it was so big, I thought it was a giant trevally (GT!). But it turns out to be a massive pompano! Great eating!
Andy Hall…our firefighter amigo who gets called to emergencies around the country visits us each year got himself one of the rare yellowfin tuna this week!
Pretty bull dorado for Marlene! She always fishes with Captain Pancho and had to work hard this week to even get this dorado. But, she never stopped smiling and fishing!
Marianne Sugawara has been fishing with Captain Jorge since…well…since before I had hair! LOL. Nice dorado, Ms. M! She filled the empty space in the chest this time with tamales to take home!
This is a super photo! Brian Guetz caught this good-looking roosterfish not far off Punta Arenas. Catch and release!
It’s our own photogenic Lisa Hicks showing off her barred pargo!
Neil Gansebom was with us this year and had a good day finding some blue water and dorado like this one north of La Paz outside the bay.
Jeff and Captain Jorge! Great shot and nice fat barred pargo for the ice chest!
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It was one of the strangest periods of weather and fishing that I can remember in almost 30 years down here. It was also one of the ugliest.
In the span of a day, things changed from one of the best fishing seasons ever…to suddenly fish zombie-land…ZERO FISH!
I’ve never seen this happen. My captains tell me they’ve never seen this happen. The ocean turned into a liquid desert. No birds. No fish. No bait.
Every now and then sure, a boat comes back and had a slow day. Maybe they missed the bite. Maybe they were just that one unlucky boat. It happens. But, usually, they tell me they still caught bonito or needlefish or a pelican or SOMETHING!
I actually had boats and anglers coming back telling me they didn’t catch or hook a thing!
It wasn’t like things just tapered off a bit or diminished. It was like someone threw a switch!
What happened?
Well, almost overnight, waters went from blue to green and cloudy. Usually that happens because the waters get cold. This time the waters got HOT! Waters were up to 86 degrees on the surface!
It was almost like there was a secondary plankton bloom. Or maybe the waters were so hot there was a lack of oxygen. There might be some creedence that. When there was no fish on the surface, some of the captains tied on sinkers and hit dorado 200-300 feet .
Let me say that again…DORADO at 200-300′ down! None of us have ever heard of that. Dorado are surface fish and we don’t do deep water fishing like that anyway.
The other issue…a big one…the live bait disappeared! If you got a handful of live bait, you were lucky. We resorted to dead bait, frozen bait and even squid.
OH…by the way, we also have the biggest crazy full moon…ever! And it stuck around the WHOLE week. Did the full moon cause all this or is all of this because of the full moon?
All we can do is wait and see how fishing is once the full moon disappears. I will say that things seemed to pick up a bit as the full moon dissipated. I hope it continues because we still have a few more weeks to go of the regular season.
And that’s the other thing. Usually, we can count on the weather to hold until at least the end of October or the beginning of November. That’s when the northern winds start to blow.
And they usually keep blowing until April or May. We stay off the water. Only the windsurfers and kite boarders love it. But that doesn’t usually start for a few more weeks.
Well…I gotta tell you…the northern winds seem like they already started. Waters are getting rougher already.
Again, a big effect on the fishing. Just a huge combination of alot of things:
Big full moon
Dirty water
Hot water
No bait
Northern winds
Rougher water
That was just too many punches in the nose for our fishing.
So, we got a few dorado. Some roosters. Pompano and jacks and some bonito and pargo and not a whole lot more. We can only hope that by the time you’re reading this we get back on track to some degree.
A big shout out to all our clients and friends and our captains who were on the water and visited us this week. It was really tough fishing. Our captains worked hard to find whatever they could find. Our anglers all hung in there and also worked hard and stayed patient. Not a single person complained or lost their smiles. We were awfully grateful for that. Cheers to all of you and hung tough!
Sorry this isn’t the usual glowing report, but gotta be honest.
Captain Luis turned a slow day into an outstanding day. He had his son, Dylan, with him and took the guys out to one of our deserted beach. He took some of their dorado and made sashime and ceviche then dove for some fresh clams to have with the guys as well! No bad days!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 21-27, 2028
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Thankfully another nice week without any surprise tropical storms. Just clear blue skies. Seems to be cooling off a little as well which could be good or bad. Maybe the seasons are already starting to change. Humidity has gone down a bit. Daytime temps in the mid-90’s mostly.
Keeping an eye on the winds which are staring to blow stronger from the north which means yea…things are going to start cooling off and rougher waters.
WATER: Not sure if it’s a permanent thing, but good blue waters started to get a bit murky. Probably from increased winds. Patches of cooler water are starting to show up.
Bait was harder to get and find for the first time all season which is of concern. Maybe just an anamoly. Hope it is.
SPECIES HOOKED THIS WEEK: Dorado / tuna/ sailfish/ roosterfish/ cabrilla/ snapper/ pargo/ pompano/ trevally/ marlin/ triggerfish/ bonito
TAILHUNTER LAS ARENAS FLEET: Still the most variety. Not as many dorado as before, but that could be because most folks wanted to chase the tuna. The tuna bit got tougher as the week went on. Fewer tuna, but they got bigger and meaner! It might also be because the bait got tougher to find. Sailfish popped up and they’re bigger than normal. Also, wahoo as well. Long way to the island to find bait was an issue.
TAILHUNTER LA PAZ FLEET: Still the best spot to jump on some fun dorado fishing. Most fish 5-20 pounds and schooling. Big bonito and a few sails also bit. Had one day where the fish seemed to disappear.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Whoa!!! Captain Armando helps our amigo, Leonard Post, from Oregon with a big sailfish he hooked…tried to photo…and ultimately released!
A nicer fatter and chunkier grade of tuna overall. Lots of fun, but they can also beat you up too!
First day out from Florida, Carol Geiger sticks this massive headed bull dorado. WOW!
Tim Gardner (at the head) was out with Captain Gerardo and battled this pig yellowfin tuna over 2 hours, but got it to the boat finally.
Tim Herald brought his 15 merry amigos from Kentucky and Arkansas out and absolutely did NOT want to catch a tuna. He went for a dorado and instead battled his personal best tuna that slugged it out almost 2 hours with him.
This is a GOOD day! Our first-time visitors from Texas, Mitch and Amanda Andrus have a rack of dorado and tuna that needs to head to the freezer!
Our very own Tailhunter’s Maite Palacio had never fished. She had never been on a boat. Her VERY FIRST FISH is a WAHOO!!!
The Okazaki Brothers from S. California have been visiting us for years and had their best trip with a nice batch of tuna as well as a few days of dorado.
More new Texas friends! Sharon and Tommy Purefoy get a hand from Captain Jorge on Sharon’s big bull.
North Carolina in the house. Hall Evans and Chuck Weber with Captain Jorge and an assortment of tuna and dorado.
Crazy to catch big roosters this time of year, but check out Jeff Geiger’s rooster! Legit! Jeff is from Florida and released his fish.
This is a BIG tuna! Chris Andreson is about 6’5″ and this 80 pounder pulled for all it was worth for 2 hours.
Arturo Becerril is also part of our Tailhunter Team and was so excited to get out on the water for the first time fishing and had great fun on dorado, tuna and feisty bonito!
Jonathan Geiger loves to fish and was able to check roosterfish off his list caught right off the beach at Las Arenas. He released his catch too!
Veternarians in the house! Paul Drewry from Michigan and his fishing buddy, Ed Kahil from Texas came to visit us for the first time and had a hoot. Check out their catch!
They call themselves the “Montana Virgins.” Our dear amigos, John and Sharon Virgin from Montana are never a dull moment whenever they visit. They took alot of meat home like these dorado and tuna!
Captain Victor grimaces trying to help Melissa Dean with one of her tuna! We had a fun week with Melissa, her husband and their friends from Texas and Louisiana.
Captain Hugo has his work cut out for him cleaning up these tuna for Jeff and Jonathan Geiger . Nice load!
More of our Montana friends, Deana and Larry Wilson with their favorite Captain Pancho.
Captain Armando with Leonard Post and Dave Lindell who have been with us many times and each got a tuna this day.
Heck of a good day for Ken and Melissa Dean with Captain Victor. A trio of nice tuna and a sailfish that they could not release and generously donated the meat.
Tim Herald’s guys from Kentucky started their 3 days with a hefty catch of tuna and dorado!
Another nice spread of fish. Filets for the ice chest coming up!
Les Bek visited us last year, but his son Kevin wasn’t able to make the trip until this year. Nice start with a couple of tuna, a white bonito a dorado and a big pompano!
Jim Andrews has some colorful dorado on the table and a huge triggerfish with Captain Armando.
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Summer just turned into fall!
We definitely have a tuna season for once…of sorts!
This is the most extended run of tuna that we’ve had in years. And everyone wants a shot at the tuna. EVERYONE! Until they get one. After one or two fish, it’s not unusual for some of our anglers to pull the plug and say, “No mas!”
For good reason.
When this all began, the tuna were legit 20-25 pound fish. Not footballs, but fun-sized tuna that fight hard but don’t lay waste to the anglers. Fun fish!
There have been fewer fish lately, but they have gotten bigger. Some of the fish are easily 40-80 pounders and some even larger. These are the kind of fish that can hurt you. We’ve had some anglers on the fish 1-3 hours. And then LOSE the fish. So you get broken line AND a broken heart!
There seem to be fewer dorado, but that could also be because more folks are chasing the tuna. But there are definitely dorado around. Maybe the biggest issue might be that live bait has gotten a bit harder to find lately plus possibly the season is changing sooner than expected and waters are getting colder and northern winds are starting to ramp up about a month earlier than normal. We’ll have to keep an eye on it and will keep you posted. We’ll know more as time goes on.
Actually, we’re finding some real cool patches of green water and the fish got sticky a few days (Not to mention a big fat full moon too!) It bares watching for sure.
Anyway…
Some nice surprises this past session with more sailfish on the chew. They are much larger than I’ve seen them in years. Mostly our sails run 70-100 pounds. Most of the ones now are well over 110-130 pounders. Mostly also, we’re able to release them all with a few exceptions and in those cases the anglers donated the meat.
Still got some of the larger roosterfish popping up. Generally, we don’t have the big roosters this time of year, but some 30-50 pound fish keep showing up, often when the folks are trying to catch dorado.
As well, some pompano and trevally have hit the decks as well. Normally, we get these in the spring. Maybe cooler waters starting to show up? We’ll see and keep you posted!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 12-19, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: The first week that we did not have a surprise rainstorm, thundershower, tropical deluge or hurricane. We’re not through the season yet for these things to happen but the best fishing season has these surprise weather bumps. Overall, temps in the high 90’s during the day with lots of sunshine.
WATER: Blue and looking good mostly. Very fishable. Some afternoon winds kick up and bring up some chop but most of our fishermen are off the water by then.
SPECIES HOOKED THIS WEEK: Dorad0 / Tuna/ Sailfish/ Marlin/ Wahoo/ Pargo/ Roosterfish/ Jack Crevalle/ Bonito/ Grouper / Cabrilla/ Triggerfish/ Trevally
TAILHUNTER LAS ARENAS FLEET: More variety with dorado, jags of 15-40 pound tuna, roosterfish, sailfish and other species.
TAILHUNTER LA PAZ FLEET: Dorado land plus marlin! (But, for the first time in months…the dorado got picky the last few days of the week before this report).
FISHING on a SCALE of 1-10 (10 is best): 7 (some boats doing better than others or have to work harder for their fish!)
THE MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Our Reno amigo, Mac Treasure, with Captain Joel doing the heavy lifting on this king-size bull dorado!
Oh yea…on his bachelor party, Taylor Sering (at the head) came out with his dad and brother and friend before he gets married. He has fished with us many times, but never caught a marlin. He did this time! Our first blue marlin of the season of about 200 pounds. It could not be released and the meat was donated by Taylor!
We haven’t caught many wahoo this year, but Chris Binkley from Oklahoma picked up this ‘hoo while fishing on the tuna grounds!
Frank Brooke runs a huge California hunting ranch and is usually cradling a big deer or something. This time, he racked this huge 80-pound class roosterfish! Very unusual. Frank sportingly released the big fish.
One of our favorite crazy guys. Jesse Franco has a yellowfin tuna on the gaff.
Just another day for Roger Laubsher and Chris Binkely. (yawn).
More sailfish popping up all of a sudden! Gary Wagner who owns the Rancho Costa in Bahia Muertos hooked this hefty sailfish.
Oh man! We just do NOT see these kinds of roosters this time of year. Big roosters are in the spring! But Larry Wilson from Montana with Captain Pancho sure landed one (and released it too!).
First-time with us…amigos from the Houston area, Amy and Mario Rios, made the most of a quick 2 day fishing trip. Check out the big tuna and dorado!
Tracy and Mike Hunt from Oklahoma had just one day to fish with us and got themselves a nice day of action on the dorado spots!
Captain Arkie with Bill and Jeff from Idaho.
It has to be the colorful wardrobe! Our long-time Montana amigos, Sharon and John Virgin, with their one-day catch of tuna and a dorado. They fished 5 days with us!
North Carolina in the house with Hill Evans and Chuck Webber and Captain Jorge with another good load of dorado for the fish table.
It was a good week for tuna for the first time in many years! Larry and Deana Wilson from Montana with Captain Pancho.
Deana and her husband, Larry, hooked 5 roosterfish this day landing and releasing two of them. The 3 others busted off!
Amy and Mario with some of their first-day catch. Check out Mario’s blue tiger dorado!
Frank and Annette Brooke throwing fishing “gang sign” at my camera guy! All in fun after a full day of dorado action.
Great colors on this fresh one! Spencer Sering posing with another bull!
Even Captain Boli busts a smile over Marty Sering’s bull dorado! Always good to have Marty visiting us.
Doctor Ed Kahil, is a veternarian from Texas and on his first visit. Good to see him here as he poses with one of his dorado. He also hooked a sailfish on the flyrod! Exciting times!
You don’t hook any of these dorado in Oxford, England! That’s where Sarah Malone is from and has big smiles with Captain Armando.
John McVay from Lake Havasu has been fishing with us for many years and always seems to do well when he fishes with his favorite Captain Jorge.
Mac Treasure had a pretty successful week taking 2 giant trophy dorado.
Craig Yoder back with us again every year took home a nice load of dorado. Here on the beach at Muertos Bay.
Doug Biddle had one day to fish with us and went out with his buddy Oz. A good day.
Sarah and Steve! Enjoy the sunshine and another day on the water before going back to England!
Tay Sering seems to always get into the big bulls.
Steve and Captain Armando. Steve donated all their fish .
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I think the big news this was wasn’t just the fishing. It was the fact that we didn’t have any surprise storms, tropical blows or…(shudder) hurricanes! One of the things we just have to live with is that the best fishing times are often when the weather is warmest. That is also when the heat gives birth to these crazy storms.
Duck and cover…at least for a few minutes until this passes!
But, after a couple of weeks of these little “mini storms,” we were all clear for once. Nothing but hot sunny skies and good looking water.
I don’t know how much that had to do with it, but it sure did not hurt the fishing.
Overall, still pretty darned good dorado on the chew. It’s been that way for months. Just the best dorado bite I’ve seen in almost 30 years with lots of the 10-15 pounders around and, if look at the photos from this week, you can see that there’s some big bulls around as well.
I will say in all honesty, that the end of the week, the dorado bite seemed to take a bit of a dip. Fish got a little stickier than they had been. We had to work harder to find the dorado schools or conversely, they just weren’t willing to bite. Some boats really struggled to fill the fish box here and there.
I don’t know. I hope it’s not the end of the dorado season.
There’s no reason it should be. Conditions have not changed that I can detect.
Nevertheless, we had some other species take up some of the slack.
For one, we just had the best run of tuna in years. We have not seen much of any tuna since Covid years. But, they started about 2 weeks ago and it’s been a bit up-and-down, but we’ve gotten tuna pretty much every day.
These are a nice grade of fish too. These are not footballs. These are healthy chunky 20-40 pound sluggers with some bigger fish mixed in. Most of the bite has been just south of Bahia Muertos down the coast. Not sure how long this will last, but we can only hope.
Another species that has been a surprise have been the appearance of roosterfish. Normally, our big roosters are around in the spring from about April to late June. That’s when the “hog” roosters are in the area. As the year goes on they move off.
We will get some 5 or 10 pounders later in the year, but that’s it. Great on light tackle.
However, in the last 2 weeks, we’ve run into some latent or early season chunky roosters up to about 80 pounds with others running 30-40 pounds! Great fun and quite a surprise.
Lastly, we got a few more billfish since the last report. Sailfish have shown up as well as somes striped marlin and we got our first blue marlin of the season. Normally, we start seeing billfish around May, but there have been very few hookups this year.
Still lots of bonito around as well as inshore species like pargo, snapper, cabrilla and even some pompano and trevally.
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BAJA 1000 COMING TO TOWN – BEACH CONDO for RENT!
The huge Baja 1000 is coming back to La Paz and hotels have been sold out for months. However, we have a 3 BR beach condo open from Nov. 13-19. Get in touch with us if you are interested!
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That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 4-11, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: It’s that time of year. Hot and muggy with day time temps in the high 90’s with lots of humidity (which is perfect fishing weather here). However, it’s also that time when we get unexpected blasts of tropical storms that can last a few minutes to maybe an hour or so. As long as it’s not a hurricane, we’re fine. We just duck until it blows over. But, this is also hurricane season. Make sure you buy that trip insurance!
WATER: Despite all the turbulence from the few storms this week, water is still relatively blue and very fishable. Not as clear as it could be, but has not affected the fishing too much. Surface temps are the low 80’s. Some rough days with the winds kicking in.
SPECIES CAUGHT THIS WEEK: Dorado, tuna, sailfish, amberjack, rainbow runners, cabrilla, barred pargo, snapper, roosterfish.
LAS ARENAS : This is where the tuna are mixing it up with the dorado and a few roosterfish as well. The most variety.
LA PAZ : Solid dorado bite.
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Joni McKinley and her dad, Dan, started the week out right with a nice rack of yellowfin tuna. Dan brought the whole family down and are from Washington.
Wes Wiles had a heckuva fight on his hand when this big dorado bit. He battled it for over 30 minutes in bouncy seas, but finally boated the trophy bull almost as long as he is tall!
Captain Armando with our newest Tailhunter friends, Nina and Fernando Delmendo with some great yellowfin tuna meat for the ice chest.
Captain Jorge has his famous “thumbs-up” for our Montana amigos, Andy and Shani Malone, who plugged the fish box with a great catch of dorado.
My San Diego “bruddah” Ray Cabales at Bahia Muertos with a pair of YFT’s on the table!
Terry Larson and Billy Smith could not have had a better day with Captain Gerardo starting their fishing week with a mess of mahi to fillet and get into the freezer.
Paul Nagata always gets great fish and takes great photos whenever he visits us. Once again, a good fish and great shot of this yellowfin on the gaff.
Oh wow…Captain Victor gives Marty Sering and Kevin Lister a two-handed assist with some massive bull dorado! A good start to their fishing week.
Paul Holmund visiting us for the first time with his brother, Mark, both from Austin TX took home a nice load of fishing including dorado and tuna like these.
Nice trophy bull dorado! Greg Saubolle has been visiting us for several years and always great to see him. Nothing wrong with this legit big-headed mahi!
Don McKinley is always fun to have down from Washington. He got the biggest cabrilla of the week.
The two Larson brothers from Jordan Utah show off their catch of dorado and a lone yellowfin tuna on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
Carrie McKinley is our sweet amiga from Washington who brought her family down for the week to fish with us. Here’s one of those big bonito that folks really love to catch (because they fight so hard) or hate (because they fight so hard!).
In all the years, Ray and Jeanne Cabales from San Diego have been coming down, I can never get them to take a straight photo! I hope that never changes!
Nancy and John Quring from Sacramento went back with a great load of tuna and dorado. I think this was their 4th time with us.
Captain Pancho with Paul Nagata and a solid day of tuna fishing. You don’t see Greg Saubolle who also bent a rod but had to take the photo!
Our old amigo, John McVay from Lake Havasu AZ with his favorite Captain Jorge.
All the way from the U.K. our English amigos, Steve and Sarah Malone are with us all week and started off with a fun day with Captain Armando .
Big smiles from Carrie and another dorado in the box!
Tay Sering from Oregon celebrating somewhat of his bachelor party with his brother Spencer, didn’t get any tuna, but sure rocked the dorado .
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If you didn’t get any further than the “Short Attention Span Fishing Report” above or only looked at all the great photos, you really didn’t get the whole story of the fishing this past week.
For numbers and action, EVERYONE got fish. Maybe an off-day here and there for one boat, but everyone got into the bite at some point and EVERYONE who wanted to take home fish or at least bring some back to our Tailhunter Restaurant for us to cook up got into it.
Tuna were a big draw for sure. After 3 anemic seasons of tuna, we finally had a pretty good bite going just south of Bahia Muertos. The boats that wanted to chase tuna put 1-5 tuna in the boat with a nice grade of 15-30 pound fish. Some larger ones were also reportedly fought and lost!
The thing with the tuna is that it was a swing for the fence. You had to get your live bait and then you had to motor south along the shoreline as fast as you could to get to the spot. The bite didn’t last long.
If you were too late, you could miss the bite completely. If you hung a fish or two and fought them, sometimes by the time you boated the fish or lost it, the school had moved on. In that case, sometimes it was too hard and too far to go chase other species.
But, we definitely have tuna and it’s been a long time since I’ve said that. Have no idea how long they’ll stick around!
The other bite with the spotlight remains with the dorado. The dorado bite the past 4 months has been nothing short of outstanding. Here-and-there an off day, but overall, it was not unusual to put limits in the boat before the morning hit mid-way then catch-and-release the rest of the day; go chase something else; or call it a day and come back to shore for lunch and the hotel pool.
Most of the fish are still running in that nice 10-15 pound school-size, but we continue to hang some great trophy dorado up to 40 pounds or so.
We also got a few billfish (finally) and to some degree a few rockfish like pargo, cabrilla and snapper with a few roosterfish thrown in for fun.
The part of the story you might have missed is these tropical storms that pop up from nowhere and really run us out and around. This is that time of year for hurricanes (hopefully not) and these little blows that can last a few minutes and an hour or more before dissipating or moving off.
This is our prime time for fishing, so there’s nothing to do except roll with the punches that the weather throw at us.
They can bring thunder, lightning, and torrential winds and rains with heavy flooding. Here’s a little video of Bahia Muertos where we launch the boats. Waves here are usualy about 2 inches high!
(turn up the sound!)
One day, the La Paz port captain had to shut down all boat traffic in the bay so no one could fish. Another day, we started to fish and many of our boats got across the channel to Cerralvo Island under great conditions.
However, when they got there one of these storms rolled in and all the fleets had to hide on the lee side of the island away from the storm for several hours until the storm cleared out and the boats could get to the beach where we all launch,
(turn up the sound!)
So, just to be transparent about the weather. This is NOT unusual for this time of year, but it seems the whole world is having wacky weather so just be advised. Also, as per our numerous suggestions, do NOT come down without travel insurance. Not only is the weather an issue, but with all the problems the airlines are having, we are seeing more flight changes and cancelations than ever before!
That’s our story!
Jonathan & Jilly
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay / Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug. 11-18, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: Before the storm, it was up to the mid-to-upper 90’s and humid. Has gotten just a tad cooler since the storm arrived, but humidity is higher and the air is very heavy and wet. Forecast keeps changing. Maybe 1-2 days of rain expected, but more worried about the winds from Hilary. It will be in the 20 mph range here…enough to keep us off the water, but outside, I hear it’s blowing triple digits.
WATER: The bay is calm, but outside it’s a washing machine you don’t want to be in. Had some folks in a sailboat tell me they had 20-25 foot swells.
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: Dorado and more dorado. One tuna hooked and lost. One billfish hooked and lost. Most likely a big striped marlin. Smaller roosterfish, jacks, bonito, rockfish inside.
LAS ARENAS FISHING: More variety of species, but not as many dorado. However, some of the larger dorado were coming up here.
LA PAZ FISHING: Dorado are as close as the tankers anchored in the bay!
NOTE: Saying it over and over. Our best part of the fishing season is also the time when we could see storms. Usually NOT a big issue, but you need to purchase trip insurance. Storms are part of fishing and there’s no refunds for weather-related cancelations, but the trip insurance will also help cover cancelled or delayed airline flight/ hotel rooms/ activities, etc.
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG (LACK OF) PICTURES and the REST of the STORY…
Hilary’s angry eye moving up!
Jimmy Williams knows how to pose with a big dorado!
Captain Armando was out with Andrew Fernandez at Bahia Muertos.
Daniel Bovee rocked a couple of nice mahi as well. Daniel visits us several times a year.
Well…the fishing continued reall good…until it wasn’t.
And it has nothing to do with the fish leaving or anything like that.
It’s THAT time of year and little storm “Hilary” turned into a Category 3 tempest with 165 mph winds, rain and big seas. The good news is that it’s NOT hitting us directly. It’s not punching us right in the nose. However, it has long arms and those arms are giving us a nice glancing shove.
It’s enough that we’re getting rain and wind and unfortunately is shutting down the fishing for anywhere from 1-3 days depending on how fast this storm moves through and whether the La Paz Port Captain allows any boats to go out.
It can’t be avoided. It’s just part of this wacky-weather that’s all over the place these days although tropical storms are not unusual down here especially this time of year. It’s our best fishing, but also the greatest chance of a storm. You just never know.
Actually Hilary appears to be headed right towards S.California which might get a taste of a real hurricane.
At time time I’m writing this, Hilary is several hundred miles to the south of us, but is already generating winds up to 140 mph and up to 20 foot seas into the Sea of Cortez. Definitely not the kind of weather we want to be out in.
But, before that, we still had that great dorado bite going on that we’ve been experiencing for the last 3 months. The best dorado fishing that I can remember in 30 years. Still lots of 5-15 pound biters with an unusual amount of bigger 30-50 pound bulls. I only hope that after this weather passes, things will be back on track.
I have to apologize because if you know me and you’ve been reading my reports these 30-something years, you know that I always have a ton of photos.
Well…I don’t know what happened, but we’ve been having power outtages down here lately and somehow the flash drive where I stored this week’s photos got ERASED! Dangit, am so sorry and there’s not enough time to round up all the photos again. Many apologies. I guess for once, you’ll just have to see the few photos this week and also take my word for it that we WERE INDEED still catching dorado before the storm hit.
We’ll just have to see what’s on the other side of Hilary!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 29-Aug. 7, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER: No doubt hot and humid! Stay hydrated and covered up. Common sense! It’s in the high 90’s to low 100’s in the daytime…normal summer temps. Actually maybe cooler than many parts of the U.S. strangely enough. But, humidity is high as well. Thankfully, the beach is right outside!
WATER: Mostly warm and blue. Surface temps on the water are high 70’s to low 80’s. Actually and strangely COOLER than normal! But great swimming, snorkel and scuba conditions.
SPECIES HOOKED THIS WEEK: Dorado, bonito, roosterfish, wahoo (lost), marlin (lost), pargo (2 types), snapper, cabrilla, jack crevalle, palometa, pompano
TAILHUNTER LAS ARENAS FLEET: Primarily dorado. Not as many as La Paz, but more of the bigger dorado. Plus inshore species like roosters, pargo and cabrilla.
TAILHUNTER LA PAZ FLEET: More dorado than La Arenas…usually…it changes all the time, but the LARGER of the larger dorado seem to be on this side. (30-50 pounders)
IMPORTANT MESSAGES IF YOU’RE COMING DOWN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS:
It’s hot. Dress accordingly with sunglasses, big brim hats, long sleeves, sunscreen and lots of water.
Your balances are due 45 days from arrival so get in touch with us if your balances are due.
The best part of our season is also hurricane season. Usually NOT an issue, but you never know with this wacky weather around the world these days. These are the tropis. TRAVEL INSURANCE is cheap and remember, there are no refunds for weather-related cancelations. Weather is part of the sport whether it’s sunny, windy, rainy…whatever. This is prime time for fishing and we are always sold out this time of year because fishing rocks, I wish we did, but we also have no control over the weather. Even if it’s a heavy rain storm for 1 hour or 1 day, it COULD affect your fishing; airline flight;
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Frank Kunze, our long-time Colorado, amigo, has been with us twice this year. We got him to put down the conventional fishing rod one day and only use his flyrod. Here’s his first fish of the day on the flyrod. It wasn’t his last! He released all his fish!
Captain Luis give Rose Vadnais a hand with a another big bull off the east end of Espirito Santo Island. They apparently had several other big boys on the line that got away!
Daniel always gets fish! This is Daniel Bovee’s 2nd trip this year to visit us and has been doing it for years. Great colors on this bull dorado taken near Bahia Muertos!
Yes! There are still roosters around. Maybe not the big pig slug roosters, but some fun 5-10 pounders can be lots of fun like this one that Darrell Manginelli hooked and released after fishing for dorado.
This is Sam Sybesma’s biggest doado every and he’s been fishing with us for years! Sam is about 6’3″ so you KNOW this fish is legit!
Always great to have Lee Carlson here with us. He got lots of fish on the conventional rod and reel, but took our his flyrod for this beauty. He released or donated all ths dorado this day.
Some good eating barred pargo that Daniel is holding. Winds came up, but still able to fish for a number of inshore species.
I lost count of how many big bull dorado Darrell Manginelli caught last week!
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It’s been an unbelievable dorado season now for more than two months. After almost 30 years down here, I’d have to call it “historic” and hope I’m not jinxing the whole ball-o’-wax and shutting it off because our fisherfolk are having a ball.
They catching either the most fish ever. Or they are catching the biggest fish ever. Or they are catching maybe their first fish ever. Or they are catching their limits of fish faster than ever.
Either way, the dorao are sure checking alot of the boxes!
Most of the fish are running 5-15 pounds. Fun legit fish. Lots of those are so voracious that they are crashing the boats which are ending up with some fast easy limits. Many many of these fish are getting thankfully released.
But, wait…there’s also the big Mo’s out there as well. The pigs. The hogs. These bull dorado are all business and when you have a 20-60 pound fish pulling line and jumping and charging the boat, it’s more than most folks can handle and alot of fun. But, we’re also losing alot of these fish which is just part of the sport! You just never know when that next fish will or might be the fish of a lifetime.
But, the dorado continue to be the big story for our fishing.
That’s not saying there are no other species. We’ve got shots at billfish, wahoo, roosterfish, bonito, jack crevalle, pompano, snapper, pargo and cabrilla. The problem is that everyone is having way too much fun with the dorado and don’t care to invest the time or change tactics to chase the other species. Which is just fine as well! Go have fun!
We did get a little rain over the weekend and some jags of southern winds made it a tad bumpy for a few afternoons, but otherwise, there were always fish to be caught and places to find fish less windy.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 21-28, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER – Hot and humid. High 90’s to low 100’s. Normal temps for this time of year, but just FEELS hotter for some reason. Everyone talks about the heat.
WATER – Strangely although the air temps are hot…the water temps are maybe 3-5 degrees COOLER on the surface than normal. Go figure! But, at least the waters are blue which is conducive to fishing!
SPECIES CAUGHT THIS WEEK – Dorado (5-50 pounds); Roosterfish (2-15 pounds); Pargo/ Cabrilla/ Snapper / Triggerfish (2-8 pounds); Jack Crevalle and Bonito (3-17 pounds); Wahoo (at least 5 hooked and lost of unknown size!); Marlin (2 hooked and lost of maybe 120 pounds each).
LAS ARENAS – Fewer fish than La Paz, but overall LARGER fish. Maybe 2-4 fish per rod and largest fish overall consistently more 15-30 pound bulls. Lots of releases.
LA PAZ – More fish than Las Arenas. Most in the 5-10 pound size with LOTS of releases. Not as many large fish as Las Arenas, but the chance for larger bulls up to 50 pounds is always there.
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Just a great dawn shot with the sun coming up and a big dorado to kick off the day for Darrell Manginelli who has been visiting us for years. Darrell had an incredible 5 days of fishing with lots of huge bulls. He filled enough for his ice chest after two days! He released lots of fish. Darrell visits us from Camarillo CA.
Big smiles as Jen Enright needs some help from Captain Joel to photo this big dorado. She battled the big fish and said afterwards her arms and hands were shaking too hard to hold the fish. Jen is from San Diego.
What a way to end their fishing week that was full of good fishing days. Rick and his son Steve Fling capped it with 3 big bull dorado. The guys were visiting us from Denver.
It was great to have Frank and brother John Marshall hang out with us for a few days. Nice bull after fishing with our La Paz fleet.
What great colors on this photo of Mark Melnick and his beautiful bull. This is frameable. That’s El Sargento in the back.
Always fun having Roger McCracken and George Hatziayiannis visiting us from Portland. Roger has been with us over 20 years.
First time family visitors Laryn Keller and Dawson Enright taking a break after their first year of law school in Oregon had a banner few days fishing with us with dorado like these.
Hito Nishikawa and Mark Melnick have alot of meat in the table to start their 3 days of fishing. Good dorado bite!
I just think this is a funny photo. Shelton Donnell and Louie Mogabgab have been our friends over 20 years fishing with us. We love these guys, but this is just funny because it looks like Shelton is trying to take a selfie. Only problem is that last time I checked, you need a phone camera in your hand to take a selfie! Shelton doesn’t have a phone!
Kirk Paterno is 18-years-old and got this 3 days of fishing as a graduation present from high school before heading to the University of Iowa. This is a photo from the first of 3 days fishing and each day got better and better!
Darrell with another big bull! He was king of the bulls this week!
Whenever Captain Gerardo gives a thumbs-up, it’s a good fish and Toshi Nishikawa looks a tad disheveled after battling this nice bull.
Oh yea…Our cousin, Andy Enright holds up another big bull dorado to go with the big smile! It’s a big fish because Andy is pretty tall.
Len Weaverling and Tatsu Watanabe posing on the beach at Bahia Muertos after their first day.
Bryan Forward is just a kick every time he visits us. He brought Eddie Haynes with him this time and they knocked out the dorado and took him a nice load of fillets.
Captain Alfredo grimaces a bit as he gives Tatsu a hand with a dorado they estimated at 50 pounds that Tatsu battled north of La Paz.
Darrell is in alot of photos in the gallery this week! But, he caught alot of big dorado!
Captain Jorge with George and Louie and a table full of dorado headed into the ice chest.
It never fails. The biggest fish bite the lightest line and Roger McCracken had a rod with 20 pound test line on it when this big boy bit and took him for a ride!
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Long story short…we’re still rolling in dorado. Little ones…medium ones…big ones…even bigger ones!
It’s been on for a good 2 months now and I don’t know when it will stop, but we’re enjoying the heck out’ve it and having alot of fun and I only hope it sticks around for another 3-4 months because will reiterate that this is the best and most consistent dorado bite I’ve seen in my 30-some years down here.
Both out Tailhunter La Paz and our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleets are into the mahi. Some boats might do better than others, but overall, since most of our anglers fish multiple days, they more than make up for it on other days .
Even having an “off” day is relative. The fishing has been so consistent that an “off day” these days used to be a “pretty good day” any other year. It’s just that we tend to get spoiled when the pickin’s are this good.
If you take a look at the photos, you see some great catches. But, this does not count all the fish that were released (too small) or broke off (too strong and smart!). Again, sometimes, the anglers are getting early limits and decide that, with the heat, they’ll call it a day and head back to the beach early to eat lunch and enjoy the rest of the day knowing they already got a full fish box for the day.
Others will catch-and-release or catch limits then go chase roosterfish or go fish the rocks and reefs for pargo, snapper and cabrilla or hit the shallows to have fun with light tackle on jack crevalle and bonito.
I will warn you again…it’s HOT!!! If you’re up in the U.S. you’re probably going through alot of the same thing. It’s a burner summer. We’re easily in the low 100’s right now, but with the humidity, it feels alot hotter and you’re really not being smart if you don’t stay covered and hydrated. So, bring big brim hats; long sleeve shirts; sunscreen; sunglasses and chug that water!
SOME NOTICES:
YOUR FISHING GEAR:
We’ve been storing the fishing gear for many of you for many many years so you wouldn’t have to haul it through airports not to mention the cost of the weight or oversize luggage. We’ve been doing it for free as a convenience to you. We have a whole warehouse of YOUR gear!
The warehousing is now getting way too expensive and they’re charging us an arm, leg and first-born every month. So we’re going to ask you to come get your gear. Some of you, we haven’t heard from in 5, 10 or more years. If you want us to hang onto it for a bit longer, no problem, but if you’re not coming back down or we don’t hear from you before the end of the year, we’re going to have to donate the equipment.
BALANCES:
Just a heads-up that if you’re within 45 days or coming to visit us, your balances are due. No stress. Just let us know it’s on the way. Or ask us for the most convenient way to get it to us.
Hope ya’ll are enjoying your summer!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing www.tailhunter.comMexico Office:
Tailhunter Sportfishing
755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 13-20, 2023
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT
WEATHER : Like seemingly the rest of the world, it’s HOT. But the funny thing is that people come to Mexico to “get warm and enjoy some sunshine.” We’re probably cooler than most places in the U.S. right now! We’re 90’s to low 100’s.
WATER: After that little weather blow we had over a week ago, things have cleared up and flattened out. Waters are mostly blue and warm. Surface temps in the high 70’s to low 80’s now.
FISH CAUGHT THIS WEEK: Dorado are still 90% of the catch because it seems like they are everywhere. Can’t get away from them, but they are alot of fun. Also got bonito, pargo, snapper, cabrilla, jack crevalle, roosters, pompany, trevally and triggerfish. Commercial guys say there’s some tuna outside.
LAS ARENAS: Dorado. Most are medium-sized in the 8-12 pound class. Larger ones are easily in the 30 pound class or larger.
LA PAZ: Dorado too! More school-sized fish, but this past week the larger ones came from here with 40-pound class fish, but larger ones lost!
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY….
Our long-time Utah amigo, Kip Slaugh, on the scoreboard with his own big bull dorado for the fish box!
First day on the water turned out to be a good one for Rob and Randy Gray with some nice bull dorado to start the vacation!
First-timer with us, Johnny Torres from Riverside CA area came inshore for his first roosterfish. Caught and released. Pretty photo too!
Captain Gerardo with Marie McClelland who had quite a week with us on big dorado. Scroll down to see more!
Always good to have Brett Bleichrodt visit us from Colorado. First day out he scores his big bull.
OH WOW! Captain Raul gives Becky Fry a hand posing with this beautiful bull dorado catch north of La Paz.
Flat water and another fish brought to gaff. This one on the troll. Brett got some big fish this week, but also a few got the best of him as well!
Our San Diego cousin, Andy Enright, kicked it off his first day with a legit dorado beast. He tells of another fish even larger that he fought and lost at color next to the boat.
We had a fun week with these two in the house. Bruce Bleichrodt and Johny Prexta with a nice rack of dorado for the freezer to take home.
Fresh one! I think Rich Hirasuna is trying not to get whacked as Captain Rogelio holds up a fresh-caught dorado that is still thrashing!
Taking a well-deserved break after their first year in law school up in Oregon, Lauryn Keller and Dawson Enright pose with the catch of dorado from their first day.
Two really sweet folks to have come down for their first-ever visit, Brian and Tami Clark are spending the week with us!
Marizol Torres arrived and asked me, I’ve never fished. Do you think I will catch a fish this week?” Captain Raul helps her with a bull dorado she fought for 45 minutes! Well-done!
Ed Haynes and Brian Forward pose on the beach with Captain Jorge.
Fun shot. Our newest family friends Rich and Cherie Hirasuna started their trip with alot of dorado fillets!
Call this a good day fishing! Captain Pancho poses with Jen and Andy Enright on the beach at Bahia Muertos with a solid day of dorado fishing.
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As of this past week…well the mad dorado bite is still on! Some boats doing better than others, but with most folks fishing at least several days with us, there’s no shortage of fish for sure! If you hit that sweet spot in the ocean, you could limit on dorado in very short order with what some anglers are calling a “dorado aquarium” and “so many fish in the water” After that it’s catch-and-release as fast as you want to go! Or…
Go searching for only bigger dorado
Go searching for different species like roosters and rockfish or marlin
Go back to the beach early and have lunch and a siesta!
Most of the fish in the schools have been voracious 5-12 pounders that are literally attacking anything thrown in the water! This has been great fun on the lighter tackle we use with live bait and especially for many of the kids, families and couples we have this time of year who aren’t necessarily hard-core anglers. The fish will bend rods…run…leap…shake a hook…and are sp
ectacularly colorful. On the perimeters of the schools or swimming in more solitary packs are the larger beast dorado that can be anywhere from 20 to over 50 pounds! I’ve never seen such a concentration of large fish like we’ve had for the last month-and-a-half. It’s been a great time to tangle with a trophy fish. Every day I hear stories from anglers who had a big fish on the beat them up and finally broke off or came un-buttoned. That’s why they are big fish. They are stronger and much more powerful and you just never know what’s going to hit your line. The biggest problem is that often you can see the larger fish, but the smaller fish are just so much faster to grab your bait that you don’t get the opportunity to hook-up the bigger boys! Still, it’s nice to hear that many anglers are releasing smaller fish and also females!
This is not to say there aren’t other fish in our ocean! We’ve got bonito, roosterfish, jack crevalle, pompano, trevally, cabrilla, triggerfish, snappers and several species of pargo. It’s just that folks are having so much fun with the dorado that they’re not chasing the other species. But, they ARE there. Plus there’s been billfish around that have been hooked “accidentally” but nothing ever stuck. Don’t know how much longer this dorado bite will last, but we’re enjoying it for now!
Not a fish picture this time, but the prospects of a fishing day and an amazing flat Sea of Cortez full of fish and the start of another great day! It’s like glass! (Thanks for the shot, Jennifer Enright!) People ask us all the time if we think they will get seasick or will it be too rough! #jonathanroldan
Tailhunter Fish Report 