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Archive for the ‘grouper’ Category

roosterfish tags 1 5-13

From Chicago to the Roosterfish Capital…Captain Pancho gives Tim Sayre a hand posing with this colorful exotic roosterfish just off the beach near the Las Arenas lighthouse where the roosters again put on a show this past week.  This fish and all their roosters were released.

yellowtail tags jorge 5-13

Happy Hombre! Our amigo, Jorge Romero hoists a nice late season yellowtail he pulled up on a yo-yo yellow and brown iron near Cerralvo Island. He also lost a huge cabrilla shortly after on the iron as well. The presence of yellowtail tells us that there’s still cooler waters around!

SAYRE pompano tags 5-13

Bob Sayre looks like he’s not quite sure what he’s holding, but our amigo is holding a HUGE pompano that ended up on the dinner plate at our Tailhunter Restaurant. Bob’s standing on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos and caught this on a live bait near Punta Perico.

pompano tags tom ames 5-13

A battle-scarred pompano that our buddy, Tom Ames from Idaho, took on a flyrod that wore out both man and fish! We’ve had a run of nice big pompano. Note the flat waters and how close it was caught to the beach!

rooster randy choate tags 5-13

Randy Choate was here last year with us and wanted to get into some nice roosters. Looks like he’s trying to suppress a smile over this nice roosterfish taken in flat waters out of Bahia de Los Muertos.  They caught a number of these and released all the roosters.

dorado Laurie Kennedy 5-13

I’m really surprised we’re not catching more dorado right now given that our air temperatures are in the 90’s and it’s almost June. But cooler waters have hung on so there’s only sporadic dorado fishing…so far! But Laurie Kennedy from Washington got one in Bahia de Los Muertos fishing close to the rocks in flat waters with Captain Adolfo.

rooster ken fritz tags 5-13

Ken Fritz from Sacramento called this “the best fishing day ever!” He got into the great roosterfish bite right off the lighthouse beach at Las Arenas and caught and released a number of these roosters!

PEZ GALLO ESTEBAN Rooster tags LAS ARENAS 002

First rooster ever for amigo, Esteban Romero, who is very familiar to many of our fishing clients! Captain Fernando helps with the honors. This fish was released and was caught on a live sardine.

Andrew McCormick pulled up this fat barred pargo near Espirito Santo Island working a live bait near the rocks.  Great eating fish!  Andrew is from the Portland OR area.

Andrew McCormick pulled up this fat barred pargo near Espirito Santo Island working a live bait near the rocks. Great eating fish! Andrew is from the Portland OR area.  Andrew was on his first trip with Tailhunter to La Paz.

Jesus sierra 5-13-tags

Hard to believe this late in the season that we’re still getting sierra, but the tasty toothy fish are still hanging off the beaches which means we still have cool water hanging out as well. Young Jesus was out fishing for the very first time and give’s a thumbs up to Captain Fernando and this nice sierra that ended up as a big plate of fresh ceviche!

Kenton McGuire roosterfish tags 5-13

Holding it high! Kenton McGuire from Santa Barbara was on his first trip to La Paz with his dad for a quick vacation before heading off to the Air Force Academy and pulled in this trophy roosterfish as well as several others. All were released.

ROOSTERFISH STILL CENTERSTAGE OF SOLID INSHORE ACTION

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of May 12-19, 2013

Another solid week of some of the best rooster fishing of the season.  The hot spot extends from the famous Punta Arenas lighthouse and that area of white beaches south through Bahia de los Muertos and down to Boca de Alamo to the south.  This is the area that has the reputation as the “Roosterfish Capital of the World” and extends to the East Cape area as well.

It’s surely living up to it as many folks who have never caught roosters are getting multiple hookups.  The roosters are right up close to the sandy beaches in several feet of water.

As some of our anglers put it, “We’ve been surrounded by roosters every day!”  

These fish are running 10-50 pounds with some larger ones breaking off especially as anglers drop down their gear to have some fun on lighter tackle!  

“Every cast was a bite, but these fish are tough on the light tackle!”

“I had no idea how much they fight.  I’m outgunned.  I brought a light spinning rod and got broke off on the first fish and got spooled on the 2nd fish before we could chase it with the panga!”

“What fun…hooked, released and lost over 25 fish and I’m whupped!  I couldn’t stop a few that simply broke off!” 

In these same areas, there’s been a nice run of pompano up to 15-20 pounds plus schools of jack crevalle also marauding the bait schools along the beaches.

Our flyfishers have been having a blast casting to these fish as they boil along the beaches as well.

The rocks have been producing good action on pargo and cabrilla as well as the occasional yellowtail as the waters have not been warming as expected so we’re in a lingering transition with cooler and warmer waters all in the same areas.

That’s our story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: 

www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:  https://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

Tailhunter YouTube Videoshttp://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report from Tailhunter International of La Paz for Week of May 5-12, 2013

rooster scott Mcguire 5-14 tags

Roosterfishing has been on fire this past week! Big fish and tremendous action! Check out Scott McGuire’s big rooster that he caught with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet while fishing with his son. They caught and released several big fish.

rooster al rodriguez 5-13 tags

One of my favorites photos of the week…Al Rodriguez with one of his roosters. Great colors and the big smile is priceless! Nothing beats fishing for roosters on light tackle and check out how close to the beach he’s fishing! This fish was released as were all his roosters.

Kevin Kennedy tags dorado 5-13

Definitely NOT a salmon! Kevin Kennedy came to visit us from Washington for the first time and got this gorgeous early season dorado just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos. With waters warming, we should be seeing more dorado.

dan and andrew tags 5-13

Our frequent amigo, Dan McCormick from the Portland area, brought his son, Andrew down with him for the first time and they did especially well fishing north of La Paz with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet knocking out a number of solid yellowtail, pargo, and this fat amberjack over several days!

yellowtail kevin chang tags 5-13

Kevin Kennedy and I have been fishing amigos for many years, but I haven’t seen him visiting us in La Paz for a long time. He finally made it down and shows off one of the yellowtail he caught of Espirito Santo Island. The yellowtail are getting more scarce as the waters get warmer.

Bob Coon rooster tags 5-13

For everyone who asks all the time about our popular Capt. Pancho, he wraps himself up all the time with his hoodie, hat and bandana because he’s alergic to excessive sun which is hard for a panga captain in Baja! But he’s one of our best and probably more of us should follow his lead when it comes to sunburn! But check out this trophy rooster he got for Bob Coon just off the sand at Las Arenas near the lighthouse! The fish and others were released.

rooster JP tags 5-13 two

Big boy slugger roosterfish for my old amigo from Florida, JP Perkin, who I first met more than 20 years ago when he was running a famous tackle store on the pier in Santa Barbara CA before moving to Florida! Great fisherman! Nice rooster that got released.

Laurie Reynolds rooster tags edit 5-13

What a great photo! Laurie Reynolds of Long Beach was out with our amigos, Roger and Donna Thompson, and they got into a fast and furious roosterfish bite at Boca de Alamo south of Bahia de los Muertos! I love the colors in this photo. Thanks, Roger! The ladies really did well this week!

kuhn cabrilla 5-13 tags

When my amigo, Bill Kuhn, pulled this one up off Espirito Santo Island while fishing with our Captain Joel, we figured it was the biggest cabrilla we had ever seen, but on closer exam…it’s a grouper! Made for some great fat fillets! Bill lives in Laguna Beach CA.

roosterfish adolfo and Laurie tags 5-13

All smiles…must be the cool sunglasses! Captain Adolfo with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet poses with Laurie Kennedy from Washington on her first visit to La Paz and her first rooster!

mantas-tags 5-13

Couldn’t pass up this great photo of a school of manta rays passing by one of our fishing pangas in the blue water of the Sea of Cortez. Thanks for the photo, Kevin!

ROOSTERFISH PUT ON A SHOW AT LAS ARENAS!  MAYBE BEST EVER…

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of May 5-12, 2013

We’ve have an incredible week of variety and one of the best weeks of rooster fishing that I can remember!  I guess there’s a reason they call our area the “Roosterfish Capital of the World. ”

I was getting a bit worried about the roosterfish because normally by March or so we’ve got pretty decent biters and it’s fairly consistent by May.  But up to about 3 weeks ago, it had only been hit-or-miss in that famous area near the Las Arenas lighthouse where the world record 114-pounder had been caught a number of years ago.

Roosterfish are one of the most prized and sought-after species in our area.  Extremely exotic, anglers come from all over the world to get a shot at them with their fiery black racing stripes and iconic dorsal fins.  These fish inhabit the pristine white sandy beaches and blue waters of the southern Baja and perhaps no more prolifically than in the 10 or so miles of beaches around Las Arenas and down towards the East Cape…but especially the lighthouse.

These fish can be found in waters that are only a few feet deep and are known to tear up the bait schools of sardines and mullet that come into these areas at this time of year.  The fish can be school-sized 5-10 pounders but 10-40 pounders are not uncommon and an incredible sport for flyfishers and light tackle anglers.

The fish this week have stormed the beaches with our pangas getting 2, 4, 8 or more roosterfish per day with fish in the 20-60 pound class and some larger getting away!  Many anglers are getting their first ever plus more.  Others are getting their personal best largest roosters!  These are hard-charging members of the jack family and often the pangas have to chase the fish up and down the beach to keep up with them!

As a bonus in the same areas, there’s some monster jack crevalle, also known for their tenacity and known as “toros” in Spanish which appropriately means “bull.”  As well, there is another member of the jack family in these same areas which are the African pompano.  The great thing about the pompano is that they make for incredible eating whereas the jack crevalle and roosterfish taste terribly with their black/ red stringy meat and almost all those fish get released.

In other action, the reefs and rocks are producing good action on cabrilla (sea bass), pargo (several varieties up to 20 pounds) plus some big amberjack up to 40 pounds and sierra.  Yellowtail continue to hit, but sporadically.  The best spot is now north of La Paz around Espirito Santo Island.  Waters are warming and we expect the yellowtail will continue to diminish and more blue-water species like dorado moving in.  I’m seeing more sargasso around the channels and the influx of the floating seaweed is a good sign that dorado will also be arriving soon.  So far, we’ve had some dorado already in but we’re waiting for the main body to show up!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: 

www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:  https://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

Tailhunter YouTube Videoshttp://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

 

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Rooster Dover tags 4-13

We’ve finally had a good appearance of roosterfish, the kind that made Las Arenas the “roosterfish capital of the world.” The fish have been 10-50 pounders and right near the beach. Check out Leif Dover’s big pez gallo taken right off the sand near the Arenas lighthouse. Leif got several of these and released all of them. We encourage releasing the roosters…great exotic fighters, but don’t taste very good and most guys voluntarily are voluntarily releasing them although you’re allowed to keep them. It’s good to see them getting released.

pompano tags jp perkin 5-13

Super photo of another member of the jack family…related to yellowtail, amberjack, jack crevalle…this big pompano was hooked by our amigo of many years, JP Perkin, who used to own a famous tackle store on the Santa Barbar pier in California but now lives in Florida and came to spend a few weeks in La Paz with us. These make incredible eating…and especially sashime! Almost better than yellowtail!

Wayne yellowtail tags

Yellowtail still biting, especially north of La Paz around Espirito Santo Island. They’re diminishing as the waters are warming but some of the one’s we’re getting are still 20-40 pound fish like this nice one that Wayne and Captain Rogelio are showing off here.

Jerry Sylvia 5-13 pompano tags

Jerry Sylvia holds the tail gaff on another sweet-sized pompano. The fish have moved in the last few weeks but I can’t remember seeing so many larger ones caught as we have this year. Jerry came to visit us from Santa Barbara CA

Amberjack 2-Dover 5-13-tags

This is the time of year…late spring…when these big slugs show up. The Mexican name for them is “Pez Fuerte” (amberjack). They are horses and they are the bigger cousins of yellowtail and roosterfish and THEY TASTE GREAT!!! These fish get up over 100 pounds. Leif Dover had a pretty epic week on these all the way from Georgia. This big guy was probably over 50 pounds!

WARM AND COLD WATER SPECIES MIX IT UP FOR THE WEEK!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of April 28- May 5, 2013

It wasn’t a bad week of fishing, but it was’t a great week of fishing either.  There was certainly a lot of action in terms of getting rods bent, but just not a lot of quality fish that came up.  But, also some of that had to do with the type of fish that were getting hooked as well.

Like I said, there was some fairly decent action as we had good numbers of pargo, cabrilla, sierra, pompano and bonito ripping around.  Great great fun on light tackle.  Some dorado were also showing up to 25 pounds.  And there’s rooster fish up to 40 pounds plus jack crevalle in the same area.  So, some great varieties!

But, in terms of quality, we just didn’t see much.  But then again, the “quality” fish were the type that have a lot going for them…like ROCKS!

We did get yellowtail again.  Fewer, but many of those busted guys off in the rocks, but we still showed some in the 20-30 pound class.  The best area has been the east side of Espirito Santo Island north of La Paz.  That’s an area where there’s still a big body of cooler water according to the satellite images of the water temperatures.  As well, their bruiser cousins, the amberjack also made a great showing with fish up to 60 pounds, but again, it’s a lot  harder to put a 60 pound fish in the boat than a 10 pound fish and although guys were hooking them, they mostly broke off.  Same for the larger pargo and cabrilla.  If you can’t get them out’ve the rocks, the overall fish counts don’t look very good.  Good fishing.  Bad catching.

Waters are in that transition mode and passing through a warming phase so we’re expecting to go from cooler water to warmer water species any week now.  There’s some good fingers of warm water and sargasso is starting to build up in the channels which bodes well for dorado season coming up!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: 

www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:  https://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

Tailhunter YouTube Videoshttp://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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Bill Fong Yellowtail tags 4-13

Despite warming waters, there’s still some yellowtail around especially around Espirito Santo Island north of La Paz where Bill Fong from the Sacramento area go this hefty forktail.

wahoo tags beach 4-13

We have taken more wahoo in the last 2 months than we’ve taken in the last two years! First timer and fishing only ONE day, Randy got these two 20-30 pound class wahoo at the south end of Cerralvo Island.

DENNIS FUJII TAGS YELLOWTAIL ALFREDO 4-13

These are what we all “firecracker yellowtail.” There seems to be nice schools of this fun-sized ‘tails in various places available to both our La Paz and Las Arenas fleets. Dennis Fujii and Captain Alfredo pose with a nice schoolie.

cabrilla faron tags 4-13

Another of our Canadian friends, Faron Kilber, poses with the nice-grade of cabrilla that are biting in the rocky areas right now. Our largest this week was about a 25-pound pig!

WATERS WARMING BRINGS FISHING VARIETY

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of April 21-28, 2013

It was an up-and-down week of fishing with more of those pesky winds some days and then flat calm waters in between plus maybe a tad of full-moon thrown in.  Most days, however, were gorgeous, but big swells generated from the south still made it a bit bumpy even with other conditions were super.

The result was a week of fishing as variable as the weather.  Again, it’s “transition” time between colder and warmer fishing seasons so we had changes in water plus about that many different types of fish as well.

One day all the fish seemed to be inshore fish.  The next day the off-shore fish were lock jawed and only the blue water species bit.  Other days it was a mad mix of a little of this…a little of that.  I counted 15 different species of fish caught last week between our Tailhunter Las Arenas and our Tailhunter La Paz fleet.

With the offshore stuff, we again got into a few wahoo that were in the 20-40 pound class and a few large tuna were hooked (and lost) that were estimated in the 60-80 pound category.  As well, we’re starting to see a few billfish again and several were hooked (and also lost on light tackle, but a nice thrill just the same for a while when they were hooked).

Inshore, there’s been a lot of activity.  Pargo continue to torment the anglers with only about 2 or 3 put in the boat for every 10 hooked.  That’s just the way it is!  These are tough exciting fish, but their first move is right to the rocks so they have the “edge” in more ways than one!  If you look our our daily scores, in fact, it seems like fishing has really been bad some days, but then talking to the captains or the clients, you find out they lost 2, 3, 4…6 fish to breakoffs or errors!

Same for the yellowtail.  There’s still some nice YT’s around, but not as much as last month as we are no transitioning to warmer water conditions.  The size has also varied.  We’re getting some as small as 5 pound firecracker yellowtail up to about 30-40 pound sluggers.  Best areas are around the islands especially northern Cerralvo and the west side of Espirito Santo Island.

In those same areas, we’ve been hooking some really nice fat cabrilla (Mexican sea bass) up to about 25 pounds and even some small grouper.

Along the beaches, we saw an increase in the number of hooked rooster fish and jack crevalle running up to about 30 pounds and the waters are still cool enough for the guys to be hooking a handful of sierra each day, not counting the bite-offs.

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: 

www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:  https://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

Tailhunter YouTube Videoshttp://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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yellowtail fabio tags 3-13

Big horse toad slugger yellowtail still running hard and strong around Cerralvo Island. Fabio shows a head shot on another big guy. If the winds are down the fish come to chew! (Thanks for the photo Hawk!)

yellowtail 3-13 ventana

Earlier in the week when the winds let us, this is the kind of world-class yellowtail fishing we were doing with 3-8 yellowtail per panga in the 20-40 pound class. As the winds increased over the week, the bite got a little pickier, but we still got into the fish! Mackerel, sardines, Rapala-type lures and yo-yo iron all worked!

Judy JR Caroline Jilly-proc

Thanks to everyone for the fantastic week at the Long Beach Convention Center for the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show! It was the best week we’d ever had in all these years and the best part was seeing so many of our amigos and amigas who stopped by to visit including Judy and Caroline from Western Outdoor News who work with us during the November Tuna Jackpot Tournament Cabo. Jill and I wanted to say thanks to everyone! Nothing like being home in S.Cal! “Fish Hard….Party Harder!”  Now we head to another of our favorite places…the ISE Show in Salt Lake City at the Southtowne Expo Center in Sandy UT.  Show is Thursday to Sunday!

WIND DOWN YELLOWTAIL UP!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 4-11, 2013

All-in-all, a pretty solid week of fishing with more yellowtail all week.   It wasn’t completely wind-free, but enough so that we could get into the yellowtail whch were again, horses!   Mostly the fishing centered around Cerralvo Island with some thick 20-40 pound fish coming up on the mackerel, sardines and especially the iron with blue/white…green/yellow…and scrambled egg patterns working the best!  Some of these fish were horses and as many fish were lost as were caught!

When folks got into the mackerel schools, especially, things could get wild as we had several stories of anglers jigging on their light tackle and getting slammed by big yellowtail and having their hands full…much to the entertainment of their fishing partners!   However, it wasn’t uncommon for the pangas to nail 4, 5, 6, or more of these big yellowtail each day!

Winds were great early in the week which corresponded with the best bite then increased as the week went on, especially in the afternoon and by the weekend they were back up to speed and the bite, consequently diminished.  That’s the biggest problem is the winds.  Winds up and the the fish are more difficult.  This coming week the predictions show that the winds start diminishing about Thursday so hopefully, we’ll get back into the thick of it!

Also, as a side note…yes! There are pargo and cabrilla running.  In fact, the pargo are up and thick in the shallows as this is spawning time.  However, everyone is concentrated on the yellowtail which are easier to stop than the big pargo which are embedded in the rocks!  But yea..the big red guys are there with the big seabass!

TAILHUNTER TOUR HEADS NORTH TO SALT LAKE CITY

Thanks, for the great visit, Long Beach!  We're headed to Salt Lake City now for the ISE show!

Thanks, for the great visit, Long Beach! We’re headed to Salt Lake City now for the ISE show!

We just wrapped up the best and busiest show of the season.  We spent 5 incredible days at the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center where it was just packed every single day.  Jill and I are hoarse from hours-and-hours of talking and seeing so many of our amigos and clients plus meeting new ones.  Lots of bookings too and we’re jazzed so many of you are coming back to visit us this year in La Paz!

Also, thanks to everyone who stopped by with wishes and goodies for my birthday!  Wow…it was like 5 days of Christmas and often it seemed like there was a bigger party in back of the counter than in front of the counter!  We had a grand time and we surely appreciated all the visits, the gifts…THE FOOD!!!  We ate non-stop from day 1 to 5!

We’re now on the road to Salt Lake City to the Southtowne Expo Center in Sandy UT for the International Sportsmens Expo.  It runs Thursday to Sunday and is always a blast. That’s March 14-17th!   We always enjoy being in Salt Lake City and seeing our friends.  So, come by the booth and say hi and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz this year!  Here’s info on the show if you need details or tickets:  http://www.sportsexpos.com/

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.” 

Read Full Post »

yellowtail jig tags 2-13

Once the winter winds back off, the big fish bit back hard with big fat yellowtail like this one stuck on iron off Cerralvo Island. The only thing is that the winds took their sweet time to back down and we didn’t get into fish until late in the week.

yellowtail brian oneill tags 2-13

Another fish hung on the blue and whit iron! Take a look at the quality of this 40 pound class yellowtail that Brian O’Neil hung fishing a long week with us with our Las Arenas Fleet. Brian is from Atlanta GA.

yellowtail gerardo tags 2-13

The client didn’t want their photo taken so Captain Gerardo of our Las Arenas fleet took the pose with another fat forktail taken off the island.

cougar JR edit

Thanks for the great time and great show, Boise! One of our best shows of the season! And now…here we come, LONG BEACH FRED HALL SHOW! This is the grand daddy of shows! It’s one of the largest on the west coast and kicks it off Wednesday to Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center!

WINDS BLOW AND KEEP US OFF THE WATER UNTIL LATE IN WEEK!

La Paz / Las Arenas fishing Report for Week of Feb. 24 to March 3, 2013

Compared to the previous week, this past week was a complete disappointment for the most part.  A week ago the winds gave us a break and laid down and the yellowtail went on a major feed along with dorado, marlin and sailfish.  Well, this past week, the winds were pretty unforgiving.  It was like Mother Nature was making up for being nice to us or reminding us that this is still winter.   So, she ripped  us pretty much all week!

But…on the good side, we didn’t have many fishermen either, so let the wind blow!  No harm. No foul.

However, as the weekend came up, the winds ran out’ve some of their steam and sure enough, it was enough of a window for the fish to come back up.  Yellowtail once, more came on the chew with fish in the 20-40 pound class around Cerralvo Island and south of Bahia de Los Muertos.  Our pangas averaged 4-8 yellowtail each in the boat with others lost to the rocks or inexperience.  Additionally, there were cabrilla and smaller pargo taken as well.  The fish were eating mackerel, sardines and willing to eat the yo-yo iron as well.

We just had one of the best shows of the 2013 tour season wrapping up our show at the Idaho Sportmans Show at the Idaho Fairgrounds in Boise!  Great to see so many of our amigos and talk to all the new folks.  We booked lots of trips for this year and excited about seeing everyone . Thanks to everyone who came by to say hi.  Boise is one of our favorite stops along the way!

LAST CALL CABIN FEVER CLASSIC

Last call for our 13th Annual Cabin Fever Classic Event.  We’re gonna have it April 10-15th in La Paz and it’s the only personally escorted trip we do and it’s always great fun with super friends, great food…and even some fish!  It’s 3 days of fishing and a day of snorkeling at the island plus lots of extras.  For more information, e-mail us at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com.  There’s just a few spots left!

WE’RE HEADED TO LONG BEACH FOR THE BIG SHOW!

But now…the Tailhunter 2013 Road Tour heads to the BIG SHOW!  The Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center.  This is probably the biggest show on the west coast with hundreds of vendors…tons of fishing and outdoor gear…seminars by the best in the industry…boats…travel…hunting…vacations…FIVE MASSIVE DAYS of craziness!  It starts Wednesday and goest to Sunday.  Comes see us and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz!  We’ll be in our booth in our usual spot next to Izorline and Whopper Stopper Rods on the main tackle row.  See ya there!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

 

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February 2013 day 1 copy-proc

Crazy good yellowtail fishing this week…the best of the year. Brian O’Niel and Leif Dover came out to fish with us from Atlanta GA and timed a week’s worth of fishing just right hammering 6 ‘tails and losing 2 on their first day out…just as the bite started!

Yellowtail mucho tags 2-13

The yellowtail went off at Cerralvo Island and even the guys from La Ventana and El Sargento got into the big chew. (Thanks fot Hawk for the great photo!)

yellowtail darrell rogers 2-13

Recently retired Darrell George kicked off the “easy life” the right way coming out to fish with us from New Mexico with his dad and they also got into the big yellowtail bite with fish up to the 40 pound class off Cerralvo Island.

yellowtail joel zarmati tags 2-13

Check out this fat forktail hefted by Joel Zarmati who stuck this thick fish in the early morning bite off Cerralvo Island late in the week. (Thanks for the photo, Roger!)

Leif 32 pound yellowtail tags 2-13

This is what you call a “mossback” yellowtail…thick fish with the dark back! Big smiles and a heavy gaff from Leif as he sticks the fish. That’s Cerralvo Island in the background.

Roger striped marlin tags 2-13

Roger Thompson is one of those guys who has great ju-ju when he fishes! We normally don’t see billfish until the spring, but both striped marlin and sailfish are already in the area and already eating! Several of our fishermen took several this week. Roger was out for yellowtail when he stuck this nice striper. They were unable to let it go and cooked it up for everyone!

Brian sabiki yellowtail-proc tags 3-13

Brian did this yellowtail the hard way! He was using a sabiki rig (light tackle multi-hook rig used to catch bait) to catch mackerel to fish for yellowtail when this nice yellowtail crashed the rig and left Brian gingerly trying to get the fish back to the boat ! He and the fish went at it for more than 1/2 and hour before he put the fish on the gaff! Good job, Brian!

Gary Morris and Graham yellowtail tags 2-13

Gary Morris and his buddy, Graham live in El Sargento/ La Ventana and they took a day and got into the yellowtail bite too! Great eating!

Taylor JR JR Tim 2-13

Tailhunter heads to the Boise Sportsmens Show this week, but we wanted to thank everyone who came to chat at the booth including our best amigos, Tim and Taylor Torres who drove in from Las Vegas to see us! Tim and I used to be neighbors and hadn’t seen each other in about 25 years! They’re going to be coming to fish with us in La Paz! We signed up alot of new folks who’re coming to visit us in La Paz in 2013. Great show and a great time in Phoenix!

BIG YELLOWTAIL PLUS MARLIN AND SAILS BLOW UP AROUND CERRALVO ISLAND!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week for Feb. 17-24, 2013

Probably the best fishing week of the season!

It was pretty much wide open fishing around Cerralvo Island…at least for a few days…then it shut off for a few days…then went crazy wide open again later in the week!

Again, the winds…or lack of them…were the key!  In the best yellowtail bite of the season, 20-40 pound fish ripped into pretty much everything that hit the water…live mackerel…dead mackerel…jigs and lures!  Our own pangas fishing from Bahia de Los Muertos as well as pangas from La Ventana and El Sargento pulled up with commerciall pangas and private boats to jump on the bite.

One of our anglers said, “We got 6 yellowtail ranging from about high 20’s up to one at 38 pounds, we’ve basically filled 2 coolers already!  Got 3 bonito and lost 2 more yellowtails today too, but not too bad a day.  Wind was medium out of east in the morning and then switched to north and horrible by about 11 (in the morning) , got pretty rough on the ride from Cerralvo over to Las Suenos.”

“Can’t wait for tomorrow, these suckers are back breakers but fun as hell!”, he added.

The key was to get there early and get the live mackerel before too many boats got on the spots or the winds started to pick up.  If you had the live “candy bait” mackerel, it was instant bendo.  But, even if you had the dead bait, the big fork tails would jump the hooks.  We had some guys even get bit while they were using their sabikis to catch mackerel!  (See the photos of Brian O’Neil above!)  These were solid stocky fish and about 30 percent of the fish were lost.

Roger Thompson told us this, “We were late getting there yesterday and we missed the bait bite. Only had 3 live baits and  Captain Hugo got 5 dead baits from one his buddies. I hooked 4 on iron (lures)  and boated 2. Donna caught 1 on on live bait and 1 on dead. My friend Joel caught 2 on dead bait.  I couldn’t believe these fish were eating dead mackerel! “

However, in addition to the mackerel, surprisingly no one told the billfish that it’s winter!  We had one of the nicest bites of sailfish and striped marlin that we’ve seen in quite awhile!   Even for prime time…and this isn’t “prime time”… but no one told the billfish.  We had one panga hook 6 stripers in one day catching and releasing 2 and losing 4 others.  Some of the other pangas were also hooking them in several areas all around Cerralvo Island and even more surprising, there was a big school of billfish right off Punta Perico which is about 100 yards from the beach and about 3 minutes from where we launch our pangas!

More from Roger, “…I saw a fin on the water as we headed over to the island and thought is was a manta but only saw one fin. As we got closer it was moving, so we tossed a live mackerel at it with one of my 50-pound yellowtail setups. This marlin was hungry! He slammed the bait and an hour later we snapped the photo (see above) . He had a bad line cut on his eye and Hugo was salivating so we kept this one. Donna and I keep one marlin per year. It’s been 2 years since we took one…… Do you know how good fresh barbequed marlin is?? WOW!!”

If you couldn’t get the mackerel, sardines were blowing up the dorado (they didn’t hear that it was winter either!) as well as pargo, sierra and cabrilla.

Later in the week, the winds came up again and the bite quieted somewhat, but then this past weekend hit and the winds went flat.  Sure enough, the yellowtail came up for the chew and blew up again!  We’ve not had a yellowtail week like this in a long time!

TAILHUNTER TOUR HEADING TO BOISE IDAHO

We just wrapped up maybe the best show of the marketing season with 4 days in Phoenix at the International Sportsmens Expo.  Thanks to everyone who came by to say hi and all the new amigos we met!  We now move back north to one of the prettiest cities on our tour and take the booth to Boise, Idaho at the Idaho Sportsmens Show.  We’ll be there from Feb. 28th to March 3rd (Thursday to Sunday).  Come see us and let’s talk about your next La Paz fishing trip.  Here’s more information:  http://www.idahosportsmanshow.com/

2013 CABIN FEVER CLASSIC

Our 2013 Cabin Fever Classic dates have finally been set.  We’re going to hold it April 10-15th and it’s our 10th annual trip and the only one that Jill and I personally escort.  Lodging at La Concha Beach Resort… 3 days fishing…1 day island snorkel tour and picnic…Always lots of fun.  No guarantee that we’ll catch any fish, but we surely have fun.  Climb outta your cabin and come put your toes in the sand and fill your hand with a fishing rod and a cold one and lots of laughs!  Spots are limited.  Here’s the official details:

DATES:  April 10-15

LODGING:  La Concha Beach Resort in ocean facing rooms for 5 nights

FISHING:  3 days (tentatively 2 days Las Arenas and 1 day La Paz)

SNORKEL/ DIVING Island day (so popular last year we’re bringing it back): 1 day probably after 2 days fishing

FOOD:  We’ll do the buffet at La Concha and we’ll do a taco feed at Tailhunters (if everyone wants) .  April 12th is Jill’s birthday so we’ll have live music that night too!  Beyond that, we’ll go out every night and whoever wants to go is welcome!

Cost:  $1175 each double occupancy

For more details e-mail us at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

Have a great week!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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jorge dorado tags

In a surprise bite considering it’s winter, we’re still pulling in dorado! Captain Jorge holds up the kind of “warm” water fish we’re getting out of Las Arenas with fish between 10 and 20 pounds! Either we’ve still got warm water left over from last season or perhaps…water is warming faster than we think and the warm water fish are already moving in? Hard to know, but no on is too upset with these great fish!



yellowtail burns tags

More our style for this time of year…cooler water fish like Rob’s nice fat yellowtail taken out of Bahia de Los Muertos…in between strong winter winds! When the wind lies down, we’re getting fish!

whaleswdennis 407

February is still prime time for our grey whale tours at Bahia Magdalena. The whales will start moving out generally in March. Don’t miss the opportunity for this great experience to get close to these incredible animals in the shallow calm waters of Baja. Ask us about trips!

Miss Ellie

Tailhunter is now leaving Yakima WA and headed to Glendale (Phoenix) Arizona for the next hunting and fishing show. We had a great time in Yakima and will be at the International Sportsmens Expo at the Phoenix University Football Stadium where the NFL Cardinals play from Thursday to Sunday. Come say hi and talk about your next La Paz fishing adventure and check out our new t-shirts like the one being modeled by our young amiga, Ellie and Jilly! Hope to see you this week!

DORADO SURPRISE ANGLERS IN WINTER BITE

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 10-17, 2013

Early week seasonal winds continued to plague the fishing, but just as well that we really didn’t have anyone wanting to go fishing, but it wouldn’t have been good anyway.  But, later in the week, we did get out and the winds cooperated.  It’s the northern winds that really give us the most problem making it difficult to fish as well as get bait.

However, crazily when we got out fishing we got some nice variety.  I say “crazily” because it’s winter and we’re catching dorado…normally warmer water fish that we don’t see until maybe April or May.  Not only did we get dorado, but some of them were really respectable-sized fish in the 10-20 pound class.  Surprisingly, these fish were in the same spots as the cooler water fish, specifically, pargo and yellowtail…fish that we normally catch this time of year…colder water fish.  This leads me to believe that there’s some crazy thermoclines right now with surface water temperatures much warmer than below the surface.  But…hey…no one is complaining!  A winter fishing day that ends up with dorado, pargo, sierra and yellowtail is a banner day no matter where and when you’re fishing!

Winds should be better this week and we’ve got folks fishing all week so we’ll hopefully have a better handle on what’s out there!

TAILHUNTER TOUR 2013

By the time you’re reading this, we’ll be on our way from Yakima WA to Phoenix AZ.  Long drive!  But we’re just wrapping up our 5th show of the season at the Central Washington Sportsmens Show in Yakima where we had a great time meeting all kinds of new amigos and now headed to the International Sportsmen’s Show in Phoenix at the University of Phoenix Stadium…the football stadium where the NFL Cardinals play.  It’s a great venue and we always have a blast.  The show starts Thursday and we’ll be in the booth through Sunday. (Feb. 21-24)  Here’s more information:  http://www.sportsexpos.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewlocation&locationnumber=6

Come see us and let’s set up your 2013 La Paz fishing trip!  See you this week!

That’s our story

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

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Hawk Yellowtai 1-proc

Our good friend, “Hawk” Davis, was able to sqeeze out some days on the fishing grounds in between wind to get in on the yellowtail bite we got this week!

whaleswdennis 410-proc

Whale watching in Bahia Magdalena is going on full-swing right now in the bay’s shallow warm waters where the grey whales spend the winter. It’s a great experience and we’ll be running trips through March! Ask us!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We just finished our 4th Tailhunter Show of the season at the Portland Expo Center for a great show where thouands of folks showed up for one of the largest fishing and hunting shows on the west coast! We talked to hundreds of folks each day and got great visits from so many local friends like Amy and Belmond Mann who brought the family to say hi to us! This week we head to the Yakima Sun Dome in Yakima WA for the 24th Annual Central Washington Sportsmans Show from Feb. 15-17th. Come say hi and talk to us about your 2013 La Paz fishing trip!

YELLOWTAIL HIGHLIGHT WEEK OF FISHING

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 3-10, 2013

Late week, winds finally settled down enough to make it comfortable to fish.  Earlier during the week, seasonal winds made it just too crazy for us to really put folks out on the water.  Many folks this time of year, aren’t hardcore anglers and are often folks just in town looking for a day on the water so it’s often best just to just keep an eye on the weather so that we can put them out when it’s calmest and they can enjoy themselves and get some action.  Honest, though, it it weren’t for the winds, it’s really pretty nice in La Paz with daytime temps in the mid-70’s and being in town is really enjoyable right now.  Oh, and carnaval started this week too so town is hopping and it goes on through next week!

Anyway, time on the water was productive with a nice variety of fish and some solid action.

The appearance of yellowtail again was the most welcome part of the bite.  These were some nice fish that ran 15-35 pounds!  Real slugger toads with maybe even some larger fish breaking off as they often head right back to structure and the rocks.  As I mentioned, many folks aren’t big time anglers, and when some of these freight trains hit, you don’t get a second chance to figure out what to do or make mistakes.

This is the same for the larger cabrilla as well as the pargo.  First thing they want to do is head for home in the rocks and that’s often not very deep.  So, there’s not much margin for error.  When a huge pargo, hits if you’re still fiddling with which way on the fishing rod is up, you’re toast!  I mean, that’s part of the fun.  But, it’s not like a tuna or dorado which might have a hundred feet or so of water beneath it to run or wants to rip off 300 yards of line on the uptake.  Yellowtail, pargo, cabrilla and other “rock fish” can often be in water that’s only 10 feet deep and dotted with reef and rocks!  So any hesitation and the fish simply busts you off!

So, often counts would be better except that fish are getting lost.

That being said, we did get some nice yellowtail mixed with smaller cabrilla, pargo, sierra along the beaches and good numbers of bonito which provide great action.

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.” 

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Rack sierra dorado cabrilla

Typical catch this week mixing some great-eating / good action species including, sierra, cabrilla (seabass) and small to mid-sized dorado while fishing out’ve Bahia de Los Muertos.

cabrilla matt lewis tag 12-11

Matt shows off a good-sized cabrilla of the type we were catching this week. Great close inshore fishing for these right now plus one of the tastiest eating fish in our area!

NO TROPHY FISH BUT MIXED ACTION KEPT RODS BENT BETWEEN WINDS

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of  Jan. 27 to Feb. 3, 2013

It was a mixed week of fishing both for the weather and the catch.  Early in the week, we were into dorado and yellowtail fishing as we launched our pangas from Bahia de Los Muertos.  Nothing spectacular, but decent catches with lots of action if you add in the bonito, smaller pargo and cabrilla that were released.   Almost all live-bait fishing.

Then, the winds came up mid-week.  Fortunately, we didn’t have fisher-folks mid-week.

Winds started to diminish about Thursday so we had pangas out every day through the weekend with decent success.  I was surprised by the number of dorado we’re still catching even tho’ it’s winter.  Nothing big, but tasty fun-sized school fish between 10- and 15 pounds are lots of fun and great for many of our winter anglers who aren’t hard-core fisher folks and really are in town just to get some sunshine and have some fun on the water.  As well, we did get into yellowtail, but they were the smaller models no more than 10 pounders plus cabrilla (many ended up at our Tailhunter Restaurant for dinner!) and smaller pargo.  Plus some decent numbers of sierra.  Add that to the bonito and other assorted species and it made for some OK action and fun days on the water although nothing spectacular in terms of size.

A couple of forays were made to the island to see if we could raise wahoo, but no biters.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

“NEEDLEFISH MADNESS”

I filmed this back in November, but only now had time to edit it together.  Any of you that have fished with us or in Baja know that needlefish are voracious pests.  They rip our lines and tear up our baits!  I’ve always wanted to see what it looked like when a school of them descend on a panga!  I thought you might like to see it as well.  Check out the size of this school!  This is what you can’t see underwater when you’re fishing!  These are 3′-4′ long needlefish.  Check out how they hit the sardines when the sardines get tossed in the water!

TAILHUNTER IS IN PORTLAND THIS WEEK!

We continue our swing through the great Pacific Northwest with one of our favorite stops!  Jill and I will  bring the Tailhunter Booth to the  Pacific NW Sportsmens Show at the Portland Expo Center (in Portland…of course!).  Show starts Wednesday and goes through Sunday.  Come by. Say hi.  Check out the new Tailhunter T-shirt designs and come talk to us about your 2013 La Paz Fishing trips!  For more info click this link:  http://www.thesportshows.com/pnwss/

Jilly is set up and ready to go.  See you in Portland, Oregon this week!

Jilly is set up and ready to go. See you in Portland, Oregon this week!

There will be hundreds of outdoor exhibitors from around the world for fishing, hunting, camping and other outdoor activities.  Tons of gear to try, check out and purchase.  Seminars. Boats, RV’s and outdoor vehicles plus great food.  A super event for the entire family!   See you here!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.” 

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