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Archive for the ‘grouper’ Category

wahoo taylor murphey 6-13 tags

We love having the kids get into this. Taylor Murphey from Lakewood CA put up big smiles when she got into the wahoo this week near Cerralvo Island and poses with her catch! (Thanks for the photo, Roger!)

Vince Acosta rooster 6-13 tags

Take a look at the great colors! Our amigo, Vince Acosta from San Diego area put the wood to this roosterfish just off the sand near the Las Arenas lighthouse. He released the fish. Roosterfish tapered off this week, but some days were still banner!

dorado john gothi tags 6-3

Taking a break from the chill of rainy Oregon, John Gothi spreads the fin on a fresh bull dorado with Captain Pancho of our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet. Great colors.

rooster dorene dannettelle 6-13 tags

Captain Pancho seems to get into alot of photos lately! Diane Woerner was visiting us on her first trip to La Paz from San Diego and got her first roosterfish as well. A quick photo then back into the water for a clean release!

wahoo roger tags 6-13

Local poster child, Roger Thompson always gets fish and knows how to make the photos look great. Roger was in the hot spot this week when the wahoo went “on the chew” near Cerralvo Island and lit them up! This is a beast of a ‘hoo!

PezGallo rooster jude martinez 6-13 tags

Big rooster for Jude Martinez with his personal best rooster estimated around the 70 pound mark taken north of La Paz. The fish was donated as it could not be released.

pargo donna thompson tags 6-13

Donna Thompson is the queen of the rockfish and never fails to put big pargo and cabrilla in the boat like this hefty barred pargo!

Rooster Bryan 6-13 tags dannetelle

Big rooster for Bryan Dannettelle who did CPR (catch photo and release) of this trophy roosterfish while fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet. Bryan is from Colorado.

dorado jonathan nina tags 6-13

New Mexico in the house with Jonathan and Nina Duc Le and some nice mahi they caught near Cerralvo Island. It was Jonathan’s 3rd trip, but he’s always come with the guys. This time Nina would not be left home so she came along and did some great fishing! Glad she came along!

CRAZY WEEK OF SPORADIC FISHING WITH UNUSUAL  COLDER WATERS AND WIND!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of June 9-16, 2013

It’s been an erratic week of fishing as late spring winds brought up more cold waters from the deep and dropped water temperatures and and turned waters green.  Even in areas where the surface water seemed warm, below the surface, much of the water was cold.

The effect on the fishing was noticeable.  Fishing days were up-and-down.  One area could be good, but not far away another boat would get nothing.  One day we’d catch fish and the next day, winds would blow and stir things up.

Our excellent rooster fish bite took a hit.  We’ve had an incredible rooster fish season for the past 2 months, but things slowed markedly during this past week although there were some fun days when schools of the 10-20 pound fish were lots of fun on light tackle.  The larger fish were generally absent with only a handful of fish in the 20-60 pound class unlike previous weeks.

The chilling conditions also stumped the dorado bite that is way overdue in starting.  Normally, we’re seeing dorado back in April or so.  The bite this year is tremendously late.  Everytime it seems like were finally getting off the blocks and the dorado are ready to go, the waters get cold again and the dorado get lockjaw.  We did get a few but only scrappy numbers with fish about 10-30 pounds.  Far off the mark.

There were still some decent bites on pargo, cabrilla and amberjack and even a few marlin hooked but not enough for me to commit and say that the billfish are finally here in numbers.

The real highlight was the wahoo.  Last year, we probably had 6 fish caught all year.  We’ve far surpassed that months ago!  This week about mid-week we got a nice jag of wahoo between 10 and 50 pounds off the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island.  It was a nice surprise but no idea how long it will last.

NO MEXICAN FISHING LICENSES – URGENT

If you’re coming down to fish in Mexico, this is important to read:

We have just been informed by the Mexican government that they accidentally did not print out enough fishing licenses for the season.  Tailhunters is one of only a handful of places that is allowed to sell the over-the-counter.  But with no notice, the government now says they don’t have enough to give us to sell.  This has affected all of S. Baja.  Loreto, the East Cape and Cabo San Lucas have no licenses either.  Some are just fishing anyway.  We chose to follow the law.  No fun to look over your shoulder!

Not to stress.  You  can purchase the online and it is important that you buy them before coming down.  Here is the website:  https://www2.ebajacalifornia.gob.mx/Pesca/

  • Click the American flag and it will be in English
  • You want to purchase the fishing license for the “FEDERAL ZONE.”
  • Do not be alarmed at the price…it’s in pesos!!!  So just divide by 11 or 12 and that’s the rate in dollars and it will show up on your credit card statement in dollars.
  • If it’s slow or doesn’t work at first, try again later.  With this announcement, everyone in southern Baja has to purchase their licenses this way!
  • Make sure you forward this to everyone in your party who is coming down or purchase the fishing licenses for them.
  • It is NOT a great website.  Actually, it’s terrible, but it’s the ONLY way to get fishing licenses right now.  If it doesn’t work at first, just keep trying.

No one has licenses right now and nothing until the Mexican government prints some out!  We’re getting calls from operators in Cabo and the East Cape as well as walk-in clients all asking if we have extra licenses to send-over or sell.  It’s crazy.  Tough on all of us, especially because we’re one of the few outlets that has permits to physically sell the permits making it very convenient for the anglers.

You MUST have a license to fish.  Even with this craziness, the inspectors are still out there checking!!!  How nuts is that?  We have alway made sure our clients have that LITTLE BLUE PIECE OF PAPER OR OFFICIAL DOCUMENT.  If you don’t have it or your operators or agents are not physically giving it to you, you cannot fish!  That’s the law.  Many operators “charge you for it” but you never see the document.  You MUST have it in your possession to fish.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience!  We know it’s a pain in the backside.   Everyone who is going to be on the boat must have a fishing license and they do inspect several times a week. 

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 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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Don White dorado tags 6-13

With one of the larger dorado of the week, our frequent La Paz amigo, Don White of Oregon, was out at the 88 spot east of Cerralvo Island when he nailed this beautiful mahi. Dorado action seemed like it was trying hard to get up to speed, but frequent winds kept the bluewater fish a bit reluctant.

rooster ty mitchell tags 6-13

Ty Mitchell from Washington was on his first visit to La Paz with Tailhunters and, over the better part or the week boated jack crevalle, dorado, snapper, sierra, bonito and several other species as well as his first roosterfish of his angling career like this one that he hooked and released near Cerralvo Island off Las Arenas.

Richard amber 6-13 tags

Or amigo, Rich Sawaski from Clovis CA put the wood to this great eating amberjack just off the rocks near Punta Perico in shallow water. These tough fish get over 100 pounds and are related to yellowtail, jack crevalle, pompano and roosterfish.

dorado nina duc le tags 6-13

New Mexico aboard with dorado! Nina Duc Le from Albuquerque NM, with Captain Jorge of the Tailhunter Fleet was fishing with us for her first time. Big smiles and some great color off this fresh bull dorado!

rooster randy yofo 6-13 tags

Big smiles from Captain Adolfo and Randy Forestiere posing with another roosterfish just off the beach at Las Arenas. The roosters have been right off the sand now for about 4 weeks.  The fish was released.

grouper Deryck Matallah 6-13 tags

A good day of fishing for Deryck Matallah from Los Angeles who released all their fish except this big-time grouper taken out’ve La Paz. Largest grouper we’ve seen so far this year!

Jack Sawaske barred pargo 6-13 tags

A colorful tasty barred pargo (pargo mulatto) is a feisty tough rock fish that we’ve been seeing alot of lately. It’s tough to pull these guys off the reefs, but Jack Sawaske, celebrating his birthday poses with a nice fish.

dorado juan santana tags 6-13

Juan Santana from Washington trying to find the handle of good-looking dorado that is still struggling after coming out’ve the water. Juan was on his first trip with us and got this mahi with a live sardine. We saw more dorado again this week, but the full run hasn’t quite taken off.

Fred sawaske tags rooster 6-13

On his first trip with us, Fred Sawaske fished 3 days with us and got a variety of fish including another rooster which was released.

juan santana tags jack crevalle tags 6-13

Juan Santana is a character. We’ve got alot of rampaging schools of jack crevalle right now in the shallows near shore. Related to amberjack, pompano and yellowtail as well as roosterfish, Juan strikes a pose with his fish off Punta Perico.

rooster duc le tags 6-13

Jonathan Duc Le shows off his first-ever roosterfish that he caught just inside of Muertos Bay near where we launch our pangas off the beach. Jonathan is from New Mexico.  This fish was released. 

BILL HUBER flyfising rooster 5-13

Flyfishers have been having a great time on the roosterfish bite. Col. Bill Huber from Alaska says he got “schooled” trying to battle the roosters, but got the better of this trophy fish several hundred yards from the Las Arenas lighthouse.  All roosters for the week were released. 

Ty Juan beach 6-13 tags

Great sample of a good day of fishing variety right now…dorado…yellowtail…snapper…pargo…plus they released roosterfish…Juan Santana and Ty Mitchell show off a bit on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos.

FLURRIES OF DORADO SPICE DECENT INSHORE FISHING WITH ROOSTERS JACKS AND REEFFISH

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of June 2-9, 2013

We had a variable week of fishing this past week with seemingly a little of everything including fishing reports that ran the gamut from “just OK” to “very good.”  There was no way to say how fishing was going to be from one day to the next as changing water conditions and wind conditions seemed to have a major affect on the bite.

One day, we’d have great rooster fishing and the next day, the roosters were “no-show” but the pargo and snapper and cabrilla were willing to bite.  Likewise, we got all fired-up about the dorado that we were sure had finally arrived and would have a regular bite.  But, again…one day we’d have good dorado then the next day no dorado to speak of!

One boat could have a banner day of fishing with several species of fish and a boat next to it would struggle to get a bite.  It was crazy.  We did have a lot of species, however…roosters…jack crevalle…bonito…dorado…snapper…pompano…sierra…yellowtail…amberjack…several species of pargo…

This is all pretty typical of the type of fishing this time of year and something we just have fun with during the time.  As waters continue to warm, more blue water fishing usually become more evident.

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:  https://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

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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Tyler ehlers 5-13 rooster tags

Big roosterfish again this week with this gorgeous pez gallo for first-timer Tyler Ehlers from Denver, Colorado. Great colors on this fish and I can tell it’s a big fish because Tyler is 6’7″ tall and plays college baseball! Note how close to the beach they are. Many of these roosters are only in a few feet of water.  Tyler and his grandfather caught a number of nice roosters over several days and released all of them.

dorado Al Dodson TX tags 5-13

Texas in the house with one of our first large dorado of the season! Al Dodson from Austin, poses with a nice bull caught out on the east side of Cerralvo Island by the 88 bank. Thanks to Roger Thompson for the photo. We started seeing a few more dorado this week…finally!

ziggy dorado 5-13 tags

Espirito Santo Island north of La Paz also started to kick out a few dorado as well as waters nicked up a few degrees in warmth. Our amigo, Ziggy Haspod, from Santa Barbara hooked this one on live bait.

pompano tags 5-13 randy choate

It’s hard to suppress a grin when you’ve got a trophy pompano in your hands like this slug of a fish caught by Randy Choate from Idaho on light tackle near Cerralvo Island just off Las Arenas. It’s been a good season for big pompano, but I can’t remember seeing this many this large! Great eating!

Walt Pargo 1 tags 5-13

No Santa Clause isn’t visiting La Paz in the off-season! But, our buddy, Walt Topping had a super 3 days of fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet taking big cabrilla and pargo like this one every day…all of them trophy fish…maybe the best 3 days of any rockfishing I’ve seen this season!

rooster raul tags 5-13

Even our Tailhunter Restaurant manager, Raul Chollett just had to get in on the roosterfish action desperately wanting to get his first pez gallo. He just recently started fishing and has the “bug” pretty badly so he took a day and got several nice roosters off Las Arenas including this fish estimated at 20-25 pounds.  Al the roosters were released.

rooster tom ames flyrod tags 5-13

Tom Ames visited us with his flyrod last fall and got some nice 10 pound roosters that really impressed him. After 4 days of fishing and catching roosters like this on the flyrod and light spining gear, he had the biggest grin and says he’ll try to come back again before the year is over. His largest was a 40 pounder.

pargo 1 ziggy 5-13-tags

Ziggy Haspod told me he NEVER gets in the fishing reports after all the years he has fished with us. I told him “catch big fish and take good photos!” This week he gets in twice. Once for his dorado in the photos above and now for this HUGE barred pargo (pargo mulato) he caught off Espirito Santo Island. Ziggy…you made it! He’s coming back in July.

amber chino 3 5-13 tags

Here’s a story…ALMOST a world record! Kevin (“Chino Verde”) Shiotani of Thousand Oaks was just about done for the day fishing off Espirito Santo Island with our other good amigo, Rick Hosmer, when Kevin’s rod with a live caballito went bendo! After a 25 minute fight on 50 pound test, he ended up with this massive amberjack estimated at 130-140 pounds which would have made it just under the IGFA records! Unfortunately, the fish was cleaned and cut up before anyone realized!

tag Amberjack Kevin Shiotan & Rick Hosmer Las Arenas.-proc-proc

Here’s another photo of Kevin’s huge fish this time the amberjack is being held up by Captain Mundo Lucero. Just to get an idea of the massive bulk of the amber. It’s the big cousin of the yellowtail and is great eating!

STELLAR INSHORE ACTION BOOSTED BY SHOWINGS OF DORADO! PLUS NEAR RECORD AMBERJACK!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of May 19-26, 2013

Another great week of inshore fishing with some stellar rooster fish action.  It’s still a little windy and downright chilly in the mornings, but if you were looking for action this week, it probably couldn’t have been better, especially for lots of variety inshore for light tackle and flyfishers plus the bonus of warming waters with some dorado and billfish moving in!

For the past 3 weeks or so we’ve had some of the most solid rooster fish action I’ve ever seen in almost 20 years.  The fish are stacked up along the beaches near Las Arenas right up close to the beach within 100 yards of the break and often in just a few feet of water visible from the pangas.  They are also rolling around the islands near the south end of Cerralvo Island as well as Espirito Santo Islands.

Clients have been hooking and releasing 4, 5, 8, 10 or more roosters per panga with fish ranging from 10 up to 60 pounds and some dynamic battles especially on the lighter tackle and on the flyrods. We’ve had a number of first-timers as well as youngsters, wives, girlfriends and families out lately as well so this is just exciting action for them to hook these exotic fish close to shore in calm waters  plus hook into other species as well in the same areas.

Along the beaches and islands and shallow reefs, we’re also seeing some monster 30-40 pound pompano (related to the rooster fish…except good eating), as well as sierra (which means there’s still some cooler water around plus some truly huge pargo (snapper)  and cabrilla (sea bass).  We have also had some surprising jags of amberjack up to 50 pounds near Espirito Santo Island that seem to come and everyone gets excited then the next day the fish are gone.  But when they’re on, it’s non-stop action on big fish.

But the bonus this week has been the warmer waters have finally brought in a smattering of dorado between 10 and 35 pounds as well as some marlin biters which is very encouraging as it seems the warmer water fish are a bit tardy moving in!  Oh and we had a few wahoo bite off this week as well.

Also, in case you hadn’t heard, a near-world-record was also caught this week in our waters by Kevin Shiotani of Thousand Oaks, CA.  Kevin was fishing with Captain Mundo Lucero on a panga near Cerralvo Island at the end of the day and had a live caballito in the water when he got hammered by and amberjack estimated at 130-140 pounds.  He fought the fish for 25 minutes on 50 pound test!  Spectacular catch but unfortunately, the fish was cut-up not realizing the potential as the world record is only about 150 pounds!

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 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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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 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 »

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 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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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 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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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 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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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.” 

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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

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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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