La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 3-9, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Fishing Report
Spoiler alert! This week’s video report was NOT filmed in La Paz! But, it makes it easier to sell sunshine and warm sandy beaches in places like this! Thank you, Oregon!
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
The week started well with lower winds and calmer seas for once. Not many anglers in town, but we had a few and surprisingly got into some water-water action with a handful of dorado popping up. Nothing big, but it’s surprising to get dorado in the winter and for first-timers hooking an acrobatic 10 or 15 pound dorado is pretty exciting.
In addition, jack crevalle, good numbers of fat bonito plus some cabrilla over the rocks provided fun action, especially on light tackle. As the week went on, winds came up and it got colder and rougher..enough to bend the palm trees and put little white-caps on the bay.
TAILHUNTER WHALE WATCHING SEASON FULL ON
Our 2019 whale watching season is in full swing over at Bahia Magdalena and there’s a good number of grays that have already show up in the bay. They’ve arrived from their migration from the Bering Sea and around until about early or mid-March! Come on down and check out this great experience. Get in touch with us at http://www.tailhunter.com .
WHERE WILL BE WE NEXT?
By the time you’re reading this, we’ve left snowy cold Portland Oregon and headed to….snowy cold Salt Lake City, Utah! But, first a shout-out to Portland and all of our amigos in the Pacific NW for all the hospitality and ohana after 3 week in one of our favorite places.
It was off-the charts with shows in the Seattle and Portland area. Lots of you are coming to see us in La Paz this year so we’re looking forward to seeing you again!
So now, onto show #5…it’s at the
GREAT WESTERN HUNT
and
CONSERVATION EXPO
Feb. 14-17
SALT PALACE CONVENTION CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY UTAH
It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen. People come from all over the country to see this one! Here’s more information. Click the link:
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 27-Feb. 3, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Report
Not many anglers around these days which is off-season. Early in the week we it was pretty chilly, cold and windy. Conditions got a little better as the week went on. Bait is an issue because of the rough water so our captains relied on slow trolling dead bait and lures inshore where it was more protected. Catches included bonito, jack crevalle, snapper, cabrilla and barred pargo.
WHALE WATCHING SEASON IN FULL SWING
Although it’s not prime time fishing right now, from late January until March, it’s our whale-watching season and it’s in full swing and we’re running daily and overnight trips to Bahia Magdalena every week to spend time with the whales. Great family trip and opportunity to spend some incredible close-up action and interaction with these fantastic animals in the calm bay waters. E-mail us if you’d like more information at Jonathan@tailhunter.com
Coming to Portland This Week!
Our Tailhunter 2019 tour swings us into the big Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Show this week at the Portland Expo Center. This is probably the largest show in the Pacific Northwest and one of the largest in the Western U.S. with almost 1000 vendors from all over the world including Mexico, the U.S., S. Africa, Alaska, New Zealand, S. America and more! If you’re into fishing, hunting, camping, boating and just the outdoors in general, there’s something for the whole family whether you’re looking for some great gear; booking a potential trip; or want to test stuff or talk and learn from experts.
Jilly and I will be in our booth at the Portland Expo Center all five days from Wednesday to Sunday! Let’s talk fishing!
The show runs Wednesday to Sunday so we hope to see you here! Let’s talk about fishing in La Paz this year! Check the link below:
Also…head’s up! Reservations are really flying in…faster than normal and many dates are filling up! Don’t wait until we come to your town to do a show this year. We have 9 more shows, but many dates are already booked or booking fast. Get in touch with us to save your spot!
Here’s the link to our whole list of shows coming up:
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 20-27, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Report
Something a little different this week. Sorry the video is a little ragged this week. We were in our booth at the Puyallup Fairgrounds and crowds were already starting to come down the aisle and watching some goofy guy (me!) talking out loud to his laptop! So I didn’t have much time!
Also, no real fishing to report so I answered some letters in the video about fishing in La Paz!
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
Honestly not much to say about fishing this week. I guess I could make something up, but that’s now how we roll.
This is winter and off-season and not many folks out fishing from November to April. Mostly, it’s because of the winds and waves that can be very erratic. So, that’s what happened this week.
We did have a few folks set to fish early in the week, but it was pretty rough. So, as much as they wanted to go, I advised they just cancel. Stay at the hotel. Hang out at the pool. Go to town of lunch. Sleep in. Take a siesta.
Fishing is supposed to be fun, right? Not an excercise in staying dry and trying to stay in the boat. Many of the folks we have this time of year aren’t hard-core anglers. For some it’s their first time really fishing in the ocean so I don’t want them to have a bad time. As much as we love the business, especially this time of year, it was better to just advise folks not to come out.
Not much bait around but plugs and lures are working.
However, when the wind isn’t blowing, there’s some dorado out there. Pargo and cabrilla and snapper are still around the reefs and rocks.
Gary Wagner with a tasty sierra off Punta Perico. Note the jacket!
Sierra, bonito and jack crevalle near the drop offs. This coming week, the winds die down about mid-week so hopefully, I”ll have a better report for you!
TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR 2019
Thanks, Washington! Now on our way to Portland!
Well, we just finished our 3rd show of the season. We’re wrapping things up here in the Seattle area and packing to head to our next show at the Portland Expo Center in Portland, Oregon Sept. 6-10. We’ve had some fantastic shows so far! We’ve been in Denver, Sacramento and then this past week in Seattle.
Reservations are coming in fast this year! Don’t wait until we visit your area! Dates are filling up so get in touch with us as soon as you can if you’re planning to come fishing!
Dave and Michele Conklin, our long-time amigos from Washington stopped in to share a little “Baja cheer!”
With my honey, Jill, in our booth! The fish was “THIS BIG!”
La Paz -Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 13-20, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Fishing Report
Short Attention Span Week at a Glance
Weather – Variable. Some days were pretty windy and rough. Others were nice. Some localized showers. Highs were in the high 70’s. Nighttime lows low 60’s.
Water – You’d think it should be cooler than normal, but the fact that dorado are around indicates some warm waters.
Fishing – If the weather was good, it was fishable and some surprising catches with a nice mixed bag. If weather was not so good, then it made it tough. Live bait is not easy to get because of the erratic water. However, lures and dead bait seem to work fine. Got dorado, skipjack, bonito, jack crevalle, small yellowtail and sierra this week. Everyone got fish!
Forecast – Some high winds early in the week. Probably won’t be fishing. Then, gets better. Highs in the low 70’s and lows to the high 50’s. Partially cloudy skies.
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
Chuck Chandler from Alaska and staying at Rancho Costa there in Muertos Bay near La Paz found some great sunshine and this big-headed bull dorado (mahi mahi) that no doubtedly hit the grill.
Our Captain Jorge put his guys on some dorado like this as he photobombs on the beach.
Captain Armando checks out the catch with a nice mix of action fish including jack crevalle, white bonito and yellowtail
Gary Wagner loves light tackle and got this colorful bull dorado of Bahia Muertos near his place.
Hope you’re enjoying or enjoyed a great holiday Martin Luther King weekend!
It was an up-and-down week dictated by the weather and winds which is typical of this time of the year. Earlier in the week it was calm although there were some incidents of localized rain mixed with sunshine. Later in the week, winds got stronger generating some rougher water.
Surprisingly, however, given it’s winter and waters are chillier than normal, we got into some decent school-sized dorado. Bait is difficult to get because of the winds and choppy surf, but dragging lures has been productive.
In addition to the dorado, tasty white bonito provided some great action. Many folks are surprised that the white bonito are not just great sport, but also pretty good eating! Add in some tough jack crevalle and a few firecracker yellowtail, sierra and cabrilla off the rocks and there were actually some nice catches.
TAILHUNTER 2019 TOUR
Just finished up our Sacramento Show for the International Sportsmans Expo that was at the state fairgrounds. It was off-the-hook! Jill and I stood and talked non-stop for 10 hours-a-day until we were hoarse! It was great. So many friends and new amigos. Lots of bookings for this year.
If you’re planning on coming fishing with us, don’t wait. Dates are filling FAST! I’m not kidding. Bookings are coming in daily and we’re booking dozens at every show. Don’t wait. Some dates are filled or filling fast. If you wait until we come to a show near you, it might be too late!
If you’re reading this, we’re actually probably on the road driving from Sacramento to our next show at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington just south of Seattle. This is the largest show in Washington and goes a whopping 5 days from Wednesday to Sunday. We always look forward to it.
Some of our crazy Tailhunter Tribe! Cheers!
Jill and I will be in the booth every day so come by and let’s talk about coming to visit us in La Paz!
NEW WEBSITE IS UP!
Don’t forget. Our newly remodeled Tailhunter Website is now up and rolling and we’re pretty excited. It’s still got a glitch or two that we’re working out, but it’s ready for you to check out!
La Paz-Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec 23-30, 2018
Mexican Minute Video Fishing Report
Short Attention Span – Week at a Glance
Weather – Sunny to partially cloudy all week . Highs mid-70’s. Lows down to a chilly high 40’s. Had quite a bit of wind this past week. One day the port captain shut down the port from all boat traffic in-or-out because of the rough waters.
Fishing – Not bad considering the weather and time of year. It could be rough, but both warm and cold water species caught.
Fish Caught This Week: Dorado, pargo, cabrilla, snapper, tuna, white bonito, Pacific bonito, jack crevalle.
The Big Picture and Rest of the Story…
Billy Wong from Colorado Springs was staying at Muertos Bay at the Rancho Costa Resort and earlier in the week found the tuna as well as dorado and bonito.
Nice mix of fish for Dave Perkins who had one day later in the week under cloudy skies and put dorado, cabrilla and two kinds of bonito in the ice chest.
Billy Wong with a chunky bonito that provided some good rod-bending all week.
It was a bit of a windy, cold and cloudy week for the Christmas holidays, especially as the week went on. However, being off-season, there weren’t that many folks out anyway or wanting to fish, specifically because of the winds and rough seas. There was even one day where it was so rough the La Paz port captain closed to port prohibiting all boat traffic in, our, or on the water.
For the sturdier folks that did go out and braved it, the fishing was about as erratic as the weather, but they found some fish. And it was a nice mix. Fortunately, it was all close to shore too which offered more protection.
There were a few nice yellowfin tuna hooked. Surprisingly, also some scattered dorado as well. A bit unusual to have warm water species like these hanging out this late in the year. Add in some snapper, cabrilla and pargo fishing over the rocks and reefs plus nice numbers of bonito that are always good for action and it wasn’t too bad.
The coming week looks like about the same with some strong bouts of wind with partially cloudy skies and temps in the high-70’s and at night in the mid-to-high-60’s.
FISHING IN 2019
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We are coming off one of the best fishing seasons in the more than 24 years we started Tailhunter Sportfishing. We’re a full-service outfitter and can customize your perfect fishing vacation. We’ll set up lodging, airport transfers, fishing, SCUBA, kayaking, snorkeling, whale-watching and so many other activities. Ask us about one of our packages.
Dates are filling up and reservations are coming in daily with so many folk wanting to get in on the fishing action and lots of regulars and repeat anglers! Let us know what we can do so you don’t miss out!
La Paz- Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 9-16, 2018
THE MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN WEEK AT A GLANCE
Weather – Pleasant week for the most part. Low in the 60’s and highs in the high 70’s. Mostly sunny. Winds gave us a break earlier in the week but got stronger (and colder) as the week went on.
Water – Choppier and rougher later in the week
Fishing – More blue water species early in the week when the winds were down and it was calmer. More inshore and rock fish as weather got rougher and we had to fish closer in.
Species Caught This Week: dorado, tuna, cabrilla, seabass, bonito, snapper, jack crevalle
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Gary Wagner, owner of Rancho Costa there at Muertos, hooked 4 dorado and got 2 to the boat. He had a wahoo come off and he had a tuna on for over an hour before it came unbuttoned. Looks cold!
Laura Hernandez from San Diego got out a few days earlier in the week and got into the dorado. Later, as conditions changed, some huge sierra.
Not too bad a week, for the weather. It was just cold (by our La Paz standards!). Tourists were still running around in shorts while locals donned long pants and jackets! Likewise, earlier in the week, winds laid down long enough to get boats out and fortunately for our type of fishing, no one really had to go out very far.
There’s still some schools of dorado around with some nicer 15-20 pounders mixed in. Very surprising given the time of year. Along with the dorado, some tuna were also hooked and a wahoo did bite one of the lines but came unbuttoned which is an encouraging sign (that it bit, not that it came off!). Plus, add in the usual bonito and way too many needlefish. All-in-all, not too bad.
As the week went on, winds came up again and the waters changed resulting in more restricted fishing with colder-water species like sierra, jack crevalle, cabrilla and snapper biting. Hard to know when not that many folks are fishing. Most of the visitors to town are snowbirds just looking for sunshine and an escape from even colder places. Locals are all getting ready for Christmas.
WHALES ON THE WAY!
Our annual whale-watching season is almost upon us. Migrating yearly from the Bering Sea by Alaska, the whales are on their way to Baja to mate, give birth and hang out in the warm lagoons of the Pacific. We have daily and overnight trips booking fast. Contact us for more details for a great family trip!
SPREADING THE CHEER
Many of you know that my wife, Jilly, has had a program for five years whereby Tailhunter Outreach program collects clothes, toys, sporting goods, school supplies, medical supplies and more for needy folks and communities in and around La Paz. It was originally started after Hurricane Odile crashed into us in 2014, but the program just kept growing. To date, our Tailhunter amigos and brought down over 3 tons of good that we distribute throughout the year! Jill also has a scholarship program to keep kids in school as well.
Everyone’s favorite guy…Jorge Romero
This past week our own, Jorge and Sandra Romero donated almost 200 pounds of toys to the kids of Los
Planes (near Muertos Bay where many of our captains and their families live). With the assistance of Gary Wagner and his crew at Rancho Costa, all these kids got something for Christmas! Thanks, Jorge and Sandra!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 2-9, 2018
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN WEEK at a GLANCE
Weather – Yuk. Not only windier and rougher, but two days of the week we had rain and it was pretty hard at times. But, not really anyone fishing those days anyway.
Fishing – Whoever went out at least, they got fish! Some nice cabrilla, pargo and snapper. Bonito always make for fun and some random dorado still around
Forecast – Later ths coming week might get pretty windy around Thursday and Friday. Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid-70’s. Nights in the low 60’s.
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Bonito and snapper in the box. Fun fishing. Snapper are excellent eating.
Not much to report this week. There’s a number of things to point at.
First, it’s off-season. Just not many folks fishing between November and April. It can be windy and rough. And indeed, that’s the 2nd reason there’s not much to report.
It was not only cold and windy this week, but it rained. In fact, it rained pretty hard at times. That winter storm “Diego” that dropped show and rain in California; flash flooding in Texas and is now slamming into the East Coast started down in Baja! So, that’s not exactly conducive to fishing.
Finally, tack on the fact that this is the “lull” between the holidays. There’s just not that many folks in town. Some snowbirds mostly or folks just looking for a little sunshine compared to where they’re from. And they’re not really in town to do much or any fishing.
All that being said, there was some spotty to OK fishing taking place. Inshore species like snapper and cabrilla…sometimes large cabrila provided action. For a lot of first-timers, bonito are always fun too. Some good eating sierra were taken and here and there’s schools of dorado running 5-15 pounds were about the only blue-water species around, but a hoot for a lot of these snowbirds.
WHALE WATCHING SEASON COMING UP SOON!
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Don’t forget! January to March is our prime-time whale watching season over at Magdalena Bay. Ask us about more details for this great family adventure. It’s the largest migration on earth and a fantastic experience to get so close to those incredible animals.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 25-Dec 2, 2018
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN WEEK AT A GLANCE…
Weather – Much better this week. Winds gave us a break. Mostly sunny. Daytime temps mid-80’s.
Water – Getting cooler, but largely flatter this week and calmer with the absence of those northern winds
Fishing – Transitional mix with warm and cooler water fish taken. Warmer water fish on the way out and more cooler water fish showing up. But strangely, one day it would be mostly cooler water fish like pargo, cabrilla and sierra. Next day, warm water fish like dorado and wahoo.
Fish Caught This Week: Wahoo, dorado, bonito, jack crevalle, cabrilla, needlefish, sierra, snapper
Forecast: Looks like the northern winds return this coming week with very strong winds maybe Monday or Tuesday then later in the week very strong. Chance of showers mid-week.
THE BIG PICTURE & THE REST OF THE STORY…
We’re not usually going to see dorado this time of year, but they were a great surprise this week. Most fish 8-12 pounds. Fun size, but some larger. Check out the big jack crevalle on the rack. They were fishing with Captain Gerardo.
Manny poses with his big wahoo caught right off the point at Punta Perrico. Decent wahoo week earlier.
Captain Armando put his guys on a full box of sierra plus some fat bonito, a cabrilla and a giant needlefish.
Laura Rush with a great eating yellow snapper.
It was one of the better weeks we have had in awhile. As is usually the case, weather has a lot to do with the fishing. With mostly sunny skies, the winter north winds gave us a break for the most part allowing us to get out there and not make it an exercise in staying dry and in the boat in the big waves. But, it also allowed us to get to some spots that are often difficult when it’s windy.
With daytime temps in the mid-80’s and nighttime in the high 60’s it’s a pleasant time to be in La Paz and the influx of snowbirds is a sure indicator. But, as I’ve said in the past, they usually don’t fish or only fish a day so there just aren’t that many folks fishing this time of year.
But, we did get some folks out and the catches were rather surprising.
Early in the week out’ve Bahia Muertos, a good snap of 20-50 pound wahoo showed up just off the rocks with some nice fish hitting the box, but others getting lost.
All week, there were small bands of schoolie-dorado as well. Nothing spectacular, but great fun action with fish running 8-12 pounds mostly with the occasional 20-pounder. A bit unusual this time of year given the cooler water temps.
Other days, there was decent action on bonito, big jack crevalle, pargo and cabrilla and a sure indicator of cooler conditions was the appearance of good bites of sierra that make for great eating and fun on light tackle. In fact, several days we had more sierra than I’ve seen in a long time.
The outlook for the coming week shows some spikes of wind as the northerns return, but most of the wind won’t hit until the end of the week.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 11-25, 2018
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Town is kinda quiet these days. Nice time to be down here to enjoy some sunshine! You have the beaches to yourself!
When you can only squeeze in one day to fish in between bouts of wind and you make a great day out’ve it…Elijah Rush from El Cajon, CA got a handful of dorado, a tuna and some pargo (not pictured) for the ice chest!
Typical catch right now. Some snapper. Some pargo. Maybe some dorado.
As far as conditions, it wasn’t as bad as it has been when it’s been windy and rough with port closures. Actually, it was pretty nice overall. Sun’s out and a nice time to be in town with day time temps like a postcard in the high-70’s to low-80’s and night time temps in the high-60’s. Breezes kicking up to about 15 mph, but mostly later.
You can see why lots of snowbirds are “escaping” into town right now and we’re getting inquiries from Minnesota, Canada, Montana and North Dakota! No matter how “bad” our weather is, the only snow you’ll find is in a margarita glass.
But, by the same token, not many folks fishing. Almost no-one as a matter of fact. The folks coming to town are looking for sunshine and putting their toes in the sand.
The waters are still rougher than normal. In fact, last week several days the port was closed to all boat traffic coming or going. So, even if it’s calm in the bay, it can be crazy outside. Even, inside the bay it can be churning.
Two weeks ago, an independent dive boat overloaded with more than 2 dozen divers ignored the closures and went out. It got swamped and sank! Fortunately, everyone was picked up from what we heard.
However, we did get a few folks out. On the days it was really windy, we couldn’t go.
If it was moderately windy we were still able to fish inshore for some cabrilla, snapper, bonito and jacks. Weather permitting, if we could get just a little outside, there’s some dorado and tuna still hanging out.
Live bait has been an issue because of the rougher weather pounding the shallow bait areas so we’re using mostly dead bait or lures lately.
WHALE WATCHING SEASON COMING UP
Don’t forget our annual Whale Watching Season at Bahia Magdalena runs from January to March. Contact us for more info about a great family event and the opportunity to see these magnificent animals up close like you’ve never imagined!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 4-11, 2018
MEXICAN MINUTE WEEKLY VIDEO FISHING REPORT
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN WEEK at A GLANCE
Weather – Nice and sunny but cooler every week. Nights can be very cool. Water temps are going down too. Can get breezy and windy some days.
Water – Getting cooler and less blue. Rough some days now as we move into the cooler months.
Fishing – Rougher and cooler waters are making it more difficult to get live bait. That along with changing conditions overall are changing the complexion of the fishing. Less bluewater fish like tuna and dorado. More emphasis on inshore fishing for pargo, cabrilla and other reef fish.
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST OF THE STORY…
Just some incredible colors on this late-season dorado that Travis caught. Gorgeous fish!
Whoa…that’s a big cabrilla! Sweet meat for the grill with Captain Armando.
Travis is all smiles posing with his roosterfish, but check out the bent rod behind him! That’s wife, Melinda on another rooster. See the photo below! Both fish released!
First-timer rocks it! Captain Pancho helps out Melinda Woodward with this hefty roosterfish before releasing it.
Old Tailhunter amigos for many years, Bill and Patrick with Captain Jorge and a nice yellowfin to go along with a day of bonito fun.
Incredible flat water and perfect for Melinda to catch this sweet bull dorado.
Lots of fun on light tackle…even moreso on a flyrod! Bonito for the masked man from Oregon, Travis Woodward.
It was a mixed bag of fish this past week as we transition into the cooler aspects of the season. Not really many folks fishing these days. Many are walk-in visitors or snow-birds who are spending time in town and just want a day of fishing and sunshine, rather than folks coming specifically for fishing. So, many aren’t very serious fishermen either and just want some fun and action.
This is that time before the holidays when folks aren’t really travelling much. Families are doing other things. Also, the weather and waters are changing. It’s wonderfully sunny, but definitely cooler and also getting more and more breezy. So, it can be a tad rougher.
That makes it harder to get live bait, either because the bait guys aren’t going out very much since there’s not many folks fishing or because of the weather, the live bait is scattered.
That being said, we still got some action. Good bites of bonito keep things interesting, especially for the first-timers. But in between, we’re still getting a few yellowfin tuna up to about 25 pounds. There’s some nice dorado not too far offshore. Inshore, pargo and cabrilla are becoming more predominant, especially as it gets tougher to get too far from shore because of weather condition. Also, surprisingly, some nice 30-50 pound roosterfish still around as well.
Tailhunter Fish Report 