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La Paz -Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Oct. 19-Nov. 3, 2024

NORTHERN WINDS HAVE STARTED

La Paz- Las Arenas / Muertos Bay/Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 19-Nov. 3, 2024

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

Jessie De Vries from San Diego with a nice bull just outside of La Paz Bay with Captain Rogelio. Waters are cooling, but there’s still some dorado schooling around.

Our amigo, Jimmy Williams, hit the north end of Cerralvo Island and found a nice jag of yellowtail. A clear indication that the waters are getting cooler.

Tailhunter’s very own, Jorge Romero, took a day off and got on the water. He hit the day at the south end of Cerralvo Island when blue marlin blew up. But not much of anyone fishing. Mostly only commercial pangeros and locals like him!

 

First off, a quick apology for my tardiness in posting up a more current fishing report.  For close to 30 years, I’ve been pretty diligent in publishing report every week or so.   However, as I explained in the last report,  this particular report was going to be a little later than normal.

For one, as you see below in the report,  we start getting fewer fishermen this time of the year.  Secondly, and maybe most importantly, I had a little medical procedure about 10 days ago.  Well, it was surgery actually whereby the doctors pretty much rebuilt my right foot…shaved a cut a bunch of bones…inserted a couple of screws…

My right foot completely wrapped up.

So, like last year when I got my knee replaced, I am once again hobbled and immobile.  In fact, I will be off my feet up to 6 months and prohibited from putting any weight whatsoever on my right foot or I can screw up the surgery.   Sigh…

So, pretty much doing this fishing report is the first time I’m actually able to sit up at a desk!  I’ve also been on some fun happy pill pain meds as well.

Basically, my right foot got deformed.  Bad DNA added to 30 years of walking around in flip-flops; carrying ice chests, luggage, scuba tanks, fishing gear…no arch support.  My past caught up with me!

So, that’s my story and I’m sticking too it!  And that’why the fishing report is late!

 

As far as fishing…

Like I said not many folks at all on the water.  We’ve gone from 10, 20, 30 folks on the water each day for 7 straight months to ….ZERO.  I have some guys booked for December for a few days, but that’s it…for now.

We consider mid-October to April to be off-season because the northern winds kick in and it just gets too darned rough and windy to be out on the water about 50% of the time and anglers have about a 50-70% chance of getting blown off or cancelled.  I make sure that I tell anyone who wants to book about these weather issues so they had realistic expectations.  Or at least be flexible on their fishing days so we can move them to the better days or tell them to just forget it.

Fishing is supposed to be fun and it’s no fun getting seasick or soaking wet or getting bounced out’ve their seats.   Or wasting their money and getting cancelled.

There’s a reason why all the windsurfers and kite boarders come to the La Paz area in the winter.  It’s because we get world class winds!

Fun to windsurf,but not fun to try to fish with all those whitecaps!

Well…almost on cue, the winds started up last week.  Not blowing ferociously quite yet, but 10-15 knots is still blustery with some 20 knot gusts.  I talked to some of the commercial guys and they said there were some days they could not get their boats in the water.  There was even a little rain.

So, except for windsurfers/ kiteboarders, the only ones on the water are either commercial fisherman making a living or locals who can fish on the days when the weather permits.

As might be expected, the fish being caught are mixed.  It’s a little bit of a toss up.  THERE IS SOME GREAT FISHING right now.  The deal is finding the days when the wind is not going to blow you off the water!  But, there’s a nice mix of fish happening.

With the winds, the waters are already cooling down.  That’s bringing in murkier greener patches of water, although there are still some surface temps showing 80 degree water on top.

The cooler waters are producing snapper, pargo, cabrilla,  sierra, amberjack and even some yellowtail.  Those are all cooler water fish.

However, there are still some warm water fish around.   Some of the commercial guys have been able to boat a few tuna here and there.  I’ve heard some wahoo are around and a few schools of 5-10 pound dorado or free swimmers in the 20-30 pound class, but those will diminish as the waters continue to trend cooler.

Surprisingly, billfish keep popping up just when we think we’ve seen the last of them.  Some days the marlin mixed in with the dorado have been some of the best.  We had one day when blue marlin were chomping like mackerel.   Go figure.  Just another piece of an already puzzling fishing season.  Just have to take your chances with the winds.

2025 RESERVATIONS

We’re getting lots of reservations already for next season…more than usual for this time of year!  Reservations are coming in daily!   Dates are already filling up and some dates are already sold out or close to it!

Don’t wait!  If you have favorite rooms or captains, don’t sit on your hands.  Contact me directly: jonathan@taillhunter.com and let’s look at some dates!

If you book before the end of the year we are offering 2024 prices.

Also, for the first time in 12 years, there will be direct flights to La Paz from the U.S.  Exciting news if you can avoid flying all the way to Cabo and that long 3 hour drive to La Paz.  Alaska Airlines is flying 3 times per week starting in 2025.  Check it out!

 

That’s our story!

Jonathan & Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.com

Mexico Office: 

Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

“Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.”

 

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Oct. 10-17, 2024

WAHOO BILLFISH MAHI!

La Paz -Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 11-18, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WEATHER:  Mostly pretty comfortable. You can tell the weather is changing. Getting cooler in the mornings and evenings. Almost time for a sweatshirt!  Low 70’s to start the day and low 90’s in the day.  Very pleasant.  Starting to get breezier and the north winds start up this week which will change things completely once they start blowing consistently.

WATER:  Mostly pretty and blue.  Perfect for fishing.  Getting 81 degrees on the surface, but colder water down deeper as evidenced by some of the fish we are hooking.  Have had a few bouncy days from the winds.  Gonna get rougher if the winter winds start to kick in.

FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK:  Dorado, tuna, wahoo, sailfish, blue marlin, striped marlin, amberjack, yellowtail, sierra, bonito, jack crevalle, roosterfish, trevally, pompano, cabrilla, pargo, triggerfish

FISHING ON A SCALE of 1-10:  7

THE MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

 

Not one…FOUR! Brian Spicer had himself quite a day with Captain Victor taking four big wahoo off Cerralvo Island plus he also released a striped marlin. He donated or gifted the majority of the meat!

Randy Haire and Dennis Fujii with a nice rack or dorado to bring home!

Long-time amigo, Tim Butterworth always nails something great each time he visits us. He brought son-in-law Dave Spriggs this year and their last day, Tom got another wahoo with Captain Pancho.

Caroline Cain and family friend Kayla Lespade from Idaho had themselves a banner day with a number of big dorado like this fishing outside of La Paz Bay.

Great photo of a great day. Chris and Mari Bedsaul with Captain Gerardo.

Ken Takata and Steve Hirano fished 3 good days like this with dorado, pargo and snapper and Captain Gerardo doing the photobomb in the back.

This is what Santa does in the off-season! Actually, good amigo Rusty Cain…always good to have him visiting!

Our Tailhunter office managers, Maite Palacio and Arturo Becerrril got out on the water away from work and had fun on the dorado spot!

Mike Clark with Captain Pancho decked this beautiful blue marlin outside of Bahia Muertos. Mike had quite a battle as they passed the rod back and forth. The fish could not be revived and Mike donated much of the meat.

Chris Bedsaul and Captain Gerardo with the thumbs-up!

Such a great photo of a sweet amiga of Tailhunter. Mari Bedsaul always does well when she visits us. Beautiful colors! They actually lost two marlin and a sailfish this day!

Mike Clark poses with two of his four mahi on the day.

 

Anniversary trip for Don Jossie who was visiting us for the first time and had two days fishing with Captain Rogelio.

Many of you have known Benny Salgado for years working for Tailhunter as a cook, with me in the fish packing room and also our ace guitar player . We sent him out for the day to catch some dorado…good job!

The man behind the mask is Arturo Becerril…Tailhunter’s very own. He had fun with dorado like this one!

Good to have Steve Partridge and his wife fish with us for a few days. First day with Captain Armando out’ve Las Arenas was very productive! They’re from Redondo Beach CA.

Catch and release striper for Brian Spicer with Captain Victor! It was a good week for the billfish. Most broke off or were released.

Almost as big as her! Maite with one of her large dorado on the day! Her biggest!

Don Hugo poses with some of his catch of mahi at Bahia de los Muertos.

Brian…one more wahoo on the gaff!

_________________________________________

You can feel it in the air.

The seasons are changing.  Daytime temps are getting cooler and breezier.  The shadows are longer.  The night times are pleasant and not a bad idea to have a light sweatshirt handy.  Waters are getting just a bit bumpier when the breeze blows.

We usually say late October to April is our off-season.  It starts getting windier and colder and once the north winds start blowing consistently,  the fishing complexion changes completely.Not only is it rougher, but colder water fish move in as the ocean cools down.

Some days, it will be too rough to fish or you’ll get blown off the water.  So, really not many folks will be fishing the next few months.  But, this is why all the windsurfers and kiteboarders descend on us from all over the world to take advantage of our world-class winds in the La Paz area.

That’s generally speaking…

Sometimes, the winds don’t show up until later.  And warm water fishing continues.

But, this year, just like clockwork, I can see in the forecast that next week strong northern winds start kicking up! Some gusts will be 12-20 knots.

We don’t stop fishing, but not many reservations now on the books.  We’re usually running 10-20 boats per day from late March until October.  For the next few months, there will be almost no one.  And, if someone wants to fish, I make sure they know about the weather situation so they can make an informed decision.  Many of the fisherfolks that I do get in the coming months are regulars who know what to expect.  Or, they keep their schedules flexible so I can tell them which days will be worse than others so they can find the best day.

But, if this is our last “official” week of the season, we sure went out like gangbusters!

Dorado remained a solid mainstay of the catch.

It would be a crazy day if you didn’t come back with dorado in the box.  Our boats have been taking 4-8 dorado on the average and many tell me they lost fish or released a whole bunch.  Most fish have been in the 10-15 pound class but some of the larger bulls have hit the 20-40 pound size.

Ever day is different.  Some days it’s an early bite. Some days it’s a later bite.  Some days, you pick up one fish here…then 2 fish there…then nothing for a bit…then another fish…etc etc.  End of the day you’ve got some decent fish in the box.

Biggest surprise…the wahoo!!!

I can’t remember when we’ve had a run of wahoo like this in my 30 years down here.  Our boats were hitting 1,2, 3, 4 and 5 wahoo on the day fro 20-60 pounders.  More getting lost or busting off.  It was crazy.  An early morning bite for the most part and 90% taken trolling Marauders, Rapalas and Nomads.

Anglers come down and fish for years trying to get just one of these incredible fish.  And yet we had a few days when they suddenly just turned on like a light switch.  The best spots were the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island.

As well, the billfish didn’t want to get left out either.  After several weeks of non-existent biters, we had a number of billfish including sailfish, striped marlin and even the highly prized blue marlin.  Most fish were lost and most that were caught were released whenever possible.  But a real bonus catch!

With the weather changing, we’re seeing a few more colder water fishing starting to show up in the catches:  sierra, amberjack, pompano, trevally and small yellowtail.

There’s still some smaller roosterfish still hanging out as well!

________

ON A  PERSONAL NOTE:

A big shout out and thank you to our Tailhunter Nation for a great 30th season.  Whether you were able to visit us this year or not, Jilly and I appreciate all the love, support and friendship for all these years, but especially this year which has been especially challenging.  The prayers have been the best!

As many of you know, Jilly has been dealing with some serious medical issues and has not been able to be down here in La Paz for most of the year.  She’s been the ultimate trooper back in Texas dealing with the situation, while I’ve been here in La Paz alone trying to keep the Tailhunter Fleets, Restaurant and Transportation companies running and everyone smiling.

Even down here alone, Jilly has kept things rolling from up there so that I could keep things running as smoothly as possible down here.   She is still my best teammate.

So, I’ve pretty much been going 7 days a week since April.  I’m finally heading north to be able to see and spend time with my Jilly so we can figure some things out.  I have a few medical issues of my own to iron out!  (Nothing serious…just 30 years of wear-and-tear down here!).

I’ve done the fishing reports pretty religiously every week for over 28 years.  But, given we’re about at the end of the season, I’m going to take a few weeks off.  So, if you don’t see a report in a week, I just wanted you to know the reason.  I’m fine! We’re fine.

It’s just that when my reports are late, I start getting e-mails from so many thoughtful folks!

Just wishing ya’ll grateful blessings always!  Thanks for all the smiles and prayers!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Oct. 2-9, 2024

DORADO KEEPS RODS BENT!

La Paz- Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 2-9, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WATER:   Mostly nice and blue the way we like it with surface temps still in the low to mid-80’s. However, judging from some of the species we are hooking some cooler water starting to move in down deeper and along some of the coastal areas. 

WEATHER:   Warm and sunny. Highs in the mid 90’s in the day time. Can be a tad breezy in the mornings, but overall, nothing to complain about. Evenings are comfortable. I would still keep a light windbreaker handy. 

FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK:   Dorado, tuna, wahoo, sailfish, marlin, sierra, jack crevalle, bonito, snapper, cabrilla, snapper, amberjack, rainbow runner, pompano, trevally, roosterfish

FISHING SCALE 1-10:  Solid 7

MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

Ray Millman from Palos Verdes CA (middle) was on his 2nd trip of 2024 with us and brought his friend, Marc Bacon, with him this time. Captain Hugo found them a nice spot of bigger golden schoolie.

Captain Armando is a big favorite every year with Fernando and Nina Delmendo. Some nice mahi meat there on the table!

Stan Andre from San Francisco has been visiting us for years. He got onto this fatty yellowfin near Punta Pescadero on an early bite!

 

Love having first timers with us. Nick and Katelyn Hill from Utah had a couple of days on the water with us and took home a nice batch of dorado.

More great first timers! Aly Serafin and Shawn Mahan from Wyoming got to enjoy 2 days of fishing and some sunshine. They did pretty well on the fishing! Fun folks!

Biggest gold of the week? Wiley Randolph was with Capt. Jorge when he put the wood to this big bull! His personal best and always good to have Wiley down here!

Every year, Craig Brown and cousin, Bob Layko come down from Washington/Oregon and fish with Capt. Armando. Bob battled this 80 pound tuna on 40 pound test for over 2 hours and needed some help from cousin, Craig. But, the got it in!

Tom Maher had just one day to squeeze in some fishing and made the most of it hitting a nice spot of dorado!

Tim Campbell has been fishing with me over 20-something years. He finally brought son-in-law David Spriggs to fish down here and it was fun watching David get his first dorado. They fished the whole week.

Always great when Tim Nishimura from Sacramento comes down with son, Kenny. They have been here for years with us and love fishing with Captain Gerardo. Great guys!

Captain Armando put Steve Haeseker and Dan Schroeder on a jag of dorado for their first time down here with us. Good to have met new Tailhunter friends!

Greg Saubolle has been one of our friends for years, but this time he brought his lady Tracy Gray and got her onto her first gold...actually a lot more than one! Good folks!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Paul Nagata! Over the many years, our friend has been a poster-boy for Tailhunter with all his big fish and great photos. He was at it again this past week.

Lyle Huffaker with his first day big golden bull! Lyle is from Idaho.

Cody and Lucas Huffaker met me years ago in Idaho and have always wanted to come down! Finally made it and took home a bunch of great dorado and had some fun too!

Eric Pennington and Wiley Randolph got some great quality gold on the cutting table there!

Two of my all-time bestest fish brothers, Kenny Campbell and Johnny Gibbs fishing with Captain Armando.

So great to have Fred and Lisa Cruz from Washington come visit us again! With their favorite Captain Gerardo, I see dorado, pompano, cabrilla and snapper on the table!

It’s been many years since Shayne Grove came fishing with us. Great to have him back on the water!

Angelo Oliverio and Joe Malone give a couple thumbs-up on their first day fishing. Angelo…special shout-out to you on making it back after the medical incident! Blessings!

Johnny Terbu and Shayne Grove! Fishing buddies for years from Utah, good to see them on our water again. They started fishing with us almost 20 years ago!

Joe Malone has some colorful blue gold on the day’s catch!

Another view of that big tuna Bob Layko hooked and fought over 2 hours, but needed help from cousin Craig Brown here holding the fish with Captain Armando.

Dave again! Happy guy with more gold!

Rusty Cain has been fishing with us for years and loves fishing with Captain Armando. He was out with family friend, Kayla Lespade from Idaho to watch her tangle with dorado for the first time!

Terry Hawk makes it a point every year to fish with us and his favorite Captain Pancho. Obviously, he does pretty well. He’s had some great catches over the years!

Paul and Captain Pancho again!

Fred and Lisa again…different day…same result…MORE FISH!

________________________________________________

I was thinking that this time last year we were getting slammed by 3-days of Hurricane Norma.  Nothing like that so far this year, but sending our thoughts and prayers to all our Tailhunter Tribe and Nation and everyone on the Eastern and Southern areas hit by storms two weeks ago and currently getting wracked again.

We had another good solid week of fishing.  Lots of fun.  Lots of smiles.  Lots of folks catching their first…or their biggest…or the most fish!

This should really be a very short short fishing report.  Just let all the photos do the talking!

It’s almost boring!  We caught alot of dorado. There!  That’s the report!

Both of our fleets did pretty well.  Not alot of big bulls but just fun school-sized 5-15 pounders everyday.  No matter, it’s a vast improvement over how the rest of the summer/fall has been with such erratic fishing. It’s good to be able to tell folks,”Have fun today.  I’m pretty sure you’re gonna catch fish!”

I would say on the average, our boats have been bringing back 6-8 dorado per day.  Really hard to tell because fish are getting released. Also, fish are getting lost! That’s just the way fishing is.

The bite can be pick…pick…pick all day and at the end of the day you have a nice box of fish.  Or it can be agonizingly slow then all of a sudden…BAM!  You hit a frantic school and all heck busts loose in a frenzy!

In addition to the dorado, we got a little jag of 50-80 pound tuna that hit us for 2 days then disappeared.  You had to get on thise fish early in the morning before they went down

Also a few wahoo biters but nothing to get too exited about. Got a few billfish…all released.

Inshore, pargo, cabrilla, some roosterfish, but also seeing some cooler-water fish moving in like sierra, amberjack, pompano, trevaly and rainbow runners!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Sept. 22-29, 2024

FOR ONCE FISHING PRETTY SOLID – DORADO LIGHT IT UP!

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 22-30, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WEATHER:   Cooler than normal for this time of year. But, weather is still erratic. Mostly sunny, but some days cooler than others and some days more humid than others. Would still suggest you bring a light windbreaker or similar along. Mostly daytime temps in the low 90’s. Had one day where big waves and strong winds came from the south and we had to cancel fishing at Las Arenas. Next day it was fine.

WATER:   Mostly clear and blue. Just the way we like it. Surface temps are a nice 80-84 degrees, but cooler water moving in as some cold water species are already starting to show.

FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK:   Dorado, tuna, wahoo, roostefish, sailfish, striped marlin, blue marlin, snapper, cabrilla, snapper, sierra, amberjack rainbow runner, pompano, trevally, bonito, triggerfish, wahoo.

SCALE of 1-10:  Fishing was a 7 most of this week. Had one day that was about a 3. (Best of the year)

MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

David Paganucci…first time fishing with us. First day on the water he catches the holy grail of fish. Nice wahoo!

Nat Hargett and Pete Walker from Washington. Always great to have them visiting. Good rack of fish to start your week!

The Okizaki Brothers from Orange Co. Danny and Gary caught FOUR wahoo in two days and thought it was “no big” and why all the fuss? They didn’t know how prized the wahoo are. They also caught dorado and prickly pear as well during the week.

Oh yea! Check the size of this golden bull heard. Captain Alfredo and Mike Ingster with the thumbs-up!

Michael Novotny had himself quite a fun week. He got his first wahoo among several other species! Just south of Cerralvo Island.

Good first day for Dave Lindell from Pendlton OR and son, Ben from Portland. Four dorado and 3 tuna is a good start. Dave also hooked and released a sailfish!

 

 

 

Another first for Michael Novotny’s week…a roosterfish! Not supposed to be around this time of year, but this fish didn’t know that. Michael took the quick photo and released it!

Kim Stuart, Ken Cereghino and Tom Tews with Captain Hugo (blue shirt) and a good day of dorado out’ve Las Arenas!

Dan Lewis, Brian Linn and Michael Murray with a heck of a load of fish! I see prickly pear, dorado and a big amberjack in Dan’s hand! Great day!

Captain Victor helps Mike Broadbend and Ryan Gonzalez with their catch wahoo, tuna and dorado. Again, two first timers hit a wahoo home run!

Captain Gerardo photosbombs, Fred Cowan and his wahoo. Once again, a first timer gets a wahoo. A big smile for the camera!

A solid first day for sure! Frank Cheng and Larry Lundberg have some tuna and dorado that needs to get cleaned and into the freezers!

Mark Bonsack from Washington fishes 2-3 times a year with us and never fails to hook some kind of beast! This past week he and his buddy Brad hooked 4 of these on live whole bonito, but only got one big dog-tooth snapper to the boat. These are tough tough fish!

One of their four wahoo in two days!

Brendan Gann and Fred Cowan with Captain Jorge. Nice day of golden and prickly pear.

MIke Ingster is all smiles with his wahoo!

That’s the way! Bill Bigelman has some dordo fillets to bring home!

Captain Jorge with Steve Carroll and Dave Massey (I hope!) Hard to tell with everyone wearing sunglasses! But, nice rack of fish!

High school chums, Dave Massey and Scott Hall with some mahi to take home.

Bill Dixon from Tampa Bay, FLA and Bob Dixon from Washington had a good first day on the dorado schools!

Mike Shaw and Carlos Sanabria with Captain Moncho. This was Carlos’ 2nd trip this year with us.

I don’t remember if this is Jim Bovee’s 3rd or 4th visit to us this year, but always great to have him and he loves fishing with Captains Boli and Pancho. Boli put Jim on this nice bull outside La Paz Bay.

Steve Manney and Howard Bellows from Washington State posing with their catch of dorado.

Love my Washington friends…Andy Hall and Dana Murray (well, he’s also in Arizona these days) with Captan Armando. I think that’s a yellowtail on the table as well

Brad Gann has a good looking golden bull caught off Espirito Santo Island.

Captain Pancho with Jim Bailey from San Diego and our old friend, Adam Florence from…everywhere…he’s retired now and travels around the country in his RV!

Captain Victor gives Dave Lindell a hand with his sailfish! Dave is from Pendleton OR and this sail is larger than normal! They released the fish too! Well done!

Staying at Dad’s place at Bahia Muertos Rancho Costa, Miles and Delanie got nice dorado in the boat. It’s deceptively a lot larger than it looks because Miles is about 6’7″ these days!

There’s some meat! Fred Cruz back in town with us and Captain Alfredo hoist a couple of trophy bull mahi!

Greg Garrisons from San Diego with his wahoo and flanked by Miles and Gary Wagner staying at Rancho Costa in Bahia Muertos.

Pat Sylvers from Sammamish WA with Scott Hall from N. Cal with a first day catch of dorado and even snuck in a snapper and I think I see a pompano back there too!

Thumbs-up from Captain Gerardo posing with Glenn Tochiban and a healthy load of dorado and yellowfin tuna!

Tom Tews (middle) from Colorado battled this bull mahi for 35 minutes on light tackle fishing with Captain Joel out’ve La Paz. Ken Cereghino and Kim Stuart lend a hand!

Brothers Gann…Brad and Roger…have some fillets to bring home after 1 day fishing! Tuna and dorado on the cleaning board!

Our friend and owner of Rancho Costa in Bahia Muertos has a knack for big snapper like this one. Probably ended up on the dinner table for guests that night. Great eating!

Whoa! Dorado and big snapper for Bill Bigelman and John Stendara! Captain Hugo has some fish cleaning to do!

Howard Bellows (can never get him to smile in the photos!) and Andy Hall who is always smiling with more gold to add to the freezers!

Fred and Lisa Cruz…first day back on the water produces some quality dorado outside La Paz Bay!

Fernando and Nina Delmendo with their favorite Captain Armando after their first day with a load of dorado!

___________________________________

I’m torn and conflicted!

Part of me wants to bang drums and blow trumpets and fill this report with superlatives about the fishing. After the pretty terrible year we’ve had so far…the worst and weirdest season in my 30 years down here…the fishing really turned around the last 3 weeks or so. It’s NOT 100%, but compared to what it’s been, I feel like having a parade!

On the other hand…

The other side of me wants to keep this on the QT downlow. I don’t wanna harp and scream too much. I don’t wanna jinx things. I don’t wanna tick off the fish gods and ruin everything!!!

I think you might understand how I feel. I’m a bit superstitious about stuff like this.

So, let me just lay the facts on you and tell you to look at all the photos above. It’s the LARGEST gallery of the season. It’s the most colorful gallery of the season. The photos tell the story and you can draw your own conclusions! LOL. I am just the messenger!

But, good or bad…this is the best fishing we have had all year.

We had one day of panic when strong winds and waves from the south blew us off the water and we had to cancel our Las Arenas boats, but it turned out to be a one-off. Fishing picked up right where it left off.

In short, it’s been a long time since I’ve used the word “limits.”

But, the dorado bite has been pretty darned solid. Fun-fish in the school-sized 5-15 pound class are sometimes bending rods and providing limits by early morning! Anglers are releasing a lot of fish! Plus there are some larger 20-40 pounders also getting hooked. The dorado has been great fun, especially for many of our first-timers, kids and families.

However, you add in lots of bonito, some snapper, cabrilla, jack crevalle, an occasional roosterfish, marlin or sailfish and there have been more grins and smiles than frowns every day.

Plus, we have caught more wahoo in the last 2 weeks than the lat 2 years combined. Not alot. And not everyday. They remain elusive. However, we’ve hooked about a dozen or so with a good number breaking off or biting through lines but maybe about 8 or 9 making it into the boats! Fish have been 15-40 pounders.

Tuna also showed up as well. Nothing big, but football-sized yellowfin in the 5-12 pound category have been fun. The only glitch is that they bite early and it’s been a little run to Punta Pescadero to jump on them quickly. Then, the fish stop chewing and you have to run all the way back to get into the dorado zones.

Bottom line, it’s not off-the-charts.  Everyday some boats do better than others, but it all evens out by the end of the trip over several days.  It’s still  pretty darned nice compared to before and everyone is catching fish!

I also want to apologize that this week’s report is a bit late. I was already set and ready to publish a few days ago, but then that little storm popped up and changed the complexion of things. I wanted to wait and see what it would do to the bite so that I could give you the most accurate version of what’s happening!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.com Mexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

US Mailing Address:   Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942

Phones: 
from USA: 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

 

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Sept .14-21, 2024

POST TROPICAL STORM ILEANA

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 14-21, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN REPORT

WEATHER: Had Tropical Storm Ileana came and crashed into S.Baja bringing rain and big seas except to La Paz where we had some drizzle and dark clouds (thankfully that’s all), but it was enough for the port captain to shut down all fishing for 2 days. Since then, it’s been sunny, but cool and breezy.

WATER:  Water was not as bad as usual after a storm. Readings of 83-86 on the surface and mostly good patches of blue.

SPECIES HOOKED THIS WEEK:   Dorado, prickly pear, bonito, jack crevalle, snapper, cabrilla, sailfish, striped marlin, blue marlin, amberjack, wahoo, rainbow runner, snapper, sierra

FISHING SCALE 1-10:   Was 4 and got to a 6

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

 

There sure haven’t been many wahoo this year, but Jim Bailey from San Diego with Captain Pancho boated this fatty at the south end of Cerralvo Island. They also had another biter, but it straightened the hook on the Rapala!

Richard Smith and Ron Gray hooked this striper on light tackle and tag-teamed it to the boat for almost 2 hours. The fish could not be released.

A great start for Mike Ingster and Glenn Tochibana with a table full of dorado and some of the first tuna we’ve seen all season.

Scott and Darin Stromberg from Utah had a successful day (and week) fishing out’ve Bahia Muertos. Dorado and football tuna!

Steve poses with his striper on the beach at Bahia Muertos. They released a sailfish, but this one could not be released.

Shane Nielsen and Gary Sears took home a nice load of dorado over several days fishing with us.

Two of the sweetest folks ever! From Texas, Debbie and Randy Moe get a hand from Captain Jorge with some dorado from their first day on the water.

Darrell Chang and Bobby Hara squeezed two days of fishing in with us and always good to see them down here. 2nd day they rocked the dorado school plus a couple of pompano.

This is more like it! Brothers-in-law, Jim Bailey and Adam Florence found a better grade of prickly pear at the north end of Cerralvo Island.

Debbie will tell everyone within earshot that she caught all the dorado even tho’ she was fishing with husband Randy!

Voronika Sharikova and Amanda Davies visiting us from home in Yosemite put some dorado fillets in the cooler to go with their other fish.

_______________________________________

Tropical Storm Ileana bumped into Baja earlier in the week and created all kinds of havoc. It never developed into a full-blown hurricane, but it was enough.

Many areas got flooded. There were mudslides and road closures. The airports got shut down and flights got cancelled.

In La Paz, the government had the National Guard ready. They had the Red Cross ready to go. they had the. CFE power company trucks ready to handle power outages.

Then…nothing happened!

Clouds got dark. Seas got a bit stormy. But, there wasn’t even enough rain to get the ground wet! It was a complete non-event. A huge inconvenience for some but a disaster for fishing, only insofar as the Port Captain shut down La Paz Bay to all boat traffic in and out. So for two days as we waited for the storm to actually smack into us, NO ONE COULD GET OUT FISHING!

Understandably, it could have been worse. We’re grateful that it wasn’t worse. We get it that out’ve caution, boating gets shut down. People lose their lives out there on the water and just because it looks calm inside the bay…outside it could be a washing machine!

But, it’s just hard to justify to fishermen why we couldn’t go out when it wasn’t really raining and from inside the bay it didn’t look that rough.

So, Ileana came and went and regretfully, some guys lost days of fishing. That’s why I constantly warn our guests to purchase trip insurance.

After the storm passed on, it’s always difficult to tell how the fishing will be. Prior to Ileana, we had some of the best fishing of the season. Not great, but compared to the rest of the summer, fishing was pretty darned good.

But after a storm, waters could be colder. Waters could be dirtier. It could be rough. There are lots of variables.

However, because we didn’t get much rain, the waters didn’t get hit too hard. Fishing started slow, but with each progressive day, it seemed to get a little better.

It has been windy and cool, however. In fact, we’re all commenting this is the coldest September any of us can remember. In fact, instead of the beginning of fall, it feels like the beginning of winter down here. We have all been wearing jackets in the mornings!

But, the fishing did improve progressively.

Dorado came back nicely. Some 5-10 pound schoolie fish mostly, with some occasional fish in the 20 pound class. Some days they were here and there. Other times, anglers got into a school and it was one-stop shopping!

Additionally, we got some surprises.

Tuna showed up! We haven’t had much prickly pear in 2 or 3 seasons. Definitely we got more tuna this week than any time of the year. Nothing spectacular, but football-sized 5-10 pounders came up around Cerralvo Island and south towards Punta Pescadero. It seemed like a morning bite then the fish were gone so you had to jump on it pretty early. Some of the larger fish went 20 pounds or so.

As well, we kinda got our first wahoo of the season after nothing all year. Fish running 20-30 pounds were hit at the south end of Cerralvo with out half the fish getting off or biting through lines and lures.

Add in lots of bonito, needlefish, jack crevalle and even some marlin and sailfish and it was a surprisingly good end of the week those last few days!

Some roosterfish are still around and we’re getting some cold-water species as well as amberjack, sierra, rainbow runners, pompano and trevally.

This whole year has been unpredictable, but we hope it continues to get better before the northern winds start up!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.com Mexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

US Mailing Address:   Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA 91942

Phones: 
from USA: 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Sept. 6-13, 2024

BEST WEEK OF THE SUMMER UNTIL ILEANA CRASHES THE PARTY

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 6-13, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WATER:  Getting some surface temps of 86 degrees.  Mostly blue and warm but some colder water still down deep and some dirty cold green patches still clinging.

WEATHER: High 90’s and very very humid.  Stay hydrated.  Feel like 20 degrees hotter than the thermometer says it is!

FISH  HOOKED THIS WEEK:  Dorado, marlin, sailfish, small tuna, roosterfish, jack crevalle, bonito, trevally, pompano, sierra, amberjack, rainbow runners, pargo, cabrilla, snapper.

SCALE OF 1-10:  Fishing was a 6 …highest of the summer

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT

BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

Tropical Storm Ileana has been a buzz kill.

 

Roger Laubscher and Chris Binkely from Louisiana have fished with us several years and had a banner 3 days with a load of fillets to take home. Unfortunately, they got caught in Cabo when the storm hit and got stuck overnight.

Leif Dover and Brian O’Neill are two of our better anglers who come every year and consistently rock big fish like this nice rack of dorado. They’re from Georgia. They are headed next month to climb to base camp on Mt.Everest for the 2nd time.

She’s been waiting more than 2 years for this trip. Veronika Sharikova loves to fish and fishes well! She just knocked roosters off her bucket list. Fish was released.  She lives in Yosemite!

Our favorite flight attendant Carrie McKinley from Washington with one of her dorado. Check the flat waters!

Ron Clouser out with his sister Jan Nesmith and Captain Victor started out with a nice load of dorado including these two. They gifted all their fish each day.

Roger didn’t even know he was hooked to this massive sailfish at first. His first and it was caught with Captain Luis with our La Paz fleet. They were not able to release the fish.

Leif and Brian…day 2…more quality dorado fishing with Captain Hugo.

Tough fighting jack crevalle for carrie.

We love Don McKinley who has visited us several times and is a former missionary. Don has himself a tasty barred pargo near the rocks off Cerralvo Island.

Captain Jorge with his iconic thumb and Anita Wilkens first rooster! Normally, roosters aren’t here this late in the season. The fish was released.

Nice way to start the day with an early morning striper for Chris Binkley. His first. They are not able to release the fish. Chris hooked the fish just outside of La Paz Bay.

A day for big grins! First day out for Ed Hayes and Brent Lockhart!

I’m surprised our good friend, Dan McKinley doesn’t have a cigar in hand to go with the trevally! Good fisherman! Caught about 10 different species!

Good start! First day for Bryan Forward and Phil Kennedy fishing with Captain Moncho. Nice rack of fish!

Yea! First time visitors Veronika Sharikova and Amanda Davies decided to leave the boyfriend behind and do a girls fishing trip themselves!

Jon Eide with Capt. Armando and one of several mahi on the day.

First-time visitors with big smiles showing off a few of their dorado from the day, Bill and Jan Nesmith.

Andy Harrison and Jon Eide from Mineapolis MN visit us every year and have fun with their favorite captain Gerardo who has his job cut out for him cleaning fish!

_______________________________________________

Still not what it SHOULD be, but by far we just had the best week of the summer.

There were some rough spots here and there, but overall just a nice week of pretty decent fishing.  There’s some colder green water here and there, but for once the fish were around and not only around, but willing to come to the party!

Mostly, the dorado finally decided to bite with the best areas being with our Las Arenas Fleet.  Fish were school-sized 5-10 pounders, but also some legit bulls up to 30 pounds.  Just lots of fun and some days, hitting limits (not a word I’ve been able to use much lately!) before 9 a.m.

For our La Paz fleet, fewer dorado, but there was a tendency for them to be larger and also billfish like sailfish and striped and blue marlin also got more active with most fish being released or breaking off,  especially on the lighter tackle.

As well, there’s still some small to medium roosterfish around (all released).  Add in lots of bonito action, jack crevalle, good fishing for pargo, cabrilla and snapper and overall a good week.  Plus some unusual catches of amberjack, rainbow runner, yellowtail (small), and sierra which are all cold-water species.

It was going grand until INVEST 9-E from the south and turned into Tropical Storm “ILEANA”

At the time I’m writing this, the port has been shut down and we’re still waiting for the 3-5 inches of rain predicted but has not yet hit.  Further south, Cabo is experiencing flooding and mudslides and where we launch the boats at Bahia Muertos it’s rough with rain, big waves and strong winds which are forecast to reach 30-60 mph.

But, it’s frustrating because we had to cancel all the fishing today and looking out the window it’s ugly and dark, but the waters in the bay are flat.

Lots of cancelled flights arriving and departing which added to the frustration!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Weeks of Aug. 13-28, 2024

UP DOWN SIDEWAYS…NO WAY TO PREDICT

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muerto Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Weeks of Aug. 13-28, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN REPORT

WEATHER:  Cooler than normal, but still hot by anyone’s standards just NOT AS HOT AS USUAL. Daytime temps in the high 90’s.

WATER:  Colder than normal as well.  And greener.  And dirtier.  That’s the problem messing up the fishing.  Currents are funky as well.

FISH HOOKED:  Dorado, marlin, sailfish, tuna, roosterfish, jacks, cabrilla, snapper, pargo, pompano, trevally

 

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

There’s dorado around, but we should be plugging the boats full of dorado this time of year. We really have to hunt for them these days.

The marlin bite that was so good earlier in the summer has tapered off, but there’s still billfish if you can find the blue water.

Our good amigos, Daniel and his dad, Jim Bovee with Captain Pancho come several times a year and know fishing in our waters as well as anyone. They spent 3 days and had to work hard for their fish and ran as much as 20 miles out trying to find the blue water.

_____________________________________

I DID NOT FORGET YOU!  And YES, we’re OK!

Thanks to everyone who checked up on us and many apologies that it’s been about 2 1/2 weeks since the last report.

I’ve been diligently doing the fishing reports for almost 30 years…the videos for almost 20 years and regretfully, some personal and medical issues came up that were unavoidable and needed attention.

Then, a double whammy…I was ready to get out a report, but…

  1.  Not many photos since fishing hasn’t been that great and no one needs to see photos of 12″ tuna and 4 pound dorado
  2. I accidentally pressed “DELETE” and the few photos I had ready for the report vanished!  Just like that.  My bad.  My fault.

So, that’s what happened.  I know alot of you folks kinda rely on getting the weekly report and thanks to everyone who checked in on me.   We’re good to go!

Honestly, you haven’t missed much since the last report. In fact, not much has changed.

Fishing remains erratically perplexing.

Full discloser honesty without the sugar coating…

It’s August.  Almost September.  We should be knee deep in blue water pelagic species like dorado, billfish, tuna and such.   It’s not like that.

Waters are still cooler/ colder than normal and very off-color and dirty instead of the pretty blue waters we should be enjoying.  It’s also been a bit rougher than normal as southern winds keep bumping into us and nothing is as it should be.

We’re having to hunt hard to find the blue water and favorable condition.  The captains are working hard chasing the right stuff and guests are being patient.  The problem is that every day is different.  The locations change.  The water changes.  What worked yesterday doesn’t necessarily work today.  One boat finds fish. The boat next to it can’t get a bite.  One boat catches dorado.  The other boat only gets cold water species like snapper and triggerfish and cabrilla.

So, I think the fish are as confused as we are.  The fishing results are mixed and the species we are finding are mixed.  I can’t tell you if you go fishing if you have a better chance at dorado, marlin or needlefish.   It’s just that kind of year.

Got alot of folks coming to visit in the next few week so hopefully things will get better.  Just gotta hang in there.  We’re doing all we can and wish I had a crystal ball or magic wand. In my 30 years this has been the most frustrating of seasons.  But, if you don’t put a line in the water, you definitely won’t catch anything. I just can’t tell you what you’re gonna hook!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

“Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.”

 

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of Aug. 5-12, 2024

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 5-12, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN REPORT

WEATHER:  Cooler than normal but the humidity is way up.  Had a crazy “torito” blow in (baby hurricane) that comes out’ve nowhere and it dropped about 15 minutes of rain on us as well as some big swells.

WATER:  Crazy water.  Warm blue water patches.  Cold water patches that are dirty green and dark.  Surface temps are 85 in the blue water and in the 70’s in the green water.  Moving and changing daily!

SPECIES HOOKED THIS WEEK:  Yellowtail,  dorado, jack crevalle, bonito, rainbow runners, pompano, trevally, pargo, sailfish, marlin, roosterfish, baby tuna, amberjack, sierra

NOTE:  Very un-predicatable and unseasonable bite

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT

 

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

Captain Gerardo helps Steve Guidi with the gaff and a photo op wit this legit bull dorado.

Ray Cabales always has funny photos for us whenever he fishes, but this big rooster was a battle. Ray says his arms were pretty sore after the fight. Captain Pancho helps out. The fish was released.

Another weird thing for the fishing season! Gwyn Bailey wit a barracuda!! I’ve only seen barracuda caught about 3 times in 30 years. I have only seen a school of the one time while scuba diving. And never one this big! Good eating!

1..2..3…LIFT for the photo! Tony Smith hefts a gorgeous mossback yellowtail for the camera.

Good friend, Andrew Fernandez with a sailfish for a photo and release. He told me they actually had a double hook-up as his buddy Steve had a big dorado on the line at the same time. (see the first photo above!).

Mac Costas…pretty roosterfish right off the Las Arenas beach. He did release the fish. Jonathan Dille with the photobomb shaka!

Jeanne always looks like she’s ready to bite the fish back! She’s got a nice bull dorado for the camera pose!

Marcus Yoo just retired as a Lt. Colonel in the army and visits us each year. He’s in shape! But this big roosterfish was all he could handle and he could not lift it for the photo. Several estimates put this at well over 100 pounds and he needed an assist from Captain Victor to release it. He also caught and released another 30 pound class rooster.

Another strange fish we shouldn’t be catching right now. A rainbow runner related to yellowtail caught by Tom Hunt from Arizona.

Pretty shot with the blue water of La Paz Bay. John and Gwyn Bailey with a quad of yellowtail for the fish box.

 

Ray is ready for some yellowtail sashime and poke. He had some back at our Tailhunter Restaurant and I made up several good batches of rice to go along with it. He had big smiles!

YEOW!!! First day roosterfish TOAD for Jonathan Dille from Arizona!!! Definite trophy and they caught two that day and released them both.

Kind of a cute photo that I just had to include. Stephanie Worley fished with her husband James and really really worked hard for all their fish…and they know how to fish! But, got this dorado one of their days.

This is what we are SUPPOSED to be catching right now, but dorado are few and hard to come by, but Tom Hunt and Jack Sellers found these 2 pairs outside of La Paz Bay towards Espirito Santo Island

There was one day when all our boats went hunting for yellowtail and dorado and pretty much struggled all day hunting and pecking. John and Gwyn decided to head to the rocks and fish the rockfish and had a banner day on pargo, cabrilla, snapper and more!

Maybe the most frameable photo of the week. Leo Albers fishing with us for the first time with one of his big yellowtail! Normally , he’s fishing ling cod up the California coast .

Roger “Fluffy” McCracken has been a good friend over 25 years. He’s living in Portland now and always good to see him . Nice dorado, Roger!

One of the bigger dorado of the week. Mac hung this one off Las Arenas. We should be thick into these right now, but it’s been a crazy unusual season.

One of the funnest guys to be around…Chris Burgin…our friend from Texas will keep you laughing. He’s got an exceptionally large jack crevalle on is lap. Tough fighters. Basically, they are like roosterfish without the mohawk fin on their heads.

 

Andrew threw iron all day for the yellowtail but finally slammed this guy on the jig. That’s alot of work, but he enjoys the artificials.

 

OK…Is Jeanne angry at this yellowtail or does she really want a some incredibly fresh sashime? I love this lady. She cracks me up all the time. And she knows how to fish and have fun whenever she and Ray come to visit.

 

Another one of our Texas amigos. Shane Burgin fits the stereotype “good old boy” Texan to the letter! Always has something fun going on or to say. Got his biggest rooster ever with Captain Pancho for the photo and release.

__________________________________________

Where do I start?

I think I could write a book about this season.  Each week things get a little more strange.

We are still hunting and pecking for fish.  Some days some boats get fish.  Other boats, same spot, same bait, same conditions…it changes again.

It’s like the rest of the world. Mexico is not immune to the weird conditions unlike anything I have ever seen in 30 years working in La Paz.

No day  is alike.

We have hot humid days when the sun blazes and the humidity can be anywhere from 50-80%.  But we have cooler cloudy days.

Or hot cloudy days

Or chilly mornings.

Or ho days followed by chilly night.

We have days when the ocean is flat and then later that day or the next day it’s all roiled up with big waves, swells and chop.

There are days when we got baby hurricanes ( “toritos”) that last a few hours and blow boats off the water in one area but in other areas, there isn’t a cloud in the sky (Cabo got flooded), but we only got a few minutes of heavy rain.

We have spots of clear blue water and right next to it, cold dirty dark water. We have areas where this is cold water on top and warm water below and other areas where the warm water is on top and there’s colder water below.

We have days when there’s so much live bait.  The next day, we really have to scratch to find any.

We also have tons of sharks in the water.  You name it and it’s probably swimming around. Little ones.  Big ones.  Dark ones,…about the only kind we haven’t seen is the big white fella.  But that doesn’t mean he’s not around.  One day at Muertos Bay, right in the shallows where alot of little roosterfish and tiny sardines were bunched up a 12′ tiger was swimming in about 3′ of water right where our boats were pulling in.

And everything changes from day-to-day.

So, the fish are about as confused as we are.

We should be nailing dorado, tuna, wahoo, billfish…

Instead we’re having trouble finding them.  Even in the blue water at times,  fish that should be there aren’t there!   Believe it or not, there are some days when even the bonito and jack crevalle don’t bite and even (gasp!) the needlefish aren’t around.

We’re catching a few blue water fish, but literally just a smattering.  There were days last year where we caught more dorado in one day than we are catching in a whole week right now.

Instead, we’re getting pargo, cabrilla, jack crevalle, snapper, pompano, rainbow runners and amberjack.  These are all cooler water fish that we catch in the spring and disappear mostly around June.

These species DID taper off.  But now they are back!

Same with roosterfish.  We usually don’t see many of those big boys after June. But (thankfully) we have big 30-100+pound fish around once again.  Where did they go and why are they back.  Some days, I am so grateful we have the roosters around because they are “bucket list fish” and when other species are hard to find, the roosters put big smiles on faces as they bend rods.

Another thing…

We just had the best yellowtail bite I have seen in 30 years.  Normally, we have a so-so yellowtail area around La Paz.  If you really want yellowtail head north to Loreto and Mulege which are famous for their yellowtail. We get a few days in the springtime here and there, but that’s kind of it.  It’s OK, but not great.  But again, these are a colder water fish.

And they are NEVER here in the summer and for sure not in August!

Well, this past week, we had 3 days when yellowtail were literally foaming on the surface and boiling on the baits.  Boats were hooking up to a dozen of these bruiser 20-40 pound fish.  Many getting lost and broken off, but the fish were slamming lines.  Then, I sent everyone there the 4th day to get in on the bite and …ZILCH!  We had 8 boats get 2 fish!

My captains said the waters and currents had changed and they also had trouble finding live bait.

The next day, the fish were back. So was the bait.  Waters had changed again!

Another strange one…little itty-bitty yellowfin tuna.  This is the right time for them, but I’ve never seen little mini-yellowfin tuna like this.  They are about 10″ long!

So, I give up trying to guess.  Come down and fish and it will be what it will be!

Captains are really pushing hard to find fish and running long distances looking for favorable conditions.  Staying out extra long sometimes as well.  Clients have been gems and also being patient and hanging with the program with smiles during the tough hunting days.

Some boats get hot and the boat right next to them can’t buy a bite.  Hot spots go cold for fishing the next day and cold spots suddenly produce fish the next day.

Just being honest.  It is what it is right now.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 

Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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La Paz- Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of July 28-Aug. 4, 2024

FISHING STILL DAZED and CONFUSED

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 28-Aug. 4, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WEATHER:  We were worried about some dual tropical storms this week, but they stayed well to the south,  but dropped about 5 minutes of rain sprinkles on car windshields.  It did up the intensity of the humidity with 50-70% humidity some days and continued hot daytime temps in the hi-90’s.  Nights are comfortable.  Can be breezy at times more than normal

WATER:  Had a few rough days, especially for south-facing areas like Las Arenas with had some big swells caused by the storms to the south.  Lots of cold green water still around which is problematic for fishing, but later in the week, finding more blue patches holding fish.

FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK:  Yellowtail,  dorado, little tuna, marlin, sailfish, amberjack, roosterfish, pargo, cabrilla, trevally, pompano, bonito, jack crevalle, triggerfish, snapper, rainbow runner

FISHING SCALE of 1-10;  3.5 still tough going

 

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO FISHING REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE AND THE REST OF THE STORY…

 

Talk about a mix. Perfect example. It’s August and we got warm water fish (dorado) and cold water fish (yellowtail)! Nice haul from new Texas friends, Lawrence Piccagli and son Henry.

DJ Oleson has a great grin to go with a big-time roosterfish right off the rocks at Punta Perrico. He released the fish too! Check out the glassy water! DJ is from Utah.

Josh Matthews and Bruce Bliechrodt with a good start on the dorado at Bahia Muertos.

Ohio man, Brian Bleichrodt first time with us picks off a bucket-list rooster near the sands of Punta Arenas. He released the fish.

Ahhh...more good Texas in the house! Our good friend, Chris Burgin with some dorado fillets to take home along with some pargo too!

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Captain Jorge with a thumb-up and helping hand for Paul Jewell from Portland. First-timer with a trophy dorado for the photo!

Maybe 80 pounds according to Captain Jorge with a sunrise pose with Darrell Oleson and his big rooster! Darrell released the fish!

Just graduated from University of Texas…first day on the water for Alex Piccagli and Billy Conn. Two nice dorado. A fat yellowtail and TWO marlin…they were able to release one of them. Good first day!

Brent Bleichrodt from Denver with his favorite, Capt. Arcangel and Brent’s biggest rooster. Catch and release!

Jake Sybesma posing with a nice bull dorado

Captain Boli helps Shelton with a big mossback yellowtail that should NOT be here in August, but they got 4 on the day!

Captain Jorge with a smiling Destany Fawcett visiting us for the first time from Texas and a colorful dorado.

First day bruiser rooster for Brent Racker from Utah. The fish was released. He had a crazy few days with us. Drove all the way down with friends from Utah. Two days down…two days back..about 3800 miles round trip!

Michael Amodeo and son Michael from the San Diego area fished with us years ago and found some dorado and some of those little pop warner football tuna.

BAM…right off the bat. Jonathan Dille from Arizona with Captain Pancho punches two big roosterfish. Both released.

Might be one of my most favorite photos of the week. Lawrence Piccagli from Dallas TX got this tough bonito on the flyrod! He looks kinda happy! 😆

Sweet Gaby Donnel from Portland having fun with Captain Pancho.

Lucas Garrett and Keeley Chamberlain got a few dorado to start the trip!

If the dorado looks smallish, don’t be fooled. Micah is about 6’6″ and plays college volleyball. It’s a good fish!

Josh with Captain Joel and a chunky yellowtail near Espirito Santo Island. Crazy to be getting these quality fish in August. These are cold water fish we see in the springtime!

Wow! It’s August, but roostefish alley there off the Punta Arenas lighthouse is still kicking out some trophy roosters! Check out the catch-and-release rooster caught by Lawrence Piccagli!

If Brent looks tired, he is. This striper busted him up and gave him quite a tussle on a very light rod that they had to keep handing off!

Roger Mc Cracken and Paul Jewell from Portland had a nice day on the dorado and a bunch of those little yellowfin tuna!

Valerie Burgin…one of the sweetest gals every time they come to visit. She has no bad days! Six dorado for the fish box!

It’s rare, but sometimes the fish make it look easy!

Henry Piccagli and Captain Victor got a hog rooster for a great photos and release. Cerralvo Island in the background .

Captain Arcangel has a great expression. Brett has another rooster and release!

Jimmy and Amanda have quite a table of fish…dorado, palometa (trevally), barred pargo, yellow snapper, amberjack and cabrilla!

Yea! That’s the right kind! Billy Conn with his first trophy rooster. Quick release followed. Billy is from Texas.

Gaby was all excited about being able to bring fresh yellowtail back to Oregon for sashime!

Alex and Captain Jorge with his famous thumb…which is a good sign for this big rooster. Alex was visiting us from Texas and released the fish!

 

____________________________________________With so many fish pictures, you would think we had a great week of fishing.  And no doubt there were some really nice catches.

But, once again, we really had to work to find biters.  Captains pushed hard and guests gritted their teeth and fished patiently.

The weird weather, water and winds that we’ve had now for over a month continued to play havoc with the fishing season .  Every day was different. Ever boat seemed different.

There were hot days.  There were cool days.  There were calm days.  There were breezy, windy and rough days.  We had two big tropical storms to the south that never made it up here, thankfully.  But they did push up a few days of some really big waves and wind and just enough rain to mess up our dusty windshields.   I think the fish are as confused as we are.

What has been the biggest issue and causing the erratic bite has been all the cold dirty water that has been pushed from the south and from deep upwellings.  The colder water is clearly visible. The trick is to find the patches of blue warmer water holding fish!  And that moves from day-to-day and hour-to-hour!  There’s no rhyme or reason.  In my 30 years down here, I’ve never seen anything like this.

Whereas we should be deep into bluewater warm-water pelagic species this time of year, we are hunting and pecking for dorado which are usually numerous.  The ones we’re getting are ones we used to throw back in previous years.  Yes, there’s the occasional 20-40 pounder, but most are the 5-10 pound schoolie dinks.

The weird thing is that here we are in August…2/3 through the summer and all of a sudden cold water fish have shown up.  These are fish we never ever see in the summer.  Fish like 20-40 pound yellowtail…amberjack…rainbow runners…pompano…trevally…pargo…cabrilla…are all cooler water fish that we catch in the winter and spring.

They kinda disappeared around June, but now they’re back!  Weird.

But, warm water marlin and sailfish are here.  So are lots of sharks.  More than I have ever seen!

Another fish that we usually never see this time of year are big roosterfish.  Yet, here they are with 30-80 pounders suddenly back and providing action.  Go figure.

Here’s the thing to think about.  Yes, there are some big fish around and yes, you have a shot at them even with this unpredictable fishing.  But, you have to be ready.  It could be a trophy marlin or roosterfish.  Or a toad yellowtail or dorado.  You might have just one shot at the big boy.  There’s usually no 2nd chance if you miss it our bounce the fish.   There have been some big dissapointments because of lost fish!

All we can do is keep looking and keep fishing.  The season has been full of surprises.  It seems to be like this all over the world with the funky weather!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report from Tailhunter Sportfishing for Week of July 20-27, 2027

IMPROVED FISHING DURING FULL MOON…(Sort of…)

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 20-27, 2024

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WEATHER:  It’s all over the place.  It’s definitely hot in the afternoons…blazing actually, but not as hot as normal.  Mornings and nights can be cool or hot and humid.  It’s different every day.  It can also be very windy and breeze or sometimes not even a whisper of wind.

WATER:  It’s like the weather. And directly related.  We have warm surface water and blue clear conditions or a few yards away cold green dirty water.  Waters can be flat calm and an hour later bumpy as heck.  Never seen anything like this in 30 years.

FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK:  Dorado, marlin, sailfish, bonito, tiny tuna, jack crevalle, yellowtail, amberjack, pompano, trevally, pargo, cabrilla, triggerfish…sharks!

THE MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE AND THE REST OF THE STORY…

Marie McClelland from Park City UT, visits us every year and has a knack for big fish, especially dorado like this one. She was out with Captain Victor.

Tom Wilkens brought his daughter, Kaitlyn with him for her first visit. They were out with Captain Gerardo for this pair of dorado.

My old high school classmate Eddie Falcon who lives up in Carson City NV area has a colorful dorado on the gaff. Check out the flat ocean!

 

As I recall, Tanner was out at the 88 bank when they hit a school of better dorado like this one with Captain Pancho. This was Tanner’s 2nd trip this year with Tailhunters

 

 

Braedon and Steward Pierson had themselves a ball with the spinning rods and some fun-sized schoolie dorado.

Our good amigo, Kip Slaugh, on his 2nd trip to us this year from Salt Lake City had a double marlin hook up and released both!

Jim and Brenda Bovee from San Diego have fished with us already 2 times. They got a quick limit of dorado then found of a school of litte baby yellowfin tuna…not football size…Pop Warner size!

This is a NICE dorado. Connor is about 6’1″! He was out with Captain Luis north of La Paz Bay.

Daniel Bovee with his favorite Captain, Pancho and a jack crevalle they released. Always good to see Daniel down here.

Brian and Marie McClelland with another bull for the fish box!

Matt Slaugh looks pretty happy with this striped marlin! The fish was released.

Eddie and Debbie Falcon with first-day’s catch of dorado going home to Nevada with them.

Gabe Aguilar with Captain Alfredo fought this striper for a long time finallly getting it to the boat.

Daniel Bovee and his mom, Brenda, found a patch of schoolie-dorado near Bahia Muertos.

Seeing an abnormal lot of sharks this past month of many species. My captain say it’s because there’s so much baitfish in the waters for them and it’s actually a good sign.

Tanner with another big bull! Big head on this one!

Brenda and Jim had a good day with limits of dorado releasing many.

____________________________________________

Well…we had a full moon this past week or so to add to our fishing issues.

That makes most folks cringe when they hear about fishing on a full moon.

But, pump the brakes!  The fishing actually got a bit better during the full moon!  Given how erratic and difficult the fishing had been the past month, this was great to have.  Nothing great to be honest, but anything is better than what it had been!

The waters still remain weird.  Cold dirty water in many spots, but then right next to warm blue water.  And it changes all the time.

Got in the water on the beach and it should have been warm.  Instead if was COLD! I got goose bumps.  I walked down the beach about 100 yards and the water was like bathwater!  That’s the way it is out fishing!

Here’s the rub…yes, we got dorado which bit a bit better this week.  We actually got some limits here and there with guys releasing fish.  I haven’t used the word “limits” in a few weeks.

Nothing big.  Mostly school-sized 5-10 pound fish.  Way off for what we SHOULD be catching, but at least they are biting.  There are some larger 20-40 pounders around as well if you check the photos above.  But, whereas in the last several seasons post-Covid where we had lots of big bulls swimming around, there are fewer big fish.  And, if you hook one…and you lose it…well, that might be your only shot at a big boy.

That’s the warm water stuff.  The rub is that we are getting COLD water fish!  IN JULY!

This is unheard of in my 30 years here, but we’re getting yellowtail 10-25 pounds.  We’re getting amberjack.  We hooked pargo liso that we have spawning here in the springtime in April and May.  I thought we were well on our way towards summertime fishing, but to be honest, this is more like spring-time fishing!  It’s crazy.  It’s un-predicatable.

The cold water fish just suddenly showed up again.

As well, another strange occurance…more marlin and sailfish than I have ever seen!  Most are getting released, but some boats are getting multiple hook-ups on billfish…even when they are not trying and DO NOT WANT billfish.

Here’s another little funky fact…more sharks in the water than I have ever seen as well.  Folks are hooking makos, blues, hammerheads, lemon sharks, thresher sharks and others…all sizes.  There’s a ton of baby shark in the bay as well.  Don’t worry, the sharks aren’t bothering anyone, but they’re a pain in the backside to hook them and have them tear up your line and gear after long fights or short fights then trying to unhook and release them.

My captains say that the sharks are here because there’s so much bait and feed in the water for them and this includes large schools of TINY SMALL tuna!  Even smaller than bonito.  Perfect munchy-size food for sharks as well as the larger apex predators like the marlin and sailfish.

So…bottom line…fishing did get better.  But, nothing to blow whistles over…just yet!  We can only hope and keep fishing!  Our captains are working super hard and are super frustrated as well.  Even staying out extra time some days to keep pushing to find fish.

Likewise, the guests are being patient and hanging with us as well.  It’s strange because several boats could be on the same spot.  Several boats are hanging fish and the boats right next to them can’t get a nibble.  Or hot spots become cold spots and vice versa.  There’s just no logic.

We just have to keep at it!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter Sportfishing

www.tailhunter.comMexico Office: 
Tailhunter Sportfishing

755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter Sportfishing
8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178 La Mesa CA  91942

Phones: 
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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