La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 26- Feb. 2, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST OF THE STORY…
Colorful dorado for Captain Jorge giving Jen Martinez a hand with the gaff.
Mike and Jen Martinez from Washington had just one day to squeeze in fishing and they picked a day when the winds lay flat and a few dorado put some bend in the rods.
As expected, we had the typical winter wind, chill and waves. That’s to be expected this time of year, when not many folks are fishing or even on the water.
However, we had a few windows of opportunity, especially earlier in the week when winds laid down enough for us to get some folks out to get some lines wet. In fact, we had folks fishing with our Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fleet and, for the first time of the year, with our La Paz Fleet. Still a bit chilly, but at least the wind diminished enough to head out!
Captain Boli pulls out with Sherry and Stu Maitland from Canada. Note the flat waters!
Surprisingly, despite it being winter, we got into some decent dorado biters. These are WARM water fish! But, here it is, the end of January and some 8-15 pound schoolies were on the chew. In fact, our La Paz boats found some nice jags of fish near the mouth of the bay where the water was warmer and loaded on limits in about an hour!
WHAT? Dorado in January? And limits just inside the bay? Wow!
This was total bonus fishing because many of the folks fishing were first-timers and visiting from chillier areas of the U.S. and Canada.
In addition, there were some nice schools of bonito to keep rods bent including some of the tasty blue and white bonito. Plus, there were catches of cabrilla, snapper, pargo and jack crevalle to round out the fish boxes.
Scott and Lynn Pichette are usually in negative freezing weather this time of the year in Canada where they run a hunting guide service. But, they were able to catch some warm sunshine and even some fish while fishing both La Paz (dorado) and Las Arenas/ Muertos where they hooked some white/blue bonito and a cabrilla.
Other than fishing, most of the action on the water are folks coming to town to either swim with the whalesharks or to do whalewatching as the whales are just starting to arrive up at Bahia Magdalena.
The grey whales have just started showing up in Bahia Magdalena. Ask us about day and overnight trips!
Whalesharks are now in the bay in the shallow water just a few hundred yards from the malecon. We’re running trips to go swim with the whalesharks now. Ask us about this incredible adventure!
TAILHUNTER 2020 ROAD TOUR TAKES US TO PORTLAND
We’ve been on the road now over a month and had some incredible fun shows in Denver…Sacramento…and Seattle (Puyallup). And now, by the time you’re reading this, we’ll be in Portland, Oregon for one of the largest shows on the West Coast.
The Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Show will be at the Portland Expo Center Feb. 5-9 (Wednesday to Thurday) for a huge outdoor show featuring exhibitors from all over the world with great stuff for the whole family including fishing, hunting, travel, boating, canoeing, kayaking, flyfishing, equipment, off-road, RV’s and more!
Come by and let’s set up your 2020 La Paz Fishing Vaction. We’re filling fast! Don’t wait!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay / Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan 19-26, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Scott Bryant from Colorado has himself some good eating cabrilla for dinner while staying at Rancho Costa.
Jigging with yo-yo iron, Dr. Santiago Gamaliel hung this nice yellowtail and had two other break off.
From Alaska, Mic Ward came down to enjoy a few days of sunshine at Rancho Costa at Bahia de los Muertos south of La Paz and landed a double-hand of cabrilla.
Not much of anyone out fishing this past week with mostly windy rough days outside. Most of the fishing was confined to inshore species as anglers hugged the coastal areas seeking calmer water and protection from the north winds and choppy ocean.
Using Rapalas, stripped bait, squid and live bait (when it could be found), produced a mixed bag of pargo, snapper, triggerfish and cabrilla as well as some bonito, sierra and jack crevalle. Slowly dragging smaller dark Rapalas over the rocky spots were especially productive for a variety of species. Some yellowtail popped up as well and hopefully, this is the vanguard of our yellowtail
Despite the winds, it’s been sunny with highs in the mid to upper 70’s and nights down to the mid-50’s, but it looks like more wind will hit later this week.
DOWN THE ROAD WE GO!
Jill and I are just wrapping up here at the Washington State Fairgrounds where we spent the last 5 days in our booth at the Washington Sportsman’s Show! It was the best show we’ve ever had here in almost 2 decades at this show. Welcome to all our new amigos to the Tailhunter Nation and to see so many old friends and faces. Also had alot of folks sign up to come down to see us as well and made reservations to fish with us in 2020. We’re excited to have you down to visit!
Thanks for all the hospitality Washington! (And rain too…loved it! We don’t get much rain in Baja!)
So, here we go…next stop down the road south to Portland for the Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Show at the Portland Expo Center. This is one of the largest outdoor shows in the Western U.S. and if you’re in the area, you gotta check it out! Here’s details. Click the link:
Next stop…OREGON at the Portland Expo Center Feb. 5-9! Come see us!
WHALE WATCHING SEASON UNDERWAY AT BAHIA MAGDALENA
Although there might not be lots of folks fishing right now, the 2002 whale watching season is just getting underway. Whales should just about starting to show up.
It’s not too late to book a trip with us to head on over to experience an incredible day with these gentle creatures that migrate all the way from the Bering Sea year-after-year to spend the early months in the warm shallow waters of Bahia Magdalena. Just write to me directly at: Jonathan@tailhunter.com
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 5-12, 2020
Mexican Minute Video Report
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Like alot of places in North America this past week…
It’s been COLD in La Paz to go along with some windy weather. The winds are expected this time of year, but it’s been colder than normal…at least by La Paz standards with us locals bundling up and even the tourists donning the occasional sweatshirt or windbreaker. Although most look at us kinda strange as they walk around in shorts and flip-flops.
Check out this video clip. The voice you hear is Benny outiside Tailhunter Restaurant:
Lots of snowbirds in town and although the temps are in the 60’s and 70’s with the wind, it’s still a lot warmer than where they live back in places like Minnesota, Wyoming and Alaska!
The climate, of course, affects the ability to be out there fishing. It’s been hard to put anyone out there and there’s not that many folks wanting to fish anyway. Or, folks that want to fish understandably get discouraged when they see the winds. Best to just hang out drinking a margarita by the pool!
When folks have been fishing, the better fishing has been tucked in close to shore, especially in areas where you can find some protection from wind and waves. Therefore, the majority of the fish have been inshore specias like cabrilla, snapper, triggerfish, pargo, jack crevalle and sierra. All fun and good eating fish.
When there are window’s of calm, there’s still some dorado around running to about 10 or 15 pounds plus some good action on 5-pound bonito. The larger issue has been finding live bait in which case lures are the most productive way to catch fish. With rough waters it’s tough to get into the areas where the live bait is holding along the shores and rocks.
I’ve heard a few stories about commercial guys finding some yellowtail as well as some private boaters. We’ll keep an eye on that!
ROAD TOUR 2020 HEADED TO SACRAMENTO!
Thank you for the hospitality Denver! We always have a great time!!!
We just wrapped up an incredible 4 day show at the International Sportsmans Expo at the Denver Convention Center. It was fantastic! So great for Jill and I to see so many of our old amigos and make so many new ones! Welcome to the Tailhunter Nation! We took lots of new reservations for 2020 and we’re looking foward to the visit!
At the time you’re reading this, Jill and I will be on the road headed west. We have about 1000 miles to cover to get to the next show which is the International Sportsmans Expo at the California Fairgrounds in Sacramento CA. This is a HUGE show with tons of stuff to see and do. Bring your walking shoes and the whole family! I’m told more than 700 exhibitors will be on hand to talk about fishing, hunting, camping, boating, RV’s, kayaking and so much more!
Jill and I will be there in our booth with new flyers, brochures and hats all four days Jan. 16-19 (Thursday to Sunday). Let’s talk about fishing in 2020! Hope to see you there!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 28, 2019-Jan. 5, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY. . .
From Richfield, Utah, Monte and Marlene Aldridge got in one day of fishing and picked the one day of the week when waters were calm enough and got some nice biters on some big sierra mixed in with dorado out’ve Bahia de Los Muertos south of La Paz.
Yup…it’s wintertime, but there’s still dorado around! Nice little bull mahi for Marlene.
Some great eating and great fun on light tackle, Monte has a speedy toothy sierra.
It pays to watch the weather. This past week there were some incredible uber windy and cold days. Normally, these are days we would recommend not going fishing. We even had some rain this past week. It happens. It’s winter. It’s off-season.
Some folks decided they still wanted to go fishing. So, off they went despite my warnings. Didn’t catch much of anything and it was so rough they had to come back early. We had others booked but had to cancel them because of the rough weather.
Honestly, only about 2 days this week would have been fishable at all.
However, we also had folks who were flexible on their fishing days and let me tell them when they should go fishing. And, sure enough, they found fish. Surprisingly, pretty decent fishing. Most amazing was the mixture of fish.
Cold-water fish like big sierra typical of this time of year were running 5-8 pounds. However, mixed right in were some school-sized dorado. The strange thing is that dorado are warm water fish that we usually catch during the warmer summer and fall months. So, they’re normally not running this time of year!
Along with those species, there were jags of bonito and scattered jack crevalle as well as snapper and cabrilla along the shoreslines where there was structure such as reefs, rocks and drop offs.
The weather makes all the difference. The coming week forecast mostly cloudy weather again to start the year with winds running 15-20 mph at times.
WE ARE COMING YOUR WAY! ROAD TOUR 2020!
By the time you’re reading this, Jilly and I will be on the road for our 2020 Tailhunter Road Tour coming to see you! We’ll be on the road through April criss-crossing the western U.S. and hitting up the biggest and most awesome fishing and hunting shows in the world!
In our brand new Tailhunter-mobile, we’ll be hitting a different show each week with our booth, flyers and brochure and would love to see you and talk to you about fishing with us in La Paz in 2020.
These shows are massive and there are hundreds-upon-hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world to tell you about fishing, hunting, camping, RV’s, kayaking, boating, trekking…basically anything outdoors! Great for the entire family.
In order, we’ll be hitting:
DENVER CO
SACRAMENTO CA
SEATTLE/PUYALLUP WA
PORTLAND OR
SALT LAKE CITY UT
LONG BEACH CA
SCOTTSDALE/PHOENIX AZ
SANDY (Salt Lake City) UT
DEL MAR (San Diego) CA
Our first show will be this week at the International Sportsmans Expo held Thursday to Sunday at the Denver Convention Centerdowntown. Here’s a link with all the info:
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Dec. 15-29, 2019
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Typical winter rack of fish. Bonito, snapper, pargo and some nice cabrilla for the ice chest!
The rocks are holding some nice cabrilla right now…if you can pull them from their hiding spots! They’re feisty fish when hooked.
Mostly a quiet Christmas and holiday week in La Paz. Sun’s out. Occasionally some showers and breezy. Most folks in town aren’t here to fish or hit the water. Those that are in town for watersports are windsurfers and kiteboarder taking advantage of the strong winter winds. Or they’re here to swim with the whalesharks in the bay.
The few that are out fishing are mostly finding action inshore along the rocks and beaches.
It’s not bad fishing at all. There’s been a decent bite on some nice cabrilla up to about 10 pounds with most in the 2-5 pound range and lots of little ones getting released. Snapper were also on the chew. All good fish for the table. The biggest issue is getting live bait. If waters are rough and winds are blowing, getting live bait in the shallow areas where the bait school-up can be problematic. If bait is an issue, slow trolling small crankbaits like Rapalas, Rebels, Yo-Zuri, Mirolures or similar can still be very productive and fun.
Moving slightly offshore, bonito are still there for some harder battles as well as jack crevalle. There’s a chance of an occasional dorado as well. I’m surprised we aren’t getting into more sierra as this is the time of year we should be getting them, but perhaps we’ll see more as the waters get cooler.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 1-8, 2019
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
Amigo, Roger Thompson made it out to the south end of Cerralvo Island between bouts of wind and trolled up this nice wahoo.
Roger was pulling a dark Rapala looking for wahoo when this hefty yellowfin tuna ripped his line.
Typical catch right now…some inshore reef fish like the cabrilla and trigger fish; mix in some bonito and a bonus dorado. All close to shore.
Not too many folks fishing these days in the gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas and town almost seemed deserted this week, but the crowds will eventually come.
The city is nicely moving into Christmas mode!
Winds were a little milder than normal so some folks were able to get out fishing. Most of the fishing was inshore for jack crevalle, snapper, and cabrilla, although some larger pargo were reportedly lost. Bonito schools can be problematic or a lot of fun depending on your point of view.
There are still some small schools of dorado running around with most fish in the 10-15 pound class.
When winds are down, there’s some good action with bait on light tackle for some nicer grade of tuna in the 40-80 pound range that can be tough battles on the smaller line that get them to bite. Rapalas like the darker deep-runners also kicked up some wahoo.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 27-Nov. 3, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Fishing Report
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
First day out he hits the home run! With Captain Gerardo, Jeff Wedekind who owns the Chinook Shore Lodge in Ketchican, Alaska locked up this big wahoo.
Nice tuna for Rich Choate from Idaho. One of the few YFT’s hooked this week.
Amigo, Roger Thompson, was soaking a dead mackerel down deep off the Punta Arenas lighthouse when he got slammed by this toad yellowtail.
Maybe one of the largest dorado of the season, Jeff hooked this one out’ve Bahia Muertos.
Barbara Choate always has a great smile no matter what and she’s got a reason with his pretty blue dorado.
Colorful shot! Roger Sauvegeau from Boise, Idaho, had just one day to fish, but got himself a nice load of dorado like this one fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet.
Captain Armando with Randy and Barbara Choate and a nice batch of dorado.
Celebrating her honeymoon, Coral Ogden Hart has been our amigo since she was a little girl. She got this unusual rainbow runner off Bahia Muertos. These are cousin to the yellowtail.
Our good amigos from the Imperial Valley of California, Craig and Cathy Corda posing with a little Bahia Muertos yellowtail they released.
Another set of our fun friends from Idaho, Teri and Mac Christopherson hold up a double-hooke-up of dorado.
They always keep me laughing. Tom and Claire Ames posing on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
Captain Pancho took Dan Friedman from San Diego out for one day and he got this nice dorado as well as a wahoo on his first try!
You can tell waters are getting colder when rainbow runners like this one by Rick Choate, show up.
A good day in November! Teri and Mac Christopherson.
Paul Octavio had himself a good week on the flyrod like with his fun roosterfish hooked and released. He had a blue marlin on the flyrod one day.
Clair McPherson took 20 minutes on this nice bull dorado giving Captain Victor and her a big reason to smile when they finally got the pretty fish in the boat.
Cheers! Rick Choate with a mess of good eating cabrilla, snapper and a trigger.
On the good side, the sun was out all week and the snowbirds from Canada, Alaska, Europe and colder areas are filtering into town. On the downside, it wasn’t the best for fishing.
Northern winds ramped up and it’s just the start. This is what happens during the colder months. Two days we couldn’t even go out because the Port Captain shut down the port to all boat traffic and there were several other days when it would have been better if we had just not gone out at all.
The strong winds have the waters stirred up and dirty. It brings in coolder greener waters as well. Additionally, the currents and waves are up so makes for a less-than-comfortable day of fishing. Plus, if the waves are crashing the shallow areas, it makes it hard to get bait.
However, kudos to our anglers and captains for hanging in there. They braved the rougher seas with tight grins and still caught some fish.
There weren’t a lot of fish caught unless you’re counting bonito, jack crevalle and needlefish. However, some of the largest dorado of the season were hooked as well as a few wahoo and tuna. We even had several marlin hook ups as well (fish were lost).
The better fishing was with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet where it’s a bit more protected. I imagine as the winds increase and become more frequent, we’ll be doing most of our fishing from that area.
2020 RESERVATIONS
Bookings are already coming in pretty fast and heavy for 2020. Some dates are already filled or filling and popular captains are getting reserved as well. In 2019, we were sold out by March and 2020 looks even busier. Don’t wait . Check your calendars so we make sure we get you locked in.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 13-20, 2019
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Alot of meat! Marlene Kikuchi from Los Angeles had a live mackerel pinned to her line not far from Punta Arenas with Captain Pancho when she hooked this massive wahoo not far from the shoreline. The big fish was weighed on a scale and measured 56-pounds!
It’s been over 10 years since Mark Rubin came to visit us so it was good to see him. He was out fishing with Captain Arcangel and got this colorful dorado up for a great photo!
On her first day out and first-time in La Paz, Kathy Parker was with Captain Luis and deckie Miguel in the channel between the city and Espirito Santo Island in an area where big 50-150 pound tuna had been sighted. On her first bait in the water, this big yellowfin inhaled her little sardine and the fight was on! With her sister, Sherry (see photo below), trading the rod-back-and-forth for 4 long hours, the ladies finally got this big boy to the boat!
Holly Kunzler’s big dorado of the week was caught while fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet. Holly’s first trip to Baja and she was with us for the better part of the week visiting from Utah.
Our long-time amigos with their favorite Captain Jorge, Marianne and Jeff Sakuda enjoying Jeff’s retirement vacation after 30 years as a pilot for United, they kicked off things with a nice rack of bull dorado.
Double tag-team! Sherry Cady was on her 2nd visit to us this year and this time brought her sister, Kathy Parker (see photo above) when they hung this big yellowfin tuna with deckhand Miguel and Captain Luis and battled the fat fish for 4 hours!
Montana Dewey and Leslie Spafford guide trips in Arizona and came to visit this week and go into some dorado and cabrilla their first day at Las Arenas.
First-timer and happy fisherman, George Misner, started his trip with a nice bull dorado just south of Bahia Muertos.
Popular Captain Chito hung two of those big tuna that were boiling north of La Paz for a few days. Unfortunately, photos of the clients didn’t come out!
Hi Craig! Always good to have Craig Corda back with us . He’s been our amigo for over 20 years and never has a bad day.
Al Chaves lives outside of Phoenix and was out with Captain Jorge when he got this dorado. He had a big tuna on briefly.
Jarat Bagwell from Arizona got the jackpot with his buddies when he caught the most fish for the day including dorado, cabrilla and snapper.
Texas in the house! Cody Timberlake is a professional cowboy and former bullrider and lives in Banderas TX. First trip with us and a dorado with Captain Alfredo.
Monte Aldridge shows off a bull dorado he picked up fishing off Espirito Santo Island. He’s from Richfield UT and always good to have him visit.
Eric Gunnells and Steve Bayer picked up these dorado on their one day out’ve Bahia Muertos.
Barbara Burnett and her husband Jerry have their own great salmon operation in Juneau AK, but came to visit us and started off with a day of dorado.
These are great eating triggerfish! Best ceviche and fish tacos! Captain Jorge with or friends, Jeff and Marianne Sakuda.
Captain Fili is hidden behind a dorado, but no hiding Zach Arnold and Trent Baysinger and a couple of nice mahi.
Good to see Captain Arcangel smiling. Nice dorado in the box again for Mark.
Things have fallen off rapidly with cooler temperature, stronger winds and currents and rougher water the last week-and-a-half. Fishing has also dropped off dramatically. The warm water season ended sooner than expected and I think things will continue to change as warm water species like the dorado, tuna, wahoo, and billfish move out and are replaced by more inshore cooler water species.
Once again this week, captains and clients worked hard to find picky fish. Bait was harder to come by in the rougher waters and there were times with there were some uncharacteristically big swells, chop and gusty winds making it more difficult to fish. The winds will only get stronger as normally calm La Paz Bay even got some big wind-generated rollers that smashed waves onto the waterfront areas.
There were still some dorado around although the schools are diminishing. Most days boats scratched out a catch of 1-5 dorado per day with most about 10 pounds or so. Smaller ones were released. Lots of bonito, fortunately usually kept rods bent.
More inshore fish like triggerfish, snapper, pargo and cabrilla as well as sierra and jack crevalle and pompano increased in the counts as waters cooled and it became more incumbent to fish closer to the beaches and rocks.
There are, however, some great catches still waiting!
We had a few nice wahoo this week including a whopper 56-pounder by Marlene Kikuchi from Los Angeles. As well, there’s still the occasional 30-50 pound roosterfish.
The biggest surprise was the appearance of some pig yellowfin tuna that were in the 50-150 pound class between Punta Tecolote and Espirito Santo Island in the channel. These fish were toads that tore into anglers for 1-4 hour battles, when they would bite. Sometimes, they were just a tease boiling around the pangas, but not interested in eating a hooked bait. But, when they did bite, they were beasts! Normally, we don’t see tuna around La Paz as we catch them mainly around Las Arenas so this was a nice surprise!
BOOKING FOR 2020 STARTING TO FILL
Ice chests full of fish headed to the airport!
Our reservations are coming in faster than normal and many dates in 2020 are getting filled. Calls and e-mails are coming in daily. Some dates are already sold out. In 2019 we were filled by March.
We don’t want to miss you. If you have a favorite captain, hotel or date in mind, don’t wait. Especially, don’t wait until we do our fishing and hunting show tour in the winter. We want to be sure we have you down and covered so we can have you visit next year!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muerto Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 13-20, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Fishing Report
The BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
“Birthday Bob” Layko always visits us each year on his birthday with cousin Craig Brown. Got himself a wahoo and some dorado too with Captain Armando.
A two-hour battle for Eric Gunnels from Phoenix, produced this 70 pound tuna. It doesn’t look like it from the angle, but we put it on a certified scale. Captain Chito give the thumbs-up. Big tuna made an appearane between La Paz and Espirito Santo Island.
First-timer Steve Kunzler from Utah found dorado fishing to his liking.
Kyle Muir is from Beaverton OR, but skippers for Vonnie’s Fishing Charters up in Sitka, Alaska. He’s got a pair of bulls in hand.
From Denver, Bobby Hart had never fished in salt water before let alone been to Mexico, but his very first day hooked this trophy roosterfish off Punta Arenas. The fish was released.
Our good amiga from Richfield, UT, Marlene Aldridge, has a big smile and 3 nice doardo on the cutting board.
On their way in from fishing out’ve La Paz, Dale and Daryl Martz from Colorado and Alan Martz from Boston hold up some of their catch.
Ten-year-old Carter Hart hooked this bull dorado north of La Paz. On just 30-pound-test the youngster battled the fish for 20 minutes refusing offers of help and got it to the boat all by himself.
A good day on the water for Larry Huey posing on the beach with a couple of dorado, some cabrilla, triggerfish and snapper.
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Funny shot of the week with Monty Aldridge and his baby roosterfish. A cute one! Monty released the fish there in Bahia Muertos.
Holly Kunzler repeatedly claims to have outfished husband, Steve and says she caught most of these dorado.
The Brasier Brothers, Bill and Scott have alot of fish for their captain to clean! Dorado, pargo, snapper, triggerfish and cabrilla as well as jack crevalle on the cleaning table.
Best shot of the week. Carter and Brooke Hart from Denver got some pargo liso out’ve the rocks and pose on the beach.
Two in hand and one on the table for Hugo with Captain Gerardo goofing off behind.
From Lake Havasu, AZ, Laurie Reynolds and John Gillespie got some nice dorado to show.
Armando, Craig and Bob in the gallery again with quite a variety of fish!
Young Carter on the gaff! Like a boss.
Bob Sayre was battling a bonito when a big wahoo came swimming around the panga. Just like that…in one bite..the wahoo scissored the back-half-of his bonito with it’s sharp teeth and swam away. Eat-and-run!
We have definitely had better weeks of fishing this season. Overall, it was probably the most disappointing and difficult fishing of the year and the captains and clients really had to work hard for their fish.
It started with a combination of several factors and it took quite awhile to recover and it’s taking a long time to get back up to speed.
However, kicking off the week with the tail end of that huge 30-hour rainstorm and subsequent sporadic rains in the following days not only required that we cancel a day of fishing; but the rain sent lots of run-off into the ocean, muddying the waters. Winds that persisted all week, including strong northern winds that are the vanguard indicator that the season is coming to an end, not only made it bumpy and rough to fish, but also cooled down surface water temperatures. Add in a full moon and choppy waters and it was a round-house kick to the head.
Any singular variable or even two of those things would not have impeded the bite much…if at all…but that combination of wind, waves, rain and a full moon put the hex on things.
It has been taking it’s time recovering, if at all. With the continued north winds, that means we’re heading into the off-season and it might probably be getting rougher and more difficult to fish. That being said, the fishing did improve little-by-little every day although still relatively slow compared to what it had been before the storms.
Dorado were the mainstay action with fish mostly 10-20 pounds. Bonito were mostly plentiful to the point of being a nuisance, but together with jack crevalle, small roosterfish, pargo, cabrilla and snapper at least kept rods bent most of the time.
Most exciting were the boiling tuna that showed up between La Paz and Espirito Santo Island. Fish between 50 and 150 pounds came up several times and really rocked a few of our anglers who battled fish up to 4 hours. All except ome fish…about a 70-pounder…were lost. The angler on the 70 pounder battled for 2 hours to get the fish aboard.
Other species included pompano, sierra, amberjack and triggerfish.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2019
Mexican Minute Video Report
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
You never forget the first. Especially, when you have been trying for years like John Gibbs and Wiley Randolph who visit us every year and finally nailed their first wahoo…on the same day…on the same panga with Captain Pancho.
It’s easy to see why these guys are fun. With Captain Jorge, James Ekern, Corey Sowers and George Aun from Utah and a bunch of dorado.
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First day and first time fishing with us, Steve Salbeck, rocked this big dog-tooth snapper with Captain Moncho. That’s alot of meat for the ice chest.
Eric Sanchez gives buddy Adam Nystuen with a nice wahoo they took off Bahia Muertos.
Scott Milligan and Dave Sedeno posing with their first day catch with quite a variety including, dorado, pompano and snapper .
Funny shot with Dana Murray our amigo from Washington who has a tuckered tongue out hefting this 50-pound class tuna to pose with Captain Armando.
A sweet-looking bull dorado and blue water! Brian Schwalbe gets some grins with Captain Luis who caught this with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet.
Captain Fili with another pompano and Rich Sisk and Scott Pepper hold up some of their first-day catch on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
Enjoying some Baja sunshine from Montana where it was snowing 30″ this week, Pepper Paul Hamlin has a couple of nice bull dorado and a great shirt!
Brothers who fish together, the Suzumoto brothers, Thomas, Luke and John with Captain Jorge. Couldn’t find nicer guys. With us for the first time.
This trio is trouble and always having fun catching a big rack of dorado to match their shirts, Nino Bonfiglio, Captain Victor and Jim Gatti.
Mark Self just had one day to fish and got one of the largest dorado of the week.
Wiley’s biggest dorado ever despite many trips to fish with us here in La Paz! He was fishing north of La Paz near Espirito Santo Island.
Brian had himself a nice week of fishing with this marlin his largest of the week and he shared the meat with his group.
Check out Al Jones and the variety of fish on the cutting board. He’s got dorado, white bonito, cabrilla, triggerfish and yellow snapper.
Our newly retired forestry amigos from Carson City NV, on their 2nd trip with us got a pile of dorado, triggerfish, pompano and jack crevalle.
A solid trophy barred pargo on the gaff for Chris Aiello. Great eating.
Kim Bell fought this nice plug yellowfin tuna for 45 minutes all by herself as it pulled the panga around. Good job!
Too cool from Colorado, Dave Van Steenkiste and Randall Sullivan got themselves a good batch of dorado for the day.
Great colors. Ken has another mahi for the box.
Gerardo gets into the photo with Bob Larson and Bill Bigelman who have a big pompano to go along with their dorado.
We finally got some wahoo in the boat! Wiley Randolph and Captain Pancho got the gaff in this big boy.
Early morning mahi! John Gibbs starts the day with a bull in the boat. Incredible colors.
Eric from Phoenix and Kendall from Denver on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
The man behind the mask with the huge bull is Brian Schwalbe.
Bob Manney is all smiles with his day’s fishing results. Bob is from Washington and visits us each year.
Captain Arcangel has been on our team for almost 25 years and is popular with many of our Tailhunter anglers. Take a look at the baby wahoo in his left hand. They thought it was a needlefish at first!
Tim Bell is all grins with Captain Jorge. Tuna and dorado headed to the fillet table.
Three of the best folks in the world…Captain Joel…Emily Duncan from Santa Barbara…our own Jorge Romero.
The Zuckerman brothers, Mike and Dave with a load of pompano, a barred pargo and a dorado. Lots of variety this past week.
Scott and Alfred after their first day with dorado, pompano, jack crevalle.
This is just funny…it’s not every day that the police inspector on the beach let’s loose and poses with the fishermen, but Angelo Oliverio, Captain Armando and Ken Campbell get a thumbs-up from the big man!
We probably could not have asked for a better week. The seasons are changing and to go along with mild sunny temperatures and cool tropical breezes, the fish were on their game finally!
Whether you fished with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet or our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet, there was no shortage of action. Occasionally, one boat might be off-target, but for the most part, it was all the dorado you could possibly stand!
Limits or near limits of mahi were common with lots more released for being too small or over-limits. We had some boat on some days back on the beach by 10 or 11 a.m. with happy anglers ready to hit the pool, nice lunch and a siesta!
If there was any difference between our two fleets, the dorado seemed larger for our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and for our La Paz Fleet, there were a lot more fish. .. but they tended to be smaller. Most fish ran 10-15 pounds with occasional 20-35 pounders and larger fish lost.
In between the dorado, add a smattering of hard-fighting bonito, jack crevalle, a pargo or cabrilla and too many pesky needlefish and it was usually a fully day of bent rods and grinning clients!
The highlights of the week were surely the jags of yellowfin tuna that finally popped up and landed in the boats. Best spots were with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet using live bait with the fish as small as footballs but as large as 50-pounders. I wouldn’t go so far as saying we have a “tuna bite” starting up, but it’s encouraging to finally see some tuna in the boxes.
Even better was that we finally hit some wahoo as well. We’ve been getting teased by biters for that last week or two, but none of the fish stuck and it’s been months since one was landed. We lost a few more this week, but at least we also got some onto the gaffs and onto the fish cleaning tables. They were nice 20-45 pound ‘hoos!
Waters are cooling down. Air temps are very moderate with minimal humidity. Breezes are coming more from the north so the season is changing. It’s really really pleasant here right now.
ALERT for 2020 FISHING WITH TAILHUNTERS!
Just a heads-up for all our Tailhunter amigos…we are really booking up fast for 2020! This year 2019 we were largely sold out by MARCH!!! Some dates for next year are already sold out.
If you have some favorites dates, rooms hotels AND CAPTAINS, don’t hesitate. Do not wait until we come to your town at one of the sportsman’s shows. We are even getting bookings for 2021 and we want to make sure we have you covered for fishing and visiting us next year!
Tailhunter Fish Report 