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Posted in Uncategorized on May 20, 2007| Leave a Comment »

INSHORE FISHING SETS THE PACE WITH LOTS OF VARIETY BUT BLUEWATER SPECIES STILL TEASING – NEW FISHING REGS THREATEN THE CORTEZ!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for May 20, 2006

PHOTO 1: Brenda Koenig from Chatsworth CA was here for her birthday and fished for the first time. She did great on these tasty pompano that suddenly showed up just off the Las Arenas Beach area.

PHOTO 2: Pound for pound it’s hard to top members of the jack family and there’s a reason why jack crevalle are called “toros” here in Mexico. “Toro” means “bull.” These chargers have two speeds. Stop and go. This 20 pounder was among several taken by Bob Duncan of Santa Barbara along the East side of Cerralvo Island including a bunch of small roosterfish, and sierra.

PHOTO 3: Jeff and Kim Howard came all the way from Portland OR to celebrate their anniversary and hang out in the sunshine for a few days and do a little fishing. Here, they’re standing at Muertos Bay with a nice cabrilla and yellow snapper.

PHOTO 4: Jillene Stevens of Alpine CA, was sure she had hooked the bottom when her rod bent over and the line wouldn’t budge! Then, “it started moving and shaking” she said. After a lengthy tussles, she pulled up this awesome pargo mulatto (barred pargo). Notice how close her panga is to the beach. Interestingly, this fish which is normally in rocky areas, hit a live sardine right off the beach where there’s nothing but sand.

THE REPORT

A good week of fishing is you liked variety down here. The fish straight out of La Paz around Espiritu Santo Island were fewer, but they were bigger! A run of very large trophy-sized cabrilla set the pace mixed with pargo, larger roosterfish and the occasional 20-40 pound yellowtail with most of our fleet fishing the southern and eastern side of the island.

For our Las Arenas fleet, I counted 15 different species of fish caught by our anglers. Big jacks remained ready eat on the eastern side of the Arenas lighthouse as well as near the island with 20 pounders not uncommon. Roosters, from little 1 pound punkers up to 50 pound sluggers could be had on any given day and there are still pargo liso, dogtooth and surprisingly a large number of barred pargo still being caught. One nice surprise were the big pompano that moved in to the shallow areas near the beach and, surprisingly, every now and then a school of dorado would shoot through as well. There are still wahoo on the south end of Cerralvo, but more hookups than catches as getting them to stick seemed to be a problem. Also, we thought it was too warm for the sierra already, but some nice fat skinnies were still being taken.

Almost all the fish were taken on live bait…mostly sardines. Nothing fancy. Flurocarbon leaders do seem to make a difference. As for the weather, it’s still transitional. Winds can be pesky, especially in the mornings, but it’s all from the south. It can start windy then settle to flat calm or…ouch…it can blow all day. No way to know. In a few weeks we’ll be praying for a breeze. However, the sun is out. Air temps are in the mid to upper 80’s and water temps on the surface are on the high 70’s.

NOTES

1. The airlines seem to be misplacing alot of luggage lately. Three out of four times, it seems to be someone who rushed on the plane at the last minute. Get to the airport with plenty of time so you AND your luggage are safely aboard or you run the risk of having your underwear in Mazatlan and I have to take you on a shopping trip here in La Paz.

2. For several years, they have been very very concerned with gringos bringing mad cow disease to Mexico. They have every right to be worried. So, when you get off the plane and you go through the agriculture inspection, be prepared to lose any food products made of beef. Your slim Jim sausage, your beef jerky, etc.

BANANA CURSE STRIKES AGAIN

Those of you who know me, know how superstitious I am about bananas. I have zero tolerance for bananas on our boats. They are bad ju-ju. Too many bad things happen with them aboard. I love the yellow fruit…just not on our boats!

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

Anyway, this past week several of my longtime friends and clients were here and rented two of our pangas to fish Las Arenas. I was enticed to join on one of the boats to guide and figuered I would be in for a nice long lazy day since these folks know how to fish; were long time veterans or our waters; and really didn’t need my help. Well, fine and good until the smack talk started between the pangas and pretty soon serious money was on the table. It was $100 per person bets and I was included into it. (Well…I don’t have $100 bucks but I wasn’t going to Nancy-out!). So, my lazy day now dictated that if I didn’t want to lose 100 bucks, I better fish hard.

So, off we went!

As we pulled off the beach, my one amigo snickered and told me not to worry because he had hidden bananas all over his compadres fishing gear and in their panga. Cool! I’m all over that.

So we fished and we did pretty good at first. Our boat was “on fire.” We got into jacks and small roosters and other species right off the bat. Then, we hooked a big big rooster. My amigo fought it for a good half-hour. Then for no reason…POP! The hook just came out! Bye bye fish!

Shortly after, we had dorado all around the boat. We hooked 1, then 2, then 3. Yea! That’s the ticket! But again…even though we had solid hook-sets, each fish came unbuttoned! No bueno.

For the rest of the afternoon, we lost fish after fish for no reason…hooks came out. Lines busted. Just plain bad luck.

The afternoon wore on and while digging for beers at the bottom of the ice chest, we found it! Those guy had planted a banana in our own ice chest! The offending piece of fruit was quickly dispatched, but by then it was too late. We now feared the worse. We had some nice jacks, a good sized pargo, some sierra…but we had not heard all day from the other guys and were certain that they must have dogged us and gotten something big and I was feeling the loss of my 100 bucks!

Well, turns out the banana curse hit them even harder. The ONLY fish they got was a needlefish for their entire day. It was basically the ONLY boat in the entire fleet that got zero fish. We won the bet but everyone was just re-affirmed that bananas are the devil’s fruit when it comes to fishing.

ON A HEAVIER NOTE WE NEED YOUR HELP!

This past week, the Mexican government passed NOM 029, the new shark regulations for commercial fishermen in the Sea of Cortez. On it’s face, it sounds great, but it’s impact will basically devastate the Sea of Cortez and all sportfishing as you know it.

It went into effect May 15th and has already resulted in huge protests in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. More than 150 sportfishers jammed the harbor in protest and one boat was burned. Huge demonstrations have taken place. Both political parties PAN and PRI have backed the protestors. One Mexican senator has declared it illegal. Numerous unions including hotels, sportfishing, transportation and others plus the city council of Cabo San Lucas have banded together in solidarity and have acknowledged that violence is not out of the question. Already, the effects have been felt. Developers of a 200 million dollar project canceled their plans on the East Cape that same date the law went into effect.

As the new regulations went into effect on May 15th, reports of as many as 50-70 commercial boats were at the mouth of the Sea of Cortez ready to charge in and start “harvesting.”

The new law permits the more than 3000 operators with permits (each permit can have as many as 6 boats working for it) to:

1. Fish within the 50 mile protected zone from shore

2. No bag, size or weight limits on any “incidental catches (that means dorado, marlin, and other pelagic species are open game and they can take all they want)

3. Lay miles and miles of hooks up and down the Sea of Cortez

For the full blog on this, check out my webpage at: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/jonathansblog.htm

This is serious. Just yesterday, commercial boats were already setting up with the help of a spotter plane on the 88 fathom bank near Cerralvo Island as some of our boats were fishing. Reports came to me of other commercial boats setting up just 5 miles off Los Barriles on the East Cape. No limits. No discrimination on species. If it bites the hook, it’s fair.

Here’s the full breakdown of the new law: http://www.seawatch.org/mail_campaign/norma_press_release.pdf

If you want to join in and write your own letter of disgust to the Mexican government, the form letter is already there. You can alter it as you will and this form is already set up so it fires off to every agency in Mexico that can make a difference: http://www.seawatch.org/mail_campaign/norma_press_release.pdf

It will take two minutes of your time and maybe another minute to forward the link to every one you know that should be concerned about this.

Please check it out. They are already fishing!

That’s my story

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on May 12, 2007| Leave a Comment »

BIG ROOSTERFISH SHOW UP AT LAS ARENAS BEACH!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for May 12, 2007

PHOTO 1: Pam Kenneally of Quartz Hills had some kind of day. First time fishing Baja and first time fishing La Paz as well as her first day of fishing, she and her husband and friend got 4 huge roosters on bait near the Las Arenas lighthouse. Pam got two of them herself. They took great pains to release and revive each fish except this one which had swallowed the hook. Meat was donated.

PHOTO 2: Dave Manning of N. California took a gamble and had Captain Yofo take him outside to the buoys where some dorado had started to show up this past week. It paid off with one of the nicer and larger bull dorado of the early season. Capt. Yofo is behind him.

Photo 3 : Bob Hughes is a professor at Oregon State University. He came for some sun and fish this past week and got a number of nice pargo including this slugger “barred pargo” aka “pargo mulatto.” Great eats and highly prized!

Photo 4: He wanted his first rooster and Ray Laney of Palmdale CA took this one mere yards off the Las Arenas beach as it exploded through a school of big jacks (see photo below!). Ray and his friends released a number of big fish.

PHOTO 4 : They may not taste great, but no one seems to argue that it’s a tough combatant on rod and reel. Shane Vroman of Quartz Hills was on his first trip to La Paz and a huge school of jacks was terrorizing a bait school right in the surf near the Arenas lighthouse. Over a few days, Ray got mega bent on these jack crevalle and big-eyed-jack. This fish was released. They don’t taste too good, but make up for it with attitude.

PHOTO 6 : More than a decade ago, Tom Mooney of Fresno was one of my first customers. This past week he returned to La Paz and fished a couple of days with us. Check out this nice fat cabrilla. He was fishing north of La Paz around Espiritu Santo Island.

PHOTO 7 : Talk about variety! That’s what it was like this week with fishing with our Las Arenas fleet more productive than fishing out of La Paz. Ray Laney (Left from Palmdale) and Shane Vroman (right from Quartz Hills) show off their first day catch consisting of big eye jacks, cabrilla, pargo and roosters. They released just as many as they took.

THE STORY…

What a rocking fun week! I was on the water myself a few days and, for the most part, it was just one of those killer blast weeks when the sun shone, the waves flattened and the fish bit. We never knew WHAT was going to bite, but doggone…it was fun.

Let’s start at the top! Take a look at this week’s photos!

ROOSTERFISH!!!!

Yea…the pez gallo finally came out to play at Las Arenas. They’ve been teasing the last few weeks, but the fish that put Las Arenas on many fishing maps decided to do some rod bending! For those of us who fished this week, it was easy to see why the call Las Arenas, arguably the roosterfish capital of the world!

If you were over at Cerralvo Island where we had to get most of our bait, there were little coves almost teaming with small roosters. I wouldn’t even call these punk fish! I was out one day with Jeff and Kim Howard from Portland and we must have hooked ten 2-4 pound fish in minutes. It seemed some of the baits were larger than the fish. But boy…were they voracious! It was great fun on light tackle and we released all of the fish.

Over towards the lighthouse, between the lighthouse and the old Las Arenas Hotel (which by the way just got some new owners!), and right up in the surf, if you stood on the bow of the panga, you could see the dark schools moving in and out. Another day, I was with Shane Vroman and Ray Laney (see their photos above) and was up pointing out fish from the bow. The dark shapes held a combination of roosters, jack crevalle and big-eyed jacks. They could sure tear it up. Any member of the jack family has so much attitude that even smaller ones came to the boat stubbornly. There were so many fish inside that another of my friend, Jay Mirakoshi, who guides flyfishermen was fishing from the beach and suddenly I saw him doing twirls in the knee deep water as he was trying to cast.

Actually, he had his flylines wrapped around his legs! A school of jacks was swimming all around him and through his legs causing him to twirl until he was tangled! You could stay out in this area all day and keep fairly hooked up all day. The fish would eat flies, live sardines, slow trolled spoons and fast-trolled smaller rapalas.

But…the big boys were on the OTHER side of the lighthouse!

Again, standing on the bow spotting fish, the crystal waters would be empty until dark shapes started to move around and they would almost go right for whatever baits you were slow trolling. Sometimes they were jacks or smaller roosters, other times, these huge combs would suddenly emerge behind the boat and slash the baits and make your toes curl. Early in the week when I was with Shane and Ray, they guys had their lines dragging behind the boat when the back of a rooster big enough to put a saddle on and take a ride suddenly rolled up on Shane’s bait like the Loch Ness monster.

Now, get this…we’re only in about 6 feet of water! The comb stood a good 18 inches out of the water! It startled the hell out’ve all of us including Shane who gut-reacted and literally yanked the bait away from the fish in surprise almost like he didn’t want the fish to get it. (Shane’s actually a good fisherman!…but the surprise factor just had such an unnerving effect!). I try to explain this to anglers all the time about how big these fish are and how close to shore they can be!

Well, he more than made up for it. Next day, Ray and Shane and his wife Pam went back to hunt the big PG’s and got 4 big boys in the 30-50 pound class (Pam got 2!) including a bunch of jacks. This time, they took the time to go get the big 18 inch ladyfish to use as bait. You can imagine that any fish that can wrap it’s choppers around an 18 inch bait is gonna be a slugger!

All the big PG’s were released and they spent tons of time reviving each one, except the one in the photo above which swallowed the hook. (The meat was donated to the pueblo).

But their experiences were not unusual. Other anglers from our fleet and others hit into the jacks, sierra, and roosters as well.

In addtion, there are still good number of pargo lisa, dog tooth and paro mulatto (barred pargo) along the rocks at Punte Perrico and the SE end of Cerralvo Island although as the saying goes…”many are hooked…few are landed!”

As for the wahoo…yup…they are still here! Early in the week one of the pangas found a dead whale floating and nailed 10 wahoo and 2 tuna. The skipper (who used to work for me!) didn’t bother to radio in anyone else and his fellow skippers jumped his butt when he got back to shore. Next day, everyone went looking and found nothing. What a few of them DID find were dorado!!! Yea…they’re starting to show up too. Not many, but we know this is the vanguard for the body of fish.

But, back to the wahoo. I’ve had boats trolling the big rapalas back and forth early in the morning off the south end of Cerralvo. Most are getting bit and will show you the teeth marks on their lures. But for whatever reason, nothing is sticking! But no doubt…the teeth marks on these lures are the signature bite of Mr. Hoo!

One boat encountered a big school of porpoise and ran around it trying to hook tuna. Nothing happened until a bait was dropped over the side. Zzzzzzzztttttttttt….wham! Something hit the line and went straight down and down…and down until the line broke. I think it was a BIG tuna.

Marlin are around too. We got a few. Hooked a few. Lost others. Many are still not eating quite yet. One of my good amigos here, Robert Hefner said, “one day it looked like there were HUNDREDS of them on the surface!” (his words not mine!). Even if Bob was exagerrating by a little bit…that’s ALOT of billfish no matter how you look at it!

Honestly…most of the better fishing has been around Las Arenas this past week. It’s still a tad windy around the La Paz side but the deciding factor is just that the fishing has been more consistent around Las Arenas. Since I have my fleet on both sides, we’re flexible enough this time of year to be able to move folks where the fishing is better. That’s not to say there aren’t fish on the La Paz side. Our boats that have gone out are finding some great cabrilla and pargo fishing. It’s just a matter of time before La Paz opens up too!

I think the ticket here right now is to realize that things are variable. Conditions change weekly and daily. You have to fish for what’s there. Some species have a higher probability of being caught. If you gamble on some species, you could hit the jackpot or you could get a goose-egg. If you fish for what’s biting, you’ll get better results. And anything can happen!

HEADS UP – BITS and PIECES

1. For those of you who keep track of such things and for some reason do not like Mexican beer, the bar at Los Arcos Hotel now serves Heineken, Bud, Bud light, and a few other foreign beers! Cheers!

2. Bring a hat and the heavy sunscreen. It’s already HOT!

3. Restaurant Wars!!! For those of you carnivores who love to eat at the Buffalo Barbecue but sometimes find that it’s gotten so popular that you need reservations, there’s a new place called “Tres Virgines.” (Three Virgins). They built it across the street and about 40 yards down the road from the Buffalo Grill. It’s got a brick courtyard and big fireplace. Tons of ambience and a more variety on their menu than the Buffalo. I’m still a big fan of the BB, but this new place is pretty nice too. Just one more choice! The Buffalo is not standing still. Report have it that Chef Carlos is building a pasta house across the street from the Buffalo too!

4. The charming garden restaurant on the malecon waterfront known for years for it’s live jazz music and varied menu known as “The Oasis” has changed. It’s now called “The Jungle” as in “Welcome to the…” and is now an outdoor drinking bar and nightclub. Will miss the Oasis.

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: www.tailhunter-international.com
Phone: (626) 333-3355
FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on May 12, 2007| Leave a Comment »

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Posted in Uncategorized on May 6, 2007| Leave a Comment »

WAHOO BOIL! MARLIN CHEW!!! BLUE WATER SPECIES FINALLY TURN OUT TO BITE!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for May 6, 2007

Whoa…what a week, amigo! Let me let the fishermen tell it…

“I’ve been coming here for 20 years and never even got on esniff of wahoo. I got two in one day!” said one of our anglers.

“It was like a boil of wahoo there at the sound end of the island!” added another.

“My buddy had never hooked an ocean fish before and he goes and ‘tail-hooks’ a marlin..not tail ‘wrap.’ The hook actually got stuck in the fish’s tail and we fought it over 2 hours!” said another.

“There were marlin everywhere. We hooked one on light tackle and the striper took us to the rack for over an hour efore busting off. We were gonna release it anyway, but that was great fun!” commented another.

Just today, I had Scott and Eric Zimbler from Los Angeles out at Las Arenas they Scott told me, “We got 12 different species today and even some that the captain couldn’t identify!”

Paul Shepherd from San Jose wrote this:

“Needless to say my bro and I had a great time . I’ve never seen him cut loose like this , ever . On our last fishing day we smoked e’m , over 25 Sierra & 20 Roosters & the 2 days prior included Amberjack , Pargo , Green Pargo , and a numerous array of other junk fish , but hell’a fun. For a grand total of 80 + fish in 3 days . John was reeling in fish all day long .” (many fish released!)

Hard to top that, amigos. I was expecting the bluewater fish to turn on any day, but you just never know. For weeks we’ve been seeing the fish around, but they just weren’t biting. Well, it’s hard to know if fishing has turned the corner or not, but for this past week it sure got my hopes up and we’ll soon find out. It’s still a bit more windy than we’d like, but for our anglers fishing this past week, what a surprise1

I think we got more wahoo this past week then we got all of last year. We had several great years but then last year, the wahoo bite tanked. I think we got 4 wahoo all season. However this past week, bait, dark Rapalas (CD 18 size in black and purple or else black and white NO WIRE) were the rig of choice!

All of this was for our Las Arenas fleet. As well, bull dorado also showed up at the outer bouys also. Say what? Yup…not alot, but the ones that were caught were quality 20-40 pound fish! Like I said, it was just a matter of time.

Inshore for our Las Arenas boats…sheesh…talk about species…roosters, cabrilla, pargo, snapper, bonito… I had Eric and Scott Zimbler out today and they got 12 different species…”Including some that even the captain couldn’t identify,” said Scott. So…offshore, blue water species. Inshore pretty much the gamut of our inshore species. This is pretty typical of this time of year…you just never know what’s gonna bite.

For our La Paz fleet…no doubt there’s fish around. Big roosters, pargo, yellowtail are around the high spots, but again that wind is just so unpredictable. When it’s rough, it’s pretty bumpy and one moment the wind are coming from the south and the next from the north. But unless you’re pretty hardcore and enjoy getting bounced and wet…we’ve been switching alot of our clients to fish Las Arenas instead. That’s the nice thing about having two fleets available to our clients. We can move folks around to the better conditions and fish. Even if the wind is blowing, at Las Arenas, the fish are more consistent, closer and the waters are calmer.

We’ll see how long this bite lasts and hopefully, we’ll keep this rolling. We’ll keep you posted, but this is pretty exciting stuff!

OTHER STUFF!

If you weren’t in La Paz this past week you missed out. Not only were were celebrating Cinco de Mayo, but it was also the celebration of the Founding of La Paz. Three straight nights they closed down the waterfront malecon and turned it into a mardi gras style street fair with booths, music, games and pretty much non-stop party. I keep forgetting that they do this every year until it suddenly drops on us. Great fun.

If you’re trying to decide whether to fly down here on Alaska or Delta, both of them have great rates, but all other things being equal and having flown both of them, I gotta give the nod to Alaska.

They have larger planes. They allow you to bring your rods with no charge. If you have overweight or extra items, it’s $50 bucks instead of the 100 dollars that Delta charges. Alaska also sells food on their flights as well.

But…there’s drawbacks…if you fly through Los Angeles you do have to stand in a few lines. You stand on one line to get your boarding pass from a machine…much like and ATM. Then, you take all your stuff into another line to show them your boarding pass. After that…it’s off to see the folks at TSA to ex-ray your gear so that’s another line. Then, off to the other line to take off your shoes and get your hairspray taken away.

Just some observations.

LASTLY

Thanks to all of you who have been reading my columns in Western Outdoor News this past 3 years. Last week we received an award from the Outdoor Writers Association for the column. Pretty neat stuff! Very honored to be in some elite company.

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter International
Website: www.tailhunter-international.com
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on May 6, 2007| Leave a Comment »

WAHOO BOIL! MARLIN LIGHT IT UP! BLUEWATER SEASON FINALLY TURNS ON! ROOSTERS, PARGO, SEABASS ROLL INSHORE!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for May 6, 2007

AS one of our anglers told me this week…”It was like a boil of wahoo out there! I couldn’t believe it! My captain told me people come out here for years and never even get sniff, but I finally nailed my wahoo!”

Another said, “I didn’t get a wahoo, but I got bit and couldn’t get ’em to stick! But, we did hook marlin and that was awesome to get them on light tackle! I never expected that. We fought one fish for almost 2 hours before it busted off and what a great time! We were going to release it anyway.”

“We tailhooked another! Not tail “wrapped.” Tail “hooked!” added another of our anglers. “The hook actually got stuck in the tip of it’s tail and took us for a ride for over 2 hours!”

“I was more than happy to be catching the big bonito, sierra and roosters, but I got two wahoo my first day!” interjected another of our guys.

What can I say, amigos? That kinda says it all. It was still windy…winds shifting daily…sometimes several times a day from the north and south making it tougher to fish out’ve La Paz, but we had most of our clients fishing out’ve Las Arenas instead where the fish were more consistent, closer and had more variety. Who’d have guessed this would be the week!

I was sure it was just a matter of time because we’ve been seeing the big boys for several weeks, but they just wouldn’t go. Well, this past week they went off! We still got great action inside on the pargo, cabrilla, snapper, roosters and sierra, but the bite off the south end of Cerralvo Island surprised everyone!

Bait and fast trolled Rapalas (CD-18 size in black and white and purple and black…NO WIRE!) were the hot tickets. Oh…almost forgot…at the buoys offshore from Las Arenas…bull dorado too! Nice 20-40 pound fish. Not alot but enough to make it worth the trip and certainly nothing to sneeze at which is very encouraging that maybe the season has turned the corner!

For our La Paz boats…the issue is the wind. When the winds don’t blow, there’s fish to be had…yellowtail, big roosters, pargo and snapper. But again…it’s been tough to predict. I’ve had long-time friends here tell me they’ve not see so much springtime wind as they’ve seen this year. If you’re willing to get bumped and maybe a little wet, there’s fish to be had. But, that’s the advantage for our clients…I have TWO fleets…Las Arenas AND La Paz so we’re able to stay flexible and move our clients around to where the conditions and fishing are more accommodating.

Don’t know how long this bite will last, but you can be sure we’ll keep you posted.

BITS AND PIECES

If you weren’t in town this week…you missed a helluva party! Not only was it Cinco de Mayo, but it was also La Paz Founding week so they had 3 full days/nights of mardi-gras style party. Every night for 3 nights, the malecon along the waterfront was closed to street traffic and massive street-fair/parties took place. Music…food…gaming. Wow…nothing like a good street fair.

Lastly…if you’re trying to decide whether to fly Delta or Alaska down here, I give my nod to Alaska. Fares are comparable although maybe Alaska has a bit of an edge. However, all other things equal, Alaska has bigger planes. Alaska allows rods without charging. If you do have overweight or extra baggage…as long as it’s under 100 pounds, it’s 50 bucks. Delta charges 100 bucks! The only drawback is if you’re headed through Alaska Airlines terminal in LAX. What a zoo. You go to a kiosk to electronically get your boarding pass (it’s like an ATM machine). Then, you go to another line to check your bags using your boarding pass. Then, you go to another line with TSA to get your stuff ex-rayed. Then…you have to go through yet another line for the individual screening wehre

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 28, 2007| Leave a Comment »

CONSISTENT INSHORE FISHING WITH LOTS OF VARIETY AS PELAGIC BLUEWATER SPECIES START TO SHOW UP!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for April 29, 2007

PHOTO 1: Randy Breault and his son Philip from the S. Francisco Bay Area made their first trip to La Paz combining fishing and scuba diving. Here they show off a nice mixed catch at Muertos Bay including sierra, pargo lisa, cabrilla (seabass) and pargo mulatto (barred pargo).
Photo 2: Cole Chavira from Encinitas CA has made many trips to La Paz and always does well usually outfishing the adults. He hung this pretty dog tooth snapper on a jig off Cerralvo Island.

PHOTO 3: You’ll find few fish as tasty or as good looking at this fat cabrila being held by Shawn James of Los Angeles who was fishing north of La Paz around Espiritu Santo Island with his dad, Jack.

PHOTO 4 – Steve Marabella is going to hate that I’m going to call him one of my “poster boys” but Steve always seems to come out with some great catches whenever he comes down. Steve is from the San Pedro CA area and his holding onto a nice pargo lisa (mullet snapper) that he pulled out of the rocks off Punta Perrico.

THE FISH REPORT!

Well, if you were here looking for dorado, tuna and billfish, you’d have been disappointed. There aer smatterings of them. For instance, the billfish are definitely here…being lazy flojos…sitting on the surface unwilling to eat and only swimming away at the last minute when a boat is about to run them over and there’s the occasional fish at the shark buoys, but I think we’re gonna have to kick it up a bit in the water temperature just a few degrees to get everything going. It might be only a matter of weeks or days. There’s some steady southwinds blowing and hopefully, that will bring up the warmer water temps and the fish. Only about 30-60 miles south of us on the East Cape, they’re already deep in to the pelagics and it’s only a matter of time!

In the meantime…

There’s some really dynamic inshore action going on. Check out the photos above. I mean…OK…nothing huge, but alot of that is due to the fact that when a 40 pound pargo or 50 pound yellowtail hits, they take you right into the rocks! So, what we see in the fish boxes isn’t always a true indicater of the action taking place!

The best action has been for our fleet at Las Arenas/ Muertos. The sierra action is still steady there along the beach north of the old Las Arenas hotel and south of the lighthouse on the point. If you want some great fishing in calm water literally yards from the beach, this is a hoot! If you check out the photos, you’ll see some of the size differences in the sierra. Some of these bad boys are close to 10 pound fish. Live bait slow trolled with wired-up hooks (bring some light wire) or fast trolled rapalas or slow trolled chrome lures are the hot-set up. Catching a limit of these tasty sierra are the rule rather than the exception!

As for other species, roosterfish (smaller ones) have shown up along the beach, mostly south of Muertos and in the bay itself. Just a matter of time until the large bad boys pop up, I think. In the past 3 seasons, our average rooster ran 40-90 pounds so we’re hoping for another good year of big fish.

As well, there’s a smattering of big yellowtail at the island, along the ridges and near Punta Perrico where the pargo are still frustrating anglers busting them off at every turn. Also, especially for our flyrodders, the bonito are BIG…12-15 pound butt kickers! On a 10 wt flyrod, that’s a 15 minute fight and we had two guys bust their fly rods this past week.

For our La Paz fleet…it’s been hit or miss. The fish are definitely there, but the capriciousness of the wind has been the determining factor. It can change from north to south in a matter of minutes and calm seas can turn frothy with no warnings. I was out on the water one day this past week with Ravi Bashylar from St. Louis and Mike Mullen from Philadelphia and we pushed out in flat seas in the morning with high expectations.

There had been a jag of big yellowtail and cabrilla at La Reina lighthouse at the north end of Cerralvo Island. We had just gotten there and set up the lines when WHAM! We went from Walden Pond to Victory at Sea. The wind started howling and the chop had us bailing water. We got soaked and the guys did their best to hang in there, but ultimately we ended up with only a few small pargo. Had we been able to hang, I’m sure the yellowtail woulda hit the yo-yo iron and big mackeral baits we had!

Things are still unpredicatble right now. Wish I could get a handle on things. The winds are the main factor. If they’re blowing the game plan goes out the door and you do the best you can. If it’s not blowing…anything can happen and it’s usually good!

We’ll keep you posted!

That’s my story

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 22, 2007| Leave a Comment »

SIERRA SET THE PACE FOR ACTION

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for April 22, 2007

PHOTO 1: Jillene Stevens of S. California came down on her birthday and has a hold of a nice sierra taken right off the beach in front of the old Hotel Las Arenas. Literally within feet of the waterline (note how flat the water is!) schools of the fast moving toothy fish have been the top catch this past week.

PHOTO 2: Jon Luker of Santa Maria CA hung this nice roosterfish off Espiritu Santo Island north of La Paz fishing live bait.

PHOTO 3: Another of our good amigos, Steve Marabella of Wilmington CA got a variety of fish while fishing with us for 4 days all out of Muertos/ Las Arenas including, sierra, yellow snapper, pargo, bonito, and pargo and jack crevalle like the one’s he’s holding here.

THE FISHING REPORT

I don’t know if it was post-Easter blues or what. A bit of an up-and-down week. Everyone caught fish, but I dunno…I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I’m trying my best to read this season, but can’t.

One day, it’s fishing paradise and the next, it’s ripping wind. One day from the north. Next day from the south. Some days it starts one way and ends up from the other. Then we get 3 days of dynamite 85 degree sun. Go figure. It’s just that time of the year. But, like I said, everyone has been hanging fish. Not shortage of action, it’s just not been real consistent this past week.

Out of La Paz, our fleet hit the most wind, but still got out to the islands for some of those big roosters and a few of the yellowtail that are on-again-off-again. I can’t imagine that in a few weeks with all the good sign that the La Paz side is going to go off.

Our best and most consistent fishing has been for our Las Arenas/ Muertos Fleet. That’s where we’ve been doing most of our fishing. Because of the winds, we’re having to run to the island to get bait, but then run back to Punta Perrico and right on the beach in front of Las Arenas.

Water was a big green this week from the wind compared to the clear blue of last week, but it still kicked out major amounts of nice sierra. On light tackle, it’s been a blast. Some of the larger sierra are in the 8 or 9 pound range and readily hitting sardines (better have some wire leader); smaller rapalas or chrome spoons. Limits are the rule most days, but also cutting throug the area, there have been some nice schools of jack (jack crevalle). Not great eating, but some of the feistiest fish you’ll encounter.

In addition, there’s still large bonito around, snapper and smaller roosters. However, some of the larger pargo schools that were bumping heads with us last week seemed to have gone to ground. I think they’re still around, but the problem is that a few days last week there were so many boats on the honey hole (plus we lose so many fish) that the fish just went shy on us and hunkered down.

If you’re headed down here…bring some light wire for leaders (the kind you can tie is a bonus) and flurocarbon leader is also a plus. Looks like we’re in for a nice week of mid-80’s weather and calmer winds so we’ll keep you posted!

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: www.tailhunter-international.com
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 15, 2007| Leave a Comment »

SIERRA CRASH THE PARTY! ROOSTERS ARRIVE WITH ATTITUDE! PARGO IN THE SHALLOWS…AND STAYING THERE!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for April 14, 2007

PHOTO 1 – Gary Palese and Bob Robbins, both from Tucson AZ, are freqent fishermen to La Paz. This past week they were into pargo, sierra, bonito and other species. However, here’s Gary’s got himself and trophy cabrilla and Bob’s holding up the pargo lisa (mullet snapper) that have moved into the shallows around Punta Las Arenas. Both Gary and Bob were down here for our Cabin Fever Classic.

PHOTO 2 – Jerry and Daniele Caldwell came all the way from the snows of Wyoming to fish with us this week at our Cabin Fever Classic. Jerry is holding one of the numerous bigeye jacks that were caught this week. Daniele is holding up one of numerous sierras!

PHOTO 3 – Group photo of our 7th Annual Cabin Fever Classic April 12-16. The animals are loose! This was taken on the sand at Muertos Bay SE of La Paz.

PHOTO 4 – Glen Marks from Northern California hefts one of several nice yellowtail that were taken this week and last. Fish have all been bruisers ranging from 40 to 60 pounds.

PHOTO 5 : Beth Sarachman from Huntington Beach helps manage www.charbait.com as well as the Charbait Tackle Store. She was attending her 2nd Cabin Fever Classic and blew up the fish with 3 big pargo and a number of cabrilla.

THE FISH REPORT

What a week! Sierra tore it up in big numbers at Las Arenas. Cerralvo Island and Muertos Bay erupted with pargo, but the fish took more than they gave and big roosters made an appearance at Espiritu Santo Island…sometimes kicking it into high gear and other times frustrating anglers with their “no thank you” attitude!

Well, we had quite a week. Just finished our 7th annual Cabin Fever Classic with an outstanding bunch of great folks. These events are just a true hook and kick in the pants! We never know what we’re going to catch…if anything. But everyone has a great time; gets into some fish; and it’s one of the best events of the year.

It was quite a mix of fish. For those who fished on the La Paz side, our boats ran up north to Espiritu Santo Island where the big roosters have been hanging out. Let me tell ya…these are the typical early season squirts. These pez gallo were in the 40-60 pound class! These are the bad boys!

There were two problems. Either the wind was blowing and it was hard to fish or these fish were so picky, they’d literally swim under and around the boat by the dozens yelling “neener-neener” at anglers who threw everything but the kitchen sink at them. But when they did bite…whoa!!! Hold onto your socks. These fish were slugger-grade! As usual this time of the year, more fish were hooked than brought to the boat!

Same with the yellowtail. It was hit or miss on the yellowtail, but those that were caught were trophy sized. Areas we worked included the east side of Espiritu Santo Islad as well as El Bajo seamount…wind permitting and early in the week it was pretty choppy!

The best fishing was to be had for our Las Arenas fleet. We had to run all the way to Cerralvo Island to get bait, but once the bait was in the tank, it was a bit like buffet fishing! What species would you like today?

The sierra were like mad dogs with many many limits each day plus tons of fish cutting off anglers with their viscious choppers! What awesome fighters on the light tackle, but wire was required or else you’d lose 9 out of 10 fish! Live bait fished on wire was primo but slow trolled shiny spoon lures or fast trolled small Rapalas also took down their share of fish! The best areas were in front of the beach…literally 10 to 100 feet in front of the sand..between the old Hotel Las Arenas and the lighthouse on the point. Another killer spot was the old wreck on the beach by Bahia Torquesa!

As for other species…pargo pargo pargo! The big reds are up and in the shallows, but let me tell ya…they destroyed more of us than the other way around. One day alone, the scoreboard read “Pargo 10 and Jonathan 0″…yea a big fat goose-egg! Fish took me into the rocks. Bit me off. Straightened hooks and basically spanked me! There was a nice mix of pargo lisa up to about 25 pounds and the big dog-toothed cubera snapper up to 40 pounds. That might not sound like much, but put these fish in their home territory in the rocks and they start the game with a huge advantage!

To this, add in some FAT FAT cabrilla (seabass); yellow snapper; 20 pound jack crevalle; big eye jacks; barred pargo, lots of bonito that tore up some of our flyfishers; plus the occasional dorado it made for a wacky wild and fun week for most of our anglers.

FISHING TIPS

Assuming fishing variables basically remain the same, if you’re coming down this week or the next, your fishing will basically be dictated by whether you get s southern or northern winds. Make no mistake, we’re not out of the windy period yet, but winds are diminishing with each passing week as things get warmer. How and where the winds blow will also determine where you get and even if you will be able to get the live sardines, caballitos and macks we use for bait.

However, gear wise…

1. For the pargo, you need short stout rods that can hang a fish and lift it. I’m talking rods that are 5-6 feet long and rates somewhere between 50-80 pounds or higher.

2. Flurocarbon has been making a difference. If you want to give yourself an edge, 30 and 40 pound fluro leader materials have been hitting 2:1 over straight mono.

3. Bring wire for leader material or buy some leadered hooks before coming down. The sierra are relentless. They can bite right through 40 pound test wit their teeth. The wire doesn’t have to be mega-strong. It just has to be about 20 pound to 30 pound test wire. Hooks should match the size of the boat so I’ve been using #1 to 3/0 live bait bronze hooks.

4. Bring a jacket or sweatshirt. It’s rather chilly in the morning.

5. The sierra and cabrilla are hitting small Rapalas in addition to live bait. I’m talking CD 8, 10 and 12 size. The sierra will also hit chrome colored spoons like Krocodiles. Wire them up so you don’t lose them.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 6, 2007| Leave a Comment »

ROOSTERFISH ERUPT RIGHT OUT THE GATE AS WATERS WARM AND WIND GIVE US A BREAK!

The La Paz/ Las Arenas Report for April 8, 2008

PHOTO 1: Fred Li of Tarzana CA gets personal with a big roosterfish he took north of La Paz.

PHOTO 2: Doctor Al Yu from Simi Valley CA is a trauma doctor. He put the hurt on this big pez gallo this past week out of La Paz

PHOTO 3: Our amigo, Jorge “Campion” Romero, always does well in the local yellowtail tournament. He placed 3rd this past week with a nice 26 pounder.

PHOTO 4: I love signs! This is from Seward, Alaska! Makes sense to me!

Photo 5: Al Bruns took this great shot from the bow of “Mama’s Mink” one of our super pangas just off Espiritu Santo Island. It’s a pod of whales leaving footprints on the calm channel waters.

THE FISHING REPORT!

Well, amigos…better things to report this week fer shure! Winds weren’t quite so brutal on us and, although the fishing wasn’t quite WFO, compared to previous weeks, our people sure had some fun because THE ROOSTERS SHOWED UP!

I’ve been waiting for this. A bit late this year, but they sure came hard charging this week. Many of our guys got their first roosters ever and the best part…these weren’t punk fish! Normally, early in the season, we got the schoolie fish that are 10-30 pounds. However, this week, wow…there were some TOADS!!! These were roosters (pez gallo) in the 40-60 pound class.

As one of our amigos said, these were like “carp with bad haircuts!” But they sure came busting.

Glen Marks went out two days with us this week and the first day they ran into a mess of big yellowtail, “Man they fight like tanks!” he would tell us later.

Then, the next day to the island. “Wednesday, we went out and found ourselves in the middle of hundreds of roosters. If we were any good we should have caught 10 or more!”

Fred Li from Tarzana CA and his cousin Al Yu, from Simi Valley CA got into the roosters as well.

“We got to an area where the water was so clear that you could see 20 feet down. We then saw about 50 roosterfish swimming below us! They didn’t take the slow trolled live sabalos we had out so Captain Martin took a caballito and threw it out and we were on!. I brought in this (I believe to be 60+ lbs…I’m 250+lbs myself and couldn’t hold it up with one arm and had difficulty with two!) behemoth in about 10 minutes. I didn’t know roosterfish got that big and my cousin’s mouth dropped as he thought they got only to 15-30 lbs. The whole school of them were in the 40 to 50 lb range. My cousin then hooked into a beauty of a roosterfish also on a caballito. His also had to be 55+ lbs. ” (See the photos above)

(Fred and Al would have released the fish, but thought they’d try some for dinner. I guess no one told them how bad roosterfish tastes and I didn’t get to warn them because prior to this week I hadn’t seen any roosters, but these big sluggers taste terrible! Small ones taste like yellowtail.)

Anyway…nice to know the roosters are there! Pargo still out at Las Arenas, but also some dorado popped up. Might have something to do with the waters now in the 70’s and we also got another sailfish this week as well. Fingers crossed that we’re finally on the upswing!

ALASKA SHOUT OUT!

To all the amigos who came to visit us in Anchorage, great to meet you all. Thanks for the visit. What a magnificent state it is up there and hat’s off to some of the hardiest people I’ve ever seen. The American frontier is still alive in our northernmost state. That’s our last outdoor trade show of the year after 3 months on the road. See ya all in La Paz the rest of the year!

LUGGAGE REGULATIONS FOR LA PAZ

As many of you know, we finally have 3 airlines flying regularly servicing La Paz…Alaska, Delta and Aero Mexico. It’s great. Prices are half of what they were last year. However, you should note that there’s some changes in the luggage regulations. Looks like Alaska and Delta are both allowing rods now for free as long as they do not exceed regulations. However, instead of the customary 70 pounds for each check-in piece, you are now limited to only 50 pounds, OUCH! So keep it simple and small. No need for those 100 quart ice chests anyway! Stuff that’s overweirt or oversized are subject to as much as 100 bucks surcharge.

If you’re flying domestically, for example Tijuana to La Paz, take note that the total amount of luggage cannot exceed 50 pounds FOR EVERTHING and only one carry-on piece.

Check out the following links from Alaska Airlines and make copies:

THE LINK BELOW CONFIRMS THAT ALASKA AIR ALLOWS SOME OF YOUR TACKLE TO BE CARRIED FREE IN ADDITION TO YOUR TWO CHECKED BAGS. I SUGGEST MAKING A COPY OF IT AND CARRYING IT WITH YOU. ALSO CHECK AGAIN NEAR YOUR TRAVEL TIME IN CASE THEY CHANGE THE RULES.

http://www.alaskaair.com/www2/help/faqs/SportRelatedItems.asp

BELOW IS THE TSA LINK THAT RECOMMENDS CARRYING YOUR REELS IN YOUR CARRY-ON. READ THNE LAST PARAGRAPH TITLED “TACKLE EQUIPMENT.” THE LAST SENTENCE IS DEFINITIVE. I HAVE USED A COPY OF THIS PAGE IN MEXICO AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1188.shtm

That’s my story! Have a great week!
Jonathan

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

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 1, 2007| Leave a Comment »

SIMPLE FORMULA: WHEN THE WINDS BLOW IT’S HARD TO FISH! WHEN THE WINDS LAY DOWN, THE FISH CHEW! ANYONE HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL?

LA PAZ/ LAS ARENAS REPORT FOR APRIL 1, 2007

PHOTO 1: No, this is not La Paz Bay covered with shaving cream! This is Anchorage, Alaska under a long winter coat and what the ocean looks like when it’s frozen solid! So much for global warming! We’ve been up here in Anchorage for our last fishing show of the season. This photo is the Cook Inlet.

PHOTO 2: Hmmmm…strange laws in old Anchorage! Look carefully at the mandates! No rum…no fun! Hot chocolate anyone?

PHOTO 3: Jeff Holcomb came all the way out from frozen Wisconsin for a week in La Paz. Jeff had told me they had been ice fishing before coming out so basically, winds or colder weather didn’t deter Jeff. He went out only 1 day…a day with minimal wind and banged 3 nice yellowtail including this one fishing with Captain Martin on Mama’s Mink at the island.

PHOTO 4: Rick Hosmer from S. Cal holds up a nice slugger pargo (mullet snapper). The pargo have finally moved into the shallows for their spring spawn. As I’ve told other clients when they move through, it can look like a carpet of red…Japanese koi on steroids! There are bigger ones than this moving around Cerralvo Island and other spots like Punta Perrico right now.

PHOTOS 4-8 : I wanted to share these photos with you. We’ve had some funky weather conditions lately, but here’s one you will rarely see. In all my years here in La Paz and all the time I spend on the water, I’ve seen fog maybe only 1 time. This is the second! It’s eerie how it moves up around the island but then behind it the sun is blazing!

THE FISHING REPORT

In like a lion and out like a lamb so much for winter…our fishing was hampered all week by winds. Early in the week, we had a break and hooked some yellowtail, dorado and even some tuna which got everyone fire up but my mid-week the winds were howling and made La Paz Bay look like beer suds with so much foam on it and chop. We couldn’t even go out. Later in the week, it got better but things are still unsettled. Still, some pargo, cabrilla and finally a few roosters were hooked. But, nothing remarkable unfortunately. If the winds would finally lay down, we’d sure like to check out the dorado and tuna a bit more and get over to Cerralvo Island where the bigger pargo have finally move in. But with the winds, it’s not only tougher to get out, but it also makes it difficult to get bait.

I guess the bottom line is that fishing kinda depends on who you talk to!!! Unfortunately, some of our amigos that fished this week had to have their trips canceled by the wind OR…made a valiant effort to hang in there during tough conditions. Others, like Jeff Holcomb holding the yellowtail in the photos above, go out on that one day when the winds lay down and just do a beat down on the fish! We know they are there! Just waiting for the conditions to turn the corner.

I will tell ya one thing…at the very end of the week, the roosterfish finally convinced me they’re up on the beaches. Several fish in the 30-50 pound class were hooked and others were lost so I guess…Rooster season is ON!

Like I said, it all depends on who you talk to! Here’s a first-hand report from our amigo from San Diego, Charlie “Stix” McGhee who fishes with us quite a bit out with Mitch Chavira and his son Cole:

” Anyway, the wind layed down but the swell was still strong and the water green from a week of wind. We found bait on the south end which made things easier. We hit all the high spots south of the island trying yoyo and dropperloop. We caught some Cabrilla, chica. Then we went to Punta Perico and spent the rest of the day slow trolling for whatever. We saw a lot of action! Yellows, Pargo, and Jacks break the surface all around us.

We couldn´t get bit on ·40 so we bumped down to ·30. We got bit on ¨Bonita¨ Big Eye. NOT the Bonita from San Diego. Anyway we just couldn´t get bit from all these breaking fish! Finally Cole caught a Pargo using a crazy jig that Mitch had in his box. I don´t remember the name but it is a terrible looking thing. When all was said and done most of the boats fishing with us caught one pargo each. The size was 15 to 20. No Yellows. There was one boat that fished the NEW bouys that were placed outside. They were looking for Dodos but came up dry. “

This one is from Jeff Holcomb, our Wisconsin amigo who was fortunate to fish for the first time on a day when the winds weren’t an issue.

“Well, all of the months of anticipation and yesterday, I finally went fishing in the Sea of Cortez on the Super Panga. We stopped for bait for chum and then jigged for some mackeral. Then we headed out to the fishing area.

The guide Captain Martin was a very good boat handler, especially since he had to put up with a boat motor that was having problems with a fuel pump. We started out with some bonita and kept a few nice ones. Then the first yellowtail… and I learned the power of the fish and how to reel properly!

Then another yellowtail. Now my arms know what good fishing is like! We ran out of mackeral and had one slightly larger bait fish that we put out. the guide noticed something in the line movement and rushed for the pole and set the hook, but nothing. So he left it alone a few minutes and again went to set the hook. Finally on, I think the 3rd try was the charm and he handed me the pole for the 3rd and biggest yellowtail of the day.

Captain Martin was pleased that his boat outfished his brother´s boat and, of course Missy and I had the time of our lives.

We saw a whale, seals, and lots of dolphins. I gave my guide $20, plus a nice Wisconsin Badgers hat and a nice pocket knife. In the knife box I placed a penny. This is a tradition that when you give a knife as a gift you give a penny as good luck so the person won´t cut themselves with it.”

FINALLY OFF THE ROAD!

Well, after three months, we are finally pulling off the road! As I write this, we are wrapping up our final outdoor show here in Anchorage, Alaska and now we had back for the rest of the season and the REAL work home in La Paz! Our travels have taken us through California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and now Alaska. What a great great adventure it is every year and a great time to meet so many new amigos, and shake hands again with old amigos! Thanks to all of you who are now reading this that welcomed us to your great cities! Hope to host you someday down our way where the sun is warm and hopefully the fish are willing!

I will tell ya that this trip up here to Alaska has been one for the books! They have had an extensive winter here and it was as low as 11 degrees in Anchorage, but folks were treating it like a heatwave because two weeks ago, it was 16 degrees BELOW zero! There’s still several feet of snow on everything. The funny thing is that the Great Alaskan Outdoor Show was at the Sullivan Ice Hockey Arena. Well, it’s actually three ice rinks! Yes, I-C-E !!! They play hockey year-round here so in one hall, the literally put boards down on the ice and then the vendors set up their booths on the boards. In our own rink, they just melted the ice off before we set up on FROZEN concrete! It was so cold in there one day that we could see our breaths as we talked to customers! I think it was colder INSIDE that OUTSIDE the show!

Two little notes…it’s really strange that the sun is still blazing at 9 p.m. at night! It throws your entire body rhythm off that the sun stays up so long. Second, if you ever get a chance to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), it’s incredible. It shimmers and undulates across the sky like a florescent rainbow on LSD. Well, it’s prettier than that, but words escape me…just go see it!