Tailhunter Fish Report

PHOTO 1: It wasn’t a great week of fishing but there was some great fish to be caught here and there like this most excellent yellowtail held up by Jarrett Pfost on one those rare occasions when the El Bajo Seamount north of La Paz actually kicked out some fish! The yellowtail ate a big mackeral about 100 feet down. Jarrett is from Alpine CA.

PHOTO 2: One stop shopping to fill the cooler. On their first of 4 days fishing, Mike Stevens and Jarrett Pfost from Alpine CA had a stellar day working the El Bajo Seamount on one of the few days this week when the waters flattened out. They took 4 nice yellowtail; 8 pargo; a big cabrilla and numerous other fish that they released while fishing with mackerel, sardines and dropping heavy yo-yo iron (“until our arms ached!”) down to the top of the mount. They say they lost almost as many fish as they took as there were fish “we just couldn’t stop before they rocked us!” It helps that both guys have tons of experience and are also both deckhands on the San Diego sportboats, “Daily Double” and the “Mission Belle.” (Oh…and Mike is my nephew and Jarrett is my son…wish I could say I taught ’em everything they know…but I can’t!)

PHOTO 3: One of the best fishermen and certainly one of the most photogenic amigos we have, Mitch Chavira from San Diego got in a few good days of fishing and always hits trophies like this fat yellowtail, but said he had 50 pounders on that were unstoppable. Still…even he will tell you that fishing conditions were rough and the fish were picky.

PHOTO 4 – Whooo-hoooooo!!! Kyle Yates on his first La Paz trip from Carlsbad CA shows up a good sized cabrila he picked up fishing with that iron in his right hand. Either he’s excited or he got a hook in his finger while taking the photo.

PHOTO 5: FAT FAT barred pargo (Pargo Mulatto) across the beach in a great photo with Kyle and Cole Yates from Carlsbad CA and Cole Chavirra and his dad, Mitch. The fish are great eating and I can’t remember ever seeing so many barred pargo at one time on an excellent catch of that size.

PHOTO 6: Yes…we still have sierra around here. I’ve watched Emily grow up over the years on each of her visits here to La Paz since she was about 5 years old and now she outfishes everyone. Besides the sierra held up by Captain Victor next to Cerralvo Island, Emily also got 7 others and two roosterfish. No one else caught any on her boat except pelicans and seagulls.

PHOTO 7: Mike Stevens of Alpine CA hooked his first pargo on his last trip here a year ago and got “pargo fever” and this week took several others like this big yellow, but will tell you about all the ones he missed; broke off or he simply could not stop! That’s the nature of these incredible fish which are often some of the most frustrating. Mike got this one on a sardine and a sliding sinker rig.

PHOTO 8: Sometimes they even let ME fish! Actually, I was on the water several times this week and I wish I could tell ya that I outfished everyone, but I didn’t. Still…at least I was respectable. I got this hefty cabrilla (Mexican seabass) in about 80 feet of water jigging a blue/white Tady lure on a fast retrieve when the fish came up from the bottom and inhaled it about half way up the water column!

PHOTO 9: Just to show you some of the wacky variety out right now, Mitch Chavirra holds up an African pompano taken while jig fishing off Espiritu Santo Island. Good stuff for the table. Incredible fried up!

VIDEO 1: There’s some shaky footage at the end as I had trouble with the camera, but you get the idea of some of the great yellowtail action on El Bajo during a double hookup!

FISHING NOT SO GREAT AS STRONG WINDS RIP THE AREA, BUT SOME GREAT FISH STILL CAUGHT JUST NOT MANY OF THEM!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for the Week of April 4-11, 2010

Although all the great photos might fool you…

It wasn’t really a great week of fishing down here. Some folks got some nice fish, but it started out OK, but then the weather conditions really deteriorated as winds got stronger and stronger and by mid-week the waters around here looked like an episode of “Victory at Sea.”

It was sunny and warm and a great time to be in La Paz, but not such a great time to be on the water as unusually strong winds up to 25 knots at times gusted and not only made it uncomfortable…it made getting bait really difficult to get most times…especially the sardines which are up tight against the rocks or inshore and depends on captains being able to throw their nets.

So, it was scratch fishing for the most part. Even if you got the bait, it was so bumpy that it was almost ridiculous. We still got some fish, but you either really needed to have your “A Game,” be really lucky, or have some skill and experience because the better fish that hit were mean, big and if you didn’t have one of those three things going for you, then even chances are you had a good chance of not doing very well.

That being said, we did hook a few marlin, a few yellowtail, some wahoo, a few tuna and dorado (lots of dinks around that are about 5 pounds), some roosterfish, sierra, cabrilla, pargo and amberjack. Many of these were incredibly nice fish, but I would be pulling your leader if I told you it was stellar fishing…it wasn’t even close.

Some boats did well, but most really didn’t. It was one of those rare weeks when I felt really badly for many of our fishermen because they got beat up AND didn’t catch alot of fish. As the week came to a close, however, things got better.

Winds calmed tremendously and the fish were more ready to go on the chew.

For sure…big schools of bonito started crashing. Even some squid showed up and smart anglers would catch a fish…find squid in the mouths of the bonito and rockfish and pin one of the dead squid to a hook and send it back down to an almost instant bite. Interestingly, there’s ALOT of dorado around…but many of them are really small, but still fun. Good to see most are getting released. Great on light tackle if nothing else. We spent the good part of one day fishing them with fairly ultralight salt water gear and having a great time.

Personally, I spent several days on the water this week and it really helped to have some experience to get the larger fish or you’d lose way more than you landed. But, if you wanted to just have a good time and didn’t care too much for quality eating fish or big fish, there were fish to be taken.

I would suggest several things if you come down that are hard to get down here.

1. Flurocarbon leader made a difference…20, 30 and 40 pound test. Get 80 pound if you’re going to chase the big yellowtail or pargo.

2. I’m normally not a big proponent of sinkers since we rarely use them but some of these fish were relatively deep and it helped to put some weight on to get the baits below the bonito and needlefish FAST. I would suggest torpedo, rubbercore or sliding egg sinkers of 2-4 oz size.

3. If you know how to use them and have a high speed reel, then yo-yo/ candybar type lures of the type made by Tady, Salas, Sumo, Fire, etc. in blue/ white; yellow /green ; and

white/brown/yellow would be handy to have.

4. Some small trolling feathers.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: Pargo liso (mullet snapper) like those being held up here by Jon Luker from Arroyo Grande CA are up in the shallows right now spawning. Roving schools look like a moving carpet of copper and red and are fierce fighters as we try to stop them from getting into the rocks. These are some of the “smaller” guys. Larger ones usually win the battle!

PHOTO 2: No yellowtail to speak of this week as tougher winds made it difficult to get to some of the spots. However, their larger cousins, the amberjack, were in the area. These great eating fish do get up over 100 pounds and are found near rocks, reefs and high spots.

PHOTO 3: Joe Fong holds up a nice pargo that hit the barbecue for sure, knowing Joe. Spring is prime time for these fish that move into shallow areas such as Punta Perrico; S. Cerralvo Island, Pilis (east side of the island) and some other high spots. This is “rock” fishing as we know it…but not deep! These fish are literally in 5-20 feet of water!

TOUGHER CONDITIONS LIMIT YELLOWTAIL BITE BUT INSHORE FISHING TURNS TO OTHER SPECIES

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 29 to April 4

PHOTO 1: Even Captain Victor is smiling. “Lucky” Lenny Bishop of La Paz holds up the RIGHT KIND.” This is a trophy-type yellowtail and Lenny now says it’s his new favorite fish. Despite fish taking him to the rocks he managed to stop this nice hog. The yellowtail are big, mean and definitely here! Lenny was kind enough to also rub it in by sending photos of how he prepared the fish when he got home! (see below)

PHOTO 2: I let Lenny describe it…this is classic. He’s great… “Ok. its THE BEST FISH man we had a Blackened y`tail burger with avocado, sprouts, wasabi mayo coleslaw on a big mexican torta bun, the first meal then crunchy tempura fried strips, dipped in spicy sweet chili japanese dipping sauce…..holy #&@$!!! It was sooooo crunchy…and the sauce! oh…the .sauce…and the baked “tin foil fish” was UNBELIEVABLE too!”

PHOTO 2: Kelly May from Alberta Canada made his first trip down and was all smiles with this nice yellowtail. Note how close to shore they are and the flat waters. The big yellows are in several places around Cerralvo Island, Muertos Bay and Espirito Santo Island the last few weeks.

PHOTO 3: Again, our amigo Lenny (“Don’t call me Leo” ) Bishop with a fresh phat yellowtail he got on live bait fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet this past week. The fish have been running 20-40 pounds…when you can stop them. If you’re not ready, these fish will yank you out’ve your flip-flops!

YELLOWTAIL and INSHORE SPECIES AGAIN TAKE CENTER STAGE WITH GOOD CONDITIONS THIS PAST WEEK

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 21-28, 2010

A good solid week of fishing this past week. Winds were relatively calm most days compared to previous weeks and the yellowtail remained firmly entrenched. They’re biting and they’re big, but putting these hard-charger 25-40 pound fish in the boat aren’t easy when their first instinct is to dive right back to whatever structure is close by.

Guys are busting off alot of fish to the rocks when the fish duck back. You really have to high-stick these fish and put alot of pressure on them to turn them before they rock you. But boy…such great looking fish!

These are solid forktail yellows. These trophy-sized fish will hopefully hold around as long as the waters stay cool from now until May or early June. The guys are hooking the fish with live bait, sardines, mackerel and caballitos or else yo-yo jigging blue/white or yellow/tan/white (scrambled egg) patterns for the deeper fish.

However, most of these fish aren’t deep. Literally 10-40 feet down so that doesn’t give you much room for error. By the time most anglers realize they are bit and react, the fish is already turning and making a freight train back into the rocks.

If you’re fishing the iron and cranking, when the iron suddenly stops and freezes, THAT’S a FISH! Many anglers make the mistake of swinging and trying to set the hook. The secret is to just keep on grinding and winding. Don’t stop! You have to set the hook and bury it into the fish’s mouth or you’ll lose ’em.

Once that hook is buried, believe me, your rod will bend and there’s no doubt the fish is on! Even then, swing on the rod and bury the hook deeper all the while grinding the reel to keep the fish headed up and not down back to the rocks!

As for the pargo. The big red fish are 10-30 pounders and they don’t give you much slack either. Again. big powerful fish that can truck right back into the reef and rocks before you know what’s going on. We’re landing maybe 1 out of every 5 or 6 bites. And then again, only the smaller fish are getting stopped. Captains tell me much larger fish don’t even slow down!

We’ve got some other species as well. Guys are having a blast on the sierra, roosterfish, cabrilla (seabass) and pargo in the shallow spots. Light tackle is the best trick!

FLASH…just as I was writing this…breaking news….it’s winter (that’s not the news)…our boats got dorado and marlin!!! WHOA!!!! More details coming up!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: Tim Fitzpatrick of Redondo Beach spent a few days with us going north of town with Captains Chito and Raul and hit some rough weather but still got into some great grades of yellowtail like this big slugger.

PHOTO 2: Two of our old amigos, Chris Fitzpatrick and Mark Martis come down several times a year and always seem to do well. The two of them show off some big-time yellowtail they caught this week fishing live bait north of La Paz. The two of them have fished with us since the earliest days of our Tailhunter Fleet.

PHOTO 3: Yes…the amberjack are in! Mark Martis from Redondo Beach CA holds up an amberjack…these are generally the larger and tastier cousins to the yellowtail and grow over 100 pounds. However, these “smaller” guys are better tasting but surely fights just as hard.
All members of the “jack” family have “attitude”…yellowtail, amberjack, jack crevalle, pompano, roosterfish are all part of the tribe.

PHOTO 4: Headed for the grill, Mark holds up this nice pargo mulatto (barred pargo) one of the best eating fish in the Sea of Cortez.

INSHORE SPECIES CONTINUE TO COME ON STRONG BUT WARM WATER FISH MOVING INTO THE AREA

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 14-17, 2010

It was largely a cloudy grey week with sometimes intermittently strong winds, but we had some undoubtedly encouraging fishing. Big yellowtail continued to be the highlight with some nice grades of fish being taken at the usual spots like north and south ends of Cerralvo (aka Jacques Cousteau ) Island and around Punta Perrico. As well, some of the coves around the east side of Espirito Santo Island, the Salvatierra wreck, and also around Punta Coyoto produced some fish in the 25-35 pound class that gave anglers all they could handle.

In those same areas, if the yellowtail were taking a powder, large jack crevalle, amberjack up to 25 pounds and pargo up to 20 pounds were also taken although our captains tell us that larger fish were lost to the rocks and reefs.

Additional varieties of fish this week included cabrilla (seabass), sierra, and surprising schools of roosterfish that seemed to pop up…several days of nothing then one day, large schools of 15-20 pound fish move in chasing the baits. Reports as well of numerous marlin and sailfish sunning themselves in various spots make us wonder about El Nino since it’s pretty early to be seeing billfish in the area, but they seem to be lethargically sunning themselves.

Usually when we see this, it just takes a few degrees of warming in the waters and they suddenly go off and get hungry so we’ll have to keep an eye. To the south of us, they’re getting giant humboldt squid which is also unusual as they huge animals are often a vanguard for tuna coming up out of the trenches.

Some of the private boats are seeing schools of dolphin 30-50 miles offshore travelling with tuna, but the fish are moving so fast, it’s hard to get on them. Still seeing the occasional dorado caught as well so things are definitely brewing for us to see so many signs of warm water fish this early.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: Now THAT’s what we call a yellowtail! Rob Maclean comes down several times a year whenever he can sneak on down and teams up with Capt. Jorge for some great catches every time. He fished several days with us and ripped up some of the big boy yellowtail we’ve been waiting for. This fish was caught while fishing out’ve Muertos Bay with the Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet.

PHOTO 2: Rob did some nice damage to the yellowtail schools. Here, he holds another big forktail. That’s the southern end of Cerralvo Island in the distance across the way.

PHOTO 3: Check out the flat seas and big fish! This is Rob Maclean admiring one of the big yellowtail. The guys said that they got cabrilla, but broke off alot of nice fish in the rocks. Fish were holding in several places as deep as 100 feet but also feeding on the surface.

PHOTO 4: Miguelito helps Tom and Rob Maclean with a load of their yellowtail standing in the sand at Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 5: Ramon holds up a nice brace of “dinner.” On the left is a nice-sized cabrilla (seabass) and also a small yellowtail which is actually tastier than the larger grade fish. The fish are holding in the same areas up along the rocky shorelines and over the reefs and high spots.

YELLOWTAIL ROLL INTO ANGLERS AND LEAVE ALOT OF BROKEN LINES AND FRUSTRATED TIMES BUT SIGNS OF WARM WATER FISH STILL AROUND!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 7-14, 2010

Not the best weather this past week so it was fortunate we didn’t have alot of anglers. It wasn’t really bad but just perhaps more windy than we’d like it to be , which is often common this time of year and why it’s off-season. But characteristic of this part of the season, you get 3 gorgeous days and then you get a day or two of wind. Fortunately, with most of our anglers, we schedule them so that there’s flexibility in the schedule plus with our two fleets, we can accommodate them so that they fish on only the better days. Fish are here, but it’s always more fun when the sun is shining and the seas are flat, right?

Anyway, like I said, the fish are here. Not in full turbo yet, but definitely I’ll have to say yellowtail season has started and there’s some sluggers out there! Fish have been close into the rocky areas as is their habit and been in the 20-40 pound class. We’re losing more than half the fish, but that’s part of the game!

When you see these fish, you know it’s worth it. Take a look at the photos! Areas include north and south ends of Cerralvo Island. Punta Coyote, Pilot Cove, Punta Perrico and a few others including one little hot spot that if I tell ya…I know a bunch of guys will take their private boats into it and boom…no more fish! You gotta come fish with us to find out!

The bite is not wide open…just yet, but we’ll keep you posted! I tell ya…it’s bubbling up. The fish are definitely here and some guys have really tangled with some slugger fish! These are quality fish and some real trophies. They are eating a variety of baits including sardines, mackerel, jigs and caballitos as well as slow trolled Rapalas or Yo-Zuri hydros as long as you don’t let the lures dive too deep and hang you up in the rocks in the shallows.

In addition to the yellowtail, they’re almost in the same areas where the big dog-tooth pargo and pargo liso have come into spawn. As one of our first-timer anglers described, “I looked down into the water and it was like a red copper colored mist was moving over the bottom and then I realized it was 30 pound fish undulating like giant Japanese koi under the panga! My first bait didn’t stand a chance and neither did I. My first 4 fish ripped me right into the rocks. I’ve never had my rod bend like that or been so frustrated trying to stop a fish!”

I’d say about 1 in 10 fish are getting put into the boat and then again, the average size of the fish are only the “smaller” 10 pounders. We haven’t had anyone been able to put one of the horse 30 or 40 pounders into the boat yet this season!

Roosterfish and sierra are still up in the shallows if you know where to look. There are all you could handle if you hit the right spots with light tackle being the most preferred way to have some fun.

One angler got tired of getting sawed off by the sierra teeth and lost several small crank baits. Being out, he pulled out a little hoochie (plastic skirt) with some wire on it and said he dropped it no more than 10 feet behind the gurgle of the slow prop wash of the motor and took 10 quick sierra up to 7 pounds. “Best ceviche I ever had and cooked with butter and garlic, was incredible at the Tailhunter Restaurant that night.”

Small flash: We ran into some tuna and marlin this week! Yes…that’s right. Have to keep the lid on it, but a strange strange hookup! We’ll keep you posted. Not supposed to be fish like that this early in the season! We’ll do some exploring and let you know!

Update on the Fiesta Inn that closed last week. They are apparently now going for a re-model and looking for a new big-name hotel tenant and plan to re-open as soon as that can be accomplished.

HEADING TO SALT LAKE CITY!

The Tailhunter 2010 tour is just leaving Redmond, Oregon and now we’re on the road headed to Salt Lake City for the final show on our 3-months road trip. We’ll be at the Expo Center in Sandy, Utah from Thursday to Sunday. Come by and check out the booth and say hi.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

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

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

YELLOWTAIL FINALLY SHOW TO KICK OFF MARCH!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 28-March 7, 2010

We had another interesting week with quite a bit of variety at such diverse ends that it makes us wonder about the El Nino everyone says is upon us.

The best part is that yellowtail finally showed up in the counts. It’s about time! Fish ran 20-40 pounds and there weren’t alot caught compared to the number hooked, but that’s because most of the anglers were simply outgunned by the slugger fish or simply weren’t up to it! About 3 out of every 4 fish broke off!

The fish hit a variety of baits including mackerel and sardines as well as some of the caballitos that were found. Defintely, the larger baits were the preferred “candy” for the bigger fish. As well, yo-yo iron dropped off and jigged quickly back got some tremendous strikes. The secret is to not try to set the hook on a pick up but rather to keep grinding and turning that reel handle to make sure the fish is securely stuck in the jaw. Prefferred colors of lures includes blue and white as well as “scrambeled egg” (white, yellow, brown). Best spots included the north and south sides of Cerralvo Island, Punta Perrico off of Bahia de los Muertos and off Coyote Point where fish up to 30 pounds were seen in as shallow as just a few feet of water! We’ll keep you posted!

Inshore also, roosterfish and cabrilla as well as sierra were almost slam-dunk easy to hook most days. Wish we could say the same thing about the pargo. Easier to hook than put into the boat and the ones we got were the 5-15 pounders. The larger toad pargo kept taking guys into the rocks. The best news about the inshore fishing is that it looks like the yellowtail bite finally seems to have kicked in. Fish were in the 15-25 pound class, but about half the fish were breaking off. Still, it’s encouraging to finally get into some of the forktails.

On the other end of the spectrum, warm water fish like dorado are still hanging out. Not big fish but even seeing 5-15 pound fish in March is pretty remarkable. The fish are readily hitting sardines or any small feathers in dragged behind the pangas. As well, we’re seeing more and more marlin. We didn’t get any to bite this week, but again, having marlin in our waters this early in the season is worth keeping an eye on.

FIESTA INN IN LA PAZ CLOSES IT’S DOORS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Just as an aside, the new Fiesta Inn Hotel in La Paz closed it’s doors this week. Word has it that they plan to re-open at some undisclosed time in the future, but for now, the hotel is closed.

VOLARIS AIR ANNOUNCES SURPRISE DISCOUNT SALE UNTIL MARCH 9!

Volaris Airlines, the ever-growing popular airlines flying out of Tijuana to La Paz (and several other destinations) announced a pretty incredible fare to come to La Paz. Basically, for about 118 dollars one way and ONE PESO to come back, they’ll sell you a ticket! The restrictions are that you MUST purchase the ticket before March 9 and you MUST use the ticket to travel between May 1st and June 30th! Jump on it. Here’s the website:

http://www.volaris.com.mx/Inicio.aspx?culture=en-US

Check it out. Don’t wait. Seats are limited. Then c’mon down to see us!

TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR CONTINUES BACK TO OREGON THIS WEEK!

Our 2010 road tour of the best fishing and hunting shows in the west continues this week as we head to Bend, Oregon in the beautiful central Oregon area. The show runs from Thursday to Sunday and we’ll be there with the full booth and all the new brochures and DVDs to set up your next trip to come fishing in La Paz.

We just left the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show in Long Beach after 5 days and it was a monster! Wow! In more than 2 decades of doing this massive show, I’ve never had a show like this one. We were swamped from the get-go and folks were making their reservations about as fast as we could take them! Thanks to all of you who came by to say hi; to let me know you enjoyed yourselves fishing with us; to share your photos; to let me know you’re reading my reports and Baja columns and to make your reservations for 2010. A special shout-out to everyone who brought us goodies to the booth also!

I’m surprised we could even walk out of there after all the home-made cookies, Chinese food, jerky, cakes, Mexican food, pastries, sandwiches, and cheese, sausage, sushi and other goodies. Also, thanks to everyone who came by to wish me a happy birthday and brought cards and gifts. You’re the best! It was the best place to spend my day…in the middle of a fishing show with all my fishing amigos!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: Not bad for a beginner. Anglers come for years to try to land one of these beauties, but Vanessa Cannon from Utah got this nice roosterfish, but it was her first fish on her first day fishing…ever! Captain Jorge mugs with Vanessa. Note the calmness of the water just a few yards off the beach at Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 2: Next stop…the BIG SHOW! Long Beach Convention Center for the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show. We are leaving a great show in Phoenix, our 6th show of the Tailhunter Tour and now headed to Long Beach where we’ll be in our regular booth spot on tackle row next to Calstar rods, Izorline and our pal, Ed Robison at Whopper Stopper Rods. The show goes Wednesday to Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center.

LONG BEACH SHOW COMING UP MARCH 3-7 LONG BEACH CONVENTION CENTER

Well, we’ve put 5 shows under our belts on the 2010 tour…Denver, San Mateo, Sacramento, Puyallup (Washington), Portland and now we’re just finished Phoenix where we had an outstanding show at the University of Phoenix Football Stadium where the NFL Cardinals play. So, now…here we come…the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. This is the big crazy one! Our booth will be in it’s usual spot on tackle row smack in the middle of the main hall next to Izorline and Calstar rods. Come see us and say hi and lock in your La Paz fishing trip for 2010.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: They started slow, but finished fast. Yusuke Suzuki and his dad Katsu from Portland had to cancel their first trip to La Paz 2 times last year, but finally made it down. Their first day fishing the winds blew strong and they barely scratched out a bite and had tough fishing. However, the fish gods finally smiled on their second day and they had quite a variety including sierra, pargo, snapper, cabrilla and bonito. This is pretty typical of winter fishing for inshore species.

PHOTO 2: Yusuke holds up a pargo happily pulled out near Punta Perrico. Popular captain Archangel helps with the gaff.

PHOTO 3: Whale watching in Lopez Mateos is in full swing right now. The whales aren’t quite as plentiful as normal…maybe it’s El Nino…but everyone is having fun in the shallow bays watching the whales come up to the pangas!

PHOTO 4: On the weekends, EVERYONE comes out to see the whales! Hopefully, they’ll be around until about mid-March and we’re running folks out every week.

ANOTHER WEEK OF MIXED INSHORE FISHING WITH NUMEROUS VARIETIES

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 14-20, 2010

It was a mixed bag of fish, so to speak, this past week which is pretty characteristic of this time of year. What we catch and how we fish and where we fish are often dictated by wind, weather and the bait conditions rather than by what clients want to specifically target. At least moreso than other times of the year.

Most of our fishing is confined to the Muertos Bay area as it is more protected and fishing is closer. Whether we go much further than that depends on the winds but generally we focus on the Punta Perrico areas, Punta Arenas, Boca de Alamo and the surrounding areas. If winds permit, we can head over to Cerralvo Island.

The other aspect is bait. Can’t fish without it so sometimes getting bait is hunt and peck a little bit. Since waters are a bit rougher this time of year, often the sardines get scattered by the wave action or the waters get too cloudy from the splash and it’s hard to throw the net. Alternatively, sometimes it’s hard to get in tight in the rocks to throw the bait nets when the waves are pushing you into the rocks.

Anyway, I guess that’s the so-so news and the realities of fishing some days. Others, it’s flat, calm, warm and the bait is readily taken. All that taken into account, we’re still having a great time with sierra which are easy since they can be taken close to shore anyway and will eat lures when bait is a little sketchy…basically, anything shiny will attract strikes. As well, pargo are frustrating anglers also. The big red fish are biting, but anglers will lose half their fish or more to the rocks when the fish immediately burrow down. But, in the same areas, cabrilla (seabass) and snapper are being taken and we’re also getting jack crevalle and some roosters along the beaches. Attribute it to El Nino, but every now and then, just a hair offshore, someone hooks a tuna or dorado.

PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMENS EXPO THIS WEEK

That’s where we’ll be from Friday to Sunday this week for the next stop on our road tour. We’ll be right on the floor of the football stadium where the Cardinals play. It’s a great facility and great place to come out and spend the day; see some great exhibits and, of course, come say hi to us and check out some dates for your La Paz fishing trip this year! See you then!

That’s our story
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: Larry Barnes all the way from Alberta Canada was down for his first time and got a variety of fish including this nice pargo just off Punto Perrico. Conditions were less than stellar this week as you might notice from the grey skies and Captain Victor needing to wear his slickers.

PHOTO 2: Our amigo from La Paz by way of Mazatalan, Leonard Bishop, at first thought this was a funny looking yellowtail and found out later it’s a rainbow runner… a close cousin to the yellowtail caught near Muertos Bay. For Leonard’s full account see below. He got this fish on his flyrod.

STRONG WINDS AND EVEN SOME WET DAYS PUT A DAMPER ON THE WEEK’S FISHING

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 7-14, 2010

A bit of a mixed week down here with some surprising varieties of fish. Quite a mix considering it’s only February and everyone is talking about “El Nino.” Everyone wants to know. Heck, I’m no scientist. We just go fishing and catch what’s biting and right now, you just never know what’s out there! This week, it was a bit on the windy side. The winds have the obvious effect of making it a bit rougher than we would like, but it also affects our ability to get bait. Sardines are usually in the shallow areas near the rockys or beaches and when waves are spanking the shore, it not only scatters the little guys, but if you’re a panga captain trying to throw a net and get close into the shallows, it’s hell trying to keep the waves from smashing your panga into the rocks. It gets dicey!

Anyway, as mentioned, there’s good fish to be caught. Pargo are up in numbers inside now. We’re seeing ’em for sure. But catching them is another issue. I had guys lose 8, 12, 16 fish to the rocks as the big red boys racked the lines and tore them up. They had fun trying to stop the beasts, but still managed a few “smaller” fish in the 10-20 pound class around Cerralvo Island and Muertos Bay. As well, in the same areas, they met with better success on snapper and some nice cabrilla (seabass). No shortage of sierra and you can play with those all day long and have a blast. Surprising species, however, included rainbow runners (baby cousins to yellowtail and great eating!) as well as some dorado and even a few yellowfin tuna!

The bad news is that mid-week, the winds really picked up for really the first time all year. It just made it really tough to fish. We actually canceled the fishing for a few days. We could’ve gone out and gotten a few fish, but no sense in being miserable out there and the clients decided to simply postpone fishing until later in the week. After the winds abated a bit, fishing was still off a bit, but, as mentioned above there were some decent varieties of fish to be caught although in all honesty, it surely could have been better.

Carnivale started this week so the whole city is in party mode!

FIRST PERSON

Thanks to Leonard Bishop on his report for his fishing day:

“We trolled rapalas at the south end of Cerralvo (Island), while we waited for Captain Victor to get bait. Caught 4-5 nice size cabrilla some 4-6 lbs!
Got bait then went out from Punta Arena in open water. We got bonito, sierra (1 big one), skipjack, and a rainbow runner, We went back to rocks near Muertos Bay, more cabrilla, dog snapper, triggerfish, golden trevally, couple other “toss em` backs”
missed a bunch of pargo liso (mullet snapper), just got rocked again and again! The bite was really fussy. Yes I got the rainbow runner on a pink bucktail fly. The cabrilla were dee-licious!!!”

PORTLAND SPORT SHOW

Thanks to everyone who came to say hi to us at the Portland Expo Center this past week for the Northwest Sportsman’s Hunting and Fishing Show. What a kick! Five great days in the booth and thanks to all our friends who brought us goodies as well. We ate and drank well! You’re the best!

Now…onto Phoenix! Our next Tailhunter appearance will be at Cardinal football Stadium right there on the football field. We’ll be there Friday to Sunday Feb. 26-28. Come check it out and say hi.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

PHOTO 1: It wasn’t what you would call incredible fishing this past week, mostly because of less-than-stellar fishing conditions, but it got better as the week continued. Surprisingly, there’s still dorado swimming around like these two held by our amigos Rob and Jodi McClean even though we’re in the dead of winter! We even had some biters right in La Paz Bay!

PHOTO 2: No, we didn’t catch this brute of a black seabass here in La Paz, but rather this big boy was taken by commercial fishermen on the Pacific side of northern Baja about 2 weeks ago. Unlike in the states, it is legal to take blackseabass. Hate to see this, but I”m sure this was a big payday for some lucky commercial guy who eeks out a living and I’m sure every bit of this fish got eaten or used. This is an ancient fish and hopefully, it had lots of years of breeding. In the states, black seabass must be released.

VIDEO 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqpLHerDkKo

We know alot of our amigos back in the states are having some weird and horrendous weather. We’ve been travelling across the U.S. all during January with our booth doing all the hunting and fishing shows in Denver, San Francisco, Sacramento and most recently in Puyallup, Washington (near Seattle/Tacoma). It’s been great, but this week, we’re back here in La Paz. We had not seen sunshine in more than a month and some of our friends and clients on the trade show “tour” asked me to post up some sunshine in the weekly fishing report. I took this Saturday morning, Feb. 6th, on the waterfront downtown.

VIDEO 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMWu3pAXlAs

We’re coming to Portland, Oregon this week! After 4 shows we finally come to visit our amigos in Portland. It’s one of the best shows of the tour and we’re looknig forward to seeing alot of you. The show will be from Wednesday to Sunday Feb 10-14 at the Portland Expo Center! It’s always packed. Come say hi. This video is some of the aisle action from the Denver ISE show where it was 10 degrees below zero outside! That’s Jill you see talking in the booth.

THE EARLY WEEK IS DIMINISHED BY WINDS AND EVEN SOME RAIN BUT IMPROVES LATER IN WEEK

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 6-13, 2010

It was a bit of an off-week here in La Paz. Earlier in the week it was literally a sierra “rodeo” with all the inshore fun you might want with unlimited sierra biters pretty much at any of the usual spots along the beaches where shallow waters tapered to deeper waters. It seemed like the schools were really concentrated. Normally, you might get a handful at any stop and have a good day, but this week, it was almost one-stop shopping. If you’ve ever been in a bonito or mackerel bite, that’s what it was like. Any shiny lure slow trolled or any piece of bait in the water got hit. I had one client catch and release almost 40 fish on day and he said he lost count of all the sierra he lost that bit through the leader. Even with wire, he said sometimes they bit higher than the wire and nipped the mono. He had a blast. Another client who was flyfishing, didn’t bring wire, but still managed half-a-dozen on a 6 wt rod and lost a ton more, but said, “Having never fought a fish that had REAL TEETH and power, it was the most fun” he’d ever had on a flyrod. As well, there were a few roosters and jacks also caught inshore.

Not much else worth mentioning except a few stray small dorado. However, like I keep saying strange thinks keep happening. One of our local amigos took his boat out just to cruise around La Paz Bay for 30 minutes with visiting family. He ran into a feeding school of dorado. He managed to get two on the flyrod right off the shore!

As the week went on, waters got choppier and things got windy. We even had two days of sporadic rain and showers that periodically and in spots, came down pretty steadily for a few minutes.

OTHER HAPPENINGS IN LA PAZ

Just some bits and pieces of info to pass on.

I went walking downtown. There is now a little Subway Sandwich place now down near where Carlos & Charlie’s used to be. Kinda nice. I also found a cool little place that makes awesome cinnamon buns!

On a sadder note, it looks like the brand new Fiesta Inn at Costa Baja is going to be closing it’s doors. Looks like so many operations, they had financial problems. From what we understand, Costa Baja will be taking over but they are letting all the staff go. Probably they’ll be looking for a new operator. They never really catered to fishermen anyway there so hopefully, the new tenants will be more fishermen-friendly.

CARNIVAL COMING !

We have CARNIVALE (Mardi Gras) starting this week so the town is really gearing up to put on it’s party-face for a whole week. The place rocks. The whole waterfront will be closed down for the revelry. Our Tailhunter Bar just happens to overlook the street and all the parades and booths so folks are reserving tables out front. Great fun.

PORTLAND SPORTSMENS SHOW

Beginning Wednesday, we’ll be at the Northwest Sportsmens Show at the Portland Expo Center from Feb. 10-15. Five full days with great exhibits and, of course…US! Come say hi and check us out for your 2010 La Paz fishing trip too. Things are filling up.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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