Tailhunter Fish Report

PHOTO 1: A last minute trip from Atlanta GA brought Leif Dover down for some quick fishing and it paid off. Check out the wahoo taken on an orange and black Rapala. That’s Captain Yofo behind him goofing the photo. The wahoo bite was still rolling early in the week until winds and some rain pushed just about everything off. Weather has been inconsistent all week and it remains to be seen if it will have long term effects on the nice surface bite.

THE SEASON FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH THE FIRST BIGGER WINDS OF THE SEASON BRINGING RAIN. HOWEVER THERE’S STILL FISH BITING!

LA PAZ / LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DECEMBER 9, 2007

PHOTO 2: Even though it’s almost winter, there’s still dorado around. Before the current weather pattern hit late in the week, fish like this were still swimming in many areas. Captain Bryan Zulka from San Diego area hold ups a nice little bull. Bryan did good working the fish on light tackle.

PHOTO 3: Kevin Todd from Austin TX, rolled up a few fish around the islands including this nice dorado. Waters are cooling and I don’t know how much longer we’ll still have dorado around. More cooler water fish are starting to show up.

PHOTO 4: Seems like folks from all points have been popping down lately! All the way from Anchorage AK, Diana Cote and Captain Jorge hoist a yellowfin tuna. Check out the calm water! This is how it’s like when the wind isn’t blowing right now. Flat days interrupted by winds. But, the good news is that the tuna still seem to be around and this size football is a blast to catch.

PHOTO 5: Bryan Zulka chomped into the tuna last week. OK, so they’re not big, but they’re almost casting distance from the shore and on light tackle, they’re a hoot and ready to chew.

THE FISHING REPORT

Well, it’s definitely NOT summer fishng anymore. We had some nice fishing early in the week, then the winds and even some rain hit us and well…that was that. We still fished, but it definitely wasn’t shorts and t-shirt weather and the complexion of the fishing changed too.

Early in the week we were still into the yellowfin tuna, dorado and even some roosters. But, I knew we were living on borrowed time. It’s not often we have that kind of fishing this late in the season.

But, there’s no doubt fishing is changing. We are well into the sierra now. The toothy fighters are getting thicker and thicker. Also, the pargo seem to have moved in as well. One of our guys got 6 big pargo lisa the other day and lost a handful of others. The captain estimated these were all big 20-30 pound fish. Just wish I had gotten some photos.

As I write this, it’s calm outside at night, but raining a bit. It’s comfortable. No wind. Yesterday was bright and sunny and calm. Perfect fishing weather. However, later in the week, we’re expecting a bit more rain and stronger winds by the end of the week that might make it tough and uncomfortable to be on the water.

FIRST PERSON – THANKS GUYS!

Here’s Bryan Zulka’s story.

“…. Headed over to the bay and found our boat and Captain Victor ready to go. 10 min. ride to get some small sardinias from the bait guy and back to the bay where we left from to fish. I was like “are we going to troll” , Victor was like “no, we have sardinias” Now we are less than a mile off the beach, he backs off the motor and there are fish already boiling up. Instantly bit. Dorado everywhere!!!

So for the next 5 hours we went no more than 10 min. without a bite!! We left tuna to find dorado! Non-stop all you wanted YFT to I’d say an honest 18 pounds. I fished with my travel rod most of the time, a #15 outfit. But with the boats 4/0 they were fun as well. It was actually like fishing, toss some bait, fish boil! And they all wanted to die. We ended up with over 25 YFT, never counted the big Skippes and over 10 Dorado. We cut loose countless fish.

It was truly amazing. Fished untill 11:45 or so, they headed in. Reeled in the last bait, tossed the rest over and the place erupted with YFT! I could have held my breath from the spot we caught our last fish to the beach. It was that close. Victor filleted our fish, we tipped him well, bid him farewell and thanks and off in the van back to La Concha.Overall can’t say enough good stuff about Jonathon’s operation. Just worked out perfect for us. We that kind of fishing, you don’t need any more time thats for sure. And we had a nice Marlin jump about 6 times withing 100′ of the boat. Nice touch!”

This is from Leif Dover…

“The fishing was absolutely incredible, we had an outstanding time. The day we fished in La Paz was a little disappointing (but only in comparison to the days in Las Arenas), we had wind out of the north and no sardines, but we still managed to get 4 sierra and 2 nice dorado on artificial and skipjacks we caught. As far as Las Arenas, what can you say? All the tuna you could wish for, plus I got my first wahoo (a pretty nice one too according to everyone that saw it) and a number of nice dorado. The last day we literally ran out of bait the tuna fishing was so good, as quickly as Adolfo would rebait us, we had another nice tuna (or bonita sometimes) on the line.”

HEADS UP

For 2008, we’re already getting quite a few reservations. It’s not too early, amigos. Especially if you have a big group or want a certain hotel or certain captain. We already have some days sold out! In 2007, we sold out many many dates and had a waiting list for certain captains and hotel rooms. Once we start out fishing shows in January, we expect that the reservations will start rolling in. We want to make sure you’re covered so give us a jingle or e-mail shout.

Looking foward to another great 2008. Also, if you don’t have your passport…get on the stick and get rolling. Don’t get caught up in the rush like so many others last year who had to sweat it out.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

PHOTO 1: Count them. Yes. That right. What are the chances? Five family members go fishing on the same day. Five wahoo come back with them! We have had and continue to have an awesome wahoo season. I have no idea where they all came from. We got our share every year. But, last year, I think we caught FOUR in our fleet the whole season. The Noonan Family fished with us a few days and hammered the tuna and dorado but then went out one day on a friend’s boat and hit the mother lode of wahoo. Guys fish year-after-year with us to just get ONE sniff from a wahoo. This is just incredible. Wahoo are still biting. See below. For the record…the anglers in the Noonan Family from La Jolla CA (except Patrick who lives in D.C.) are: Ryley, 17…Greg (dad) …..Patrick, 22,…..Conor, 16……Charlie, 21…….Marilyn (mom). If mom had fished they probably woulda gotten another one! What day. THEY LOST 4 OTHERS!

RAINS AND WIND COME LATE BUT WAHOO AND TUNA MAKE A GREAT EARLY SHOWING AND FILL BOXES!

THE LA PAZ/ LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DEC. 1, 2007

This is one of those weeks when I’m gonna let the photos and the anglers themselves tell you their stories. They do it so much better than me!

Let me just say that once again, the tuna bite mixed with dorado out of Muertos was well…pretty darned good! I’m running out’ve adjectives. It’s not usually like this, but so far, this is the best fall fishing in ages…especially for the tuna! Live bait…a hook…put it in the water about 100 yards from the beach and WHAM! It’s not rocket science! Don’t make it harder than it has to be!

On top of that, what’s up with the wahoo? Again, the dark larger Rapalas were effective, but so were Marauders and…get this…ORANGE Rapalas! The wahoo have ignored the orange Rapalas all season, but this week I guess they decided to try a different flavor or something.

As well…roosters are still stacked up along the beach plus sierra, pargo and cabrilla! Everyone is still getting fish!

See below…

PHOTO 2: Earl “Butch” Lawson and his son Earl from the Monterey Bay area were on their second visit this year to us and had an incredible outing. They blew up the tuna schools in Muertos showing off some of their catch on the beach.

PHOTO 3: Butch Lawson and popular Captain Jorge holding up a nice bull. It’s almost Christmas and there’s still dorado to be caught on both sides of the peninsula despite waters cooling every week.

PHOTO4: Charlie Noonan (same Charlie holding a wahoo in the first photo) here displays some of their yellowfin tuna. Mom told me they gave away as much fish as they took home. The tuna range from 10-30 pounds and have been chewing since late August.

PHOTO 5: You gotta love his style! Earl Lawson does it like I like to do it. Light tackle! Try doing fish on a little baitcasting rod and 12 pound test sometime. Fish feel like monsters, especially tuna! This rocks!

THE WORD FROM THE TRENCHES!

I told you I’d let the anglers tell their stories! Thanks, guys! Earl Lawson above wrote this up for me:

” I had very low expectations for November, and we just killed them. We had a great time and everything was perfect. My dad and I fished the first two days with Jorge and he was a great skipper. We loaded up on tuna and caught some Sierra and Dorado as well. The third day we fished out of La Paz with Joel and we were on fire. After bringing in 9 Dorado, we were all ready to call it a day. I have been going to La Paz for about 10 years and that was the most consistent fishing and the most fun I’ve had.”

PHOTO 1: Will it never end? No complaints from any of our anglers. The yellowfin tuna continued to bite…as did many other species…despite fears that the full moon and stronger winds would have a negative effect. Larry Bodle and his family are featured this week with some great photos. Here, Larry is with his 12 year old Ernie showing a nice rack of tuna caught just out’ve Muertos Bay and a few dorado as well.

WHAT FULL MOON? FISH CONTINUE TO RIP FOR LA PAZ AND MUERTOS BAY ANGLERS!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Nov. 25, 2007

PHOTO 2: Despite November winds, the dorado continued stronger and larger for our anglers that fished out’ve La Paz. Standing at Balandra Beach, the Bodle family of (L to R) Ernie, Dad Larry, Ella and mom Maria hold up some nice mahi.

PHOTO 3: Captain Jacobo helps 14 year-old Ella hold up a nice bull dorado taken out’ve La Paz. Just when the dorado should be moving out, they came on strong this week with some nicer fish in the 10-40 pound class.

THE FISH REPORT

I know everyone always asks if it’s OK to fish during the full moon. I know alot of people think there’s no fish in November. So, you’d think there was a double whammy on any of our anglers fishing this week.

NOT!!!

If you’re been reading this fish report each week, you’d know that we’ve had incredible tuna bite since August. I should have been over by now, but hard to believe…we’re still whacking the fish! These tuna are slamming just yards outside of Muertos Bay, but are also scattered from the island down to Punta Pescadero. OK…so they’re not huge…10-30 pound footballs, but these fish can pull HARD! If you’ve never pulled on a tuna, don’t sniff at them until you’ve had a rod in your hand. We’ve had folks back o nthe beach by 11 a.m. or earlier simply beat up by these slugger fish.

In addition to the tuna, the wahoo are still going gangbusters. One day we won’t get a sniff, and then the next, the waters explode with skinnies! Again, dragging lures of S.Cerralvo has been the hot spot and we’re having the best fall wahoo fishing in a long time. Several boats this week got 2, 3, 5, and 6 wahoo for the day.

For thos or you still interested in dorado…they’re still here as well. La Paz is the better spot for the dorado. In fact, that’s about the only species on the La Paz side, but there’s a solid bite on 10-20 pound schoolers. If you’re fishing Muertos Bay, there’s more tuna, but if you want dorado, don’t be surprised. Boats are getting dorado mixed in with the tuna. As well, there’s sierra and roosterfish as well.

FIRST PERSON REPORTS

It’s always easier to just let our anglers tell their story. Jim Newman came all the way from the chilly lands of Illinois. This was his second trip this year…

“Tuna were there on day 1, and we fished hard with Victor. We picked up 4 and a couple dorado. We just weren’t on the right spots at the right time (that’s the luck of the draw). Great day on the water. I think Earl and Newitt picked up 8 that first day fishing with Jorge. We stuck Earl and Newitt with Jorge because Newitt doesn’t fare too well in the smaller Pangas. He had a GREAT time in Jorge’s Cadillac Panga.

On day 2, we had a steady pick ALL day. We were prety much hooked up most of the day, and put 13 in the boat. Most of our fish were on my calcutta with 17 lb, and Jeffs spinning rod with 14. He had a blast. He actually landed a 20+ pounder on his rod (lost a bigger one another time). I think I caught three throwing a jig. I love it when I can fish for them. Earl is trying to become proficient with a baitcaster, so he brought one that he bought. It was a stout bass rod with a Bass pro shops bass reel. He landed a 20+ pounder with the thing. I think that was the highlight of his trip. We quit a couple hours early because we had plenty of tuna, and headed in to Muertos bay to see what was there. There were hundreds of Rooters and Jack Crevalle. I caught and landed 6 roosters and 1 jack in no time. Jeff got a bunch too. We released them all because we had enough meat for the day. The fishing in Muertos bay was a blast. Also, you know how hyper Jorge is. Earl gave him a red bull. You should try that some time. Earl said it was like winding him up and letting him go. He cleaned the intire boat while fishing and tending to his 2 clients — comedy!

On day three, we decided to stick with our plan of fishing out of the hotel. Jack told me that the fishing was better on the Las Arenas side, but I figured we could just go out and have some fun (you can only eat so much fish). I hate to troll, but we did it for a while. We picked up a couple dorado and headed for the rocks at Espiritu Santo. I can’t remember our skipper’s name (Alfredo) I never fished with him before, but his younger brother drives Jack’s Panga. He was a really great guy. I told him I’d like to try the rocks, and he said “good idea”. He told me he wanted to try a couple spots that he knew of for the past week or so, but all his clients only wanted to fish dorado. We got on a reef, and I started throwing jigs. I think I got 6 cabrilla, 2 pargo, and a bunch of triggers. I got bit off twice by really big Sierra. The skipper was jigging straight up and down with Jeff’s rod when he hooked something BIG. It headed straight for open water burning line off Jeff’s reel. He handed the rod to Jeff, and started backing down on the fish. It never slowed down, and kept ripping line off faster than the boat could go in reverse. Before the skipper could get the boat turned around to chase it, he spooled the reel. 200+ yards of 17 lb in no more than a minute and a half. Any idea of what it might have been? Anyways, Jeff has a story for life on that one. After a few hours of fishing the island, we headed back out to the dorado, and whacked a few more.

Everyone had a great time. “

This one is from Marilyn Noonan who spent a week with us and her family…

“Great first day fishing with too many tuna, plenty of rooster fish, a few dorado…

Next day brought a wahoo to youngest Noonan, Conor, though Victor or Jorge (I don´t remember which or if it was both) assured us there weren´t any… plus a couple dorado, small roosters. We didn´t want to take any more tuna. (Victor bled our tuna right after capture, which was really nice…but I think we took the wrong ones that were not bled out. Ick says the mom.Waaaaaaaaaaaah.

Next day with Steve Games´captain brought 5 WAHOO! to all the Noonan men, with Conor still leading the pack with the biggest fish, as usual.

Today was dorado day with 17 caught,¨Conor still in the lead with a nice bull. Jorge´s panga was a clear favorite with brothers fighting over who would get to go with him next time. Liked Victor very much…”

That’s my story for the week. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL

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

Mexico Office: 775 Calle Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur,

MexicoPhone: 626-333-3355

Cell: 626-278-1585

Toll Free to U.S. Office : 877-825-8802

E:Mail: riplipboy@aol.com

Web: www.TAILHUNTER-INTERNATIONAL.com

“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: It’s hard to imagine a better wahoo season than we’ve had or one that has lasted so long. Hit the right spot on the right day and you can have the wahoo day or your life! Our amigo, Esteban Romero, doesn’t even fish that much! But, he fished on the right day and got SIX of the big skinnies! The wahoo are running from Cerralvo Island all the way south to the East Cape if you find the right spot. Trolling the bigger dark-colored Rapalas is still the best way to hit them. Forget the bombs. Forget the Marauders. The Rapalas and big lipped crank baits that run deep have been the top ticket all season.

HOW MUCH LONGER CAN IT LAST? TUNA AND DORADO CONTINUE TO ROLL FOR MUERTOS BAY ANGLERS WITH WAHOO STILL WILLING TO CHEW!

LA PAZ – LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR NOV. 18, 2007

PHOTO: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it! Yes, they are playing Christmas carols in the stores and we’re still wacking tuna. Nice yellowfin from 12-30 pounds are still just outside Muertos Bay. Doesn’t get much better than this. Or as simple. Tie on a hook. Put on a bait. Hold the rod! That’s pretty easy!

Well, they’re not exactly JUMPING into the boat, but some days, it feels like that. For almost 3 months now, the yellowfin tuna bite of 2007 has been going on for our fleet fishing out of Las Arenas/ Muertos.

Hard to believe it’s getting into the Christmas season and we’re still plugging bluewater species like the tuna which are so consistently biting just outside the bay and up towards the old Hotel Las Arenas. Then, south almost down to the East Cape . By far, this has been the best tuna bite that I can remember. The fish have not been big, but in sheer numbers, these fish are perfect. Anyone can catch them!

As much as I love the bigger slugger tuna that bust you up, I’d much rather have this grade of football tuna that everyone can have fun with. I’d rather see limits of fish in the boat than stories of anglers fighting tuna for 1, 2 or 3 hours then losing the fish and getting nothing! Don’t think that even these smaller guys can’t fight! If you’ve never fought a tuna, these guys are sheer power and speed. Just a blast on the lighter tackle too!

As well, the dorado are still prowling. Again, not many of the big bulls, but enough 10-20 pound fish to put some color in the fish box and some nice white fillets on the table. I don’t know how long this can go. I’m seeing gradual drops in the water temperature and air temps so this could shut off any day, but as long the winds don’t rip us up consistently, we might have tuna and dorado around for a few more weeks at least! No one is complaining.

On top of it, wahoo are still out there too. Most fish are the 20-40 pound class. We call these “sweet meat” because they’re just THE BEST fish to eat at this size and always a prize when caught. Trollling is still the best way to get hooked up. Inshore, we’re seeing more sierra which is a sure sign that the waters are cooling as well as pompano, jacks and rock fish like pargo, snapper and cabrilla.

FIRST PERSON

The best way is to let someone else tell the story! One of our favorite people is Doug Oclassen from Boulder CO. He was down with his cousin Chas fishing just south of Muertos. Thanks Doug!

Day 1: We are fishing with Ismael. Chas is a tuna virgin. We stop at the bait boat to buy and are bummed to see how small the sardines are. Oh well, we buy anyway. Head out off Punta Pescadero and drop line. Chas gets his line in as I am baiting my hook. Not 30 seconds go buy and Chas gets his tuna cherry popped (sorry)! Can’t wipe the grin off of his face. He is amazed at the strength of a 15lb yellowfin. Chas gets a dorado in the mix. Oh, forgot to tell you we have dinner on the line for the biggest fish. I’ve got an ace up my sleeve that Chas doesn’t know about. I have a little talk with my Grandpa, asking if he can steer a bigger tuna near my line. I promised I wouldn’t need his help after that. BAM! Hook up! I spend 30 minutes on a 25lb missile of muscle, barely beating Chas’ dolphin. We end up with more than 20 yellowfin before we leave to try our luck near the sand for pez gallo. Oh yeah, we kept one for dinner and gave two to Ismael. All others are back in the sea waiting for your clients. Good ol’ Chas lands a 20lb rooster while I struggle to set the hook on another. What a day. If the next two days suck, we’d still have a great trip.

Day 2: Ismael again. Great bait size. Different area, similar results. This time 30+ yellowfin boated. Highlight of the day…Only two pangas are about. We here the big belly guy with no shirt on the other boat shouting about a big dorado. Then he lands a medium tuna. What the f*^k? Ismael isn’t fooled though. He realizes that a big dolphin had followed the tuna in and without saying a word he springs into action. He quickly gets his panga in position on a northern arc about 40 yards off the other boat. I’ll be damned…the big bull hits my line and then grabs Chas’. Great fight and a 30lb bull is landed by Chas. Ismael is one helluva capitan! I get hit and my line screams off about 100 yards, top of the water, due east. Wahoo! Three great and swift runs and I land a 40 pounder, my first. See day 1 (What a day). All but dorado, wahoo and 2 tuna released.

Day 3: Let’s troll all day for marlin. We’ve never caught one. We agree that we may go all day without a strike and we are fine with that. See day 1 and 2. We buy 5 ballyhoo. Sea like glass. Three hours in, Chas and I stand up because something has appeared in the spread. We both realize we are looking at the bill of a marlin. No time to think as the striped nails the green and white Zuker. What a beautiful sight. Aerial dancing. Only 15 minutes of fighting, but felt like I had hooked the statue of liberty. We nursed the fish back to health and sent it on its merry way. All in all, much like your latest column. Ok fight, but give me tuna all day long. Nonetheless, first marlin.

3 days: 50+ yellowfin, 1 rooster, 2 dorado, 1 wahoo, 1 striped marlin, about 5 various nuisance fish. Chas’ first tuna, Doug’s first wahoo and Marlin. WFO.

That’s my story! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355
FAX: (626) 333-0115E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.comU.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.”

PHOTO 1: Craig Corda always wanted a wahoo, but wanting and actually getting one are two different things. However, he finally put the hurt on one this past week with Captain Adolfo running the panga. Wahoo are putting on a great late-season run for our anglers fishing out of Muertos Bay.

LATE SEASON BITE STILL ROLLING WITH TUNA STILL ON THE CHEW AT MUERTOS BAY BUT WAHOO AND DORADO STILL CRUISING THE WATERS TOO!

LA PAZ/ LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR NOV. 11, 2008

PHOTO 2: Here’s Craig again and this time with wife Cathy. Nice rack of yellowfin tuna and one nice yellow snapper. In two days fishing out’ve Muertos they got 11 tuna, 2 dorado, 1 dogtooth and the wahoo. Not too shabby considering winter is supposed to be right around the corner!

PHOTO 3: Here’s out buddy Rico with one toad of a cabrilla. Over the last week or so, big cabrilla came out’ve their holes and ripped into the live bait. Lots of fish never made it up taking the lines right back into the caves and busting guys off, but the ones that were caught were monsters!

PHOTO 4: Tim Farrell of Oceanside CA holds up a nice dorado headed for ceviche. The bulk of dorado seems to have passed, but there’s still some dorado holding in the warmer pockets of water. Most are smaller 10-20 pound fish but somee are also larger bulls willing to chew the baits or hit the lures. Many are just free-swimmers that suddenly show up and surround the boats.

PHOTO 5: Angie Farrell has been on these pages so many times, she needs to pay us agency fees. She always gets fish and she always takes good photos. Here, Captain Ramon (Muncho) looks on while Angie hoists one of the yellowfin she got over several day fishing. The tuna are still hitting the baits, but bring small hooks…like #2 and #1 size live bait hooks because the sardines are really dinky!

PHOTO 6: OK, this was NOT caught off La Paz. This is the 189 pound yellowfin that topped all the entries this past week at the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot. I was there the latter part of this week trying to smile and stay out of everyone’s way. The angler who fought this spent 4 1/2 hours on the fish but it was worth several hundred thousand dollars!

THE FISHING REPORT

I guess it’s not quite over! We still have fish. We just don’t have many anglers! Wow…two weeks ago we had 30-50 anglers a day. Now, like someone switched off a lightbulb, we’re seeing only a few anglers a day.

However, no worries! That just means there’s no pressure on the honey holes and the anglers fishing out’ve Las Arenas/ Muertos continue to hang nice yellowfin tuna between Punta Perrico and the old hotel as well a dorado at the buoys or just slow trolling any of the areas with slabs of bonito or live bait.

Even better…the last week or so has seen one of the best flurries of wahoo we’ve had all season. Dark CD 18 sized Rapalas are the way to go with these fish. One day we’ll get nothing and the next day every boat gets 1-3 hookups!

The seasons are changing, however. Make no mistake. Winds are more prevailant now from the north. In fact, the fishing north out’ve La Paz has pretty much slowed down and we’re concentrating most of our fishing efforst at Muertos Bay. Additionally, we’re seeing more sierra, as well as rock fish such as snapper, pargo and cabrilla now.

FIRST PERSON REPORT

This comes from Cathy Corda…Thanks, amiga!

” What a great time we had, perfect weather and the fishing was awesome.The first day out we looked for Wahoo but no luck so we went for the Tuna’s – hooked 8 tuna and a dog tooth snapper, and my hugh skip jack.

Second day, we went for Dorado hooked up two the minute our bait hit the water – I made my first foul in fishing – I burned my finger, and made a lovely birds nest of my line but our guide fixed it and I got the dorado in. After that we headed to get some Wahoo – my husband wanted one sooo bad, he had never caught one in all of his years of fishing. Well, he got a 35 lb. (maybe bigger) beauty and finally a Wahoo photo to add to his collection. We then were trolling for my Wahoo, and got a double hookup on two nice Tuna – All of this by 9 a.m. The wind started to pick up at around 11 a.m. so we headed back to shore happy campers – our two days of perfect fishing.

While sitting at the Giggling Marlin having a frosty cerveza I noticed that a thresher shark was swimming in the bay as the tide went out and the boats came in it was still out there, it got into about 2 ft. of water I thought it was going to beach its self – he stayed in the bay for the 1 1/2 hrs we waiting for the other boats to come in – it was still there when we left, not sure what happed to it – What an awesome site to see.”

ADIOS FOR A FEW…

After a long long season with zero days off since March and a banner year of non-stop fishing, we’re headed back to the states for a week or two to start getting things ready for the 2008 season; patch up gear; pick up pieces and also get ready for our 2008 trade shows. I am looking forward to a big bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken; an In-N-Out Double Double animal style; and watching a whole weekend of college and NFL football!

Jack and the rest of the staff will take great care of you if you’re coming down! Sorry to miss you!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: http://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.”

PHOTO 1: Mark Cabantuan gets a hand from his fishing partner, Jon Luker, with Mark’s first wahoo. Mark also got his first marlin this week as well. Both anglers are from Santa Maria CA and are here for the 2nd time this year. The wahoo came up violently this week with some of the best wahoo action of the season near South Cerralvo Island.

WAHOO SLAM ANGLERS AT CERRALVO ISLAND WHILE TUNA AND DORADO REFUSE TO END THE SEASON! ONLY PROBLEM IS NOT MANY ANGLERS HERE TO SEE THIS!

PHOTO 2: Larry Mannis from Long Beach CA and Steve “The Hooter Hunter” Marabella from Wilmington CA hold up just a few of their many yellowfin tuna they hammered over 3 days of fishing out of Muertos Bay where the tuna bite continues to rage in the best tuna fishing in years.

PHOTO 3: Pro Bass Fisherman Rob McClean and his amigo, Rico, said they had some of the best fishing of their lives this week. Tuna, dorado and Rico’s big cabrilla were just some of the fish they took. Many of the fish were on light tackle. An ususally great bite of big cabrilla like the one Rico is holding tore into the pangas around Muertos Bay and Punta Perrico during mid week. It was weird. All of a sudden 12 inch cabrilla turned into 20 pount mutants that took many anglers into the rocks!

One side story on Rob and Rico…one day they hooked 4 wahoo fishing with Victor. Every single fish came off. Their last one was several yards from the boat when another panga running by and accidentally cut their line. Adios!

PHOTO 4: Nothing wrong with this dorado being held by Illeana Stevens. She was fishing live bait for tuna and was retrieving a live sardine slowly back to the boat when her rod doubled and she slammed in the hookset erupting with this nice female. Dorado were once again prevailant in many spots from La Paz all the way south and around the islands. They aren’t as big as last year’s run of giant dorado, but anglers targeting dorado are having no trouble finding fish. Some days are better than others but all it takes is one bait in the right spot and the frenzy is on!

PHOTO 5: Colton (“Cojones”) Jones and Stacy “Karaoke” were fishing with us for the first time and got into the tuna big time out of Muertos their one day out. Both are from the South Bay area near Los Angeles. With each progressing week, the tuna seem to get bigger with most fish in the 15-25 pound class and a few larger. Baits are very small so if you’re coming down, bring small #1 and #2 live bait hooks so you don’t stick a big hook through the small baits and killing them. Even so, both dead bait chummed in the current as well as live bait are the hot ticket to the tuna.

PHOTO 6: Scott Smith and John Bilbao had never been to fish in our area before and found the tuna and dorado waiting. This photo was their catch from just the first day! The yellowfin tuna seems to be gradually moving toward the south. The main body of tuna we’re fishing is now about 1 mile south of the mouth of Muertos Bay and perhaps 1/4 mile from the beach.

PHOTO 7 : Bruce Kawaguchi and Shannon Lovering hold up a few of their catches there at Muertos Bay. Bruce has alot of salt water experience, but We had quite a few folks with us this week who had not fished our area before and were surprised at how close the fish were and how uncomplicated it was to catch them. Basically, this is all flylined fishing which means, just put the bait on the hook and put it in the water! No special lures, trolling, weights or colores are needed. Just DON”T drop the rental rod in the water! The fish are in close to shore and in relatively shallow water. It’s not rocket science. I guess if you had a cane pole and a bobber you could do the same thing!

PHOTO 8: Our two Colorado amigas, Deb Pellini and Kathy St. Claire came down with family to fish a day…which turned into two…which turned into three! They sure had alot of fun. Kathy is a gourmet chef at a big resort in Colorado and had alot of tuna and dorado fillets to take home. I think we’ve almost convinced them to move down with us. They went right home and sent in reservations to bring even more family next October! These tuna kept getting bigger. They are currently all 20 pounders with some 30’s and 40’s now and then. Larger fish are getting picked up on the troll outside the channel.

PHOTO 9: Everytime I looked over at John and Barbara Waddell in their panga they were laughing. Most of the time, Barbara was bent…big time as she got fish after fish. Two of my favorite folks from the last week or so, they live in Calistoga CA . Usually fishing on the La Paz side produces the most dorado, but for the last two weeks, there’s been no shortage of dorado for our Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay anglers. If you want dorado, you can usually find dorado. The nice thing is the variety that’s also available. Tuna, sailfish, marlin, jacks, roosters and cabrilla have also been in the mix.

PHOTO 1: Over these, many seasons, some of the best photos, some of the best catches, some of the best times have come from these two guys. Mitch Chavira and and Charlie “Stix” McGee both from Encinitas CA. Usually, they are with Mitch’s son, Cole, who lately has a habit of outfishing both of them, but this past week, the two amigos came solo and slammed big dorado and tuna. Both guys have caught just about every fish in the area except the elusive wahoo. Well, this past week, Charlie got his north of Cerralvo Island. Mitch will have to wait! Check out Bob Marley looking at the catch!

EARLY WEEK HIGH WINDS KICK IT UP BUT THE HOT BITE FOR TUNA AND DORADO CONTINUES TO RIP FOR MUERTOS BAY ANGLERS!

The La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Oct. 27, 2008

PHOTO 2: Landon Frazier is ust 10-years-old from northern CA, just about outfished dad and the rest of the group this week with some of the biggest fish almost daily. He had never done this before, but over 3 days he now has “the bug!” Here he’s standing on the beach at Muertos Bay holding his biggest bull dorado. Along with the tuna bite we’ve had for over a month, dorado have now moved in with some fairly significant numbers with most fish running 10-30 pounds.

PHOTO 3: I know, I have Mitch’s photo above with the wahoo, this is such a well-taken photo, I just had to put it in the report. Mitch is a regular poster boy. For our La Paz boats, it was literally impossible to fish early in the week with the strong winds, but as the winds abated, the dorado bite came back nicely with fish back at the SE end of Espiritu Santo Island.

PHOTO 4: This is how a day SHOULD be…all smiles and bent rods! That’s Sergio up at the bow and Bob amidships both with tuna at the ends of their lines. They are fishing just yards offshore at San Juan near Muertos Bay. They had limits of tuna in a short time! It’s not rocket science. The tuna have grown larger up to about 20-25 pounds and are just around the corner from where we launch the boats. Basically, if you pin a sardine on the hook, toss it overboard and wait to get bit! Easy!

PHOTO 5: Ray and Otha show off a few of their nice yellowfin tuna on the beach. This is a nicer grade of football tuna. Undoubtedly, this is the best tuna bite we’ve had in years with a tuna bite ongoing now since about August but seeming getting better and better!

PHOTO 6: Derick Tagawa, Mark Kojima and Randy Nakayama pose here with favorite captain Adolfo “Yofo” next to a nice day of fishing. Lots of talk of sashime on the beach! They had two days like this and came back early to the beach each day plugged.

PHOTO 7: One of our long-time best amigos, Roland “Wink” Winkler made it back to see us after many years. Wink is in the middle flanked by Sergio and Bob. Wink’s never lets his wheelchair get in the way of a good day fishing and is one of the most fanatic of fishermen. He fished until his “arms were tired.”

PHOTO 8: Like I said, the tuna are getting bigger. Some qualify as something a bit more than “football” status. Duffy Shropshire holds up one of the larger sluggers from this week. These fish are literally minutes or yards in front of the beach. Live or dead bait does the trick. Baits are really small so if you’re coming down, small hooks are preferred. This week, I was using #1 and even #2 size live bait hooks. The only problem was when dorado came plowing through, the small hooks sometimes didn’t set well in the dorado’s mouth and we lost a few fish!

PHOTO 9: Scott Torney came down with mom, Virginia and dad, Jack long enough to squeeze in a day of fishing and shows off this nice bull dorado. We never really got the huge bulls we got last season, but there’s not shortage of mahi either! I’d say the average bull right now is about 20 pounds.

PHOTO: 10: Captain Jorge stands here with our Alaska amigo, Rod Brown, who makes the pilgrimage each year from Wrangell, AK! According to Rod, he and his brother Jeff had one of their best trips ever with more tuna and dorado than they knew what to do with so they were really popular with captains, and everyone else giving away much of their fish.

PHOTOS 11 and 12: Marty Johnson of Atascadero CA has been on these pages many times as well as the other publications that I write for. He’s one of the most enthusiastic fishermen you will ever see. Marty can fish with the best of ’em even though he hasn’t been fishing many years. He took one day off this past week to use his flyrod and fish inshore in La Paz Bay. This is just a sample of what he did with his flyrod and spinning rod. It was literally a fish a cast…sometimes more as one fish would spit the fly and another would quickly grab it up. Marty described it as one of his best fishing days ever. Originally he thought the fish he is holding was a snook. However, when we checked, it’s a rare weakfish, a species that is rarely caught. In the rack of fish in the photo below, you will see weakfish, barracuda, triggers, jacks and sierra.

THE FISHING REPORT

I guess I could just let the photos above do the talking. We sent alot of amigos home this week with stuffed ice chests! The week didn’t start like that. Those winds that hammered S.California also had an effect on us as well.

Heck…talk about winds…for those of you who have visited us in the past imagine waves big enough to surf on in La Paz Bay! Coming from the north, the waves were large enough to get the malecon (waterfront road in town) pretty wet! Obviously, we weren’t going to send anyone out in that junk.

So, we moved all our La Paz folks to fish with our guys who were already reserved t fish out’ve Muertos Bay. As you can see from the photos, it was a pretty good move. No one lost any days of fishing and not only did the fish cooperate, but on most days they exploded! Some days boats were back on the beach with anglers too tired or too plugged with fish to continue on.

The tuna bite is the mainstay, but the fish are getting a few pound larger every week. I put a few on the scale this week that went 25-32 pounds which is a nice grade of yellowfin…hardly a monter, but hardly a football either and strong enough and stubborn enough to make for a great drag screaming fight! I had alot of guys on light tackle this week who reported worrying about getting spooled on the smaller equipment! The tuna are inching their way south to an area near and in front of the friut loop house on the hill outside of Muertos to just outside the mouth of the bay.

Sometimes, it’s one-stop shopping. As you fish the tuna, here come the dorado! Good numbers of dorado are now mixing it up with the tuna also! In fact, if you only wanted to pull on dorado and nix the tuna that is entirely possible right now. The dorado aren’t huge either, but a 20-30 pound bull can put the hurt on just about anyone!

If you’re coming down, bring small live bait hooks as smal, as a #1 or #2. The sardines are eenie-meenie! They still work great, but if your hook is too big, you’ll impale your bait and kill it before it has a chance to get eaten!

Also, bring flurocarbon leader…25 and 30 pound fluro is about right!

As for other species, they’re here too. Just no one is fishing for them. I’m writing this from the Giggling Marlin Restaurant at Muertos Bay waiting for our boats to come back and as I look down on the waters only about 20 yards from my table, 30 pound roosterfish are crushing and tormenting a school of sardines. As well, we’ve had marlin, sailfish and wahoo hookups this week.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International La Paz

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.”

PHOTO 1: Wahoo showed up again this past week. Quite a few bites. Some got to the boat and were lost. Others were fought and lost. This is one 50 pound class ‘Hoo that didn’t get away! Our amigo, Gama “King” Flores from California was fishing in the tuna schools off Punta Perrico. He wasn’t even fishing for wahoo. He had a live sardine on the hook. No wire! This big skinny bit his 30 pound string and the fight was on! Gama won. Other fish this week hit black and purple CD 18 size Rapalas as well as a few of the dark Marauders.

MUERTOS BAY AND SOUTH CERRALVO EXPLODE WITH TUNA AND DORADO AS THE GREAT FALL BITE OF 2007 CONTINUES!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Oct. 20, 2007

PHOTO 2: Shane Vroman was here in May and was all over the big roosterfish. He came back this week and spanked the dorado and tuna. Shown here with some of the fish he and his amigo, Mike Berkowitch caught at Muertos Bay. The waters have been teeming with fish now for several weeks and no idea how long it will last, but bait has been close, then within minutes you could be in the middle of foaming fish. Shane and Mike said that several times they were in thick schools of tuna and dorado.

PHOTO 3: We had a bunch of great folks from Utah this past week. Dr. Bob Gray on the left stands on the beach with some of his yellowfin tuna. On the far side is his daughter, 22-year-old Tiffany Gray on her first salt water fishing trip. Steve Davis is next to her and Grant Glather is next to Dr. Bob. There was no shortage of tuna with most fish in the “football” category of 10 to 20 pounds, but just alot of fun to catch as fish were often coming out of the water and boiling around the boats.

PHOTO 4: Unlike previous weeks when Muertos Bay and Las Arenas were almost 90 percent yellowfin tuna, more dorado were taken like this nice bull held up by Tiffany Gray who came with her dad and amigos from Utah and Alaska. It was almost one-stop shopping some days. If you went to one spot, it was non-stop tuna. When you had your fill you simply moved the panga and caught dorado or roosterfish or went hunting for wahoo or billfish.

PHOTO 5: Santiago (“My friends call me Jim”) Garcia from Orange Co., California is given an assist from popular Captain Manuel Archangel. Santiago sent two day fishing for tuna and two days chasing only dorado and were not disappointed. Most of the doroad were in the 10-20 pound class like the tuna, but great fighters. However, there were larger bulls seen and lost. With everyone concentrating on the tuna, often the buoys…popular dorado hangouts were unmolested by boat traffic and were just waiting for someone to throw a bait in the water.

PHOTO 6: Dr. Blaine Austin from Utah is one of our frequent amigos and always does well. He was another of our Utah friends who came to visit this past week. He fished La Paz one windy day and then fished Las Arenas/Muertos with his daughter Jan and Sara where they had a banner time on the tuna and came in early.

PHOTO 7: Dave “Poolman” Baker from Huntington Beach CA (The O.C.), stuff an ice chest or two with his fish fillets after spending 4 days hammering the fish at Muertos Bay with Captain Victor. One day as he was on his way in, only minutes from the beach, this nice dorado whacked his line and was taken. The fish is so fresh, check out the incredible blue colors on it’s flank that were still shimmering.

PHOTO 8 – It’s a long way from Canada to Baja, Mexico, but Andrew Fitzel made the trek to find out what it’s like to fish in shorts and a t-shirt! Weather this week was perfect with daytime temps in the low to mid-90’s with very little humidity and water temps right about 85!

PHOTO 9; Callie Petersen has been visiting us since our earliet days here. She and her husband, Bruce, have been good friends of Tailhunter for many years. They used to live in Orange Co. California but now own a big spread in S. Dakota (or is it North Dakota?). Callie always does well with her fishing holding up a big-time bull dorado she got that blew up a sardine next to the boat.

PHOTO 10: As the week went on some of the tuna got a bit bigger, but size didn’t matter to some anglers. One of the neatest guys you will encounter, Roger Kunz, on the left is a good as they come. A Korean War Vet, he came with his cane and an attitude that he was gonna go out and hang fish like everyone else. What a gamer! Here, his nephew Marlon Kunz, gives a hand in holding up a nice grade yellowfin tuna. By the end of the week, some 30 and 40 pound fish were showing up.
PHOTO 11: You’ve been waiting for them! Yes, the big squid showed up this week briefly and it remains to be seen if this is going to be the start of a run! Several of the hug squigglies were hung and they were big ranging from 50-70 pounds! This one is being held by Santa Barbara resident Mark Trafelski.

PHOTO 12: We had friends from all over this week. Jeff Brown has fished with us before and its always a pleasure havng this amigo from chilly Minnesota come see us and have hm enjoy the sun. Here with Captain Marcos from our La Paz fleet, Jeff holds up several dorado. The fishing on the La Paz side was largely dependent on how strong the north winds were blowing, but the smaller dorado seem to be moving out and larger dorado coming in stronger.

PHOTO 13: Self-explanatory!

THE FISH REPORT

What another incredible week of fishing, especially for our anglers that fished out of Muertos Bay/ Las Arenas. Undoubtedly, this is a late season bite to remember!

It has been ages since I have seen tuna fishing like this around here. Talk about “fishy waters!” I think there must be a line of tuna and other species stretching from the channel between Cerralvo Island past the Arenas lighthouse; over to Muertos Bay then down to Los Frailes on the lower East Cape because the area is just plugged with fish.

The cool thing is that some of these gamefish are literally only casting distance from shore. Imagine going out 100 yards fronm the beach and tuna are coming out’ve the water for the chummed baits! Imagine motoring 5 minutes off the beach and finding yourself in the middle of a school of hungry dorado that are slashing each other trying to get anything thrown in the water!

That’s the way it has been the last few weeks and this past week, it only seemed to get better!

In addition to the packs of football tuna, dorado started moving in as well as sailfish and marlin. You never had to go far or you could literally pick a species then when you were tired go find something else to catch.

This isn’t rocket science either. Take your rod. Get a hook. Put a bait on it. Put it in the water. BOOM! You’re on. Just don’t drop the rod in the water like several guys did this week.

Fish are numerous, but not really really big, but nonetheless if you’re on light tackle can mean hours of mayhem. However, as the week progressed, the tuna started to eat steroids or something. The ten pounders turned to 25’s and 30’s. Same with the dorado. The larger bulls were getting hooked.

Several of our guys fought sailfish on light tackle and got beat up. When the sails came around again, they pulled their baits out’ve the water and were having one of that!

Quite a few or our anglers would get limits of fish so fast this past week that the biggest issue becaue what to do with the rest of the day. Many came right up onto the beaches where the roosterfish have again shown up and offered some great light tackle site fishing where you could see the big dorsal fins slash the surface.

Lastly, looks like the big sqiud have finally shown up! I don’t know how long they will be here, but if you are coming down you might want to pack one of those big heavy squid jigs in your pack. The squid were 50-70 pounds.

For those of our anglers who fished La Paz, it was good. Not great, but good. Some days there were problems with bait but the biggest issue was the north winds making things choppy and uncomfortable. The seasons are changing and no way to tell if we’ll be in winter mode fishing soon. Dorado were the mainstay and how you did depended on whether you found the school or not in the chop. If you found the school it could be crazy. If not, then you dinked for 3-5 dorad per day. But…the nice thing was that the mahi are growing bigger so more larger fish hit the fish boxes!

Looks like another nice week on the way!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International La Paz

Website: http://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.”