Tailhunter Fish Report

PHOTO 1: Verda Boyd from the Bay Area of San Francisco had a nice few days of fishing with her husband and fellow Sherriff’s officer, Tim Zimmer. They got tuna, dorado, sierra and alot of skippies and bonito as well. Things are definitely tapering down. Getting cooler and windier as we move into our winter mode.

PHOTO 2 : Randy Lyons holds up our bread and butter fish right now. These speedy toothy sierra are abundant and great fighters and you can hook dozens of these a day if you get into the right spot. They are also very delicious. Might now taste so good with bread and butter, but with lime, salt and garlic they are outstanding table fare!

NOT MANY ANGLERS AROUND AND WINDS DON’T HELP ALTHOUGH SIERRA BITE AND EVEN A FEW DORADO STILL CRUISING THE WATERS!

SAFE AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Before we hit the fishing report, we just wanted to make sure we pass onto all of you, clients or not, anglers or not…the very best for a safe and happy Christmas. We are blessed, privileged and honored to be able to do what we do and then pass on our experiences and enthusiasm to all or of you who visit us in La Paz or vicariously join in the fun by reading our reports each week and all my ramblings. The best part of this job is that so many of our clients and readers become friends. We’ve been at it here in La Paz now since 1996 and I think in that time, I’ve missed only a handful of these weekly reports. Glad you’re reading. Hope you’re enjoying.

Peace and Happiness to you now and always from the Tailhunter Family to yours!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Dec. 23, 2007

Well, we’re in the lull before Christmas and seriously…all is calm…except for the wind which happens to be shredding at the moment. Been that way the last few days. Even scuba diving…where you get wet anyway…has been tough to do.

Not many anglers to speak of but we did put out a few boats this week. Everyone fished out’ve Muertos Bay where we could keep everyone close to shore and where we know there’s still fish.

Nice mix of inshore fish. Of course, the sierra were study on the chew and if you put in enough time and devoted the day to them, you could fill a box with the toothy speedsters. However, there’s obviously still some warm water around too as we put a few dorado in the boats as well. No way to know if tuna are about as we couldn’t get over to the south island because of the wind. It’s not that it’s far, but it’s a rough ride out there if the winds are shooting from the south. As well, inshore cabrilla and snapper were also in the counts.

WHALES ARE COMING!

The California grey whales are on their way. From January to March we run day-long trips out to Bahia Magdalena. February is the prime time as the big creatures come to the warm calm waters of the bay to mate, give birth and spend the winter. It’s an incredible experience for the family. Let us know if you’d like us to set up a trip for you including transportation, hotels and whale watching (couple it with some fishing too!). We’re taking reservations now!

2008 SHOW SEASON

Tailhunter International is coming to your town! Hope to see you. Alot of you have been asking for our show schedule for the 2008 fishing and outdoor shows. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing you!

January 10-13 International Sportsman’s Show/ San Mateo Expo Center

January 17-20 International Sportsmans’ Show / Sacramento Cal State Fairgrounds

January 24 – 27 Internanional Sportsman’s Show / Denver Convention Center

February 6-10 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Expo/ Portland OR

February 21-24 Evergreen Sportsman’s Expo/ Monroe WA March 5-9 Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show / Long Beach CA

March 13-16 International Sportsman’s Show / Salt Lake City UT

We will have 10 free tickets for San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver and Salt Lake City shows to give away a week before the show. We’ll keep you posted on the giveaway.

That’s my story! Felices Fiestas, Amigos!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, 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 : CHP Office Randy Lyons from Elk Grove CA makes two trips a year to La Paz. One in the summer and one in the winter. He never envisioned the type of fishing he had this week. Squeezing in a two days of fishing in between wind and rain, he ripped the fish population. Here he holds up two nice yellowfin tuna he got at the south end of Cerralvo Island. According to Randy, “They were boiling all over!”

IN BETWEEN WEIRD WEATHER THE FISH ANXIOUS TO BITE WITH TUNA, DORADO, SIERRA, PARGO CENTER COURTS!

LA PAZ / LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DEC. 16, 2007

PHOTO 2: Hard to believe this is December fishing. Stacks of tuna with a few dorado mark the catch of the day for Randy Lyons here with our Captain Adolfo. Randy had two days of this and finally pulled away with bites still going off!

THE FISHING REPORT

Hard to believe it’s December until you come down here. For the most part the whole week we were walking around in long pants and jackets. It was COLD! It even rained all Monday pretty hard. But, what’s up with the fishing?

In between the weather bumps, we got clients out to Muertos Bay and kept them on the lee side of things even as northern winds whipped up the surrounding waters. Go figure! It’s December and we slammed the fish! Yellowfin tuna were thick and hungry. Limits in the box with fish foaming around the pangas! Dorado shooting through the boils. Sierra along the shores tearing up the light tackle and pargo…yes, PARGO…already in as well. One of our captains got 6 of the big red guys losing as many to the rocks.

Hard to figure what’s up, but no one is complaining. In fact, the problem has been worrying if the ice chests headed home stuffed with fillets will be too heavy for the planes! They’re going back stuffed.

All of this is, of course, dependent on the weather. I kid you not, it was freezing for us. The winds blew. Early in the week, it rained…HARD! I felt bad for the folks that came down expecting to lie on the beach all day…but it’s WINTER!

Just glad the fishing held out. I don’t know how much longer we can continue catching these warm water fish, but we’ll keep you posted.

WHALES ARE COMING!


The California grey whales are on their way. From January to March we run day-long trips out to Bahia Magdalena. February is the prime time as the big creatures come to the warm calm waters of the bay to mate, give birth and spend the winter. It’s an incredible experience for the family. Let us know if you’d like us to set up a trip for you including transportation, hotels and whale watching (couple it with some fishing too!). We’re taking reservations now!

2008 SHOW SEASON

Tailhunter International is coming to your town! Hope to see you. Alot of you have been asking for our show schedule for the 2008 fishing and outdoor shows. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing you!

January 10-13 International Sportsman’s Show/ San Mateo Expo Center

January 17-20 International Sportsmans’ Show / Sacramento Cal State Fairgrounds

January 24 – 27 Internanional Sportsman’s Show / Denver Convention Center

February 6-10 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Expo/ Portland OR

February 21-24 Evergreen Sportsman’s Expo/ Monroe WA

March 5-9 Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show / Long Beach CA

March 13-16 International Sportsman’s Show / Salt Lake City UT

We will have 10 free tickets for San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver and Salt Lake City shows to give away a week before the show. We’ll keep you posted on the giveaway.

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, 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: 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.