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Posts Tagged ‘La Ventana’

February 2013 day 1 copy-proc

Crazy good yellowtail fishing this week…the best of the year. Brian O’Niel and Leif Dover came out to fish with us from Atlanta GA and timed a week’s worth of fishing just right hammering 6 ‘tails and losing 2 on their first day out…just as the bite started!

Yellowtail mucho tags 2-13

The yellowtail went off at Cerralvo Island and even the guys from La Ventana and El Sargento got into the big chew. (Thanks fot Hawk for the great photo!)

yellowtail darrell rogers 2-13

Recently retired Darrell George kicked off the “easy life” the right way coming out to fish with us from New Mexico with his dad and they also got into the big yellowtail bite with fish up to the 40 pound class off Cerralvo Island.

yellowtail joel zarmati tags 2-13

Check out this fat forktail hefted by Joel Zarmati who stuck this thick fish in the early morning bite off Cerralvo Island late in the week. (Thanks for the photo, Roger!)

Leif 32 pound yellowtail tags 2-13

This is what you call a “mossback” yellowtail…thick fish with the dark back! Big smiles and a heavy gaff from Leif as he sticks the fish. That’s Cerralvo Island in the background.

Roger striped marlin tags 2-13

Roger Thompson is one of those guys who has great ju-ju when he fishes! We normally don’t see billfish until the spring, but both striped marlin and sailfish are already in the area and already eating! Several of our fishermen took several this week. Roger was out for yellowtail when he stuck this nice striper. They were unable to let it go and cooked it up for everyone!

Brian sabiki yellowtail-proc tags 3-13

Brian did this yellowtail the hard way! He was using a sabiki rig (light tackle multi-hook rig used to catch bait) to catch mackerel to fish for yellowtail when this nice yellowtail crashed the rig and left Brian gingerly trying to get the fish back to the boat ! He and the fish went at it for more than 1/2 and hour before he put the fish on the gaff! Good job, Brian!

Gary Morris and Graham yellowtail tags 2-13

Gary Morris and his buddy, Graham live in El Sargento/ La Ventana and they took a day and got into the yellowtail bite too! Great eating!

Taylor JR JR Tim 2-13

Tailhunter heads to the Boise Sportsmens Show this week, but we wanted to thank everyone who came to chat at the booth including our best amigos, Tim and Taylor Torres who drove in from Las Vegas to see us! Tim and I used to be neighbors and hadn’t seen each other in about 25 years! They’re going to be coming to fish with us in La Paz! We signed up alot of new folks who’re coming to visit us in La Paz in 2013. Great show and a great time in Phoenix!

BIG YELLOWTAIL PLUS MARLIN AND SAILS BLOW UP AROUND CERRALVO ISLAND!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week for Feb. 17-24, 2013

Probably the best fishing week of the season!

It was pretty much wide open fishing around Cerralvo Island…at least for a few days…then it shut off for a few days…then went crazy wide open again later in the week!

Again, the winds…or lack of them…were the key!  In the best yellowtail bite of the season, 20-40 pound fish ripped into pretty much everything that hit the water…live mackerel…dead mackerel…jigs and lures!  Our own pangas fishing from Bahia de Los Muertos as well as pangas from La Ventana and El Sargento pulled up with commerciall pangas and private boats to jump on the bite.

One of our anglers said, “We got 6 yellowtail ranging from about high 20’s up to one at 38 pounds, we’ve basically filled 2 coolers already!  Got 3 bonito and lost 2 more yellowtails today too, but not too bad a day.  Wind was medium out of east in the morning and then switched to north and horrible by about 11 (in the morning) , got pretty rough on the ride from Cerralvo over to Las Suenos.”

“Can’t wait for tomorrow, these suckers are back breakers but fun as hell!”, he added.

The key was to get there early and get the live mackerel before too many boats got on the spots or the winds started to pick up.  If you had the live “candy bait” mackerel, it was instant bendo.  But, even if you had the dead bait, the big fork tails would jump the hooks.  We had some guys even get bit while they were using their sabikis to catch mackerel!  (See the photos of Brian O’Neil above!)  These were solid stocky fish and about 30 percent of the fish were lost.

Roger Thompson told us this, “We were late getting there yesterday and we missed the bait bite. Only had 3 live baits and  Captain Hugo got 5 dead baits from one his buddies. I hooked 4 on iron (lures)  and boated 2. Donna caught 1 on on live bait and 1 on dead. My friend Joel caught 2 on dead bait.  I couldn’t believe these fish were eating dead mackerel! “

However, in addition to the mackerel, surprisingly no one told the billfish that it’s winter!  We had one of the nicest bites of sailfish and striped marlin that we’ve seen in quite awhile!   Even for prime time…and this isn’t “prime time”… but no one told the billfish.  We had one panga hook 6 stripers in one day catching and releasing 2 and losing 4 others.  Some of the other pangas were also hooking them in several areas all around Cerralvo Island and even more surprising, there was a big school of billfish right off Punta Perico which is about 100 yards from the beach and about 3 minutes from where we launch our pangas!

More from Roger, “…I saw a fin on the water as we headed over to the island and thought is was a manta but only saw one fin. As we got closer it was moving, so we tossed a live mackerel at it with one of my 50-pound yellowtail setups. This marlin was hungry! He slammed the bait and an hour later we snapped the photo (see above) . He had a bad line cut on his eye and Hugo was salivating so we kept this one. Donna and I keep one marlin per year. It’s been 2 years since we took one…… Do you know how good fresh barbequed marlin is?? WOW!!”

If you couldn’t get the mackerel, sardines were blowing up the dorado (they didn’t hear that it was winter either!) as well as pargo, sierra and cabrilla.

Later in the week, the winds came up again and the bite quieted somewhat, but then this past weekend hit and the winds went flat.  Sure enough, the yellowtail came up for the chew and blew up again!  We’ve not had a yellowtail week like this in a long time!

TAILHUNTER TOUR HEADING TO BOISE IDAHO

We just wrapped up maybe the best show of the marketing season with 4 days in Phoenix at the International Sportsmens Expo.  Thanks to everyone who came by to say hi and all the new amigos we met!  We now move back north to one of the prettiest cities on our tour and take the booth to Boise, Idaho at the Idaho Sportsmens Show.  We’ll be there from Feb. 28th to March 3rd (Thursday to Sunday).  Come see us and let’s talk about your next La Paz fishing trip.  Here’s more information:  http://www.idahosportsmanshow.com/

2013 CABIN FEVER CLASSIC

Our 2013 Cabin Fever Classic dates have finally been set.  We’re going to hold it April 10-15th and it’s our 10th annual trip and the only one that Jill and I personally escort.  Lodging at La Concha Beach Resort… 3 days fishing…1 day island snorkel tour and picnic…Always lots of fun.  No guarantee that we’ll catch any fish, but we surely have fun.  Climb outta your cabin and come put your toes in the sand and fill your hand with a fishing rod and a cold one and lots of laughs!  Spots are limited.  Here’s the official details:

DATES:  April 10-15

LODGING:  La Concha Beach Resort in ocean facing rooms for 5 nights

FISHING:  3 days (tentatively 2 days Las Arenas and 1 day La Paz)

SNORKEL/ DIVING Island day (so popular last year we’re bringing it back): 1 day probably after 2 days fishing

FOOD:  We’ll do the buffet at La Concha and we’ll do a taco feed at Tailhunters (if everyone wants) .  April 12th is Jill’s birthday so we’ll have live music that night too!  Beyond that, we’ll go out every night and whoever wants to go is welcome!

Cost:  $1175 each double occupancy

For more details e-mail us at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

Have a great week!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

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jorge dorado tags

In a surprise bite considering it’s winter, we’re still pulling in dorado! Captain Jorge holds up the kind of “warm” water fish we’re getting out of Las Arenas with fish between 10 and 20 pounds! Either we’ve still got warm water left over from last season or perhaps…water is warming faster than we think and the warm water fish are already moving in? Hard to know, but no on is too upset with these great fish!



yellowtail burns tags

More our style for this time of year…cooler water fish like Rob’s nice fat yellowtail taken out of Bahia de Los Muertos…in between strong winter winds! When the wind lies down, we’re getting fish!

whaleswdennis 407

February is still prime time for our grey whale tours at Bahia Magdalena. The whales will start moving out generally in March. Don’t miss the opportunity for this great experience to get close to these incredible animals in the shallow calm waters of Baja. Ask us about trips!

Miss Ellie

Tailhunter is now leaving Yakima WA and headed to Glendale (Phoenix) Arizona for the next hunting and fishing show. We had a great time in Yakima and will be at the International Sportsmens Expo at the Phoenix University Football Stadium where the NFL Cardinals play from Thursday to Sunday. Come say hi and talk about your next La Paz fishing adventure and check out our new t-shirts like the one being modeled by our young amiga, Ellie and Jilly! Hope to see you this week!

DORADO SURPRISE ANGLERS IN WINTER BITE

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 10-17, 2013

Early week seasonal winds continued to plague the fishing, but just as well that we really didn’t have anyone wanting to go fishing, but it wouldn’t have been good anyway.  But, later in the week, we did get out and the winds cooperated.  It’s the northern winds that really give us the most problem making it difficult to fish as well as get bait.

However, crazily when we got out fishing we got some nice variety.  I say “crazily” because it’s winter and we’re catching dorado…normally warmer water fish that we don’t see until maybe April or May.  Not only did we get dorado, but some of them were really respectable-sized fish in the 10-20 pound class.  Surprisingly, these fish were in the same spots as the cooler water fish, specifically, pargo and yellowtail…fish that we normally catch this time of year…colder water fish.  This leads me to believe that there’s some crazy thermoclines right now with surface water temperatures much warmer than below the surface.  But…hey…no one is complaining!  A winter fishing day that ends up with dorado, pargo, sierra and yellowtail is a banner day no matter where and when you’re fishing!

Winds should be better this week and we’ve got folks fishing all week so we’ll hopefully have a better handle on what’s out there!

TAILHUNTER TOUR 2013

By the time you’re reading this, we’ll be on our way from Yakima WA to Phoenix AZ.  Long drive!  But we’re just wrapping up our 5th show of the season at the Central Washington Sportsmens Show in Yakima where we had a great time meeting all kinds of new amigos and now headed to the International Sportsmen’s Show in Phoenix at the University of Phoenix Stadium…the football stadium where the NFL Cardinals play.  It’s a great venue and we always have a blast.  The show starts Thursday and we’ll be in the booth through Sunday. (Feb. 21-24)  Here’s more information:  http://www.sportsexpos.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewlocation&locationnumber=6

Come see us and let’s set up your 2013 La Paz fishing trip!  See you this week!

That’s our story

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

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Hawk Yellowtai 1-proc

Our good friend, “Hawk” Davis, was able to sqeeze out some days on the fishing grounds in between wind to get in on the yellowtail bite we got this week!

whaleswdennis 410-proc

Whale watching in Bahia Magdalena is going on full-swing right now in the bay’s shallow warm waters where the grey whales spend the winter. It’s a great experience and we’ll be running trips through March! Ask us!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We just finished our 4th Tailhunter Show of the season at the Portland Expo Center for a great show where thouands of folks showed up for one of the largest fishing and hunting shows on the west coast! We talked to hundreds of folks each day and got great visits from so many local friends like Amy and Belmond Mann who brought the family to say hi to us! This week we head to the Yakima Sun Dome in Yakima WA for the 24th Annual Central Washington Sportsmans Show from Feb. 15-17th. Come say hi and talk to us about your 2013 La Paz fishing trip!

YELLOWTAIL HIGHLIGHT WEEK OF FISHING

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 3-10, 2013

Late week, winds finally settled down enough to make it comfortable to fish.  Earlier during the week, seasonal winds made it just too crazy for us to really put folks out on the water.  Many folks this time of year, aren’t hardcore anglers and are often folks just in town looking for a day on the water so it’s often best just to just keep an eye on the weather so that we can put them out when it’s calmest and they can enjoy themselves and get some action.  Honest, though, it it weren’t for the winds, it’s really pretty nice in La Paz with daytime temps in the mid-70’s and being in town is really enjoyable right now.  Oh, and carnaval started this week too so town is hopping and it goes on through next week!

Anyway, time on the water was productive with a nice variety of fish and some solid action.

The appearance of yellowtail again was the most welcome part of the bite.  These were some nice fish that ran 15-35 pounds!  Real slugger toads with maybe even some larger fish breaking off as they often head right back to structure and the rocks.  As I mentioned, many folks aren’t big time anglers, and when some of these freight trains hit, you don’t get a second chance to figure out what to do or make mistakes.

This is the same for the larger cabrilla as well as the pargo.  First thing they want to do is head for home in the rocks and that’s often not very deep.  So, there’s not much margin for error.  When a huge pargo, hits if you’re still fiddling with which way on the fishing rod is up, you’re toast!  I mean, that’s part of the fun.  But, it’s not like a tuna or dorado which might have a hundred feet or so of water beneath it to run or wants to rip off 300 yards of line on the uptake.  Yellowtail, pargo, cabrilla and other “rock fish” can often be in water that’s only 10 feet deep and dotted with reef and rocks!  So any hesitation and the fish simply busts you off!

So, often counts would be better except that fish are getting lost.

That being said, we did get some nice yellowtail mixed with smaller cabrilla, pargo, sierra along the beaches and good numbers of bonito which provide great action.

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

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Rack sierra dorado cabrilla

Typical catch this week mixing some great-eating / good action species including, sierra, cabrilla (seabass) and small to mid-sized dorado while fishing out’ve Bahia de Los Muertos.

cabrilla matt lewis tag 12-11

Matt shows off a good-sized cabrilla of the type we were catching this week. Great close inshore fishing for these right now plus one of the tastiest eating fish in our area!

NO TROPHY FISH BUT MIXED ACTION KEPT RODS BENT BETWEEN WINDS

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of  Jan. 27 to Feb. 3, 2013

It was a mixed week of fishing both for the weather and the catch.  Early in the week, we were into dorado and yellowtail fishing as we launched our pangas from Bahia de Los Muertos.  Nothing spectacular, but decent catches with lots of action if you add in the bonito, smaller pargo and cabrilla that were released.   Almost all live-bait fishing.

Then, the winds came up mid-week.  Fortunately, we didn’t have fisher-folks mid-week.

Winds started to diminish about Thursday so we had pangas out every day through the weekend with decent success.  I was surprised by the number of dorado we’re still catching even tho’ it’s winter.  Nothing big, but tasty fun-sized school fish between 10- and 15 pounds are lots of fun and great for many of our winter anglers who aren’t hard-core fisher folks and really are in town just to get some sunshine and have some fun on the water.  As well, we did get into yellowtail, but they were the smaller models no more than 10 pounders plus cabrilla (many ended up at our Tailhunter Restaurant for dinner!) and smaller pargo.  Plus some decent numbers of sierra.  Add that to the bonito and other assorted species and it made for some OK action and fun days on the water although nothing spectacular in terms of size.

A couple of forays were made to the island to see if we could raise wahoo, but no biters.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

“NEEDLEFISH MADNESS”

I filmed this back in November, but only now had time to edit it together.  Any of you that have fished with us or in Baja know that needlefish are voracious pests.  They rip our lines and tear up our baits!  I’ve always wanted to see what it looked like when a school of them descend on a panga!  I thought you might like to see it as well.  Check out the size of this school!  This is what you can’t see underwater when you’re fishing!  These are 3′-4′ long needlefish.  Check out how they hit the sardines when the sardines get tossed in the water!

TAILHUNTER IS IN PORTLAND THIS WEEK!

We continue our swing through the great Pacific Northwest with one of our favorite stops!  Jill and I will  bring the Tailhunter Booth to the  Pacific NW Sportsmens Show at the Portland Expo Center (in Portland…of course!).  Show starts Wednesday and goes through Sunday.  Come by. Say hi.  Check out the new Tailhunter T-shirt designs and come talk to us about your 2013 La Paz Fishing trips!  For more info click this link:  http://www.thesportshows.com/pnwss/

Jilly is set up and ready to go.  See you in Portland, Oregon this week!

Jilly is set up and ready to go. See you in Portland, Oregon this week!

There will be hundreds of outdoor exhibitors from around the world for fishing, hunting, camping and other outdoor activities.  Tons of gear to try, check out and purchase.  Seminars. Boats, RV’s and outdoor vehicles plus great food.  A super event for the entire family!   See you here!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

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AMY ASHLEY DORADO POLE tags-proc

Pretty good day of fishing for Amy Sheridan from Wyoming and Ashley Jerrigan from Ohio who spent the day fishing with us later in the week when the winds died down. It make all the difference! Big cabrilla and dorado get hoisted on the gaff pole while the ladies pose on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos.

yellowtail Joel Zarmati tags

Slugger-sized mossback yellowtail like this one caught by Joel Zarmati have taken up the bite around Cerralvo Island and a few other areas. Finally, the wind settled down and anglers were able to get out and rack some of these nice fish (Thanks for the photo, Roger!)

 

cabrilla ashley tags-proc

Here’s some of the best eating fish in our area! We call ’em cabrilla…Mexican seabass and this is a hefty trophy that Ashley’s holding up while famous Capt. Victor looks on.

Dorado fernando Wayne Jarrett tags

Captain Fernando poses with anger Wayne Jarrett who stuck this big boy bull dorado out at the 88-spot. The big fish are still around, wind permitting!

Whalewatch tags

From now until about mid-March, we’re running our whale watching trips from Bahia Magdalena where the whales have migrated to mate and give birth. It’s an incredible experience to get this close to these magnificent creatures and a great lifetime experience for the whole family to get right up to the whales in the shallow calm waters of the bay! Ask us for details!

Jill n J tags 2 come see us

Jill and I had a blast at the Washington State Fairgrounds this past week meeting lots of our amigos and Tailhunter Tribal members. We’ve been on the road now for a month and have Sacramento, Denver and now Washington under our belt. Next stop is Portland, Oregon for the Northwest Sportsmans Show at the Portland Expo Center. Come see us and let’s talk about getting you down to fish with us in La Paz!

WIND DROPS AND FISH CRANK UP ACTION!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 20-27, 2013

The beginning of the week was a continuation of last week’s strong winter winds that kept everyone off the waters and hunkered down onshore.  But once the winds let up we got back on the water again and late week bites confirmed that the fish are still there and going strong!

There’s a great and rather unusual mix of fish with both warm and cooler water species mixing it up and helping fill up the boxes.

For warm water species, it’s pretty unusual for us to be finding dorado this late/early in the season.  It’s hard to know if this is a continuation late season bite or just an extremely early vanguard of a new dorado season.  I guess it doesn’t really matter!  Dorado are dorado and everyone’s happy with them!  Not many complaints when breezing dorado come running through the chum line and tear into the lines!   The fish are rangy with sizes going from 5 to 30 pounds or so…a nice grade.  The fish are eating sardines, mackerel, dead baits and chasing lures…willing and eating!

In addition, the other inshore biters are ripping as well.  Again…this seems a mite early in the season, but no one is complaining.  This includes largo lisp (mullet snapper), cabrilla (sea bass) and some nice slugger yellowtail as well with fish up to 30 pounds.

As expected, the inshore fish are being found in the shallow waters around structure like reefs and rocks which help them stack odds against the angler show not only have to battle the fish, but the rocky jagged environment waiting to shred lines!  North and south Cerralvo are especially good for the yellowtail as well as  in Bahia de Los Muertos near the point and a tad further south near the Boca de Alamo Arroyo.

Other species have included some nice jack crevalle and bonito.

For some other great activities, the whales have shown up and are going full force out at Bahia Magdalena and we’re running our annual whale watching tours out to the bay to see the whales.  The best time to see these magnificent creatures in the bay after their migration from the Bering Sea is from now to about mid-March.

Fuscia women's tank logo shirt

TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR

Thanks to all the friend and amigos who came to see us this past week at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington.  It was great to see everyone at the Washington Sportsman’s Show especially all the new Tailhunter tribal members-to-be that came to talk to us about coming to see us in La Paz.  We had a blast!

Our next stop in the 2013 Road Tour takes us to Portland, Oregon for the Northwest Sportsman’s Expo at the Portland Expo Center.  We’ll be there from Feb. 6-10th (Wed. to Sunday).  Come by to see us…get your 24 page Tailhunter brochure…our new DVD or pick up our new logo t-shirts that we’ve brought along in both mens and womens styles!  Of course, also to talk to us about your next fishing adventure in La Paz!  Come see us!

NEW TAILHUNTER U.S. MAILING ADDRESS

If you’re sending us anything, even though, we live in La Paz, we’ve changed our U.S. MAILING address!  The new address is:

P.O. Box 1149

Alpine CA 91903-1149

carnivale 2 (2)

STAY TUNED

We’re getting alot of questions about CARNIVAL week in La Paz.  La Paz goes into full-party mode Feb. 6-12th.  The city will be rockin’!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

Read Full Post »

IMGA0081

It wasn’t the best of weeks for fishing Strong winter winds whipped the area for several days giving even the palm trees along the La Paz Malecon on the waterfront little respite.

Wayne Jarrett dorado tags 1

We know the fish are out there! Check out this big bull taken by Wayne Jarrett out at the 88 spot east of Cerralvo Island…just before the winds started. Big bulls like this aren’t very typical in the winter, but various reports from several areas confirm that the dorado are still hanging around! The problem is either getting to those spots or braving the waves and big winds to get the bait to fish for the quality fish like this!  (Thanks for the great shot, Hawk!)

ARt yellowtail tags

Horse yellowtail like this one caught by our amigo, Art “Doc” Flippin who comes all the way down from his job in the Arctic to fish with us, have been very close in the shallows just south of Bahia de Los Muertos. The promising bite was shut down by the winds and we plan to recon the spot again hopefully by mid-week when the winds should diminish.

whales dennis tags

It’s whale season as the grey whales have begun returning to Bahia Magdalena to the west of La Paz! It’s an incredible experience to get this close to the gentle animals and Tailhunters is running daily trips now through March to spend a day on the bay with the whales. Just e-mail us at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com.

Denver-20130120-00281-2.jpg.

Thanks to all of our amigos who came to visit us at the Denver Convention Center this past week. We has a blast seeing old friends and meeting new ones and talking about fishing in La Paz. Our “tour” now takes us to Puyallup, Washington at the Washington State Fairgrounds. Jill and I will be in our booth from Wednesday to Sunday. Come say hi and let’s chat about your 2013 La Paz fishing vacation!

WORST WEEK OF WIND KEEPS EVERYONE OFF THE WATER

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of January 12-20, 2012

Not much of a week of fishing.  In fact, how about zero fishing.  I think that’s the first time I’ve reported that…EVER in 17 years down here in La Paz!

Cold weather and incredibly strong winds kept everyone off the water or close to shore.  Certainly, not much fishing going on, but thankfully, we didn’t have anyone reserved for this week.    It wasn’t just choppy, it was rough out there as it seemed the winds blew continuously as a windy front pushed through and chilled everyone!  If you walked around town, everyone seemed to be bundled up although many tourists found 67 degree weather to be rather pleasant.  For locals, there was a rush to put on jackets and long pants!

Commercial guys say there’s still some dorado outside at the 88 spot east of Cerralvo Island but no one really wants to go out there and get smacked around on a long run.  There’s also yellowtail stacking up at the north end of Cerralvo Island as well as around Bahia de Los Muertos. The week really started out promising, but then the winds came up and it wasn’t worth it to go out.   Everyone just wants the winds to stop!

Typically, we do indeed get winds during the winter, but rarely is it do we get continuous winds for several days.  Normally, we get it for a day or two intermittently.    We’ll keep an eye out on it.  According to the advisories, we’ll start to see some decrease in the velocity of the winds about mid-week.  Hopefully!

TAILHUNTER TOUR ROLLS INTO WASHINGTON

We had an outstanding show at the International Sportsmens Expo at the Denver Convention Center this past week.  But now, the “2013 Tailhunter Promo Tour” rolls on!  We drive back west a zillion miles and will be at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington (near Seattle) from Wednesday to Sunday!   For more details, click this link:  http://www.thesportshows.com/wss/   Hope to see you this week!  Come pick up our 24 page brochure and DVD and check out our new t-shirt styles.  Plus come talk to us about setting up your 2013 La Paz fishing vacation!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of January 12-20

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It was a difficult week to get out there to fish because of the strong winter winds characteristic of this time of year, but our amiga, Donna Thompson got out and got this good-looking barred pargo (pargo mulatto) fishing the rocks near the La Reyna lighthouse in the background at the north end of Cerralvo Island. (Thanks to Roger Thompson for the photo!)

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When the winds lie down, the yellowtail like this hefty forktail, fishing looks like it’s heating up. Check out the nice yellowtail taken just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos just off the shore. The fish ate a greenie mackerel.

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The whales have started to show up in Bahia Magdalena once again after their migration from the Bering Sea. It’s a spectacular day in the shallow bay getting up-close to these great creatures! We’ve stared running our annual day tours to the bay for the whale trips. Just e-mail us for more details!

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This week, we’re moving from the fantastic show we had at the Sacramento ISE to the Denver Convention Center in Colorado for the International Sportsman’s Expo that runs Wednesday to Sunday (Jan 17-20) for four days. Among the hundreds of exhibitors, Jill and Jonathan will be in their booth to “meet-and-great” and give you al the details about fishing in La Paz. Come get one of our 24 page brochures or our new DVD. Check out our new t-shirt designs too!

ROUGH WEEK CURTAILS MUCH OF THE FISHING

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 7-13 2013

It wasn’t a great week of fishing mainly because of the winds.  That’s still the tricky part this time of year.  Earlier in the week, it was just too windy to be out there and fortunately, we were able to tell our anglers to hold off for a day or two.  Honestly, we could have fished, but realistically, there’s no point if it’s going to be bouncy or it’s going to be hard to get bait.  No one has fun.  And it’s supposed to be fun, right?

Especially, this time of year, when many of our anglers aren’t hardcore. Many are snow birds just wanting to get some sunshine an maybe a day of fishing into their vacations away from places like New Hampshire and Minnesota and Canada.  So, it’s important to have a good experience.

So, putting it off for a day or two maximizes the event and makes all the difference.  Because later in the week when things calmed down a bit, we got out and got a nice variety.  Again, many of our anglers didn’t have a lot of experience so having a good variety made for fun days.  They got into nice bunches of sierra near Las Arenas along the beaches as well as cabrilla along the Punta Perico area and some of the nicer pargo around Cerralvo Island on the east side and for one boat that went north, some decent-sized barred pargo.

A few yellowtail were hooked south towards Boca de Alamo, but again, lack of experience cost the fish, although the clients still had fun.  We got a few school-sized roosters as well off south Cerralvo Island.  Fun on the lighter tackle.

Hopefully, the wind will give us a break this coming week!

Tailhunter 2013 Tour Heads to the Denver ISE show in Colorado this week! 

This week, we’ll be headed to Denver at the International Sportsman’s Expo at the Denver Convetion Center.  This is the 36th year of this fantastico show.  The show runs from Thursday to Sunday and there will be hundreds of exhibitors, demonstations, seminars and tons of gear to check out and buy for fishing, hunting, camping and all kinds of outdoor activities.  Jill and I will be in our Tailhunter Booth to answer all your questions about setting up your 2013 fishing trip to La Paz.  We’ll have our new t-shirts as well.  You’ve gotta check out the new designs!   Come say hi!  For more information, just click the link:

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130113/XPLORE/301130007

Have a great week!  That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

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It’s the dead of winter and dorado are still biting! In between the winter winds, we still have quality fishing including bull dorado and other blue water species! Check this gorgeous bull in full color lit up just next to the panga.

Jason Jacobs wahoo 12-12 tags

Surprisingly some of the best wahoo fishing of the year the last few weeks! Take a look at this awesome wahoo that Jason Jacobs from Phoenix AZ pulled out during two days of fishing. Hefty ‘hoo!

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I have already had several folks ask me if we took a fiberglass fish mount off the wall for this photo because of the incredible colors! This is as good a shot as it gets and Adam Smith and Captain Jorge pose it well. That’s Bahia de los Muertos in the background. Check out the calm waters. They didn’t have to go too far off the beach for this nice mahi mahi.  Adam was visiting us from Arizona.

Jason Jacobs with Yellowtail tags 12-12 1

First real yellowtail of the season! Wow…big fork tail and hamachi for the grill. Jason’s got big smiles for this slug fish caught off Las Arenas. Hope this is an indication of a good yellowtail season if fish this big are already moving in!

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It’s not snowing and he’s got a t-shirt on! All the way from Alaska, Tim Bowman, was fishing just off Bahia de los Muertos in great conditions when he hooked this nice bull dorado on live bait.

Gail Pancho with Wahoo tags 12-12 2

Hard to believe we’re getting this kind of quality fish so late in the season, but even Gail Jacobs pulled a wahoo out with help from Captain Pancho just off Isla Cerralvo. She also got dorado and sierra!

SURPRISE FISHING WHEN WINDS AREN’T BLOWING!  (…but the wind blows a lot!)

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 23-30, 2012

We had a much better week of fishing this past week mainly because we had much better luck with the winds.  This is, of course, that time of year when winds can get howling and it’s almost pointless to be out there and get bounced around in a panga.

Lots of snow-birds in town who decide they want to do a day of fishing and we often have to steer them to different days or postpone their trips when the winds come up.  Sometimes, we just tell them, it’s better not to fish at all unfortunately.

What they don’t understand often is that even if the Bay of La Paz is calm, outside, it can often be treacherously rough and getting to the fishing grounds is almost futile.  Even other times when it’s a little calmer, you still have to go find bait or the bait man has to have bait available to sell.  If the waters are too rough, bait will be hard to obtain because the rough waters prevent anyone from getting to the areas where the sardines are holding.

Even other times when it seems relatively calm, there can be big swells that make it uncomfortable and dangerous.  In fact, this coming week doesn’t look very promising!  Pretty much if there’s storms in the western U.S. then Baja and the Sea of Cortez is very often affected by windy conditions.

So, this past week, we actually got a few days where the winds layed down  enough for us to fish!  Sure enough, the fish bit.

Sierra are almost a sure thing with some really quality grade sierra up to 4-6 pounds evident along the shorelines where the bottom starts to drop off.  Even on the windier days, the fact that the sierra are so close to shore is a bonus as we don’t have to go out so far.

Inshore also, we’re surprisingly still getting rooster fish up to about 10 pounds which can be fun.  We even had some flyfishers able to throw at roosters this past week.  Pargo and cabrilla are also in the mix.

But, without having to go too much further out, we also got into some nice grade dorado in the 10-20 pound class which normally aren’t around in December.  No one complained.  The fish were school-sized, but I have a feeling some of the larger bulls are still around as we got into some 40 pounders less than 2 weeks ago.

In addition to the surprising dorado, we’re still finding the occasional wahoo and billfish too, but I can tell waters are finally cooling off as some husky stray yellowtail up to 25 pounds have found their way into the fish counts as well.  Hopefully, finding yellowtail of this grade is a good sign for the coming season and these are the vanguard of large fish moving into our waters.

As for the wahoo…who knows?  There’s a smattering of wahoo in several areas and it’s like hitting a lottery ticket when we hook them. Or at least like finding a 20 dollar bill in your pants pocket you didn’t expect!    No one is expecting them, but boy, what nice fish!  Hopefully, they’ll stick around awhile longer.  There’s not much traffic out there now that it’s off-season and we’re finding the fish off Cerralvo Island as well as Punta Perico.

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL

Mexico office: 755 Obregon, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
Phone: 612-12-53311U.S. Office: P.O. Box 1149, Alpine CA  91903-1149
Phone: 626-278-1585 or 626-333-3355

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This looks like a poster! The colors are incredible on this bull dorado that Tim Zimmer caught with Captain Jorge out of Bahia de Los Muertos with us. It was another week of surprising big dorado up to 40 pounds…the kind we normally get during warmer weather! We also had quite a variety of other fish as well.

cristina ainsworth sierra 12-12 tags

Big fat sierra! We’ve had some of the biggest sierra I’ve seen in a long time these past few weeks. Just check out this big sierra that Christine Ainsworth caught fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet. The fish are schooling in the shallows right now and can be great on light tackle!

verda tags pompano 12-12

Just to show off some of the variety these past few week, we’ve gotten pargo, cabrilla, rainbow runners, jack crevalle, roosterfish, sierra and great eating fish like Verda Boyd’s Africa pompano she’s got on the gaff here with Captain Jorge.

mike ainsworth tags rooster 12-12

Posed like a professional! That’s exactly what Mike Ainsworth does! He’s a fishing guide up in Washington and knew exactly how to hold this roosterfish he got on the flyrod just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos that can be seen just behind him in the background only yards from the beach. We’re still getting roosters in varying sizes like school-sized fish all the way up to 70 and 80 pounders!

There's a reason the local name for jack crevalle is "Toro" which means "Bull" in Spanish.  These jack crevalle are among the gamest fighters in our waters.  Tim shows off one jack he got while fishing 3 days with us.

There’s a reason the local name for jack crevalle is “Toro” which means “Bull” in Spanish. These jack crevalle are among the gamest fighters in our waters. Tim shows off one jack he got while fishing 3 days with us.

SAILFISH – BIG DORADO – ROOSTERFISH SURPRISE WINTER ANGLERS!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 11-16, 201

We had some late week rains which are very unusual for this time of year when winds are usually what we have to worry about, but we had a bit of both.  As the week went on, the winds got stronger then the winds died and then the wind died and we got some crazy rains!  Nothing really strong, but enough to fall fairly steadily and get everything wet on and off for about 2 days!

However, earlier in the week, we really had some excellent fishing.  Once again the dorado were truly a surprise.  Hard to believe it’s winter when 20-40 pound dorado are ripping up the anglers and putting some big smiles on faces.  But, that’s the kind of fishing we were getting.  Limits or near limits of dorado with the larger fish and bigger schools east of Cerralvo Island.  On top of it, even-to-some-degree when the weather was a bit sour, we had sailfish and smaller striped marlin in the count! 

Closer to shore, smaller schoolie-sized dorado, but add in some solid sierra fishing plus pargo, cabrilla, a smattering of jack crevalle and pompano and bonito and it makes for some great unexpected action! Even bigger surprise, we got hammered by some really unexpected catches of roosterfish…and not just the smaller school-size fish either.  We got some 60-80 pound bruisers just off Punta Perico and the lighthouse as well as some of the roosters on the flyrod.

Hope your holidays are going well!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149

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

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:  http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm Tailhunter YouTube Videoshttp://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate

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

 

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Great photo! Dan Neale of La Verne CA holds up a beautiful late-season bull dorado caught just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos on a live sardine. Dan was on his first trip with Tailhunters in La Paz. The dorado are still biting!

With Captain Pancho all wrapped up (he has an allergy to dust!) he helps out my high school classmate Gary Howarth who poses with another dorado he caught south of La Paz. Don’t know how much longer the dorado will be around, but they’re a welcome catch right now with the seasons changing!

There are days when you can catch these all day or a quick limit within a short time! Sierra schools have moved into the shallow drop-off areas and live bait on a thin wire or else trolling small rapalas or yo-zuris or anything shiny will get a viscious strike! Great eating fish and a favorite for ceviche!

It’s that time of the year and one of the great draws in La Paz right now have been the whale sharks swimming in the bay in shallow water. Snorkeling with these 15-30 foot gentle giants is an incredible afternoon adventure and only several hundred yards from the city waterfront.

WARM WATER SPECIES STILL LINGER FOR ANGLERS WITH COOLER SPECIES MIXING IN

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 18-25, 2012

We hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend!  We’re grateful to all our Tailhunter friends and tribal members who read our fishing report each week!

Let’s get to it…

We’re still doing some pretty good fishing for so late in the season and the mix of fish is really surprising.  With northern winds getting stronger and air temperatures getting cooler, I’m really happy to see such a great variety of species that we’re catching…most importantly the “glamour” warm water species that so many anglers come to catch!

Almost all of our fishing now is out’ve Las Arenas where even if the winds are closer, we’re more protected for launching our fleet as well as just more comfortable fishing!  When fish are as close as just a few yards from shore, there’s no reason to run way outside and get bounced around and get your kidneys shaken loose outside the wind line!

But that’s what makes it fun right now.  In addition to a decent dorado bite of 10-25 pound mahi both inshore and hear the closer buoys, the southern side of the island is still getting some late season wahoo bite with fish up toe 45 pounds.  Rapalas doing most of the damage, but several were hooked on bait while guys were fishing for other species.  The biggest hinderance is the wind which can really whip it up getting over to that side of the island from Muertos Bay ahd headed north.

But not far from shore from the Arenas lighthouse down to about Pescadero, we’re encountering dorado, roosterfish, nice batches of sierra, pargo, cabrilla, rainbow runners, pompano, bonito and jack crevalle.  All of this can make for a lot of action in a fishing day!

Live bait is not a problem most day with live sardines available for purchase although they do tend to be on the smaller side so smaller live bait hooks are suggested.  Due to the time change, I know it sounds early, but we’re leaving the hotels at 4:45 a.m. to get out at first light.  Hopefully, the bite will continue a few more weeks!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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

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


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

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