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Posts Tagged ‘light tackle fishing’

Young Caroline Coomber from San Diego hadn’t done much fishing before, but got her biggest fish ever fishing with Captain Victor although she’s reluctant to touch the big yellowtail on the gaff. She was fishing off Cerralvo Island.

Skip Coomber usually comes to La Paz several times a year, but had not visited in a few years, but made the most of it heading out to fish Cerralvo Island and using mackerel took 2 nice yellowtail like this one. Skip is from the San Diego area.

YELLOWTAIL HARDER TO COME BY BUT OTHER SPECIES FILL THE GAPS

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of April 8-15, 2012

It was not our best week of fishing here for the most part.  Given the great bite we’ve had for the last 3 months, this past week was disappointing mainly because we’ve been spoiled.  So many big yellowail!  So given the bar has been so high and the expectations so great, this past week was actually a “normal” early spring week of fishing, but compared to the previous weeks/months, it was a bummer.

For one, we had some hangover weather from Easter week.  During that time, full moon and high winds, especially to the south pushed a lot of water around.  This pulled up colder greener off-color water from down deep.  In the long-run, this is good.  The cooler water with all the nutrients are a naturally occurring thing and brings up a lot of nutrients that makes the fishies grow, but short term, it really shuts off the bite.  Sort of like throwing the fish into a cold shower of off-color water.  It sometimes takes awhile for them to shake it off and come around again.

And I think that’s what happened.  Plus, the winds continued to blow.  In fact, several days were darn-right bumpy out there and on one day we had to just bring everyone back to town.  It’s the first day we’ve had to cancel boats in about 2 years.  The sun was out and the weather was nice, but the chop and wind were just crazy.  So, the clients were cool about it and it was just better to bring everyone in.  It would have been nearly impossible to get bait anyway.

And that was another problem. With the winds battering some of our bait holes around the islands, it scattered the bait.  Like looking for a needle in a haystack and the pangas would have a hard time just getting into the spots close to the rocks without some bit of risk.

So….well, like I said, it was more like a “normal” early spring bite.  We did get some yellowtail but not as many as we had been getting.  We also got some really nice cabrilla (Mexican seabass) and pargo (lost quite a few to the rocks) and some of the biggest sierra I have ever seen!  Oh, and also lots of bonito.  We had a number of families out so the bonito provided great action for many of the kids most of whom had never fished before.  We also did get a few roosterfish as well in the 20-pound class which looks like they’re finally showing up!

We did have some flyfishers who were fishing Baja for the first time and they had a blast.  In fact, as one of them told me “It’s not like steelhead or trout fishing.  I’m sore!  These fish beat you up!” he said with a grin.  That day he got several jack crevalle, several bonito, a few sierra, needlefish and roosters. Great variety!

As I’m writing this, waters seem to be getting better daily so, as long as the winds keep diminishing, the waters will clear up.  Even in Baja every now and then, there’s an off-week!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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Close...but no cigar! Bill Mitchell of Carmel CA had no idea when he threw his 9wt flyrod what might happen. For 90 minutes he fought this 40 pound yellowtail which finally snapped the little rod just at the boat. To find out later, the IGFA record on 20 pound tippet was only 31 pounds set in Loreto in 2006. Bill's fish would have broken the world record by 9 whopping pounds! Unfortunately, when checking with the IGFA, the fact that the rod broke disqualifies the fish! Darn! It was pretty exciting as we ran around trying to check the certification. Bill still said it was a great battle and great fish and he knows what he did! Captain Adolfo looks on. Bill also got a nice pargo as well (See below)

Nice way to start a trip! Slamming 7 huge yellowtail at the north end of Cerralvo Island on mackeral and lures. Jeff Sakuda and Marianne Sugawara said the fish were "all over" and they "fished until their arms fell off!" Jeff said, they easily could have put 10 in the boat.

Our first "official" rooster of the season and Marianne's first rooster as well even tho' she fishes several times a year in La Paz. The fish hit a trolled rapala near north Cerralvo while they were fishing for yellowtail. Captain Jorge smiles on!

Not only did he hook a world-record fish, but Bill Mitchell also fly rodded one of the most difficult fish in our waters even for anglers fishing with heavy conventional gear He took this nice pargo liso (mullet snapper) off Punta Perico which you can see in the background. In all my years here in La Paz, I've only seen less than a handful of these fish on the flyrod.

Everyone has been asking where are the pargo? Well, the yellowtail bite has been so good the last 3 months that few want to tangle with the doggedly difficult pargo! But the fish are definitely here! Jeff had a pretty decent day on the big-toothed fish! Also, on the rack...sierra, cabrilla and snapper! Pot luck great eating!

MORE PARGO THIS WEEK AS YELLOWTAIL MOVE TO OTHER AREAS AND…ALMOST A WORLD RECORD!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of April 1-8 , 2012

We here at Tailhunter wanted to wish all our amigos and tribal members a safe and happy Easter.  Hope you had/ have a good one.  We had a crazy good week here.  It seemed like everyone was on vacation. Sunshine and weather were perfect and it seems most folks took the whole week off as the beaches were packed and town was really in a festive mood all week.  Hope wherever you were you got a chance to enjoy things with your family!

On to the fishing report!!!

A pretty decent week of fishing although it seems the big fish scattered a bit.  Winds seemed to increase during the week and that probably had a lot to do with the bait moving and hence the fish.  Most of our better fishing was done at the north end of Cerralvo Island although our regular spots around Ventana, South Island, Bahia de Los Muertos, Punta Perico and Boca de Alamo all had their moments.

Probably our most exciting moment came with Bill Mitchell of Carmel CA pretty much un-officially blowing the IGFA yellowtail record out of the water on the flyrod!  We are pretty pumped up. The current record had been in 2006 with a 31 pound yellowtail caught on 20 pound tippet in Loreto.  Bill hooked his on the flyrod and it turned into a 90 minute fight and resulted in a huge 40 pound ‘tail besting the IGFA record by 9 pounds!  He fought the fish to the boat where his 9 wt flyrod snapped.   Unfortunately, when we approached the IGFA, Bill’s potential record would be disqualified because the rod snapped! Oh well.  Still a great fish and Bill was thrilled.  We know they are out there!

He also nailed a nice pargo on the flyrod as well.  A pretty nice trip!

As for the rest, as I said, the best spot was at north island of Cerralvo.  That’s where the best spot was for the big yellowtail. Mackerel worked best, but dropping down blue/white iron on the yo-yo produced some whoppers!

As the week moved along, the winds came up and the yellowtail bite tapered.  However, it did give our anglers to finally chase some other species and as I suspected, the pargo, cabrilla and sierra were right there!  “Huge schools of swarming big pargo!” as one of our anglers explained to me!  They were also on the feed so we got some nice hookups.  However, so many fish were lost to the rocks. More than half the hookups ripped the lines!  But that’s pargo fishing!

We also got our first official roosterfish of the season as well.  The are another species that has been around for a month or two.  But no one has been fishing for them as they chased the yellowtail.

DON’T FORGET FACEBOOK!

We have been doing our weekly fishing report now for about 16 years updating it weekly.  It’s become quite popular appearing in magazines, newspapers, internet message sites, websites and numerous other places and we figure about 10,000 weekly readers.  But, for some of you, that’s not enough!

If you’d like to see daily updates, check out Facebook.  We update almost daily but also bring you things about La Paz and Mexico that you won’t usually find in our regular reports.  All you have to do is “like”  TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL SPORTFISHING

http://www.facebook.com/Tailhunter.Sportfishing

and also “like” TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL (the restaurant/bar) and you’ll get even more of what’s happening with us down here in La Paz!

http://www.facebook.com/Tailhunter.Restaurant

Best fishes everyone!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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Fishing tailed off just a tad this past week, but yellowtail were still up to bat with some nice fish like the two-fisted catch by Carl Lange from Bakersfield. Both fish fell to live mackerel. Muertos Bay is in the background.

Our local "ace" from La Ventana James "Hawk" Davis has been sticking fish every week since this yellowtail bite started back in January. Note the flat waters behind him and the towns of La Ventana and El Sargento. Hawk holds up a thick yellowtail.

Standing on the beach at Muertos, Travis Simmons fished with us for several days and holds up his biggest yellowtail of the trip. He was fishing with Captain Jorge and dropped a big mackeral in this guys' mouth!

I know this cabrilla caught just off the rocks at Punta Perico (in the background) ended up as dinner ,because the fisherman, Art Flippin, took it to our Tailhunter Restaurant specifically and had us cook it up for him! Great time for Mexican cabrilla...seabass!

TOUGHER WEEK ON THE FISH AND FISHERMEN AS YELLOWTAIL CONTINUE TO POP UP!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 26 to April 1, 2012

It was hard to put a finger on the fishing this week.  As usual we had a little wind some days which didn’t help, but on the days the winds laid down, the fish were certainly there!  Some nice yellowtail too!  Friends on the beach and commercial pangeros I spoke to during the week said sometimes the yellowtail were so thick it was like “the old days!”   Fish were foaming and crashing the surface and scattering bait in such big log jams of fish that it could be seen from shore…which sometimes isn’t too far off.  Imagine 25-45 pound fish blowing up en masse!

 

Our problem was that we didn’t have a whole lot of anglers out there although everyone did catch a few of the big boys.  Also, we had some rookies and God bless ‘em they had fun!  But sometimes these fish can be pretty mean and we were losing more fish than we were putting in the boat.  Still…they had fun but if you think back, most of us were there at one point where you’re new and you’re not sure which end of the reel is up and which way the handle turns.  Then, the biggest meanest fish of your life suddenly yanks a 50 pound rod in half and your adrenaline goes zero-to-sixty in nano-seconds and it’s chaos as everyone is talking to you and yelling at you!  And then before you know what’s up…ZING POWIE!  No more fish!  You thought you were ready but the biggest fish you ever caught before was a rainbow trout or steelhead.  You weren’t ready yet for one of our Baja big boys!  And so…maybe you lose a few as you get into the learning curve and get your chops down. 

 

The problem is…for many folks this time of year…they are one-day anglers.  They’re in town and decide to do a day of fishing.   They’re our snow birds who are just getting out of the cold back home.  They go out and catch a few fish….or lose a few fish…and just when they’re getting the hang of it…the day is over!  And they were only fishing that one day!  They go home with some nice bags of cabrilla or sierra and some chunks of yellowtail, but if they had fished just one more day, it would have made a huge difference and they’d be better prepared.

 

Anyway…

 

The fish were up around Ventana Bay, South and North Cerralvo Island and our usual stomping ground at Boca de Alamo just south of Bahia de Los Muertos.  Often pretty close to shore and in shallow water.  Getting mackerel can sometimes be a chore as those are the preferred “candy bait” for these big sluggers.

 

It’s hard to really get a read on the other species we usually catch this time of year, but we did show some smaller pargo, cabrilla, sierra and jack crevalle as well as a decent bite on bonito!

 

That’s our story!

 

Jonathan and Jilly

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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Art Flippin is a fireman and medic who usually doesn't get 80 degree weather since he works ABOVE the a Arctic Circle all year where it's regularly 60 and 70 below zero. But he wears Hawaiian shirts whenever he's not working. Our amigo, came to share a few days with us and got into the nice yellowtail bite out of Bahia de Los Muertos. Yellowtail were again center stage but some cabrilla, sierra and pargo finally jumped aboard too!

Our amigos, Ken Gragg and Carl Lange fish with us several times a year and spent the whole week on the water. They got some good variety but targeted the big yellowtail most days with fish into the 40 pound class. That's Punta Perico in the background.

This incredible yellowtail bite we've had for the last 3 months has been scattered all over from north to south. Best we've seen in my 16 years in the area. James "Hawk" Davis our amigo who lives in La Ventana went out to the beach and took some photos out front of his place of the catching coming in off his beach.

Everyone has been so focused on the fantastic yellowtail bite that we often forget this is a time for some great other species! Well, we finally put some variety in the boat with some big pargo, cabrilla and sierra this week!

Big chunks of fillet headed to the freezer after their first day fishing this week for Gary Bray and Ken Gragg from California who got 13 fish the first day between 5 guys. It seems the bite is only limited to two things...how much wind comes up and how much mackerel is available for bait.

Need more hands? Carlos helps Art with an armload of fish he took on his 2nd day fishing with us. He said his knees took a beating fishing the big yellowtail "stand up style." But he had a blast and more fish for the cooler than he knew what to do with.

Daryl Valdez with the help of our Captain Victor hold up a nice pargo liso (mullet snapper). Daryl got the tough fish out of the rocks fishing just out of Bahia de Los Muertos!

After 3 months, our 2012 Tailhunter Road Tour comes to a close. Thanks to all of you who came by our booths in the various cities and all the hospitality you showed us along the 14,000 mile drive. It was a grand grand time! Now back to La Paz and let's get the season really rolling! FISH ON!

BEST YELLOWTAIL SEASON EVER?  COUNTS DOWN FROM LAST WEEK BUT FORKIES STILL CAUSING FEVER!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 19-25

It was a bit of a so-so week this week as far as the spectacular yellowtail bite we’ve been having.  The fish were there, but early in the week, the winds came roaring back.  I’m glad we didn’t have many fishermen out and most of them, at least had other days to fish when the winds were more hospitable so eventually, they all got fish.  However, the wind were so ripping that last Sunday, they even had to cancel the popular La Paz Yellowtail Tournament they hold annually. 

 

We didn’t have anyone participating, but we have friends that fish it every year and they were disappointed, but what are you gonna do when they port captain has the red danger flag flying and there’s 20 knot winds pushing beach furniture across the sand?  It’s just the way it is this time of year.  Winds are the norm, not the exception this time of year!  So, we’re grateful when it’s NOT blowing and can’t be too disappointed when it does blow.

 

But…heheheheh…that’s why we have TWO fleets going all the time.  Most of the time during this part of the year, we fish everyone with our Las Arenas fleet!  That way, we’re generally out of the wind…fish are closer…we’re on the lee side of Cerralvo Island.   It’s just more logical.  We almost don’t use our La Paz fleet during the winter and early spring…there’s just no need to…when we can shuttle everyone very comfortably to fish out of Las Arenas/ Muertos and they can climb into our pangas and be fishing closer to shore and literally within minutes with the winds minimized as much as possible.  It just makes more sense.

 

All that being said, the winds calmed down as the week went on and we got into some nicer ‘tails.  However, during the stronger winds earlier in the week, no one was able to go out.  So as soon as the wind eased up…EVERYONE went out!  That included private boaters, our sportfishing panga fleets…AND THE COMMERCIAL GUYS!  God bless ‘em…they’re good friends and just trying to make a living too.  But one of our guys counted 40 pangas out on the water one day.  That put a lot of pressure on getting mackerel for bait which are the prime candy for these big ‘tails.  So, counts were down a bit and our sporties weren’t able to get as many mackerel for bait as we would have liked. 

 

Anyway…bottom line…one day, it was like 2-4 yellowtail per boat.  The days when the whole world was on the water it dropped to 1-2 yellowtail per boat.

 

Most of our action this week was just south along the shore towards that hot spot at Boca de Alamo in the relatively shallow waters. The mackerel have schooled up there and the big yellows have followed them in there.  I don’t know how long this bite will last, but it’s been the best I’ve seen in 16 years!  The fish are regularly 25-45 pounders with some larger mixed in.   When the fish are on the CHEW, it’s not unusual to get up to 4-10 fish per panga and that doesn’t include the ones lost! 

 

The bite has been so good, that most anglers are ignoring some of the other species like pargo, amberjack, jack crevalle, cabrilla and sierra that are usually mainstays of the bite this time of year.  “Yellow Fever” is what they call it when these yellowtail go off and I’m feeling that these other species are gonna feel slighted because there has been virtually no attention paid to getting these other types of fish!  Oh well…strike when the iron is hot!  But, it was nice to see that we did get into some of the nicer “alternative fish” this week!

THANK YOU EVERYONE!  TAILHUNTER ROAD SHOW 2012 COMES TO AN END!

Well…after almost 90 days on the road…countless motels…late night diners…more than 14,000 miles of driving, Jill and I are at the end of our 2012 promo tour.  In our van, it took us to a new fishing and hunting show every week…from Denver to Sacramento.  Then to Puyallup, Washington (near Seattle).  Then to Las Vegas and then to Portland.  In Portland, I stayed to do that show while we flew Jill to the first of our Salt Lake City shows.  Jill re-joined me after the Portland show and we then drove to the show in Phoenix.  After that to Boise, Idaho.  And onto Long Beach then back to Salt Lake City for our 2nd SLC show.  Finally, we wrapped it up at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego.  

What a trip it’s been!  Met so many good friends along the way who visited us in our booths and met many more new ones that plan to see us this year to fish in La Paz.  We just want to thank everyone who said hello…threw us a smile…shook our hands…and kept us going.  You’re awesome.  

Now, let’s get the season REALLY underway!  Back home to La Paz!

 

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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The week started slowly, but finished with a nice roar with yellowtail pretty much hitting any bait or jig that hit the water. Our buddy, Jim "Hawk" Davis was in the thick of it and hung this beauty yellowtail off Cerralvo Island.

Ron Clark and his amigo, Mike Phillips, started the day with 10 mackerel and came back with 5 fat yellowtail out by Boca de Alamo south of Bahia de Los Muertos. Largest fish were just under 40 pounders.

The yellowtail bite since January has been so incredible that I think some of our regular season fish like pargo and cabrilla are feeling a big ignored since all the focus has been on the big 'tails. However, no doubt...the fish are there. Capt. Fabio holds up a hugs trophy cabrilla. Cerralvo Island in the background.

Famous Russian pianist Alexander Tutunov http://www.tutunov.com/ is a professor of music at S.Oregon St. University in Ashland, Oregon and took time off from teaching and a busy concert schedule to sneak down to fish with us. He shows off some of his catch taken early in the week.

It'a turning into one of the best yellowtail seasons ever. They fish showed up in January, months ahead of schedule and have been biting pretty much ever since as far down as the East Cape. Mackerel have worked exceptionally well but blue and white and also blue and chrome jigs have been deadly like the one hanging out've this big guy's maw! (Thanks JD!)

This yellowtail bite runs as far north of La Paz as Espiritu Santo Island and at times between the sport pangas and the commercial pangas, there can be several dozen boats on the spot but it hasn't usually mattered as the fish keep biting.

Jack Steele who lives in Ventana got out to work the northern end of Cerralvo Island which seems to be the magnet for these yellowtail and poses with the results!

Jill signs autographs on one of our Tailhunter T-shirts for Denny and Cheri Gallegos at the International Sportsmans Expo in Salt Lake City this past week. We had a great show and time. But this week, we're back after 8 years for our 11th show of the season and will be at the Fred Hall Fishing & Outdoor Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego. Thursday to Sunday! Come out to see us!

UP ONE DAY DOWN THE OTHER BUT YELLOWTAIL CONTINUE RIPPING RODS BIG TIME!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 12-19, 2012

It’s been a fairly steady week of yellowtail fishing in our area.  Not as good as last week when we had perhaps one of the best yellowtail bites in recent memory, but our pangas fishing out’ve Bahia de Los Muertos still found good grades of fish.  Maybe the fish were just resting up and re-charging from  last week when during the full moon, they bit like mad dogs and there were several days last week when pangas were averaging 4-10 yellowtail per day in the 25-35 pound class.

 

This week, a little slower. Sort of…

 

On the slower days…  Mostly 1-2 yellowtail per boat with some pangas getting up to 5 on the better days. A few boats did better than others.  Skill and luck has a lot to do with it when tangling with these big fish.  On the slower days, some of it was the wind.  Some of it had nothing to do with the wind.  Maybe it was because there were too many boats on the honey hole hot spot. Or maybe the fish were just tired and had lock jaw.  I dunno. 

 

But, on the better days this week, the guys said that once they found the spot or found what the fish wanted…whether live bait or jigged lures, the bite was one and every drop was a biter and, if not a yellowtail, then it was a pesky skipjack or bonito.   Our largest of the week was a hefty 45 pounder on the scale. The fish were in several of the usual places.  Boca de Alamo just south of Bahia de los Muertos was again the hot spot, but the south end of Cerralvo Island, the north end of Cerralvo Island and La Reina all produced fish. There seemed to be so many areas.    Better bait fishing using mackerel were the predominant methods, but lacking that the old –standard blue and white jigs on a rapid retrieve were good as well.

 

One note…normally, we’re fishing pargo, snapper and sierra.  But, they’re rarely appearing in our reports.  I think those other species are starting to feel ignored.  It’s not that they’re not there. It’s just that everyone has been concentrating on the big slug yellowtail!  We did have one pair of our anglers decide they had enough with the yellowtail…”No mas!” and asked Captain Victor to fish for something else.  They got a boat load of sierra and cabrilla as well as some pargo!

 

 

A footnote to this wacky season that’s been so good is that we did have a little flurry of yellowfin tuna in the 30-40 pound class come breezing through at the south end of Cerralvo.  We’re trying to follow up on that but we also had two marlin hooked and lost this week as well.  This is March! 

 

TAILHUNTER TOUR HEADS TO SAN DIEGO

 

We had an incredible time at the International Sportsmen’s Expo in Salt Lake City this past week.  Show number 10 in the books!  Great to see so many of our amigos!  Thanks to everyone who visited and booked their 2012 La Paz fishing trip!  But now…after 8 years…we’re returning to San Diego for our 11th and final show of the 2012 promo tour season.  Starting this Thursday through Sunday, come see us at the Fred Hall Fishing and Outdoor Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego!   We are really looking forward to it and seeing all our San Diego amigos! 

 


That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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Maybe the best yellowtail week I can remember this past week! Simply spectacular! Of the 4 days when the wind didn't blow, the ocean exploded with big yellowtail up to 45 pounds. Notice the blue and white iron hanging from the lip of this slugger! (thanks for the photo, Roger!)

Our amigo, Jorge Romero, poses with some "Boca de Alamo Salmon" aka yellowtail! The fish were found most of the week in various place but Boca de Alamo just south of Bahia de Los Muertos was on fire. Some days 4-10 fish per boat up to 40 pounds was the AVERAGE with just as many fish lost!

Captain Pancho helps out Lynette Yetter first timer amigos from Colorado. Lynette got several of these including one on light tackle that went 45 pounds and sent Lynette for massages the next day at the hotel losing a day of fishing...so husband Allan had to go alone (see his photo below!)

Lots of happy folks on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos this week posing with their catches. Interestingly, even with the full moon, the 4 days the wind laid down, folks got as many as 10 fish per panga. The 3 days the wind blew mid-week, it was 1-2 fish per panga.

Colorado fisherman, Al Yetter, came with his wife for 3 days to fish with us and put some nice fish in the boat. Al loves to fish. His wife was so sore after day 2 of fishing when Al put her on a 45 pound fish with light tackle that she missed day 3 having to go get a message. So, Al had to fill-in! He shows off once of his fat yellowtail he got on a mackerel.

Yes, there were other species this week! Amberjack are the big boy cousins to the yellowtail and get over 100 pounds. Check out this copper guy that may have gone 6-70 pounds. Several nice amberjack were taken this week in a range of areas. Great eating fish!

Also getting in on the act is our good friend, Esteban a Romero. He doesn't like fishing...he likes "catching." He did well and I'm sure he went right back to La Paz and threw a party with yellowtail ceviche and yellowtail on the grill.

Working the north side of Cerralvo Island with blue and white iron (bait was tougher to get) it was full turbo slam fishing for Joe Arata from San Francisco. Huge yellowtail all day long!

Guys often ask me, "How many fish will I catch?" "How many 40 pound class fish can you catch?" is what I often answer. Slugger big yellowtail off La Ventana too!

When it's as calm as this in Muertos Bay, the winds are down and the fish go turbo. Or you can just park it on the beach and throw your cell phone as far as you can. It's like living in a postcard! (Thanks, Hawk)

It was just a tad "crowded" at the Long Beach Convention Center for the Fred Hall Fishing and Outdoor show this past week in Long Beach! We had a grand time and now are moving to our Tailhunter Road Show to our 10th venue in Salt Lake City at the Expo Center in Sandy for the International Sportsmans Expo running Thursday to Sunday. Come say hi and book your 2012 La Paz trip!

YELLOWTAIL PUT ON BEST SHOW OF SEASON DESPITE FULL MOON!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 4-12, 2012

The week started out with a roar with some of the best yellowtail fishing we’ve seen…perhaps in years!  Our fleet fishing out’ve Las Arenas/Muertos Bay found big yellowtail up to 45 pounds just south of the bay around Boca de Alamo.  Boats averaged 3-10 of the big yellows each and also sometimes losing as many as they caught in relatively shallow water not too far off the beach.

Of note…even with the full moon blazing, the WIND can’t be denied as a factor.  Most days the pangas took 4, 6, 9, 10 fish per boat, ,but ON THE THREE DAYS THE WIND BLEW at mid-week, the boats averaged only 1-2 yellowtail each.

Fish were also found at Punta Perico, south Cerralvo and Northern Cerralvo Island as well.  The fish were prone to jumping on live bait with mackerel as the prime baits, but sardines working as well and, in those areas or if the anglers ran out’ve bait, yo-yo-ing blue and white, scrambled egg or green and yellow irons worked well for some of the larger fish.  As mentioned, as the week went on and the winds came up, the bite slowed.  Perhaps it was a combination of the full moon and winds but I’m going to put it all on the wind! . . ., but the boat averages dropped to about 1-2 per day, but then some larger amberjack started to show that were in the 30-70 pound class.  To round out the bite, big jack crevalle, pargo and bonito added to the action. Also…stay tuned…we have showings of dorado and sailfish starting to move in!!!  Whoa…will keep ya posted!

Here’s some of the comments from the week. Let the amigos tell it better than I can!

“Still hammering the yellows at the north end of the island on bait and jigs, blue/white & blue/chrome……Boca de Alamo was even better than Monday because they they found bait……”

“Flat out beautiful day today……..Still getting plenty of slugs  (yellowtail)”

“We went to the north side today and boated 10 …bad boys! …We caught all these fish on iron. Blue and white was the ticket to a good ass whippin. We lost as many fish as we caught. I need some more jigs!”

“Couple hard fighting Bonita, nice Yellow-tail, couple misses. …We were down to 2 mackrels, one was a 7″ one 4″. On the coin toss I got the big one, Carlos got the other (rigged coin toss). Five min. later, I have my hands full with annother nice yellow-tail. Perfect end to a great day!”

“ I also heard that chico dorado are starting to show around the shark buoys out near the 88”

6 yellows, lost 4 or 5 and 1 amber(jack)….. bait was not a problem today but not as many yellows…….Yesterday the commercial guys brought in 25 to 35 yellows, after fishing all day

TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR HEADS TO SALT LAKE CITY ISE SHOW

We just pulled out’ve the Long Beach Convention Center where we just tore down the booth…or should I say “cleared the debris” …after the Fred Hall Fishing & Outdoor show.  Just a massive and fun show.  Imagine cleaning up after a huge kegger party that lasted a week or knocking things down after Woodstock!  That’s what the show was like.  So many great friends and clients stopping by to see us from all the years.  Lots of smiles and high-fives plus folks booking for 2012.

Thanks to all of you who came by and all of you who also stopped by the comment about the blogs, articles and columns I’ve written over these 16 years…Yes, Jill is encouraging me to get that book going!

Also, special thanks to everyone who brought us food…pizza, chicken, Chinese ribs, toritllas and beans, cookies, brownies, pastries, sandwiches, chocolate, smoked fish, smoked venison, tamales, chips, candy, soda, beer, tequila, energy drinks…Jill and I did not starve!!!

So, as I type this, we’re on the road north now towards Salt Lake City which is always a fantastic show in the Expo Center at Sandy UT just south of the city.  It goes from Thursday to Sunday and we’ll be in our usual booth.  Here’s a link to all the details and discounted tickets:

http://www.sportsexpos.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewlocation&locationnumber=7

Hope to see you there!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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Fishing the north end of Cerralvo Island, Donna Thompson got this hefty yellowtail early in the week.

The yellowtail were again the focus early in the week before winds came up with fish in the 20-40 pound class. Rob hold up another nice one on the sands at Muertos Bay.

From Boise, Idaho to Long Beach CA, the Tailhunter Road Tour 2011 moves from the Sportsman Show in Idaho to the big Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. This is the big one! Show runs from Wednesday to Sunday. here we pose with famous long range angler (The Long Ranger) Ralph Mikelson at our booth.

YELLOWTAIL SPARK EARLY WEEK BITE BEFORE WINDS KNOCK THINGS DOWN!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 24 to May 2, 2012

Overall, there’s every indication that, if this keeps it, this might be one of the better yellowtail seasons La Paz has seen in quite sometime!  Not only did the fish show up two months earlier than normal, but overall, the size and quality of the fish has been outstanding.  Certainly, not on the level of say, Loreto, Mulege or Santa Rosalia which are famous for their yellowtail runs, but surely, La Paz is having it’s own banner year. 

This week, again, except for the days when fishing efforts were hampered by a few windy days, especially later in the week, the yellowtail were big, brutal and willing to bite.  Our pangas fishing out of Bahia de Los Muertos near Las Arenas averaged 1-5 of the fat yellowtail that ranged from 20-48 pounds!  The fish were found in numerous places…north and south Cerralvo Island…La Ventana…Punta Perico …and Los Alamos.  There were reports of some giant yellowtail also at El Bajo and some of the spots around Espirito Santo Island, but strong northern winds kept even the hearty commercials guys off the hot spots.

But, even when it was windy at times, there was some great action to be had from the pargo, cabrilla, jack crevalle, bonito, amberjack and small roosterfish that are also in the areas around the yellowtail.

TAILHUNTER MOVES TO THE FRED HALL FISHING & BOATING SHOW

We had a great time at the Idaho Sportsman Show in Boise, Idaho  and it was great to meet all the old and new amigos!  We got some great bookings too for this year’s fishing in La Paz.  But now…It’s the big one this week!  We’re setting up the booth in our usual spot on tackle row in the Long Beach Convention Center for the massive Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show.  It runs Wednesday to Sunday and promises to be huge as always.  There’s always tons to see and do!  Here’s a video clip all about it:  http://www.fredhall.com/test/youtube.html

And additional links with details for tickets, seminars and more!  http://www.fredhall.com/index.php

TAILHUNTER  10th ANNUAL CABIN FEVER CLASSIC

Tailhunter’s 10th Annual Cabin Fever Classic Event will be held April 25-30th and promises to be a great time.  With 3 days of fishing / 5 nights of hotel/ a day of snorkeling to the island/ taco tours and more, it’s going to be another great time.  Spots go fast!  If you’re interested in more details get in touch with us at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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Big yellowtail were again the focus and highlights of the week with good actions just offshore close to the beaches and rocks. This big fat yellowtail is so thick, it almost looks like a yellowfin tuna! Jerry Clark from Kansas City poses on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos. Our pangas this week took 2-4 of these yellowtail per day but lost others to the rocks!

There was some nice variety this week. Our amigo, Don White from Oregon, holds up the kind of jack crevalle we got this week. Related to roosterfish, yellowtail, pompano and amberjack, the jack crevalle schools come rolling up close to the shores and are voracious and tenacious feeders and fighters. They just don't taste very good so they're great sport, especially on light tackle, but most get released.

Typical of this time of year, pargo like this trophy barred pargo (pargo mulato) that Stacy is holding here at Muertos Beach are good targets. Again, these guys are in the rocks but attack the baits ferociously with a big set of teeth and powerful shoulders. The pargo were really hot for the guys using ballyoo as live bait slow slow slow trolled over the reefs.

It was another good week for cabilla (Mexican seabass) fishing as well. Donna Thompson, our amiga from Ventana, seems to have a knack for the cabrilla. The cabrilla are eating live bait, but will also fall for slow trolled Rapalas or other crank baits close to the rocks.

The Tailhunter International Road Show leaves it's 8th show after a great expo in Phoenix and now heads this week to Boise, Idaho for the Boise Fishing & Hunting Show this Thursday to Sunday. Come say hi. We'll be in our booth!

BIG YELLOWTAIL AGAIN STAR FOR ANGLERS

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 19-16, 2012

Not a bad week of fishing here in La Paz.  Some days the wind really kicked like a mule, but it all depended where you were.  The unique thing about La Paz is that there are so many micro- climates.  You can be tied to a palm tree in one part of the area trying not to get blown away and then be just a few miles away on the beach and there’s barely a ripple.  A few hours later, the situation is completely reversed.  It’s typical winter weather in Baja.  Anyway, just-to-be-sure, we’re doing most of our fishing out of the Las Arenas/ Bahia de Los Muertos side.  At least, even if the winds are blowing, we’re closer to shore and the lee side of Cerralvo Island offers some protection for our anglers and there’s less of a boat ride for them since the fishing isn’t that far anyway.

We did hear of some good concentrations of yellowtail out at El Bajo north of town, but the winds are just too ripping to get out there.  And really, there’s no need to run that far if the fish are much closer to shore without getting your kidneys knocked around!

That being said, we had some nice jags of yellowtail again…but all with our Las Arenas/ Muertos Fleet.  Surprisingly, even on some of the windiest days, the fish still bit!   Some of the fish were real horses up to over 40 pounds. The range of the fish went from firecracker 10 pounds up to the larger models.  Personally, I think the smaller ones taste better, but nothing fights like a yellowtail. Sardines, mackerel, jigs and ballyhoo all worked well.  The trick isn’t getting them to bite.  The trick is getting them stopped from the rocks once they hook up as that’s their first inclination to head back to structure!

So, sometimes, even tho’ the counts might look smaller than we’d like, when you talk to the anglers, they’ll tell you that they lost 1, 2, 3 or more fish to the rocks and just weren’t ready to stop the fish.  If you’ve never had one of these sluggers on your rod, you can’t sit there and goof –around or rest or think you’re gonna tire the fish just by holding the rod!  You gotta pull and you gotta turn the reel handle the get the fish’s head turned towards the boat and away from the rocks!

Speaking about heading back into the rocks, another mean customer, the big pargo liso snapper were also biting this week.  Ballyhoo, especially the larger ones, were especially effective baits in getting the big red fish to bite.  Slow trolled over the rocky areas produced some monster bites.  But that was also the problem.  By slow trolling…literally kicking the outboards in and out of gear…means that you have quite a bit of line out behind the boat.  When you hooked up, the fish already have the edge by taking all that excess line straight down to the reef.  Ergo…adios!  Bye-bye.  Fish gone!  But there’s nothing quite like seeing a 20-50 pound fish attack a bait on the surface.  So, you tie on another bait and drop it back and go again.  It’s addicting.  Like dropping another quarter in the slot machine.  There’s always “hope” but we all know the casino usually always wins!  So, we got some nice bites on pargo…but sadly the ratio of fish put in the boat to fish hooked wasn’t that good!

Other species included some fun biters on the schools of jack crevalle and bonito that moved in.  They provided lots of fun furious action even tho’ most of the fish get released.

TAILHUNTER HEADS TO BOISE!

Yup…we head back north this week after an incredible great show in Phoenix at Phoenix Football Stadium.  Come say hi and talk to us about fishing in La Paz this year. We’ll be at the Boise Fairgrounds for the Boise Fishing & Hunting Show this Thursday to Sunday.

That’s  our story!

Jonathan and Jill

 

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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One of the most popular captains on the beach, "Moncho" is actually Captain Ramon Green (He's never told me how he got thet last name of "Green"...his famous dad is Captain Loreto Green) but he holds up a big handful of Las Arenas yellowtail. He's always smiling. (Thanks for the shot, Hawk!)

Double trouble for yellowtail...Darrell and his dad, John, teamed up to put the hurt on these nice Muertos Bay yellowtail all in the 25-40 pound class.

Even if the yellowtail aren't on the bend, there's always pargo (snapper) in the rocks. These toothy guys can get quite big up to 30 or 40 pounds and are always tough fighters in the element...the rocks! Bo Herrera and Captain Archangel hold up one headed to the grill.

The Tailhunter Road Show moves from Portland to Phoenix AZ this week and we'll be in our booth at Phoenix Stadium where the Phoenix Cardinals play. We're right on the floor of the stadium and it's always a good show. We'll be there Thursday to Sunday!

WEEK GETS OUT THE GATE FAST …SLOWS in the MIDDLE…GOES NICE BY THE WEEKEND!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 12-19, 2012

The week started out OK.  Right off the bat.  Some decent weather with diminished winds made for good conditions and we had a nice run of yellowtail between 10 and 30 pound popping up in numerous places.  North Cerralvo Island…South Cerralvo Island…La Ventana…Las Cruces…Punta Perrico…Boca de Alamo!  It was a nice spread of fish!  Nothing overhwhelming in any one spot, but certainly enough to keep things lively and fun.  Mackeral, sardines, squid, trolled lures and cast lures all worked well when the fish were going.

It seemed that the prime ticket seemed to be the live mackeral if you could get it.  Forty pound test and a good two-speed reel surely helps with these tough fish.  They’re not necesssarily in deep water and a short rod with the lower gears help in turning the heads of these yellowtail before they get to the rocks or other structure and bust you off.

Our amigo, Hawk Davis, who lives in Ventana said this:  ” Yellows are everywhere….Both ends of the island (Cerralvo), Punta Gordo, (Punto) Perico, and that spot just south of Muertos……and even in Muertos bay, smaller ones 15-20# were chasing bait and boiling around the mooring buoys………only two  pangas with clients out there yesterday…….The yellows are not plentiful but scattered everywhere……”

Too bad it didn’t last…

About mid-week, winds came up.  Bite fell off.  I mean, really fell off to make it rough fishing as well as slow catching with really not much more to talk about than bonito and some scattered sierra and small pargo.  Kinda disappointing.

But then…part 3…RECOVERY!

By the weekend, the winds ramped down a bit and Ta-DA!!!  The yellowtail bit again!  We had fish up to 40 pounds again!  The winds were all the difference.   But that’s the way things are this time of year.  It’s sometimes a simple as that.  We can yak about moon phase and bait and currents.  All of those things are important, but lately, it’s seems that the one common thread is the wind.

TAILHUNTER GOES TO PHOENIX STADIUM

We had an incredible show in Portland.  Wow.  Saw so many of our old amigos and got tons of reservations…so welcome to our new amigos also!  But now, we’re headed south and will be at the Phoenix Football Stadium from Thursday to Sunday.  It’s the International Sportsmens Expo.   For details and discounted tickets check out:  http://www.sportsexpos.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewlocation&locationnumber=6

Hope to see you there!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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


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

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The right kind! Doctor Bo Herrera from New Mexico gets a gaff hand from Captain Victor as he puts another nice fat yellowtail in the boat with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet. That's Boca de Alamo in the background just south of Bahia de Los Muertos

Big fish on the beach...it MUST be Pacifico time! John George and his son, Darrell show of some thick yellowtail caught on the beach at Muertos Bay.

Good eats! Scott Burmeister shows off a nice pargo that's gonna get filleted. The pargo have moved into the shallow areas to spawn.

Heavy-bodied 40 pound class yellowfin were on target most of this past week again with Darrell George putting this one on the boat with Captain Victor running things!

Adios and Vaya Con Dios and a toast with our red solo cups to all our friends and amigos who came to see us at the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen's Show this past week at the Portland Expo Center and also to all those who visited Jill at the Salt Lake City Convention Center! It was a rocking good week and we enjoyed seeing everyone. The "Talhunter Road Tour" now takes us to Phoenix, Arizona for the International Sportsman's Expo Feb. 23-26 at the Phoenix Cardinal Football Stadium. See you then!

IN BETWEEN SOME WIND AND RAIN THE YELLOWTAIL WERE ON TARGET!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 6-13, 2012

It was an up-and-down week for fishing these past 7 days since the last report we posted.  There seemed to be a little of everything.  We had a few days of really strong wind when it was scratchy fishing for cabrilla, sierra, pargo and bonito.  Decent action, but not what most of the fishermen came down to catch.  We even had a few days of rain and drizzle for a bit of the day as well (most of it was at night).

But the wind was the biggest factor.  Even when it was rainy, if the winds were down, we again got into the nice grades of yellowtail although there seemed to be more smaller fish than normal too.  When I say “small”, I mean 10 pounders.  But there were the nicer grade horses as well that were in the 30 pound class.

Fish were distributed over a pretty wide area.  Spots of the yellowtail were found as far south as Boca de Alamo; and as far north as the tip at the north end of Cerralvo Island and a few spots in between.  Again, mackerel worked as did live sardines; trolled deep-diving Rapalas/Y0-Zuri/ Bomber type lures; and fishing with heavy jigs on the fast retrieve.

 That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

.

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

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


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

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