It’s been awhile since we had some good yellowtail photos to post up but we finally got a few this week. Captain Joel and our great amigo, Rod Brown from Alaska pose with a nice pair of forkies taken north of La Paz!
And dorado too? Triple shot of mahi for Captain Joel, Jeff and first-timer Miles Brown.
All the way from Minnesota, Jeff Brown, stuck this trophy yellowtail near Espirito Santo Island north of La Paz Bay.
Great eating and a super-sized cabrilla (Mexican seabass) for Jeff.
Check out the latest satellite images of the ocean around La Paz and you can see where sea temps are abnormally warm ranging from the mid-70’s to 80’s already. Photo fromhttp://www.terrafin.com/sstview/showChart.php?ct=sst&zn=bc&rg=lap&ix=1&java=0
SPRINGTIME CONDITIONS BRING VARIETY!
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 23-30, 2014
Except for a few breezy days, it was more like late spring/ early summer style fishing this past week. Air temps were in the low to mid-80’s and actually pretty pleasant. Water temperatures which have risen unseasonably high have been in the mid-70’s to low 80’s.
The resulting effect was a decent mix of fish. Some cool water fish. Some warm water fish. But, overall a nice variety.
The cooler water fish mostly taken inshore and in shallow areas included some nice yellowtail up to 25 pounds. Nothing widespread, but a smattering here and there. As well, we took some nice slugger pargo, cabrilla and sierra around both islands. Some good fish were lost to the rocks…not unusual when big fish are holding close to structure like reefs and rocks!
Warm water fish…well, once again…dorado! We’ve been getting them on and off for about 2 months now. Way early for a normal season, but once again the warm water species were found anywhere from the islands, to the shallows around the beaches, near the buoys and free-swimming in the channel. No great numbers, but every day a few dorado here and there. Mixed with the other species, it made for some interesting boxes of fish coming back in our pangas each day.
We’re going to keep an eye on these water temperatures! Those temperatures will dictate what we’ll be catching.
THANKS EVERYONE! ANOTHER ONE FOR THE BOOKS!
We’re finally headed home to La Paz. After almost 3 months on the road encompassing almost 15,000 miles of driving…9 states…10 hunting and fishing shows including: Sacramento, Denver, Puyallup (Seattle), Portland, Yakima, Phoenix, Boise, Long Beach, Salt Lake City and this past week in San Diego. Whew!!!
And what a grand time we had…almost 20 years doing this now and every year it just gets better and better! Jill and I want to thank all our amigos who came to see us at the shows and everyone during the 3 months for their friendship, support, encouragement and smiles. And to all our friends for making us feel welcome and all the hospitality on the road…all the gifts…food…drinks…invitations…Tailhunter tribe members are the best!
Now, let’s head home to La Paz and get some fish! God bless you all!
That’s a big sierra! Great eating and feisty on light tackle, Cindy holds up a trophy sierra she nailed trolling Cerralvo Island with the purple rapala you see in the photo. Cousins to the wahoo, these guys make super ceviche! (Thanks for the photo, Hawk!)
Dorado were the mainstay for our anglers this week as waters up to 80 degrees have moved into our fishing holes bringing the warm water species as well. This female was hooked just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos and released, but we’ve been getting some bulls up to 20-25 pounds.
Inshore action has been good for light tackle and the flyrod like this cabrilla (Mexican seabass) that Dennis McGuffee caught fishing with Captain Archangel from Tailhunters. Dennis is from Colorado.
Here is why we’re getting so many warm water fish…WARM WATER! This is the latest ocean satellite reading from http://www.terrafin.com showing water temps. The copper colors are in the 80’s and the greens are the high 70’s!
After 3 months on the road, we’re back in home grounds of S.California for the Fred Hall Fishing Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego! Show is from Thursday to Sunday! Come visit us in the booth and set up your 2014 La Paz fishing trip!
WARM WATER SPECIES AGAIN TOP CATCHES
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 16-23, 2014
Unless something dramatic happens, which might not be good, I would venture to say that cold-water fishing is pretty much done for the year. Given the patterns and catches all winter, our chilly-water season has come and gone…what there was of it!
Whether that’s good or bad depends on how you look at it. For fishermen coming in the spring to chase yellowtail, I think they might be disappointed. There’s still yellowtail around, but certainly not in the numbers we’re used to seeing this year. Our divers say there’s a colder water thermocline down deep that seems to be where the fish are holding. But, the warmer waters on the surface…up 78 degrees around Cerralvo and into the 80’s on the outer banks! There are still some other species around that are great fun like the spawning pargo and reef-bound cabrilla, but frankly no one has really been chasing these challenging species, not when there’s top water species around that are easier to catch and less frustrating.
That would be the other way to look at things.
The warm water species have really not left. They’ve slowed a bit, but folks…we’ve been catching dorado since Christmas. We’ve had little jags of wahoo and even tuna throughout the winter and even the occasional marlin. These are all “glamor “ species we don’t see until later in the season…at least late spring or so. The warm waters have kept these fish in the area and that’s what folks have been catching. They’re fun. They’re impressive fighters. They’re great eating. What’s not to like? Captains, as a pragmatic issue, will also follow the path of “least resistance.”
No sense in chasing bottom fish like pargo or amberjack that will bite, but will frustrate the anglers and possibly send them home with empty fish boxes when dorado are swimming around and make for fast action and great fun and Kodak moments on the beach. Same with cabrilla which are tasty and small…3-5 pounds…then there’s 20 pound dorado swimming around. Yes…20 pound dorado…and some larger!
This past week our some of our pangas got limits of dorado up to 25 pounds…plus cabrilla…plus a few small roosters…bonito and jack crevalle. Good action. There were some yellowtail caught by commercial guys around Cerralvo Island and north of La Paz, but early in the week there were some huge winds that kept everyone close or not even going out.
At the beginning, I said that a dramatic change might not be good. Given the current warmth of our waters, if something dramatic happens, like a sudden decrease in open temperature and everything got cold, I don’t think that would be a good thing. In our past experience, that might just shock the waters and the fish. The waters would turn green and murky and fish wouldn’t bite. That’s just speculation on my part, but I’d rather have fish biting than possibly none at all! Even if they are dorado and billfish! Nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with the ocean either! It’s just another cycle that we go through and this year just happens to be warmer than normal!
END OF THE ROAD! WE’LL BE IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEK!
Sr. Agustin Olachea, head of the La Paz Hotel Association, came all the way up from La Paz to visit us at the Long Beach Fred Hall show! He does alot to help bring tourism to La Paz and Baja, Sur. Great to have him visit us to see what we do at the shows!
We’re coming back to La Paz! The scene at our booth in Long Beach two weeks ago as Jill and Don Busse and his gang of amigos toast the upcoming fishing trip returning to fish with us in October!
Our Tailhunter 2014 Road Tour started at the end of December and it’s finally coming to an end..sadly! Because we’ve had a blast driving all over the country and visiting so many of our amigos at the west’s largest fishing and hunting shows! We’ve been doing it now for almost 20 years! Our road show started with us driving from San Diego to the Sacramento ISE show….then across to the Denver ISE show…then to the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Washington. Then it was just south to the Portland Expo Center. From there to the fairgrounds in Yakima, Washington.
We then took that long drive from Washington all the way to the Phoenix ISE show at the football stadium. Then back north we went to Boise, Idaho for another great show. Then back south to the Long Beach Fred Hall Fishing and Boating show. Last week we drove to Salt Lake City at the ISE show there in Sandy, Utha. Now, we’re here in San Diego! Finally! What a long fun trip it has been! We rocked!
So, come see us starting Thursday for the Fred Hall Fishing show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds near San Diego. The show goes until Sunday and both Jill and I will be in the booth. Come say hi and let’s chat about having you come fishing this year in La Paz. Here’s more information about the show and how to get discounted tickets! Click the link:
Dorado in winter? Yup! Jeff Burnham from Larkspur CO came down to wet some lines with us and stuck this nice bull fishing off Las Arenas. The nice mahi was taken just outside Bahia de Los Muertos!
Nothing wrong with this colorful bull dorado with big smiles and a great catch by our amigo, Larry Cornwall. Hard to believe getting this kind of fish in March!
Yes! There’s wahoo around Cerralvo Island right now, like this pair of speedy skinnies shown off by our Tailhunter Captain Jorge on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos.
With Tailhunter captain Archangel checking the water for any “followers” as dorado will often do, Dennis McGuffee poses with another sweet mahi while fishing out’ve Bahia de Los Muertos. After this they came inshore and using light tackle played with numerous inshore species.
More like it! This is normally, what we’re catching this time of year…cabrilla (seabass) like this tasty one caught by Jeff Burnham.
We had an incredible time in Salt Lake City! What a party at the International Sportsmens Expo with lots of sign ups for our 2014 La Paz fishing season and great photo ops for Jill and our amigas!
SPRING-LIKE CONDITIONS SET THE SCENE AND THE FISHING…UNTIL THE WEEKEND!
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 9-16, 2014
As one of our anglers said, “It’s incredible. It’s like fishing in May down here right now!” And that about sums it up. “I come down and expect winter fishing and instead encounter dorado right in the bay!”
He has it pegged about right.
Unseasonably warm water has turned the fishing somewhat on it’s head. Normally, we’re getting yellowtail and sierra and other cool-water fish this time of year and instead we’ve run into a pretty steady jag of dorado up to about 20 pounds…flirted with shots of wahoo several times a week…caught the occasional tuna…and even hooked a few marlin! All fish, we don’t normally see until late spring and even early summer!
As well, there have been some surprising catches of amberjack in the 20-80 pound class to go with cabrilla (sea bass), pargo (snapper), sierra and bonito and the occasional yellowtail as well.
This past week, the highlight were probably the dorado that were free-swimming literally within yards of the beach at times. Some of these fish were respectable quality fish too with some decent bulls in the panga boxes. The fish ranged from Bahia de Los Muertos out to the buoys and around the island. They weren’t highly concentrated and it wasn’t a wide-open bite by any stretch, but the fact that the fish are even here this early and have been since January is remarkable. When we did run into the fish, our anglers were getting 2-4 fish per panga mixed with some of the other species.
But, just like they say in the commercials…”But wait!”
We also took a few wahoo off the island early in the week and some smaller roosterfish are starting to show as well. All good signs! Throw in a few sierra some action on the bonito and there was some OK action this week.
At least until the weekend hit. Mother Nature slammed us back with a reminder that March comes in like a lion and roared in with 30-40 mph winds more characteristic of this time of year! The high winds pretty much shut things down for the weekend. But, it’s going to be like that at times and we’ll just have to keep an eye out for this.
TAILHUNTER WRAPS UP SALT LAKE CITY ISE SHOW
A big “muchas gracias” to Salt Lake City for treating us so well and all our friends who came by to say hi and our new amigos who booked fishing trips to La Paz for 2014 at the International Sportsmans Expo! Our booth was jumping for all 4 days and it was great to see so many of our amigos and make new ones as well. This was our 9th show of the season and now we wrap things up and head south once more to the Fred Hall Fishing show at the San Diego Co. Fairgrounds in Del Mar CA for our 10th and final show!
This is more like it for March fishing! Joe Arata of Pacifica CA strikes the hot pose with a slugger yellowtail he took on the iron off Cerralvo Island. Yellowtail were a bit more predominant this week.
What the heck! Roger Thompson is one of the best anglers we know. He was throwing the iron for yellowtail and said his jig barely hit the water when this big-time marlin smacked into it! On 40-pound test, he battled the big billfish for over an hour! Attempts to release the fish were not successful and the meat was donated. Marlin generally don’t show up for another 3 months or so! Just another indication that we’re going to see more warm water species showing up!
Brian ONeill an Leif Dover are clowning with a hefty pair of yellowtail on the Beach at Bahia de Los Muertos by holding the fish close to the camera. Still…even without them goofing, this pair of yellows are still trophy fish! Both our amigos are from Georgia!
PHOTO 1 – While eating a sandwich…(see story below)
What have we here? (See story below)
If there’s any question about the waters being warmer than usual, check out this crazy story from John Duteil who was visiting us from Canada: We went to the beach at Tecolote and wow the fish were literally jumping out of the water. Two dorado came speeding right up to the shore, then started flipping around one made it back out to sea but the other was stuck. Our friend Dennis still eating his lunch walked over and picked him up. (Pics attached) moral of the story if you can catch them this easy on the shore imagine what you can do in a boat!! it is so easy to catch fish in La Paz they are literally jumping out of the water for you to catch!”
Best show of the season? Maybe so! Just finished up the mighty Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center that went from Wednesday to Sunday! We hear it broke attendance records and the place was packed and the Tailhunter Booth never had a dull moment! Don Busse (far right) brought over his merry group to toast us with Jill leading the saludos at our booth! We saw a zillion friends and booked lots of fishing trips for 2014 to La Paz! Thanks, Long Beach! Thanks to everyone! No onto Salt Lake City!
CAN IT GET STRANGER? WATERS WARM AND BRING TOP WATER SPECIES!
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 2-9, 2014
Amiga:
So sorry. Impossible to write anything from the show and then I’m up to 3 or 4 a.m. just catching up. It’s after midnight now Sunday. If you can still use it, here’s some info:
The strange week early season continued this past week with more un-characteristic biters all week, but especially early in the week. In what seems like we may have by-passed our cold-water season and got right into spring-like conditions, we continue to hook up with a crazy variety of fish indicative of waters that are unseasonably warm!
We did get a few more big yellowtail this week, but the numbers are way off from what they should be. Normally, this time of the year, we are hammering big 25-40 pound ‘tails and getting 2-5 per panga not counting the ones we lose!
Instead, we are only getting about 3 – 10 per week! That’s it. They are a nice grade of fish, but the counts are not what they should be.
However, don’t panic! The slack is being taken up by other fish including dorado, wahoo…even marlin and we got a tuna (reportedly a 24-pound class yellowfin was taken!) this week as well. All of these are normally warm water species that we don’t see for another 2 months or so!
Mixing that in with some cabrilla and pargo and it’s making for an interesting “chop suey” of fish in the fish box these days. Will it continue?
I have no idea. We seem to get new surprises every week! Two things can happen. The waters will continue to warm in which case, forget the cold water species like the yellowtail an sierra and such. They’ll go deep or leave the area far too early!
Secondarily, they water will suddenly get cool and cold and we’ll lose the warm water species and by then it might also be too drastic of a change for the inshore species.
I tend to think the waters will continue to warm so look out…it’s going to be a season of early big fish!
We’ll keep you posted for sure.
LONG BEACH ROCKED! NOW HEADED TO SALT LAKE ISE SHOW!
Our booth in Long Beach was visited by so many super amigos but we never expected so many dignitaries from La Paz to come up as well including our amigo Agustin Olachea, head of the La Paz hotel association! It was great to see him at the show helping to promote tourism in our city!
We had an incredible run this past week at the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. What a slamming good time seeing so many of our S. Cal friends and so many of our amigos in the fishing industry. It was often shoulder-to-shoulder in the aisles and the din of the crowd was so raucous that we had to yell to be heard! Couldn’t have been more fun and I also got to celebrate my birthday in the middle of about 10,000 of my best friends like I do every year! Thanks to everyone who came by to chat about fishing in La Paz and also wish me another good “trip around the sun!” It was a grand time!
But now…
Here we come Salt Lake City! Two more shows to go and Salt Lake it ALWAYS fun! We’ll be at the Expo Center in Sandy, Utah to be specific in that fine facility from Thursday to Sunday. So, come say hi and let’s set up your 2014 La Paz fishing trip. Here’s the details for the show which runs March 13-16. ISE International Sportsman Expo (Sandy UT)
Click that link for information as well as show times and discount tickets! There’s always a ton of fishing, hunting, camping, boating and other outdoor related gear, info and other stuff for the whole family. See you this week!
Yes! It’s February and we’re catching dorado! Normally, warm water fish, apparently, no one told the dorado as we keep running into them like this nice bull taken by our Washington amiga Carol Darby with Captain Gerardo.
Another surprise this week! Wahoo once again showed up near Cerralvo Island like this speedy ‘hoo with Captain Archangel.
Apparently, this is turning into one of the best whale-watching seasons in recent years! The whales are solid at Lopez Mateos at Bahia Magdalena and we’re running daily trips out to see them! Contact us for a trip of a lifetime getting close to these magnificent animals!
Thanks, everyone who came to visit us at the University of Phoenix stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. We had another great time at the ISE show! We also booked lots of La Paz trips too! We’re filling fast! Now we move onto Boise, Idaho! See the details below and come see Jill and Jonathan!
STRANGE MIX OF FISH AGAIN SURPRISE ANGLERS
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 16-23, 2014
Generally, not a bad week of fishing for our anglers, but again, just like the last few weeks, some unusual catches. It’s almost getting to be an old record but the catches just don’t seem to make sense!
This is winter and catches are generally inshore and consist of inshore COLD water species. Well, the bite has certainly been inshore, but the CATCH has been rather unusual. For the past few weeks, and again this week, we caught dorado! Dorado are warm water fish. We catch them in the summer and fall when the waters are warm.
What else is unusual is that the fish were mostly caught pretty close to shore…while fishing for WINTER fish like the cabrilla (sea bass) and sierra and species like that. We did indeed catch the sea bass, sierra, pargo and jack crevalle. But in the middle of that, it’s pretty surprising to also get dorado.
Likewise, also got a few wahoo as well. So, go figure. Again, the wahoo are usually trophy fish that we pursue in the warmer months! The wahoo ware taken off the north and south end of Cerralvo Island. We’ll just have to keep following this.
All week, we’ve got a full week of fishermen so we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on with the bite. Hopefully, find more pargo and yellowtail too!
TAILHUNTER TOUR MOVES ONTO BOISE, IDAHO!
Come visit us at the Boise Sporstmans Show in Idaho this week. They have some great taxidermy displays there!
Jill and I have been on the road now for 2 months and had some incredible shows in Sacramento, Denver, Puyallup (Seattle), Portland, Yakima and just finished one of our best shows ever in Phoenix at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Thanks to all our amigos who stopped by and everyone who came by to talk to us about fishing with us this year in La Paz. We now move to our 6th show in Boise, Idaho at the Idaho Sportsman Show at the Boise Fairgrounds. This is a great show and we’ll be there from Thursday to Sunday! Here’s some additional info. Click the link:
Come visit us! There’s always alot to see and great fun for the family. We’ve got new Tailhunter t-shirts and hats that Jilly designed plus come chat about your La Paz vacation this year!
What the heck is going on? Wahoo in winter? Jack Steele originally from Seattle WA put this gorgeous ‘hoo on the boat fishing near Cerralvo Island late in the week. Check out the calm waters…it makes a difference!
Fat forktail! Charlie “Sticks” McGee is one of the best fishermen I know and a dynamite drummer and music teacher as well from San Diego. Our amigo stuck this thick yellowtail out in the channel north of La Paz.
When it comes to putting big fish in the boat, our amiga, Donna Thompson, from La Ventana via Long Beach CA holds a thick, fat wahoo…a personal best!
We’re smack in the middle of whale watching season and taking folks out daily to Bahia Magdalena to see the whales. Contact us for a once-in-a-lifetime experience and get close to these great animals. They normally start to leave around March so don’t delay!
Tailhunters is finally leaving the Pacific Northwest where we have been for the last month doing some outstanding shows in Puyallup WA (Seattle), Portland OR and Yakima WA! Thanks to everyone who has come by…old friends and new amigos! Lots of bookings for fishing with us in La Paz this year! But now, we leave the snow and rain and one of our favorite areas and head south all the way to the Phoenix ISE show where it’s supposed to be 80 degrees! Hope to see you there at the Cardinal football stadium! More details below!
WAHOO SET THE PACE FOR
THE WEEK IN SURPRISE BITE
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of February 9-16, 2014
An otherwise slow week was saved by a late week chew that turned up some quality fish.
As typical, we got the usual winds, especially early in the week. That never helps with the fishing but we come to expect that during the winter. Especially northern winds. It also really jacks up our ability to get live bait. But, as the week went on, the winds diminished.
And suddenly the bite turned on.
And it was a surprise. Usually, we look for inshore fish during winter. But instead, we got some real trophy stuff. Once again, just like last week, wahoo showed up around Cerralvo Island. Normally, it’s far too cold for us to be seeing these prized fish, but the boats took the at the north and south end of the island on slow trolled baits as well as lures. The fish were good quality too with fish going 20–50 pounds which are real slammers, especially when you consider that these are known to be the “fastest fish in the world” capable of blazing line off a reel at close to 70 mph!
But, on top of that, we also picked off a few dorado. Again, not only are these warm water fish, but we shouldn’t even be seeing these until about later March or April.
In addition to the wahoo and dorado, a few more of the yellowtail also bent the rods. These fish are more typical of this time of year and we should be going full bore on these any week now. So, it was encouraging to see more of these in the counts.
As for other species, we took some small pargo and snapper, cabrilla, and lots of bonito.
It’s been a great show season and Jill and Jonathan now leave the Pacific Northwest and the Yakima WA sportsmens show and head south to the Phoenix International Sportsmens Expo.
Our next show starting this week will be in the Cardinal Football Stadium where the NFL Cardinals play! This is a super show! Lots of stuff for the whole family! Come say hi!
TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR TAKES IT TO PHOENIX
Our 2014 Tailhunter Road Tour takes to the road again this week. After an outstanding month in the Pacific Northwest attending shows in Washington and Oregon, we now drive south and take off our rain and snow gear and put on the shorts as we go to the International Sportsmans Expo in Phoenix, Arizona. This is really a super show right on the floor of the University of Phoenix Football stadium where the NFL Cardinals play! It’s a great place for a show and there’s always great weather, plenty of parking and lots to see!
The dates are Thursday to Sunday (Feb. 20-23rd).
Come say hi and chat with us about fishing with us in 2014 in La Paz. We have amigos from all over Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico as well as Utah and Idaho come to visit us. Here’s more information about the show as well as how to get discount tickets: International Sports Expo – Phoenix Feb. 20-23, 2014
Mark Martis visits La Paz several times a year and our amigo has been fishing with Tailhunter for well over a decade. He often surprises us with his great catches, but this surprise catch this past week with Captain Victor was this spectacular wahoo taken off Cerralvo Island. Officially our first wahoo of the season!
Seth Caillat got our first official Las Arenas yellowtail of the season. In fact he got two of the plus dorado using live ballyhoo out’ve Bahia de Los Muertos.
Whale watching season with the gray whales in Magdalena Bay is in full-swing right now with lots of whales in the shallow calm waters! Let us know if we can set up your whale watching trip for the experience of a lifetime! Whales usually hang out until the middle of March.
The Tailhunter Tour showed up for the Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Show this week in Portland Oregon and got slammed with a freak 4 day snow and ice storm that virtually froze everything in the city and shut down much of Portland. We still had a great show!
Like I said, we still had a spectacular show in Portland with lots of amigos visiting Jill and I including Matt, Tim and Phil who stopped to say hi and take a quick photo at our Tailhunter booth. Next stop…YAKIMA, Washington.
A WEEK OF SURPRISES FOR FISHING WEEK!
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 2-9, 2014
I’m not sure how to describe the week. OK, we got some fish. Yes, it was a little breezy and yes, it was a little bumpy some day out there. But that’s typical of this time of year. In all honesty, we didn’t get ALOT of fish. So, best to be truthful.
However, that’s not what made the week remarkable.
What made it remarkable was the quality of the fish we got!
OK, we got a few cabrilla and some bonito and some sierra. Ho-hum. That’s about par for winter fishing right now. But, whereas we got those big pargo snapper last week and I thought we were going to go zipping into pargo season, the pargo didn’t show.
Instead, it was a week of FIRSTS!
…we got our first yellowtail of the season…some nice 25-pound fish. These fish ate some slow trolled big Rapalas as well as slow-trolled ballyhoo that caused the fish to blow up. Secondly, we also got…(hold on…drumroll…) WAHOO!!! Yup. Wahoo, in winter at the south end of Cerralvo Island. Our first wahoo of the season!
On top of that we got dorado still biting. Dorado are SUMMER fish! What’s up with that? I have a feeling this could be a wacky start to the season. Every week, we’re running into something different. That just makes it fun.
TAILHUNTER TOUR LEAVES PORTLAND SHOW AND MOVES TO YAKIMA WASHINGTON!
It was an incredible crazy snow-filled week in Portland as a freaky 4-day snowstorm pretty much shut down the city! We still had a great time and booked lots of La Paz fishing trips and saw lots of our amigos!
Our 3-month Tailhunter Road Tour says adios to one of our favorite cities in Portland, Oregon where we had a crazy week of an unusual snow and ice storm that pretty much froze the city…and us! But, we had a great show and now move onto the CENTRAL WASHINGTON SPORTSMEN SHOW in YAKIMA, WASHINGTON! The show is a fun 3-day event from Friday to Sunday, Feb. 14-16th. Come say his and let’s talk about visiting us in La Paz this year…where it’s WARM!
Horse buster! Carl Lange from Bakersfield CA fished 4 days this week ending the week by sticking some trophy pargo liso just off the rocks fishing with Captain Pancho. The big fish have moved into the shallows now for their spring spawn.
He fishes with us several times a year, but our amigo, Ken Gragg, found a way to save a tough week of fishing by catching some dorado, sierra, some bonito and also took home some nice pargo meat from big pargo they caught off Punta Perrico.
Carl Lange with another of his big red pargo (mullet snapper) and Captain Pancho happy to pose along!
Yes! The whales are now here and we’re running daily tours to Bahia Magdalena to get close to these great animals in the calm bay waters. The whales usually stick around until March so check with us about coming to visit us to see the whales!
Come say hi to us in Portland, Oregon at the Northwest Sportsmans Show this Wednesday to Sunday! Details below!
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY –
PARGO SAVE THE WEEK!
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 26 to Feb. 2, 2014
The week started off in typical winter fashion with 80 degree sun, but quite a bit of wind making it bouncy and rough on the waters. The fishing reflected it as well. There were a few unseasonable dorado caught but beyond that, just a few sierra and bonito. A bit of action, but nothing to write home about. But that’s also why we don’t have many fishermen around during the winter. If you’re looking for some sunshine and some fishing action, you’ll be fine, but if you’re searching for flat waters and quality fish, it can be elusive.
However, as the week went on the winds calmed and the seas flattened.
Correspondingly, the fish bite improved. Our folks saw yellowtail, but couldn’t get anything to go. However, the big pargo have moved into the shallows to spawn. Those are always great…and often frustrating…sport!
These fish can be huge. And they can be in incredibly shallow waters littered with rocks, reefs and caves. The photos don’t do these tough fish justice. These are some of the most powerful fish to hook and the ones we see in photos are the “smaller ones” we get to the boat. Veteran anglers and divers will be full of stories of fish “large enough to put a saddle on their backs” and “stronger in short runs than any fish in Baja.”
So hooking them is one aspect. Getting them to the boat is test of wills and good tackle! These fish hit like a train and go straight back down to the rocks Given it can only be a few feet deep, often you’re lost before you know it and so is the fish! If you don’t pull hard and turn their heads, they’ll rock you! We call these “zing powie” fish because that’s the sound your tight lines make before they sing and snap!
Pargo fishing is an entirely different dimension of fishing and can be great fun and frustration! We have guys who specifically come each season to go hand-to-hand with these fish. Great eating too!
TAILHUNTERS ROLLS INTO PORTLAND!
We’re now moving the Tailhunter Road Show and booth to the Portland Expo Center! We’ve been on the road now for a month. We’ve driven to super shows in Sacramento…then Denver…then Puyallup (Seattle/Tacoma)…and now we’re here in another of our favorite cities…PORTLAND! The city on the Columbia River and one of our largest shows of the tour. It’s a monster…it’s a beast…it’s grand fun for 5 days from Wednesday to Sunday…Feb. 5-9…Portland Expo Center!
Here’s the link for more information for the Pacific Northwest Sportsman’s Show and how to get discounted tickets:
The view from Bahia de Los Muertos where we launch every day for the fishing grounds. Despite the great sunshine and seemingly tranquil waters, just beyond the point, many of the days were pretty choppy. Fortunately, fishing is close!
Sierra…the speedy toothy gamefish that makes great sport and tasty ceviche was our mainstay for the week like this guy that Tim’s holding in front of the camera. Light tackle is great for these guys that can get 3 times this size.
Commercial fishermen started getting into some of our seasonal yellowtail this week as shown by some of the catch laying on the beach. Unfortunately, we were doing more fishing than catching as the powerful jacks we hooked all broke off.
Yes! Whale watching season is back at Bahia Magdalena and we’re running daily trips out to see these great creatures in th calm bay waters! The whales are usually here until mid-March so let us know if you’d like us to set up a tour for you!
ANOTHER WINDY WEEK DOESN’T
HELP COMFORT LEVEL
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of January 19-26, 2014
This past week was more typical of winter fishing in La Paz. In a word…WINDY! Northern winds kept things blustery, cool and bumpy on the water, but fortunately, being the off-season, there weren’t that many fishermen on the water and those that did fish this week have fished during this time in the past and knew what they were going to encounter or, in the alternative, were happy just to get out into some sunshine! It was sunny, no doubt and temperatures were in the 70’s, but windy by our standards and cool as well. But for folks from Canada and the mid-west, they were just looking for a day out on the water in the sunshine!
As for fishing, again, typical of this time of year when the winds blow. Sierra provided the most action inshore along the reefs and beach drop-offs. In the rock areas and reefs, smaller pargo, snapper and cabrilla (sea bass) were willing to bite chunks of dead bait like squid. We know there have been dorado the past few weeks, but nothing came up this week in the usual areas made more difficult by the bumpy waters. However, we did have some yellowtail and larger pargo hooked and lost. It’s sort of a double whammy. These fish are the season trophy fish and mean as heck and powerfully built with attitude. Rookies or folks not ready to put some bend on these fish are quickly schooled when the fish power back into the rocks and the line breaks. Still, it’s very encouraging to know these bad boys are in our waters!
THANKS WASHINGTON! TAILHUNTER NOW GOES TO PORTLAND!
So many friends visit us in our Tailhunter booth like John and Dolores Ehlers, our amigos who have fished with us for many years, but represent Eagle Point Lodge in Alaska. We just had a great week of shows in Washington and now head for Portland, Oregon!
We just wrapped up our third show of the tour season with an incredible show at the Washington Sportsman’s Show at the Puyallup Fairgrounds between Seattle and Tacoma. It was five incredible days and great to see so many of our amigos and tons of reservations for fishing with us in La Paz in 2014! We’re excited to welcome so many new folks and old tribal members who are coming to fish with us this year! Thanks to all who visited!
We move on now to the Northwest Sportsmens Expo at the Portland Expo Center right next to the Columbia River in northern Portland. This show is huge and always one of our biggest plus I think we have a huge number of amigos in the area who come to visit us. The show runs Feb. 5-9. Come see us to say hi…check out our new brochure plus new hat and t-shirt designs and set up your 2014 La Paz fishing trip. Click the link for more information and how to get discount tickets: Pacific Northwest Sportmans Show
We had some surprise roosterfish this week like this one that Cheyenne Wenholz took what we estimated to be about 45 pounds… a big fish for the 13-year-old first timer from Aurora, Colorado! It’s a big fish for anyone. A nice trophy! And best of all…she released it! But she did it all by herself just off Punta Perrico with only some help from our Captain Pancho to take the photo!
Another surprise biter this week! Who would have thought we’d bee seeing a rack of dorado like this on the beach after a day of fishing…IN JANUARY! But, late in the week schools of 10-15 pound mahi went on the chew!
The whales have officially arrived now in Bahia Magdalena and it’s a great time to see these great animals in the warm shallow waters of the bay where they’ll usually remain until mid-March or so! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and Tailhunters is now running it’s daily trips out to see them!
WINDS KNOCK DOWN BITE BUT END OF WEEK
KICKS BACK IN!
La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 12-19, 2014
It was not the best week for fishing this past week. Well, maybe the fishing would have been better if it hadn’t been windy! It was pretty stiff this past week so fortunately, we didn’t have too many anglers and those we had, we were able to have them put off their fishing until it got calmer.
And it did!
As the week wound down, the winds diminished and we were able to get out. I told the anglers that most likely with the cooler temps and off-color water, they would find some action with maybe some bonito…some snapper…maybe some sierra.
Indeed, they did get those species which are typical of this time of year in the winter. However, again, with the surprises! We got into dorado again! I have no idea why dorado would still be hanging out, but some really fun 10-15 pound school-sized fish showed up and were a real treat. Close to shore and willing to eat! This is pretty unusual to be getting dorado this time of year, but no one complained!
As well, I guess we still have rooster fish in the area also! It’s again normally a fish we don’t see in January, but such a popular exotic fish that everyone wants to try for one. So when they do happen to pop up, it’s a bonus. We hooked and released several 30-40 pound fish off Punta Perico. Also, heads-up…some of the commercial guys are starting to get some yellowtail! Maybe the big jurel are finally here. Will keep you posted!
TAILHUNTER TOUR WRAPS UP DENVER…NOW HEADED TO WASHINGTON!
He’s a star! Young Grayson (“G-man”) Richmond from Evergreen, Colorado poses with me in our booth at the Denver ISE show! Grayson came down to fish with us in La Paz this past season and just tore it up! He even made the cover of our latest Tailhunter brochure!
Just finished tearing down the booth at the Denver Convention Center where we had a blast visiting with all our old amigos and making new ones every day! It was a great show and we got lots of folks signing up for their 2014 fishing vacations with us and we’re really looking forward to the visits!
So, now we’re on the road again. And this week, we’ll be hitting the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Washington just outside Seattle for the Washington Sportsmens Show that starts Wednesday and goes to Sunday January 22-26th. The show is ALWAYS packed and it’s our first show of the year in the Pacific Northwest. Come say hi and check out our new 2014 brochure. Pick up a free DVD as well plus take a look at our new line of t-shirts and hats that Jilly designed. We can also set up your La Paz fishing vacation for this year! Come put your toes in the sand! We’ll hopefully see you this week!
Click this link for more info: http://www.thesportshows.com/wss/
Tailhunter Fish Report 