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Posts Tagged ‘sea of cortez’

yellowtail chun 1 - 4-13 tags

Down from the S.F. bay area, brothers Glenn and Richard Chun fished a pretty much a whole week with us in that hot spot north of La Paz and found out how tough these yellowtail are losing quite a few fish, but having a blast taking 5-7 yellowtail each day.

yellowtail kids 3-13 tags

Nothing better than a kid with a big smile holding big fish! Even the kids got into it this week for the thrill!

Yellowtail fabio amigos 3:13 tags

Even the La Ventana guys were in on the great bite especially since Cerralvo Island is right across the channel! Famous Capt. Fabio poses with some amigos and a nice rack of fish!  (Thanks for the shot, Hawk!)

Rena hunley 3-13 yellowtail 1tags

This surely is not a salmon! Rena Hunley lives along the Columbia River in Oregon and fished with us for the first time getting in on some of the big yellowtail like this one that she hefts on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos.

Scott Johnson yellowtail tags 3-13

Big big slug of a yellowtail! Just off Cerralvo Island, Scott Johnson from the Dalles in Oregon stuck this beautiful yellowtail on a live mackerel.

yellowtail Greg Hunley tags 3-13

With Tailhunter International for the first time, Greg Hunley, fished two days with us taking solid numbers of yellowtail in the middle of the big bite taking place off Cerralvo Island.

FULL MOON PRODUCES MAYBE BEST YELLOWTAIL OF SEASON!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 24-31, 2013

What full moon?  Yea…I was worried…but…

This has perhaps been the best yellowtail fishing of the year and maybe the best week that many of us can remember in a long time!

Both our La Paz and our Las Arenas fleet got into fish with some nice quality slugger fish running 20-40 pounds as waters cleared up in all spots, especially north of Espiritu Santo Island where the waters had been green and cold for awhile…plus windy…and now things have opened up nicely!

The pangas are getting 4-10 big fish each but…LOSING…just as many!  Here’s the kind of comments I’m getting:

“Man, these fish are way stronger than salmon!”

“I can’t believe how hard these fish can pull.  If you don’t turn their heads forget it.  You can’t just hold the bent rod and wait for them to get tired!  You’ll lose ’em every time!”

“I lost 4 on the iron until I figured out what I was doing wrong and finally started to listen to my captain who showed me that I can’t stop turning the handle.  They hit like a freight train!”

For our Las Arenas pangas, the hot spot is still that NE side of Cerralvo Island by the backside.  It’s solid with bait and fish and one of my captains counted more than 30 fishing boats out there one day including sporty’s, private boats,  cruisers from the East Cape and commercial guys.  The good thing was that it looked like everyone was bit!  Mackerel and iron worked best!

For our La Paz anglers, the run to El Bajo…probably the most northern spot we’ll get to for daily fishing is the seamount north of Espirito Santo Island and the place almost exploded with fish.  We had some guys cancel their 2nd days of fishing because they got too many fish the first day and were just whupped!  But these fish are horses coming up off the edge in deeper cold water…grabbing baits and irons…then turbo jet back straight down!  Most of these fish were short fat thick guys with big shoulders and bad attitudes!

The key right now is if this will continue. As I’m writing this, the advisories show that the winds will be kicking back up again this week.  We’ll have to keep an eye out.

Also, totally ignored because of the yellowtail, but outside there’s some big dorado to be caught and inshore, cabrilla, pargo and sierra as well as roosters are running around!

P.S. As I am writing this on Sunday night a little story…we had 6 pangas out today.  4 pangas got into fish except two.  BOTH PANGAS HAD BANANAS ABOARD!!!   They lost yellowtail and big pargo!

Aero Mexico

NEW AIRLINES FOR LA PAZ…FINALLY!

After months of speculation and many promises,  Aero Mexico has finally announced its new routes to La Paz flying directly from Los Angeles.  As of April 6th, Alaska Airlines terminates it’s flights to La Paz, but Aero Mexico has stepped into the gap.  However, flights don’t begin until June 20th from Los Angeles.  But this is still good news.  As of now, flights from LAX to La Paz will be on Sundays and Thursdays!

That’s our story! Happy Easter and God bless!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

 

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yellowtail tags cavelini 3-13

Big yellowtail in the 30-pound class again provided super action all week for our anglers including John Cavellini who fished with Captain Victor near Cerralvo Island and shows off his first-ever forkie yellowtail!

yellowtail rack tags 3-13

Rack of fat yellowtail headed for the fillet knife and the freezer. Racks like this were not uncommon catches this week.

WARM WEATHER LOW WINDS MAKE FOR SOLID YELLOWTAIL BITE AGAIN!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 17-24, 2013

It was another very good week for weather with temperatures surprisingly warm for spring in the mid to high 80’s and winds giving us a break which meant good conditions for more yellowtail which did not disappoint.

Again, fishing around Cerralvo Island, especially the north and east sides of the island, as one angler put it, “There’s so much mackerel in the water, the waters are thick with them!”  This is like candy in the water for yellowtail and sure enough we averaged 2-6 big yellowtail up to about 35 pounds this week…a real healthy grade of fish.  Quite a few others were lost.

Check out some video of  Greg Hunley battling a big yellowtail.  Check out how close to shore we are with Cerralvo Island in the distance and how calm the waters are!  https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=d8a4dfbefd40a051&id=D8A4DFBEFD40A051%21238&Bsrc=SkyMail&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&authkey=!ALT32fTppT8gO_c

The fish were eating live mackerel as well as casted iron in blue and white as well as scrambled-egg patterns on the fast retrieve.  Slow trolled yo-zuri magnums were also effective and similarly produced some pargo and cabrilla in the same areas.

We also had (sorry I don’t have a photo), but a wahoo exceeding 100 pound was also taken in the middle of the yellowtail bites when the big fish was seen free-swimming next to one of the pangas and the quickly tied on some wire with a hooked mackerel and pitched it at the lazy wahoo.  The big wahoo took the bait and fish on!  Hopefully, I’ll get a photo of it for next time!

Conditions seemed to be clearing all over which is a great sign.  My captains scouting north of La Paz tell me the green cooler waters are getting better and yellowtail started to rise around El Bajo Seamount!

In addition, we also got some pargo, cabrilla and sierra close to shore!

COMING HOME…THANKS TO ALL!

C61_R64_fred-hall-iz-slide-46

After 3 months on the road and about 15,000 miles of driving, we’re finally coming home!  We’ve had a grand grand time!  We kicked it off in early January and drove from San Diego to the ISE show in Sacramento…then cross the plains and Rockies to Denver…Seattle (Puyallup)…Portland…Yakima…Phoenix…Boise…Long Beach…Salt Lake City…San Diego!   Wow!  Ten shows in 11 weeks!

We’ve criss-crossed the western U.S. up and down and back and forth at the biggest and best fishing and hunting shows around and talked to so many great folks and seen so much of this great country.  The best part was all the laughs, smiles and hospitality of so many of our old amigos and new amigos to be and talking about all the great fishing in La Paz.  It’s also great to see and share the road and shows with all our friends in the industry…many of whom we only get to see once a year.  We’ve had a blast and we want to say a big MUCHAS GRACIAS to everyone and GRACIAS A DIOS for keeping us safe on the roads and to God bless you all for a great year and season.  TAILHUNTER folks are the best!

Now..back to La Paz and let’s go fishing!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

 

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yellowtail art debbie tags 3-13

Great way to start your fishing vacation! Dr. Art Flippin usually spends his days in sub-zero weather working around the Arctic Circle! So, donning shorts and Hawaiian shirts is a welcome treat! He and his Debbie Divine kicked off their vaction by jumping on some fat yellowtail near Cerralvo Island as well as a few tasty cabrilla off the reef! They’re posing here on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos.

Jorge jig gaff yellowtail tags 3-13

Our amigo, and former La Paz fishing champ shows hows it’s done as he does it all by himself! He hooks and fights the fish…hangs the fish…then gaffs it and brings it aboard Superman-style! We recommend you let our captains help you, but Jorge is a super-star! This is the back-side of Cerralvo Island. Not the big dorado-colored jig in the fish’s mouth and the flat waters close to shore!

Flippin yellowtail 3 tags 3-13

Art spent a few days on the water with us and shows off another nice fat yellowtail near the north point of Cerralvo. Check out the guy in the background on the bow of another panga…totally bent on another big yellowtail!

yellowtail to gaff tags 3-13 flippin

Nothing quite like seeing a fish come to gaff after a long battle! Looks like another yellowtail is gonna get put in the box!

Adam Toeniskoetter yellowtail tags 3-13

Adam Toeniskoetter and his dad came down to visit us from Northern California for the first time and had 3 banner days of yellowtail fishing before the winds kicked up again mid-week. Adam poses with a hefty yellowtail.

Yellowtail jigs

Handy to have! I’m getting alot of questions from guys asking what colors of lures/ iron they should bring down this time of year if the yellowtail are biting or if the bait gets scarce. Here’s a few samples I pulled from my own tackle box to show. They’re a little nicked and dinged and scraped, but that’s because they’ve been BIT!

photo

Just thought I’d throw this in. Chuck Toeniskoetter kindly sent me this photo of Steve Jobs new yacht that’s been parked in Marina Costa Baja in La Paz. This is what 140 million bucks can buy you. One amigo joked that it kinda looks like a floating iPod. It’s not the prettiest watercraft ever! But I bet if you get close enough you get free wi-fi signals! It’s probably hard to fish from!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

If you ever wondered…yes, whales do smile! The grey whales seemed to staying around a bit longer than usual this year and our visitors had a great time with them this week getting about as close to the mom’s and calves as you could get and rubbing noses! Thanks to Debbie Divine for this photo. We’re still running daily trips to Mag Bag as long as the whales stay around!

Salt Lake City-20120318-00232

Salt Lake City you were great to us! Thanks for all the hospitality and the fantastic time at the ISE show in Sandy UT! After 3 months on the road, Jill and I finally wrap up our Tailhunter Road tour and will be in San Diego starting Wednesday to Sunday at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for the Fred Hall Fishing Show! Then we head home finally to La Paz!

YELLOWTAIL SLAM MACKEREL AND IRON JIGS BACKSIDE OF CERRALVO ISLAND!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week for March 10-17, 2013

It’s a good thing we didn’t have any fishing clients early in the week as the northern winds kicked in again and pretty much made it impossible to fish so just as well!  However, mid-week winds kicked down a notch and like clockwork, up came the bait and so did the big horse yellowtail that have taken up residence around Cerralvo Island.

Again, a good grade of 20-40 pound fish were the norm.  Mackerel worked as the hot ticket, but for guys who knew how to work the iron, especially blue and white, yellow and green and scrambled egg patterns the fish were more than cooperative and produced some of the larger fish.   Pangas averaged about 3-8 yellowtail each with almost as many tougher fish lost in the rocks or simply busted off…which is part of the fun.

Late in the week, it’s important to note that the mackerel did get harder to locate.  That’s not a good sign.  So, we’re keeping an eye on that.

We’ve had a great yellowtail season the last 5 weeks or so, but that was dependent on the mackerel being around.  As the mackerel go so do the yellowtail so we hope the mackies don’t go…just yet!  But that means that we had to work harder to get the fish especially using iron so one of those rare times when artificials are preferred over live bait simply because the live bait was hard to find, those angler who knew how to use throwing and yo-yo iron were at an advantage.  The basic technique simply means dropping the lure overboard and winding like your arm is falling off as fast as you can go!  The faster you crank the better the chance of getting a big yellowtail to slam the lure.  It also means that when you do have the mackerel, every one has to count!  No wasting bait!  Be on your “A” game!  Yellowtail don’t “nibble!”   The INHALE and head back to the rocks!   Big 40-pound fish don’t hesitate and they’ll slam into the baits and if you’re not ready, you miss your chances!

As for other species, the focus has been so intense for the last month on the big yellowtail that the other species common to this time of year are almost being ignored.  Yes, there’s pargo liso in the shallows as the big mutton snapper are in the shallows for their annual spawn.  There’s also cabrilla and sierra as well in the shallows and rocky areas plus we’re seeing more roosters as the weeks go on as well.

TAILHUNTER TOUR 2013 WINDS IT UP IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEK!

San Diego-20120321-00243

After 3 months and almost 15,000 miles of driving, the 2013 Tailhunter Road Tour winds it up this week with our 10th and final show.  We’re back on the beautiful Pacific Ocean in S. California in San Diego at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  We’re in the booth from Wednesday to Sunday at the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show.  This is always a fun show and it’s good to be back in the sunshine and on home turf!  Come say hi and let’s talk about your 2013 La Paz fishing vacation!  For more details, check out the link:  http://www.fredhall.com/pages/san_diego/sdticketInfo.php

Have a great week everyone!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

 

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yellowtail fabio tags 3-13

Big horse toad slugger yellowtail still running hard and strong around Cerralvo Island. Fabio shows a head shot on another big guy. If the winds are down the fish come to chew! (Thanks for the photo Hawk!)

yellowtail 3-13 ventana

Earlier in the week when the winds let us, this is the kind of world-class yellowtail fishing we were doing with 3-8 yellowtail per panga in the 20-40 pound class. As the winds increased over the week, the bite got a little pickier, but we still got into the fish! Mackerel, sardines, Rapala-type lures and yo-yo iron all worked!

Judy JR Caroline Jilly-proc

Thanks to everyone for the fantastic week at the Long Beach Convention Center for the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show! It was the best week we’d ever had in all these years and the best part was seeing so many of our amigos and amigas who stopped by to visit including Judy and Caroline from Western Outdoor News who work with us during the November Tuna Jackpot Tournament Cabo. Jill and I wanted to say thanks to everyone! Nothing like being home in S.Cal! “Fish Hard….Party Harder!”  Now we head to another of our favorite places…the ISE Show in Salt Lake City at the Southtowne Expo Center in Sandy UT.  Show is Thursday to Sunday!

WIND DOWN YELLOWTAIL UP!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 4-11, 2013

All-in-all, a pretty solid week of fishing with more yellowtail all week.   It wasn’t completely wind-free, but enough so that we could get into the yellowtail whch were again, horses!   Mostly the fishing centered around Cerralvo Island with some thick 20-40 pound fish coming up on the mackerel, sardines and especially the iron with blue/white…green/yellow…and scrambled egg patterns working the best!  Some of these fish were horses and as many fish were lost as were caught!

When folks got into the mackerel schools, especially, things could get wild as we had several stories of anglers jigging on their light tackle and getting slammed by big yellowtail and having their hands full…much to the entertainment of their fishing partners!   However, it wasn’t uncommon for the pangas to nail 4, 5, 6, or more of these big yellowtail each day!

Winds were great early in the week which corresponded with the best bite then increased as the week went on, especially in the afternoon and by the weekend they were back up to speed and the bite, consequently diminished.  That’s the biggest problem is the winds.  Winds up and the the fish are more difficult.  This coming week the predictions show that the winds start diminishing about Thursday so hopefully, we’ll get back into the thick of it!

Also, as a side note…yes! There are pargo and cabrilla running.  In fact, the pargo are up and thick in the shallows as this is spawning time.  However, everyone is concentrated on the yellowtail which are easier to stop than the big pargo which are embedded in the rocks!  But yea..the big red guys are there with the big seabass!

TAILHUNTER TOUR HEADS NORTH TO SALT LAKE CITY

Thanks, for the great visit, Long Beach!  We're headed to Salt Lake City now for the ISE show!

Thanks, for the great visit, Long Beach! We’re headed to Salt Lake City now for the ISE show!

We just wrapped up the best and busiest show of the season.  We spent 5 incredible days at the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center where it was just packed every single day.  Jill and I are hoarse from hours-and-hours of talking and seeing so many of our amigos and clients plus meeting new ones.  Lots of bookings too and we’re jazzed so many of you are coming back to visit us this year in La Paz!

Also, thanks to everyone who stopped by with wishes and goodies for my birthday!  Wow…it was like 5 days of Christmas and often it seemed like there was a bigger party in back of the counter than in front of the counter!  We had a grand time and we surely appreciated all the visits, the gifts…THE FOOD!!!  We ate non-stop from day 1 to 5!

We’re now on the road to Salt Lake City to the Southtowne Expo Center in Sandy UT for the International Sportsmens Expo.  It runs Thursday to Sunday and is always a blast. That’s March 14-17th!   We always enjoy being in Salt Lake City and seeing our friends.  So, come by the booth and say hi and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz this year!  Here’s info on the show if you need details or tickets:  http://www.sportsexpos.com/

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

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yellowtail jig tags 2-13

Once the winter winds back off, the big fish bit back hard with big fat yellowtail like this one stuck on iron off Cerralvo Island. The only thing is that the winds took their sweet time to back down and we didn’t get into fish until late in the week.

yellowtail brian oneill tags 2-13

Another fish hung on the blue and whit iron! Take a look at the quality of this 40 pound class yellowtail that Brian O’Neil hung fishing a long week with us with our Las Arenas Fleet. Brian is from Atlanta GA.

yellowtail gerardo tags 2-13

The client didn’t want their photo taken so Captain Gerardo of our Las Arenas fleet took the pose with another fat forktail taken off the island.

cougar JR edit

Thanks for the great time and great show, Boise! One of our best shows of the season! And now…here we come, LONG BEACH FRED HALL SHOW! This is the grand daddy of shows! It’s one of the largest on the west coast and kicks it off Wednesday to Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center!

WINDS BLOW AND KEEP US OFF THE WATER UNTIL LATE IN WEEK!

La Paz / Las Arenas fishing Report for Week of Feb. 24 to March 3, 2013

Compared to the previous week, this past week was a complete disappointment for the most part.  A week ago the winds gave us a break and laid down and the yellowtail went on a major feed along with dorado, marlin and sailfish.  Well, this past week, the winds were pretty unforgiving.  It was like Mother Nature was making up for being nice to us or reminding us that this is still winter.   So, she ripped  us pretty much all week!

But…on the good side, we didn’t have many fishermen either, so let the wind blow!  No harm. No foul.

However, as the weekend came up, the winds ran out’ve some of their steam and sure enough, it was enough of a window for the fish to come back up.  Yellowtail once, more came on the chew with fish in the 20-40 pound class around Cerralvo Island and south of Bahia de Los Muertos.  Our pangas averaged 4-8 yellowtail each in the boat with others lost to the rocks or inexperience.  Additionally, there were cabrilla and smaller pargo taken as well.  The fish were eating mackerel, sardines and willing to eat the yo-yo iron as well.

We just had one of the best shows of the 2013 tour season wrapping up our show at the Idaho Sportmans Show at the Idaho Fairgrounds in Boise!  Great to see so many of our amigos and talk to all the new folks.  We booked lots of trips for this year and excited about seeing everyone . Thanks to everyone who came by to say hi.  Boise is one of our favorite stops along the way!

LAST CALL CABIN FEVER CLASSIC

Last call for our 13th Annual Cabin Fever Classic Event.  We’re gonna have it April 10-15th in La Paz and it’s the only personally escorted trip we do and it’s always great fun with super friends, great food…and even some fish!  It’s 3 days of fishing and a day of snorkeling at the island plus lots of extras.  For more information, e-mail us at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com.  There’s just a few spots left!

WE’RE HEADED TO LONG BEACH FOR THE BIG SHOW!

But now…the Tailhunter 2013 Road Tour heads to the BIG SHOW!  The Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center.  This is probably the biggest show on the west coast with hundreds of vendors…tons of fishing and outdoor gear…seminars by the best in the industry…boats…travel…hunting…vacations…FIVE MASSIVE DAYS of craziness!  It starts Wednesday and goest to Sunday.  Comes see us and let’s talk about fishing in La Paz!  We’ll be in our booth in our usual spot next to Izorline and Whopper Stopper Rods on the main tackle row.  See ya there!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

 

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February 2013 day 1 copy-proc

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

Yellowtail mucho tags 2-13

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

yellowtail darrell rogers 2-13

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

yellowtail joel zarmati tags 2-13

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

Leif 32 pound yellowtail tags 2-13

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

Roger striped marlin tags 2-13

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

Brian sabiki yellowtail-proc tags 3-13

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

Gary Morris and Graham yellowtail tags 2-13

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

Taylor JR JR Tim 2-13

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

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

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

Probably the best fishing week of the season!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TAILHUNTER TOUR HEADING TO BOISE IDAHO

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

2013 CABIN FEVER CLASSIC

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

DATES:  April 10-15

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

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

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

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

Cost:  $1175 each double occupancy

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

Have a great week!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

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Rack sierra dorado cabrilla

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

cabrilla matt lewis tag 12-11

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

NO TROPHY FISH BUT MIXED ACTION KEPT RODS BENT BETWEEN WINDS

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

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

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

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

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

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

“NEEDLEFISH MADNESS”

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

TAILHUNTER IS IN PORTLAND THIS WEEK!

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

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

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

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

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: 

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

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IMGA0081

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

Wayne Jarrett dorado tags 1

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

ARt yellowtail tags

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

whales dennis tags

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

Denver-20130120-00281-2.jpg.

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

WORST WEEK OF WIND KEEPS EVERYONE OFF THE WATER

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

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

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

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

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

TAILHUNTER TOUR ROLLS INTO WASHINGTON

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

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

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

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

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

whaleswdennis 331

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

2011 SLC Exhibitors 013

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

ROUGH WEEK CURTAILS MUCH OF THE FISHING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great week!  That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jilly

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

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

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

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

.

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:

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

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

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

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

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JUREL EN BOCA DEL ALAMO 2013 yellowtail tags copy

We finally got a nice jag of yellowtail! Our ‘mano, Jorge Romero, owner of Tecolote Transportation in La Paz only had enough time to go out for 2 hours and hit 3 nice fork tail on live mackeral just south of Bahia de Los Muertos in front of Boca de Alama. Jorge told us, that no one else was even around as this is off-season!

Leya Dang dorado tags 1

Not bad for winter fishing! But, yes, we’ve still got dorado running around our waters surprisingly like this nice dorado that first-timer Liya Deng put in the panga fishing with Captain Victor of our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet. The fish was taken just outside of Bahia de Los Muertos.

Kamon pargo 12-12 tags

Chris Kamon of Los Angeles really wanted to get into pargo and we hadn’t gotten into too many…up to now, but Chris persisted and was rewarded with a couple of really nice pargo liso (mullet snapper) off the south end of Cerralvo Island. It appears that the much -sought snapper have moved into the shallow waters early to spawn which is a good sign!

Jason Gail Day2 Catch

One of the funnest light-tackle fish to catch right now are the numerous sierra that are in the shallow waters just off the beach. Gail and Jason Jacobs show off a double pair here on the beach at Bahia de Los Muertos. They also got yellowtail, dorado, roosterfish and wahoo!

SLOW START HEATS UP TO SURPRISE VARIETY FISHING!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 31 to Jan. 6, 2013

It was an interesting week of fishing.  At first we thought it would pretty tough.  Early weather predictions showed a week filled with strong winds as well as a chance of rain for several days.  However, as we hit into the week, the rains dissipated and the winds diminished sufficiently to get out on the waters.
As has been in the past, when the winds let us out, the fish bit!  And again, what a variety!
All of our fishing has been off the Muertos Bay Area SE of La Paz where we can at least fish closer to shore and have some protections from the northern winds.  So, we really have not had to go out far most of the times.  Certainly never out of sight of land!
Once again, we got into some decent quality-sized dorado in the 10-20 pounds class.  Roosterfish up to 25 pounds.  Decent numbers of sierra as well which were often taken to our Tailhunter Restaurant and showed up as ceviche for our clients!
But the most interesting news was the solid appearance of pargo liso off the south end of Cerralvo Island.  These are the carp-like looking mullet snapper much craved by our anglers for their fighting ability as well as great eating fare!  Fish up to about 20 pounds were caught, but several larger fish were lost.  This is the time of year when the fish come into the shallow rocky areas to spawn so this could be the start of an early spawn!
As well, we started hooking yellowtail as well.  We got a little smattering just before Christmas but this past week, it would appear the fish are here and ready to go.  We’re fishing just south of Bahia de Los Muertos off the shallow area in front of Boca de Alamo.  Using green mackerel for bait, the yellowtail were quality 15-25 pound fish.  The neat thing so far…at least until word gets out…is that barely anyone is fishing the area!

ANNUAL WHALE MIGRATION HAS STARTED!

Whalewatchcollage300tagscredits
The yearly migration of the grey whales has started with the incredible animals just starting to show up in Bahia Magdalena after their trip all the way from the Bering Sea.  It’s the longest migration of any of earth’s creatures and the whales will be in the warm shallow waters of the bay from January to March with February being prime time.  We’re just starting to book our trips for this season so if you’d like to experience this once-in-a-lifetime-event, get in touch with us and find out the details.  Great experience for the whole family!

Tailhunter 2013 Tour

Phoenix-20120226-00190

We’re on the road again for our 17th year and headed your way.  This week, we’ll be at the Sacramento International Sportsman’s Expo taking place at the California State Fairgrounds from Thursday to Sunday.  We’ll be in our booth ready to see all our friends and clients and ready to get you set up for your La Paz fishing trip in 2013.  Come by to say hi and pick up a copy of our 24 page Tailhunter brochure and DVD!  We’re looking forward to seeing you!

That’s our story!

Jonathan & Jill

 

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.comMexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address:  Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine  CA  91903-1149Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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