FEW ANGLERS AND INCONSISTENT WEATHER STILL PROVIDE FAIRLY GOOD LATE SEASON FISHINGLa Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 22-28, 2009Not many anglers in town and fishing conditions have been variable. One day it's sunny and calm. The next day, it's sunny with lots of wind. The next day it's cloudy and cold and looks like rain. We even got little sprinkles here and there. The seasons are definitely changing. Almost all our fishing has been out of Las Arenas/Muertos. Right now with the unpredictability of the weather, it's the best bet because even if the weather is less than desirable, at least we don't have to go very far to catch fish. Close to shore, we can still get some roostersfish, jack crevalle and the occasional pompano. As well, the chance of getting into a nice school of sierra is always there so that you can put easily a limit of the speedsters in the box in short time or catch-and-release as fast as you want. Good idea to bring a little wire for your hooks because these fish have sharp teeth. If conditions are right, there's still the opportunity to get into some of the bluewater fish still lingering. The good thing is that you don't really have to go too far for the fish. Some schools of tuna and dorado aren't too far from shore and a little live bait can get the fish worked up fast. But if it's really windy, then too much chop seems to keep the fish lockjawed and down unwilling to come to the surface. There's still some marlin and sailfish around too moving in the areas of bonito off the south end of Cerralvo (er...Jacques Cousteau Island *) Island. Also, there's still some wahoo in the area as well. If you have the right rig in the water at the righ time, wahoo are in that same area between the south side of the island and the Punta Perrico area. *As of Nov. 17th, that's the new name for Cerralvo Island. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! That's our story! Jonathan and Jill Jonathan Roldan's
Tailhunter International
Website: www.tailhunter-international.com U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745 Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico Phones: from USA : 626-638-3383 from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863 Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.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."
 PHOTO 1: Good friends for many years, Ray and Nathan Chow from the Bay Area of California make it down each year and always do well. This year, they came later in the season and found they had the fishing grounds almost to themselves with not much competition for hungry tuna and dorado like these. Captain Victor looks on.  PHOTO 2: We're not doing much fishing right now with our La Paz Fleet because the winds are too strong and sporadic out of the north many days but when we do get out, there's dorado and lots of sierra like these held up by Ray and Nathan Chow who fished 3 days out of Las Arenas and then this one day out of La Paz. They also got cabrilla and yellow snapper along with the sierra.  PHOTO 3: Taken from Las Arenas Beach near the lighthouse, this is Cerralvo Island in the background...the legendary island is no more. Say good-bye! Sadly...Story below! NUMEROUS SPECIES STILL BITING DESPITE COOLER TEMPS AND VERY LITTLE FISHING PRESSURE
La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 15-21, 2009
It’s the BEST time to be fishing!
The weather is not hot. It’s not too cold. There’s barely anyone on the water and best of all, the fish are still biting. It’s a little windier than we would like so we’re not fishing much north of the city with our La Paz Fleet, but with our Las Arenas Fleet, the fish are so close, it’s great.
We’re still getting into that school of tuna right off the beach between the lighthouse and the big houses at Punta Perrico. Literally, about 5 minutes from where we are launching the boats. The tuna are in the 20-35 pound class and eating live bait, but show a preference to chunks of dead sardines drifted in the current. It’s not wide open, but you pick up a fish each pass. As well, dorado keep swimming through the area so it’s not uncommon to get a limit or near limit of dorado as well. The fish aren’t big…maybe 10-15 pound fish on the average, but there’s some larger fish around as well free-swimming through the chum. You can also slow troll strips of dead bonito to get the dorado charging the boat Interestingly, we’re getting a really late season bite of marlin and sailfish. This isn’t very typical and nice to see most anglers are releasing the billfish, especially the small ones. Inshore, there’s lots of sierra all around and you can get dozens in short order. In the rocks, cabrilla, pargo, snapper and some amberjack are providing some great inshore action NO MORE CERRALVO ISLAND
Just like Bahia de Los Muertos being “re-named” by the real estate folks to “Bahia de Los Suenos” (Bay of Dreams), we now have our beloved Cerralvo Island...capital center of the fishing grounds…renamed to…(hold on to your socks)…”Jacques Cousteau Island.” Yup…Wonder who paid who for THAT one? All due respect to Jay Coo for all he did in his fantastic lifetime, but c’mon! What next? What names are for sale? Carmen Island to be named, Isla Shakira? Magdalena Bay becomes Bahia de Microsoft? God bless you all for a safe and happy Thanksgiving! That’s our story! Jonathan and Jill Jonathan Roldan's
Tailhunter International
Website: www.tailhunter-international.com U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745 Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico Phones: from USA : 626-638-3383 from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863 Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm
"When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try."
 PHOTO 1: So late in the season, there are surprisingly a nice batch of quality tuna still being caught around Cerralvo Island and just outside of Muertos Bay just SE of La Paz. These 25-35 pound fish aren't wide open, but the bite can be steady and relatively close to shore. Jill Roldan (my wife!) of La Paz and Tailhunter International used drifted dead sardines and light tackle to hammer this nice yellowfin tuna after a tough battle.
 PHOTO 2: Where have these big fish been? Normally, the fall is the time for these big bull dorado, but most of them have been school-sized fish in the 10-15 pound class. This might be one of the larger bull dorado of the season and fell for a live sardine tossed out on 25-pound-test as it swam by the panga. I just saw the "swirl" and didn't realize the size of the fish until it took off and went airborne! Otherwise, I would have grabbed some heavier gear or at least something with heavier leader. Fortunately, the fish was lip-hooked and couldn't chomp the line.  PHOTO 3: Not a bad day at all. Four yellowfin tuna, 1 dorado, 1 sierra, numerous big bonito. Actually, the first day all season were were able to get out on the water together.  PHOTO 4: Two great amigos...Nathan and his dad, Ray Chow from the San Francisco Bay Area come to see us each year. They had to postpone their trip twice this year, but finally made it down albeit later in the season than they are accustomed to. They found they pretty much had the ocean all to themselves as opposed to the busier times of the year and got into some nice jags of dorado and tuna.  PHOTO 5: Although because of the northern winds that are popping up with more regularity now that the season are changing, we're doing most of our fishing out of protected Muertos Bay, we're still getting the occasional panga out of La Paz. Weather permitting, the dorado are still there too with fish in the 10-25 pound class. East-coaster, Gerry Mulholland holds up a sample of a nice bull. DORADO - TUNA - WAHOO - BILLFISH - SIERRA BEND ANGLERS DESPITE WINDS
La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 8-14, 2009Seasons have definitely changed down here after a season of sweltering heat and humidity. We’re probably having some of the most pleasant weather of the year right now. Not hot. Not cold. Just right. Northern breezes, strong at times, are keeping us doing most of our fishing out of Muertos Bay now, but occasionally, when we send a boat out of La Paz with out fleet, they are getting limits or near limits of dorado to 25 pounds. As mentioned, the better conditions and fishing have been with our Las Arenas/Muertos Bay fleet. Even when the winds blow, the fishing is so relatively close to shore that it makes for a great day. Except for having to run the island to get bait, we then come back and fish literally no more than 5 minutes out of the Bay and maybe only 100-200 yards off the beach. Fresh dead sardines have worked great on the tuna school that seems to have planted itself between the big houses on the hill at Punta Perrico and the old Las Arenas Hotel. Some days we get 1 or 2 fish per boat. Other days, the boats will get 2-6 fish per panga. Still great fishing for November and the 25-35 pound grade fish are incredible fighters, especially on light tackle. As well, huge bonito up to 12 pounds give the tuna a run for the money in terms of fighting power but then schools of dorado and free swimming marlin and sailfish also come through the same areas where the pangas are fishing for the tuna. Just about every day, I see some panga suddenly hooked up and chasing down a leaping billfish blowing up in the middle of the fleet and pangas trying to get out’ve the way amid lot of laughter and screaming anglers. Surprisingly, this late in the season, we’re getting quite a few billfishing. I’ve never seen so many marlin and sails this late in the year. For the dorado, we’ve still got ‘em swimming around in relatively nice numbers, but the best way to get them going to catch bonito then slow troll strips of them behind the panga. After a hookup, toss live bait to see if the school follows the hooked fish in. Often, 2, 3 or more fish come to the boat. In addition, every few days, someone hooks a wahoo around Cerralvo. In fact, if you're the right person at the right time in the right spot, the wahoo can go off. Same with roosterfish and sierra as well. Just a nice time to be here for the moment. WEEKLY VIDEO CLIPHere's some footage from the week of fishing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zL8PuvoaZQ JACK VELEZ FUNDThanks to all of you who generously donated to the family. Big and small, we collected close to 6 thousand dollars to help the family after Jack's passing earlier this summer. We had a small memorial dinner now that the season has slowed down, and surprised them with the funds. The family wanted me to express their gratitude to all of you for your spirit and generosity. God bless you all. That's our story Jonathan and Jill Jonathan Roldan's
Tailhunter InternationalWebsite: www.tailhunter-international.com U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745 Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico Phones: from USA : 626-638-3383 from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863 Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm
"When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try."
 PHOTO 1: The photo does not do justice to this fish. If it looks like a big yellowfin tuna that's becaues it is! It's 383 pounds caught by San Jose del Cabo resident Oscar Dacarrett. Jill and I have been working all week at the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot Tournament in Cabo San Lucas and right off the bat, this fish not only blew away the field as the first fish weighed in, it destroyed the record books. It's the largest fish of the tournament. It's the new record for the tournament but even moreso, it's a new record yellowfin tuna for Mexico and only 5 pound shy of the WORLD RECORD!  PHOTO 2: It's hard to believe that with the history of Baja fishing, no other yellowfin tuna this large have ever been caught on rod and reel, but this historic fish was taken on the Gorda Banks SE of Cabo San Lucass. It ate a live bullito and surprisingly chomped a little 4/0 circle hook!  PHOTO 3: The media crush on the docks was incredible as everyone vied for a shot or piece of video of the fish at the Cabo docks.  PHOTO 4: For years, Clarence "Butch" Tropez of Los Angeles had been trying to get his wife, Norma, down to Baja. For their 22nd anniversary she finally acquiesced and he even got her out for a day of fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and Captain Adolfo. They got limits of dorado early and were done by 11 a.m. and had such a great time, Butch thinks he'll have a hard time coming back to La Paz without her! This photo was taken just outside of Muertos Bay.  PHOTO 5: Kelli Gora from Los Angeles was on her first trip to see us with husband Dave. They fished one day with Captain Victor from our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet and got a tuna and limits of dorado like this one just off Punta Perrico. WIND SETTLE DOWN FOR SOME NICE FISHING ALTHOUGH FEW FISHERMEN IN TOWN NOW. BUT CHECK OUT NEAR WORLD RECORD YELLOWFIN TUNA!
La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 1-7, 2009
Well, the winds calmed down and it’s hard to describe the fishing only because there were so few fishermen and the weather was incredible. I guess the word is “pleasant.” It was no-stress fishing. No wind. No waves. The fish bit and there was almost no one on the water. Almost like having the whole ocean to yourself at times like old school-old-Baja fishing! We got a nice assortment of fish with a wide variety depending on where you fished and how you fished. Dorado were the mainstay for anglers looking for bluewater fish, but they dorado could be as close as a few yards off the beach, especially for our Las Arenas Tailhunter Fleet.
As well, as the week went on ,yellowfin tuna in the 20 pound class provided some nice action with about 2-5 fish per panga on the average to go along with the 15 pound dorado. Inshore, we got more sierra as the waters cooled but roosterfish and snapper were also in the counts as well as amberjack, pompano and jack crevalle.
BIG TUNA BREAKS MEXICO RECORDS AND ALMOST WORLD RECORD!
We spent the better part of the week working for Western Outdoor News at their 11th annual Tuna Jackpot Tournament in Cabo San Lucas south of us in La Paz. It's always a blast being part of the tournament crew. This year was better than ever.
Right off the bat, the first fish of the two-day event turned into a fish-of-all fish. We got the radio call that they were bringing in a "huge" fish. Ok...heard that one before, but we knew the boat and crew were local and it was unusual for a tournament team to bring in a fish so soon. They said it was over 300 pounds. Ho-hum...everyone thinks their fish is BIG.
However, as soon as the boat hit the docks and we got a look at it, all skepticism melted. This was obviously, a pig of a fish! It was indeed a giant cow yellowfin tuna and we had a project just getting it off the boat and carted to the weigh-station 100 yards down the docks. The fish was so big, that we had to re-configure the ropes holding the scales!
However, when the digital scale was read out at "383 pounds!" the winning team and whole place went nuts! Not only was it the new record fish for the tournament (previous best was 319 pounds), but it was the largest yellowfin tuna ever records from Mexico waters; the 5th largest yellowfin tuna ever; AND only 5 pounds off the world record!
It was great to be here and part of the event!
Here is video footage of that first day of the tournament. The flare-gun start was shot from the stern of the official start boat so that's why it gets a bit rocky. However, turn up the sound and we hope you enjoy this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_5YNFf5kYo
That's our story!
Jonathan and Jill
Jonathan Roldan's
Tailhunter InternationalWebsite: www.tailhunter-international.com U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745 Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico Phones: from USA : 626-638-3383 from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863 Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.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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