That&#039;s My Story

U.S. Office: 8030 La Mesa, Suite #178, La Mesa CA 91942

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:

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

“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.”

“When Is A Day Not A Day?”

jr3pic18

WHEN IS A DAY NOT A DAY?

Originally Published the Week of March 15, 2016 in Western Outdoor News

A French philosopher once penned, “A drunk mind speaks a sober heart.”

And so it was that I was sitting around with one of our captains that work for us in La Paz.

Stubble-faced leather skin. The “Baja squint” from so many years staring into the glare of the Sea of Cortez. Character lines earned from a lifetime on the water make it hard to tell his age. Maybe 65? Could be 10 year younger. I’ve never asked. He’s never told me.

He’s worked for my fleet for 20 of those years. His salt and sweat encrusted Dodgers hat has to be at least that old.

After a sip or two, people often say things prudence might otherwise put the brakes on. And in this case, after a long day of good fishing, a little pyramid of cans was building on the worn plastic Modelo Beer table with the faded logo.

Some small talk. But then…he looked up at me and said thoughtfully, “Do you want to know what I really think of you gringo Americans? “

Oh-oh. Danger. Danger. Little red lights go off in my head.

It wasn’t said belligerently. It was said the way one guy at a bar talks to another guy when he wants to let the other guy in on something…or get something off his chest.

One of those situations we all get into. Even if you said, “No”, they are going to tell you what they think anyway.

Except, I was his employer. And, although I’ve been in Mexico two decades, the gringo label on my head still hasn’t rubbed off.

But, this wasn’t like the guy from the mail room at the Christmas party slobbering over the CEO. I respected this man and considered him a friend.

No matter what you think of yourself, it’s often harder to hear what others think about you. Or people like you. Tread lightly.

OK. Bring it. But, I leaned back a bit defensively. Arms crossed in classic body language.

“I think Americans are good people. Very generous. Mostly very kind and thoughtful.”

My anxiety eased a tad, but I could hear a “but” coming.

He took a sip of beer. Swirled and swallowed choosing his words carefully.

“But (here it comes)…they have too much money (he laughed). And they do not understand what a day is.”

He paused and let that sink in. I looked curiously and cocked an eyebrow. He had my attention now.

“For example, me and a gringo fisherman are the same age. If we both die at the same time, I will have lived twice as long as him!”

Made no sense. I hoped this wasn’t going to be a one-sided rambling of a guy on a buzz.

Be he explained slowly and pointed at me.

“The problem with gringo Americans is that they are always in a rush. Go here. Go there. Running. Even on their vacations, they are always in a hurry. Their day is always too short. Too complicated. They do so many things. They have too many things. But, they never really enjoy what they have. “

“My day is simple. My day is NEVER too short. My day is twice as long as yours! So, I will live twice as long! “ He said with a emphasis and a laugh.

He swallowed a burp. He slapped me on my back; winked at me; and teetered into his house to the call-of-nature. And to think about what he said.

A drunk mind speaks a sober heart.

Left to contemplate, I sat there in that dusty yard under a tree watching him disappear into the house. A bee buzzed the empty beer cans.

With my own beer in hand, I tried to wrap my brain around the logic of a simple Mexican fisherman who plans to live twice as long as me…twice as long as most of us.

Because he lives slower.

It was a hard logic to rebut.

People tell me I’m “living the dream.” Don’t get me wrong. I’m blessed.

But, I’ve often wished my day was 2 or 3 times longer so I could get more done. I live with a cell phone in one pocket. Another phone in my hand. A clipboard in the other. Two laptops on my desk and an internal clock in my head that’s always ticking.

The only reason I happened to be sitting for a few minutes with my captain friend was because I had to pick up some work-related equipment he had fixed for me.

And I think of so many of our friends and clients who come down to La Paz to see us. They eat at our restaurant and all of them are glued to tablets and smart phones as they eat. Every day of their vacation, there’s an agenda item that requires a schedule. They live full exciting lives. They talk business, family and obligations even while fishing.

They video everything, but I often wonder how much do they really watch later. Who has the time?

Every now and then it’s good to be reminded not to forget the here-and-now. THESE are the “good old days” you’ll be talking about tomorrow.

The way that sun rose over the Sea of Cortez…that day the tuna exploded behind the panga…the day your kids swam with the whalesharks…the afternoon the lady at the taco cart became a new friend… the stupid jokes you and your buddies told over the campfire that night…the day in Baja you did absolutely NOTHING and didn’t see another person on the beach all day.

These are the days that should be savored and locked in our brains and hearts and not just in our cell phones or stored “on the cloud.” Take our lives down a notch. Live slower. Live longer via the logic of a simple country fisherman.

My cell phone rang. I let it go to voice mail. I sighed and pulled another beer from the battered ice chest.

They say the secret to success is to hire people smarter than you. I’m gonna sit for a little longer with my captain friend.

That’s my story

Jonathan signature

Jonathan

______________

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor

TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR #1 Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor

Now follow us on FACEBOOK TOO

U.S. Office: 8030 La Mesa, Suite #178, La Mesa CA 91942

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:

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

“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.”

Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Waves generated this week in Hawaii that reach 70′ were attributed to El Nino conditions.

AIN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER

Originally Published in Western Outdoors the Week of March 3, 2016

As write this, we’re tooling southbound down the highway through the Utah desert. Fueled on pumpkin seeds and ice tea, Jill is driving so that I can work from the passenger seat on my laptop.

We just finished the Sportsman’s Show in Yakima, Washington. We’re on our way now to the big Fred Hall Fishing Show at the Long Beach Convention Center for the show that goes March 2-6.

We’ve been on the road since before Christmas and have hauled our booth to shows in Billings, Montana; Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, CA; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR and last week in Yakima, WA.

The shows are always fun and a great opportunity to talk with folks about fishing in Baja. Hopefully, they’ll fish with us at Tailhunter in La Paz! But, it’s just fun to chat with other Baja fans or folks interested in fishing in Baja or Mexico in general.

One of the big questions that pops up a lot is about El Nino.

In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s the global weather phenomenon that pops up every decade or so whereby warm water currents push up against the western side of the U.S. instead of across the pond over there in Asia.

It has had a big effect on fishing this past year or so. In the rare case you’ve never heard if it, you’ve been affected by it, even if you don’t fish.

The unseasonably warm weather? That’s El Nino. The above-average rain and snow? That’s El Nino. Drought-busting floods ? That’s El Nino. Non-stop winds? El Nino is the culprit.

As I’m writing this, huge ocean swells are hammering California and Hawaiian surfers are all over the 60-70 foot swells slamming the islands north shores.

When the current El Nino descended on us over a year ago, it was predicted to possibly be the largest El Nino since the 1997. Many predicted it to be the largest in recorded history. It still remains to be seen if the present El Nino lives up to predictions. Vamos a ver…we’ll see!

But the scientific community says El Nino is gonna hang with us until at least the middle of 2016 when it will slowly dissipate.

Maybe yes. Maybe no. It’s not like weather is an exact science, and even if it does ramp down, it’s not like it will be there one day and stop 24-hours-later.

Rain might do that. El Nino does not. It will be something gradual. Until the next “weather thing” comes up. Nothing is over until it’s over.

If you’re reading this, then you already probably have some idea of how it has affected ocean-fishing since it’s genesis.

With the unseasonably warm water, many warm water species moved into otherwise unusual areas from Mexican waters. Southern California for the past two seasons has seen a bonanza of fishing.

Yellowfin tuna less than a mile from shore. Wahoo and billfish off the beaches of Los Angeles. Kayak fishermen catching dorado off San Diego kayaks. Anglers on ½-day charter boats limiting on big yellowtail.

Because of the shifts in warm water, some of these species were seen as far north as Washington. I had one fishing outfitter from British Columbia, who fishes a lot in Baja, tell me they caught some pompano (jacks) and he was the only person who knew what they were. He had caught them in Loreto in southern Baja.

Other friends and clients tell me about tuna and occasional dorado in Washington and northern Oregon!

In Baja, I would surmise that the effects have been mixed. Probably more negative than positive.

As mentioned previously, many species normally found in the tropical Baja waters migrated north of the border. That left Baja catches often wanting and below average in size and quantity.

With the warm waters, Baja didn’t get the colder water upwelling from the deep that brings nutrients necessary for bait stocks. Bait was few or non-existent. Sportfishing catches resulted in smaller fish (nothing to eat) or very few fish at all. Baja still had good fishing. Just really different.

The same thing happened up north to salmon patterns. With a dearth of colder waters, the areas lacked nutrients for the baitfish, salmon and steelhead. The result is smaller fish or as one scientist put it, the fish are “starving to death” with long-term effects waiting to be seen.

Further, in terms of simple weather patterns, El Nino has produced a cornucopia of weather issues for us in Baja

Over the past year-and-a-half, the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Baja have been belted by numerous tropical storms and higher incidence of precipitation.

On the other end of the spectrum, there were times over the last two fishing seasons, when we were always on “hurricane watch” with attentions glued to chubascos that seemed to materialize every week. Most did not hit and blew out to sea. However, two of the largest ever, including Odile in 2014 were historic and did tremendous damage.

Even without the rainstorms, every time there was a weather system north of the border, it created heavy wind conditions south of the border. For example this past winter, with all the snow and rain dropped in the U.S. produced one of the windiest winters in memory. This rendered fishing almost impossible many days.

I would venture to say that Odile was responsible for more rugged days of fishing these past two years than anyone could remember and resulted in more canceled fishing days as well.

So, what do I tell everyone who asks about El Nino?

I tell them it hasn’t been really great for us down south. But, on the other hand, rain and snow are needed up north and the fishing has been great on the Pacific side in many areas.

It’s all part of the cycle. Everything comes and goes.

El Nino will come and go as it has been doing long before anyone cared about El Nino and it will continue long after. There’s not much to be done about it except accept it as part of earth doing what earth does.

With all the banner fishing that has taken place outside of Mexico, numerous anglers have rediscovered their enjoyment of fishing. Many first-timers have been brought into the sport as well.

It’s been great for the fishing industry. Great for the sport.

I feel eventually, these folks will expand their horizons and find their way to Mexican waters. And we’ll be ready for them. Personally, I’m looking forward to a great season!

That’s my story!

Jonathan signature

Jonathan

_______________

______________

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor

TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR #1 Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor

Now follow us on FACEBOOK TOO

U.S. Office: 8030 La Mesa, Suite #178, La Mesa CA 91942

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:

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

“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.”

A LURE FOR ALL REASONS

Posted in airlines, aquaculture, bahia de los muertos, bahia de los suenos, Baja, Baja Fishing, Baja fishing lures, Baja Life, Baja Mexico Fishing, Baja Rockfish, Cabo San Lucas, cabrilla, camping, car, cerralvo, cerralvo island, charity, charters, chubasco, circle hooks, crankbait, Dehydration, donations, dorado, driving, east cape, ecotourism, el nino, el sargento, espirito santo, family, farm-raised, fish, fish farming, fish pens, Fishing, fishing blogs, fishing hooks, Fishing lures, fishing packages, fishing reports, Fishing Tackle and Techniques, Fishing techniques, fishing tips, fishing tournaments, fishing trips, fishing videos, flyfishing, freediving, giant squid, green, Heat stroke, highway, history, holidays in mexico, humboldt squid, hurricane, hurricanes, ice chests, inshore fishing, inshore fishing in Baja Mexico, jack crevalle, Jonathan Roldan, kids, kids fishing, La Paz, La Paz Fishing, la ventana, las arenas, Leisure, light tackle, Living in Mexico, los barriles, luggage, marlin, Mexican, Mexican business, Mexican culture, mexican food, mexican food stands, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Mexico Christmas, Mexico economy, Mexico life, Mexico neighborhood, missions, outfitters, pack for a purpose, packages, packing, packing fish, panga, Panga Fishing, pargo, passport, planning, pompano, rental car, rentals, road trip, roosterfish, Salt Water Fishing, Salt water lures, San Jose del Cabo, saving money, Sea of Cortez, seafood, sierra, spearfishing, sportfishing, squid fishing, storm, storms, suitcases, Sun stroke, sustainable, Tailhunter International, techniques, tourism, tours, transpeninsular highway, Travel, trolling tips, tuna, Tuna jackpot, tuna tournament, vacations, vehicle, wahoo, waterspouts, weather, Western Outdoor News, Western Outdoor Publications, women fishing, yellowtail, tagged accommodations, activities, amberjack, bahia, baja, baja editor, baja sur, bars, bay, beach, Bill Boyce, billfish, blogs, blue water, bonito, Cabo San Lucas, cabrilla, catch and release, Central Washington Sportsmans show, cerralvo, certified scale, charter, children, chubasco, costa baja, day tour, deep sea, del mar fairgrounds, discount, dog tooth, dorado, east cape, eco tour, el sargento, espirito santo, extreme fishing, family, fish, fishing and boating shows, fishing and hunting shows, fishing sportfishing, flyfishing, fred hall, free dive, get-away, girls, grey whales, grouper, guide, guide service, holiday, hotel, hotel marina, hotel perla, hotel seven crown, hunting, idaho sportsman’s show, igfa, images, inshore, International Game Fish Association, international sportsmans expo, ise, isla, island, jack crevalle, jillene roldan, jilly roldan, Jonathan Roldan, kids, La Paz, la ventana, las arenas, light tackle, live bait, lodging, los barriles, mahi mahi, marlin, mexican, mexico, muertos, northwest sportsmans show, offshore, outfitter, pack for a purpose, package, panga, panga slam, pargo, photos, pompano, portland expo center, Puyallup Fairgrounds, reef fish, reports, restaurants, rockfish, rooster fish, rooster fish foundation, sailfish, saltwater, san jose del cabo, scuba, sea bass, sea of cortez, sealions, shuttle, sierra, snapper, snorkel, spearfish, suenos, swim, tackle, Tailhunter International, tailhunter restaurant bar, techniques, tips, tour, tourism, travel, trolling, tuna, tuna jackpot tournament, updates, vacation, video, wahoo, Washington Sportsmans Show, weather, western outdoor news, WFN, whale watching, whales, whaleshark, wife, women, World Fishing Network, yellowtail on February 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

A GREAT ASSORTMENT OF LIPPPED CRANKBAITS

A LURE FOR ALL REASONS!

Originally Published the Week of Feb. 18, 2016 in Western Outdoor News

For whatever reason, I got 3 e-mails this week that resonated with a similar theme. Basically, given the erratic weather, fishing conditions and fish species that have come up with El Nino, what would be my number one choice in lures?

Essentially, the fishing this past year was all over the place and unpredictable. It remains so. Anything can happen. Anything can bite.

Does the Baja fisherman go turbo “boy scout” and prepare for anything and bring everything in his man-cave? Highly difficult in these days of high priced airline luggage rates.

Or does one go Spartan minimalist and gnash one’s teeth in anxiety trying to figure out which blue lure stays home and which red feather lure gets to visit Mexico? Oh the agony!

I’ll tell you that my man caves…yes plural…I have several “caves” and several storage units in two countries and three cities…and they are stuffed to the gills with fishing tackle.

I can bring pretty much any weapon of mass destruction on the fish population that I can think of! But, I can’t bring it all. I can’t physically load the whole arsenal everytime I go fishing or need to travel.

So, I have one all-purpose lure that I never leave home without if I’m fishing the Baja. It’s the most versatile fish-catching device in my tackle box.

It might not always come out to play once I’m on the water. But, I know that if I had nothing else, this lure would almost always catch fish.

It’s the lure that bass fisherman refer to as a crankbait and historically, it might just be the most effective fishing lure every conceived.

If you’re not familiar with it, it’s often and usually in the shape of a fish, but is characterized by a metal or plastic “lip” protruding from the front of it. They come in all sizes from an inch-or-two up to giant ones as big as a foot long. The are wooden, plastic, metal or fiberglass and painted in more colors than a rainbow, but all have a “lip” of varying sizes and angles.

When pulled through the water, the “lip” causes the lure to dive. The length of the lip and the angle determines how deep it dives and what kind of “action” (wiggle…shimmy…side-to-side) motion it makes underwater.

Like tissue paper such as Kleenex, many are simply known by the company that makes them such as Rapala, Rebel, Mirrolure, Yo-zuri and others.

Some of these companies have been around for generations and older version of these lures can be as simple as a piece of elongated wood with some hooks attached and a lip stuck on it and a couple of eyeballs painted on the front.

The newer versions have elaborate paint jobs and finishes. Lips tend to be the more durable plastic or acrylic. Hooks are generally treble and can have 1, 2 or 3 sets attached.

The bottom line with these lures is that they catch fish!

You can cast them. You can jig them. You can troll them. The faster you retrieve them or troll them, the deeper they dive depending on the size of their lip.

No bait. No problem. Use a crank bait.

Rough surface water. No problem. Troll a crank bait.

You have a lot of water to cover. No problem. Drag it behind the boat.

Author and my predecessor at Western Outdoor News, Gene Kira, wrote in is book “The Baja Catch” that the most effective way to troll one of these lures was to go in a big lazy “S” shape. This caused the lure to dive, then stall and rise then dive again as the boat moved through the water. There wasn’t a place in Baja that this didn’t work.

He’s right. I can’t think of any Baja fish that won’t bite them.

I’ve seen them attacked by marlin, sailfish, sharks, dorado, tuna and especially by wahoo.

Inshore, you can cast them from rocks or the beach; fishing a kayak or paddle board; float tube; or panga, the list of fish are endless. Huge dog snapper, yellowtail, grouper, seabass, sierra, amberjack, barracuda, roosterfish and others have found crankbaits to be irresistible.

Just be careful. If the rocks aren’t very deep, you want to be sure your lure isn’t diving deep enough to get snagged in the rocks. This is controlled by the size of the lure lip and your manner of retrieval or trolling speed.

If nothing else is working or I’m just looking for some dinner fish, I whip out my crankbaits. Chances are I’ll never go hungry. I will always catch something.

Bring along a few on your next Baja trip. Like having a Swiss army knife. You’ll find them handy to have when you need them!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

_______________

______________

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor

TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR #1 Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor

Now follow us on FACEBOOK TOO

U.S. Office: 8030 La Mesa, Suite #178, La Mesa CA 91942

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:

Tailhunter YouTube Videos:

“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.”