That's My Story

PHOTO 1: A new Tailhunter Poster Child!!!The angle of the photo might make this look a little bigger than it really is, but this is still a BIG fish!!! Make no mistake, this is a beast. It’s trophy! He surely knows how to pose in front of a camera. Actor and outdoor hunting TV show host, Rick Kasper, had a number of banner days fishing with us this week and got into some of the big yellowtail we found north of La Paz. Forty-pound fish were not uncommon and captains told me of larger fish that were lost to the rocks. “We lost several in the 50 pound class right next to the boat!,” said Rick.

PHOTO 2: Jeff Sakuda from Monterey Park CA has had some incredible trips with us over the years coming down twice a year or more. Fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet, Jeff put some meat in the cooler with this heavy fat yellowtail, he caught on a big bait…the secret to the larger fish…larger mackerel or caballitos for bait.

PHOTO 3: BUCKET LIST PHOTO! Before they went fishing that morning, John Carser, Tom Hinmon and Mark Rodman told me that they had been trying to catch a wahoo for year and that they wanted to try for wahoo that day. I told ’em that there’s wahoo, but it’s hit-or-miss and that they would have to commit the time and might not get any fish at all and then it would be too late to get anything else. But they said that wahoo was on their “BUCKET LIST.” OK…go for it. Well…what’dya know…they come back with THREE wahoo! One each. That’s incredible. That’s like telling someone you’re going to a ball game and saying you’re gonna hit a homerun! Then do it…

PHOTO 4: Rick Kasper and Dr. Doug Finn, visiting from New York on his first Mexico trip and first day ever on salt water scored 9 yellowtail, 10 doradol (most released), sierra and cabrilla.

PHOTO 5: Captain Archangel with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet holds up one of the wahoo caught this week off the S. end of Cerralvo Island (when the wind wasn’t blowing!). The fish was caught by Harry Hsu, recently retired and on his first trip to La Paz. Note the big purple/black rapala dangling from the mouth

PHOTO 6: Dr. Doug Finn from the Bronx, NY, said it was “the best fishing of my life…like the stuff you only see on TV shows!” He was bruised and battered after a few days of fishing and trying to stop big yellowtail like this one.

PHOTO 7: Our amigo from Portland, Brent Layng, is an ultra-triathalete, but had his hands full with yellowtail and big cabrilla (seabass) like this one the past week. The big pargo took a blue and white lure fished on a fast retrieve in about 60 feet of water west of Ballena Island north of La Paz.

PHOTO 8: Did I mention that we’re catching more dorado these days?

PHOTO 9 : Todd Wheat from N. Cal specifically came down this past week to cross rods and wits with our tricky pargo and got a personal best with this big pargo liso (mullet snapper). Todd was fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet and got in a few days before the winds ripped things up. The big pargo are right there in the rocks. It’s our largest of the season…so far!

PHOTO 10: Harry Hsu on his first trip with us got a wahoo as well as this nice female dorado fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet. More dorado are moving into the area and Harry took this on a live sardine.

PHOTO 11: Bryan Layng came down from San Francisco to check our our spring-fishing and right off the bat, tied into this horse of a yellowtail that swallowed a nice caballito fished off the bottom. These heavy fish were off Espiritu Santo Island.

PHOTO 12: Popular Captain Jorge always seems to do well, especially when fishing with Jeff Sakuda who got into yellowtail, sierra, cabrilla and a prized-wahoo off S. Cerralvo Island after fishing several days with us.

PHOTO 13: Not a bad lineup for Todd Wheat and Greg Gregory fished 3 days with us but scored with pargo liso, big sierra, pargo mulatto, cabrilla and a rainbow runner.

PHOTO 14: They might not be big fish but they were fun fish, especially if you’d not ever done much fishing at all and our bonito schools were voracious this week and lots of fun on light tackle! Our family had a great time when they visited. Left to right, my daughter and son, Jessie and Jarrett Pfost, nephew-in-law Brian Palacios with the dorado; niece Summer Stevens and son-in-law Brian Reid who got several firsts on this trip. We were fishing with our amigo, Captain Lenny Bishop on his boat, “Pampered Lady.” He does a great job working the islands for fishing, snorkel and tour trips.

WEEKLY VIDEO CLIPS

CLIP 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCA7FQWdVms

A quick round up of some of the week’s action with both our Tailhunter La Paz and Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet.

CLIP 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eidoVFiyZE&feature=related

You have have seen him on espisodes of CSI, Cold Case, Vigilante, and Law and Order as well as many others. He also has his own TV show which he hosts for hunters. Actor Rick Kasper stopped by to fish for a few days with us along with Dr. Doug Finn from New York.

A MIXED FISH BOX OF GREAT FISH MARRED BY ROUGH WINDS LATE IN WEEK!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of April 18-25, 2010

It hasn’t been a great week of fishing but it hasn’t been a bad week either! Many of our anglers who fished with us this past week might tell you they personally had an exceptional time fishing. It all depended upon where you fished and what you fished for!

There are no so many different species lighting up the water here abouts and around La Paz that it’s hard to finger any of them or say any one of them is going off the charts. That old saying about “on any given day…” Well, this past week about anything could happen!

For instance, off the north and west side of Espiritu Santo Island north of La Paz, we had the best example of our crazy fishing. In about 60 feet of water, huge 30-40 pound homeguard yellowtail went off for the better part of the week with boats taking 1-8 fish each. The best baits were the big mackerel and caballito and tying them to a dropper loop or sliding egg sinker with 60-80 pound leader a few feet from the bottom with a stout rod; a reel with good drags and loaded with about 50-60 pound test. These were big thick fish and many were being broken off. Yo-yo iron on a fast retrieve in green/yellow and blue/white were also very effective.

The funny thing is that these are cold-water fish generally. Strangely, in the same area, schools of 5-15 pound dorado would suddenly move in and boats would take a limit or two of dorado in the same spots on iron, live sardines or slow trolled feathers.

In fact, if you looked anywhere in La Paz Bay and north towards the island you’d see low flying and dipping birds…a sure indication that there were dorado working the spots. Again, in the same spots as the dorado and yellowtail, big pargo and cabrilla as well as sierra (more cold water fish) and barracuda and bonito (more warm water fish) could be caught! Go figure! What it did was make for some fun fishing for lots of variety. The key to getting the big yellowtail was getting the larger live baits like mackerel or caballito.

In contrast, for our Las Arenas fleet, the bait situation for sardines continued to be a long run to the islands. Fortunately, enterprising commercial pangeros are running up there then coming back with bait to sell to the fishermen. The coolest thing was that at the south end of Cerralvo, we hit the wahoo every day! Not every boat, but at least one of our boats a day took 1`-3 wahoo that ran 20-60 pounds! Like the dorado, these fish are a bit early in the season but when they hit are eating the dark colored large Rapalas.

(We did have one day, THURSDAY, the winds were so strong, we were not able to fish. It was nuts! Like a baby hurricane with the sun out. We sent everyone home back to bed!)

Inshore, look for roosters, jack crevalle, big-eye jacks, cabrilla and big time pargo that are more frustrating than anything else. As well, marlin and sailfish are here ,but still not quite ready to openly feed, but every other day or so someone hooked on that quickly broke off. Most times, they sit there and just sun themselves until you almost run over them with a panga!

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

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

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

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

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

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DON’T BE A VICTIM

Originally Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of April 26, 2010

OK, so this isn’t especially about fishing, but it is about Baja. With more gringos moving; driving; vacationing; purchasing; and spending time down here in Mexico despite the scares of drugs wars, swine flu and whatnot, I thought I’d pass on the following letter to you.

The topic of traffic stops by Mexican policia has often been a hotly debated topic, especially with the concern over un-ethical police practices, I think you’ll find the following interesting as it’s a letter written by a Mexican attorney praciting in La Paz to gringos.

Check this out from Lic. Jacques-Edouard Beaulne:

Everyone has the same rights of stopped or arrested:

When arrested, you have a right to:
1. be treated physically and verbally with courtesy.
2. be explained the charge(s);
3. Refuse to let police search on your property if search warrant is not presented;
4. one phone call;
5. be represented by lawyer, private of public defender;
6. an official translator paid by the State;
7. refuse to sign any documents’
8. refuse to make any declaration;
9. be examined by a doctor before being incarcerated;
10. be visited while in jail;
11. bail if the crime accused of is minor;
12. any denunciation against arresting officer.
13. be judged as innocent until proven guilty.

When stopped by police on the highway or street:

Right to ALL of the above, plus,
1. ask the policeman to be taken to station;
2. ask for policeman’s ID.
3. refuse to pay any amount to police officer, all
4. pay city’s traffic violation only at TRANSITO office (police station);
5. pay the fine emitted by Federal police in relation to a violation to the regulations on
highway to the bank.
6. refuse inspection of the vehicle if the police does not have a search warrant.

In the event that one is stopped by a traffic policeman one must NOT be intimidated by surrounding polices with guns, whatever is the caliber.

One must ask what is the reason for been stopped, one has to present his driver’s license and registration papers. The police can detain the driver’s license and registration papers but cannot by law remove the license plate. All mentioned documents must be returned to the driver immediately after the fine is paid.

Fines are paid at the bank regarding federal fines and at the city’s central police station (Transito) when it is for a violation of the traffic regulations in the city or town.

Fines paid in within 48 of the date of emission are charged at 50% of the amount listed in the back of the ticket or on the list at the police station.

It is illegal to give to any police officer any amount of money to cover a fine, BASTA CON LA CORRUPTION ( no more corruption ) is the call from the President of the country…so please respect it.

If one does a mistake while driving that results in an infraction one must NOT contribute to corruption and be abused by police officers ONE MUST ASK FOR THE TICKET AND PAY THE FINE.

In case of harassment present to the police officer a sheet of paper on which you wrote:

Nombre / Name:
Numero de su credencial:
Typo de infracción / Type of infraccion:
Por favor llévame a su superior / Take me to your superior.

Personally, my general rule is don’t break any traffic laws to begin with. A red light in the U.S. is still a red light in Mexico. Speeding is speeding. Driving drunk is the same north and south of the border. Being on vacation with a pocket full of dollars doesn’t give you free reign to treat the place like your personal Disneyland. Every place has rules. Respect garners respect…in Mexico as in the U.S. Etc. Etc. Don’t forget you’re a guest!

Most Mexican police officers are professional and strive to perform their duties well, so don’t assume the worst and let the few bad ones taint all Mexican police officers. The ones I’ve met really take their jobs seriously and have a disdain for unethical practices. With the internet and so many message boards and websites as well as cell phones, it’s hard for the bad ones to stay anonymous any longer.

That’s our story
Jonathan

*Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor/Columnist for Western Outdoor News since 2004. He lives in La Paz, Baja, Mexico and is the owner/operator of Tailhunter International Fleet with his wife, Jilly, as well as the Tailhunter Restaurant and FUBAR Cantina. http://www.tailhunter-international.com He can be reached directly at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

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PHOTO 1: A darned nice day for Don and Mary Busse of Lakewood CA. Fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet, the couple got 9 sierra, a pargo, a 25 pound roosterfish (see below released); this nice wahoo and lost a bigger one! It was Don’s first wahoo and rooster. Maybe a little early for wahoo, but the fish kept popping up south of Cerralvo Island.

PHOTO 2: What? Dorado in April? Can it be? For the last month, bits of sargasso weed have been gathering around in the currents which usually means dorado are coming and little dink dorado have been biting here and there. However, they turned on nicely at the end of the week north of town as shown by these two nice grade mahi held by Phil Bonnet and Chuck Lascheid from Sacramento CA with Espiritu Santo Island in the background. Check out how close to shore they are! They got a limit of the nicer fish!

PHOTO 3: Good as it gets. Blue water, white sand and a bull dorado held by Phil Bonnet…our largest so far of the season as dorado turned on north of La Paz!

PHOTO 4: The kids did alright! Yellowtail and pargo mixed it up big time around the El Bajo Seamount now that winds backed off a bit. My son, Jarrett Pfost and nephew Mike Stevens got multiple bites that were lost to the rocks but still took these 3 yellowtail and hefty pargo on live mackerel and y0-yo iron (blue and white!).

PHOTO 5: Cole Chavirra for years has been a regular poster-child for Tailhunter International. He’s one of the most talented anglers I’ve ever seen at the old-age of 12! He’s been down here numerous times since he was about as tall as a tackle box. Check out this trophy barred pargo!

PHOTO 6: “Ma” Janille Todd (mi suegra!) from Spring Valley CA and Jennifer Enright from La Mesa CA proudly hold up a couple of their sierra while standing in front of their catch of sierra and jack crevalle (Captain Victor wanted them for his dogs!) while fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet. This was Jen’s first time to La Paz and first time fishing. My Ma has been here several times and always does well!

PHOTO 7: 12-year-old Cole Yates from Carlsbad CA on his first trip to La Paz did some damage including this over-sized sierra while on a panga.

PHOTO 8: I don’t know who taught these two how to pose, but Mitch Chavira and son Cole show off two of the nicer fish we’ve seen…a big yellowtail and big cabrilla. Mitch said he lost one fish estimated at 50-pounds. I rarely ever doubt either of these two when they go fishing!

PHOTO 9: Family portrait with two of the many pargo hooked this week. My son and daughter, Jarrett (Alpine CA) and Jessie Pfost (Las Vegas NV) strike poses with my niece and nephew Summer and Michael Stevens from Alpine CA. This is Muertos Bay. The pargo are there to be hooked, but so few get taken to the boats! Tough tough fish!

PHOTO 10: Captain Armando helps out with the fish…sierra and big eye jacks (good eats!) for Margo Donohue (Carmel CA) and MaryAnn Hendren (San Diego CA) who had a great day with lots of variety.

PHOTO 11: We had a bunch of happy first-timers this week who had a blast! Kim and Bob Perry from San Diego thought “it was a blast” despite rather rough seas and (to us) slow fishing that day but they had a day full of action on sierra, bonito and two nice pargo. They are already planning to come back before the year is out.

PHOTO 12: Don Busse had caught a wahoo and lost a wahoo this day. Both were firsts ,but claimed that this roosterfish (also his first) was even MORE fun since he hooked it on a light baitcaster outfit. “It took 25 minutes!” he said. “I”m coming back soon just for roosterfish!” was his comment. We’re seeing larger roosters moving into the beaches!

PHOTO 13 : Every day should be so good. My lovely wife and partner, Jilly, celebrated her birthday this week with a day in the pangas; some fish and of course…a bottle of chilled champagne! Cerralvo Island in the background…sierra in the right hand…champagne in the left!

PHOTO 14: Our new favorite fishing fan! This is 13-year-old Kaileigh Otsuka from San Jose CA. Fishing with Captain Chito and our Tailhunter La Paz fleet, Kaileigh hooked, fought and boated this fat striped marlin all by herself. The fish was not able to be released but was Kaileigh’s first marlin.

PHOTO 15: Yea…sometimes even the old guy catches a fish! It was a bad-hat day, but the fish were kind to me and I hooked this yellowtail on a caballito about 60 feet down on the Marisla Seamount. I gave the fillets away, but Jill and I kept the collars to barbecue with teriyaki sauce! It’s one of the best parts of the fish that everyone throws away! Nomm…Nomm…Nommm!!!

STRANGE WEEK OF GOOD AND BAD FISHING STILL PRODUCES SOME INCREDIBLE VARIETY!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of April 11-18, 2010

We had much better fishing conditions this week, but it’s taking awhile for things to recover as water was still a bit bumpy and off-color. But…wow…fishing ran the gamut from really poor to really spectacular. I”m just glad we have two fleets here with Tailhunter. It was like night and day.

For our Las Arenas fleet, it was tough fishing. The biggest problem is that the bait is way up the east side of Cerralvo Island. It’s a long run. There was a spot of tuna that showed up, but for the most part it was a frustrating week trying to tackle the tough pargo along the island and around Punta Perrico. Some boats did better than others.

Sometimes, you look at the numbers and it looked like there were no fish and sometimes that was the case, but they talking to our anglers, these tough fish were busting off so often that they hooked many but lost almost all of them. However, there were some nice roosters and plenty of sierra to even things out, but overall, it was tough fishing. The highlights were the fact that flyfishers and light tackle fishers got into schools of fiesty bonito and we did get a few wahoo at the south side of the island as well.

It was a complete opposite for our La Paz fleet. Normally, during this time, the winds are blowing fierce and it’s awfully tough fishing straight north of La Paz. However, not only did the winds lay down, but we got the big mackerel baits that are like candy to some of the bigger game fish.

Boats were getting into a nice grade of yellowtail up to about 30 pounds…using heavy gear and sliding sinkers…the fish are hunkered on the high spots and we’re losing about half of them. However, in those same areas, big pargo and trophy sized cabrilla were also caught on the big mackerel, sardines and also heavy lures.

The real surprise was that over the past few days, I’ve seen more and more sargasso weed showing up…which is usually a good sign of dorado and we’ve seen quite a few small ones cruising and often biting in La Paz Bay…but the latter part of the week…the dorado went on a tear with fish 10-30 pounds! It was like summertime. Whether this stays or not, we’ll see, but this sure is exciting!

NEED YOUR DAILY FISHING FIX?

OK…I draw the line at Twitter. I do NOT “tweet.”

However, if you’re a fan of FACEBOOK, you can check out my facebook page JONATHAN ROLDAN and throughout the week I post snippets of how the fishing is going day-to-day often with photos. If you really need to know how things are going and can’t wait for the weekend report, check out the FACEBOOK page.

I get hundreds of e-mails a day and can’t answer every FACEBOOK comment, but at least you can check things out that may not necessarily get into the weekend fishing report!

You can also become a FAN of TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL, our bar and restaurant and check out what’s happening at the bar and see who’s dancing on the dance pole or had a few too many margaritas!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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

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

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

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PHOTO 1: It wasn’t a great week of fishing but there was some great fish to be caught here and there like this most excellent yellowtail held up by Jarrett Pfost on one those rare occasions when the El Bajo Seamount north of La Paz actually kicked out some fish! The yellowtail ate a big mackeral about 100 feet down. Jarrett is from Alpine CA.

PHOTO 2: One stop shopping to fill the cooler. On their first of 4 days fishing, Mike Stevens and Jarrett Pfost from Alpine CA had a stellar day working the El Bajo Seamount on one of the few days this week when the waters flattened out. They took 4 nice yellowtail; 8 pargo; a big cabrilla and numerous other fish that they released while fishing with mackerel, sardines and dropping heavy yo-yo iron (“until our arms ached!”) down to the top of the mount. They say they lost almost as many fish as they took as there were fish “we just couldn’t stop before they rocked us!” It helps that both guys have tons of experience and are also both deckhands on the San Diego sportboats, “Daily Double” and the “Mission Belle.” (Oh…and Mike is my nephew and Jarrett is my son…wish I could say I taught ’em everything they know…but I can’t!)

PHOTO 3: One of the best fishermen and certainly one of the most photogenic amigos we have, Mitch Chavira from San Diego got in a few good days of fishing and always hits trophies like this fat yellowtail, but said he had 50 pounders on that were unstoppable. Still…even he will tell you that fishing conditions were rough and the fish were picky.

PHOTO 4 – Whooo-hoooooo!!! Kyle Yates on his first La Paz trip from Carlsbad CA shows up a good sized cabrila he picked up fishing with that iron in his right hand. Either he’s excited or he got a hook in his finger while taking the photo.

PHOTO 5: FAT FAT barred pargo (Pargo Mulatto) across the beach in a great photo with Kyle and Cole Yates from Carlsbad CA and Cole Chavirra and his dad, Mitch. The fish are great eating and I can’t remember ever seeing so many barred pargo at one time on an excellent catch of that size.

PHOTO 6: Yes…we still have sierra around here. I’ve watched Emily grow up over the years on each of her visits here to La Paz since she was about 5 years old and now she outfishes everyone. Besides the sierra held up by Captain Victor next to Cerralvo Island, Emily also got 7 others and two roosterfish. No one else caught any on her boat except pelicans and seagulls.

PHOTO 7: Mike Stevens of Alpine CA hooked his first pargo on his last trip here a year ago and got “pargo fever” and this week took several others like this big yellow, but will tell you about all the ones he missed; broke off or he simply could not stop! That’s the nature of these incredible fish which are often some of the most frustrating. Mike got this one on a sardine and a sliding sinker rig.

PHOTO 8: Sometimes they even let ME fish! Actually, I was on the water several times this week and I wish I could tell ya that I outfished everyone, but I didn’t. Still…at least I was respectable. I got this hefty cabrilla (Mexican seabass) in about 80 feet of water jigging a blue/white Tady lure on a fast retrieve when the fish came up from the bottom and inhaled it about half way up the water column!

PHOTO 9: Just to show you some of the wacky variety out right now, Mitch Chavirra holds up an African pompano taken while jig fishing off Espiritu Santo Island. Good stuff for the table. Incredible fried up!

VIDEO 1: There’s some shaky footage at the end as I had trouble with the camera, but you get the idea of some of the great yellowtail action on El Bajo during a double hookup!

FISHING NOT SO GREAT AS STRONG WINDS RIP THE AREA, BUT SOME GREAT FISH STILL CAUGHT JUST NOT MANY OF THEM!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for the Week of April 4-11, 2010

Although all the great photos might fool you…

It wasn’t really a great week of fishing down here. Some folks got some nice fish, but it started out OK, but then the weather conditions really deteriorated as winds got stronger and stronger and by mid-week the waters around here looked like an episode of “Victory at Sea.”

It was sunny and warm and a great time to be in La Paz, but not such a great time to be on the water as unusually strong winds up to 25 knots at times gusted and not only made it uncomfortable…it made getting bait really difficult to get most times…especially the sardines which are up tight against the rocks or inshore and depends on captains being able to throw their nets.

So, it was scratch fishing for the most part. Even if you got the bait, it was so bumpy that it was almost ridiculous. We still got some fish, but you either really needed to have your “A Game,” be really lucky, or have some skill and experience because the better fish that hit were mean, big and if you didn’t have one of those three things going for you, then even chances are you had a good chance of not doing very well.

That being said, we did hook a few marlin, a few yellowtail, some wahoo, a few tuna and dorado (lots of dinks around that are about 5 pounds), some roosterfish, sierra, cabrilla, pargo and amberjack. Many of these were incredibly nice fish, but I would be pulling your leader if I told you it was stellar fishing…it wasn’t even close.

Some boats did well, but most really didn’t. It was one of those rare weeks when I felt really badly for many of our fishermen because they got beat up AND didn’t catch alot of fish. As the week came to a close, however, things got better.

Winds calmed tremendously and the fish were more ready to go on the chew.

For sure…big schools of bonito started crashing. Even some squid showed up and smart anglers would catch a fish…find squid in the mouths of the bonito and rockfish and pin one of the dead squid to a hook and send it back down to an almost instant bite. Interestingly, there’s ALOT of dorado around…but many of them are really small, but still fun. Good to see most are getting released. Great on light tackle if nothing else. We spent the good part of one day fishing them with fairly ultralight salt water gear and having a great time.

Personally, I spent several days on the water this week and it really helped to have some experience to get the larger fish or you’d lose way more than you landed. But, if you wanted to just have a good time and didn’t care too much for quality eating fish or big fish, there were fish to be taken.

I would suggest several things if you come down that are hard to get down here.

1. Flurocarbon leader made a difference…20, 30 and 40 pound test. Get 80 pound if you’re going to chase the big yellowtail or pargo.

2. I’m normally not a big proponent of sinkers since we rarely use them but some of these fish were relatively deep and it helped to put some weight on to get the baits below the bonito and needlefish FAST. I would suggest torpedo, rubbercore or sliding egg sinkers of 2-4 oz size.

3. If you know how to use them and have a high speed reel, then yo-yo/ candybar type lures of the type made by Tady, Salas, Sumo, Fire, etc. in blue/ white; yellow /green ; and

white/brown/yellow would be handy to have.

4. Some small trolling feathers.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

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

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

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

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

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

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DOUBLE TEAM TEASERS

Originally Published Week of April 14, 2010 in Western Outdoor News

Ever have one of those days when the fish are there, but are just “this close” to biting. You can see them. They’ll boil. You see the swirls. You throw a lure or a bait. You have followers.

At first they go after it like a kitty chases a ball of string, but just as they are ready to bite and your adrenaline and pulse are escalating…closer…closer…closer…they swim away like they had just smelled stinky week-old socks!

The worst is when you’re working a lure and the fish follows it all the way back to the boat or panga…whether conventional, spinning or flyfishing…and at the last moment, BOOM…it swims away because you just had no more room to crank. The lure was at the boat already. If you only had another 5 more feet of reeling or stripping room.

But no matter what, the fish won’t go. Won’t chew. Won’t bite. Lockjaw. Dangit.
Hate a tease. Especially when it’s a fish and it’s tiny pea- brain is frustrating me as the master hunter-gatherer with my armament of fishing weaponry!

Tease back.

I learned this from a bass fishing buddy of mine who had fished all over the world, and was an incredible angler whether fishing for dorado to bat rays or salmon to surf perch. He had caught so many bass in his time that he had made a hobby of catching the bass…not hooking them…but just getting them to bite!

He figured he was going to release the fish anyway and the biggest jolt of fun was enticing their crafty little demonic minds to bite something that sometime didn’t look like anything they would want to eat. So, he’d take the hooks off his lures or file off almost the whole hook shaft when he couldn’t.

And he’d go play. And he’d go around all over just trying to make fish bite.

Years ago when I fished with him and the fish were playing games, he said, “let’s tag team.”

Using a spinning rod, I would cast out poppers and spinner baits…pretty much anything noisy and splashy. Nothing had hooks. He’d do the same. Cast and reel as fast as we could. Make lots of commotion.

He’d have our panga skipper toss a few baits. At first, the fish (at the time uncooperative roosters) would do their chase-and-sniff thing. But the more we kicked up the water racket, the more aggressive the roosters got.

Closer and closer. Faster and faster. Either out of hunger or frustration, the roosters couldn’t help themselves and would start knocking the lures and eating the baits.

That’s when the hooks came back out (albeit no barbs and no triples) and the fish literally fought to grab either a bait or lure. All the time, one person continued to spank the water with a hookless lure and cause commotion.

Over the years, he proved it to me with other Baja species as well including dorado, tuna, cabrilla, snapper and pargo. He claims he’s tried it on salmon, trout, bass, perch and it has worked for me as well over the years.

“It’s the willingness for one guy to play the ‘teaser’ while the other guys fishes,” he told me. “Take one for the team, so to speak.” Then switch places. “It’s about making the fish think that there’s a feed going on and they better get in on it. All that splashing. If they don’t get the meal, some other fish will get it and it’s a competitive feeding world below the surface,” he theorized.

Big game anglers who troll alot of used the philosophy for years. They’ll troll teasers that flash, dance and skip through the waters in the wake of the boat or pull numerous dancing “birds” or “squid” lures behind the boat in various patterns. When the big boy shows up whacking at the teasers, an angler drops back a live hooked bait and the fish can’t help but charge the “real” meal.

It’s sportfishing’s version of bait and switch. Or switch and bait!

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor for Western Outdoor News and can be reached directly at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

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PHOTO 1: Pargo liso (mullet snapper) like those being held up here by Jon Luker from Arroyo Grande CA are up in the shallows right now spawning. Roving schools look like a moving carpet of copper and red and are fierce fighters as we try to stop them from getting into the rocks. These are some of the “smaller” guys. Larger ones usually win the battle!

PHOTO 2: No yellowtail to speak of this week as tougher winds made it difficult to get to some of the spots. However, their larger cousins, the amberjack, were in the area. These great eating fish do get up over 100 pounds and are found near rocks, reefs and high spots.

PHOTO 3: Joe Fong holds up a nice pargo that hit the barbecue for sure, knowing Joe. Spring is prime time for these fish that move into shallow areas such as Punta Perrico; S. Cerralvo Island, Pilis (east side of the island) and some other high spots. This is “rock” fishing as we know it…but not deep! These fish are literally in 5-20 feet of water!

TOUGHER CONDITIONS LIMIT YELLOWTAIL BITE BUT INSHORE FISHING TURNS TO OTHER SPECIES

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 29 to April 4

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PHOTO 1: Even Captain Victor is smiling. “Lucky” Lenny Bishop of La Paz holds up the RIGHT KIND.” This is a trophy-type yellowtail and Lenny now says it’s his new favorite fish. Despite fish taking him to the rocks he managed to stop this nice hog. The yellowtail are big, mean and definitely here! Lenny was kind enough to also rub it in by sending photos of how he prepared the fish when he got home! (see below)

PHOTO 2: I let Lenny describe it…this is classic. He’s great… “Ok. its THE BEST FISH man we had a Blackened y`tail burger with avocado, sprouts, wasabi mayo coleslaw on a big mexican torta bun, the first meal then crunchy tempura fried strips, dipped in spicy sweet chili japanese dipping sauce…..holy #&@$!!! It was sooooo crunchy…and the sauce! oh…the .sauce…and the baked “tin foil fish” was UNBELIEVABLE too!”

PHOTO 2: Kelly May from Alberta Canada made his first trip down and was all smiles with this nice yellowtail. Note how close to shore they are and the flat waters. The big yellows are in several places around Cerralvo Island, Muertos Bay and Espirito Santo Island the last few weeks.

PHOTO 3: Again, our amigo Lenny (“Don’t call me Leo” ) Bishop with a fresh phat yellowtail he got on live bait fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet this past week. The fish have been running 20-40 pounds…when you can stop them. If you’re not ready, these fish will yank you out’ve your flip-flops!

YELLOWTAIL and INSHORE SPECIES AGAIN TAKE CENTER STAGE WITH GOOD CONDITIONS THIS PAST WEEK

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 21-28, 2010

A good solid week of fishing this past week. Winds were relatively calm most days compared to previous weeks and the yellowtail remained firmly entrenched. They’re biting and they’re big, but putting these hard-charger 25-40 pound fish in the boat aren’t easy when their first instinct is to dive right back to whatever structure is close by.

Guys are busting off alot of fish to the rocks when the fish duck back. You really have to high-stick these fish and put alot of pressure on them to turn them before they rock you. But boy…such great looking fish!

These are solid forktail yellows. These trophy-sized fish will hopefully hold around as long as the waters stay cool from now until May or early June. The guys are hooking the fish with live bait, sardines, mackerel and caballitos or else yo-yo jigging blue/white or yellow/tan/white (scrambled egg) patterns for the deeper fish.

However, most of these fish aren’t deep. Literally 10-40 feet down so that doesn’t give you much room for error. By the time most anglers realize they are bit and react, the fish is already turning and making a freight train back into the rocks.

If you’re fishing the iron and cranking, when the iron suddenly stops and freezes, THAT’S a FISH! Many anglers make the mistake of swinging and trying to set the hook. The secret is to just keep on grinding and winding. Don’t stop! You have to set the hook and bury it into the fish’s mouth or you’ll lose ’em.

Once that hook is buried, believe me, your rod will bend and there’s no doubt the fish is on! Even then, swing on the rod and bury the hook deeper all the while grinding the reel to keep the fish headed up and not down back to the rocks!

As for the pargo. The big red fish are 10-30 pounders and they don’t give you much slack either. Again. big powerful fish that can truck right back into the reef and rocks before you know what’s going on. We’re landing maybe 1 out of every 5 or 6 bites. And then again, only the smaller fish are getting stopped. Captains tell me much larger fish don’t even slow down!

We’ve got some other species as well. Guys are having a blast on the sierra, roosterfish, cabrilla (seabass) and pargo in the shallow spots. Light tackle is the best trick!

FLASH…just as I was writing this…breaking news….it’s winter (that’s not the news)…our boats got dorado and marlin!!! WHOA!!!! More details coming up!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

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

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

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

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

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PHOTO 1: So…uh…if I go to fish with you, will I catch any fish? Do you really have fish there?

So, there I was in my booth at the hunting and fishing expo in Salt Lake City. We do shows like this every winter around the country. At these shows we’re one of maybe several hundred other like-minded booths and displays all promoting hunting and fishing operations from South Africa to Alaska and from Mexico to Egypt.

Picture this. My booth, like others is covered with huge full-color glossy images of smiling folks holding big fish. I have three giant flat screen TV’s playing rod-bending fishing action. Marlin are leaping. Reels are screaming. Anglers are yelling and laughing on the soundtrack.

And someone walks up. Looks around at all the displays and staring directly at a big picture of a tuna says, “So..uh…is fishing any good where you’re at? “

I’m not sure how to answer that.

Is this a trick question? Are there hidden cameras?

Is this guy joking?

Of course, my wise-guy answer on the tip-of-my-tongue wants to say, “No, fishing sucks. I”m just standing here in this booth selling fishing trips for the helluva it!”

Or, “No, fishing isn’t very good, but it will get better soon!”

Or, “No, fishing stinks, but that’s why our fishing trips are so economical. You get what you pay for!”

But, I bite my tongue. A grit my teeth and grin. It’s an honest question.

Of course, no outfitter, fishing guide or charter operator in his right mind is going to tell you that fishing stinks. We all have good products and services and are here to sell trips!

But, “good fishing” is relative. Fishing success is subject to a zillion variables. It is dependent on seasons; winds; currents; and water temperatures. Bait stocks; water levels; and even lunar and meteorological events can have an effect on “good fishing.”

The honest answer is that fishing just can’t be good every single day. Even in the fish-rich waters of Baja, I’m probably being blasphemous by saying that there are indeed days when it would have been better to stay on the beach drinking a frosty one.

But the other part of that honest answer is that, it’s rare to have a bunch of bad days fishing in Baja. There’s a reason people keep coming back year-after-year to these legendary fishing grounds. There’s a reason for all the big fish pictures in my fishing booth. Lastly, like anywhere else, you surely won’t have a good fishing day if you don’t put a rod in the water.

What’s worse is the angler who walks up; leans on my counter and says, “I went to Baja and fishing is way over-rated. Weather was terrible and we didn’t catch a danged thing!” (And he tells everyone else within earshot as well…like he had just bellied up to the bar!)

So, I ask him to be specific. “What time of year did you go fishing in Baja, Sir?

“I came down in January.”

“And how many days did you fish?”

“Just one. It sucked.”

“So, did you catch anything at all?”

“Well, we caught three of those fish they call Do-RAH-doe…you know…green and gold things and we also got ’bout 6 yeller-fin tuna.”

“Sounds like a pretty nice day to me!”

“Well, we didn’t catch no marlin and it was rough too! I’ll never go back”.

So, based on exactly a single day of fishing in winter and simply because no marlin bit, this guy has come to the conclusion that fishing was terrible.

Listen, take all the advertising and pretty pictures with a grain of salt. But… Just a grain! Fishing isn’t always going to be stellar. No outfitter or charter operator is going to show you pictures of a bad day of fishing! No one takes photos on bad fishing days!

But understand that even in Baja, not every day is world-class. Not every fish is a record beater. The sun does not always shine and the water is not always flat. The fish you hunt may not be the fish you catch.

But, don’t forget as well. This is Baja. It’s never bad for long. Each day you head out on the water towards the dawn, there’s the possibility that all the dots will connect. All the lucky stars will line up. Each day fishing in the Baja just might be the best fishing day of your life. And that’s why the rest of us keep coming back!

That’s our story!
Jonathan

_________

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Columnist for Western Outdoor News. If you ever need to reach him directly, he lives in La Paz, Baja Mexico. and can be reached at riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com. His website is http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

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PHOTO 1: Tim Fitzpatrick of Redondo Beach spent a few days with us going north of town with Captains Chito and Raul and hit some rough weather but still got into some great grades of yellowtail like this big slugger.

PHOTO 2: Two of our old amigos, Chris Fitzpatrick and Mark Martis come down several times a year and always seem to do well. The two of them show off some big-time yellowtail they caught this week fishing live bait north of La Paz. The two of them have fished with us since the earliest days of our Tailhunter Fleet.

PHOTO 3: Yes…the amberjack are in! Mark Martis from Redondo Beach CA holds up an amberjack…these are generally the larger and tastier cousins to the yellowtail and grow over 100 pounds. However, these “smaller” guys are better tasting but surely fights just as hard.
All members of the “jack” family have “attitude”…yellowtail, amberjack, jack crevalle, pompano, roosterfish are all part of the tribe.

PHOTO 4: Headed for the grill, Mark holds up this nice pargo mulatto (barred pargo) one of the best eating fish in the Sea of Cortez.

INSHORE SPECIES CONTINUE TO COME ON STRONG BUT WARM WATER FISH MOVING INTO THE AREA

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 14-17, 2010

It was largely a cloudy grey week with sometimes intermittently strong winds, but we had some undoubtedly encouraging fishing. Big yellowtail continued to be the highlight with some nice grades of fish being taken at the usual spots like north and south ends of Cerralvo (aka Jacques Cousteau ) Island and around Punta Perrico. As well, some of the coves around the east side of Espirito Santo Island, the Salvatierra wreck, and also around Punta Coyoto produced some fish in the 25-35 pound class that gave anglers all they could handle.

In those same areas, if the yellowtail were taking a powder, large jack crevalle, amberjack up to 25 pounds and pargo up to 20 pounds were also taken although our captains tell us that larger fish were lost to the rocks and reefs.

Additional varieties of fish this week included cabrilla (seabass), sierra, and surprising schools of roosterfish that seemed to pop up…several days of nothing then one day, large schools of 15-20 pound fish move in chasing the baits. Reports as well of numerous marlin and sailfish sunning themselves in various spots make us wonder about El Nino since it’s pretty early to be seeing billfish in the area, but they seem to be lethargically sunning themselves.

Usually when we see this, it just takes a few degrees of warming in the waters and they suddenly go off and get hungry so we’ll have to keep an eye. To the south of us, they’re getting giant humboldt squid which is also unusual as they huge animals are often a vanguard for tuna coming up out of the trenches.

Some of the private boats are seeing schools of dolphin 30-50 miles offshore travelling with tuna, but the fish are moving so fast, it’s hard to get on them. Still seeing the occasional dorado caught as well so things are definitely brewing for us to see so many signs of warm water fish this early.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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

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PHOTO 1: Now THAT’s what we call a yellowtail! Rob Maclean comes down several times a year whenever he can sneak on down and teams up with Capt. Jorge for some great catches every time. He fished several days with us and ripped up some of the big boy yellowtail we’ve been waiting for. This fish was caught while fishing out’ve Muertos Bay with the Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet.

PHOTO 2: Rob did some nice damage to the yellowtail schools. Here, he holds another big forktail. That’s the southern end of Cerralvo Island in the distance across the way.

PHOTO 3: Check out the flat seas and big fish! This is Rob Maclean admiring one of the big yellowtail. The guys said that they got cabrilla, but broke off alot of nice fish in the rocks. Fish were holding in several places as deep as 100 feet but also feeding on the surface.

PHOTO 4: Miguelito helps Tom and Rob Maclean with a load of their yellowtail standing in the sand at Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 5: Ramon holds up a nice brace of “dinner.” On the left is a nice-sized cabrilla (seabass) and also a small yellowtail which is actually tastier than the larger grade fish. The fish are holding in the same areas up along the rocky shorelines and over the reefs and high spots.

YELLOWTAIL ROLL INTO ANGLERS AND LEAVE ALOT OF BROKEN LINES AND FRUSTRATED TIMES BUT SIGNS OF WARM WATER FISH STILL AROUND!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of March 7-14, 2010

Not the best weather this past week so it was fortunate we didn’t have alot of anglers. It wasn’t really bad but just perhaps more windy than we’d like it to be , which is often common this time of year and why it’s off-season. But characteristic of this part of the season, you get 3 gorgeous days and then you get a day or two of wind. Fortunately, with most of our anglers, we schedule them so that there’s flexibility in the schedule plus with our two fleets, we can accommodate them so that they fish on only the better days. Fish are here, but it’s always more fun when the sun is shining and the seas are flat, right?

Anyway, like I said, the fish are here. Not in full turbo yet, but definitely I’ll have to say yellowtail season has started and there’s some sluggers out there! Fish have been close into the rocky areas as is their habit and been in the 20-40 pound class. We’re losing more than half the fish, but that’s part of the game!

When you see these fish, you know it’s worth it. Take a look at the photos! Areas include north and south ends of Cerralvo Island. Punta Coyote, Pilot Cove, Punta Perrico and a few others including one little hot spot that if I tell ya…I know a bunch of guys will take their private boats into it and boom…no more fish! You gotta come fish with us to find out!

The bite is not wide open…just yet, but we’ll keep you posted! I tell ya…it’s bubbling up. The fish are definitely here and some guys have really tangled with some slugger fish! These are quality fish and some real trophies. They are eating a variety of baits including sardines, mackerel, jigs and caballitos as well as slow trolled Rapalas or Yo-Zuri hydros as long as you don’t let the lures dive too deep and hang you up in the rocks in the shallows.

In addition to the yellowtail, they’re almost in the same areas where the big dog-tooth pargo and pargo liso have come into spawn. As one of our first-timer anglers described, “I looked down into the water and it was like a red copper colored mist was moving over the bottom and then I realized it was 30 pound fish undulating like giant Japanese koi under the panga! My first bait didn’t stand a chance and neither did I. My first 4 fish ripped me right into the rocks. I’ve never had my rod bend like that or been so frustrated trying to stop a fish!”

I’d say about 1 in 10 fish are getting put into the boat and then again, the average size of the fish are only the “smaller” 10 pounders. We haven’t had anyone been able to put one of the horse 30 or 40 pounders into the boat yet this season!

Roosterfish and sierra are still up in the shallows if you know where to look. There are all you could handle if you hit the right spots with light tackle being the most preferred way to have some fun.

One angler got tired of getting sawed off by the sierra teeth and lost several small crank baits. Being out, he pulled out a little hoochie (plastic skirt) with some wire on it and said he dropped it no more than 10 feet behind the gurgle of the slow prop wash of the motor and took 10 quick sierra up to 7 pounds. “Best ceviche I ever had and cooked with butter and garlic, was incredible at the Tailhunter Restaurant that night.”

Small flash: We ran into some tuna and marlin this week! Yes…that’s right. Have to keep the lid on it, but a strange strange hookup! We’ll keep you posted. Not supposed to be fish like that this early in the season! We’ll do some exploring and let you know!

Update on the Fiesta Inn that closed last week. They are apparently now going for a re-model and looking for a new big-name hotel tenant and plan to re-open as soon as that can be accomplished.

HEADING TO SALT LAKE CITY!

The Tailhunter 2010 tour is just leaving Redmond, Oregon and now we’re on the road headed to Salt Lake City for the final show on our 3-months road trip. We’ll be at the Expo Center in Sandy, Utah from Thursday to Sunday. Come by and check out the booth and say hi.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.

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

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

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

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