That's My Story

PHOTO: The view down the aisle and some of the vendors earlier in January at the Colorado Convention Center for the International Sportmens Exposition

THOSE THE WOLVES PULLED DOWN

Originally Published the Week of January 19, 2010 in Western Outdoor News

At the time you’re reading this, we’ll probably be in Sacramento at the California State Fairgrounds in our booth talking fishing with everyone at the International Sportsmens Expo. Great to see so many folks. So far, we’ve been in Denver and also San Mateo just outside of San Francisco.

On a sad note, you can tell it’s been a tough year for alot of outfitters, guides, charter operators and vendors. So many booths are just gone. So many friends who run operations from Mexico to Alaska and Canada to South Africa either canceled or we hear are out of business. Poof. Good friends that the wolves pulled down. Like the Garth Brooks song. Like so many others in this economy.

I hadn’t expected that. Normally, when we hit the road to visit all of these fishing and hunting shows we get to visit our own clients and hopefully sign up new ones. However, it’s also an opportunity to visit with other vendors in the same businesses.

We don’t see each other for a year as we all run off to our various operations and points on the compass. Lodges in the Arctic. Fishing camps in the Amazon. Turkey callers in Kansas. Salmon charters on the Kenai and yes, other Baja operators as well.

Instead, it’s obvious that there are fewer of us out there on the convention room floor. That’s a shame. Not for our sakes. That’s sad enough as it is, but most of us know we’re knuckleheads for trying to stake our living on the whims of nature, weather, fish and animals. It’s not an easy life. Nothing is guaranteed. And most of the guys and gals I know in this business are as resilient, tough and resourceful as any I have ever met.

That’s why they do what they do. They take people fishing in big waters; tramp through the woods leading pack animals with rifles on their shoulders; lead white-water survival camps in the Himalayas or scuba dive with sharks in Baja. They cut trees to build wilderness lodges; know how to use chewing gum to fix a boat engine; actually do know how to construct an igloo and rub two sticks together to make a fire!

The real tragedy is actually on the other end. Western Outdoor News Editor, Pat McDonell wrote about it several issues ago when he commented about the loss of Los Angeles Times outdoor writer, Pete Thomas and other outdoor writers who have had their jobs eliminated recently.

We’re not only losing our outdoors. We’re losing our access to the outdoors. We’re losing the writers who created and reported the visions and kept us in touch from our offices and homes. And, judging from what I see at the outdoor shows, we’re also losing the operators who put us at ground zero as well.

For so many of us who grew up in the last few decades, the outdoors and the outdoor lifestyles we found as our recreation were part of our psyche. Our dads and parents took us out because that’s what their parents did for them.

I understand the tragedy and economics and the times in which we live.

But as Pat brought up, the outdoors are an important part of who we are and, at least for many in my generation and the generations preceding, it helped formulate who we are and what we became.

I wanted to be Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. I can still sing the theme songs to those TV shows! I wanted to get in that Range Rover with Marlin Perkins on Mutual of Omaha and make Jim get out and get chased by the charging rhino.

I wanted to be dive with Lloyd Bridges in “Sea Hunt.” I read Field and Stream and cut out pictures when I was in grade school. I did a “show and tell” in front of Sister Jane and my 3rd grade class taken from a story in Sports Afield Magazine. I read John Steinbeck’s the “Log from the Sea of Cortez” when I was in 8th grade. I used to actually save and chart the dock counts from the Los Angeles Times.

I remember my dad telling me that if I did my homework, he’d take me to the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach. I saw the booths and all the places I promised myself I would go fishing “when I grew up.”

And now kids get a daily dose of reality shows and computer-generated sludge. The outdoors are defined by the how many bad guys you shoot in a jungle video game or the “reality” of such shows where contestants “survive” bogus dangers on deserted islands and real dangers from scheming team members (with cameras watching every ugly emotion) or how frightened you can be eating a handful of bugs. What does THAT teach them?

A generation is losing it’s heroes. Roy Rogers where are you? Better yet, where are you Captain Joe? Hunter Bob? Rod the River Guide? My kids want to come out and play. They need to come out and play. The wolves are taking away our inspiration.

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor of Western Outdoor News and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

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PHOTO 1: Still quite a few roosterfish around considering it’s so early/late in the season. It’s like they never left. In addition to the small school-sized fish like this young roosterfish, some of the larger toad fish are here as well. Larry Daniels holds this one he caught and released. Captain Victor checks over his shoulder.

PHOTO 2: Another surprise fish we’re still catching are dorado. Tim Zimmer and Captain Jorge show off the great colors of this bull. We had several days this week when our pangas fishing out’ve Las Arenas caught limits of dorado which we usually only find from about April to October.

PHOTO 3: No, this isn’t Baja. It’s the plains of Colorado where we encountered temperatures as low as 11 degrees below zero while driving from Los Angeles to Denver where we spent this past week at the Denver International Sportsmans Show at the Colorado Convention Center.

PHOTO 4: Here’s Jill in our booth at the Colorado Convention Center at the ISE Show this past week. Great to see so many of you who came by to visit. Next stop…we drive back towards to California for the International Sportsman’s Show at the San Mateo Expo Center near San Francisco from Jan. 14-17 (Thursday to Sunday) Come by the booth and say hi as well as pick up a new copy of our brochure and DVD.

SURPRISINGLY MILD CONDITIONS SPARK ANOTHER RUN OF DORADO, ROOSTERFISH and OTHER SPECIES!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of January 3-10, 2010

Been a tad chilly in La Paz, especially at night and early mornings. Temperatures in the mid-40’s at night but sunny and comfortable mid-70’s in the daytime. The best part is not much wind.

We’re having a blast catching sierra pretty much everywhere right now. Jump in a boat and put down a bait or some kind of small shiny lure and it seems that within minutes you’re hooked up. Throw more baits and soon, there’s a school or you pick up or or two more. You go again and wham, you start all over again. Before too long you’ve got limits and you’re looking to throw back as many as you can!

I’ve been recommending that our anglers either crimp or cut off treble hooks from their crank baits or other lures so that you can unhook the fish easier. It’s pretty tough to have a flipping sierra which has a very slippery slime on it plus a mouth full of snapping teeth in your hand while you try to take a treble hook out of it’s mouth. You end up spending more time unhooking the fish than catching them! A single hook works so much better…much like barracuda fishing!

In addition to the sierra, we’ve still got schools of 5-10 pound roosters roaming the rocky and sandy areas, often in the same spots as the sierra so this is light tackle and spinning rod heaven right now. The roosters are also hitting the flies as well. There are larger roosters about, but they seem more interested in taking only the larger live bait like the big 12 inch sabalo which you have to catch to use for baits. Some 30-60 pounders were hooked and lost this week and some other larger ones were seen.

Offshore, it’s amazing to still be getting dorado this late/early in the season, but yes…there’s still some dorado about. In fact, if you find the school, there’s ALOT of dorado about! These aren’t big fish, but 10-20 pounders are not uncommon. Best way to find them is to either slow troll a hoochie skirt or a strip of fresh bonito. Combining the two on a single hook is even more deadly. When you hook one fish, keep an eye out for followers and multi-hook-ups are not uncommon.

In addition to these species, inshore action, especially on light tackle has been solid for cabrilla, pargo, and snapper.

TAILHUNTER COMING TO THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

We leave chilly Denver on Sunday January 10th and drive back to California to set up for our next fishing and hunting show. We’ll be at the San Mateo Expo Center in San Mateo, California near San Francisco for the International Sportsman’s Expo. The show opens January 14-17. Come say hi at our booth!

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: We’re in Denver, Colorado this week for the first of our 2010 appearances at the major hunting and fishing shows on the west coast. This week were at the International Sportsmans Expo at the Denver Convention center. This is our booth from last year. Come say hi and pick up a copy of our new brochure a DVD and talk to us about fishing in La Paz this year!

Sorry I don’t have any fishing photos this week for the first time all year. Either fishermen didn’t bring a camera or…one guy dropped his camera into the bait tank and another forgot lost his camera on the beach! Oh well…

A nice week of fishing with overall great, but cool conditions and lots of sun interrupted one day of drizzle! But the fish still bit. Highlights of the week were many, despite the time of year. The tuna came back solidly for our Las Arenas boats pushing out of Muertos Bay. We found fish as close as Punta Perrico and then scattered out towards the south end of Cerralvo Island with some larger fish at the north end of the island. Most of the fish were fun-sized 15-25 pounders, but some larger 30-35 pounders were taken and a few large ones lost.

As well, dorado are still in the area. School sized 10-15 pounders are not uncommon with some larger 20 pound bulls cruising along the drop offs. The most action comes off the beaches and rocky areas with literally unlimited sierra fishing. You can pop almost as many of these as you can stand within limits! Same with the roosterfish. Several dozen roosterfish in the right school are not uncommon and happily most fish are getting released.

We did have two marlin bite and fall off and three times wahoo bit guys off so there’s still alot of variety.

Air temperatures are in the mid-60’s to high 70’s with lots of sunshine!

DENVER INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMAN’S SHOW

As I write this, we are on the road driving towards Denver, Colorado for our first hunting/fishing show for 2010. In the span of two days we have gone from temperatures in La Paz in the “chilly” mid-70’s to driving through Nevada where it was 32 degrees. . . to here in Grand Junction, Colorado where it is now MINUS 5 degrees below zero! Hijole, it is cold!!! Sheesh…the wind is also blowing too. Will post up photos next week and on Facebook. Nothing but white everywhere!

We’ll be at the ISE show at the Denver Convention Center from Thursday to Sunday (January 7-10). Come see our booth and say hello and talk to us about fishing in 2010 in La Paz! Pick up a new brochure and DVD too!

Next week we drive to California to the San Mateo (San Francisco ) ISE show so put that on your calendar too!

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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REFLECTIONS ON A NEW YEAR

Originally Published In Western Outdoor News The Week of January 6, 2019

Having been down here now since the mid-90’s (where did the time go?) and running fishing and diving, I’m often asked what a think about the future here. More folks moving in. More fishing and boat traffic. More construction. More condos. More marinas planned, etc. etc.

As a businessman, sure, we all like the business and it’s good to have jobs for folks. However, as a Baja rat, like many of you, it’s hard not to be skeptical of the future. Heck, my outlook is downright dour sometimes.

They say you can’t fight city hall and after seeing so much waste over the years, stupid politics and greed, one has a tendency to throw their arms up in frustration. You smack your head against a brick wall and scream, “What are they thinking?”

Actually, my complaints probably sound like the same complaints you have up in the U.S. about resource and recreation management so you understand my wringing of hands.

But the advent of a new year is often reason for perspective, at least on several fronts. Maybe, just maybe, there’s some hope and some things to applaud.

On a personal level at ground zero, I gotta tell you this “catch-and-release” thing that seemed so alien several years ago seems to have caught on a bit.

Not only am I hearing more fishermen asking about it but, in some cases, demanding it. Or, in others asking to only take “some for dinner” or a small amount home.

“So much used to just sit in the freezer, why do I need so much fish?”

With each year, I see more of our clients releasing smaller fish or females as well. Wholesale slaughter of fish just for the sake of catching fish and then stacks of fish on the beach for bragging rights, doesn’t seem so important these days. Of course, I’m speaking in generalities, but there’s a glimmer that I never saw in the past.

Even more importantly, at least as far as sportfishing is concerned, more Mexican captains, especially the younger ones are more receptive to releasing fish; trying different techniques; lighter tackle and not overfishing certain areas.

It has to start with the captains. Many anglers don’t understand the delicate balance on the shoulders of a captain. His mandate is to find fish and catch fish. The “old school” mindset equated bigger tips in direct proportion to bloody carcasses in the fish box. He has to make a living. The better he does, the bigger the tips and the more trips he’ll get.

But now, captains are being judged with sometimes different standards. Numbers are important, but a captain has to know when enough is enough…from a legal perspective in respecting limits; to making sure his clients have a good time; to knowing when the clients want to release fish often communicated with difficulty because of the language differences.

It’s hard to say “oops!” once the gaff is struck. It’s hard to take back a club to the head. Dead fish don’t swim away.

In the past, even when clients didn’t want to keep all their fish, captains often lobbbied clients for the discarded catch for their own use or for sale to market. Bottom line is that there’s alot of conflict going on when a captain takes you out fishing, especially for the first time.

While many of the older captains I speak with base their decisions and daily fishing strategies on purely economic variables and knowing how much to do so that it generates the most tip money, with younger captains, I am hearing other things. It’s heartening to hear things like “environment,” “protecting the fishery,” and “responsibility.”

As one captain told me, “My family has always fished. I come from many generations of fisherman. I do not need a scientist to tell me that the ocean is not as good as it used to be. But I want my sons and their children to have the ocean. They can be fishermen if they want (He laughingly said he hoped they would go to school and get good office jobs!), but I want them to still have the ocean as I knew it. We cannot kill everything.”

That’s encouraging on so many levels. There’s hope.

Bring on the new year. Feliz ano nuevo everyone.

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor of Western Outdoor News and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

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PHOTO 1: Steve Hastings was in town from Washington State to study with our friend Juli Goff at Se Habla La Paz Spanish Language School. He figured to take a day or two and go fishing just for a break-in-the-action. He ripped on a variety of fish including bull dorado such as this, despite winter-conditions. Captain Pancho looks on. Bahia de Los Muertos in the background. On his 2nd day, Steve even hooked a marlin on a light tackle spinning rod before it broke off.

PHOTO 2: Craig Black from Canada was on his first trip to La Paz. He’s an avid flyfisher and despite warnings to perhaps not expect too much since it’s windy and the off-season, Craig caught and released 26 roosterfish in the span of 3 hours as well as several nice jack crevalle that tore into him plus hooking numerous needlefish and losing several pargo.

PHOTO 3: Captain Pancho standing on the beach at Muertos Bay with Stan Kirkland from British Columbia and Steve Hastings from Washington. They are holding some nice dorado as well as pargo. Fun fishing to get both warm and cooler water species at the same time!

PHOTO 4: Calm waters and tough fish are a great combination, especially for flyfishing. This is Craig Black again with one of the jack crevalle he caught and released. He was impressed with the power of the fish the Mexicans nickname “toro” (bull) for good reason.

PHOTO 5: Match the hatch! This is a sample of the fly pattern used this past week on the roosterfish and jack crevalle. They match the sardines that we use for bait very well.

PHOTO 6: Leonard “Don’t call me Leo Di Caprio” Bishop is a transplanted Canadian flyfisher who got into the roosterfish as well. He got dozens of the schoolie gallos and is now trying for one of the bigger toads. Notice how close he is to the beach.

PHOTO 7: Matt Fiamengo came in last week to celebrate his 1 year wedding anniversary and took a day to knock down some fish with his wife. Not a bad day with pargo, dorado and sierra standing on the beach at Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 8: I couldn’t resist this Jimmy Buffet shirt worn by Matt Fiamengo at our Tailhunter Bar. “The Weather is Here. Wish You Were Beautiful.” Thanks to all of you this past year who helped us open the new bar and restaurant in style and being part of the fun. We’ve already been rated #1 on Trip Advisor. Thanks also to all of you who wrote a review or comment! If you’d like to add your own or post a photo click this:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150771-d1480691-Reviews-Tailhunter_Fubar_Cantina-La_Paz_Baja_California.html

BEAUTIFUL WEEK OF CHRISTMAS FISHING WITH COOPERATIVE FISH AND WEATHER!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 20-27, 2009

We probably could not have asked for a better week for fishing conditions. There were some strong breezes, but that didn’t stop the fish from biting and overall, it was just really pleasant time on the water with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70’s to low 80’s. All of our fishing was done out of Muertos Bay and we really got a surprising variety of fish. Despite the cooler temperatures and it being late in the season, pelagic species such as tuna, wahoo, dorado, marlin and roosterfish are still around!

The tuna were just off the drop off between Punta Perrico and the old Hotel Las Arenas. Nothing big, but a fun size 20 pound class fish were great on light tackle. There also seemed to be a school running around the high spots south of Cerralvo…er Jacques Cousteau Island! It’s the same place were getting the occasional wahoo rip as well! The 2nd mount seems to be some type of concentration of wahoo with fish around 30 pounds there. One boat got 6 fish one day. Another day, a panga got 3 while several others dropped fish.

Dorado are just as surprising. Pretty much, the mahi are free ranging. We’ve been finding the fish by dragging a strip of fresh bonito behind the pangas, especially around concentrations of bait or where the waters fall to deeper waters. No telling. But all of a sudden if you get bit on the strip bait, tossing some live sardines around often brings 2, 3 or more dorado into the bite as well. The fish aren’t big, but you can have a blast on 10-25 pound fish! Straight live bait with nothing else except possibly a heavier leader, like 30-40 pound test, is about all it’s taking!

And then, there’s the billfish…striped marlin and sailfish. Steve Hastings from Washington fished several times with us and he was busy with tuna and dorado and a striper went swimming by the panga. He grabbed the nearest rod and fired out a sardine which got inhaled by the striper. Unfortunately, as Steve laughed later…it was his light spinning rod! He immediately realized his error and hung on for about 2 minutes but said it was incredible fun. He would have released the fish anyway.

As well, what’s up with the roosterfish? I think this is the longest roosterfish season I’ve ever had down here! We were getting them as early as February and even now in December, there’s big sluggers around as well as schoolie fish! My amigo, Leonard Bishop and his amigo, Craig Black from Canada took out the flyrods and in a matter of about 3 hours caught and released close to 30 school-sized roosterfish and some nice sized jack crevalle and had a hoot.

TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR 2010 COMING SOON NEAR YOU!

In a few days, we climb in our trusty white van and hit the road to visit all of you back in the states as we start our 2010 Tailhunter Road Tour setting up our booth at all the big hunting and fishing shows in the Western United States.

Our first show is January 7-10th at the International Sportsman’s Expo in Denver CO at the Denver Convention Center. Come say hi and pick up a copy or our DVD and brochures!

Here’s our full schedule:

January 7-10 – Denver Convention Center for the International Sportsman’s Expo Booth 648

January 14-17 – San Mate Expo Center (San Francisco) for the International Sportsman’s Expo Booth 556C

January 21-24 – International Sportsmens Expo Sacramento CA at the State Fairgrounds Booth 3108

January 27 -31 – Washington Sportsmens Show at Puyallup Washington Booth 1041

Feb. 10-14 – Pacific Northwest Sportmens Expo at Portland OR Booth 1231

Feb. 26-28 – Cardinal Football Stadium Phoenix AZ for the International Sportsmen’s Expo Booth 533C

March 3-7 – Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at Long Beach Convention Center

March 9-15 – Central Oregon Sportmens Show Redmond OR Booth 135

March 18-21 – International Sportsmens Expo at Salt Lake City UT Both L1422C

Hope to see you in 2010.

Have a great New Year! 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: From all of our staff at the Tailhunter Bar…Thanks for helping us finally get open and a fun year. Best to you for the holidays!

PHOTO 2: From me and Jill, you all make it happen! God bless you all for a safe and happy Christmas!

PHOTO 3: Dave Rose drove all the way down from frozen Denver in his car for a “quick getaway.” It paid off in dorado, roosterfish, pargo and yes…even yellowfin tuna like this nice football taken off Muertos Bay south of La Paz.

PHOTO 4: This is normally the type of bull dorado we get in the summer and fall, but the big bulls are still around! Captain Jorge assists our amiga, Verda Boyd from the East Bay area of San Francisco. She always does well when she comes down for her birthday every December.

PHOTO 5: Dave Rose from Denver CO again. Nice bull dorado! He was fishing with Captain Pancho.

PHOTO 6: No shortage of sierra right now and some of them are BIG! Verda Boyd shows off one of many sierra she and her husband, Tim, caught over two days fishing. All our boats have been fishing off the Muertos/ Las Arenas areas.

VARIETY OF FISH BRING IT ON IN DECEMBER BITE!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 13-19, 2009

Despite some winds and chop, we sure had a nice week of fishing. We did all of our fishing out of Muertos Bay and the area around Las Arenas and despite it being December, our anglers got into some nice dorado, tuna and even baited up a few marlin. No mistaking that it’s a bit cooler and rougher, but if you looked at the species of fish, it’d be hard to tell. These are all warm water fish. There were also several wahoo hooked and lost. The tuna were in the 15-20 pound class. Dorado went as large as 30 pounds.

Inshore, there were all the school-sized roosterfish you could want. When the winds blow, these were a nice fallback on these 5-10 pounders. Plus sierra are all over the beach areas with pargo and cabrilla along the rocky areas. We’ve got great temperatures and it’s a nice time to be in La Paz without many folks. It’s a pleasant 80 degrees during the day and in the mid-60’s at night.

Have a safe and happy Christmas, amigos!

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

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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DARK DESERT NIGHT AND A SINGLE POINT OF LIGHT

Originally Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Dec. 22, 2009

One of the nice things about Baja is that even when you are in a relatively large population areas like say, Cabo San Lucas, Loreto, La Paz or even the East Cape, it doesn’t take long to be “away from it all.”

A short car ride or even a walk and the “wide open” is never that far. If you can steal away at night, the sound of cars is quickly replaced by a desert breeze that sweeps off the sea. The blaze of lights is now a carpet of stars glittering overhead. That “haze” in the air is the Milky Way.

The smell of exhaust diminishes and now the savory smell of someone perhaps roasting some meat over an open fire wafts up. A dog barks in the distance. Homes become mere pinpoints of light in the distance. The darkness carries the unmistakable sound of an old radio playing “banda” music.

And you’re all alone as easy as that. No crowds. No rave music. No hawkers.

When I lived on the East Cape, I would get out quite often and walk up into the hills and peer down on the little pueblo of Cabo Pulmo. At the time, not really more than a dirt road trying to decide if it was for cars or cows. One restaurant. One cafe that was sometimes open. Another cafe that never seemed to be open. Two bars. A lot of pickup trucks; a handful of pangas; and a pack of friendly mismatched dogs.

At night, I would hear laughter from the restaurant and the sound of waves off the beach. And a few warming lights beaming from some of the homes, many without glass windows. Away from the lights, endless mountains and desert darkness.

And I would think how blessed I was to be there at that moment. And I would watch the night-time comings and goings from afar in the dark and just savor the solitude.

As it were, I wandered up there one Christmas night and could hear the laughter of kids down below. And it reminded of another story of a cold chilly desert and a family that looked in afar at another village from a distance because there was no room at the inn.

And another child born in the nighttime desert. Beneath these very same stars that were still shining overhead.

From such simple beginnings came the genesis of perhaps the greatest of stories about a child. A child who grew up and preached peace. And who was able to gather a bunch of fishermen and carry that word of peace throughout the world and down through the ages. No matter your faith, the essence is still a wonderful story.

Whether you believe that story or not, I think God has a special place for fishermen. It is said that God does not count your days against you that you get to spend on the water.

If peace is what he preached, then what better place have so many found it than on the water. It brings family and friends together. It connects us to memories of a lifetime.

Fishing is the universal equalizer in that fish and nature show no favorites. It often reminds us of a greater power and magnificence around us whether we fish the blue oceans or the smallest backyard pond. The universe is revealed in that microcosm.

And we get to play like kids again. Laugh and smile. Be silly. It reminds us to be kids at heart. Like another child born in the desert like Baja so long ago. He grew up to be a carpenter but he later worked some great stories with fish and his best friends were fishermen too!

God bless you and your family for a safe and happy Christmas.

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor of Western Outdoor News and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

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PHOTO 1: No, this wasn’t taken in July! However, it’s highly unusual to find this kind of a dorado feed so late in the season. Fernando Sucre and his group of amigos from the San Francisco area with three of them shown here: Vince Saunders, Fernando, Paul Scheuring, and Eric Techel from L-R. They also lost and released a number of fish as well. They were fishing just off Muertos Bay and got in a day of scuba diving as well. Live sardines did the trick.

PHOTO 2: Texan Dave Crawford put in 3 days of fishing and got a tremendous number of variety. In addtion to warm water dorado, they got some of the largest sierra I’ve seen in many seasons. The sierra are thick and can provide a day-long bite by themselves. Here, a fresh one is headed for the box with Captain Victor looking on.

PHOTO 3: Escaping chilly New Mexico, our amigo Larry Daniel, fished 3 days and seemed to hook just about everything swimming. In addition to a number or roosterfish like this one (released) they also go dorado, pargo, sierra and others and released many fish as well.

PHOTO 4: Dave Crawford showing off a few of his dorado again. The fish were not far off the shoreline and on several days were thick and eating as fast a new baits could be thrown in the water.

PHOTO 5: One in every crowd and this is Gary “Lefty” Evans from S. California show demonstrates how to hold up 3 fish when you only have TWO hands! He has a dorado in each hand and that’s a pargo hanging from his uh…well…it’s hanging…

PHOTO 6: No, you can’t catch fish here, but you can put a club in your hand now and take some swings. The Paraiso del Mar on Mogote Peninsula is now in full operation and Tailhunter is now offering fishing/golfing packages for the coming season so you can get in a few days of fishing and golf now! Ask us about it. This is the view from the clubhouse/restaurant.

PHOTO 7: They’ve really done a nice job on the course and it will be great to offer the fishing/ golf packages now.

EXCELLENT WEEK OF FISHING WITH A BREAK IN THE WINDS PROVIDES VARIETY OF FISH!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 6-12, 2009

Really an exceptional week of fishing here. Given that it’s almost Christmas, the sun was out and the winds stayed down and the fish bit like it was summer-time, except that we had a great mix of unusual warm-water fish as well as the more typical seasonal fish. In fact, the dorado bit like mad dogs some days where the anglers had to pull away from the spots or were throwing fish back as fast as they could unhook them. Some of these dorado were easily in the 30-pound class and we had reports of some monster 40 pounders lost at the boat.

By contrast, the cooler water fish were also hogging center ring. It was an incredible week for sierra fishing as well with some of the biggest sierra I have ever seen. Some of the anglers were calling them “baby wahoo.” You could load up a limit of sierra in short order then round it out with pargo, snapper, cabrilla, rainbow runners then finish the day catching and releasing roosterfish and jack crevalle.

GOLF PACKAGES FOR 2010

Just to let you know that beginning this coming fishing season, we’re now able to offer fishing/golf packages now that the beautiful Paraiso Del Mar Golf Course is open. Tailhunter has special prices for it’s anglers so fish a little and take a day and swing some clubs. Ask us for details.

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: You never know what’s down there when you’re fishing the bottom. Stacy Amos holds up a nice pargo mulatto and a cabrilla (seabass).

PHOTO 2: Angela “Don’t call me Vicky” Farrell has a knack for big fish. She got this excellent mullet snapper (pargo liso) working the reefs and rocks.

Once Thanksgiving is over, most focus seems to turn towards the bigger holidays approaching much too fast. Fishing takes a distant back seat. It’s a “circular” phenomenon. Not as many people go fishing. Anglers think there’s not much fish to be caught. Ergo, fewer people go fishing.

But simply because the yellowtail or albacore aren’t on the chew off San Diego or the dorado on the East Cape have disappeared, doesn’t mean there’s no fish. I mean, c’mon, the fish don’t cease existence! They have to eat. They have to go somewhere from November to May, right?

Change tactics and focus. Adapt to conditions.

Some of my best Baja fishing took place when no one else was on the water during the winter months. Granted it might have been a little colder and windier. The seas were sometimes a bit rougher than normal, but we almost always caught fish and always had a good time.

When the fish aren’t feeding on the top, you have to take the meal down to them. To many anglers, “bottom fishing” is right up there with dragging fingernails across a blackboard. Visions of heavy weights; broomstick rods; and boring hours of cranking up lines from the deep don’t sound too exciting.

Frankly, I’m not into it either.

I often get asked about fishing during the winter months and I can see the disappointment in anglers when I have to tell them that their dreams of catching tuna, dorado and other bluewater species aren’t very probable during the winter. Their demeanor gets even more sullen when I tell them they’ll have to “bottom fish.”

But “bottom fishing” in Baja doesn’t mean going deep to the bottom of the submarine trenches either. It just means fishing closer to the bottom. In fact, you can do incredibly well in waters less than 100 feet deep and quite often much shallower. Think about it…30 yards of line is not much at all.

But put them out on a boat with relatively lighter tackle, some jigs or some hooks baited with fresh squid or live bait and let them drop down.

The long slender-type jigs like the old chrome diamond-style jigs that drop straight down and don’t flutter worked well as did any of those slender jigs (as opposed to the “candy-bar” style you actually cast out as a lure or use to yo-yo fish). The new “razor” style jigs that are very popular from many Japanese and Korean fishing companies are ideal. They don’t have to be heavy, but they should be “heavy enough” that they’re not drifting away in the current.

Whatever you’re using, you need to get down the water column and get near the bottom, whether it’s a reef, sand bottom, high spot or top of a seamount. Yes, you’ll get hun- up and lose some tackle. But if you don’t get hung up now and then, you’re not fishing close enough to the bottom.

Hit the bottom, then pull up a few cranks so you’re near, but not dragging on the bottom. Then, just raise your rod tip up and down and impart some movement to the jig or live bait. Raise it a few feet then drop it back down a few feet. You don’t have to crank the reel. Use the rod to raise and lower the line.

If you’re not bit, put the reel into freespool again to “find the bottom.” Especially if you’re drifting, you may have moved off the spot and you want your hooks close enough to the bottom where the fish are.

You don’t want to be too far up the water column. Waters are colder down there. Fish, especially the type that hang near the bottom, don’t move around alot either. So you have to bring their food almost right in front of their faces.

Rewards can be outstanding. Big snapper, pargo, seabass (cabrilla), amberjack and big grouper are all hanging down there. Pop on a small live mackeral or even a small bonito or skipjack on heavy tackle and you might even hook a big grouper or giant dog-tooth pargo.

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

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PHOTO 1: His first wahoo, Brian “Bill” Harnack of Los Angeles poses with Captain Jorge south of Cerralvo Island. It’s late in the year, but the wahoo are still around. Bill and his family caught a variety of fish over several days of fishing including this wahoo, tuna, dorado, sierra and roosterfish.

Photo 2: Sue Cross from San Francisco was on her first trip to La Paz and shows off a great dorado caught near shore with Captain Pancho. Dorado are still in the area eating live sardines and slow-trolled bonito strips. The fish range from 5-20 pounds, but larger fish in the 25-30 pound class have been hooked and lost.

PHOTO 3: He’s just 12 years old, but Andre Harnack has pulled on quite a few fish, but got into some really nice fishing this past week with a variety of fish that included sierra, dorado, roosterfish and this nice tuna he hooked with our Las Arenas fleet. He also had on a wahoo that came unbuttoned.

PHOTO 4: Headed for the dinner table, Bill Lee, was on his 2nd trip of the year with us. From the San Francisco area, he holds up a barred pargo also known as a pargo mulatto. Great eating. Get to be about 40 pounds, but the smaller ones taste better. Tough fighters in the rocks!

PHOTO 5: This is a great catch with lots of variety more typical of winter fishing. Bill Lee and Sue Cross have sierra, triggerfish, green pargo and pargo liso on the box. They were fishing with our Tailhunter Fleet off Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 6: Trenton Staley from chilly Parker, Colorado got to take off his jacket and got into some good dorado fishing outside of Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 7: It’s about time for these pargo liso to start moving into the shallows to start spawning. Casey Staley is from Colorado, but lives part-time here in La Paz. He’s fishing with Captain Jorge.

GREAT VARIETY INCLUDING TUNA WAHOO DORADO AND ROOSTERFISH KEEP WINTER ANGLERS BENT!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, 2009

A nice mixed week of fishing. Town is almost empty. Weather is beautiful and a great time to be in La Paz and if you go fishing, it’s like having the whole ocean to yourselves! The winds pretty much dictate where we fish and what we fish for these days. Almost all of our fishing is being done with our Las Arenas fleet launching out of Bahia de Los Muertos. That way, even if it’s windy we can still hug the shore and catch fish. Surprisingly, we’re not only getting inshore species, but offshore species are close to shore as well.

There are abundant sierra to be caught as the schools have now moved into the inshore areas and you can spend your whole day tearing it up with these speedsters. Live bait fished with a little bit of wire on the hook works great as does slow trolling small crank baits with wire. Good idea to change all treble hooks to single hooks or simply cut off two of the treble hooks as it gets tough to pull three hooks out of the snapping teeth of a sierra.

In addition to the sierra, there’s snapper, pargo, and cabrilla and surprisingly still some good roosterfish to be caught along the sandy areas. The real surprise is that we’re still taking bluewater species like a few tuna here and there in the 25 pound class as well as the occasional wahoo. On the days you could get out there and the wind laid down, there’s a pesky school of football tuna at the north end of Cerralvo Island and a good shot at taking a wahoo there as well around North Point and La Reyna. If not, then south end of Cerralvo Island and near Punta Perrico would be our 2nd choice. Dorado schools flurry in and out and often surprise anglers who find every rod suddenly bent. On two days, it was like summer fishing! The dorado literally swarmed the boats and it was wild. As soon as the winds came up, the fish petered out, but by then, the guys had bloody decks and full fish boxes! We also hooked and lost a few striped marlin too.

Bring a sweatshirt or light jacket for the cool mornings on the water or evenings in town. Long pants aren’t a bad idea either. It’s a “chilly” 65 at night at 82 in the daytimes. Locals like ourselves are all in long pants and sweatshirts these days!

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.”

Read Full Post »