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Posted in Uncategorized on February 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: MIGHTY YELLOWTAIL HOGS! Yes…the yellowtail have finally started to show. Greg Keehr from Bothell WA made their first trip to see us in La Paz this past week and stuck some great roosters, cabrilla and these AWESOME yellowtail while fishing out’ve Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 2: Janet Keehr admittedly outfished her husband with this 35-pound yellowtail that she took on 25 pound test. That’s Captain Victor that many of you know, holding the gaff and sporting a DOUBLE CHIN! (Must’ve been hibernating in the off-season!). Janet took the fish on live bait. That’s a slugger of a fish!

PHOTO 3: You’ve probably neve seen one of these. One of our amigos, called it the “Boy George Fish” for the pink makeup on it’s lips and rouge on it’s cheeks. This is a rare louvar fish. Normally never seen in the Sea of Cortez, but correctly identified by our friend, Gene Kira from Mexfish.com http://www.mexfish.com/fish/louvar/louvar.htm. The photo was sent by Ed Hoffman and the fish was found in Loreto.

PHOTO 4: The louvar is not only rare. It’s also usually only about 30 pounds or so. This was estimated at 200 pounds. No idea how it tasted! More details on the way.

PHOTO 5: Yes, it finally happened. La Paz has it’s first golf course at Mogote Peninsula just across from the city. This is the driving range.

PHOTO 6: That’s our amigo, Dan Shore from the La Concha Pearl condos with the purple polo shirt being told that his ball went down a rattlesnake hole and he’d have to get it himself plus suffer 3 penalty strokes.

PHOTO 7: Bilingual warning sign on the Colorado River telling us not to fish for trout! We’ve just finished our 5th week traveling the U.S. visiting all our amigos and clients at the fishing and hunting shows. We just finished Portland, Oregon and will be going to Phoenix AZ next at Cardinal Football Stadium the last week of February. Come say hi!

YELLOWTAIL FINALLY CHEW!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 8-14, 2009

Well! Sunshine…low wind…and YELLOWTAIL! Finally some lunker toad forktails! Check out the photos above. That’s the style we like…20-40 pound fish! We got fish for both our La Paz and Las Arenas fleet. Fishing the high spots and reefs, it would appear that the fish are in our waters although because of the winds, most of our fishing remains fishing out’ve Muertos Bay where the waters are calmer.

The fish are in shallow and eating live bait. But, in those same areas, we got some really nice pargo (and lost some HUGE fish too in the rocks!) as well as cabrilla. Sierra are still around, but we got another shot of roosterfish as well as some of those big gigantus bonito that kick our butts! All good signs! Weather has been great for the most part. We had wind earlier in the week but temps have been in the hight 70’s to lower 80’s.

This is CARNIVAL WEEK this week too so the town will be in party zone along the malecon waterfront all week! Gonna be rowdy!

Oh…and the whales are in full turbo as well at Mag Bay. We’re running trips daily now and seeing lots of whales in the shallow waters of the bay. We’re still booking trips so let us know.

LITTLE WHITE BALLS…

Lastly…you saw the golf course photos above…Yes…La Paz has it’s first golf course. It’s over at the Mogote Peninsula…that big sand spit across the way from La Paz. If you’ve been to La Paz and stood there on the malecon looking out at the ocean, it’s directly across. It’s still a 45 minute car ride over, but they have a quick 5 minute shuttle on a pontoon boat that will take you over. I guess I better learn to play golf. I’ve never been real good. I always had a fishing rod in my hand. I did shoot a 63 once, and would have done better, but my ball hit the windmill and missed the clown’s mouth by the castle…

According to our friend, Rory King, he says, ” The course is not ‘Open’ until March. The grand opening will be a round of golf played by the developer, and Arthur Hills, and Brian Yoder, the golf course architect and designer. At this time, the people living there, can play the course, but most of the markers are not up now, details have to be done, so it is not open to the public, except for the driving range.Driving range is open 10 to 4 every day. $12.00 for one hour or the whole day if you wish. Anyone can go. The little electric boats leave from the dock that goes down to El Patron restaurant. Short ride to the other side, then they pick you up in a golf cart and take you to the driving range. They have a rudimentary food stand, water, hot dogs, stuff like that, and it is beautiful. Anyone can play at this time. The price is right for a couple of hours of hitting balls.”

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115Cell: (626) 278-1585Mex.
Cell: 044-612-114-17176E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

“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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Posted in Uncategorized on February 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Heavy afternoon traffic on the Baja freeway…

PHOTO 2: If the phone doesn’t ring it’s me…

PHOTO 3: Shoveling snow can wait. The only ice you see will be inside a margarita glass!
MORE THAN IT EVER WAS…STILL A GREAT VALUE
Originally Published in Western Outdoor News Week of Feb. 12, 2009


By the time you’re reading this, I’m not sure where we’ll be but since the first week of January, we’ve been on the road criss-crossing the western U.S. This is the time of year when we hit the major fishing/hunting outdoor shows held in most major metros.

This is the one time of year when we come out’ve Baja and get to actually set up our booth and meet so many of our old amigos and clients and hopefully meet new ones. It’s nice to be in the U.S. for awhile! (I sure miss In-N-Out Burgers!)

Moreso, it’s a great time to see what’s been happening in the rest of the industry and catch up with other friends who run similar operations, not just in Baja or Mexico, but other parts of the U.S., North America and the world.

By the time you read this, we’ll have finished appearances in San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver and Portland. Still to come are Phoenix, Salt Lake, and of course the Fred Hall Fishing Show in Long Beach.

It’s a lot like being a modern day carnival worker as we all travel with each other from show to show. The Alaska salmon guys…the Costa Rica outfitters…the Canadian guides…the S.African bowhunters…the Himalayan trekkers…the Baja charter services…all bouncing down the road from show to show. It’s usually the only time we have to catch up with each other after busy seasons.

Invariably, we all talk about the economy. As goes the U.S. economy, so goes the travel biz. With less disposable income these days, it’s not easy to go on vacation and most of us entered the trade show season wondering with trepidation. We see those booths that are empty. We hear hear horror stories about those outfitters and guides that are struggline. For many of us 2008 was a tougher year. What about 2009?

Well, from what I’m hearing at ground zero, 2009 may not be so gloomy. There’s no denying that things are tight, but after speaking to thousands of people during the last month as well as to a number of Baja operators, projections are good and just support things many of us have known for ages about Baja.

People are still travelling to Baja. Not just Baja veterans, but first-timers are coming to Baja as well. It’s being “discovered” by a whole new flock of vistors. With airline rates decreasing and the dollar going strong against the peso, it’s still one of the best values for the buck.

Think about it. Name a single place where you can still get world-class fishing just a few hours flight from the U.S. border. Where else can you find incredible scuba, kayaking, whale watching, windsurfing, spearfishing, and off-road running and other activities for which Baja is known. There aren’t many with that combination.

And certainly, if you can think of a place, you certainly can’t do it for the price of a Mexican vacation.

For me and Joe Average, it’s still possible to take a great vacation and not dip into the rent money. For the cost of one day in Vegas or one day in Canada or Hawaii, you can stay for almost a whole week in Mexico. And bring the wife or kids too if you wanted. Also, being so close, you can do it over a long weekend and spend more time enjoying and less time traveling.

A quick survey of a number of Baja operators showed me that they’re holding the line on prices; adding more amenties; beefing up services and doing their best to remain attractive to vacationers.

As one Baja operator told me, “People still have to go on vacation. Money is tough, but Baja fills a nice niche. You get world class quality adventure without paying world-class prices and for many Americans, it’s just a short plane ride away.”

Is it safe? We hear that a lot too.

“Unfortunately, there’s problems near the border cities. There’s no denying that the druggies are fighting each other, “ said one fishing operator. “But that’s up around the border and it’s between the drug dealers going after each other, not necessarily tourists.”

“It’s all perception,” added the owner of a scuba operation from Cabo. “I have friends who don’t go to California anymore because they think they will get killed in a drive-by shootings in Los Angeles. We know that gangs don’t roam Los Angeles looking for tourists.”

“Thousands of people cross the border everyday for work and play. Plane after plane unloads in Cabo San Lucas, La Paz and Loreto filled with families and tourists. Banditos don’t jump out from behind the rocks. Nothing happens. People have a great time,” he added.

Just across the border. Still a great value. More than it ever was.

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.

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Posted in Uncategorized on February 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Snapper like this nice pargo have moved into the shallows. A bit earlier than normal, but great sport trying to pull them out’ve the rocks. This is a “small” one and one of the most frustrating of Baja sportfishing. However, this is the time of year when they come in to spawn.

PHOTO 2: Here’s a nice winter-time catch that makes great eating. From left-to-right, cabrilla (seabass), two pargo mulatto (barred pargo) and yellow snapper (huachinango). All of these species inhabit the rocks and reefs inshore and can actually get pretty big. Willing to eat a live bait, chunked dead bait, slow trolled lures; and plastic jig and swim baits. Just be ready to lean into the rod and put alot of pressure on them to keep them from going back into their holes!

PHOTO 3: We’re traveling the country doing all the outdoor fishing and hunting shows right now. Just wanted to share some of the road signs we’ve come across. This is a rather famous truck stop in Colorado.


PHOTO 4: One can only speculate on what’s being sold here! Oregano?

YELLOWTAIL FINALLY BITE BUT PARGO NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP CENTER STAGE!

The La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 1-8, 2009
Well, it’s a bit early in the season perhaps, but the yellowtail that had been teasing us for a few weeks finally got into a nice snap and we got some of the forktails off Punta Perrico this past week. They weren’t the big hog yellows, but still, decent 12-16 pound fish. Too early to say if this is the full-blown thing yet, but it’s nice to put some yellowtail in the boat finally! All the signs are there. Last year we went full turbo on big tails so we can only hope that maybe things are heating up!
Still…other species did more than make up for everything else. Pargo appear to be ready to rip and the schools are getting thicker. They’re up in the shallows already in the same spots we’re seeing cabrilla, snapper and breezing schools of sierra. Not sure if the roosterfish are still in. We’ve been hitting the roosters the last few weeks bit didn’t get any this week but that could also be a function of the fact that no one wanted to fish for them!
I will tell ya that it was unseasonably warm this past week. Temperatures were in the low 80’s, but the winds were still a mess. It was windy enough earlier in the week for them to issue small craft warnings out of La Paz Bay. That time of year. But that’s why we’re doing all our fishing out of Muertos to stay on the lee side of things.
Whales are still packing them in at Lopez Mateos at Magdalena Bay. Our whale watchers are seeing lots of the whales now as we move into the height of the whale watching season there in the shallow lagoon waters. They’ll be around for about a month more.
Thanks to all the amigos who came to see us this past week at the Northwest Sportsman’s Expo at the Portland Expo Center in Oregon. It was five great days in the booth and the show was packed! No snow and no rain for once and Portlanders were great hosts. I’ll be in La Paz the rest of the month then back in the states for the International Sportsman’s Show in Phoenix, Arizona at Cardinal Stadium…actually in Glendale. It’s our first appearance in the Phoenix area in a number of years and hope to see many of you there.
YOU TUBE!
You can now check out all our video clips from last year in one spots on Youtube! Just click:
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Phone: (626) 333-3355
FAX: (626) 333-0115
Cell: (626) 278-1585Mex. Cell: 044-612-114-17176
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, MexicoTailhunter
“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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Posted in Uncategorized on February 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Lots of inshore species biting now which is a good thing because strong seasonal winds keep the pangas close to shore. But that’s fine. Sierra, cabrilla, snapper, and several types of pargo like this barred pargo are more than willing to bite. Just because it’s “inshore” doesn’t mean these are small fish either. Pargo can be up to 30 pounds. Cabrilla (seabass), snapper and sierra can be large as well as give attitude when hooked.

PHOTO 2: Roosterfish are either still here from last season or are here early for 2009. Who cares? They are here! These are the large mondo-monsters but it’s still alot of fun when a school of 5-10 pounders are up near the beach and willing to hit the fly or live bait. Best when the winds are down, but every few days…

PHOTO 3: Sad day. The historic Hotel Los Arcos on the waterfront of La Paz was officially closed this past week. One of the most popular hotels in La Paz, the hotel was originally shuttered just before Thanksgiving when the labor union boarded up the hotel and prevented anyone from entering or exiting. No one blinked during negotiatons and the owners decided to just close the property and fire everyone. That’ll show ya. Something like 200 employees are now out’ve jobs during a tough tourist economy and one of the great hotels is now permanently dark.

PHOTO 4: Hola from the Royal Gorge in Colorado. Our 2009 Tailhunter Tour continues on. It was great to meet and see so many old friends and new friends at San Mateo, Sacramento and Denver. We had to slug our way out’ve the blizzard in Denver and stopped for a Kodak moment along the Colorado River in the snow. Our next stop is this week in Portland OR at the Expo Center Feb. 4-8 Wednesday to Sunday. It’s the Pacific Northwest Sportsman’s Show. Come say hi.

PHOTO 5: This is the blizzard that hit us as we left Denver on Monday last week. It was crazy. Up to then, we’d had incredible weather. Then, the hammer fell. Jill kept us on the road headed forward unlike my adventures last year when we went spinning off the road.

PHOTO 6: Couldn’t resist this photo. Gas in Utah. It was even cheaper in Wyoming.

NOT MANY ANGLERS BUT GOOD INSHORE FISHING AWAY FROM THE WINDS PROVIDES ACTION

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Reprt for Week of Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, 2009

Inshore fishing continued to deliver steady action as seasonal northern winds keep our pangas close to shore. This is fairly typical for winter fishing. However, there’s a good variety of inshore fish. For light tackle fishing this can be a great time. Using either live bait or lures such as crankbaits, plastics or poppers, cabrilla, sierra, and snapper are willing to hit. On the days when the winds slow down, even the flyfishers got into the hookups. Roosterfish and jack crevalle along the beaches have shown up. None of the big ones, but these fish can’t be beat for action. We know some yellowtail have popped up but they come up and disappear. Some of the commercial guys are getting them but it’s real sporadic…so far. We’re seeing more and more pargo as well. Bait is good but all the fishing right now is still coming out’ve Muertos Bay. La Paz fishing is still too rough most days.

In other activities, the whales are in full turbo right now and we’re running all-day trips out to check out the grey whales at Magdalena Bay. The whales usually hang out until mid-March.

HOTEL LOS ARCOS CLOSES

Sadly, the Hotel Los Arcos has officially been closed. One of the most popular hotels in La Paz history, the old Hotel Los Arcos was shut down this week. Originally, the hotel was shut down by the local labor union just before Thanksgiving. The union boarded up the the hotel and it was anticipated that they could negotiate a quick re-opening. However, there was no movement and the owners fired all the employees and closed the hotel this past week. Hopefully, there’s some other resolution down the road, but for now, Hotel Los Arcos is dark for good.
TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL ON THE ROAD IN PORTLAND

We’ll be at the Portland Expo Center this week for our next hunting/ fishing/ outdoor show. Come by and check us out and say hi. The show is Wednesday to Sunday and our booth is in the main hall.

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
Cell: (626) 278-1585Mex. Cell: 044-612-114-17176
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico
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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Posted in Uncategorized on January 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

A BIT OF BAJA LIFE…

Originally published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Jan 26, 2009


One of the most common questions I get down here from friends and clients is, “Well, can I mail it to you?”

Now, I live in La Paz, Baja Mexico. It’s the capital city of the state of Southern Baja. With almost 250, 000 gente (people), this isn’t exactly a sleepy little pueblito. It’s a hub of business, agriculture, tourism, and fishing, not to mention the site of a university and the seat of government.

Therefore, it comes as somewhat of a surprise to folks when I respond, “No, you’d better not mail anything to me.”

I mean, for those of you who have visited or spent any time in the Baja, when was the last time you saw a mailbox? Think about that for a moment. Despite the rising cost of postage, Americans take mail for granted. Ergo, when you put a stamp on something and drop it in the red and blue box, you can generally count on it getting where it’s going in a timely manner.

I know we have a post office in La Paz (hidden behind two taco carts), but has anyone ever seen a mailman? Ever seen a postal truck? I know they sell stamps. I know sometimes people get mail!

Indeed, most of my friends don’t have an address to their homes. Instead an address is given as, “2.4 km a Carretera a Pichilingue” (2.4 kilometers on the Pichilingue Road) or “Colonia Revolucion Entre Altamirano y Iglesias” (Neighborhood of Revolution between Altamirano and Iglesias streets). You don’t get an address. You get directions.

Sure, mail gets delivered…sometimes. When I first moved to Baja, my folks would mail me things like magazines (Sports Illustrated, Time, Western Outdoors) and things like vegetable seeds and tools.

Three weeks later, I’d get a battered box that looked as if it has dragged behind a truck. As I found out later, mail from the states went to Mexico City first. There it was searched for “contraband and subversive materials.” Then it would get forwarded to me in Baja.

The flower and vegetable seeds would be confiscated. They left me a rubber mallet. My Sports Illustrated (What no swim suit issue?) was gone as was Western Outdoors, Time and others. But they left me National Geographic and Mad Magazine. (Western Outdoors is subversive?) This was almost 15 years ago and it hasn’t gotten much better.

That’s “if” the parcel was sent rush or special delivery or air mail. Regular mail rarely ever got to me. Once I got it 6 months later. Well, I got the envelope, but nothing was in it.

Local mail, if you can call it that is truly comedic. Again, have you ever seen a mailman?

If you ever see long lines outside the offices where you pay your electrical, phone or cable TV bill, that’s people standing in line, sometimes for hours. It’s because it’s easier and more reliable to just pay the bill personally.

My own bills get delivered by a guy on a bicycle. With a basket on the front like you had in 2nd grade. He is paid by the phone or electrical company. No uniform. No specific training other than knowing how to ride a bike is needed.

He rides by and throws the envelope at your front door or place of business. If it falls in the street. OK. If it lands on the steps, OK. If it flies into a tree. OK.

It’s NOT OK, when they shut off your electricity for not paying your bill because you never got a bill. There’s no notice. There’s no “please submit your late payment” letter. One day your phone, gas or electricity is just shut off.

Now you must go stand in line to pay the bill…and another fine to turn your service back on. If you didn’t get your bill, it’s not their problem. They gave the sack of bills to a guy on a bicycle!

Two weeks ago another guy on a bicycle came looking for me. He was from the Mexican IRS. He said he “lost” the notice telling me I had not paid $71 dollars in taxes on my last income tax. But, he had diligently been trying to find me ON HIS BICYCLE for two weeks.

But, he was sure happy to find me now. And, according to him, it was my lucky day that I had been found. If I didn’t pay my $71 by noon, I’d lose my business license!

Oh joy. Only in Mexico. I should be used to it by now! We can only laugh most times.

The Mexican postal service recently ran an ad asking people to “mail” in suggestions on how they could improve service. I’m sure folks ran right out to put pen to paper.

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.

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Posted in Uncategorized on January 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Sierra mackerel like this beauty here are still hitting nicely just about anywhere but the inshore reef, shoals and beaches seem to be the best holding spots for these guys. Don’t let the “mackerel” part of the name fool you. They fight hard and are among the tasitest fish around. Light tackle and a wire leader are working best with live bait or small crank bait lures like small Rapalas or Yo-Zuri lures.

PHOTO 2: Nice schools of feisty jack crevalle have move into the beach and inshore areas, especially for our anglers working the Muertos Bay/ Punto Perricos area. Great sport fish, but terrible eating, they are best released. Cousins to yellowtail, roosterfish, amberjack and pompano, when these guys are on the feed, they’ll hit pretty much anything aggressively.

PHOTO 3: The whales have finally arrived in Magdalena Bay and we’re running daily trips there now. The largest migration of mammals on Earth, the grey whales come to Baja during the winter months until about March to mate and give birth.


PHOTO 4: This is about as close as you can get to these great animals! Just watch out when they spout! Good idea to bring a windbreaker and hat! Pretty neat to get this close to a 30 foot whale or it’s baby. The grey whales usually hang out until mid-March in the shallow bay waters.

PHOTO 4: The Tailhunter Road Show 2009 moves on! We are just finishing our 3rd fishing/ hunting show of the season here in Denver CO. It has been a great tour with stops at shows in San Mateo CA and Sacramento CA. We wrap up here in Denver then move onto the Portland Expo Feb. 4-8. Great to see all the old friend and meet new ones. Come visit us in Portland and come fishing in La Paz!
WINTER CONDITIONS IN LA PAZ BUT INSHORE SPECIES PROVIDE GOOD ACTION!
La Paz/ Las Arenas Report for Week of January 18-24, 2009
THE FISHING REPORT

Lots of snow birds in town right now but not many anglers or divers. You can tell the locals. It’s 70 degrees and breezy and we’re all walking around in long pants and sweatshirts bundled against the “cold.” The tourists are wearing shorts and flip-flops and t-shirts. The whales are in at Magdalena Bay so we’re running a lot of trips out there now and indeed, quite a few of the tourists in town are here for the whales and not many for fishing. Let us know if we can set you up with some whale watching before they head north in March.

Still, we had a few boats out this week. With the north winds, we had to keep close to shore. Waters seemed to have turned a bit green. The winds were hard on the few flyfishers but our bait fishermen still got into sierra, seabass, jacks and some smaller pargo. We had some light line anglers do pretty well and they had fun getting hookups but lost a lot of fish in the rocks. They weren’t complaining since almost every cast was another hookup and planned to release most fish anyway. Some of the commercial guys got a few yellowtail so that’s encouraging and we’ll keep an eye on that. Lots of folks are preping for Carnival which is coming up in a few weeks.

TAILHUNTER COMING YOUR WAY

We’ve just finished our shows in San Mateo, Sacramento and Colorado. We’ll be at the Portland Expo Center Feb. 4-8. Come visit us in the booth! After that, Phoenix AZ, Long Beach and Salt Lake City.
CABIN FEVER CLASSIC APRIL 30 – MAY 4
Cabin Fever Classic April 30 to May 4, we still have a few spots that came open! Ask us about the details. Five days in La Paz with 3 days of fishing. This is our 7th annual event and it’s alot of fun! Get outta yer cabin and come enjoy some sunshine! Price is $775 per person double occupancy.
That’s out story!
Jonathan and Jill
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115C
ell: (626) 278-1585Mex. Cell: 044-612-114-17176
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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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Posted in Uncategorized on January 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Don’t know how much longer this can last as waters start cooling, but there have been little jags of dorado here and there even though it’s winter. Our amiga, Verda Boyd from Fremont CA and her husband Tim Zimmer always come down in the winter and seem to find the fish! Here Captain Jorge lends a hand.

PHOTO 2: Captain Jorge again, this time with Tim Zimmer holding a good looking dorado taken just outside of Muertos Bay on live bait and light tackle.

PHOTO 3: Photo of Jonathan being interviewed by Univision Channel 19 the Sacramento CA Spanish-speaking news station. Jonathan doing his unsuccessful best NOT to butcher the language. I’m sure the channel lost ratings points that night during the broadcast as their viewers switched to the weather channel.

PHOTO 4: The grey whales have arrived in Magdalena Bay and we’re now running whale watching trips daily to this tranquil shallow lagoon where the whales take up winter residence until about mid-March.

PHOTO 5: Yes, they do get this close!

A WINDY WEEK KEEPS BOATS CLOSE TO SHORE BUT STILL CATCHING FISH!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of January 11-17, 2009

THE FISHING REPORT

A really windy week in La Paz with Santa Ana type winds flailing the whole area. The kite and wind surfers in the channel out by La Ventana are just loving this as the winds just funnel between the peninsula and Cerralvo Island. Still, we hug the shoreline and again, kept most of our anglers in the Muertos Bay area with good results. Again, sierra were the mainstay. Boats took 8-12 per boat and losing others. Cabrilla and snapper rounded out the mixed bag, but roosters were not uncommon and we still got a few dorado as well. No complaints. Fortunately, bait is plentiful and close. Sardines on a hook will pretty much get almost all species to bite. Nice to be on the water. Not many people to share the fishing holes with! If anything, the wind really hampered the few flyfishers we had, but being the off-season, this is why we don’t do a lot of flyfishers right now. Waters seemed to turn a bit green too. That’s indicative of a chilling. Could be the winds are pulling colder water up from down deep. We’ll have to keep an eye on it.

WHALES ARE HERE

The annual migration of the whales has started! Pretty much on schedule the vanguard of the California grey whales has arrived at Magdalena Bay. It’s one of the 3 places along the Baja Pacific coast that the whales take up winter residency. It’s the largest migration of animals on the planet. We’re running daily whale watching trips now until they head back sometime around March. Get in touch with us if you’re interested in seeing this incredible event up close!

HEADED TO OUR NEXT STOP

Howdy and thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth at the first two stops on our 2009 Tailhunter Tour. We had a great time two weeks ago at the San Mateo International Sportmen’s Expo near San Francisco and are now finished with the Sacramento ISE show at the California State Fairgrounds.

Next stop Denver from Thursday Jan 22 to Sunday Jan. 25. We’ll be at the Denver Convention Center. This is an incredible show so please stop by to say hi and come chat about coming to see us in 2009 in La Paz.

ALASKA FLIGHTS

Alaska Airlines has a big sale right now. Buy your tickets before Jan. 24th and use them before June 24th for big discounts to fly to La Paz. They now fly Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Seats have been going fast so don’t delay. More sales are on the way, we hear!

MUERTOS BAY

We’ve got some new projects bubbling up at Muertos Bay these days. For those of you who don’t relish the drive over the hill from La Paz, we’re now working with some of the rental houses there and we’re also developing some projects with the Cardon Grill (formerly the Giggling Marlin Restaurant) that are pretty exciting. Stay tuned. More to come!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico
“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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Posted in Uncategorized on January 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Volaris Airlines uses brand new airbus planes and is another alternative to traveling to Mexico. This new air carrier flies from Tijuana.

PHOTO 2: The planes fly from Tijuana, but they’ll pick you up in modern shuttles from San Diego and scoot you right to the terminal.
VOLARIS AIRLINES TRIP FROM TIJUANA TURNS OUT TO BE A SURPRISE!
Originally published in Western Outdoor News week of Jan. 13, 2009
Over the many years, I’ve been hosting anglers down here in Baja, we’ve had our ups and downs with the airlines (no pun intended). I had often heard from many of our friends and clients living in Southern California and especially the San Diego area that they really loved taking the flights out of Tijuana to destinations south.

Whenever that rose in a discussion, it was usually met with a raised eyebrow and a polite smile. Why go through Tijuana? You mean THAT Tijuana as in “over-the-border-Tijuana?” Uh, no thanks.

I’ll admit it myself that there was a nagging perception that I was just asking for trouble going through Tijuana. I wasn’t worried about the airport, but I know many people do have misconceptions about Mexican airports.

Moreover, they are absolutely terrified however of driving through Tijuana, especially given some of the news reports emanating from the border cities. Not speaking Spanish or being able to read signs doesn’t help either.

Personally, I just didn’t want the hassle of navigating not only the border but indeed just wrangling my Gilligan-driving-skills through Tijuana.

I get crazy enough thinking I’m late for a plane at LAX let alone getting in line at a slow border crossing; going round-and-round some plaza in Tijuana with no stop lights; or getting lost and finding myself driving down some one-way street with no name.

This from a guy who is generally very comfortable driving in Mexico and speaks a modicum of Spanish. But why add more stress to a travel day?

Well, times have changed. During the holidays, I had to jet back and forth several times between our place in La Paz and visiting the family in S.California. Airline tickets being what they are, I had heard some good reports of a new airline flying out of Tijuana called Volaris.

I don’t want this to be an info-mercial for them, but the experience was incredible. They have done a lot to alleviate many of the concerns gringos have about flying from Tijuana and flying Mexican airlines.

For one, forget the border problems! Volaris had a special shuttle that picks you up from the San Diego train station. A special Volaris booth there in the station sells the ticket for 15 bucks. I quickly boarded a modern shuttle bus like the type they use to bring you to your parking structure at LAX.

Indeed half the people aboard were Americans. Many were repeat users and all said it was the best secret around. Several aboard had taken the train for 17 dollars from Los Angeles to San Diego and said they lounged happily along the way and watched traffic inch along the 405 freeway, next to the tracks. Neener! Neener!

In 30 minutes, we were there at the Tijuana Airport. We spent 5 minutes at the border while someone checked the bus. At the airport, numerous porters (speaking English) clamored to carry your bags and then stood in line with you to check-in at Volaris’ counter.

Because this is a domestic flight, it’s a little more lenient on the security check-in too.

The planes themselves were incredible. This is a brand-new airline using new giant air bus planes. I’m told that after only a few months, Volaris is already the third largest airline in Mexico.

Six seats across. Huge storage bins overhead. Leather seats with lots of legroom.
There were TV’s to watch and each seat had a plug-in connection for using your laptop or other electronic device. Cart service included snacks plus a full-array of beverages.

The flight back to the U.S. was just as smooth. As you exit the Tijuana terminal, again, there’s a shuttle waiting to take you back to the San Diego train station. The only glitch, if you will, is when crossing back into the U.S

When you hit the border there’s a security check. All passengers must disembark while the shuttle bus is checked. Additionally, all passengers go through the regular checking of documents and the X-ray machine.

It took 10 minutes. We then walked about 20 yards outside the building and re-boarded the bus. Twenty minutes later, I was dropped off back at the San Diego train station.

Other than the slight inconvenience at the border coming into the U.S. which is to be expected, this was seamless. All this took place during holiday rush as well. No worries about parking. No driving through the border. No getting lost in Tijuana.

And Volaris cost about half of what it would have cost to fly round trip from Los Angeles!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

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Posted in Uncategorized on January 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Such a great shot. This is 12-year-old Trevor Davidson from Newport Rhode Island who came down with his dad, Simon. Yes, there’s still roosterfish around. Lots of small guys that are great to catch and release on light tackle. According to dad, ” This was just the first Rooster of many we caught that day, Sierra, Pargo, Jack Crevalle, Skipjack Tuna, and snapper were also caught. His biggest fish was probably a Jack Crevalle. I worked hard with my Fly Rod while he used a spinning rod and live bait, so he out fished me that day much to his glee.”

PHOTO 2: Jeff Iverson from Washington was down this past week and did one day on the water with his flyrod. In addtion to roosters, and sierra, Jeff popped this nice dorado as well. Pretty unusual to get dorado in the winter, but lingering warm water has kept the fish in the area. Great surprise!

LOTS OF MIXED INSHORE ACTION WITH LITTLE TRAFFIC ON THE WATER PROVIDES BENT RODS!

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for week of Jan. 4-11, 2009

Another pretty good week for a lot of varieties down here this past week. Even when the wind is blowing from the north, we’re still able to fish out of Muertos Bay. Fishing has been relatively close with an excellent mix of fish. Even our flyfishers are doing well. Most of the fish, however, are coming on live bait, mostly sardines, but they’re producing sierra, roosterfish, jack crevalle, bonito, skipjack, cabrilla, pompano, pargo and we even had a few dorado and two wahoo were hooked and lost on jigs. We had some guys this week on ultra light tackle fishing only bait and throwing bass lures like crank baits, poppers and jerk baits into the rocks and hammering fish after fish! They lost alot of gear to snapper, pargo, cabrilla and sierra, but said it was some of the best action they had ever had with almost every single cast producing a hit!

It’s a great time to be down. Very little pressure on the fishing spots. Air temps are in the mid-70’s and sunny. Water is about 10 degrees cooler in most places.

NOTES ON THE TACKLE BOX

AIR FLIGHTS DROPPING TO LA PAZ –

This past week airline rates to La Paz on Alaska/Horizon Air dropped drastically! Check it out. We were hearing of flights as low as $317 round trip from Los Angeles to La Paz. Alaska/Horizon is now flying 5 days a week to La Paz so make your connection through Los Angeles!

WHALE WATCHING –

Whale watching season is just about to kick off in another week or so as the annual migration of the grey whales comes to Bahia Magdalena. Check out the whales in this tranquil shallow bay. Great experience for the family. We can set this up for you!

TRADE SHOW TOUR 2009 COMING YOUR WAY

We are currently on our 2009 Fishing and Hunting Trade Show Tour! We just finished in San Mateo near San Francisco and had a great time seeing everyone. Next stop is the California State Fairground for the ISE Show January 15-18th. This is a huge show! Come see us at the booth and let’s talk about coming to La Paz for 2009!

Next stop will be Denver at the Denver Convention Center January 22-25.

CABIN FEVER CLASSIC STILL HAS A FEW SPOTS LEFT!

Our 7th Annual Cabin Fever Classic on April 30 t0 May 4 still has some spots. Cost is $775 for five days in La Paz/ 4 nights ocean-front hotel/ 3 days fishing and alot of fun with some great folks. Dig yourself out of the cold and come put your toes in the sand and line in the water with us. Write us for more details!

TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL HAS MORE TO DO FOR 2009

In addition to SCUBA and SNORKELING, we’re also offering an array of other great activities for your La Paz vacation including horseback riding, Cabo tours, tours to Todos Santos, City and Beach tours; ATV riding; and swimming with the dolphins. Ask us for more details.

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745

Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

“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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Posted in Uncategorized on January 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PHOTO 1: Several varieties of pargo have started to show up like this mullet snapper (pargo liso) that move into the rocky areas this time of year. As we move into spring time, these fish will come into the shallow areas to spawn in large numbers. They will take a live bait but quickly dash into the rocks!

PHOTO 2: A big surprise to have pompano show up as well so early. Normally we get these guys in late spring or so along the reefs and sandy drop offs. Great eating members of the jack family and super fun on light tackle.

GOOD FISHING WITH LOTS OF VARIETY KICKS IN THE NEW YEAR!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 28 to Jan. 4, 2009

Hope your new year is off to a good start, amigos!

What an excellent week of fishing down here. Again, because of the winds, we’re mostly fishing out of Muertos Bay, but our boats took such a great variety of fish all week. Still plenty of sierra around and you can spend all day catching just sierra. However, there’s plenty of cabrilla to 5 pounds plus it looks like both dog tooth and mullet snapper (pargo liso) have moved into the rocky area. We’re not getting the big ones just yet, but the ones we’ve been catching are the 10-15 pound class with some larger ones lost to the rocks.

A few yellowtail were picked up…smaller sized punks in the 10 pound class, but this is encouraging to have them so early… plus roosterfish (up to 15 pounds) , amberjack and even pompano along the beaches. The pompano were really a nice surprise as I don’t remember getting them this early. they are a great eating fish and will eat the live baits with a small sinker just on the edge of the drop offs. The first few days they showed up, we had clients tossing them back or giving them away not sure of what they were. Of course, my captains were more than happy to take them off the clients hands. The problem is that they are members of the jack family (yellowtail, amberjack, permit, roosterfish, jack crevalle) and look very very close to their hard-fighting cousins, the jack crevalle. Jack crevalle fight like demons, but taste like it too! So, lots of people throw the pompano back even when a captain might suggest they angler keep it. They are great fried or sauteed. I also happened to try some sashime this past year. If you like yellowtail sashime, pompano is even better. It’s a delicate translucent meat that just melts off your chopsticks!

As well… There must still be some warm water around as well because we had flurries of dorado, wahoo and tuna near the island when the winds allowed.

Live bait works best, but bring a sweatshirt for the cool mornings! Some days the winds really blow and others it lays down, but part of everyday can be breezy. It’s great to be in town. Air temps are 75 degrees in the daytime and at night it’s 65.

NOTICES

WHALE WATCHING – We’re booking solidly now for the upcoming whale watching season that starts in about 2 weeks (when the whales show up) and go through about mid-March. We do this over at Magdalena Bay and it’s an incredible experience to have grey whales and their calves come right up to the pangas in the calm shallow waters of the bay. Get in touch with us ASAP and we can set up the whole package.

CABIN FEVER CLASSIC – Our 7th Annual Cabin Fever Classic still has some spots available for the April 30 to May 4 dates. This is always a blast and a good get together for some sunshine, fishing, socializing and tall cold ones. It gets more popular every year and for $775 per person double occupancy, we cover your ocean-view room at La Concha Beach Resort, 3 days panga fishing, transfers, taxes, 2 dinners and a bunch of other stuff. Write to us to find out more or, if you’re one of our Cabin Fever alums, get in touch with us now!

ALASKA AIR – If you had not heard, Alaska Airlines is now flying FIVE days a week to La Paz from Los Angeles. This is a big improvement and gives us plenty of options now. If you can connect through Los Angeles, it’s just a two hour flight to La Paz where we’ll be waiting for you with a load of stuff in the ice chest waiting for you!

VOLARIS AIR – Out of Tijuana is great I just tried them. Brand new airlines and brand new air bus jets. This was fantastic. For 15 bucks they pick you up at the San Diego train station and shuttle you right to the terminal. From there it was just a few minutes to the plane. Because it was a domestic flight, there were fewer security checks. Super service. TV’s to watch. Full beverages. Leather seats. Great leg room and overhead room. AND HALF THE PRICE of U.S. carriers!

TRES VIRGINES RESTAURANT – One of La Paz favorites that had closed has re-opened in a new location. It’s one block down and across the street from where it used to be. They really did a nice job of it. Great spot.

WE HIT THE ROAD FOR THE 2009 TAILHUNTER TOUR

Well, it’s that time again. We’re coming to a city near you! We start the first leg of our fishing and hunting trade shows! This week we’ll be at the San Mateo Expo near San Francisco for the ISE shows. Here’s the schedule:

January 8-11 – International Sportsman’s Expo (San Mateo Expo Center)

January 15-18 – International Sportsman’s Expo (State Fairgrounds Sacramento)

January 22-25 – International Sportsman’s Expo (Denver Convention Center)

More to come! Stop by the booth and say hi! We’ll look forward to it!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745

Mexico Office: , 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

“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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