That's My Story

PHOTO 1: End of the 2008 Road Tour in Salt Lake City, Utah. After 3 months on the road through Califoria, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Utah, we’re done. Thanks to everyone who came out to the hunting and fishing shows to see us and came to chat. Now back to home to La Paz and let’s go fishing!

PHOTO 2: Monica was out fishing with Kevin Beehm of S. San Francisco and got into a nice school of jack crevalle. These tough fighters normally run in big schools off reefs and beaches and have such a hardcore reputation as fighters that the Mexican name for them is “toro” (bull). They’ll hit bait as well as lures with a crash and are excellent sportfish on light tackle or flyrods.

PHOTO 3: Another shot of Monica with a jack crevalle. Jacks are related to yellowtail, amberjack, pompano, roosterfish and several other species of the jack family that run in our waters. Most of them taste pretty good. Others don’t. However, all of them are grumpy battlers when hooked.

MORE YELLOWTAIL FILL THE FISHBOXES AS WELL AS JACK CREVALLE AND OTHER SPECIES!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for March 16, 2007

Another surprising and good week of fishing off Muertos Bay. Those big fat yellowtail are still on the chew with more big fish in that 20-40 pound class of slugger. I don’t know how to explain the bite because fish of this quality don’t normally start showing up until about April or even May.

And then again, the better yellowtail bite is usually north of La Paz, especially off the north ends of Cerralvo Island and then around Espiritu Santo Island and El Bajo Seamount. However, for whatever reason the fish gods have decided, these big forktails have decided to park themselves right off Punta Perrico in relatively shallow water. Go figure. Like most things, it’s probably a chunk of bait sitting there or something.

I’ve dove the area with tanks and the area is pockmarked with terraced channels that go from about 10-100 feet with schools of fishing swimming parallel to the shoreline. It would be great to see what these schools of yellowtail look like underwater as they’ve been there in numbers now since February.

The only other time I’ve seen concentrated yellowtail was a dive I did off the wreck of the Salvatierra a ferry boat that went down in the channel between La Paz and the south point of Espiritu Santo Island. Right under the fantail of the large ship, I swam up and felt like I was being watched. I turned to my right and under the fantail there must have been a 20 foot curtain of hundreds of 20-30 pound yellowtail all facing into the current like a huge sheet of fish. It was amazing. I just parked myself on a little patch of sand about 15 feet in front of the school of hundreds of fish and sat down on it and just watched and watched until my air tanks got low. I wonder if the schools of Perrico are like that now too!

Anyway, these fish are eating bait pretty readily so it’s not complicated fishing. Basically, pin a bait on a hook and drift it down. A bit of flurocarbon leader doesn’t hurt. The fish do not seem to be line shy at all.

In addition to the big yellowtail, however, there’s schools of jack crevalle in the area (see the photos). These fish taste like the bottom of a shoe, but are excellent sportfish. There’s also schools of bonito and skipjack, cabrilla (seabass) and pargo in the same area as the yellowtail.

THANKS FOR THE GREAT TIME- TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR 2008 ENDS

Well, we’ve been on the road since the beginning of January and we just wrapped up our final show in Salt Lake City. What a great venture it is every year and continues to be. Eight states covered in that time and driving the whole time perhaps through one of the worst winters on records through rain, sub zero weather, high winds, snow, ice, and mud. But at each show, at each city it was incredible to see all the old friends and meet the new ones. Thanks for all the hospitality, amigos. We got invited to so many homes and asked out to so many dinners and lunches and drinks, we could have been taken care of from start to finish and never paid for a motel or a meal. Thanks to all.

Now…back home to La Paz and a great 2008 season!

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745Mexico 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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PHOTO 1: Winter fishing doesn’t get much beter than this! Shallow water, inshore live bait fishing for big yellowtail! Rob Clark from Santa Rosa CA ripped up this nice forktail off Punta Perrico near Muertos Bay SE of La Paz. Rob got a few of these nice ‘tails and dropped another nice one he fought for a long time before it took him to the rocks and busted off!

PHOTO 2: Again, here’s Rob with a pretty yellowtail. Take a look at the flat waters and how close Rob is to the rocks. Even though winter is windy, we can hide on the lee side of the winds out of Muertos Bay and around Punta Perrico and still get quality fishing for trophys like this yellowtail, pargo, snapper, cabrilla, roosters and sierra. This week most of the yellowtail went 20-40 pounds.

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PHOTO 1: This is what the Baja is about and we often take it for granted!

PHOTO 2: This is what it’s about too. Big spaces and quiet time.

PHOTO 3: And from those of us on this side of the counter, we’re blessed that we get to share the enthusiasm and invite our friends to come play!

WELCOME TO THE BIG SANDBOX!

Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of March 5, 2008

Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, we’ll be in our booth at the Long Beach Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show. It’s at the Long Beach Convention Center March 5-9. We’re not in the WON booth so don’t look for us there! We’re in our own booth in our usual spot on tackle row next to the Izorline, Accurate Reels and Calstar booths. Hope to see you!

We’ve been on the road now for 2 months hitting San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver, Portland and most recently, Monroe (just outside of Seattle). This is the first time in months I’ve had an opportunity to see copies of WON and read all the e-mails.

Amigos, thanks for the support and I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading my ramblings for almost 4 years now. This was supposed to be a temporary gig until Pat could find someone else and it turned into a pleasant several years of you allowing me to spill my Baja on these pages. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to follow such grand footsteps and Gene Kira, and Fred Hoctor and Ray Cannon.

And now, my amigo, Gary Graham graces the pages. Gary rocks. He’s an IGFA record holder, a member of the Outdoor Writer’s Hall of Fame, and has forgotten more about Baja than I’ll ever know! You’ll enjoy him and his style and he has the ability to do a lot more hardcore reporting and roaming that I’m not able to do from my operations in La Paz. I’m honored to share the space with Gary and I appreciate my amigo and editor, Pat McDonell for supporting my writing all this time.

I’m getting a lot of e-mails from readers surprised to find out that I own and run a fishing operation in La Paz. Yup. That’s what I do. . .365-days-a-year. However, other than to use it as a context for a column or story, I never wanted to pimp ourselves on these pages. I never once told you to come fishing with us and probably mentioned competitors more than our own operation. I felt if I mentioned our operation, it would ruin our journalistic credibility in the column. I didn’t even advertise in the paper.

Anyway, you haven’t heard the last of me and, I’m sure Gary will be roaming the aisles at the show so you should go up and say howdy to him if you see him. He’ll probably be with his lovely wife Yvonne who has a fishing resume a mile long herself.

I’ve been doing these outdoor fishing and hunting shows now for over 20 years and if you’ve never been to something like the Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show, you really owe it to yourself to come down.

Old Baja veterans, you can just tune out the rest of this, but in doing these shows all over the country, I am still amazed at how many folks really don’t know Baja or even realizes what it is and that it even exists. Especially if you live in Southern California or any of the American Southwest, you just take Mexico for granted. Baja and the concept of just “running across the border” is so much a part of our consciousness that we don’t think twice about what it is and what it has meant to us and is becoming.

But, run out to Denver or Seattle or talk to some Canadian folks or even folks in the San Francisco Bay area and “the Baja” is often an alien concept. Isn’t that the place were there are banditos and dark seedy bars? Isn’t that where everyone lives in shacks or time shares? You can fish there?

More than once, I’ve drawn blank stares when talking to folks about it in my booth. More than once, I’ve been asked questions like:

“Baja California is part of Mexico? I’ve been trying to find it on map of California!”

“If is really a part of Mexico, how come it’s called ‘Baja CALIFORNIA?”

“How can that long strip of land be part of Mexico when it’s not attached to Mexico?”

“Do they speak Spanish in Baja like the people in Mexico or do they speak Californian?”

You get the idea. Remember how fun it is to take kids to Disneyland the first time and watching their eyes go wide? That’s what it’s like turning new folks onto the Baja we take for granted.

They can’t believe there is a place where you can actually see the sunrise and the sunset over the ocean…on the same day. Or that all of Mexico is not like Tijuana and that white sand beaches, blue water and rolling deserts and mountains await. It’s hard to explain to them water that’s 80 or 90 degrees and Baja “formal wear” is a t-shirt under your Hawaiian shirt.

You tell them about what a giant fish boil looks like at sunrise with tuna or dorado ripping the surface chasing every bait in the ocean or and birds diving as well; or schools of dolphin as far as the eye can see; turtles swimming on the reef and grey whales playfully bumping the pangas.

And you tell them about the evenings when the sun decorates and re-paints frescoed skies every 5 minutes with a palette of purples and orange and fuschia and the aroma of sizzling carne asada and chiles wafting over the beaches. Lights begin to dot the shoreline interrupted only by the plop and hiss of another icy cerveza being opened and poured. Laughter drifts up from the somewhere down the beach and someone’s car radio plays a barely audible rancho tune that carries across the water.

We do these shows and take it for granted that everyone already KNOWS about the Baja, but so many are still just discovering it. And for those of us who get to be on the other side of those counters or who are blessed to get to write about it, it makes the Baja all that much more special. We get to tell new friends about our special sandbox just across the border and invite them to all come play. It’s fun to watch the lights come on!

See ya this week in Long Beach!

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

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PHOTO 1: Nice rack! Not a bad day fishing for Jorge Romero. Four nice yellowtail out’ve Muertos Bay. These are some nice fish. The yellowtail bite has been on for the better part of a month now. These are actually some of the “smaller” fish as there have been others ranging over 40 pounds.

PHOTO 2: Now here’s a slugger. These yellowtail are almost close enough to shore to fish them from the rocks. This 30 pound class fish ate a sardine simply flylined on live bait, but it doesn’t take much to get them. Most of the fish have been caught either with live bait with little or no weight since the fish are in shallow water or else with iron jigs quickly retrieved.

PHOTO 3: Not one of the better photos I’ve ever posted on my fishing report. Neither Captain Mundo or Esteban Romero would look up as they were trying to hold up the slippery fish. Yes, the pargo liso are already in! They’ve been around for a few weeks now and seemingly more and more are coming into the shallows to spawn. However, so much attention has been focused on the yellowtail that not many anglers have been fishing the frustrating pargo even though the pargo are literally right under the boats sometimes and you can see them schooling through the rocks. That’s the problem…THE ROCKS! Hook one of these bad boys and you get zing-powie’d into the rocks before you can set the hook!

YELLOWTAIL – PARGO – OTHER SPECIES STILL BENDING RODS OUT OF MUERTOS BAY!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for March 2, 2008

I would hardly say fishing is “torrid” but considering it’s still winter and off-season, there’s some fairly nice fishing going on around La Paz. Once the waters warm and the winds start kicking down a few notches, no reason to believe things aren’t going to bust out nicely.

There’s sure a lot of species around!

That yellowtail bite out of Las Arenas/Muertos is still going on. It’s been rolling the last month or so. The big fish showed up earlier this season and the cool thing is that they’re literally so close! Sometimes within minutes of leaving the beach, you’re already fishing. Additionally, the quality of some of these fish has been amazing. We’re not talking little punk yellowtail. These are 20-40 pound toads!

The fact that the ‘tails are so close is almost a bit of a curse. There’s an old saying, “Don’t leave fish to find fish!” Well, with the fish being right off the beach, who knows what else might be biting in some of our other hot spots?

We do know that pargo have been in for a bit. Check out the photo above. The pargo liso schools seem to be in early and are getting thicker as they move into the shallow areas to spawn However, if you’ve ever fished pargo, you know how frustrating it can be to see these huge schools of big fish swimming by your panga and how most of the time they’ll take you right into the rocks and bust you off. Incredibily frustrating so most of the anglers have been chasing the more cooperative (I say that respectfully) yellowtail!

But, like I said, there’s other species around too. Cabrilla are around up to about 2-3 pounds (seabass) and sierra and roosters are also there to catch if you wanted to target them not to mention bonito and skipjack for fun and sport.
We’ll keep you posted!

TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR 2008

Well, we’re headed to the big one…Long Beach Convention Center for the big Fred Hall Fishing and Boating show. It starts Wednesday the 5th of March and goes until Sunday the 9th of March. This is the big one you don’t want to miss. Come early! It’s madness and a lot of fun.
Our booth will be in it’s usual spot along tackle row near Izorline, Calstar rods and Accurate Reels. You will NOT find out over where the other travel outfitters are nor will you find me at the Western Outdoor Booth. We have always had our own Tailhunter Booth so please come by to say hi. We kick off at 2 p.m. Wednesday and it’s a great place for the whole family.

BOOKINGS for 2008

We’ve been on the road since early January doing all these outdoor fishing and hunting shows. We’ve been in 8 states in 2 months and having a blast. However, I just wanted to give a shout out to you if you’re thinking of booking with us…especially our amigos and regulars…reservations are rolling in DAILY! Let us know ASAP if you want to come down because dates are filling fast and we want to be sure we can take care of you and get you your favorite captains. Especially in the captains part…your favorite guy is also in big demand by our other clients and it’s first come-first served when someone asks for a captain so give me a shout so we can hook you up!

Hope to see you in Long Beach!

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

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

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-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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SUNNY SIDE UP!

I was talking to some of our fishermen hanging out at the beach one afternoon swapping stories about the day of fishing. Some of the wives and girlfriendshad joined in and everyone was enjoying tall cold ones.

One of the wives had been laying on a towel listening to the banter and obviously enjoying the afternoon Baja sun. It was obvious she was getting redder every time I glanced at her.

She sat up and said to no one in particular, “Is the reason I get sunburned so easily here because Baja is closer to the Equator?”

Conversation stopped as no one quite knew whether to answer her question with a laugh and a quick one-liner or to take her seriously. She wasn’t joking and even in the shade it was obvious that she had that unmistakable glow of a painful sunburn on it’s way.

Despite perhaps the ditzy-ness of the question, this otherwise intelligent woman had a real concern. I had noticed that she hadn’t used sunscreen, but instead had put baby oil on herself no doubt to accelerate the tanning process. Everytime I see that I think of basting a turkey.

However, working down here in La Paz, the well-being of our clientele is a real concern. We want everyone going back home with big smiles, perhaps a few extra pounds from the good food and, if they’re lucky some great stories of fishing adventures. Sunburn isn’t on the agenda, but it’s an unavoidable and real danger in a place that’s “so close to the Equator.”

Everyone guards against getting sick from bad water or bad food, but hardly anything thinks about getting sick from the sun. Either short term pain or long term damage and I hate seeing folks waddling around the pool like boiled lobsters or sending them home painfully red.

To that end, I keep a handy supply of extra hats around as well as little sample packs and bottles of sunscreen and pass it out generously. Everyone hits the faces and arms, but I also remind them of the tops of their thighs and especially the tops of their feet which get branded with the criss-cross patterns of their sandals and flip-flops.

Half my time it seems is telling guys to put their shirts back on or lather on more sunscreen. In the case of some of my Alaskan or Canadian friends who’s skin doesn’t see sunshine for months, we literally drag them into the shade after just a few minutes of exposure.

I’m not a dermatologist, but I spend a good portion of my year and most of my day in the sunshine working on, near or under the water. I was fortunately born with brown skin and spent most of my early years also out in the sun. However, I’ve already had my first little bout with skin cancer (just a little spot), and as I get older, I’m growing more heady about how I treat my skin down here.

In Baja, the sun comes at you from all angles. It hits from the sky and it also bounces up at you reflecting off the water, fiberglass, and other materials. It’s relentless so I don’t head out without my big brimmed had; loose long sleeved shirt; and waterproof sunscreen. Despite that, I still get tanned so the sun is getting through!

I used to be of the mind that as long as I put on enough sunscreen, I’m fine. So I thought.

I went to the Skin Cancer Foundation Website http://www.skincancer.org/sunscreen/sunscreens-explained.html and was surprised at what I found.

Basically, sunscreen blocks the sun and helps prevent sunburn. That is really all it does. It does not prevent skin cancer, but does aid in helping block some of the stuff that can contribute to the Big C.

According to the site: “Sunscreens are chemical agents that help prevent the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin. Two types of ultraviolet radiation (UVA and UVB) , UVA and UVB, damage the skin and increase your risk of skin cancerskin cancer. UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other effects of photo-aging (over exposure)photoaging. They also exacerbate the carcinogenic effects of UVB rays, and increasingly are being seen as a cause of skin cancer on their own.”

All the mumbo-jumbo about SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is only the measure of a sunscreens ability to protect you from UVB rays…that’s the stuff that burns you and makes you red. It’s not much of a defense at all against the deep damage of it’s counterpart UVA rays which can be causing serious mischief with your skin sans the red flag of a sunburn.

But here’s how the SPF code works. The example given by the Skin Cancer Foundation is this. If it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to get red, SPF 15 theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer or about 5 hours. I have clients that toast up in 10 minutes of Baja sun. SPF 15 would theoretically give them about 2 ½ hours of protection.

But there are caveats. First, no SPF no matter how strong is 100 percent effective. Second, regardless of strength, no sunscreen should be expected to be effective longer than 2 hours so you have to keep lathering it on.

Here’s another danger according to the website. Most folks don’t put on enough to begin with. No, I’m not talking about those weird hand prints and marks showing where you missed! Experts suggest at least using at least an once for each application or you are actually getting only a portion of the SPF protection. For you fishermen, that’s about a shot glass of tequila’s worth!

“During a day at the beach, one person should use one-half to one-quarter of an 8 oz. bottle/” Further, it should be applied about 30 minutes prior to exposure to allow it to properly “bind to the skin.”

Since I hate putting anything even remotely greasy on my skin, I’ve only been using about a squirt of sunscreen of sunscreen. I figured I’m already brown so I don’t need that much. Mistakenly I often waited until I was already in the sun to dab it on when I should have been slathering it on like good barbecue sauce on ribs.

If you do start to toast, it’s obvious. Get out of the sun and into the shade. In actuality, “Sunburn literally cooks the protein in the skin,” according to Dr. Zoe Draelos, clinical associate professor of dermatology at the Wake Forrest University School of Medicine.

The doctor recommends soaking a washcloth in skim milk to soothe skin. The coolness helps with the pain and the milk creates a protein film that helps ease the onset discomfort.

I’m getting older. A lot of my fishing amigos who have been with me for years but are older than me are coming down with one type of skin cancer or another. It’s not pretty and I’ve already lost a few. One after the other.

Being warm and toasty is nice. But, cuidate mucho (be very careful) say my Mexican friends. Even the captains wear long pants and shirts and use sunscreen…the smart ones.

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

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PHOTO 1: Captain Archangel grimaces as he lifts gaff on a big Muertos Bay yellowtail caught by Kathy Nimon of Madera CA She and her husband, Mike, had a banner day on the big jacks.

PHOTO 2: Alot of you know Captain Victor. You KNOW it’s a big fish when you can see him with a double chin! Take a look at how fat this yellowtail is. It’s not long. It’s fat. Even it’s head looks weird, but that’s alot of good eating. Juan Chuy Valdez is the lucky angler. Check out how flat the water is and how close to shore they are!

BIG PHAT YELLOWTAIL STILL HANGING OFF MUERTOS BAY BEACHES!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Feb. 23, 2008

That school of yellowtail right outside of Muertos Bay at Punta Perrico continues to bend sticks with incredible hawg fish between 20 and 40 pounds. These are really trophys and it’s not that it’s a big school of fish. It’s a school of BIG fish! Every drop doesn’t result in a toad, but if you’ve ever wanted at trophy yellowtail, the last 4 weeks or so have been as good or better than any in recent seasons for sheer quality of fish. You could get blanked. Or you could end up with anywhere from 1-6 of these big forktails. You could be in one boat and get a goose-egg and the boat next to you could put 3 big yellowtail on in a row. The next day you’re the lucky guy sitting on the honey hole. There’s just no rhyme or reason. One thing’s for sure, if you don’t have a line in the water or aren’t fishing you DEFINITELY will not get bit!

The choice bait has been sardines, but caballito as well as mackerel when available have been even more choice for these fish. Personally, I like throwing the heavy iron and yo-yo-ing at full speed on these fish and letting them rip the lure. Only problem is that these fish are NOT in deep water and the place is infested with rocks, boulders and crevasses. Any hesitation on the retrieve and you hook the bottom and there goes an 8 dollar jig!

No telling how long this bite is going to last, but I will tell you that the ONLY reason we’re not fishing straight out of La Paz more often is that the winds are still blowing from the north. When the wind shut down, I can only believe there will be more of these yellowtail in more spots that we can fish, especially around Espiritu Santo Island. For now, the yellowtail are literally 50 yards off the beach and 5 minutes away from our departure beach and that’s fine with me!

TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR 2008

Well, we just wrapped up another outstanding show at the Evergreen Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington just outside of Seattle. This was our first time doing this show and we sure had a good time. Met a lot of new folks and friends in the area and a lot of them are sure anxious to find some sunshine and to get away from the rain! We’ve been on the road now since the first week of January. We’ve been to shows at San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver, Portland and Seattle.

Our next stop is the big one…Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center March 5-9. This is the big stage…the grand event for Southern California. You don’t want to miss this one. It’s humongous. Our booth will be in it’s usual spot right in tackle alley. We’re not out where the other outfitters are located. We’re right in the middle of the tackle section next to Izorline and Calstar rods across from Accurate Reels. Come see us and have a great time!

See you then. We’re hitting the road!

That’s my story!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115
E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.comU.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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