That's My Story

PHOTO 1: Count them. Yes. That right. What are the chances? Five family members go fishing on the same day. Five wahoo come back with them! We have had and continue to have an awesome wahoo season. I have no idea where they all came from. We got our share every year. But, last year, I think we caught FOUR in our fleet the whole season. The Noonan Family fished with us a few days and hammered the tuna and dorado but then went out one day on a friend’s boat and hit the mother lode of wahoo. Guys fish year-after-year with us to just get ONE sniff from a wahoo. This is just incredible. Wahoo are still biting. See below. For the record…the anglers in the Noonan Family from La Jolla CA (except Patrick who lives in D.C.) are: Ryley, 17…Greg (dad) …..Patrick, 22,…..Conor, 16……Charlie, 21…….Marilyn (mom). If mom had fished they probably woulda gotten another one! What day. THEY LOST 4 OTHERS!

RAINS AND WIND COME LATE BUT WAHOO AND TUNA MAKE A GREAT EARLY SHOWING AND FILL BOXES!

THE LA PAZ/ LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DEC. 1, 2007

This is one of those weeks when I’m gonna let the photos and the anglers themselves tell you their stories. They do it so much better than me!

Let me just say that once again, the tuna bite mixed with dorado out of Muertos was well…pretty darned good! I’m running out’ve adjectives. It’s not usually like this, but so far, this is the best fall fishing in ages…especially for the tuna! Live bait…a hook…put it in the water about 100 yards from the beach and WHAM! It’s not rocket science! Don’t make it harder than it has to be!

On top of that, what’s up with the wahoo? Again, the dark larger Rapalas were effective, but so were Marauders and…get this…ORANGE Rapalas! The wahoo have ignored the orange Rapalas all season, but this week I guess they decided to try a different flavor or something.

As well…roosters are still stacked up along the beach plus sierra, pargo and cabrilla! Everyone is still getting fish!

See below…

PHOTO 2: Earl “Butch” Lawson and his son Earl from the Monterey Bay area were on their second visit this year to us and had an incredible outing. They blew up the tuna schools in Muertos showing off some of their catch on the beach.

PHOTO 3: Butch Lawson and popular Captain Jorge holding up a nice bull. It’s almost Christmas and there’s still dorado to be caught on both sides of the peninsula despite waters cooling every week.

PHOTO4: Charlie Noonan (same Charlie holding a wahoo in the first photo) here displays some of their yellowfin tuna. Mom told me they gave away as much fish as they took home. The tuna range from 10-30 pounds and have been chewing since late August.

PHOTO 5: You gotta love his style! Earl Lawson does it like I like to do it. Light tackle! Try doing fish on a little baitcasting rod and 12 pound test sometime. Fish feel like monsters, especially tuna! This rocks!

THE WORD FROM THE TRENCHES!

I told you I’d let the anglers tell their stories! Thanks, guys! Earl Lawson above wrote this up for me:

” I had very low expectations for November, and we just killed them. We had a great time and everything was perfect. My dad and I fished the first two days with Jorge and he was a great skipper. We loaded up on tuna and caught some Sierra and Dorado as well. The third day we fished out of La Paz with Joel and we were on fire. After bringing in 9 Dorado, we were all ready to call it a day. I have been going to La Paz for about 10 years and that was the most consistent fishing and the most fun I’ve had.”

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IMPULSE FISHING IN DECEMBER

Originally published the week of Dec. 4, 2007 in Western Outdoor News

This is about that time of year when it’s cold. It’s cloudy. Your summer fishing fun is over and your rods and gear are stacked in the garage. Someone mentions something about getting the Christmas lights outta storage and that’s the LAST thing you want to hear. You get antsy so you play with the TV remote praying for a football game or some fishing show playing re-runs.

You don’t really feel like getting all bundled up and trudging out to the local fishing hole for planted trout. You had fun doing that two weeks ago with the kids catching but you still have fluorescent dough bait under your fingernails and, admit it, two pound test and #14 hooks are getting hard on your old eyes.

It’s fun for a few hours with the kids sitting in a folding lawn chair, but you really need to pull on something! Twelve-inch trout are fun…for awhile. Your fingers are twitchy and no way you’re gonna wrangle another “kitchen pass” to run down to Cabo or Loreto or the East Cape for a week. Certainly not with the holidays on the way. And surely not with your posse of guys who are all in the same predicament as you.

“I have a Pop Warner barbecue to do.”
“My relatives are coming for the holidays and my wife wants me to paint the guest room.”
“The school Christmas parade is coming up!”
“I have to help bake cookies!” (Not sure if this is acceptable by man-law rules as an excuse).

Waaaa Waaaa Waaaa Waaaa Waaaaa…you know your buddies are genuinely stuck and you can appreciate that. But where do you go to scratch the itch?

Impulse fishing! Road trip!

It’s what you and your older brother and sometimes dad did when life was simpler. You simply grabbed the gear and took off.

Fishermen are good at being impulsive. See a new reel…buy it! Your buddy has a lure that you don’t…get one! Someone puts a shot of tequila on the bar in front of you…oh-oh! But just one!

Some of the best impulse fishing out of S.California is simply a few hours drive over the border. Ensenada, Castro’s Camp, San Quintin and a few other places are a great weekend get-away that are tailor-made for a shoot-down-shoot-back trip.

Especially during winter when crowds are down for the same reasons mentioned above, you can get into some really nice fishing a short road trip away. If you can, hit WON or the internet and make a reservation. Cruisers are nice, but I’ve done some of my best fishing in the pangas.

Bait is not always available so bring deep water jigging plastics and heavy iron for fishing offshore. If you’re going to fish the beaches, I always like throwing little motor-oil colored grubs for perch or setting up with sand crabs.

Offshore, there’s a surprising variety of fish to be taken. On the bottom, look for reds, ling cod, sculpin, whitefish and other rock fish. Over sand bottoms, halibut are still around. In the middle of the water column, sand bass and calicos can still be on the chew. Up on the surface, depending on conditions, don’t be surprised to hit barracuda, bonito and perhaps late season yellowtail. Many is the time when I threw iron all day and got hits on every throw with log barracuda that would make you think it was summer.

If you do make a spur-of-the-moment trip, do take a breath before you jump in the car; fire the ignition with your ice chest of beer.

Know where you’re going. Mexico is no place to get lost, especially if your Spanish isn’t up to snuff. Folks are very helpful, but best to have a clue first so you don’t end up going in circles in the dark down a one-way street in Tijuana.

You would be surprised how many anglers I run into that don’t even have a map in their car. They somehow find their way but a map would certainly be helpful.

Bring your identification papers and don’t forget insurance which can be easily and cheaply purchased at the border. Make photo copies if you can and put them someplace else in case you misplace the originals.

Remember in Mexico, you are guilty until you prove your innocence or that you have insurance. It’s your “get out of jail free” card. You also want to make sure that when it’s time to come home that the man at the U.S. border smiles and waves you through to U.S. soil. The kids will be ticked if you miss Christmas.

Lastly, don’t travel alone for Pete’s sake for all the obvious reasons. Bring a wingman. Besides, it’s no fun fishing by yourself. And make sure people know where you’re going and when you expect to be home.

The Christmas lights can wait one more weekend. Right?

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

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INSHORE ARTIFICIALS

Originally published in Western Outdoor News the week of Nov. 27, 2007

Where I am down here, we don’t do a lot of fishing with artificials. By that, I mean almost all our fishing is with live and/or dead bait. It’s just the way things are. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. And we catch plenty of fish.

We don’t troll much. We don’t throw plastics into the rocks. We don’t deep jig. We don’t throw iron. Don’t get me wrong. We catch a lot of fish, but normally we have so much live bait around that you just don’t need to do much more than pin a bait on the hook. Put the line in the water and then don’t drop the rod.

People ask why. But think about it. Using artificials is really nothing more than trying to get some non-natural object to act like something living or organic to entice a fish to think it’s worth eating.

A lot of times, I feel kinda bad. Fishing with artificials is probably some of the most fun fishing you can do, especially in the Baja. When the fishing is so easy with live or dead bait, so many anglers miss the fun and satisfaction of fooling a gamefish into ripping into a piece of molded plastic, rubber, or metal.

Believe me, when you’re reeling that lure back in and it abruptly stops and the handle of the reel freezes. You stop. You lean back and the rod doubles over.

In a nano-second your emotions go from, “Dang, I’m hung up on the bottom!” to “Oh yea, I’m bit!” when your rig suddenly starts screaming. Lures hung up on the bottom don’t suddenly strip line! Artificial lures don’t suddenly start swimming off on their own!

This time of year is particularly conducive to fishing the artificials. My personal favorite is throwing iron..metal jigs…into, around and down to structure. Whether you’re fishing the Coronado Islands near the border or all the way down to Cabo up to the East Cape, La Paz and up again towards Loreto, Mulege, Santa Rosalia and further north, there’s places to throw the iron.

Often, this time of year is windy anyway. I like bluewater species as much as the next guy, but when the winds blow, unless I really have to, I’d much rather find calmer inshore or protected waters to fish.

This is where iron fishing can be so very effective.

You don’t even need to be able to cast. Simply dropping heavier iron down and jigging it up and down or fishing it on the retrieve back to the boat can produce some monstrous strikes.

If you do know how to throw, either with conventional tackle or spinning gear, you’ll be able to cover even more water. Throw towards drop-offs, around reefs, between rocks and into holes. Look for places where the currents eddy or where bait congregates.

I fish a lot around Espiritu Santo and Cerralvo Island near our spots in La Paz. There’s probably 100 miles of coastline up, down and around those two islands. While almost any of those rocky areas could be fishable, I look for certain tell-tale signs.

One of the best is simply look for bird crap on the rocks. See all that white stuff in certain areas? Birds did that. Why there? Well, often it’s because there’s a source of food nearby like sardines or some other baitfish that keeps the birds nearby. Well, if there’s baitfish, then the fish that eat the bait will also likely be around too.

Depending on how deep the area is, I’ll throw heavy lures if there’s a drop off. I’ll throw surface lures if it’s shallow. I’ll throw plugs, floaters, or crank baits if bait, birds and fish are thrashing on the surface!

No doubt, you’ll lose gear. It’s like the old days of fishing deep water rockcod. The rockfish were near the bottom. They were near structure. If you don’t get hung up and snagged now and then, you weren’t fishing close enough to the areas holding the fish!

Simply put, you gotta take your game to the fish in order to make them come out. The fish that inhabit the rocks of Baja aren’t like the pelagic blue water bad boys like tuna and dorado that swim all over the map looking for food.

The fish in the rocks stay in the rocks. Their meals almost have to swim by their noses to get them to charge. You almost have to bonk them on the nose.

They’re not going to go far for a meal before they head back to their holes. By the same token, when you do get hit, the first reaction of these fish is to bull straight back to safety. Safety means sharp rocks and reefs. So, be prepared to lose a lure or two and just accept it as part of the sport.

If you’re coming down the next few months, pack a little iron. Be a little flexible. You’d be surprised about all the fish that often get ignored waiting for something to swim by their noses!

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

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PHOTO 1: Will it never end? No complaints from any of our anglers. The yellowfin tuna continued to bite…as did many other species…despite fears that the full moon and stronger winds would have a negative effect. Larry Bodle and his family are featured this week with some great photos. Here, Larry is with his 12 year old Ernie showing a nice rack of tuna caught just out’ve Muertos Bay and a few dorado as well.

WHAT FULL MOON? FISH CONTINUE TO RIP FOR LA PAZ AND MUERTOS BAY ANGLERS!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Nov. 25, 2007

PHOTO 2: Despite November winds, the dorado continued stronger and larger for our anglers that fished out’ve La Paz. Standing at Balandra Beach, the Bodle family of (L to R) Ernie, Dad Larry, Ella and mom Maria hold up some nice mahi.

PHOTO 3: Captain Jacobo helps 14 year-old Ella hold up a nice bull dorado taken out’ve La Paz. Just when the dorado should be moving out, they came on strong this week with some nicer fish in the 10-40 pound class.

THE FISH REPORT

I know everyone always asks if it’s OK to fish during the full moon. I know alot of people think there’s no fish in November. So, you’d think there was a double whammy on any of our anglers fishing this week.

NOT!!!

If you’re been reading this fish report each week, you’d know that we’ve had incredible tuna bite since August. I should have been over by now, but hard to believe…we’re still whacking the fish! These tuna are slamming just yards outside of Muertos Bay, but are also scattered from the island down to Punta Pescadero. OK…so they’re not huge…10-30 pound footballs, but these fish can pull HARD! If you’ve never pulled on a tuna, don’t sniff at them until you’ve had a rod in your hand. We’ve had folks back o nthe beach by 11 a.m. or earlier simply beat up by these slugger fish.

In addition to the tuna, the wahoo are still going gangbusters. One day we won’t get a sniff, and then the next, the waters explode with skinnies! Again, dragging lures of S.Cerralvo has been the hot spot and we’re having the best fall wahoo fishing in a long time. Several boats this week got 2, 3, 5, and 6 wahoo for the day.

For thos or you still interested in dorado…they’re still here as well. La Paz is the better spot for the dorado. In fact, that’s about the only species on the La Paz side, but there’s a solid bite on 10-20 pound schoolers. If you’re fishing Muertos Bay, there’s more tuna, but if you want dorado, don’t be surprised. Boats are getting dorado mixed in with the tuna. As well, there’s sierra and roosterfish as well.

FIRST PERSON REPORTS

It’s always easier to just let our anglers tell their story. Jim Newman came all the way from the chilly lands of Illinois. This was his second trip this year…

“Tuna were there on day 1, and we fished hard with Victor. We picked up 4 and a couple dorado. We just weren’t on the right spots at the right time (that’s the luck of the draw). Great day on the water. I think Earl and Newitt picked up 8 that first day fishing with Jorge. We stuck Earl and Newitt with Jorge because Newitt doesn’t fare too well in the smaller Pangas. He had a GREAT time in Jorge’s Cadillac Panga.

On day 2, we had a steady pick ALL day. We were prety much hooked up most of the day, and put 13 in the boat. Most of our fish were on my calcutta with 17 lb, and Jeffs spinning rod with 14. He had a blast. He actually landed a 20+ pounder on his rod (lost a bigger one another time). I think I caught three throwing a jig. I love it when I can fish for them. Earl is trying to become proficient with a baitcaster, so he brought one that he bought. It was a stout bass rod with a Bass pro shops bass reel. He landed a 20+ pounder with the thing. I think that was the highlight of his trip. We quit a couple hours early because we had plenty of tuna, and headed in to Muertos bay to see what was there. There were hundreds of Rooters and Jack Crevalle. I caught and landed 6 roosters and 1 jack in no time. Jeff got a bunch too. We released them all because we had enough meat for the day. The fishing in Muertos bay was a blast. Also, you know how hyper Jorge is. Earl gave him a red bull. You should try that some time. Earl said it was like winding him up and letting him go. He cleaned the intire boat while fishing and tending to his 2 clients — comedy!

On day three, we decided to stick with our plan of fishing out of the hotel. Jack told me that the fishing was better on the Las Arenas side, but I figured we could just go out and have some fun (you can only eat so much fish). I hate to troll, but we did it for a while. We picked up a couple dorado and headed for the rocks at Espiritu Santo. I can’t remember our skipper’s name (Alfredo) I never fished with him before, but his younger brother drives Jack’s Panga. He was a really great guy. I told him I’d like to try the rocks, and he said “good idea”. He told me he wanted to try a couple spots that he knew of for the past week or so, but all his clients only wanted to fish dorado. We got on a reef, and I started throwing jigs. I think I got 6 cabrilla, 2 pargo, and a bunch of triggers. I got bit off twice by really big Sierra. The skipper was jigging straight up and down with Jeff’s rod when he hooked something BIG. It headed straight for open water burning line off Jeff’s reel. He handed the rod to Jeff, and started backing down on the fish. It never slowed down, and kept ripping line off faster than the boat could go in reverse. Before the skipper could get the boat turned around to chase it, he spooled the reel. 200+ yards of 17 lb in no more than a minute and a half. Any idea of what it might have been? Anyways, Jeff has a story for life on that one. After a few hours of fishing the island, we headed back out to the dorado, and whacked a few more.

Everyone had a great time. “

This one is from Marilyn Noonan who spent a week with us and her family…

“Great first day fishing with too many tuna, plenty of rooster fish, a few dorado…

Next day brought a wahoo to youngest Noonan, Conor, though Victor or Jorge (I don´t remember which or if it was both) assured us there weren´t any… plus a couple dorado, small roosters. We didn´t want to take any more tuna. (Victor bled our tuna right after capture, which was really nice…but I think we took the wrong ones that were not bled out. Ick says the mom.Waaaaaaaaaaaah.

Next day with Steve Games´captain brought 5 WAHOO! to all the Noonan men, with Conor still leading the pack with the biggest fish, as usual.

Today was dorado day with 17 caught,¨Conor still in the lead with a nice bull. Jorge´s panga was a clear favorite with brothers fighting over who would get to go with him next time. Liked Victor very much…”

That’s my story for the week. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL

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

Mexico Office: 775 Calle Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur,

MexicoPhone: 626-333-3355

Cell: 626-278-1585

Toll Free to U.S. Office : 877-825-8802

E:Mail: riplipboy@aol.com

Web: www.TAILHUNTER-INTERNATIONAL.com

“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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HEY, WHERE ‘D EVERYONE GO?

Originally published the week of Nov. 20, 2007 Western Outdoor News

And just like that, it was over. Where did everyone go?

Years ago when I worked boats in San Diego, it was the strangest thing. The fishing could be wide open. Boats would be packed, but once Labor Day showed up, it was like someone hit the light switch and everyone disappeared.

To many folks, the season was over. Time to do something else. Go shopping for ski clothes. Put the holiday turkey in the oven or something. Fish could be jumping in the boats, but once that Labor Day came and went, it was like the recess bell back in grade school. All stop. Line up and march inside. Don’t you dare let the kickball bounce one more time.

Well, it’s like that down here now too. I think it happened about 3 weeks ago. Just like that, everyone was gone.

From what I can see, fishing is still blazing. There’s fish to be caught. But not many are fishing. There’s not even many people here! Even when I was in Cabo San Lucas more than a week ago, town was relatively empty by Cabo standards.

Planes are empty. Boats remain tied up at the docks or moorings or lay covered on the beach above the tide line. The guys at the bait receiver are bored. Captains hang out at the cantinas drinking beer; revert to commercial fishing or go work driving a truck for the off-season or head out to work a rancho.

Sure, we’d all like to keep working, but in many ways, after a busy busy season, you can sort of hear a lot of the fishing areas, in Baja let out a collective sigh. Day-after-day we drag ourselves outta bed in the dark; work the waters; and come back in the dark. Eight, nine, ten, months straight. Very few days off.

Don’t get me wrong. We love our jobs and we’re blessed to be able to do something like this. But, let me tell ya…It’s a wonderful feeling to throw the alarm clock against the wall and still find yourself in bed when the sun is coming up!

This really is a neat time of year to be in the Baja. Whether north or south. Inland or along the coast.

I don’t know what it is. There’s a word here. It’s “tranquillo.” Peaceful. Easy. Slower.

The sun is at a different angle. Shadows are longer. The sun doesn’t blaze quite so hard. It’s almost “non-weather” compared to the broiling summers and the humid fall season. It’s so pleasant now you almost don’t even think about it.

There’s a breeze now coming from the north. It’s cooler in the mornings and evenings and you’re thankful for a windbreaker or sweatshirt. There’s a bit more chop on the waters and it’s a good time to watch the ocean from a seaside bar than to be out there on some of these days.

Look down the streets and except for an occasional taxi or local rusty dusty pickup truck, there’s not much activity. At the local cantina, you’ve got the bar to yourself and the cantinero (bar tender) is happy for your company. He willingly pours you the entire blender in your glass and makes it a double with a wink! He’ll also switch off the soccer game on the TV and find that NFL game no one else is playing.

No waiting at the restaurants either. You rarely hear, “Sorry, Senor. We just sold the last lobster. You should have come in earlier.” In fact, the whole staff is all over you as are the strolling mariachis musicians who recognize you as perhaps the only guy who might drop them a tip for another version of “La Bamba.”

In the stores and markets, there’s no Thanksgiving week like we have in the U.S. Mexico is already into Christmas.

The smaller stores have snowflakes and Santa painted on the windows. Large lots are being cleared for their deliveries of “fresh Christmas trees from Oregon” and the bigger stores are already floor to ceiling with toys. Stores are selling lots of those little ceramic Charles Dickens houses so you can build your own Christmas village in your front window. People are already putting up those little white icicle Christmas lights on their homes. I saw eggnog at the grocery store a few days ago. Yes, even here in Baja.

I like these days. I guess I can wash my rods and reels later. Cleaning out my tackle box can wait. It’s a nice time to find a hammock and catch up on some reading or a nice siesta!

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

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PHOTO: It’s hard to imagine a better wahoo season than we’ve had or one that has lasted so long. Hit the right spot on the right day and you can have the wahoo day or your life! Our amigo, Esteban Romero, doesn’t even fish that much! But, he fished on the right day and got SIX of the big skinnies! The wahoo are running from Cerralvo Island all the way south to the East Cape if you find the right spot. Trolling the bigger dark-colored Rapalas is still the best way to hit them. Forget the bombs. Forget the Marauders. The Rapalas and big lipped crank baits that run deep have been the top ticket all season.

HOW MUCH LONGER CAN IT LAST? TUNA AND DORADO CONTINUE TO ROLL FOR MUERTOS BAY ANGLERS WITH WAHOO STILL WILLING TO CHEW!

LA PAZ – LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR NOV. 18, 2007

PHOTO: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it! Yes, they are playing Christmas carols in the stores and we’re still wacking tuna. Nice yellowfin from 12-30 pounds are still just outside Muertos Bay. Doesn’t get much better than this. Or as simple. Tie on a hook. Put on a bait. Hold the rod! That’s pretty easy!

Well, they’re not exactly JUMPING into the boat, but some days, it feels like that. For almost 3 months now, the yellowfin tuna bite of 2007 has been going on for our fleet fishing out of Las Arenas/ Muertos.

Hard to believe it’s getting into the Christmas season and we’re still plugging bluewater species like the tuna which are so consistently biting just outside the bay and up towards the old Hotel Las Arenas. Then, south almost down to the East Cape . By far, this has been the best tuna bite that I can remember. The fish have not been big, but in sheer numbers, these fish are perfect. Anyone can catch them!

As much as I love the bigger slugger tuna that bust you up, I’d much rather have this grade of football tuna that everyone can have fun with. I’d rather see limits of fish in the boat than stories of anglers fighting tuna for 1, 2 or 3 hours then losing the fish and getting nothing! Don’t think that even these smaller guys can’t fight! If you’ve never fought a tuna, these guys are sheer power and speed. Just a blast on the lighter tackle too!

As well, the dorado are still prowling. Again, not many of the big bulls, but enough 10-20 pound fish to put some color in the fish box and some nice white fillets on the table. I don’t know how long this can go. I’m seeing gradual drops in the water temperature and air temps so this could shut off any day, but as long the winds don’t rip us up consistently, we might have tuna and dorado around for a few more weeks at least! No one is complaining.

On top of it, wahoo are still out there too. Most fish are the 20-40 pound class. We call these “sweet meat” because they’re just THE BEST fish to eat at this size and always a prize when caught. Trollling is still the best way to get hooked up. Inshore, we’re seeing more sierra which is a sure sign that the waters are cooling as well as pompano, jacks and rock fish like pargo, snapper and cabrilla.

FIRST PERSON

The best way is to let someone else tell the story! One of our favorite people is Doug Oclassen from Boulder CO. He was down with his cousin Chas fishing just south of Muertos. Thanks Doug!

Day 1: We are fishing with Ismael. Chas is a tuna virgin. We stop at the bait boat to buy and are bummed to see how small the sardines are. Oh well, we buy anyway. Head out off Punta Pescadero and drop line. Chas gets his line in as I am baiting my hook. Not 30 seconds go buy and Chas gets his tuna cherry popped (sorry)! Can’t wipe the grin off of his face. He is amazed at the strength of a 15lb yellowfin. Chas gets a dorado in the mix. Oh, forgot to tell you we have dinner on the line for the biggest fish. I’ve got an ace up my sleeve that Chas doesn’t know about. I have a little talk with my Grandpa, asking if he can steer a bigger tuna near my line. I promised I wouldn’t need his help after that. BAM! Hook up! I spend 30 minutes on a 25lb missile of muscle, barely beating Chas’ dolphin. We end up with more than 20 yellowfin before we leave to try our luck near the sand for pez gallo. Oh yeah, we kept one for dinner and gave two to Ismael. All others are back in the sea waiting for your clients. Good ol’ Chas lands a 20lb rooster while I struggle to set the hook on another. What a day. If the next two days suck, we’d still have a great trip.

Day 2: Ismael again. Great bait size. Different area, similar results. This time 30+ yellowfin boated. Highlight of the day…Only two pangas are about. We here the big belly guy with no shirt on the other boat shouting about a big dorado. Then he lands a medium tuna. What the f*^k? Ismael isn’t fooled though. He realizes that a big dolphin had followed the tuna in and without saying a word he springs into action. He quickly gets his panga in position on a northern arc about 40 yards off the other boat. I’ll be damned…the big bull hits my line and then grabs Chas’. Great fight and a 30lb bull is landed by Chas. Ismael is one helluva capitan! I get hit and my line screams off about 100 yards, top of the water, due east. Wahoo! Three great and swift runs and I land a 40 pounder, my first. See day 1 (What a day). All but dorado, wahoo and 2 tuna released.

Day 3: Let’s troll all day for marlin. We’ve never caught one. We agree that we may go all day without a strike and we are fine with that. See day 1 and 2. We buy 5 ballyhoo. Sea like glass. Three hours in, Chas and I stand up because something has appeared in the spread. We both realize we are looking at the bill of a marlin. No time to think as the striped nails the green and white Zuker. What a beautiful sight. Aerial dancing. Only 15 minutes of fighting, but felt like I had hooked the statue of liberty. We nursed the fish back to health and sent it on its merry way. All in all, much like your latest column. Ok fight, but give me tuna all day long. Nonetheless, first marlin.

3 days: 50+ yellowfin, 1 rooster, 2 dorado, 1 wahoo, 1 striped marlin, about 5 various nuisance fish. Chas’ first tuna, Doug’s first wahoo and Marlin. WFO.

That’s my story! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/
Phone: (626) 333-3355
FAX: (626) 333-0115E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.comU.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, 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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PHOTOS: Shots from the recent Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot in Cabo San Lucas. Some anglers battled these fish for over 4 hours. Tuna are big, tough and mean and are often easier to hook than to land.

CATHING THE GORILLA OF YOUR DREAMS!

Originally published the week of Nov. 13, 2007, in Western Outdoor News

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PHOTO 1: Craig Corda always wanted a wahoo, but wanting and actually getting one are two different things. However, he finally put the hurt on one this past week with Captain Adolfo running the panga. Wahoo are putting on a great late-season run for our anglers fishing out of Muertos Bay.

LATE SEASON BITE STILL ROLLING WITH TUNA STILL ON THE CHEW AT MUERTOS BAY BUT WAHOO AND DORADO STILL CRUISING THE WATERS TOO!

LA PAZ/ LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR NOV. 11, 2008

PHOTO 2: Here’s Craig again and this time with wife Cathy. Nice rack of yellowfin tuna and one nice yellow snapper. In two days fishing out’ve Muertos they got 11 tuna, 2 dorado, 1 dogtooth and the wahoo. Not too shabby considering winter is supposed to be right around the corner!

PHOTO 3: Here’s out buddy Rico with one toad of a cabrilla. Over the last week or so, big cabrilla came out’ve their holes and ripped into the live bait. Lots of fish never made it up taking the lines right back into the caves and busting guys off, but the ones that were caught were monsters!

PHOTO 4: Tim Farrell of Oceanside CA holds up a nice dorado headed for ceviche. The bulk of dorado seems to have passed, but there’s still some dorado holding in the warmer pockets of water. Most are smaller 10-20 pound fish but somee are also larger bulls willing to chew the baits or hit the lures. Many are just free-swimmers that suddenly show up and surround the boats.

PHOTO 5: Angie Farrell has been on these pages so many times, she needs to pay us agency fees. She always gets fish and she always takes good photos. Here, Captain Ramon (Muncho) looks on while Angie hoists one of the yellowfin she got over several day fishing. The tuna are still hitting the baits, but bring small hooks…like #2 and #1 size live bait hooks because the sardines are really dinky!

PHOTO 6: OK, this was NOT caught off La Paz. This is the 189 pound yellowfin that topped all the entries this past week at the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot. I was there the latter part of this week trying to smile and stay out of everyone’s way. The angler who fought this spent 4 1/2 hours on the fish but it was worth several hundred thousand dollars!

THE FISHING REPORT

I guess it’s not quite over! We still have fish. We just don’t have many anglers! Wow…two weeks ago we had 30-50 anglers a day. Now, like someone switched off a lightbulb, we’re seeing only a few anglers a day.

However, no worries! That just means there’s no pressure on the honey holes and the anglers fishing out’ve Las Arenas/ Muertos continue to hang nice yellowfin tuna between Punta Perrico and the old hotel as well a dorado at the buoys or just slow trolling any of the areas with slabs of bonito or live bait.

Even better…the last week or so has seen one of the best flurries of wahoo we’ve had all season. Dark CD 18 sized Rapalas are the way to go with these fish. One day we’ll get nothing and the next day every boat gets 1-3 hookups!

The seasons are changing, however. Make no mistake. Winds are more prevailant now from the north. In fact, the fishing north out’ve La Paz has pretty much slowed down and we’re concentrating most of our fishing efforst at Muertos Bay. Additionally, we’re seeing more sierra, as well as rock fish such as snapper, pargo and cabrilla now.

FIRST PERSON REPORT

This comes from Cathy Corda…Thanks, amiga!

” What a great time we had, perfect weather and the fishing was awesome.The first day out we looked for Wahoo but no luck so we went for the Tuna’s – hooked 8 tuna and a dog tooth snapper, and my hugh skip jack.

Second day, we went for Dorado hooked up two the minute our bait hit the water – I made my first foul in fishing – I burned my finger, and made a lovely birds nest of my line but our guide fixed it and I got the dorado in. After that we headed to get some Wahoo – my husband wanted one sooo bad, he had never caught one in all of his years of fishing. Well, he got a 35 lb. (maybe bigger) beauty and finally a Wahoo photo to add to his collection. We then were trolling for my Wahoo, and got a double hookup on two nice Tuna – All of this by 9 a.m. The wind started to pick up at around 11 a.m. so we headed back to shore happy campers – our two days of perfect fishing.

While sitting at the Giggling Marlin having a frosty cerveza I noticed that a thresher shark was swimming in the bay as the tide went out and the boats came in it was still out there, it got into about 2 ft. of water I thought it was going to beach its self – he stayed in the bay for the 1 1/2 hrs we waiting for the other boats to come in – it was still there when we left, not sure what happed to it – What an awesome site to see.”

ADIOS FOR A FEW…

After a long long season with zero days off since March and a banner year of non-stop fishing, we’re headed back to the states for a week or two to start getting things ready for the 2008 season; patch up gear; pick up pieces and also get ready for our 2008 trade shows. I am looking forward to a big bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken; an In-N-Out Double Double animal style; and watching a whole weekend of college and NFL football!

Jack and the rest of the staff will take great care of you if you’re coming down! Sorry to miss you!

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: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, 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.”

Read Full Post »

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