That's My Story

PHOTO 1: Good friends for many years, Ray and Nathan Chow from the Bay Area of California make it down each year and always do well. This year, they came later in the season and found they had the fishing grounds almost to themselves with not much competition for hungry tuna and dorado like these. Captain Victor looks on.

PHOTO 2: We’re not doing much fishing right now with our La Paz Fleet because the winds are too strong and sporadic out of the north many days but when we do get out, there’s dorado and lots of sierra like these held up by Ray and Nathan Chow who fished 3 days out of Las Arenas and then this one day out of La Paz. They also got cabrilla and yellow snapper along with the sierra.

PHOTO 3: Taken from Las Arenas Beach near the lighthouse, this is Cerralvo Island in the background…the legendary island is no more. Say good-bye! Sadly…Story below!

NUMEROUS SPECIES STILL BITING DESPITE COOLER TEMPS AND VERY LITTLE FISHING PRESSURE

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 15-21, 2009

PHOTO 1: So late in the season, there are surprisingly a nice batch of quality tuna still being caught around Cerralvo Island and just outside of Muertos Bay just SE of La Paz. These 25-35 pound fish aren’t wide open, but the bite can be steady and relatively close to shore. Jill Roldan (my wife!) of La Paz and Tailhunter International used drifted dead sardines and light tackle to hammer this nice yellowfin tuna after a tough battle.

PHOTO 2: Where have these big fish been? Normally, the fall is the time for these big bull dorado, but most of them have been school-sized fish in the 10-15 pound class. This might be one of the larger bull dorado of the season and fell for a live sardine tossed out on 25-pound-test as it swam by the panga. I just saw the “swirl” and didn’t realize the size of the fish until it took off and went airborne! Otherwise, I would have grabbed some heavier gear or at least something with heavier leader. Fortunately, the fish was lip-hooked and couldn’t chomp the line.

PHOTO 3: Not a bad day at all. Four yellowfin tuna, 1 dorado, 1 sierra, numerous big bonito. Actually, the first day all season were were able to get out on the water together.

PHOTO 4: Two great amigos…Nathan and his dad, Ray Chow from the San Francisco Bay Area come to see us each year. They had to postpone their trip twice this year, but finally made it down albeit later in the season than they are accustomed to. They found they pretty much had the ocean all to themselves as opposed to the busier times of the year and got into some nice jags of dorado and tuna.

PHOTO 5: Although because of the northern winds that are popping up with more regularity now that the season are changing, we’re doing most of our fishing out of protected Muertos Bay, we’re still getting the occasional panga out of La Paz. Weather permitting, the dorado are still there too with fish in the 10-25 pound class. East-coaster, Gerry Mulholland holds up a sample of a nice bull.

DORADO – TUNA – WAHOO – BILLFISH – SIERRA BEND ANGLERS DESPITE WINDS

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

Seasons have definitely changed down here after a season of sweltering heat and humidity. We’re probably having some of the most pleasant weather of the year right now. Not hot. Not cold. Just right. Northern breezes, strong at times, are keeping us doing most of our fishing out of Muertos Bay now, but occasionally, when we send a boat out of La Paz with out fleet, they are getting limits or near limits of dorado to 25 pounds.

As mentioned, the better conditions and fishing have been with our Las Arenas/Muertos Bay fleet. Even when the winds blow, the fishing is so relatively close to shore that it makes for a great day. Except for having to run the island to get bait, we then come back and fish literally no more than 5 minutes out of the Bay and maybe only 100-200 yards off the beach.

Fresh dead sardines have worked great on the tuna school that seems to have planted itself between the big houses on the hill at Punta Perrico and the old Las Arenas Hotel. Some days we get 1 or 2 fish per boat. Other days, the boats will get 2-6 fish per panga. Still great fishing for November and the 25-35 pound grade fish are incredible fighters, especially on light tackle.

As well, huge bonito up to 12 pounds give the tuna a run for the money in terms of fighting power but then schools of dorado and free swimming marlin and sailfish also come through the same areas where the pangas are fishing for the tuna. Just about every day, I see some panga suddenly hooked up and chasing down a leaping billfish blowing up in the middle of the fleet and pangas trying to get out’ve the way amid lot of laughter and screaming anglers. Surprisingly, this late in the season, we’re getting quite a few billfishing. I’ve never seen so many marlin and sails this late in the year.

For the dorado, we’ve still got ‘em swimming around in relatively nice numbers, but the best way to get them going to catch bonito then slow troll strips of them behind the panga. After a hookup, toss live bait to see if the school follows the hooked fish in. Often, 2, 3 or more fish come to the boat.

In addition, every few days, someone hooks a wahoo around Cerralvo. In fact, if you’re the right person at the right time in the right spot, the wahoo can go off. Same with roosterfish and sierra as well. Just a nice time to be here for the moment.

WEEKLY VIDEO CLIP

Here’s some footage from the week of fishing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zL8PuvoaZQ

JACK VELEZ FUND

Thanks to all of you who generously donated to the family. Big and small, we collected close to 6 thousand dollars to help the family after Jack’s passing earlier this summer. We had a small memorial dinner now that the season has slowed down, and surprised them with the funds. The family wanted me to express their gratitude to all of you for your spirit and generosity. God bless you all.

That’s our story
Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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

PHOTO: Jill Roldan of Tailhunter International poses with the prize winning angler and captain of the 383-pound yellowfin tuna in Cabo San Lucas

GAME OVER!

Originally Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Nov. 18, 2009

We just spent the last week at the 11th Annual Western Outdoor Tuna Jackpot Tournament down here in Cabo San Lucas. We don’t get a chance to see WON down here, but I know that Rich Holland, Pat McDonell and Gary Graham all wrote extensively about the event and the historic 383-pound whopper tuna that was caught. If you haven’t seen it, check through the pages or go to the website, it’s a pretty incredible story. http://www.wonews.com

Now picture this. There’s 104 teams from around the world there. Rookies to pros from as far away as Brazil and England. They have each paid up to 20 grand to be there (if they entered all the side jackpots) not to mention airline tickets, hotel, food, parties, etc. There were a few pangas entered (God bless ‘em!) but most anglers were in big cruisers larger than a school bus. I think there were a few boats close to 100’ long.

The excitement, anxiety and anticipation was high as they charged out that first day. When the flare gun went off there at the Cabo arches, it’s like those old pictures of the sooner covered-wagons charging out for land grants! If you’ve never seen the start of a major tournament, give yourself a treat sometime. Get outta the way!

There’s fish and money to be taken and tequila and beer waiting back on shore, all extremely intoxicating enticements to the adrenaline and testosterone-fueled crews. Hold on, because the wakes created by a zillion horsepower and 104 boats suddenly going full throttle would capsize anything smaller than a cruise ship!

I felt badly for some sailboats and some of those Cabo glass-bottom boats that were just out for a leisurely morning and got caught in the maelstrom. Most of their passengers, little old ladies from Kansas and Joe Smith from Missouri probably had no idea what suddenly descended on them! But there’s nothing quite like the bow of a 75’ sportfisher suddenly coming full tilt at you!

So, there we are that first day dirty and sweaty. The boats are out and we’re still setting up the weigh-in station. Pat McDonell has Gary Graham dangling 30 feet up in the air tying banners on the weigh-in scaffold. Mike Packard is figuring out the ropes with the block and tackle to hoist the fish. I’m setting up the media tent. I think Kit McNear was trying to untangle extension cords that look like a bimini twist gone mad. The “glamorous” side of the bishing biz!

Fish aren’t due for hours.

And then the call comes in that one boat has a big fish. They aren’t going to wait. They want to weigh their tuna NOW!

Mike asks if it’s a big fish.

Yes! It’s a big fish.

Over 200?

Over 300, they say.

Ok, right, whatever…Mike passes the word. Ho-hum. EVERYONE always thinks their fish is the BIGGEST fish. Ask any 8-year-old. That’s what this is all about, right? None of us get too excited. Grumble. Grumble. Grin. It just means we have to work faster to get things set up in the hot sun.

And then the boat shows up. Mike takes a look in the cockpit and immediately the electricity shoots through the crowd. It’s HUGE! Oh, hell…it’s the biggest tuna anyone has ever seen. They can’t even lift it. The gaff holes are plugged with toilet paper to prevent it from bleeding. This COULD be historic. Someone on the docks yells, “First round knockout. Game over!”

The weigh station hasn’t been set up for a fish this big and Mike has to adjust the scales because the nose of the fish is still on the ground. The fish paparazzi elbow for space and snap photos as they descend with the growing crowd. The fish gets hoisted again. Anxious moments. The fish is slowly drying in the sun. Each drop of blood is another micro-ounce lost. Silence. Wait. Wait. Wait. The scale is checked…there’s a lot of money on the line!

“THREE HUNDRED EIGHT THREE POUNDS!”’

It’s just off the world record. It’s a new tournament record. It’s the largest yellowfin tuna ever weighed in Mexico.

The tournament is only a few hours old and already someone has brought in a near-world-record-fish. And I swear, I could hear a collective sigh out on the water as 103 other teams still out on the water realize it’s now going to be a race for 2nd and 3rd place or start frantically fishing for dorado and wahoo.

You just never know when you have a line in the water!

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

PHOTO 1: The photo does not do justice to this fish. If it looks like a big yellowfin tuna that’s becaues it is! It’s 383 pounds caught by San Jose del Cabo resident Oscar Dacarrett. Jill and I have been working all week at the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot Tournament in Cabo San Lucas and right off the bat, this fish not only blew away the field as the first fish weighed in, it destroyed the record books. It’s the largest fish of the tournament. It’s the new record for the tournament but even moreso, it’s a new record yellowfin tuna for Mexico and only 5 pound shy of the WORLD RECORD!

PHOTO 2: It’s hard to believe that with the history of Baja fishing, no other yellowfin tuna this large have ever been caught on rod and reel, but this historic fish was taken on the Gorda Banks SE of Cabo San Lucass. It ate a live bullito and surprisingly chomped a little 4/0 circle hook!

PHOTO 3: The media crush on the docks was incredible as everyone vied for a shot or piece of video of the fish at the Cabo docks.

PHOTO 4: For years, Clarence “Butch” Tropez of Los Angeles had been trying to get his wife, Norma, down to Baja. For their 22nd anniversary she finally acquiesced and he even got her out for a day of fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and Captain Adolfo. They got limits of dorado early and were done by 11 a.m. and had such a great time, Butch thinks he’ll have a hard time coming back to La Paz without her! This photo was taken just outside of Muertos Bay.

PHOTO 5: Kelli Gora from Los Angeles was on her first trip to see us with husband Dave. They fished one day with Captain Victor from our Tailhunter Las Arenas fleet and got a tuna and limits of dorado like this one just off Punta Perrico.

WIND SETTLE DOWN FOR SOME NICE FISHING ALTHOUGH FEW FISHERMEN IN TOWN NOW. BUT CHECK OUT NEAR WORLD RECORD YELLOWFIN TUNA!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Nov. 1-7, 2009

Well, the winds calmed down and it’s hard to describe the fishing only because there were so few fishermen and the weather was incredible. I guess the word is “pleasant.” It was no-stress fishing. No wind. No waves. The fish bit and there was almost no one on the water. Almost like having the whole ocean to yourself at times like old school-old-Baja fishing! We got a nice assortment of fish with a wide variety depending on where you fished and how you fished. Dorado were the mainstay for anglers looking for bluewater fish, but they dorado could be as close as a few yards off the beach, especially for our Las Arenas Tailhunter Fleet.

As well, as the week went on ,yellowfin tuna in the 20 pound class provided some nice action with about 2-5 fish per panga on the average to go along with the 15 pound dorado. Inshore, we got more sierra as the waters cooled but roosterfish and snapper were also in the counts as well as amberjack, pompano and jack crevalle.

BIG TUNA BREAKS MEXICO RECORDS AND ALMOST WORLD RECORD!

We spent the better part of the week working for Western Outdoor News at their 11th annual Tuna Jackpot Tournament in Cabo San Lucas south of us in La Paz. It’s always a blast being part of the tournament crew. This year was better than ever.

Right off the bat, the first fish of the two-day event turned into a fish-of-all fish. We got the radio call that they were bringing in a “huge” fish. Ok…heard that one before, but we knew the boat and crew were local and it was unusual for a tournament team to bring in a fish so soon. They said it was over 300 pounds. Ho-hum…everyone thinks their fish is BIG.

However, as soon as the boat hit the docks and we got a look at it, all skepticism melted. This was obviously, a pig of a fish! It was indeed a giant cow yellowfin tuna and we had a project just getting it off the boat and carted to the weigh-station 100 yards down the docks. The fish was so big, that we had to re-configure the ropes holding the scales!

However, when the digital scale was read out at “383 pounds!” the winning team and whole place went nuts! Not only was it the new record fish for the tournament (previous best was 319 pounds), but it was the largest yellowfin tuna ever records from Mexico waters; the 5th largest yellowfin tuna ever; AND only 5 pounds off the world record!

It was great to be here and part of the event!

Here is video footage of that first day of the tournament. The flare-gun start was shot from the stern of the official start boat so that’s why it gets a bit rocky. However, turn up the sound and we hope you enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_5YNFf5kYo

That’s our story!

Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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

PHOTO 1: Scott Brown and James Talley on their first trip to La Paz had an eventful few days of fishing despite less-than-perfect conditions. In addition to these dorado and fat cabrilla, they also got two sailfish (released); a striped marlin on 25-pound test (released); and a big roosterfish (released). AWESOME!

PHOTO 2: Earl Fiscalini gets a hand with his yellowfin tuna from Guy (Subchild) Fiscalini-Petree both from the Central Coast area of California. The tuna were tougher to get this week due to heavy north winds that really stirred up the waters and made fishing rough.

PHOTO 3: This is a sample of the nice mix of fish typical of a good day this week with our Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay Fleet. We really had to work hard for the fish this week. Alot of boats really had to scratch. Because of the tough conditions, we didn’t do much fishing north of La Paz.

PHOTO: 4: John Stephen made the best of difficult conditions with this nice yellowfin tuna right out in front of the old Hotel Las Arenas. The fish were definitely there, but it was hard to hold a drift or get the baits down to the fish because of the big winds and waves.

PHOTO 5: Captain Gerardo looks on behind Mary Busse with her yellowfin tuna taken before the winds came on and the tuna were running rampant. Most of the fish were 20-35 pounders.

PHOTO 6: Al Tesoro has made three trips to La Paz this year and finally got more tuna than he could handle, but shows off two of his yellowfin he caught near the Las Arenas lighthouse.

PHOTO 7: Captain Calamar put two of our best amigos, race car driver Art Savedra from Las Vegas
and long-time Tailhunter friend, Jeff Slater from Long Beach onto a pile of tuna and dorado earlier in the week.

PHOTO 8 : Dave Busse hoists up another yellowfin in front of Captain Gerardo. Dave and his wife Mary spent a few days fishing and diving with us.

GOOD START TURNS TO PICKY BITE AS NORTH WINDS RIP AREA!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 25-31, 2009

The week started well-enough. All the dorado you could want no matter if you fished with our Las Arenas or our La Paz fleet. Not a lot of big fish, but solid numbers of 10-20 pound fish all-day-long and you could catch-and-release to your heart’s content.

As well, if you fished with our Las Arenas fleet, that school of 20-35 pound yellowfin tuna parked right off the beach between the Arenas lighthouse and Punta Perrico continued to kick out a nice bite with boats averaging 2-7 fish per panga and really putting on a show. As several veteran anglers said, “These fish fight a lot bigger than they are! They are amazingly strong.” Whether it was tuna or dorado, it wasn’t complicated fishing. You either fished with live sardines for the dorado or stripped slow trolled chunks of fresh bonito. The tuna came up mostly on handfuls of drifted dead sardines.

Later in the week, it got tricky. Strong northern winds kicked in and kicked our butts. In fact, it was ridiculous to try to fish out of La Paz and was had all our anglers fish with our Las Arenas fleet instead where it was still bumpy, but at least they could get out on the water and had a chance for fish.

Dorado were still the mainstay with a smattering of tuna and lots of big bonito, but the bite clearly had diminished, but at least guys got to fish. These are the type of seasonal winds we can expect now as the seasons change away from the warmer fall to winter-type fishing. Never can tell when it’s going to be crazy weather. As we hit the weekend, the winds diminished, but at the time of this writing, it remains to be seen how much of an effect it has had on the bite.

Actually, once the winds died, an interesting thing happened. The weather improved, but the bite got worse! We really had to scratch for our biters. However, all of a sudden, marlin and sailfish showed up. One day, out of 10 pangas, we hooked and released 9 marlin and one big blue marlin spooled one of our anglers on 50-pound test. As one of my captains told me, “We had three marlin just swimming around the boat waiting for us to feed them!” They were more than willing to jump on a little hooked sardine about 3-inches long. We’ll see if this continues.

VIDEO CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Click this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhrTZV_yHk

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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

PHOTO: The mornings are getting chillier and chillier before the sunrise breaks out. Bring a sweatshirt. The seasons are changing!

SUDDENLY NOT SUMMER!

Originally Published the Week of Nov. 3, 2009 in Western Outdoor News

I just came off the water before writing this. Except for washing the fish stink and crust off my hands before touching my keyboard, I’m still salt-encrusted from head-to-toe. What a day. For three weeks now, we’ve been enjoying balmy skies and flat seas; warm waters and fish fighting to eat the baits. Fish heaven!

Then, just like that someone flipped a switch.

Today I spent the day shivering and wet. I’m glad I brought a light jacket (I always do), but it was barely enough . The sun ducked in and out of the clouds. The waves kicked up. In a panga, it was a bit like “Victory at Sea.” We took waves over the boat and a good portion of the day we weaved about the boat like drunken sailor on liberty walking the docks.

Even the cruisers were getting bounced. I felt badly for many of the angles who were in t-shirts and shorts huddled wherever they could try to stay dry. It didn’t help matters that bait was harder to find and the fish got stubborn as well. The fishing “honey hole” turned into a gopher hole instead!

Where did all this come from? What happened to my summertime?

Truth is, it’s that time of year when we should expect these kinds of changes and we get so lulled into “easy fishing” we forget how abruptly the whims of the ocean can change…even in Baja.

It’s not ALWAYS like it says in the magazines. It’s not ALWAYS like the pictures in the brochures. We forget that Baja is a 1000-mile-long peninsula bracketed by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez that has as many micro-climates as it does types of fish. We should no more expect consistent weather between Cabo San Lucas to the south Ensenada to the north any more than San Diego and Seattle have different climes.

Seasons change and Baja is no different.

I had a phone call the other day from folks who wanted to book with our fishing fleet in Febuary. They wanted to catch dorado and marlin.

I had to tell them that we don’t catch those fish normally in the winter months.

“Why not?” she says.

“Because it’s winter. The waters are too cold. You should go further south, maybe Cabo San Lucas, “ I tell her.

“Why?” she responds.

“Because it’s warmer and marlin and dorado like warmer waters, “ I answer.

“Why?” she asks again

“Because they just do.” I say without going into the entire marine-biological explanation a bit exasperated. (Perhaps you’ve had this type of conversation with one of your youngsters. The old “It-is-because-it-is-and-I-am-the-adult” way of ending a discussion going nowhere).

“But we already booked our tickets to come in Febuary and really want to catch a marlin and dorado. Can’t you do anything?” She pleads.

Uh sure…I’ll wave my magic wand and just make marlin and tuna appear. You get the idea. I tell them that it’s still the Sea of Cortez and anything can happen, but not to get their hopes up. That’s the best I can do. They bought their plane tickets before doing the research.

There are warm months and there are cold months and we’re about to start heading into the colder months of the Baja fishing season. That doesn’t mean the fish aren’t biting. It doesn’t mean the sun won’t shine. It doesn’t mean your vacation just went up in flames.

But forewarned is forearmed. Be prepared for weather changes. Be prepared to fish differently. I’m taking a heavier jacket on the water tomorrow. I”ve told the clients to bring a sweatshirt or windbreaker. I’m going to prepare my clients to do more inshore (where it’s calmer) than offshore fishing (where we’ll most surely get wet again). But part of fishing is being adaptable.

I’ll be in Cabo San Lucas all week at the Western Outdoor News Tuna Tournament. Come say hi. In fact, when you’re reading this, we’ll probably be right in the thick of it on the docks. It’s always a lot of fun. Hope to see you!

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

PHOTO 1: Tuna on the chew! Just a solid week of yellowfin tuna fishing for most of the week with some days the tuna were almost jumping in the boat. Friend and La Paz regular, Steve Marabella, shows off some of the quality fish that took up residence within a few hundred yards of the Las Arenas lighthouse near La Paz.

PHOTO 2: This is what ” WIDE OPEN” looks like on a panga! Ken Mitchell and Ken Gragg from Fresno CA flank Capt. Gerardo who’s trying to hold onto another fish in the middle. Boats were literally only a few yards away from each other often with every single rod bent on 25-35 pound tuna. You can see how close to shore our boats were fishing. Often anglers took limits of tuna within an hour or two!

PHOTO 3: Hacienda Heights CA resident, Sed Roldan (yes. .. my dad) came down for a visit and took more fish in two days of fishing than he had in several years of fishing with us. They simply had to stop. Within seconds of baits hitting the water, yellowfin tuna would rocket straight up and fight each other to gulp the sardine. Pangas were sometimes so close that several anglers hooked-up would tangle each other with fish!

PHOTO 4: After several trips this year to get tuna unsuccessfully, Lois Tsunoda finally put tuna in the box. She and husband Gary from S. California spent 3 days fishing with us of taking home doroado and yellowfin tuna while fishing with both our Las Arenas and La Paz our fleets.

PHOTO 5: Our friends, Richard and Jackie Yamada took time off from running their operation at the popular Shelter Island Lodge near Juneau, Alaska http://www.shelterlodge.com/ to chase some dorado and tuna instead of halibut and salmon. They got these nice yellowin their first day out fishing with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet the day after Hurricane Rick left us.

PHOTO 6: Dave Prather from Arizona was on his first fishing trip down to see us and got into some fantastic fishing. In the middle of the tuna grounds’ve got an unusual bite and realized it was not fighting like a tuna. Instead, he pulled up this trophy grouper just yards off the Punta Perrico rocks.

PHOTO 7: Bob Dominguez said, “I” m done, let’s go home! “after tangling with his first tuna of the day. He was to go on and take tuna limits two days in a row as well as several dorado. Bob is from Hacienda Heights CA .

Photo 8 – Paul and Renee pose with just a few of their yellowfin tuna. This was Renee’s 2nd trip to see us this year. Last trip in the summer, he nailed a big wahoo. No wahoo on this trip, but he plugged the boat with Paul for several days with loads of yellowfin tuna and dorado.

PHOTO 9: Jeff Sakuda comes to see us about 2-3 times a year and always rips the fish. Under the tuna schools, Jeff found this grouper lurking and ready to eat! We got several big rock fish like this during the past week.

PHOTO 10: Shay Hamada and Kenji Yamada sometimes live in California, Hawaii and Alaska. He manages the Shelter Island Lodge in Alaska and also skippers clients and knows how to properly pose with a fish! Shay holds a nice dorado while Kenji hung this nice yellow fin.

PHOTO 11: Even though we had a Category 5 hurricane bearing down on us, Dan and Bob McPhee from the San Francisco Bay area said, they did not care and would take their chances about fishing. As it turned out, the storm by-passed us and their gamble paid off with several solid days of great fishing. They hold a handful of some of their yellowfin tuna.

PHOTO 12: All the way from the East Coast, Mike Bradley and Gerald Mulholland took so many fish their first day, they caught and released fish the rest of their days fishing.

PHOTO 13: An outsanding shot of Bob Sayre’s sailfish on-the-hook! Worthy of framing! The sailfish was released.

THE “PERFECT STORM” (thankfully) never materialized TEAR UP ANGLERS AND FISH!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 18-24, 2009

We appear to have dodged the bullet of “Hurricane Rick” a potential Category 5 storm that had been touted as the “Perfect Storm” and bore down towards Southern Baja. It had us all pretty much running for SANDBAGS with no real place to go. As it turned out, the storm turned south and diminished to a tropical storm and dropped only sporadic hard rain and some strong winds that cost us only one day of keeping the boats off the water.

The larger misfortune, aside from cancelations from many anglers understandably nervous about the impending storm, was that it dampered what had been the best tuna bite of the season and perhaps in many years.

Right in front of the beach between the Las Arenas lighthouse and Muertos Bay a line of 25-35 pound tuna literally took up residence and slashed and ripped anglers for several days. One concentration of the fish in perhaps only 50 feet of water had fish grabbing air and hang time while fighting each other to jump on live sardines, dead sardines and almost anything else thrown into the waters. If you looked down you could see the tuna shredding the water under the pangas and many of them were so close with every rod bent that many of the pangas were getting tangled up with each other.

Fortunately, the fish were so thick that anglers were laughing and shouting at each other because it took no time at all to get bit almost instantly! I’ve been here a long time and this was one of the funnest tuna fish bites … ever!

It was just way too much fun to look out over the area and see fish breaking water, boiling, coming out of the water like they had not eaten in weeks. You could throw a sardine in the water and within seconds … it did not stand a chance … two or three tuna would try to inhale it and literally crash into each other trying to be the first to hit it.

Between the boats, all you could hear guys were yelling and screaming and laughing and the sound of clickers and drags going off … such a sweet sweet sound! Those of you who have been in bites like this, know what I’m talking about.

As well, dorado went off nicely with fish in the 10-20 pounds and surprisingly, in the same areas, big snapper and grouper also showed up to mix it up with the bite. A few wahoo were hooked, but all lost.

After the storm, things got a bit slower and anglers had to work a bit harder for the tuna, but there was no slow-down on the dorado. Heck, it was almost like the dorado had something to prove after being ignored by the great tuna bite the last few weeks. The tuna did not charge as hard so the dorado filled in the slack. Easy limits if you wanted them! Bottom line … way too many fish! That’s what I’m talkin ‘about!

WEEKLY VIDEO CLIPS!

If you want to see more and see it live … check out this week’s video clips and turn up the sound! Click this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQqr56fEVY

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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

PHOTO 1: Just another lovely day in paradise. Paul Sipillian and Leo Avakian from Los Angeles just put in a really tough day of fishing! Yellowfin tuna bit hard all week just outside of Muertos Bay, actually just in front of the old Hotel Las Arenas. Our pangas were coming back to the beach after only 2 0r 3 hours on the water totally plugged with fish. Hey…who’s gonna clean all that tuna?

PHOTO 2: Two of the most prolific anglers we see each year, our amigos Steve Greanias and his dad, Chris, always stick the fish big time. They fished 3 days and spanked the tuna, but on their 3rd day fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz fleet they concentrated on dorado but then went inshore and went after the pargo! They got the fish boiling behind the boat, then Steve started heaving the surface iron and nailed some of these fish that most folks think only bite in the springtime!

PHOTO 3: All the way from Illinois! Bob and Bill Sayre did some fishing and SCUBA with us but on their first day on the water with rain threatening, they fished out’ve Muertos Bay with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet and dog-piled on some really quality dorado and yellowfin tuna.

PHOTO 4: Martha Bell from Hacienda Heights CA wanted me to be sure to tell everyone that by 9:30 a.m. in the morning fishing with Captain Victor, they were completely limited on tuna and dorado like this one with Captain Victor in the background and the south side of Cerralvo Island. This was Martha’s first time fishing in La Paz.

PHOTO 5: Maybe on the of the larger dorado of the week, normally, we get alot of the larger bulls in the fall. However, this year, we’re getting more school-sized fish in the 10-20 pound class. Robert Marganian shows off his nice female mahi on the beach.

PHOTO 6: Naveed Ahmed, our buddy who says “The curse is over!” because he never caught fish did so on his first day on the water with us. Fishing with Captain Archangel and amigo, Dave Asman, from Chicago, they got limits of nice 20-30 pound yellowfin tuna “until our arms hurt” as well as a wahoo.

PHOTO 7: Eddy Bell holds two nice bull dorado from a day of fishing with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet north of the city around the islands. Eddy is from Hacienda Heights CA.

PHOTO 8: The picture kinda speaks for itself. What a day! Robert and Toros Marganian from Lake Arrowhead CA jumped into a school of tuna that could be seen boiling from the shore in a frenzy. This kind of catch was not unusual this past week in what has been the best bite of the season for our fleet.

PHOTO 9: Every year these two brother get together for a fishing reunion in La Paz. They’re among our favorite Tailhunter amigos. They always get fish! On the left is Rod Brown fron Alaska. His brother, Jeff, on the right, lives in Minnesota! Over almost a week of fishing, the two brothers got an incredible variety of fish.

PHOTO 10: You’ve probably never seen one of these. I had never seen one either except when scuba diving. The locals call is a “mojarra.” It’s better known as a “porgy.” I”m told it’s great eating. Jeff Brown from Minnesota caught it.

PHOTO 11: Check out the quality of these yellowfin tuna we’re getting. Scott Brasier poses at Muertos Bay with these 35–30 pound sluggers that went raging this past week here. Scott was on his first trip with us and came all the way from the midwest.

PHOTO 12: The Sashime Club! The fish are barely in the boat and these guys usually have the wasabi and soy ready to go! Randy Nakayama, Derick Tagawa and Mark Kojima know how to eat them as well as put the tuna into the boat.

POSSIBLY THE BEST TUNA AND DORADO FISHING OF THE YEAR GOES BALLISTIC AS LA PAZ GOES ON HURRICANE WATCH!

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

What a week! In between sporadic tropical showers, we had perhaps the best fishing of the season. Slugger-sized 25-30 pound tuna blew up on our panga fleet at Las Arenas/ Muertos in such a furious bite that on many days the boats were pulling off the school and headed back to shore at 9:30 or 10 a.m. in the morning or going out looking for something else to do because there was no more room in the panga fish boxes! At one point, I stood on the beach and I could actually see the fish foaming only about 100 yards off the beach with the bite only about 100-200 yards in front of the old Hotel Las Arenas.

The baits are really small and 20-30 pound test fluorocarbon leader with #1 hooks are the ticket using live or dead chunk baits, but you’d better hold onto your socks because a lot of the anglers weren’t ready for some of these fish. As one angler put it, “I’ve caught tuna before, but something about these fish has them ultra aggressive and put them on steroids or something because these fish do NOT quit!” Another angler said, “After two of these fish, I had to sit down, my arms were shaking. Stupid little 30-pound fish pull like no tuna I’ve ever run into.”

If you look at these fish, they’re just MUSCLE fish. Round, fat and feisty! They were fighting to the baits at times as if they hadn’t eaten…EVER! Just a blast!

On top of it, especially later in the week, it seemed that the dorado got tired of being second tier catches and moved right inshore with the tuna and the “dorado rodeo” went off with streaking dorado and hooked dorado surrounding all the boats. “Point-blank fish shooting” was how one of our Denver anglers described it. “I’ve never seen so many dorado flying around a boat. If the boats weren’t plugged with tuna, they were topped off with dorado! (Many were released and the flyfishers really had a blast!)

If anything else was biting, it was hard to know since everyone had jumped on the dorado or tuna schools. However, we did hook a few roosters (released) and three wahoo were hooked and lost.

FIRST PERSON REPORT

Thanks to our new amigo, Leo Bishop from Canada who took the time to write this:

“What a day !! we had only one day remaining on our vacation with so many things left to see and do. Jonathan went out of his way to “customize” a trip package for us that included fishing in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon. We knew the weather was calling for rain, but we sucked it up and went anyway. By the time we had our eyes open, thanks to the free morning coffee, we had already loaded up with live bait and had lines in the water. 5 minutes later, bang-bang !! double hook ups on some nice sierra. After playing them in we moved about a half mile to a new location and dropped or live bait rigs over the stern and began slow trolling. Over the next 3 hours we boated 5 nice Dorado, lost 3, and landed numerous bonita. We didnt, even have a chance to notice the rain……………who cares ? Fighting fish is a great way to stay warm !! In fact just as the bite subsided a little, so did the rain. We reluctantly reeled up our gear and headed out to the snorkelling area. As we cruised along we agreed that even if the snorkelling was off due to the morning rain that we had already gotten our moneys worth, man we were blown away……we swam with huge sea lions, (they are very peacefull and non agressive) and their pups are so curious, a massive, mezmerising school of sardines, and spotted several species of large groupers including a rare golden grouper ! Long story short, we are so glad that we got out their despite the weather for a trip of a lifetime ! “

HURRICANE WATCH FOR “RICK”

As I write this, we’re watching Hurricane Rick form off the Baja Peninsula. We thought storm season was all over, but this one surprised us and could be headed our way by Wednesday or Thursday. We feel badly for all the folks who may have to cancel or postpone their fishing trip with us. If there was any way to foresee this or wave a magic wand, we would! For updates, click this: http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/ep200920.html

TAILHUNTER VIDEO CLIP

I know I always used to post a weekly video clip, but we’ve had some technical difficulties this season. However, here’s a good roundup of some of our hot bite the last few weeks. Click this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_g-jI-RJ0k

TAILHUNTER GRILL AND FUBAR CANTINA MAKES TRIP ADVISOR

We made Trip Advisor after only 5 months! Check it out: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g150771-La_Paz_Baja_California.html

If any of you have been with us and partied or dined and want to add a report, that would be great.

Have a great week! Hope we stay dry down here!

That’s our story…
Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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

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

THE NOISY FISHERMAN

Originally Published the Week of Oct. 20, 2009 in WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS

When I was a kid fishing with my dad and uncles, I was constantly admonished to be still. Be quiet. You’re going to scare the fish!

Like most kids, I fidgeted a lot. I had the patience of…well, a kid! And when fish weren’t biting, I did what most kids did. I skipped rocks. I played in the tackle box. I sang. I banged things. I even ate all the Velveeta cheese bait when no one was looking!

Although I never ate the worms, I did try salmon eggs once. If fish liked them they couldn’t be all that bad. The ruckus caused by my gagging and coughing surely scared away any fish in the area.

I grew up learning to be quiet when I fished. Most of us did. Noise was our enemy! Be verrrry quiet. The fish might hear you!

However, the more time I spend here in Baja, going on 15 years now, and the more time I spend fishing in small craft, the more I’m re-thinking the pros and cons of noise.

Any angler will tell you how many countless hours we spend choosing our tackle be it line, lures, hooks and other equipment to make sure it’s the right color, size and shape. Does green line work better than blue line? Will the red feather hookup better than the purple feather? Does the color of the hook make a difference? You get the idea.

But what about noise…or better yet..SOUND! The difference is as profound as someone crashing two pie tins together and someone playing the drums in a beautiful rhythm.

Many veteran anglers and captains have long known that engine sounds and prop wash are known fish attractants. Ever notice how some boats just have a knack for raising fish? They can have the same captains; fish the same area; use the same lures and one boat gets consistently bit over the other.

It’s like having two cars that are exact duplicates in every manner, but for some reason, one is a lemon. Same with boats. One just has that certain ju-ju that is an unfathomable combination of the shape of the boat, the way the motor vibrates and other variables.

I have worked on commercial boats and noticed how engine speed and certain revs caused fish to be attracted. Or, by the same token, drives fish away. I’ve read stories about how sharks will sometime chomp down on a moving propeller, much to their detriment of the shark, thinking it’s food.

The same with terminal tackle like lures. If you’ve ever been scuba diving, you’ll remember that aside from the sound of your regulator and bubbles, you’ll often hear a cacophony of clicks and snaps underwater. That’s the fish!

In a bait school or school of predatory fish, the sounds are extremely audible and the submarine environment gives off a tangible and often audio vibration.

Hence, you’ll notice that many lures these days are built with clickers, ball bearings, bubble holes and whatnot that attempt to duplicate those sounds. I know several lure manufacturers that do detailed studies of their products to see how they “swim” and attempt to duplicate the precise vibration a nervous baitfish makes in the water. The better to attract a predator!

The same with lures that splash, jump, pop and gurgle. Not only do they create a visual stimulus for a potential gamefish, but all of that action produces sound that will hopefully put the predator into “attack mode” to generate a strike. Even if it doesn’t have noise-makers, how it “swims” generates vibrations that are detectable to fish.

Ergo, how you troll it or reel it back to the boat can make all the difference in the world. That’s what makes it fun.

For instance, I’ve used surface plugs. I can cast them into the rocks and pop them along and get some viscious strikes from cabrilla and pargo. By the same token, slow popping won’t work on roosters. Reeling as fast as I can to skip the lure on the surface gets the pez gallo all worked up.

Same with yellowtail. Slowly retrieving a yo-yo iron will only get you tired. Winding as fast as you can until your arm feels like it will fall off will get you tired sooner, but it will also get you bit!

Make some noise. Catch some fish!

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

PHOTO 1: Not a bad way to start a fishing trip. We’ve moved the pangas over to Muertos Bay and after a slow start because of winds, late in the week the bite finally turned on. Posing with a portion of their catch are Johnny Doumas, Jay Sanchez, Leo Avakian, Avo Agourian, Armen Minissian, Sam Henne and Paul Sipplian. The sailfish was an accidental catch by Avo (center). He was fishing a Megabait just jigging it for bottom fish and on the way down, he felt a hit. Suddenly, the rod blew up and he realized he had accidentally snagged a sailfish ON THE BACK! He had to fight it and while doing so, his partner (Armen) caught 2 yellowfin tuna. Avo was going to release the sail, but it came in dead having been dragged backwards. It was donated to the pueblo. Note the solid size of the yellowfin tuna! They’re only about 200 yards off the beach.

PHOTO 2: Here’s another great story. Dan Fink from northern California has been coming to Baja for over a doezen years trying to catch a wahoo. He brought his sister, Julie with him this year. They weren’t even at the wahoo grounds (which haven not produced in about a month!). They were in the middle of the tuna bite. Mary was fishing a little sardine on light line (with NO wire!). She gets bit and wham…wahoo on! She hooks it right in the corner of the mouth with a little #2 live bait hook! It gets better. This was Mary’s first time fishing on the ocean. They also got a number of yellowfin tuna as well as pargo.

PHOTO 2: One of our most successful anglers each year, Steve Greanias and his dad, Chris, show off a couple of nice yellowfin tuna and a handful of dorado. Steve also had on a big roosterfish that he fought and came unbuttoned.

PHOTO 3: Johnny Doumas holds up a sample of the nice grade of yellowfin tuna we have biting now out of Muertos Bay with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet. The fish are ranging from 15-35 pounds and are from the lighthouse down towards Cardonal. Live and dead sardines fished with a small hook and flurocarbon leaders are a plus.

PHOTO 4: Dorado are biting right now, but not many of the big bulls we’re accustomed to this time of year. However, Fred Roupp, Jr. and Captain Rogelio with our Tailhunter La Paz Fleet pose with a 33-pound dorado they caught north of La Paz. This was our largest dorado of the week.

PHOTO 5: With Muertos Bay shimmering in the background, Captain Pancho with Jay Sanchez and Leon Sipplian on their first trip to fish with us hold up a handful of fat yellowfin tuna.

PHOTO 6: Two of the funnest guys who show up each year, Toros and Robert Marganian took time off from their plumbing business to pull on a few nice yellowfin tuna this week. The smaller sardines are working well on these fish. They were lockjawed early in the week when the winds were blowing, but came on stronger as the week went on.

PHOTO 7: All smiles, Johnny Wong and Tim Armstrong from Pasadena CA fished earlier in the week with us when we were still launching off Las Arenas Beach. Nice handful of YFT. They were fishing with Captain Victor.

PHOTO 8: Dr. Bruce Dodge from La Canada CA hit full limits of yellowfin tuna fishing with Captain Jorge and our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet. Cerralvo Island and Ventana Bay in the background. Bruce organized the annual Catholic Big Brothers & Big Sisters Charity Event and fund raiser with us and 3 days of fishing.

PHOTO 9: Sneaking away from his last year at Humboldt State College to get in some fishing, Andrew Campbell and mom Kirsten from Boise ID braved some strong winds and rain and still put some excellent fish in the panga. In addition to yellowfin tuna they also caught dorado over a quick weekend of fishing before Andy had to scoot back to class.

PHOTO 10: Dan Rubendall came down with the big group from Catholic Big Brothers and Big Sisters charity event and tournament and almost got big fish of the day with this bull dorado he caught in the channel between the Arenas lighthouse and Cerralvo Island.

PHOTO 11: You gotta love the unconventional. Rob Pinkerton and Mike Delaney pose with their catch of yellowfin tuna while playing in the sand. Mike…thanks for that pole dance at our TAILHUNTER BAR! We have it on video!

PHOTO 12: They always do well. Manny Avila and Tony Avila holding some of their catch this week of tuna and dorado. Thanks for the “Venturi wine pourer” guys. It works great!

WINDY WEATHER AND SPOTTY FISHING FINALLY GIVE WAY TO SUNSHINE AND SOLID BITE…MAYBE BEST TUNA BITE OF THE YEAR!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Week of Oct. 4-10, 2009

There were times early in the week where I was really pretty nervous. That bad weather cell that came through last week and dumped a bunch of rain on us and wouldn’t go away without spitting out the occasional shower finally gave way to sunny skies. That was the good part. The bad part is that behind the storm we got several days of incredible north winds. It’s certainly NOT what we’re’ accustomed to this time of year. I mean…it was ROUGH! We actually had some folks queasy which is pretty rare! One day, the captains didn’t even want to go out and it delayed us getting out.

That’s not too good when you’re doing a lot of topwater fishing. I felt badly for our flyfishers and some of our light tackle guys.

On top of it, the fish got squirrelly too! It was a pick bite at best. Normally, we’re going full turbo in October.

Anyway, as the week went on the winds calmed and …SURPRISE…the bite got better. Dorado finally decided to wake up and join the party although we’re not seeing a lot of the big bulls of fall. Most of the fish are the smaller 5-20 pounders. They can be found pretty much anywhere right now, but a lot of guys (and gals) come down this time of year expecting the big horses and they just haven’t been very prevailant this year. Live baits, of course, work well, but stripped dead bonito really get ‘em going. One thing we did find…there’s another good use for the pesky needlefish!

One of our captains…Boli…with our La Paz Fleet got resourceful and started using long strips of the silvery needlefish and slow trolling it behind the panga. Within 5 minutes…HOOK UP!!! He’s been doing it all week and getting dorado. Best of all…the other needlefish don’t attack it. I guess there’s finally something they won’t eat!

Besides the dorado, the best part of the bite later in the week took place with our Tailhunter Las Arenas Fleet. Because of the north winds we moved the fleet over to Muertos Bay. When the bite turned on, we got…well…look at the photos above! Tuna…wahoo…sailfish…as well as pargo, marlin…roosterfish…cabrilla…snapper…sierra…and others. Great variety! However, the tuna bite really want off-the charts! At times, you could see the tuna foaming if you were standing on the shore as the fish were really that close! Boiling 20-30 pound tuna blowing up on the baits and every rod in every panga double bendo! On one day, our pangas were back on the beach by 11 a.m. with the guys telling me that by 10:30 they had limits of tuna and could have gotten more. Hope this sticks around! Several nights we vacuum packed over 200 bags of fish for our anglers.

Weather has cooled tremendously. It’s great. After a season of 5 months of some of the hottest weather any of us can remember with almost every day over 100 degrees with roaring humidity, it’s now about 85…sunny…and really “Chamber of Commerce” weather! But keep an eye…possibly more rain on the way this week!

That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill

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

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

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

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