That's My Story

PHOTO 1: ROOSTERFISH

PHOTO 2: JACK CREVALLE

PHOTO 3: POMPANO

DON’T KNOW JACK!

Originally published in Western Outdoors Magazine

A lonely stretch of pebbled sand beach. Small waves rolling and swirling around your ankles. The cast. The arc of lure and line through the air landing with a minute splash where the darker blue water fingers up to the shallows. The retrieve. The bump.

Stop. Retrieve again. Three cranks. Another bump and this time the reel handle freezes in mid-turn and the rod arches as a heavy silver body launches itself and lands with a flat whoosh. The fish burrows down. The angler leans in for the hookset and…

The lure pulls loose and the line flies back as rod and angler go from tense exhilaration to relaxed disappointment. The lure flips back and hits the water. The angler cranks once and Zzzzzzzzzzz….hit again! With all the slack line, it’s impossible to set the hook and again, the rod limps and angler grins.

But the lure is still out there and this time a surging “V” of water towards the lure now only yards in front of the angler. And before he can crank again, WHAM! Hookset and stick! This time it’s fish on and the slugger surges up the beach then cuts back towards deeper water in a bulldogged effort to snap the light spinning rod.

A lot of cabin-fever-bound folks sit home during the cooler months of spring gnashing their teeth; watching their old fishing videos; and generally chomping at the bit for the sun to start warming the Baja so they can chase tuna, dorado, marlin and other glamour fish. Counting the days…

But the Baja spring offers a type of fishing much overlooked, but encompassing several of my favorite things. One is light tackle fishing. The other is fishing the many members of the jack family. It’s also relatively cheap and easy. It’s a heady combination!

Listen, if a local kid with some old fishing line wound around a beer can and using a spark plug and rusty hook can do it, this should be as easy as dipping a tortilla chip into salsa. Right?

It’s definitely not gear intensive. Can you say Tom Sawyer with a bobber? Ok, it’s about two steps above that. If you can snag the trout or bass rod your kid forgot in the garage, you’re ready to charge. You know, it was the one you bought two Christmas’s ago that came wrapped in cellophane that had your kid all fired up until the kid unwrapped the iPod the grandparents gave. That was that. And the rod migrated under the bed and finally into the garage.

All the better if you have something from your local Walmart / K-Mart/ Target or similar. Like I said, we’re not talking breaking the bank. My own shore rod cost me about 30 bucks. The reel about the same. It has 10 pound test on it. It’s about a 7 footer with a light enough tip to cast the little batch of lures I carry in a plastic box that fits in my pocket or backpack.

Lures consist of an assortment of shiny things and rubbery creations. I like shiny spoons and chrome lures that resemble the small shiny baitfish that hang out along beaches and rocks. Perhaps a heavy popper and a few small castable crankbaits are also in there.

The plastics consist of smaller swim and jerk baits. There’s some new ones that are so realistically patterned after baitfish, I’m half-tempted to put them in a live baitwell. A few grub and curly tails for good measure get tossed in or ones that look like small shrimp or crabs. If they have a little sparkle in them, all the better.

Colors should resemble what’s out there. If you see or know of a particular baitfish, then copy it. If there’s sand crabs or other mollusks or shellfish around ditto. As a personal preference, I don’t know why motor-oil colored plastics have always been effective for me.

Listen, don’t go nuts on this. Down boy. I know we all love to find reasons to go to our tackle show “on a mission.” But, even just a handful of this terminal tackle will be fine.

The rest of my stuff is what I wear daily anyway. I always carry a sweatshirt or windbreaker I can take off and wrap around myself. It can be breezy this time of year.

The rest of me is t-shirts, shorts and either I’m barefooted or have flip-flops or some kind of footwear I don’t mind getting wet and sandy. Don’t forget the wide-brimmed hat. Pack some dikes and either pliers or surgical hemostats and we’re off to see the lizard!

Do I need a boat? Depending on where you are and how much time you have, a boat, like a panga, kayak or other shallow draft inshore craft is a plus. It will help you cover more water and access areas you can’t hit from shore, but it’s up to you. You certainly don’t need a cruiser for this.

And that’s the other attractive part of this. You don’t need to jam 30 miles offshore to get your jollies! Walk out your hotel door. Take a taxi or walk down the beach. Head to the local marina. Find a breakwater or rocky point.

Incoming and outgoing tides are best, but watch the waters. Swirls, sandbars, underwater structure, birds working or bird droppings concentrated around certain rocks are all indications of fishy waters.

And what of the performers?

That’s the best part. Some of them are probably the most ignored, but best fighting gamefish available in the Baja. Most are probably not great table fare, but make up for it in attitude and feistiness.

Along the shores, you can expect, huge needlefish and trumpets, sergeant-majors, bass, barracuda and a host of others. If you’re fishing anywhere near reef structure, there are a myriad of “aquarium” fish like parrotfish, sheephead and snapper that will drag you back to the rocks.

Around more man-made structure like pilings and vessels, look for snook, pargo, mackerel, halibut, corvine, mullet, ladyfish and others. Don’t let the names of any of these put you off. I’ve seen 20 pounders get hooked in some of the most inane places.

However, my favorite are the jacks. Talk about sluggers. Perhaps no inshore fish can compare with sheer tenacity once hooked. Heck, just watching them feed and terrorize bait can be quite a lesson in aggression. There’s a reason they have been grouped as the “Baja Bullies.” It’s a rogue’s gallery. Some better known than others.

Probably the most exotic and well known are the roosterfish (pez gallo). Flat and full-bodied with their tell-tale dorsal, they swim solo and in schools. This is one fish you might have an advantage being in a panga. These bad-boys move following their bait or whim. They cover a lot of water so moving up and down the beach has it’s benefits. You can often see them. Their dark bodies contrast well against white sand bottoms.

If you’re lucky you can see them schooled up next to shore. They’ll park themselves in certain holes surround by rocks or other structure, indentations in sand or other shelter.

Don’t be fooled. Roosters get big. The world record of 114 pounds was caught right off the beach. There are plenty of 5-20 pounders along the shore but fish in the 40-80 pound class are not uncommon and I’ve been spooled or broken off many times on fish I just couldn’t stop and had no business trying to tame on my spinning rod. But what a kick!

Locals like them, but generally it’s an acquired taste so let them go. If you want one for the table, make it a small one. The meat is pink and not too bad. Larger than that and the meat is dark and stringy.

Their cousins are not quite as big, but can be just as sporting. More common than the roosters are the jack crevalle. Imagine a rooster with a more oval body sans the jester hat dorsal fin of a roosterfish and you get the notorious jack.

A 10-15 pound fish is a bruiser. Hook a twenty pounder and you’re in for a knock-down battle with the odds against you! These guys often move in big schools. Hook one and you can stay there all day losing tackle. I’ve been diving and seen schools with thousands of jacks balled up. Mexicans call them “toros” (bulls) and it’s well deserved. Poor eating so release them.

Better eating…in fact…incredible eating are the pompano. Big chunks, breaded and deep fried served with fresh limes or made into ceviche are a delicacy. Much like their rooster and jack cousins, they are again a flatish body with blunt nose. Imagine a pizza platter that isn’t quite round.

Most of my experience with pompano is on the sandy drop offs of beaches where the shallow shelf slides to deeper water. The pompano seem to hang in deeper water and I’ve mostly hooked them while working a plastic or lure just off the bottom. I’ve never had one blast anything near the surface. However, once hooked, they exhibit the same belligerence as their other members of their family.

Cheap fishing done close to shore when everyone else is on the outer waters getting tossed around is a perfect style for Baja springtime fishing. A lonely stretch of beach. A spectacular sunrise or sunset. A bent rod and screaming reel. Not much better!

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

PHOTO 1: Verda Boyd from the Bay Area of San Francisco had a nice few days of fishing with her husband and fellow Sherriff’s officer, Tim Zimmer. They got tuna, dorado, sierra and alot of skippies and bonito as well. Things are definitely tapering down. Getting cooler and windier as we move into our winter mode.

PHOTO 2 : Randy Lyons holds up our bread and butter fish right now. These speedy toothy sierra are abundant and great fighters and you can hook dozens of these a day if you get into the right spot. They are also very delicious. Might now taste so good with bread and butter, but with lime, salt and garlic they are outstanding table fare!

NOT MANY ANGLERS AROUND AND WINDS DON’T HELP ALTHOUGH SIERRA BITE AND EVEN A FEW DORADO STILL CRUISING THE WATERS!

SAFE AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Before we hit the fishing report, we just wanted to make sure we pass onto all of you, clients or not, anglers or not…the very best for a safe and happy Christmas. We are blessed, privileged and honored to be able to do what we do and then pass on our experiences and enthusiasm to all or of you who visit us in La Paz or vicariously join in the fun by reading our reports each week and all my ramblings. The best part of this job is that so many of our clients and readers become friends. We’ve been at it here in La Paz now since 1996 and I think in that time, I’ve missed only a handful of these weekly reports. Glad you’re reading. Hope you’re enjoying.

Peace and Happiness to you now and always from the Tailhunter Family to yours!

La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Report for Dec. 23, 2007

Well, we’re in the lull before Christmas and seriously…all is calm…except for the wind which happens to be shredding at the moment. Been that way the last few days. Even scuba diving…where you get wet anyway…has been tough to do.

Not many anglers to speak of but we did put out a few boats this week. Everyone fished out’ve Muertos Bay where we could keep everyone close to shore and where we know there’s still fish.

Nice mix of inshore fish. Of course, the sierra were study on the chew and if you put in enough time and devoted the day to them, you could fill a box with the toothy speedsters. However, there’s obviously still some warm water around too as we put a few dorado in the boats as well. No way to know if tuna are about as we couldn’t get over to the south island because of the wind. It’s not that it’s far, but it’s a rough ride out there if the winds are shooting from the south. As well, inshore cabrilla and snapper were also in the counts.

WHALES ARE COMING!

The California grey whales are on their way. From January to March we run day-long trips out to Bahia Magdalena. February is the prime time as the big creatures come to the warm calm waters of the bay to mate, give birth and spend the winter. It’s an incredible experience for the family. Let us know if you’d like us to set up a trip for you including transportation, hotels and whale watching (couple it with some fishing too!). We’re taking reservations now!

2008 SHOW SEASON

Tailhunter International is coming to your town! Hope to see you. Alot of you have been asking for our show schedule for the 2008 fishing and outdoor shows. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing you!

January 10-13 International Sportsman’s Show/ San Mateo Expo Center

January 17-20 International Sportsmans’ Show / Sacramento Cal State Fairgrounds

January 24 – 27 Internanional Sportsman’s Show / Denver Convention Center

February 6-10 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Expo/ Portland OR

February 21-24 Evergreen Sportsman’s Expo/ Monroe WA March 5-9 Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show / Long Beach CA

March 13-16 International Sportsman’s Show / Salt Lake City UT

We will have 10 free tickets for San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver and Salt Lake City shows to give away a week before the show. We’ll keep you posted on the giveaway.

That’s my story! Felices Fiestas, Amigos!

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 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.”

A BAJA STATE OF MIND

Originally published the week of December 18, 2007 in Western Outdoor News

I was whining and moaning a bit this week.

I had fishing clients. The season is pretty much over. The crowds have all gone and the waters are mostly empty. It’s that time of year. But, I have a few folks who come down some of whom are good friends and regulars.

And I wasn’t really happy.

For one, it’s been cloud, rainy and cold all week. Those of you who know me down here, know that I’m a shoeless, shorts and torn t-shirt guy all year. Formal wear means I’m wearing flip-flops on my feet.

This week, everyone is wearing fuzzy jackets, heavy sweatshirts and you’d be crazy to be barefooting. Bottom line, more or less miserable fishing weather.

And I’m not happy. I have fishing clients and I’m stressing. I want sunshine. I want warmth. I want glassy flat water. I want fish on the chew that jump in the boat when I wave my rod over the water.

As much as I really like these particular clients that are here right now, I really wish they weren’t here because this just isn’t Baja!

It’s like when relatives or friends drop in unannounced and your house is thrashed. You’re a caught wearing the shorts with disappearing failing elastic waistband and you have mattress hair. You’re not presentable. You don’t have your best face on or best foot forward. Can’t you come back another time, Uncle Joe?

Well, despite the chop, and wind, rain and bad conditions, the clients actually caught a mess of fish. They put the wood to the pescado although they were out there in slickers and boots…hardly Baja style!

Over dinner one evening, I leaned over and said, “I’m really glad you had a good day, but you should really come in the summer or fall when we really rock! The dorado go nuts. The sun is out. The hotel is one big party of fishermen and dancing on the bar and celebrating big catches, loud stories and big lies. It’s a hoot! Town is full and the restaurants and clubs are going full turbo!”

The husband looked at me and said, “Why would we want to do that?”

I was perplexed, but what he said next opened my eyes.

“We fish Cabo and the East Cape and Loreto at other times of the year. We come here specifically because it’s the off-season and NO ONE is here!”

I leaned in to listen.

“We always catch a mess of fish even though it’s December. But even moreso with no one here, it’s the one time of the year when my wife and I can be with each other; fish together; learn more about each other. She’s my best friend and we don’t get quality moments like this at any other time of the year.”

“There’s no distractions. We don’t need the crowds or better fishing. It’s a great time to be in Baja because it’s just US,” he said with grinning emphasis.

“The silence is wonderful and it’s just the two of us!” he smiled. And then he looked across the table at his wife who’s eyes were shining in the table candlelight.

The restaurant was nearly empty except for us and a lot of candlelit tables and twinkling Christmas lights. “Silent Night” in Spanish was playing softly over the speakers. The surf broke gently in the background over the last orange embers of a setting sun.

Well shut my mouth and open my eyes too. Deep breath. Take stock. Look around and listen.

Thanks for the reminder, my friends. All is calm. All is bright.

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

PHOTO 1 : CHP Office Randy Lyons from Elk Grove CA makes two trips a year to La Paz. One in the summer and one in the winter. He never envisioned the type of fishing he had this week. Squeezing in a two days of fishing in between wind and rain, he ripped the fish population. Here he holds up two nice yellowfin tuna he got at the south end of Cerralvo Island. According to Randy, “They were boiling all over!”

IN BETWEEN WEIRD WEATHER THE FISH ANXIOUS TO BITE WITH TUNA, DORADO, SIERRA, PARGO CENTER COURTS!

LA PAZ / LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DEC. 16, 2007

PHOTO 2: Hard to believe this is December fishing. Stacks of tuna with a few dorado mark the catch of the day for Randy Lyons here with our Captain Adolfo. Randy had two days of this and finally pulled away with bites still going off!

THE FISHING REPORT

Hard to believe it’s December until you come down here. For the most part the whole week we were walking around in long pants and jackets. It was COLD! It even rained all Monday pretty hard. But, what’s up with the fishing?

In between the weather bumps, we got clients out to Muertos Bay and kept them on the lee side of things even as northern winds whipped up the surrounding waters. Go figure! It’s December and we slammed the fish! Yellowfin tuna were thick and hungry. Limits in the box with fish foaming around the pangas! Dorado shooting through the boils. Sierra along the shores tearing up the light tackle and pargo…yes, PARGO…already in as well. One of our captains got 6 of the big red guys losing as many to the rocks.

Hard to figure what’s up, but no one is complaining. In fact, the problem has been worrying if the ice chests headed home stuffed with fillets will be too heavy for the planes! They’re going back stuffed.

All of this is, of course, dependent on the weather. I kid you not, it was freezing for us. The winds blew. Early in the week, it rained…HARD! I felt bad for the folks that came down expecting to lie on the beach all day…but it’s WINTER!

Just glad the fishing held out. I don’t know how much longer we can continue catching these warm water fish, but we’ll keep you posted.

WHALES ARE COMING!


The California grey whales are on their way. From January to March we run day-long trips out to Bahia Magdalena. February is the prime time as the big creatures come to the warm calm waters of the bay to mate, give birth and spend the winter. It’s an incredible experience for the family. Let us know if you’d like us to set up a trip for you including transportation, hotels and whale watching (couple it with some fishing too!). We’re taking reservations now!

2008 SHOW SEASON

Tailhunter International is coming to your town! Hope to see you. Alot of you have been asking for our show schedule for the 2008 fishing and outdoor shows. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing you!

January 10-13 International Sportsman’s Show/ San Mateo Expo Center

January 17-20 International Sportsmans’ Show / Sacramento Cal State Fairgrounds

January 24 – 27 Internanional Sportsman’s Show / Denver Convention Center

February 6-10 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Expo/ Portland OR

February 21-24 Evergreen Sportsman’s Expo/ Monroe WA

March 5-9 Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show / Long Beach CA

March 13-16 International Sportsman’s Show / Salt Lake City UT

We will have 10 free tickets for San Mateo, Sacramento, Denver and Salt Lake City shows to give away a week before the show. We’ll keep you posted on the giveaway.

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 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.”

THE ROAD TOO TRAVELED

Originally published the week of Dec. 12th 2008. Western Outdoor News

This is a bit of a touchy subject to write about and I’m can already imagine the e-mails that I might get. But, I guess it’s about time I say something about it and throw in my two-centavos. .

Do you ever do something or say something then two seconds later wish you could take it back? Like those TV ads for Southwest Airlines where the rockstar yells out, “Thank you Cleveland” to the crowd and he’s actually in Miami. Or the gal who accidentally launches the pink slip virus at her workplace while goofing around on the internet. You wish you could take one step back and have the moment over again.

Last week, I wrote about Impulse Fishing and jumping in your car basically on a whim and driving over the border to go fishing at places like San Quintin or Ensenada. I still stick by that. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

But, that column was written BEFORE a big story appeared in the Los Angeles Times as well as other publications about the increased violent attacks on tourists driving the Baja especially near the border.

After reading those articles, I wished I had worded my column a bit differently, but it had already gone to press. Like I said, I’d still love to drive the Baja and miss those weekend runs to just south of the border. I’d do it in a minute. But there’s no mistaking that there have been an increased number of incidents against tourists. So, I keep getting asked why I don’t write about the crime issues?

Sure, I’ve heard about the increase in incidents against tourists but I’ve refrained from writing more for several reasons. For one, I have only a limited space to write about a subject that I could write pages on so understand the limitations in this column.

I’ve also tried to keep this column on the lighter side and apolitical. To me, WON is supposed to be about fun. Fishing and Baja are supposed to be about fun. You get enough bad news on the TV and can find plenty in your own daily newspaper. I’d rather write about tacos and tuna than people getting robbed or political corruption (on BOTH sides!).

Second, a lot of what you hear and read about is in northern Baja. It seems the closer you are to the border, the more these incidents increase. I talk to my compadres down here in the south and road crimes of the nature and violence we read about, are almost unheard of down here.

That’s not to say there’s not crime, but even my Mexican amigos down here look at me and ask, “What the heck are you talking about? What road crime? Why is anyone attacking tourists?”

Third, it’s touchy living down here; running a business; and writing a column in a popular fishing publication. I’ve never ever been censored by WON or anyone else who thankfully have given me pretty much free reign to write.

But, I’m not stupid either. There are many good and reputable advertisers who are in this paper. It would hurt them if I said certain things. And, to every story you read, there’s often two sides to every story. For example, several years ago, an angler was beaten by locals. That was the big story. The part you didn’t hear was how he had cheated at a drunken card game the night before and how he refused to pay a panga captain for a bad day of fishing.

I’ve also been subtly warned here in Mexico that I have a high profile and my writing is being watched and read by certain uh…”influential people” so I have to self-censor myself at times from writing things that might be too controversial. Part of the game.

I’m a guest down here. I don’t have First Amendment rights in Mexico. And I work and live and write with that understanding. This is not the U.S. I’m still just a little guy in a big pond down here.

So, let me revise and re-iterate a few things about driving down here to Baja. Many are things I’ve said before. Yes, crime is higher, but it’s higher everywhere! It’s the unfortunate way of the world. The best you can do is not let it govern your life to the point of avoiding life and locking yourself in your room. But minimize yourself as a potential target.

As mentioned earlier, the closer you are to the metro areas along the border, the higher the incidence of crime. Fact of life. More transients. More poverty. Too many people in too little space feeling hopeless and trying to survive.

If there’s places in YOUR community you wouldn’t visit, for Pete’s sake stay out of places you shouldn’t be at either when you come across the border . You may hate tourist spots but stay out of dark bars, narrow alleys, dark campgrounds, lonely beaches and long stretches of deserted road. The intrepid days of Ray Cannon and even Gene Kira are gone.

Don’t travel alone. Have a wingman with you and preferably caravan with amigos. For crying-out-loud, stay sober too while driving for all the reasons you already know about. Drunks are easy victims of themselves and others. ‘Nuff said.

Don’t travel at night. Makes common sense. It’s not like cruising down a U.S. freeway or thinking, “I can make Loreto if I drive non-stop from San Diego.”

Don’t tell everyone you’re a target! Yes, you have all your toys and your lady has all that bling you bought her showing it off proudly. You love to roll with your ATV and with a boat and your pickup stacked with goodies. You pull-up into a little bar some night on the way down the Transpeninsular and proceed to pay with a 100 dollar bill you peel off a wad. You drop another 100 bucks on gas at a little Pemex.

You have more swag in your space than that whole little village will see in a month. You think people aren’t watching you? The smiling guy next to you at the bar just earned 5 dollars today busting butt and is drinking it all up tonite. He’s watching the rich gringo. If it can happen in Bakersfield, it can happen in Baja.

Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of ALL people are good folks. Use common sense so you’re not victim to the small rabble that ruin it for so many others.

I’ll write more in another column.

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

PHOTO 1: A last minute trip from Atlanta GA brought Leif Dover down for some quick fishing and it paid off. Check out the wahoo taken on an orange and black Rapala. That’s Captain Yofo behind him goofing the photo. The wahoo bite was still rolling early in the week until winds and some rain pushed just about everything off. Weather has been inconsistent all week and it remains to be seen if it will have long term effects on the nice surface bite.

THE SEASON FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH THE FIRST BIGGER WINDS OF THE SEASON BRINGING RAIN. HOWEVER THERE’S STILL FISH BITING!

LA PAZ / LAS ARENAS FISHING REPORT FOR DECEMBER 9, 2007

PHOTO 2: Even though it’s almost winter, there’s still dorado around. Before the current weather pattern hit late in the week, fish like this were still swimming in many areas. Captain Bryan Zulka from San Diego area hold ups a nice little bull. Bryan did good working the fish on light tackle.

PHOTO 3: Kevin Todd from Austin TX, rolled up a few fish around the islands including this nice dorado. Waters are cooling and I don’t know how much longer we’ll still have dorado around. More cooler water fish are starting to show up.

PHOTO 4: Seems like folks from all points have been popping down lately! All the way from Anchorage AK, Diana Cote and Captain Jorge hoist a yellowfin tuna. Check out the calm water! This is how it’s like when the wind isn’t blowing right now. Flat days interrupted by winds. But, the good news is that the tuna still seem to be around and this size football is a blast to catch.

PHOTO 5: Bryan Zulka chomped into the tuna last week. OK, so they’re not big, but they’re almost casting distance from the shore and on light tackle, they’re a hoot and ready to chew.

THE FISHING REPORT

Well, it’s definitely NOT summer fishng anymore. We had some nice fishing early in the week, then the winds and even some rain hit us and well…that was that. We still fished, but it definitely wasn’t shorts and t-shirt weather and the complexion of the fishing changed too.

Early in the week we were still into the yellowfin tuna, dorado and even some roosters. But, I knew we were living on borrowed time. It’s not often we have that kind of fishing this late in the season.

But, there’s no doubt fishing is changing. We are well into the sierra now. The toothy fighters are getting thicker and thicker. Also, the pargo seem to have moved in as well. One of our guys got 6 big pargo lisa the other day and lost a handful of others. The captain estimated these were all big 20-30 pound fish. Just wish I had gotten some photos.

As I write this, it’s calm outside at night, but raining a bit. It’s comfortable. No wind. Yesterday was bright and sunny and calm. Perfect fishing weather. However, later in the week, we’re expecting a bit more rain and stronger winds by the end of the week that might make it tough and uncomfortable to be on the water.

FIRST PERSON – THANKS GUYS!

Here’s Bryan Zulka’s story.

“…. Headed over to the bay and found our boat and Captain Victor ready to go. 10 min. ride to get some small sardinias from the bait guy and back to the bay where we left from to fish. I was like “are we going to troll” , Victor was like “no, we have sardinias” Now we are less than a mile off the beach, he backs off the motor and there are fish already boiling up. Instantly bit. Dorado everywhere!!!

So for the next 5 hours we went no more than 10 min. without a bite!! We left tuna to find dorado! Non-stop all you wanted YFT to I’d say an honest 18 pounds. I fished with my travel rod most of the time, a #15 outfit. But with the boats 4/0 they were fun as well. It was actually like fishing, toss some bait, fish boil! And they all wanted to die. We ended up with over 25 YFT, never counted the big Skippes and over 10 Dorado. We cut loose countless fish.

It was truly amazing. Fished untill 11:45 or so, they headed in. Reeled in the last bait, tossed the rest over and the place erupted with YFT! I could have held my breath from the spot we caught our last fish to the beach. It was that close. Victor filleted our fish, we tipped him well, bid him farewell and thanks and off in the van back to La Concha.Overall can’t say enough good stuff about Jonathon’s operation. Just worked out perfect for us. We that kind of fishing, you don’t need any more time thats for sure. And we had a nice Marlin jump about 6 times withing 100′ of the boat. Nice touch!”

This is from Leif Dover…

“The fishing was absolutely incredible, we had an outstanding time. The day we fished in La Paz was a little disappointing (but only in comparison to the days in Las Arenas), we had wind out of the north and no sardines, but we still managed to get 4 sierra and 2 nice dorado on artificial and skipjacks we caught. As far as Las Arenas, what can you say? All the tuna you could wish for, plus I got my first wahoo (a pretty nice one too according to everyone that saw it) and a number of nice dorado. The last day we literally ran out of bait the tuna fishing was so good, as quickly as Adolfo would rebait us, we had another nice tuna (or bonita sometimes) on the line.”

HEADS UP

For 2008, we’re already getting quite a few reservations. It’s not too early, amigos. Especially if you have a big group or want a certain hotel or certain captain. We already have some days sold out! In 2007, we sold out many many dates and had a waiting list for certain captains and hotel rooms. Once we start out fishing shows in January, we expect that the reservations will start rolling in. We want to make sure you’re covered so give us a jingle or e-mail shout.

Looking foward to another great 2008. Also, if you don’t have your passport…get on the stick and get rolling. Don’t get caught up in the rush like so many others last year who had to sweat it out.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

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.”

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.

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

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.”