That's My Story

SILENT MIGRATIONS

Originally published the week of Dec. 19, 2006 in Western Outdoor News

Photo 1 : The calm shallow waters of Bahia Magdalena in Baja Mexico is the winter ground for the might grey whales. Vistors in pangas seen in the background come from the months of January to March.

About right now like clockwork, they’re moving south. Thousands of them. It’s the largest migration of mammals on the planet. In fact, it’s probably the largest migration of the largest mammals too!

There’s no thundering herd or giant swaths cut through the plains like buffalo or elephants nor, like lemmings, is there any intent towards self-destruction. In fact, most folks never even know it’s happening. Many folks nearby the migration path never even see a thing or know that the “grey whale superhighway” literally swims either below them or right out in front of their Pacific beaches unless someone points it out.

There was a time when these huge creatures had pretty much disappeared from the planet and hunted into oblivion by whalers hungry to feed the public demand for the oil, cosmetics and other things that whales provided. Even the teeth were valued for their ivory. They’ve rebounded in spectacular fashion.

Starting a few months ago, the California grey whales began swimming south from their grounds near Alaska’s Bering Sea. In about a month, they’ll be taking up their winter residence along Baja’s Pacific coast where they spend the months of January to March in areas such as Magdalena Bay, San Ignacio and Scammon’s Lagoon near Guerrero Negro.

Photo 2: “Scratch my nose!” Often the gentle whales which can reach lenghts of 20-30 or more feet will come right up to the pangas for a scratch and a pet and mug for the cameras!

For about 3 months in these shallow, calm and protected coves, the whales will feed, mate, and calve before heading back north in March or early April. If you’ve never taken the opportunity to check this out, it’s pretty incredible and a lifetime experience. It’s not like chasing whales on a “whale watch” boat. On these tour boats you’re lucky to see a whale or two and everyone suddenly rushes from one side to the other hoping to glimpse one of these great creatures. Then, all you may see is some spot on the ocean where someone says, “Aww, you just missed it!”

On the contrary, most of the whale watching in Baja is done from the same type of pangas we all fish from and in these sheltered waters, it’s not uncommon to see dozens of whales in the span of a few hours. More importantly, as the mothers and younger whales get more used to the pangas, it’s not unusual to have whales come right up to the pangas to be scratched and photographed.

Photo 3: Dozens of whales can be seen daily and it’s not unusual to have the females allow their calves to come up to the boat. Often it’s like the whales are watching us!
Photo 4: They seem often as curious about the funny colored little things in the blue and white objects as we are of them. Kids and adults alike have a great time!I didn’t take this photo. It comes courtesy of our amigo, Enrique Vargas of Baja Life Magazine. He’s a geat photographer!

We all want to save the forests and the turtles and the dorado and the spotted-purple-doodle-bug, but until you make it economically feasible to save them, it’s not going to happen, especially in 2nd and 3rd world nations and even world leaders.

If a man has the choice between feeding his kids by killing something to eat or sell versus watching it swim by, guess which choice he will make? Before we curse the folks who kill manta rays and sharks and turtles and burn rain forests, what would we do in a similar situation if our kids were hungry? He loves seeing black-tailed horn swimmers, but hey….kid’s and momma gotta eat!

I sit on the beach at Lopez Mateos in Magdalena Bay each year and watch panga after panga load up with school kids and retired guys wearing shorts and black socks; school teachers and honeymooners with cameras dangling from their necks and it’s simple math!

The pangero fisherman in the past might have hunted these whales. He might welcome the construction of a polluting foreign salt factory or a new hotel being built. But, at $30 bucks a head and 12 people in the boat for 3 hours of work. He runs out 2-3 times a day. Uh, let’s see… Not a bad payday 7 days a week for 3 months when the daily wage in a Baja City is about 6-10 dollars/day. Yes, indeed. Save the whales!

Places like Costa Rica figured it out. If you can make people pay for it and you can make a buck off it, then it’s win-win. By golly! Save the rainforests! All the marches and protests and petitions are not as motivating as the desire to make a buck to turn anyone into a tree hugger. When it becomes economically more feasible to save something than to destroy it, that’s when change happens.

Unfortunately, I’m not seeing a whole lot of that in Mexico. If we can figure it out for whales, why can’t we find a formula to stop illegal commercial fishing; un-fettered longlining and gill-netting? Unfortunately, I just don’t think there’s that much interest. Everyone want’s to eat fish. Populations grow. The seas shrink. Every mom and pop and kid wants to see whales or loves to chow down at their favorite Red Lobster Restaurant (me included!) Fewer and fewer could care less about tuna or dorado and the economics just don’t balance out anymore.

But, thankfully, at least the whales still come back every year. Get out and see them before someone changes their minds!

We’re booking trips now for the coming year. If you’d like us to set up an adventure like this for you or your family or friends, contact us at rplipboy@aol.com or check out the webpage at: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/activities.htm We can set up everything from hotels to transportation to guides! Make a great gift!

That’s my story! If you need to contact me, again, the e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com

WINDS WHIP ANGLERS AND MAKE FISHING TOUGH

La Paz – Las Arenas Fishing Report for December 10, 2006

Photo 1: Steve Clarence from Menlo Park was hadn’t done much fishing and this was also his first trip to La Paz, but here he holds bragging rights for a slugger of a nice bull dorado north of La Paz. Mahi like this are still biting in between some really strong northern winds all week

THE FISHING REPORT

This is kind of tough to write…mainly because this was perhaps our roughest week of fishing in a long long time. We knew it had to happen sometime and well…the northern winds didn’t just blow a day or two! They blew most of the week and most anglers opted to try to wait it out. It even rained one day also.

The problem is that these winds come from the north. For our boats heading out of La Paz, that means heading directly north and getting either wet or getting their kidneys and teeth rattled. If you wanted to fish the Las Arenas area, yes, it was possible to fish Muertos Bay. However, the problem was that the sardines we use for bait were all NORTH at Cerralvo Island. There’s that word again…”North!” So, again you’d have to go crashing north to get bait and that’s no fun either.

That being said, we did get some boats out and they didn’t do too badly. In fact, sierra were on fire. Some of these were chunky speedsters and it was almost impossible not to get a limit or two of these fish. Using either bait or wired smaller Rapalas or hoochies were dynamite on these fish that are known for their slashing attacks and sharp teeth. Think of a baby wahoo and that’s what a sierra looks like (see the photo below). On top of that, these are just incredible for the table either as ceviche or cooked up in any number of ways.

Aside from the sierra, there’s still dorado around the island. Hard to realy judge when not that many boats are there, but the mahi are still biting. Again, however, you’d have to head north and waiting for a break in the wind or weather was really the key. Once you got to the grounds, you were in good shape.

Overall, definitely cooler this week with most of the time being cool, cloudy and/or windy too. Air temps were in the 70’s but water temps were still rather warm although you can sure tell things are cooling down! Folks were saying this was the first time all year they had seen me in long pants!

Photo 2: Steve Marabella or Wilmington holds up a sierra (kind of like a “mini wahoo”) which is what we caught alot of this week. These fish can arrive in schools and it’s not uncommon to hook several dozen which can be great fun on light tackle. Some of the larger fish will go 10 pounds. Don’t let the official name “sierra mackerel” throw you off. Unlike their cousins, these sierra make great eating!

GOT SOME DISPOSABLE INCOME?

If you have some extra green stuff in your pocket during the holidays or a fat checkbook, Cerralvo Island is officially for sale. Yes, you can be the emperor of all you see..as well as several herds of wild goats and a bunch of pelicans!

AIRLINE FARES

Amigos, I don’t know if you’ve started looking at airfares for 2007, but if you follow my fish reports you know that Alaska is now flying into La Paz and, beginning this week, so does Delta. Aero Mexico is already flying in as of this year. There’s also some rumors that Frontier, Jet Blu, Avolar and Interjet will also have flights this year. I was hoping that the increased competition would help lower the ticket rates from the rip-off prices they were charging in 2006.

Well, we started to scan a few things and wow…Delta (which will be going under the name of Atlantic Eastern or something like that) has some super low prices. In some cases they were over 100 bucks cheaper than Alaska and more in the 300-400 dollar range than the robbery prices Aero Mexico and some of the other carriers were charging. Keep an eye out. This is good news!

WHALE WATCHING!

If you’ve ever wanted an experience of a lifetime, don’t forget that we start whale watching out of Magdalena Bay about the end of January until March. Get up close and personal with the whales in shallow calm water! Ask us about it. We’re now taking reservations!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

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

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

LIFE BY THE SLICE

Published in Western Outdoor News week of Dec. 12, 2006

If you ever want to see the differences between Mexico and the U.S. stop in a little country store sometime. If you’re driving the Baja or down the mainland they dot the countryside in every little pueblo. Sometimes you see so many of them you have to wonder how such tiny communities can possibly support so many mercaditos (little stores). But there they are on every street corner and out into the countryside.

Sometimes, the Corona signs and the dusty rusty pick up truck parked outside are larger than the store itself.

I had been to Baja many times before moving here but most of my experiences with local stores had been the ones “in-town” in Loreto, Cabo, San Quintin and other relatively large towns or cities and usually it was for the inevitable run for beer and ice to rejuvenate the ice chests.

It wasn’t until I moved down that I had my first experiences in the mom and pop “super marinos” that most folks actually shop for daily necessities.

At the time, the little pueblo of La Ribera had maybe two of these stores. At times, the village itself was so sleepy that it seemed the only 4 or 5 people in town worked at those two stores and the little Pemex gas station and that was it! However, considering I had moved in 10 miles down a dirt road, coming to “town” for the first time in several weeks was quite an event and I had a grocery list of goodies I either needed or craved.

The dusty little white store was lined with wooden and cardboard boxes on a dirty concrete floor. A dog lolled lazily in the sunny doorway and couldn’t be bothered to move out of the way so you had to step over him.

Light came in through dusty glass windows. Fruit and vegetables were stacked in old weathered boxes. No shiny wax or spray jobs here! Dirt still clung to yellow onions and dried red chilis nestled next to a crates of limes, tomatoes and platinos (sweet bananas) that emitted that sweet over-ripe banana smell at that dark end of the store. No fancy displays. Bottles of staples like Spam, salsa, soup, salt, bottled water, canned milk toilet paper and light bulbs could be found on the same shelves in no particular order. “Essentials” like beer, tequila (in plastic bottles!) and potato chips; tobacco and tortillas were closer to the counter which contained no cash register, just a smiling older senora.

“Puedo ayudarle, Senor?” (Can I help you sir?)

The first thing I asked her for was some paper for my typewriter and she responded that she kept the paper behind the counter and asked how many sheets I needed. In bad Spanish, I told her I need a “reem of paper.” She looked at me quizzically. Having only recently transplanted from the wonders of such icons as Staples and Office Depot, I thought perhaps she had misunderstood my Spanish. I smiled back. Of course I want a ream. Yes, the whole thing!

She told me no one had ever bought the “todo” (everything) before. She didn’t have a whole packet, so she asked me how many sheets I wanted. I told her 200. She smiled and brought out her daughters and they counted them out 1, 2, 3,…38…65…

In the next hour, I also found out you cannot buy a “pack” of cheese; a “six pack” of beer; a “bag” of hotdogs; a “carton” of cigarettes; any more than you buy a “pack of paper.”

For instance, when I asked for hot dogs ( I was still very “gringo-fied” in those days!) they got a pack, cut them open and pulled out ONE uncooked hot dog, dropped it in one of those thin plastic produce bags and handed it to me. I laughed and she grinned when I told her I wanted “todo” again.

The packet of yellow American cheese got the same treatment, she peeled off one slice from the packet until I again smiled and requested the whole thing. Cigarettes for my amigo neighbor were the same, they were willing to sell me just one single smoke and beers and sodas were not attached by six-pack plastic bindings. You put them in your bag one at a time jangling way as you tried to carry them. Why would anyone want to buy less than one cookie? One piece of baloney? One fishing hook? One piece of paper or one nail?

It’s because that’s what most people could afford as I was later informed by my neighbor. It’s a day-to-day and hand-to-mouth existence. Cheaper by the dozen? Buying in bulk? Some for now and some for later? Buy the “large economy size?” These were concepts as foreign in these pueblo “super markets” as if I had decided to talk about stock options (which I don’t understand either!).

But that first day, I have to say I was charmed and enlightened by my experience and by the grins and giggles of the senora and her two daughters helping me not to mention their delight as I handed over 21 dollars American cash. I walked out with two armloads of groceries and they must have thought it was Christmas.

As I was to find out with each growing month of my tenure down the road, you actually can get by on one fish hook, one piece of cheese, a hot dog and a tortilla. In time, I could bring in some of my fish and trade it for some Cokes or I could barter some of my tomatoes for slices of homemade goat cheese. Life before B.C. (before Costco) was so much simpler out in the Baja countryside.

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

JO! JO! JO! (HO! HO! HO!)

Originally published week of Dec. 4 in Western Outdoor News

My Mexican friends laughingly call me “El Burro Hawaiiano.” (The Hawaiian donkey) It’s because I’ve been known to bring so much gear back over the border for them that I am literally a beast of burden! Or, maybe they’re just calling me a jackass or donkey.

While most of you traveling to Baja have your ice chests stuffed with reels and beef jerky, jigs, freezer bags and fishing t-shirts, my huge white marine chest usually has parts for radios; a CD; a toy; repaired fishing reels; throw nets; and magazines. I usually get quite a smirk from the guys at customs whenever I fly into Mexico.

I was in the U.S. for Thanksgiving but am heading back to Baja shortly and my ice chest has so much chocolate candy stuffed into it that I’m gonna have one helluva mess on my hand if it gets stuck on the tarmac and melts!

Anyway, my point is that lately the “requests” I’m getting from my amigos has been changing lately and it’s a microcosmic reflection of the changes taking place in Baja. Especially with Christmas coming this is what my numerous phone calls sound like lately.

Your kids wants a what? He wants the “Smash Brothers” game for his Game Cube? Uh, what’s a Game Cube? Oh, sure. It’s a video game. Sorry, sure I knew that!

And you want me to bring a pair of small-sized Crocs? You mean those plastic Dutch boy designer shoes? And they have to be light blue. OK, sure I”ll see what I can find. Sure, you can pay me later (oh, right!).

What? See’s candy? Regular chocolate won’t work? Oh, it has to be See’s California Brittle. You liked the Almond Roca but your abuela (grandmother) prefer’s See’s chocolate. Sigh…OK.

Nike Air Jordan’s? You gotta be kidding. Size 10. Oh sure, I can go to the mall. I have nothing else to do. Do you know how expensive they are? Right. You’ll pay me in installments, but you must have them. The ones they sell in Mexico are fake? Who will know? Oh, you want real Air Jordan and they must have the Nike label on them. I’ll do my best to find them. Yes, the 2007 model not the 2006 model.

What the heck is an “EEEE-pod?” Oh, you mean an iPod. Those aren’t cheap. Will a Sanyo MP3 player work. Cost about 50 bucks. Oh, your daughter doesn’t know what a Sanyo is and it MUST be an Apple iPod. With headsets in white. You can afford to give me 100 dollars by December for it? It’s a little more expensive than that. But she must have it. I understand. OK, your wife will make me homemade tamales for a month…and light a candle at church for me. Right.

And a laptop computer. What? Now hold on. OK, you can wait until next time. Gee, thanks.

Whatever happened to the days of bringing down t-shirts and a box of candy canes and maybe a good kitchen knife for mama?

Con su permiso (excuse me), I have to load my sled…uh ice chest.

Jo! Jo! Jo! (Ho! Ho! Ho!) from Baja! Here comes Santa Claus.

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

DORADO STILL BITE DESPITE LATE WEEK WINDS

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Dec. 3, 2006

Photo 1: Sid, Brad and Mike Sicoff from Calabasas CA finally made it down to La Paz after being deterred earlier in the season when Aero California was suspended. Better late than never, they slammed some of the great late season dorado!

FISHING REPORT

Maybe things are starting to turn. It finally seems like fall is in the air as temps drop a little bit on the water as well as in the air and we had some windy weather late in the week. However, it sure seems like the dorado don’t know it’s Christmas yet!

La Paz Fishing

It was definitely a bit more brisk this week than before. In fact we had two days when it was basically a bit too snotty and uncomfortable to be out fishing. However, earlier in the week, that nice dorado bite we had through the Thanksgiving holidays continued on. What can I say? How can you argue with big 3o pound dorado in the chum line or getting double bendo on a 50 pound bull dorado coming out of the water and charging the panga? That’s a kick no matter how you look at it and that’s what we’ve had going. Add to that the island and cove fishing for pargo, sierra, snapper and cabrilla and you get the best of all worlds. Heck, if the tuna joined in, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves. However, hold on…late week, I got some whispers that there were some tuna at El Bajo and we’ll keep you posted on that one!

Photo 2 : Mike Sicoff hefts a toady beast of a dorado after a solid day of action with fishing more reminiscent of summer-time bites!

Las Arenas Fishing:

I feel badly for our captains at Las Arenas. Man….it’s been a rough year. Not only did we lose so many clients when the airlines took a dump, but because the fishing has just been so much better out of La Paz the latter part of the year, everyone has been fishing La Paz more than Las Arenas. This week we had to cancel trips for Las Arenas simply becuase it was too darned windy to go out. However, on the days we did send boats, there were dorado as well as pargo, sierra and even a full yellowfin tuna near the island as well as outside Punta Perrico. Hopefully, waters will calm a bit and we’ll be back out. There’s great variety there right now.

2007 Show Fishing Show Schedule Announced for Tailhunter International

Amigos, we’ve finally set our schedule for our 2007 season of fishing shows and we’d love to have you come by our booth to say howdy! Here you go:

January 11 to 14 – International Sportsmen’s Expo San Mateo Expo Center, San Mateo CA

January 18 to 21 – International Sportmens’ Expo California State Fairgrounds, Sacramento CA

January 25 to 28 – International Sportsmen Expo Denver Convention Center, Denver CO

Feb. 7 to 11 – Pacific Northwest Sportsmens Show, Portland Expo Center, Portland OR

March 1 to 5 – Fred Hall Fishing & Boating Show, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach CA

March 15 to 18 – International Sportsmens’ Expo, Sandy Convention Center, Salt Lake City UT

March 29 to April 1 – Great Alaskan Sportsman’s Show, Anchorage AK

Hope to see you there!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter International

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

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

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

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

ANCIENT (THROWING) IRON!

Originally published the week of Nov. 26, 2006 in Western Outdoor News

I love pirate stories. Can’t get enough of them and the history of the Baja Peninsula is interwoven with tales of rogues, vagabundos and sea wolves. Many would say it still is!

Not all of them sailed under the proverbial “Jolly Roger,” but were actually supported by powerful countries, especially during the colonial periods when sails and cannon ruled the seas during the 15th-18th centuries. Spain, England, Portugal and others nations had their regular navy, but they also had their “privateers.” Essentially, these were private mercenary ships who sold their services to a particular country. But, make no mistake, they were pirates. However, under contract, they promised to only attack ships of opposing nations.

It was difficult to control piracy in those days so rather than eliminate them, the safest and most economic thing to do was to hire these scalliwags; let them attack someone else; then ask them to share a bit of the booty! A win-win for everyone. Shades of Captain Jack Sparrow and Johnny Depp.

Of course, if a marauder was on your side, he was a “courageous captain.” If you were a victim, you were labeled a “murderous pirate.” Where we live in La Paz, the bay was a natural haven for pirate activity.

We have an afternoon breeze in La Paz that comes up like clockwork and usually blows offshore. It’s so regular, it’s called the “Corumuel wind. (KOR-uhm-wel)” As the story goes, the Spanish would load up their big galleons with Baja’s new world treasures such as pearls, gold and other things bound for Spain’s court. There was a “heroic” English sea captain named Cromwell, who would brilliantly wait until the Spanish did all the work gathering and loading up all the goodies.

Cromwell, in his smaller and faster English ships would attack the Spanish. He’d loot their booty (sounds kind of kinky) and using the afternoon winds he’s scoot. The Spanish could not catch the “villainous brigand” so the winds took the names of the (in)famous captain. The “Cromwell” winds became the “Corumuel winds” over time.

I hadn’t thought about that story until a few weeks ago. I was snorkeling in a warm secluded cove several weeks ago. I won’t tell you where it was. But, in the clear blue waters, triggerfish, puffers and trumpet fish darted by.

But amid the mottled sandy bottom, unusual “rocks” poked out. They were completely round and generally uniform. As I scanned the bottom, there were dozens of varying sizes. Pulling one free from the sand, the encrusted rock clearly wasn’t a rock. In fact, it was metal. I swam to the shore to examine it more carefully.

Despite the corrosion, what I was holding in my hand was a metal ball. I’d guess it weighed about 4 pounds and was completely round and either iron or lead. I tossed it back onto the sand and re-entered the water. For sure, the shallow bottom was covered with them. Stones and rocks aren’t all the same size and neither are they uniformly round! Some were larger than others, but I would guess that there were some that were smaller 4 pounders and others were perhaps 6 or 8 pounders.

Cannonballs? Ballast? Gives a whole new meaning to “throwing iron” if these were indeed old munitions from a wooden ship of old.

Stand on the waterfront in La Paz some summer afternoon about 4 p.m. As the cars whiz by behind you and the sounds of mariachis waft up from the fronts of storefronts selling timeshares, the winds will come up from nowhere. That’s the Corumuel wind you feel cooling down the city. Like clockwork. Just a fable or the same winds that pushed the English out of reach of the Spanish guns? Only the Spanish ghosts know for sure!

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

FISH DON’T KNOW IT’S WINTER AND CONTINUE TO BITE!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for November 26, 2o06

Photo 1: Al Burriesci from Auburn CA is getting his tan and his dorado as he hoists this good-looking bull dorado. He hooked it and others north of La Paz from that hot spot at the SE corner of Espiritu Santo Island

THE FISH REPORT

It’s sounding like a busted record, but dorado keep biting even though we’re into the holiday season. It’s surprising even old veterans but no one is complaining as rods get bent so late in the season!

La Paz Fishing

It’s been the most consistent fishing I think I’ve ever seen. Since August, the La Paz dorado bite has been off the charts. Who would have thought that this deep into November we would still be hooking dorado and these aren’t punk fish either! This past week we’re taking trophy-class bull that are pushing the 30-60 pound marks. Not all fish are that size, but bottom line is that there’s some great quality still out there not to mention just alot of fun. Hard to believe, we still have marlin in the area too! Just incredible…(see the story below)…

This is from long time amigo Walt Korbler who has been coming for 8 seasons:

“As far as the trip was concerned, all went well, except that I was not able to fish Las Arenas due to the winds. La Paz was great anyways with all the big dodos, I caught and released 8 on my first day, and 4 on my second. Jack even gave his “amazing new superpanga” on my second day with captain Miguel. Miguel is a great fisherman, we even hooked a blue marlin and had it on for a while, but it came unbuttoned, since the knot broke.(thank God I did not tye it). Anyways all in all a great trip!”

This is from our another good amigo, Sid Sicoff:

” Thursday we hit the jackpot with (Captain) Martin, he is the best!
We caught 8 dorado bulls. Something for the first day of fishing. I must say that I have been coming to La Paz for over 15 years and now I really am a happy camper with you and your staff. The bonding experience that I am having with my son Brad and my son-in-law Mike is something most fathers only pray for. We expect to return very soon to experience this one time in a life experience.”

Las Arenas Fishing

Well…when the winds are down fishing is surprisingly good! But, that’s the problem. Conditions have been inconsistent but still, considering all things, there’s quite a bit of variety for our anglers who soak some boat at Las Arenas. Take a look at the photos below!

In addition to occasional late-season tuna, there’s still some roosterfish around (almost unheard of!), sierra, cabrilla, snapper and pargo. We even had a few striped marlin hookups that didn’t stick but what a great surprise for the anglers who were just soaking some sardines to have 100 pound billfish suddenly come up and grab the baits. Nothing like going from a lazy morning of fishing to all hell breaking loose in nano seconds! Either way…Great fun on light tackle and a great way to stick some different fillets in the cooler without having to go chugging too far offshore. Still a pretty place to be and one of the nice things is that even when the winds blow you can still hide a bit in the coves and the lee side of the island and still get some fish.

Photo 2: Dennis Deaver and Ron Nass from Northern CA show off a great day of fishing at Las Arenas. This is about as good as it gets for variety. What a smorgasbord. In front of the ice chest are some yellowfin tuna. On the ice chest, the reddish fish to the left are pargo (pargo lisa). The darker brown fish are seabass (cabrilla). Towards the back is a yellow snapper and towards the front is a red snapper and they add a small dorado to the mix as well.
Photo 3: Larry Manis from Los Angeles made his first trip to La Paz and is holding a dorado headed for a stack of tortillas.

Something Extra:

I don’t know if you’re a fan of TV fishing shows but I’ve worked on them and been on them and for that 1/2 hour or hour of fishing footage, there’s tons of footage taken over days or even weeks most folks never get to see. Here’s some funny outtakes from Bill Dance the champion bassmaster: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3432265409994388404

Have a great week, everyone!

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

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

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

HEADS UP FOR NEW PASSPORT REGULATIONS

Originally Published Week of November 20, 2006 Western Outdoor News

Just a reminder for any of our readers who are going to be headed into Mexico, especially at the beginning of the year. You’ll need a passport next year to fly in or out of Mexico.

As part of the war against terrorists, starting January 8, 2007 , you will need a passport to fly in or out of the U.S. That includes flying in or out of Canada or Mexico as well as basically anywhere in North, Central or South America or the Caribbean. Previously, for many of these destinations, it was OK to have merely a picture i.d. and a certified birth certificate.

Give this some thought. Getting your passport is not quite so easy as uno, dos, tres so you should plan ahead. For instance, if you’re leaving the country for the Christmas holidays but planning to come back AFTER the deadline and you don’t have your passport you COULD be refused entry back into the United States. You might love staying some extra time in Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco or St. Thomas, but your boss might not be too happy.

This only applies to air travelers. It does not apply to folks traveling by boat or over land. According to the U.S. Department of State (Homeland Security) , that part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative kicks in June of 2009.

The biggest issue that has arisen from this is how to deal with frequent travelers who cross the border regularly. Many people on both sides of the border traverse the border for work, vacations, visits and shopping or it’s required for business. In addition to the economic hardship on the traveler, many were worried about the severity of the impact on Mexican and U.S. businesses who thrive on the border traffic especially those within proximity of the border. . Thousands of Mexicans and Americans legitimately cross the international borders daily. For many, especially Mexicans, it would be nearly impossible to obtain passports.

According to USA Today, there is a proposal up for debate which might alleviate the situation. It involves the implementation of a credit-card sized travel card that would substitute for a passport. The cost would be a mere $20.

These high-tech cards would use radio technology and allow border agents to quickly scan the card from as far as 20 feet away. For example a motorist commuting from Rosarito to San Ysidro wouldn’t even have to get out of his or her car.

They are still wrangling with the fees somewhat. Originally, the card would cost $50 which is about half the price of a passport, but now they are saying $20 for adults and $10 for kids under $16 with an additional $25 fee for a background check. It still seems pretty exorbitant to me. That’s about half-a-months wages to a lot of my Mexican friends. I guess there’s no easy answers.

They are still working out the bugs. Originally, all of this was to have been implemented by January of 2008, but heavy lobbying has pushed this back to June 2009. In the meantime, if you’re flying, you should look into getting your paperwork started to get your passport. For more info, check out: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

By the way, holiday flights to Baja are booking up or prices are getting jacked up real fast. Don’t miss your flights by sitting on your hands!

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

LA PAZ ESCAPES ANOTHER HURRICANE SCARE AND FISH KEEP BITING!

La Paz-Las Arenas Fishing Report for Nov. 19, 2006

Photo 1: Steve Marabella from Wilmington CA is a happy fella. Although this fish blew apart his favorite Penn 500 reel, he got the last laugh and landed the big dorado which went home in his ice chest along with alot of other fillets.

Once again, in late season surprise, we got a hurricane scare as “Sergio” started brewing to the south. No one can even remember having storms so late in the season let alone so many hurricane warnings in a single year. However, like so many, nothing much materiliazed and the fish continued to bite!

LA PAZ FISHING

Hard to complain too much! Despite it being so late in the season…despite the fact that some days are seasonably windy…despiote the fact that we should only be fishing inshore for rock fish…the DORADO are still biting!

Sure, we’re getting typical fish like snapper and some of those great sierra, but it’s pretty unusual that we get this kind of dorado fishing in November. Heck it’s almost Thanksgiving! Dorado are warm-water-blue-water fish! However, around Espiritu Santo Island the honey holes keep kicking out the fish. These aren’t small fish either. Check out the photos! These are still the slugger-style fish that has made this perhaps the most increcible dorado season in memory. Will it last? Who knows? We’re enjoying it while we can.

Photo 2 : One of the prettiest flyfishing shots I have seen in a long time. This is Bill Mitchell from the Carmel CA area. Bill had problems all season coming to see us. First it was Aero California screwing things up. Then Hotel Los Arcos went on strike over the summer. Well, he finally made it down and the fish gods were good to him as you can see by one of the nice dorado he nailed. (See story below for more details)

LAS ARENAS FISHING

Earlier in the week, strong seasonal winds pushed our pangas all over the ocean and the tuna outside, but as the week went on, the weather conditions improved and so did the fishing. In addition to the nice football yellowfin tuna, sierra, dorado and a few billfish were also hooked. Pargo and snapper fishing also kept anglers in fillets.

FIRST PERSON REPORT

Louis Guillen was just down with us and fished two days…one day at Las Arenas and one day at La Paz. He was nice enough to write up his trip for us…(also see photo below)

“I had a great trip to La Paz!.

Tuesday, I fished La Paz with Capitan Miguel, and it was a wide open bite for Sierra trolling goma squid in the morning. We targeted Dorado by Espiritu De Santo, but no luck. Though the trigger fish were happy. Bottom of the ninth, and a few fish in the box. Miguel went to his secret honey hole and we boated some forearm size Pargo.

Wednesday, I drove up to Las Arenas with Carlos. It was a GREAT trip. Victor was my Capitan and he got me into fish. “Jefe Capitan” or “Patron” (???) He baited my hook with a sardenas and threw it in. I hooked up instantly and my reel spun and sprayed water in my face. Victor laughed and said, “Bonito …mucho Bonito” We moved to a second spot and we saw a boil behind us. The current was moving down stream from our Panga, so I knew I would get bit soon. I adjusted my drag and and watched my line. BAMMMM!!!

Yellow Fin Tuna … That one broke off after a long fight, but Victor kept another one on the string for me. He gave me the bent rod and we were able to boat that one. BAMMM!! another one on the hook…this Tuna fight went on for a while, and it drew other Pangas to us. It seemed like Victor and I we were the only ones hooking up. We would later discovered at the beach that my suspicions were true. While other Pangas got 1, 2, or none, we boated 12 Tunas and about 4 or more broke off. It was an early morning bite. I told Victor in Spanglish, “Mis Brah-sos es hurting!” …he replied, “No problem,” and laughed.

There was a bunch of needle fish and I swear they were trying to aim for our Panga. One dove into the water just before it was about to go through, or over our Panga. Victor turned his back as if to say, “tear up my ass and not my nuts.” They were like surface to air missles out of the water. I think they wanted Victor and I to go away and leave their cousins alone (Tuna). “

Cheers! Louis.

Photo 3: Louis Guillen (right) with Captain Victor on the beach at Ensenada de Muertos (Las Arenas) with his great day of fishing yellowfin tuna.

FIRST PERSON REPORT

“Jonathan,
Excellent trip. We had a 6 YFT and 2 Rooster day at Las Arenas. And out of La Paz we had a 7 Dorado day and an 8 Dorado day….BIG fish, bulls pushing 50 LBS.
And several Triggerfish, Bonita, etc. Las Arenas was all flyrod, but La Paz was all conventional gear….It’s tough to use the flyrod out of those super pangas on the La Paz side. As you know, once we get into a bunch of Dorado, rods are thumping, reels are screaming, bait is flying, etc, and the only place to cast is from a precariously balanced point on the bow, where the fish AREN’T….But it was lots of fun. I’ll try to email you some pics.
Thanks for all your conscientious help….We’ll definitely do it again.
Bill
PS That (Captain) Raoul is awesome.”

That’s my story! Happy Thanksgiving everyone…Be safe!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

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

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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

DORADO AND TUNA STILL ON LATE SEASON CHEW!

La Paz / Las Arenas Fishing Report for Nov. 12, 2006

PHOTO 1: Craig Peterson is one of our regulars in La Paz and just got himself into the record books with a new world record yellowfin tuna. Craig was freediving off Puerto Vallarta when he shot this big dawg cow that weighed in at 317 pounds. This is all done “freediving” (no air tanks!)
If you want more details, click: http://tailhunter-international.com/jonathansblog.htm

THE FISHING REPORT

Unbelievable late season fishing, amigos. Yes, the winds are up. Yes, the water and the air is cooler, but the fish don’t seem to mind. Anglers fishing both La Paz and Las Arenas continued to hang some great fish!

La Paz Fishing:

Who would have thought that it’s almost Thanksgiving and we should be fishing smaller species in the rocks that we’d still be hanging big dorado! It’s definitely NOT summertime conditions and it’s a little bumpy and breezy, but the big mahi…some in the 50-60 pound class…are still biting. Check out the photos below. That area south of Espiritu Santo Island and also near Punta Coyote has been producing dorado since August. Using sardines, bonito and strip bait the fish can be dormant one moment then come crashing like gangbusters the next and all hell breaks loose leaving bloody decks, tired anglers, busted tackle and full fish boxes.

In addition to the dorado, big bonito, sierra and snapper were also caught.

PHOTO 2 : Ron Martis from San Diego had an outstanding day on the water. Using a live puffer fish that Capt. Chito pinned on the hook, Ron fought this fish for 45 minutes from start to finish despite having a sore back. They said that the big dorado showed no hesitation eating the puffer fish. Ron couldn’t lift the fish any higher, but it was estimated that the fish was over 50 pounds.
PHOTO 3: Mark Martis has fished with us alot over the years. Mark is from Redondo Beach Ca and he’s had some great success over the years when we have fished together. However, his recent fishing this week was the best dorado fishing he has ever had. He said for an hour-and-a-half, the fish were non-stop. He lifts up this big bull dorado that’s as long as he is tall!

Las Arenas Fishing:

Well, in more surprises, I can’t remember the last time we had yellowfin tuna in November! However, sure enough…right there outside Muertos Bay, the tuna were bending rods most of the week. The fish weren’t big, but they were fun 15-30 pound fish and everyone had a blast. Winds came up later in the week and it as harder to get out and fish moved a little more outside, but it was some great fishing. In addition to the tuna, anglers also mixed it up with pargo, dorado and even a few marlin were hooked this week. Everyone took home fish!

FIRST PERSON REPORT:

Amigo, Kwame Satterfield came to see us and fish with us during the summer and came back again just this week, but this time brought his family. He took time to type this up for us. Thanks, amigo:

“Jonathan, I just want to say you have a first class outfit. Your people and the service you provide were excellent. My wife and son had the time of there life.. . In regards to the fishing, I now know what a wide open tuna bite is. I always wanted to catch a tuna, well I caught 11 hard core fighters that took me and my equipment to the limit. Man it was great! Also on the La Paz side I landed 3 nice dorado, overall this was my best trip ever. I got a chance to spend quality time with my family and also do what I love which is fish.”

PHOTO 4: Mark Kojima of Hacienda Heights CA made his first trip to La Paz and holds up one of the nice dorado he hooked.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter International

Website: www.tailhunter-international.com

Phone: (626) 333-3355

FAX: (626) 333-0115

E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.com

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

Mexico Office: Carr. a Pichilingue KM 5, Numero 205, La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico

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