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“FALL NEVER FAILS”

Posted in Baja, Baja Fishing, Baja Life, Baja Mexico Fishing, Fishing, Fishing Tackle and Techniques, Fishing techniques, fishing tournaments, holidays in mexico, inshore fishing in Baja Mexico, Jonathan Roldan, La Paz Fishing, Living in Mexico, Mexican, Mexico, Mexico life, Panga Fishing, Salt Water Fishing, Sea of Cortez, Tailhunter International, Western Outdoor News, Western Outdoor Publications, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

“FALL NEVER FAILS”

Originally Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Oct. 5, 2011

Long before I ever lived down here in Mexico.   Long before I even had an idea that I might someday be living down here in Baja, let alone running a business, I was like alot of you.

 

I worked some semblance of a 9-5 job.  I had a day or two off a week.  I had vacation time and 3 and 4 day weekends like everyone else 

 

And, I planned my fishing trips like everyone less.

 

Early in the year, I would pull out my big fishing “master calendar” and figure all the places that I’d like to fish during the season. Trying to budget my time and wallet. And moon phases…

 

Big red marker…

 

Let’s see…shallow water rock fishing on the central coast…late winter or early spring. Check.

 

Trout opener in the Sierras…April. OK

 

Maybe sneak away for flyfishing in Montana…hmmm…June.  Check.

 

San Diego  kelp paddy yellowtail…late June.  Can’t miss that.

 

July for king salmon and halibut in Alaska. Better check airfare now.

 

August…hmmmm…albacore and bluefin should be running.  Book San Diego again.  Check.

 

September…hehehehe…long range?  10 days?  I’ll try to get a kitchen pass!

October/November…BAJA!

 

The fall in Baja has always been good to me.  Pragmatically, it’s a good time to come down.  It’s not as hot generally.  Shadows are a bit longer.  Air is a tad cooler.  Waters are still warm.  Generally flat with small breezes. The killer humidity is lower.

 

Most of the summer yahoo crowd is gone.  Kids are back in school.  It’s not quite the holidays so alot of places are only populated by fishermen walking around.  During the days when the fleets are out, the towns are empty!

 

Many airlines consider the dip between Labor Day and Thanksgiving a “downtime” as well so they offer low-season rates on flights. And, as long as you’re not trying to book a boat during a big-time tournament, the best boats and captains are always available and ready to roll.

 

From a fishing perspective, the season has never failed me. 

 

I’ve caught the majority of my billfish during the fall. In fact, I got my  largest, a 400-pounder in October.

 

My largest and biggest wahoo have all been caught in the fall.

 

The majority of my tuna and my largest, a 236-pound cow was caught in the fall.

 

Come to think of it, my largest dorado have all been caught in the fall as well.

 

I guess there’s a reason so many of the biggest and most popular fishing tournaments in Baja,  and indeed Mexico,  are held in the fall.  That’s when the big fish are around.  That’s when many of  the  top-water pelagic trophy-fish that made Baja famous can be found…blue marlin…black marlin…sailfish…yellowfin tuna…wahoo…dorado…and others.

 

Had you the luxury, you could literally hop from one tournament to the other.  One stops.  Another begins.  I know some semi-professional tournament teams and that’s what they literally do.  They  zoom from one tournament to the other.  You could probably just stay in Cabo San Lucas and between September and November participate in a virtual assembly line of tournaments and never leave the city except to go fishing.

 

In many circles, Southern California comes to mind, once Labor day has gone, so do the fishermen.  Well, the fish don’t simply stop biting because the calendar says summer is over.  At least as far as Baja is concerned, the end of summer marks the beginning of some of the best fishing around!

That’s my story

Jonathan

 

____________________________________

 

Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004.  Along with his wife, Jill, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico  www.tailhunter-international.com.  They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront.  If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com  or drop by the restaurant to say hi!    

 

____________________________________

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

 

TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor

TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR #1 Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor

 

Now follow us on FACEBOOK TOO

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

.
Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

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


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

 

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“LOST FISH CAPTURED MEMORIES”

Posted in Baja, Baja Fishing, Baja Life, Baja Mexico Fishing, Fishing, Fishing Tackle and Techniques, holidays in mexico, inshore fishing in Baja Mexico, Jonathan Roldan, kids, La Paz Fishing, Living in Mexico, Mexican, Mexico, Mexico life, Panga Fishing, Salt Water Fishing, Sea of Cortez, Tailhunter International, Uncategorized, Western Outdoor News, Western Outdoor Publications, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Win some...lose some. It's part of the sport. But certain fish leave lifetime memories.

LOST FISH CAPTURED MEMORIES

Originally Published the Week of Sept. 22, 2011 in Western Outdoor News

I think I was about 9-years-old and my uncle had taken me out on my first real trip in Mexican waters.  It was a multi-day trip on the old party boat “Holiday.”   I had never fished the big boys before and was obviously thrilled like any little boy. Sky high and feet off-the-ground-excited. 

 

That day we got into a big bluefin and albacore bite.  It was exciting and like a proverbial three-ring-circus.  Bent rods. Screaming reels. Blood splattering. Guys cursing and yelling and big thick fish bodies hitting the deck! Oh man…pandemonium like a little kid had never seen!

 

I didn’t know what I was doing.  My uncle got lost in the melee.  I had an old Mitchell Garcia ocean “coffee grinder” spinning  reel as I hadn’t yet learned how to use conventional gear.  I think I had 30 pound line purchase from Thrify Drug Store.  I had a beat up Roddy fishing rod.  Being a little brown kid,  I wanted to stay out’ve the way so I wandered to the bow all by myself and cast an anchovie as far as I could!

 

As soon as it hit the water, there was a huge splash.  The reel was in gear so it was almost launched out’ve my hands!  I remember digging my heels in and slipping down on my butt but still holding onto the rod which was now torqued against the gunwale with my knees arched and my feet braced against the Holiday’s white fiberglass…and holding on for dear life.

 

I somehow managed to stand up.  I did the best I could to just hang on.  I turned the handle when I could.  Gritted my teeth and remembered the butt of that spinning rod digging into my chest and hurting under my armpit. Forget backbone!  That rod was like a big noodle in my small hands and almost doubled with the big fish!

 

Oh, please! Oh please! I remember frantically looking around hoping someone would come help me. But everyone was jammed back in the stern.  No one missed the 9-year-old by himself up at the bow.

 

I don’t know how long I held on up there.  Maybe 15 minutes?  Time has little relevance when you’re on a big fish let alone when you’re 9 years old and can barely tell time!

 

I really didn’t know what else to do!

 

“Hey, there’s a kid in the bow with a fish!  Someone go help him!” I heard a booming voice yell from the wheelhouse above me.

 

Bodies came running up.  Hands wrapped around me and around my rod. I didn’t look up.

 

“Hang in there, kid! Oh man, you have about a 50-pound bluefin on there!  You been up here all alone?  That’s the wrong outfit to be using for these fish!”

Certain things get etched in your brain.  I remember those words to this day more than 40 years later.

 

I was straining for all I was worth.

 

“Hey, it’s coming up!  It’s coming up!  Get the gaffs! “

 

I turned the handle of that old Mitchell.  It was like pulling a refrigerator up the side of a building. 

 

“Oh wow.  It’s a big one, Kid! Just a little more.  Just a little more!”

 

I peered over the side of that tall rail.  What I saw was the fat blue and silver body that seemed close enough to touch.  The eye of that massive fish must have matched my own that were the size of pizza plates.

 

That fish looked right at me.  Then it surged with one last burst.

 

The rod dug into my groin and chest and I remember my knuckles getting slammed against the wooden rail.

 

And the line popped…then and there.  KER-SNAPP!

 

Where?  Where’s MY fish? 

 

I found myself crumpled on the deck.  Alone.  All I remember was people walking away and I think I heard, “Tough luck, Kid.”

 

Looking back, the deckies were busy in the stern with other bent rods.   They had other things to attend to, but for a 9-year-old, I wanted to cry.  I wanted someone to tell me how I lost that fish.  And why? 

 

I wanted someone to pat me on the back or give me some props.  I wanted an “Attaboy.”  But you don’t get an “attaboy” for losing fish.  My uncle didn’t even know I had been up there in the bow. Where was my mom, dangit! She’d understand. 

 

To this day, I remember that eye still looking at me!

 

I remember Micheal Jordan once saying he won alot of basketball games with last-second shots.  But he also said that there were other games when his last-second shot clanked off the rim.  He said he remembers those games he lost more than the games he won.

 

I have caught many big fish over my fishing career.  But…I remember more every big fish I lost.  Perhaps none more than that first one adventuring into Mexican waters almost 50 years ago.

__________________________

 

Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004.  Along with his wife, Jill, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico  www.tailhunter-international.com.  They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront.  If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com  or drop by the restaurant to say hi!           

 

_________________________

 

 

 

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CAN’T GO WRONG BAJA PRIMER

Posted in Baja Fishing, Baja Life, Baja Mexico Fishing, Baja Rockfish, Fishing, Fishing Tackle and Techniques, fishing tournaments, holidays in mexico, inshore fishing in Baja Mexico, Jonathan Roldan, La Paz Fishing, Living in Mexico, Mexico life, Panga Fishing, Salt Water Fishing, Tailhunter International, Uncategorized, Western Outdoor News, Western Outdoor Publications, women fishing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Look past stereotypes. A smile is a smile in any language!

CAN’T GO WRONG BAJA PRIMER

Originally Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Aug. 10, 2011

Been down here long enough and had several thousand folks pass through our care either directly or indirectly here in Baja.  Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of things that you can do that will always work no matter what.  What got me started many years ago was listening to two gringos talking on the beach.

 

“I’m really disappointed in Mexico.   The golf course here is not even close to being as good as Pebble Beach!”  (how many are THAT good?)

 

“We were fishing and the boat didn’t even have an electronic fish finder on it.  We caught fish, but it’s like fishing in the stone ages down here.”

 

Y’know, sometimes expectations are just a little too high.  Folks forget.  This is still the Baja.  Until a few years ago, things we take for granted like electricity, running water, phones and ice were non-existent in many places, let alone complaining because you can’t find a McDonald’s for the kids. 

 

Anyway, here’s my two-cents primer on things that are 100 percent guaranteed if you plan to visit us:

 

  • Never forget you’re a guest here.  Act accordingly as if you were visiting a friend or neighbor and you will never go wrong.
  • Stereotypes work both ways.  You are consciously or sub-consciously judging your hosts as Mexicans. It’s inevitable.  You are also being judged as a guest American.  Americans are also stereotyped.  Remember, you’re being watched and judged.  Be an ambassador of goodwill.
  • No one will every laugh at you for trying to speak the language.  It’s appreciated.  By the same token, don’t get impatient if a local doesn’t speak or understand English as fast as you would like.
  • “Please” and “Thank you” in any language is always understood.
  • An unspoken smile or a laugh is a powerful communicator
  • A dollar left on a dresser of your hotel room or pressed into a palm for a small favor goes further than any dollar you ever spent
  • You will never go wrong eating at a place that has a crowd or a line around it.  It’s worth the wait. 
  •  Make a friend forever by complimenting someone’s child or asking about their family.  Ask to see a photo. 
  • Shopping is always better the further you get away from the tourist areas. 
  • Never be afraid to negotiate.  It’s expected.  It’s fun.  It never hurts to ask if there is a lower price for anything…from taxi cabs to day tours and from margarita glassware to blankets.  If they say “no” smile.  If  they say “yes” smile even bigger! 
  • Ask a taxi driver to “show you HIS favorite places.” Or take you to HIS favorite restaurant or where the locals go or eat.  Often you will discover things you would never find in the travel brochures.
  • Even if you get a bargain, tip nicely.  You’ll be remembered.
  • Take a photo of someone and, if there’s any way, give them a copy.  They will treasure it and you always.  We take photos for granted.   We have thousands of photos of ourselves.  Many folks down here have their photo i.d. and sometimes not even that.
  • Tell your captain you just want to catch fish.  He really wants to.  Let him do his job.  Try tipping AHEAD OF time or showing him his tip ahead of time.  See what magic that works!
  • Our throw-aways are someone’s treasure.  A used t-shirt.  Old fishing line. Some hooks.   A worn baseball hat.  A out-of-fashion pair of shoes or slippers. Hand them off with a smile.  Get a smile in return.
  • Don’t be afraid or too lazy to walk through a park,  beach or shopping area where families are gathered. 
  • Visit a local bookstore or listen to some local music.
  • No matter how much of a hurry you think you are in, stop and sit.  Watch and listen.  Absorb. Revel in the slower pace, even for just a moment.  You’ll be amazed.  Don’t forget that you might not be passing this way again, even if you’re rushing to catch the glass-bottom boat tour or the mariachi dinner show.  Those will always be there.  That  magnificent sunset over the Sea of Cortez might not.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

  ________________________________________

.

Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004.  Along with his wife, Jill, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico  www.tailhunter-international.com.  They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront.  If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com  or drop by the restaurant to say hi!           

___________________________________________

 

 Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

 

TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor

TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT BAR #1 Rated in La Paz on Trip Advisor

 

Now follow us on FACEBOOK TOO

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

.
Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

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

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