Because of the sporadic windy conditions, typical this time of year, we tried to keep the fishing close to land, where there was a bit more protection from gusts.  There were quite a few fierce battles with pargo species inshore; many were landed, but more were lost.  Cabrillas, Sierra Mackerel, and Roosterfish, were all readily available if conditions were right.  Most of these inshore fish were caught with live bait, either casting out, or on a slow troll.  Another hurdle this month, was locating bait.  Was tough to find in rough conditions and when even the water was calm.

Call it El Nino or whatever, but an above average number of Dorado were caught south of La Paz towards Bahia de los Suenos, formally known as Muertos Bay.  Heading south towards this area definitely warrants trolling along the sandy bottoms near La Arenas, the Roosterfish capital of the world.  These beautiful and unique looking fish give anglers an epic battle, especially on light tackle, but are not to enjoyable on the pallet.  We always encourage the release of these aquatic warriors.

All in all, it was a pretty good month, considering the crap shoot with wind and bait conditions.  We should be getting into our Yellowtail bite soon.  These popular fighters usually show around March and can last for a few months.  The Embudo Bank, also known as “El Bajo” is a great underwater structure that holds a lot of Yellowtail during their run through our waters.

We look forward to handling your vacations requests.  Spots are filling up quickly, so give us a call and we will work together to build you an experience you’ll always remember.

**An important announcement**

Our 2nd Annual Fishing 4 Freedom Tournament will be held on June 18-20th, 2010- Father’s Day weekend.  This event is open to the public, please call for rates and event details. www.Fishing4Freedom.com We have an online ‘Support Store’ store available with some great items for your home, office, and personal use.  All proceeds go to supports those who risk their lives to protect our freedoms.

We are booking up quickly, so get on the horn and reserve your dates.  I look forward to having you aboard and supporting this great cause.

2010 started off with a bang!  Draw you’re own conclusions, but we’ve had just about every species available in our waters this month- I mean that literally.  Despite the winter fishing season, there are still plenty of warm water pockets holding pelagic species and, true to winter conditions, the full cast (pun) of our inshore biters and fighters.  What a great way to start the year off with all this action!

Anglers did not have to travel far to get hooked up by a school of Dorado.  Locating these schools was easiest on the troll, with your typical pelagic lures, or even better, a nice belly strip from a Bonito (Skip-Jack Tuna).  The numbers were solid, but the fish were on the smaller side, averaging 10-20 lbs.  Once you located the schools, dropping live bait back on light tackle or even a fly rod was a real blast.

The stronger fishing, as it normally is during winter, is inshore.  A variety of pargo and grouper species are always challenge when fishing inshore down here.  The strategy is to get their heads turned immediately after the strike and keep them from taking you into the rocks and more times than not, breaking you off.  These are strong, dense fish, and a true task, testing your skills with every run.  The reward, some beautiful white meat fillets,  is always well worth it. The Sierra Mackerel are running strong right now, great fun on light tackle, but be prepared with a wire leader, as these fish have very sharp teeth.  Rooster fish are still being caught near shores with sandy bottoms- typical spots for Roosters.

Twice this month, we sent the MARIANA south for a rendezvous to film with Ronnie Kovach’s Outdoor Adventures.  The 1st trip we met with Ronnie and the developers of Las Villas de Mexico, a new project in Cabo, set to open closer to summer.  They spent two ‘Kovach’ days on the water, which if anyone knows, is very active, very productive, and high octane.  Live bait was tough to come by, when the locals aren’t selling it, you know it’ll be tough to locate.  We made due with what we have, landed a good variety of inshore fish and 7 above average dorado.

The 2nd trip, we sent the MARIANA down to our favorite resort, just outside of La Paz, at Bahia de los Suenos.  The unforgettable Resort Gran Sueno, which is our gracious co-host for our annual Fishing 4 Freedom Tournament.  Again, because bait was hard to come by, we mainly targeted inshore spots around the islands of Cerralvo and Espiritu Santo.  The typical inshore characters were caught, most of them released.  Our crew put together some outstanding meals from the galley and some fish was taken back to the resort and prepared.  We look forward to both episodes airing soon.

**An important announcement**

Our 2nd Annual Fishing 4 Freedom Tournament will be held on June 18-20th, 2010- Father’s Day weekend.  This event is open to the public, please call for rates and event details. www.Fishing4Freedom.com We have an online ‘Support Store’ store available as well.

We are booking up quickly, so get on the horn and reserve your dates.  I look forward to having you aboard.

Well, onto the report from this month:  August marks the month of the Annual ‘Torneo Deportiva Internacional,’ hosted by the Abaroa Family, which took place on Sat the 15th.  This year was their 9th annual.  For my 1st time, I actually drove from San Diego to La Paz for the tournament. The drive took about 14 hours, was absolutely beautiful, and we saw all kinds of things!

August began just like last month ended; we continued to have an outstanding variety, as well as pretty cooperative weather.  Oddly enough, that strange Yellowtail bite stayed for another couple days into the beginning of August.  Dorados in the 20-40lb class were the most consistent fish to the North of La Paz.  The fishing to the South had more of a variety, including Tuna and Wahoo towards Cerralvo Island and Las Arenas.  Dorados were big biters in the south spots as well.

In preparations for the tournament, we had a successful CPR on a nice Blue Marlin, just off the Northern point of Cerralvo Island.  Douglas Nordgren, an Army Veteran from AZ, did a fantastic job in the chair and became, yet another honored veteran for Fishing 4 Freedom.

Roughly 100 vessels of various sizes took off on Sat morning for the start of the tournament.  We bee-lined it staright to the area just North of Cerralvo in search of dorado and marlin.  Our hook-ups were infrequent and not exciting; sometimes you’re just not on the fish!  We worked our way back towards the marina with a tan and nice buzz.  We were back in time for most of the weigh-ins. 

Honestly, about 2 min before Alejandro Abaroa closed the scales, a small 26′ vessel came flying, bow up and stern sunk deep in the harbor water.  I could see a bill sticking out from the port side; this fish was too big to have in the boat!  As the crowd rushed to the pier, the boat’s waves started to swamp the docks; this boat was displacing an abnormal amount of water.  To everyone’s instant satisfaction, tied to the stern, on the swim step, was a monster of a Black Marlin! 645lbs to be exact.  This was the obvious winner, pulling in over $10,000 USD and actually setting the tournament record.  What a fish, looks like a submarine!

For more information on the tournament, do’nt hesitate to call.  Talk to you soon.

**An important announcement**

Because the H1-N1 hype, raised many commitment issues amongst travelers, I was forced to move our Annual Fishing 4 Freedom program to a later date.  As I like to believe, everything happens for a reason, and Fishing 4 Freedom will now be held on September 11, 2009- a much more significant date.  This event is open to the public, please call for rates and event details. www.Fishing4Freedom.com We have an online ‘Support Store’ store available as well.

We are booking up quickly, so get on the horn and reserve your dates.  I look forward to having you aboard.  Please have look at the ‘NEWS’ section on our www.Fishing4Freedom.com website.  I had to include this photo from late June again.  On the left is William ‘Spanky’ Gibson, lost his left leg in the Iraq conflict; on the right is Vito Bialla, was a tank commander in Vietnam, until he was wounded.  Both are true Patriots, and excellent representatives of Fishing 4 Freedom.

I would have to say the Dorado bite dominated the month from start to finish.  Fish from the 20-50lb classes were caught from all areas, north of La Paz to the southern areas around Cerralvo Island and Las Arenas.  Fishing south was somewhat of a catch 22 (if you’ve ever considered catching fishing could be a catch 22):  The further south you went, the smaller the fish and softer the bite.  However, there were a lot more species of fishing to be caught in the southern fishing grounds.  Pick your poison, as I like to say.

Our surprise guest of the month: Yellowtail in the 20-40lb class.  These mossbacks are generally not local to La Paz waters until late winter and best in the spring.  Here we were, in 100+ degree weather, south of La Paz, smack in the middle of July with Yellowtail.  Always a great reaction from our Southern California guests, when they come down here to catch pelagics and wind up with a ‘local’ catch.  No one’s complaining, it’s just a funny surprise.

We had an extremely strong and long lasting Yellowfin Tuna bite; again, south towards the Las Arenas/Cerralvo areas.  This tuna bite was sustained for most of the month.  None of our anglers caught anything huge, but they were frequent and obviously delicious.  Tuna are always a treat, if you’ve ever seen a ‘tuna boil’ (schooling tuna eating near the surface) it is a sight to see.  Birds crashing everywhere, bait jumping out of the water, tuna jumping out of the water- amazing to think there is a method to that madness.

**An important announcement**

Because the H1-N1 hype, raised many commitment issues amongst travelers, I was forced to move our Annual Fishing 4 Freedom program to a later date.  As i like to believe, everything happens for a reason, and Fishing 4 Freedom will now be held on September 11, 2009- a much more significant date.  This event is open to the public, please call for rates and event details. www.Fishing4Freedom.com We have an online ‘Support Store’ store available as well.

We are booking up quickly, so get on the horn and reserve your dates.  I look forward to having you aboard.  Please have look at the ‘NEWS’ section on our www.Fishing4Freedom.com website.  I had to include this photo from last month again.  On the left is William ‘Spanky’ Gibson, lost his left leg in the Iraq conflict; on the right is Vito Bialla, was a tank commander in Vietnam, until he was wounded.  Both are true Patriots, and excellent representatives of Fishing 4 Freedom.

Needless to say, our initial conversation was short: “Absolutely!”  With our recent efforts fundraising for Fishing 4 Freedom, La Paz Fishing Charters was honored to support the idea and totally up for the challenge.  We were to plot a course just over 150 miles, for the world’s longest continuous relay swim.  The synergy was excellent and the detailed planning began.  Since space on the 54′ MARIANA was not a issue; careful thought needed to be placed towards a healthy and energetic menu.  The Night Train Swim team consists of 6 swimmers, 1 reservist, and for this particular trip we had a representative from the Wounded Warrior Project, MSrgt William ‘Spanky’ Gibson, as navigator.  Spanky lost his leg when he was shot through the left kneecap by an Iraqi sniper; he was dragged to safety by members of a Special Forces Team, including Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Monsoor.  The 8 swimmers, plus my 2 crew and I, put our total group at 11 persons on the MARIANA for the 4 days.  We were ready for it!

The Night Train Swimmers follow the long established “English Channel Rules.”  1. 6 Swimmers Total  2. Swimmers shall only be allowed to where goggles and swimsuits without any type of flotation.  Wet-suits are strictly forbidden.  3. Swim-caps are optional and can only be made of silicone; no neoprane allowed.    4. Swimmers shall keep their same order throughout and swim an hour each, with a total of 5 min allowed for thr transition.  5. All swims should have official observers.

As part of the final preparations for the Sea of Cortez swim, Night Train had its official send-off party at Bialla Vineyards in Napa on Sunday.  The team, friends and family all enjoyed an afternoon of swimming, food and great wine on a beautiful sunny California day.  “We’re getting into taper mode, so the next two weeks are about recovery and mental preparation for the task at hand,” stated Vito Bialla, host of the party.

The swim began on June 26 at 6:00am from the beach in La Paz.  The seas were calm at sunrise and remained that way most of the day, water temp was 87 degrees- T&W.  Every swimmer was covering an amazing distance - averaging more than 3 miles per hour.  We went through the 6-swimmer rotation two times before the sun began to set.  During twilight, the winds began to pickup and we saw a building storm on the horizon, maybe 80 miles away.  Over the next 3.5 hours, conditions steadily worsened.  As the wind continued to build, the seas increased to 4-6 ft swells.

At 9:30pm, while Vito was halfway through his third swim of the journey and the team had covered 48 miles, it was decided that it was unsafe to continue swimming.  As soon as the swimmer was more than 15 ft from the boat, we could no longer see him.  Even the safety kayak we had in the water next to the swimmer, which had multiple locating lights attached, was not visible from the boat.  A few minutes later, we had everyone back aboard the boat and safe.  Enjoy the attached video: La Paz Night Train.

Safety is always the primary concern, so we were happy to have everyone back aboard in one piece.  We are all, of course, disappointed that we did not achieve our mission of breaking the world record while raising money for Wounded Warrior Project, but we will now begin planning our next adventure with the lessons learned from this one.  There are already talks about the 2nd attempt in 2010.

Unfortunately we had to abort the swim attempt, but that didn’t mean abort the trip.  The fishing recently had been excellent, so we completed the route with lines instead of swimmers in the water.  For Oklahoma native, Marine Spanky Gibson it was a dream come true: “I’ve never fished in the open water- and when I found out I was selected to represent the WWP for this, my dream was to catch a marlin!”
On the 3rd day, Spanky caught a 125lb Striped Marlin- Mission Accomplished!  We spent most of our fishing and cruising around Isla Animas, an awesome rock formation near Loreto.  We had great success spearfishing and dropping baits around the rocks for big Triggers, Parrots, and Bonitos.  On the cruise back home, we followed a pod a dolphins right onto some Tuna, to close out our fishing.  We had another awesome experience snorkeling and spearfishing along the backside of Espiritu Santo, before stopping at Tecolote Beach on our way back to La Paz.

Despite 2009’s unsuccessful 1st attempt to set the world record, Night Train, along with the crew of the MARIANA and LaPazFishingCharters.com, had an outstanding time.  More importantly, we learned collectively, what will be necessary to make our 2nd attempt a success.  Visit www.SwimSeaofCortez2010.com for information on the 2nd attempt.

Twice this month we sent out one of our faster boats, the Renata Regina- one of our best ‘day boats’ for groups, to rendezvous with the 80′ LAURA at Bonanza Beach.  The 1st group, Phil Pippin’s family, really put the hurt on the dorado at the south end of Cerralvo island- about 40 fish in a day’s work.  Great job!

Not to be out done by the previous group, Lisa McNamee’s group of 5, a grab bag of friends and family, also had us rendezvous with them at La Partida.  I got a text message from Dana early Sunday morning that said: “Great day. 35 Dorado- best ever!”  Sometimes less is more.  Nice job! Well, sometimes fishing here is like a live buffet, whatever you want, go catch it! Happy Father’s Day.

The MARIANA is heading out tomorrow on a very special trip.  We are escorting a group of 8, called the Night Train Swimmers, for their attempt to set the world-record for a long distance relay swim…..160 miles!  They are extremely determined and will put on a great show.  Right now, we are thinking of making the trip to Mulege, just past Loreto.  Originally we were going to head Southeast, across the Sea of Cortez, but the recent Tropical Storm Andres, got us thinking of an alternate route- safety 1st.  Regardless of which direction we go to set the world-record, we will fish (a lot) on the way back.  Fishing report to follow.

**An important Announcement**

Because the H1-N1 hype, raised many commitment issues amongst travelers, I was forced to move our Annual Fishing 4 Freedom program to a later date.  As i like to believe, everything happens for a reason, and Fishing 4 Freedom will now be held on September 11, 2009- a much more significant date.  This event is open to the public, please call for rates and event details. www.Fishing4Freedom.com We have an online ‘Support Store’ store available as well.

The word is out and we’re booking up quickly, so get on the horn and reserve your dates.  We look forward to having you aboard.  Please have look at the ‘NEWS’ section on our www.Fishing4Freedom.com website and please visit the new ‘Support store,’ just in time for the 4th of July.

This weekend, launching from Bahia de los Suenos at sunrise on 6/27/2009; 8 members of the Night Train Swimmers will attempt to set the world record for a long distance relay swim.  The goal: swim 160 miles across he Sea of Cortez!  More details about can be found at www.NightTrainSwimmers.com.  We may be re-routing.

]]> http://lapazfishingcharters.com/blog/la-paz-baja-sur-mexico-fishing-report-6109-62509/feed/ http://lapazfishingcharters.com/blog/la-paz-baja-sur-mexico-fishing-report-5109-53109/ http://lapazfishingcharters.com/blog/la-paz-baja-sur-mexico-fishing-report-5109-53109/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 15:01:17 +0000 admin http://lapazfishingcharters.com/blog/?p=108 Buenos dias los pescadores.  May was a good month for fishing here in La Paz.  There was an excellent variety and good sizes, with the winter bite winding down and summer fishing heating up.  The waters are definitely becoming more friendly for pelagic species, hopefully setting the tone for the summer.  Inshore fishing is still strong though: huge pargo, charging Yellowtail, and large schools of Sierra Mackerel highlight the inshore bite.

The waters during the month were definitely tricky.  Some days the surface was flat, but water temps would drop or color was green from the algae.  As any angler knows, fish are a fickle species, sometimes just a few degree change in temperature or a drop in water clarity, is all fish need to change their feeding habits.  However, when the environment cooperated, the south end of Cerralvo Island was the place to be, where live bait was worth its weight in gold.

This May, at the previously mentioned destination, was one of the strongest Wahoo bites that we’ve experienced and heard about- big ones too!  Throw in some Dorado, and you’ve got yourself a tired back from all the action.  Trolling some bright orange (wahoo bombs) or a purple rapala was a great way to locate the fish.  Once you are on them, live bait (like usual) is the ticket.

We still have healthy schools of Sierra Mackerel and Roosterfish; it looks like these fish could hang around well into June, the fishing looks to be excellent this summer.

Unfortunately the exaggerated ‘Swine Flu’ has deterred many tourists from heading down and forced many vacationers to move or cancel their trip.  At this time, there is not ONE reported case in Baja Sur, so don’t be afraid to make it down……..you could be one of the few on the water.

**An important announcement**

Because the H1-N1 hype, raised many commitment issues amongst travelers, I was forced to move our Annual Fishing 4 Freedom program to a later date.  As i like to believe, everything happens for a reason, and Fishing 4 Freedom will now be held on September 11, 2009- a much more significant date.  This event is open to the public, please call for rates and event details. www.Fishing4Freedom.com We have an online ‘Support Store’ store available as well.

We are booking up quickly, so get on the horn and reserve your dates.  I look forward to having you aboard.  Please have look at the ‘NEWS’ section on our www.Fishing4Freedom.com website.  Next month, launching from Bahia de los Suenos at sunrise on 6/27/2009; 6 members of the Night Train Swimmers will attempt to set the world record for a long distance relay swim.  The goal: swim 160 miles across he Sea of Cortez!  More details about can be found at www.NightTrainSwimmers.com.

Live bait, live bait, live bait.  If you want to catch fish, you know, feed that itch- run a ‘chovie through just about any water column right now and see what the lottery has in store for you.  Cerralvo island was a great spot for 20-40lbs Dorado, 20-30lbs wahoo, and some tuna.  Trolling out to the island and over to the healthy underwater structure, El Bajo, produced some solid action.  Wahoo really like to go for bright Rapala lures, magnums.  As one angler was fighting a wahoo, tossing any live bait out was sure to get you bit too; double, triple, quadruple hook-ups!  Yellowtail are still biting live bait as well as jigs, still good size fish.

Great inshore fishing also, Roosterfish, sierra, and cabrilla are still biting, but big pargo and grouper were still taking center stage.  It is always such a challenge going for these big hogs.  Big fish don’t like to work hard for their food, so when hook one of these pargo, or a grouper, you’ve got to be ready to turn it’s head and keep it from breaking you off on the rocks.  Great fun, you really get to test your skills.  Sierra Mackerel and Pompano, two of the best tasting inshore species can be caught in deeper waters over sandy bottoms.

I would like to encourage anyone to participate directly (attending) or indirectly (making a donation) to our annual fishing event.  LaPazFishingCharters.com is proud to sponsor the 2009 Annual Fishing4Freedom with Hotel Suenos and El Cardon restaurant, in Bahia de los Suenos (Muertos Bay).  Come show your support for recently returned Special Operations soldiers, June 18-22nd 2009, for 4 days of fishing, fun, and fiesta.  The event is open to the public, please contact Anthony @ (415) 336-0123 for more details of to make a charitable contribution.

Also don’t miss Ronnie Kovach’s, Radio Fishing University, and AM 830 KLAA’s 2nd Annual “Free” Winter Fishing Symposium at Toyota of Huntington Beach 5/30/2009.  I repeat, this symposium is FREE and will contain guest speakers, raffle/prizes, free parking and a free BBQ! I will be in studio, next Saturday 5/23, for the full 2hr show with Ronnie Kovach’s Radio Fishing University.  Call in, say “hello,” and possibly win something. 1-877-883-0830

Best regards,

Anthony, President

Fishing around the Island of Espiritu Santo, produced some beautiful Yellowtail including some 40+ pounders caught on live mackerels (the bigger the better in this case).  Also hitting the beaches gave some hard fighting Roostertails a chance to smoke your reel.  We’ve had a particular good season for Roosters and Yellowtails, they showed up early and have stuck around longer than usual.  As the waters continue to warm-up, there is no telling how much longer these fighters will be here.

Fishing further south near Las Arenas and Cerralvo Island was a different story.  I’m not trying to take anything away from the anglers that had great success closer to La Paz, but this was a great week!  Huge pargo are still up from the deeps and breaking people off in the shallow rocks.  What a challenge going for these beasts, sometimes rewarded and sometimes you’re not; but hey, that’s fishing.

The Dorado fishing seems to be heating up more and more with the southern end of Cerralvo still being the better area to target.  Nice Amberjack are still are hitting live sardines as well as Wahoo making a solid showing.  We’ve started to hear more reports of billfish making their ways back into the area; looks like we’re setting up for a great summer!  What can we say, this is what people come here for.

Speaking of this summer:  LaPazFishingCharters.com is proud to sponsor the 2009 Annual Fishing4Freedom with Hotel Suenos and El Cardon restaurant.  Come show your support for our recently wounded Special Operations soldiers, June 18-22nd 2009, for 4 days of fishing, fun, and fiesta.  The event is open to the public, please contact Anthony @ (415) 336-0123 for more details of to make a charitable contribution.

Also don’t miss Ronnie Kovach’s, Radio Fishing University, and AM 830 KLAA’s 2nd Annual “Free” Winter Fishing Symposium at Toyota of Huntington Beach 5/30/2009.  I repeat, this symposium is FREE and will contain guest speakers, raffle/prizes, free parking and a free BBQ!  We will also promote our 1st RFU “Listener’s Trip” with LaPazFishingCharters.com, taking place 7/25-29/2009.

La Paz’s climate is definitely changing for the spring and summer fishing seasons.  Not only is this reflective in the air/water temperatures, but also in the species of fish we are seeing hooked-up.  Over the years, I’ve concluded that travelling anglers have an idea of what to expect on the water here, but I don’t think they fully realize what they’re into (or what they’ve done) until the day is over.  These rich waters provide anglers with unbeatable tales of inshore action, battling huge pargo (snapper) against the rocks; or open water challenges against the pure power of a giant Blue Marlin; or the gatling gun feeding frenzies of Tunas, Dorados, or Sierra Mackerels.  Which ever type of fishing is your preference, you’ll find it here.

When the winds were down, making bait, especially mackerel, was the key.  Live bait was definitely out-fishing irons and lures this week.  If inshore action was what you wanted, huge roosters, pompano, and pargos were there to be landed.  There were also healthy schools of cabrilla and Sierra Mackerel in the area as well.  We even heard rumors that dodos were hitting close to shore also; talk about a surprise!

On the other hand, heading out towards El Bajo and fishing towards the island of Cerralvo produced great action.  El Bajo this time of year is loaded with Yellowtail and should remain a solid bite for another few weeks.  Amberjacks can be scattered about this area, as well as THE MYSTERY FISH.  I say this, because we had some seriously powerful bites and massively chewed up baits when we dropped some big bonita down the bottom.  We guess there is either a shark (hammerhead) or an old grouper hanging down there.  Either way, it’s a fish and it’s BIG!

Moving forward, we have a few events coming up for this summer.  1st I am putting a lot of pride and more effort into our 1st event called, Fishing-4-Freedom. F4F is a charitable event that will be held in beautiful La Paz, Baja California Sur Mexico.  We are taking 4 recently wounded Special Ops soldiers and their families fishing for 4 days, June 18-22^nd, 2009.  The goal is to raise $$ and awareness for the Wounded Warriors Foundation through SpecialOps.org.  If you are interested in participating or making a charitable contribution, please contact me for more details.

Our second event will be this year’s 1st Radio Fishing University Listeners Trip, July 25-29, 2009.  World renowned fishing professional, angler educator, and the RFU producer/host on AM 830 KLAA, Ronnie Kovach and I will are offering an opportunity to be a part of his Telly Award winning TV show, Fishing Ventures, on Fox Sports.  Again, if you are interested in participating, please contact me for more details.