Florida Fish Report

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN FISHING REPORT

WEATHER:  Never seen weather so tropical in my 30 years here.  It’s hot and muggy in the low 100’s with the humidity factor even tho’ the thermometer reads 95.  Rain predicted almost daily but very little actually falls in the city or on our fishermen. We did dodge Tropical Storm Mario that had us in it’s sights, but like Lorena before it, gratefully headed out to the Pacific.

WATER:. Despite and storms and scattered rain and thundershowers, water remains mostly flat, calm, warm and blue with surface temps running 82-85 degrees.

FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK:  Dorado / tuna/ triggerfish/ sierra/ jack crevalle/ bonito/ marlin (hooked one and lost one)/ pargo/ cabrilla/ snapper

FISHING ON A SCALE of 1-10 (10 is best):  Earlier in the week it was tickling 7 and 8.  Then for reasons unknown dove to a 3-4. Then came back up a little to a 5 or 6, but had that crazy mid-week dip!

MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ VIDEO REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

Not sure how to write this report.

We had some of the best fishing of the season, but we also had a couple of days of some of the worst fishing as well for inexplicable reasons.

Let’s talk about the good stuff first…

For about a week-and-a-half, we had the most incredible tuna/ dorado bite out’ve Bahia Muertos/ Suenos where we launch our Las Arenas boats.  I have not seen this in years, but yellowfin tuna between 10 and 20 pounds right there in the bay!  Some of the spots were as close as 100-200 yards from the beach in 20-30′ of water!

It was like grocery shopping!  Get your bait throw the bait on a hook and instant biters . Fish were foaming!  Boats were nailing limits by 8 and 9 a.m. then either calling it quits or go off chasing other species like dorado!

It was pretty incredible.  I haven’t seen that in years.  Boats were coming in loaded and limits were easy and fun!  The fish weren’t so big that they hurt you (as tuna can do), but they sure pulled folks around!

Then, for crazy reasons, the bite suddenly dropped off.  Our captains and anglers couldn’t find the fish .  Some boats got a few, but others struggled or got goosed!  The fish that were caught shrank in size to 5-10 pound footballs.

Here’s what I think happened….

First, everyone and their brother knew the bite was on.  Every one in La Paz got out there.  Every fleet got out there.  Boats from the East Cape were out there.  It was a freeway of boats and heavy traffic.  This scattered the fish and pushed them down and away.

Second, with so many fishermen and boats, the bait guys couldn’t get enough bait so live bait was limited and it was really really small . They were little pinhead sardines and you had to use a #1 or even a #2 hook and sometimes had to put 2 or 3 sardines one the hook to cover it in which case, the sardine is obviously no longer “alive.” Also, with such a small hook if you get bit you’re in trouble!

Third…With so much boat traffic, the fish got line-shy an skiddish.  You had to drop down to 20 or 30 pound test or light flurocarbon to get hit and even then, you still had to find the schools and you also had to have enough bait.  So you had three things going against you.

And that’s why I think the bite tapered off and diminshed.  Some boats got zero bites. Other boats might have found a fish or two .

And interestingly, as the bite dropped off, so did the number of anglers!  Hmmmm…go figure.

And the bite kinda started to come back. A few more tuna..a few more dorado.  We’ll have to see how much the bite recovers in the coming days!

Another note is that there are still a good bit of dorado on the waters, but many many of them are really tiny squirts!  Seriously 10-12″ dorado that are so voracious that they’ll hit anything in the water because that’s just the way they are.  Fortunately, their growth rate, these dinks will be 10 pound fish in a month, but in the meantime, our anglers are releasing alot of these little guys and hoping for the larger models and yes, they are out there running maybe 10-20 pounds, but you often have to make your way through schools of the small fry.

Another important note…WEATHER!

Technically, it has rained every single day for about 3 weeks!  (If you read the weather forecasts).

Yes, we had tropical storm Lorena which dropped some gentle rain on us and we just got a little scare from Mario that came towards us then veered out to the Pacific.

But, this has been the most tropical weather I have seen in 30 years down here.  It is hot.  It is humid and muggy this summer.  And for the last few weeks, there has been rain every day.

But, 99% of the rain has been in the afternoons after everyone is done fishing.  I see the coming week showing more rain as well, but La Paz is HUGE!  You have to understand, but it could rain in the mountains, but not at your hotel.  It could rain for 10 minutes at your hotel, but not on the Malecon where all the restaurants are.  It could rain across the bay, but not on the ocean.

So, technically, yes, it DID rain in La Paz!

At our Tailhunter Restaurant, in the last 2 weeks, I think there was only 1 time that the sidewalk got wet.  That was it!

So, if you’re coming down, yes, expect some scattered thundershowers or warm drizzle, but then again, maybe nothing actually hits the ground!

ONE REALLY BAD THING ABOUT THE RAIN…

Bugs are everywhere!  As often happens when there is standing water, the bugs hatch!  The mosquitoes, flies, gnats and other critters are everywhere for about 2 weeks!  Keep your sliding doors, windows and doors closed as much as possible. Bring a little bottle of natural (non-toxic) repellent.  One little mosquito in your ear at night can sure ruin an evening!  Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!  You will thank me later!

…AND THE HUMIDITY!

More intense and hot than we can remember.  Stay hydrated or you’ll get sick.  Bring some of those little electrolyte packages to pour into a bottle of water and chug it!  It’s been in the 100’s with the humidity.

BOOKINGS FOR 2026!

It’s crazy, but in 30 years, I’ve not had so many advance bookings as we’re getting right now for 2026!  Great to see and have with bookings coming in pretty much daily and the calendar is filling!  Don’t get left out!  Especially, if you have a favorite captain or hotel or set of dates.  Some dates are already selling out or getting close to it.

We’re offering 2025 prices on some packages if you book before the end of this year and hold it with a deposit.  I would hate to miss you!

Write me directly:  tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com

I”ll get right back to you and let’s see about getting you set up.  Don’t wait until we start doing our shows in January to March.

That’s my story!

Jonathan & Jilly