Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing at La Paz said north winds blew early in the week but didn't stop the very good south side yellowtail run near Punta Perico. "The wind hasn't slowed the fishing down," Hernandez said.

"The whole area around Punta Perico and Isla Cerralvo is covered with yellowtail and sardina bait. The beaches are very busy and anglers are happy to stay in the good action there. We have no need to go farther out. The fishing is good right here. We invite all anglers to come and try this good fishing right now at La Paz."

LA PAZ BIGGIES--As winter turned to spring, La Paz' good south side yellowtail bite got serious on big fish last week. Here are Tortuga Sportfishing panga Capts. Jorge Lucero, left, and Rigo Lucero with a couple of forkies in the 40 to 45-pound class caught close to the launch beach at Ensenada de los Muertos.

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said midwinter La Paz south side fishing conditions continued good last week, with very light wind, air temperatures in the 70s, more good yellowtail action, lots of big pargo broken off in the rocks, but still very few anglers in the area. "We're fishing at Punta Perico and Isla Cerralvo, and the best action is for the yellowtail," Hernandez said. "We have good fishing for the few people that have been arriving in La Paz these past weeks. There are just as many pargos as yellowtail, but they are so strong they are difficult to land. We also have a lot of sierra but the fishing is for the yellowtail."

SLUGGER LA PAZ YELLOWTAIL--Good numbers of big yellowtail are being caught by pangas fishing just a few hundred yards out of Ensenada de los Muertos south of La Paz. Here's a good one brought in by Capt. Jorge Lucero of Tortuga Sportfishing. "This is what we're catching now," said Tortuga's Gerardo Hernandez. "Maybe this will motivate anglers to come here for them."

NICE BAJA DOGGIE

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said pangas on the Las Arenas side south of La Paz had good weather in the 70s last week with improved action for big yellowtail and no north winds, although few anglers were in the area.

Panga captains were going out alone and finding 3 to 6 yellowtail of 25 to 35 pounds on every trip while fishing at Punta Perico and other spots on the south side. "We have enough bait for this fishing," Hernandez said. "We're mostly just fishing for these yellowtail." Top catches for the week also included a 65-pound dog snapper brought in by Tortuga Sportfishing's Capt. Rigo Lucero.

NICE BAJA DOGGIE--Tortuga Sportfishing's Capt. Rigo Lucero shows some pretty good arm strength as he hoists this dog snapper estimated at 65 pounds caught while fishing out of Ensenada de los Muertos south of La Paz. The big doggie hit a sardina bait during panga fishing near Punta Perico.

Dos Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said fishing on the Las Arenas side south of La Paz was made difficult by north winds, but action for pargo lisa was fairly good in sheltered waters close to Punta Perico as schools of the snappers were seen. "This fishing is a little difficult since they go straight down to the bottom where there are a lot of rocks," Hernandez said. "They aren't very far from the beach." Commercial Mexican fishermen continued to bring in good catches of sierra from the area north of Las Arenas and off the south end of Isla Cerralvo. "We hope fishing conditions in the next few days will allow us to get to different areas to see what we can catch," Hernandez said.

LA PAZ YELLOWTAIL--John Henderson of Fort Bragg, Calif., landed this quality 40-pound class yellowtail on the Las Arenas side of La Paz last week, during a panga fishing trip with Tortuga Sportfishing's Capt. Rigo Lucero on the boat Trago Gordo.

Dos Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said La Paz fishing conditions were tough due to winds attacking from the north, but production was surprising good for catches including some pargo lisa in the 30 and 40-pound class, yellowtail, and even a couple of winter dorado at 20 pounds. "The wind didn't let us go out to the island, but all these fish were caught around Punta Perico," Hernandez said. "Despite the winds, fishing was good."

LAS ARENAS SIDE--M.C. Lewis of Mendocino, Calif., scored a real nice yellowtail and some quality pargo lisa to 40 pounds while fishing last week on the Las Arenas side south of La Paz with Tortuga Sportfishing's panga Capt. Rigo Lucero.

Dos Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said his pangas on the south side of La Paz were fishing mostly close to shore in sheltered water due to consistent north winds, with catches including sierra, small cabrilla, and pargo. On Wednesday, lighter winds allowed pangas to fish at the south end of Isla Cerralvo for sierra and huachinango, and at Punta Perico good counts of pargo lisa were scored, although fishing was slowed by excess numbers of greenjack and needlefish competing for baits.

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said the La Paz fishing area had sharply lower air temperatures in the 60s during the week, with strong north wind over the weekend. "Tuna, dorado, wahoo, and some marlin are in the area of Isla Cerralvo," Hernandez said. "However, with this unfavorable weather, we are canceling boat departures and we can't guarantee that anglers will be able to get into the action." Earlier, pangas on the south side of La Paz fished at the island for offshore species and near shore at Las Arenas for sierra during periods of strong wind. "That was about the best that could be done," Hernandez said.

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said southern La Paz fishing waters got some strong north winds early in the week that lowered water temperatures and slowed the action for pangas fishing the Las Arenas side out of Ensenada de los Muertos. At the end of the week, pangas were still looking for good concentrations of yellowfin tuna that had been scattered by the rough weather. Some tuna were caught at the north end of Isla Cerralvo. Good action was found for pargo to 15 pounds and sierra around Punta Perico, and dorado mixed with continued wahoo at the south end of the island. Live bait was available both at Ensenada de los Muertos and Isla Cerralvo.

TORTUGA PANGAS--John McVay of Valencia, Calif., got into a good haul of yellowfin tuna and dorado while fishing the Las Arenas side of La Paz aboard a Tortuga Sportfishing panga with Capt. Rigo Lucero.

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said few anglers visited the La Paz fishing area last week as good action continued through 2 rainy days on Thursday and Friday. Pangas fishing out of Ensenada de los Muertos on Saturday had clear skies again, with very good wahoo counts again found off the south end of Isla Cerralvo. School-sized yellowfin tuna and dorado were caught off Punta Perico, and sierra were concentrated in volume at Las Arenas.

DORADO KEEPER--John Cannon of Long Beach, Calif., fished on a La Paz panga with Tortuga Sportfishing's Capt. Rigo Lucero for good action on wahoo, yellowfin tuna, and dorado including this keeper.

Tortuga SportFishing News

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said his pangas at Las Arenas had good weather most of the week, but with wind arriving on Friday, as boats concentrated around Punta Perico for good numbers of 15 to 25-pound yellowfin tuna plus steady dorado. "Because of the wind, we weren't able to fish at Isla Cerralvo where there are good numbers of wahoo," Hernandez said. "We are getting bait close to Punta Perico and there is no problem finding good quantities."

TORTUGA WAHOO--Chris Talley and Cristina Larrosa of El Segundo, Calif., fished aboard a Tortuga Sportfishing panga south of La Paz last week for a great mixed catch of tuna, dorado, and this wahoo landed with Tortuga's Capt. Rigo Lucero.

Tortuga SportFishing News

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said weather conditions on the Las Arenas side of La Paz were noticeably cooler last week with some north wind. "Anglers should bring jackets for the ride out in the mornings," Hernandez said. "Right now the wind is not very strong, so we're hoping that we can continue to fish easily." Southern La Paz fishing waters continued to produce good counts of school-sized yellowfin tuna and dorado for Tortuga pangas fishing the south end of Isla Cerralvo. Smaller sardina baits were found near Ensenada de los Muertos and large bait was available at Isla Cerralvo when wind allowed the trip across the channel. "For the last 3 days, wahoo fishing has also been very good around the south end of the island," Hernandez said. Anglers fishing with Tortuga during the week included the Phil and Robert Taylor group of fire fighters from Las Vegas, who had several days of good action with Capts. Rigo and Jorge Lucero, and Nufo Green.





TORTUGA PANGA FISHING--The Phil and Robert Taylor group from Las Vegas, Nev., found good Baja panga fishing action for this nice load of tuna and wahoo out of La Paz's Las Arenas side last week with Tortuga Sportfishing Capts. Rigo Lucero, Jorge Lucero, and Nufo Green.

Tortuga SportFishing News

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said Las Arenas side fishing weather was sunny with windy and calm days alternating last week. Tortuga charter pangas continued to find very good action on yellowfin tuna of 20 to 50 pounds and dorado of 20 to 25 pounds off the Baja coast at Ensenada de los Muertos, San Isidro, and El Alamo. Tuna and dorado mixed with early season sierra were also caught at Punta Perico. Some wahoo were again found off the south end of Isla Cerralvo on trolled Rapalas in both purple and black-white. "We are having no problem finding a lot of fishing action," Hernandez said. "There is plenty of bait throughout all the usual areas, and the best fishing has been with the sardinas."

LA PAZ WAHOO--Douglas Hamilton fished on a Tortuga Sportfishing panga with Capt. Rigo Lucero last week for an offshore catch including this nice wahoo.

Tortuga SportFishing News

Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing reported good weather and sea conditions on the south side of the hill as his pangas fishing out of the Ensenada de los Muertos south-facing launch spot scored good counts of dorado and yellowfin tuna outside Punta Perico and down the coast to El Alamo. Pangas running out to the south end of Isla Cerralvo also got into good action for wahoo. "This week we had very good wahoo fishing," Hernandez said. "The wahoo were of good size, 45 to 50 pounds, south of the island on Rapalas." Sardina bait for dorado and tuna was in good supply both locally and at Isla Cerravlo.

LA PAZ WAHOO--Crissy Teichman of Huntington Beach, Calif., got into last week's good wahoo bite south of La Paz off the south end of Isla Cerralvo. Fishing with her husband Pete Teichman aboard a Tortuga Sportfishing panga with Capt. Jorge Lucero also produced good numbers of dorado and yellowfin tuna.