Tips for La Paz Area?

[redfish12]

I'm heading to La Paz in March to kayak fish and I am in the process of gearing up. Do any of you all fish down there any have any tips? It seems like a lot of the fishery is centered on live bait / trolling and that's not as easy to do in the kayak so I am hoping I can still catch on jigs, plugs, and soft plastics. Any colors in particular or favorite lures? We won't be running the miles the Panga's can cover so mostly fishing the shore line out to about 120-150ft.

[Keta]

Ensenada de los Muertos and  El Sargento a 35-30 miles SE of La Paz.

[jurelometer]

It depends of what part of the La Paz area.

I am not a kayaker, but do a bit of fly and lure fishing in that area.

It will be yellowtail and snapper season mostly in March.  Cabrilla (leopard grouper) too.  A bit early for roosterfish but not out of the question. Last year there were overwintering dorado (mahi mahi)  all the way through the spring sometimes quite close shore.  No schools,  mostly singles and doubles.  They will eat live bait or just about any lure as long as you work it fast enough. The dorado were unusual, but something unusual happening is sort of normal for the LaPaz area. If you check the weekly reports from Tailhunter, you will see what is being caught as your date approaches.

The two most common live baits there are 8-10" mackerels and 3-6" sardinas (flatiron herring).  Dropping live bait with a sinker and fly lining  is the mainstay, but when fishing is slow and they are searching for fish, or if the fleet keeps putting down the yellowtail schools, they like to slow troll mackerel or rapalas, especially  the Xraps.

You can catch live bait as needed with a sabiki.  For lures, the good old SoCal irons like a Salas 6Xjr are still very popular.  Slow pitch jigs are becoming more popular, but I prefer jigs that can also be cast and retrieved, like Colt Snipers.  The slow pitch jigs can work well for snappers and cabrilla, especially one you get to more than 30' depth.Surface lures like the Shimano Orca, or any popper around the 6" size can be fun if you spot a rooster or if the yellowtail are boiling.  Surface irons are super fun for boiling yellowtail, but Mach is a bit early.

There can be some Sierra mackerel around then, so some smaller (2oz) chrome jigs and wire leader can be useful. 

A lot of the kayak guys like to drag a Rapala or similar when moving from spot to spot.

There are lots of fish there that love to rip soft plastics to shreds, especially triggerfish, so you have to work them faster than the triggers can swim and bring a lot of them.  I don't like to use soft plastics in the Sea of Cortez for that reason.

If you are planning to fish close to the shorelines, I like to work 2oz irons and jigs.  Tossing rapalas or something like a Nomad MadScad can be the ticket for tight to boulders in the shallows.

The winds come up suddenly, usually right before noon in March, and the currents can be pretty strong in many spots, so good to double check your plan for the day with some knowledgeable locals, carry a radio, keep your head on a swivel, etc.

March is a windy month.  Expect to be blown out or have some short days.  I don't know if there are some wind protected spots for the kayak fishers in the Spring.

Have fun and post a report when you come back!

-J

[redfish12]

J, thank you for those tips! I think I have most all of those things pulled out and ready to go so I must be getting on the right track. Any color preferences you have for the jigs or Xraps?

[jurelometer]

J, thank you for those tips! I think I have most all of those things pulled out and ready to go so I must be getting on the right track. Any color preferences you have for the jigs or Xraps?

Ooh-  you really asked the wrong person that question

If you ask the scientists- this time of year you will be mostly fishing green water and the species available will have little color vision outside of the greens.  If there are some skipjack tuna around (a fabulous gamefish but poor table fare) -they can see just blues.

Outside of flash for tunas and Sierra, I focus on the amount of light vs dark. Cabrilla seem to like a combo of bright and dark,  yellowtail seem to  like  more white-less dark combos, but all white can be a secret weapon at times.  Since I design my own lures, I can also use black and white-which works well, but does not sell well - so hard to find.  For yellowtail, dorado and skippies: the color that they prefer most is the one that is moving fast.

Here is a thread on the science behind it:

https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,38610.msg455218.html#msg455218

But since fishermen can't handle the truth:

If you ask the local pangeros-  they like irons in blue and white, green and white, scrambled egg, and green and yellow in that order.  A few like to have some in all white.  And of course some chrome for the tuna/mackerel. And the best ones are the ones that have all the paint chewed off.

If you ask the customers, they like the colors that are popular  on the San Diego long range trips- mostly the same, but no green and yellow or all white, plus they have  lots of oddball color favorites like bird poop.  And mint (more like a turquoise) and white for surface irons for yellowtail.  For the flat fall and deep drop stuff, all sorts of color combos are popular, even though almost all of these colors are not visible because of lightwave absorption due to wavelength.  I don't even bother to pay attention to what's popular.  Something with a bit of glow (not all glow) might be worth a try for deep drop, but that won't be easy on a kayak.

Realistically if you took blue and white, scrambled egg, and chrome for irons/jigs, you would be covered. Use the scrambled egg more inshore.  For plugs I might lean greenish more for inshore, and blueish more for deeper water, but would mostly tie on whatever is handy.

Make sure that you bring heavy leader.  I use 60 almost exclusively for lures and big live baits.  The yellowtail, snappers, and grouper will rock you in a heartbeat.

-J

[redfish12]

Fascinating, definitely think I am overthinking it! Thanks for the additional tips and I will prioritize greens. I was thinking 60 might be too much for shallow water but I'm bringing 30-60 (might even bring some 20).