Roosterfish Las Arenas

Angler Ron Burgess of Temecula, CA caught a massive roosterfish on June 16th that was estimated by local captains to weigh 135 pounds or more. It is an estimate, because Ron released his fish after a quick picture. It took three men to lift the fish in and out of the boat, and they report it swam off vigorously and “still pissed off”.

Ron was fishing in Las Arenas, Mexico with Capt. Loreto Green of Tailhunter International Sportfishing in La Paz. Owner Jonathan Roldan said, “Las Arenas has surely lived up to it’s reputation as the “Roosterfish Capital of the World” after almost 2 months of roosterfish blitz along the beaches with 20-50 pound fish almost daily. Best I’ve seen in almost 20 years with often multiple roosters per panga each day and almost all fish getting released”.

After catching a number of roosters in the 70-90 pound class, Ron fought this one on 40-pound test for forty-five minutes. He was using an 18-inch sabalo for bait. Ron joked,

“I stupidly threw another bait in the water right after this and hooked another huge rooster and felt like crying. I was already in pain. What was I thinking?”

His fish would have shattered the current world record of 114 pounds, which was also caught in Las Arenas in 1960.

The catch and release mentality is to be commended and is part of the reason the fishing has been improving.

Tailhunter International Sportfishing has been operating for 18 years and has two full time fleets. One operates in La Paz and the other off of the beach in Las Arenas, where the giant roosterfish was caught. They also have the Tailhunter Restaurant and Bar on the waterfront in La Paz. You can contact Tailhunter International Sportfishing and get in on the action too.