Billfish, Swirling Currents and Dinner Mahi

Last week I reported that water temperatures had dropped drastically, incoming massive Whale food in the form of Krill moving in and Dorado moving out of the bay. That was all accurate and frankly I was more pessimistic about fishing in the “coming” week. I was about half “right”. The massive amounts of Krill are still in the bay, but the Whales have turned up and they’re doing their job consuming and breeding. Yes folk’s winter has returned to the Bay of Banderas with the arrival of our yearly visitors. This of course means that it won’t be long before we’re all targeting smaller game fish in the bay as the deep water locations “cool off”. But for now, Billfish are at Corbetena. The swirling currents are a normal part of the “process” and of course there are still plenty of “Dinner Mahi” for those willing to go the extra distance to our world famous deep water fishing grounds.

Starting with Corbetena, the past few days have been incredible. In fact I had one client in particular who wanted a twelve hour trip to El Banco. I convinced him it would be better to take a shorter duration trip to the “rock” and target the roaming Billfish in the form of Blue Marlin at 400 lbs, large Sailfish and Dorado in multiples! Dorado are in the 30 lb plus range. Bull Dorado can still be as much as 50 lbs and that’s a big Dorado amigos. Krill are not really in the area around Corbetena, thankfully. This means the species in the area are taking bait readily. Remembering fish move, they’re still spread out, but if you’re in the area look for the warm spots. Once we get these swirling currents experienced captains know what to do. The best news is there is plenty of Billfish favorite baits in the form of Skip Jack Tuna, Flying fish, Bonita and the list goes on. I could take the entire article and go on about Corbetena. But the picture with Spencer Iverson smile on his face says it all. But this will come to an end soon enough, so get your butt off the couch and get on the water already! Right now your best bang for your fuel dollar is Corbetena, forget El Banco, Corbetena is the place to be.

There has been some good action, but noticeably “slower” than previous weeks. For several weeks I’ve been telling you drop baits inside three miles off the point of Punta Nayarit aka Punta Mita. What you want to do now is drop baits about three miles off the point and take a heading of 300. Once you’re in the 13 mile area off the point is when you’ll start to see action. You’ll drop baits early just in case there are any warm spots swirling off the point. With beautiful high visibility blue water Dorado are in the 20 lb range, roaming the area. Sailfish are still “strutting their stuff” and nice sized. But the big surprise is Blue Marlin have been coming in closer to shore and it all seems to be happening at the 13 mile point. A superior captain will increase your chances and your “luck”!

Here we are again, discussing Whales in the bay and soon the Whale Watching Tours will be rolling again. Krill, tiny squids aka Whale food always precedes the arrival of our beloved Whales. The downside of this is the fact fishing around Whales is not a good idea. The fish think they’re “bait” and will flee the area. So keep that in mind, the local species in the bay will chow down on these Krill. This of course goes for the “bait” as well. Bait eating bait, it’s mind boggling, but with the Whales the Krill aren’t a problem. For now you’ll still find “Dinner Mahi” in the 10 to 15 lb range. But you can pretty much forget about Bull Dorado in the bay. Sierra Mackerels are great tasting, but they’re small by comparison weighing up to 12 lbs, many are much smaller. The good news about Sierra Mackerels are they’re great tasting. They have an early bite and they’re always in front of the Cruise ship Marina up until about 08:00. So don’t ignore them because they’re small. Jack Crevalls, aka Torros or Bull fish are picking up in numbers. Running between 25 to 50 lbs, these fish will give you the arm burning action you’re looking for. In the bay it’s all about smaller gamefish. If action is what you’re looking for, the bay is where you want to be. Bonito at 20 lbs are small for early season, but tasty! Skip Jack Tuna in the 12lb range, large for “Skippies”, they’re “boiling” about a mile of Los Arcos. FYI, for now it’s difficult to get a Jack Crevall to take bait, who knows why. Maybe it’s a Krill thing, but for now, be ready to put some work in. Those looking for smaller gamefish, families or those looking for light tackle action will be very happy. But be warned, there could be a rouge Striped Marlin in the area, so be ready to grab the pole of your youngling if this happens. Then share the story…

For now, if you don’t hit the bite right, you’ll be waiting for the afternoon bite. Be where you want to be fishing before 09:30. It seems that after 1:00 pm in the afternoon the bite can be aggressive. A ten hour day and you’ll hit both bites. One of the things we’re watching naturally is the water temperature. With another four degree drop from last week’s drastic drop is leaving the cooler water in the 74 degree range now! The best fishing right now is on an incoming tide.

As always, thanks for your continued support and until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!

Written by Stan Gabruk

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