Puerto Vallarta fishing, Marlin / Yellowfin Tuna in March?
Article Date: 03-13-2026
As El Nino rages with its unpredictable conditions, we’re still seeing summer species in the dept of winter in Puerto Vallarta’s fishing grounds. With ridiculously warm water temperatures, we’re seeing Marlin Season at Corbetena all the way to El Banco in March? Writing about 78-degree water temperatures at the beginning of March is the equivalent of skiing in August! So, for now, we’re ignoring the calendar and going with what’s happening on a weekly basis with no seasonal expectations from this point on until after the summer fishing season. Last week there were two Black Marlin boated, a couple of Blue Marlin and even Yellowfin Tuna! These sorts of things only happen with aggressive El Ninos and I can’t remember conditions like this for many years. But for now, the fishing is great and we have both winter and summer species roaming the area. Those who visit Puerto Vallarta at this time of the year, have a rare opportunity to catch Marlin in the winter.
After a lead in like that, you have to be wondering what I’m talking about. And to be frank, I don’t fully understand what’s happening at our fishing grounds in Banderas Bay. Just like last week, the deep-water locations are one of your best bangs for your fishing dollar. For some reason, north Corbetena has been the place to start dropping baits, heading towards El Banco, you’ll have Blue Marlin running the area in the 250 lbs. range. There have been a couple of Black Marlin boated at the rock this week as well. Dorado, Sailfish are missing in action, but that’s the only thing normal about the fishing in this area for the time being. A couple of Black Marlin in the 300 lbs. range were also boated closer to El Banco. You looking for Yellowfin Tuna, well we’ve got them as well running anywhere from 30 to 100 lbs., but this time they’re not running with Spinner Dolphin or Proposes. With plenty of bait in the form of Skipjack Tuna, Google Eyes, Sardines, flying fish and more, there are no worries about making bait before you get to your chosen location for now. Weird stuff, but we’ll take it.
In contrast to the Rock, the entire area from El Morro to the tip of Punta Nayarit is pretty much void of our most desire species of Dorado and Sailfish. Now for those species, it’s outside of their normal season, but with all the other strange stuff, it’s not unreasonable to think there could be these finned fantasies out there. But for now, this is almost a void area for fishing. Yes, you’ll always find action, but it’s the same action you’ll find in the bay for much less money. For those interested in these areas, things can and do change before I get this article published. You can expect Jack Crevalles to 50 lbs., Bonito to 20 lbs, Sierra Mackerels to 12 lbs. But there are Rooster fish in the Sayulita area and around Marinal rock in the bay north of La Cruz. But remember the bottom fishing in these areas can be great, especially around El Morro. So if you’re interested in some white meat fish like Cubera Snappers, then all hope is not lost amigos. You don’t have to troll, unless you have a captain that was cheap and has no equipment. But all and all, this area should not be your first choice for your day on the water. But again, things can change before you blink your eyes, so stay tuned ….
Inside the bay at this time of the year is our ‘bread and butter’ fishing. With plenty of action in the bay, it’s your other ‘best bang for your fishing dollar’ location. With Jack Crevalles (25 to 50 lbs.) anywhere from Nuevo Vallarta’s hot spots to Los Arcos, to say you’ll have plenty of fishing action would be an understatement. I still suggest six hours to find where the fish went from yesterday, but four hour trips are producing smiles and memories as well. Skipjack Tuna are small, but there are some larger ones in the 10 lbs. range. Sierra Mackerels are large at 10 lbs, but they’re super great eating, easy to find and catch, and normally they’re an early bite. We had some clients desire just Sierra Mackerels for a fairly large group and they had plenty of fish and plenty of full stomachs as a perfect end to a perfect day!
So there you go, your best bang for your fishing dollar right now is the area north of Corbetena to El Banco or inside the bay. With water temperatures staying warm, hopefully we’ll see an early “summer fishing season”. But that’s an interesting statement, we’ll just have to wait and see on this. For now with 76-to-78-degree water temperatures as we enter the beginning days of spring, you have to wonder how Marlin season is going to shape up. There is plenty of bait in the area, Sardines in massive amounts have moved into the bay, Roosterfish love that. If targeting Roosterfish, they’ve been taking Green Runners as bait before a Goggle eye. They’re fairly abundant, but it’s work and if you have a lazy captain, you’ll never know any of this. The water is blue at all the fishing grounds, but we should see some clashing currents coming our way soon. But then again, who knows with crazy El Nino’s. The bite has moved even later, it’s closer now to 09:00, so make sure you time your fishing day around this time. The early bird, will get there too early for the worm amigos. As far as varied baits go, the main thing is just get out there and you won’t have any bait issues right now.
I hate having to address this issue. But the press in north America seems hell bent on showing weeks old information on PV that happened on one day, then it was over. No deaths, no tourist issues, no real problems, but burning tires on the street created the visual the local bad guys wanted to push. For those of you who have called and asked me if Puerto Vallarta was safe, let me say this, the city is as safe as it ever was. But being the Number one vacation destination in the world, the press gets plenty of click bait to get hits as they ruin the tourist season in PV. Le me remind you that the press never likes Mexico, it doesn’t matter what happens here, the press pushes click bait to kill the idea of Mexico in North American brains. The reason, they govt’s don’t want you to bring your “dollars” to Mexico. The especially don’t want you to see how well you can live on a thin social security check. They don’t want you to know about the affordable health coverage, the ‘clean’ food with no processed food additives in our meals. So remember, they all have agendas and none of them are for the benefit of the hard working people in Puerto Vallarta who only rely on Tourism as a primary source of income for PV. So if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at: Catchfish@MasterBaiters.com.mx and I’ll discuss your personal concerns. I’ve been here in PV now for 26 yrs and what happened here wasn’t even the equivalent of a Championship parade damage in the states. Those who cancelled their vacations, well you got played. Enough said.
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
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Written by Stan Gabruk
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