Blue Marlin, Striped Marlin and Some Dorado in Chilly Water
As all my loyal readers know, we went from a La Nina condition, which changed to an El Nino Condition. Then they changed back to La Nina conditions all in eleven months. Very strange indeed and the aftershocks are erratic fishing. For those fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s world famous Banderas Bay, there is still plenty of action. For now, the primary players are Striped Marlin, Blue Marlin, Sailfish and now Dorado have been trickling back in. But we’re starting to feel the results of La Nina conditions as water temperatures are already dropping quickly. The Good news is we still have world-class fishing in the Bay of Banderas in the near future.
Starting with Corbetena, it was not showing much of a pulse last week, but things change and thank the fish gods they do. For now we have Striped Marlin in the 150 lb range and they’re happy to take your bait. Sailfish are in most of our famous fishing grounds and they’re all decent sized to very large! Blue Marlin are still running a bit north of the rock. Yellowfin Tuna is also in the area for the lucky. They’re not exactly ‘on tap’, but they’re in the neighborhood and yesterday a 150 lb Yellowfin was boated. Just look for the birds and the jumping Yellowfin Tuna!! So, the only species missing, more or less was Dorado and even they’re trickling into the area. Now these could be the Dorado we get in February, we’ll have to wait and see. But for now, a ten hour trip is one of your best values if targeting Marlin and possibly Yellowfin Tuna. No Reports from El Banco for some reason. But being one of the best fishing areas around, it’s an opportunity amigos, feeling lucky?
For the Yellowfin Tuna guys, Cleofus of the Tres Maria Islands are sporting Yellowfin Tuna in the 150 lb range and up. It’s the time of year every time your line hits the water, you could boat a world record Tuna. Contact us for your best and most affordable options for this coveted species.
This week the area between El Morro and Punta Mita got new life in the form of Sailfish with Striped and Blue Marlin about 5 to 14 miles off the point. Dorado are also in the area as well and can run anywhere from 20 to 35 lbs for the lucky angler. Water is mostly blue, but the clean green water is moving in, a strong indicator the water temps are changing quickly. Guyavitos has Roosterfish and that pretty much sums things in this area up. For now, an eight hour trip is worth the money and you still have a shot at Marlin!!
Looking inside the bay, it’s much the same. Skip Jack Tuna are all over the bay and running about 7 to 10 lbs. Bonito are smaller in size right now but super abundant. Sailfish are still finding they way to the Los Arcos area, this to me is always a surprise. Sailfish also like to hang out around the La Cruz Marina. When Jack Crevalles move in, you know the water is getting cooler since they’re a cold water species. And surprisingly enough, Dorado are also in the bay, they’re smaller, but we have Dorado in the bay for the lucky.
Looking at the coming weeks, it seems the calendar has ‘fast forwarded’ to post-January conditions. This isn’t surprising since we’ve had relatively low water temperatures since July. The effects of La Nina. I predict we’ll see Dorado coming in from the north for a while, but then I foresee them being gone until next year (pure genius). Dorado prefers water temperatures in the 84 degree range. So we should be thankful for the fish we have. Water temperatures have been disastrous, they’ve gone from 87 to 78 degrees in less than two weeks. That is an extreme chill factor and that’s the reason all the Dorado in the bay disappeared. Looking to the coming week, the bite is still right at 09:00, so be where you want to be by then. There is plenty of live bait in the form of Skipjack Tuna, Bonito, Flying fish, Goggle Eyes and more. But dead bait for the last few days has been working best. Keep this to yourself.
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
Written by Stan Gabruk
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