We’ve been lucky this whole winter high season when it comes to fishing. We’ve had warm water, summer species and incredible action. For a while there I was concerned that this could be an El Nino year, but thank your lucky stars things have changed. So this means were back on a “normal schedule”. That means the water temperatures are dropping to where “normal” is and the warm water species we’ve enjoyed are finally thinning out. Now this sounds almost tragic, but in reality it’s not. Winter Species are now moving in which means Jack Crevalls are more plentiful and larger in size. Sierra Mackerels which are great tasting and while smaller are great “machine gun” action at will. Grouper are showing up at the Ameca River mouth, still small but in a week or two this will be the secret spot. Yes folks we’re changing seasons now but that doesn’t mean fishing has stopped. It just means we need to change our focus to smaller and more abundant species looking for that all important arm burning action!
If you go back and review any of my old reports, you’d notice they all follow a seasonal pattern. Warm water means big summer species like Marlin, Tuna, Sailfish and Dorado. Winter Species of Jack Crevalls, Snappers, Bonito, limited Sailfish are also in the area. So for us to have most of the aforementioned species is just incredible! Water temperatures are cool, but not freezing for fish. Bait is off the hook and frankly we have plenty of fish, but with super amounts of “whale” food, all the players are participating in the worlds largest “fish smorgasbord”! If you’re looking for some great action, we’ve got what you’re looking for.
Well, it’s finally happening, the water temperatures have dropped to the “degrees” that would be normal for this time of the year. Up to this point visiting angles have had the luxury of having several summer species hanging around in the “winter” fishing season. Dorado, Striped Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna will be fading out shortly. Normally or this time of the year 74 to about 72 degrees is normal, but will probably continue to drop for a few weeks more before we see things reverse itself around the beginning of May. From about now to that time frame we’ll be seeing our normal winter species and fishing conditions. This is normal, don’t be alarmed! In fact it’s great news to me personally, it was looking like a possible El Nino year, which we could do without!
Well, here we are again, another week and more unexpected conditions. In recent weeks we’ve seen the unusually warm water fueling our deep water fishing grounds with Striped Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and more. But now we’re seeing some “Clean Green” water which is about 74 degrees. This of course means we’re seeing swirling currents with mixed water temperatures. Not a monster obstacle to overcome, but if you don’t have electronics to know the water temperatures it will impact your day. Every increasing whale food in the form of Krill Squids and Shrimps, small Sardines and who knows what else is both a blessing and curse.
We’re seeing some strange things happening in our world famous fishing grounds. First, we have 81 degree water, no kidding. It should be in the neighborhood of 75 degrees or lower. As a result of this and the storms up north we’re seeing an explosion of Fish! Sailfish, Dorado, Striped Marlin, even Blue Marlin are being boated. The entire area is alive with great action. Smaller fish in the bay for great family fishing days with Sierra Mackerels and then the larger species outside of the bay! With mostly blue water, there are some dirty water areas closer to shore. Plenty of blue water. Lot’s going on out there so stay with me!
Well it had to happen, the calendar is getting long in the tooth and the cool water finally came in. It always happens at the end of December, this year we we’re lucky! But luck doesn’t last forever as we see strong and cold currents coming down from the north. With this cold water is coming the winter bait, the whale food so to speak. Squids, Krill Shrimp, Sardines to name a few have flooded the area. This is a double edged sword ….
As we come into this time of the year we see a bit of a rollercoaster out there. With swirling currents of different temperatures it can be challenging to say the least. One of those challenges is the massive amount of “Whale food” that comes in the form of Krill Squids, Krill Shrimps and many other different baits. Yes the Whales love it, so does every other species in or around the bay. As a result of this massive amounts of bait, at times you’re hard pressed as to which type of bait to use. And as always you’ll probably be wrong until you hit that magic combination or lure! But we have fish, boy do we have fish!
Normally as we enter late December we hope and pray for warm water to continue into the holiday season. This year it looks like we’re going to be lucky as water temperatures continue to be warm. Sailfish and Marlin numbers are starting to thin-out in some areas. But we also need to remember “Fish Move”! So what looks like thin numbers could be more about them concentrating in certain areas and not others. Where might those areas be? Well, continue reading amigo, we have another exciting week to report to you!
Well it had to come, the seasons are getting ready to change. We’ve seen some cooler currents moving in swirling with the warmer surface water. Fish numbers have been great, so the fact it can be difficult to get these fish to pay attention to your bait is frustrating. This started just a few days after my last report. There’s plenty of fish, maybe a little spread out, but plenty of fish. The issue is their “biting” habits. Bait is not an issue unless you can’t get a fish to turn his head. Water temperatures are fine, dropping as expected slightly. Blue Water and great conditions. In a word, it’s FISHING amigos, improvise, adapt, enjoy!
I think last week you may have gotten the feeling I was a little disappointed in the local action and I was a little. But that has all changed now because any fish you could basically want to catch is out there. You name it, you want good sized to huge Yellowfin Tuna, got it. Sailfish, Dorado, Marlin, got it. But there’s a catch, you have to be on the water to catch these Bucket list fish! With almost perfect conditions the fishing will not get any better this year than it is now!
