What a difference a week can make and what a week it´s been! With the cold front that came through, closed the port and messed with the fishing it was little more than a night mare for a few days there. But with the cold front came a cold current that ¨pushed¨ Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna and other species into the area in decent numbers. For the lucky sole that is here in Puerto Vallarta looking to go fishing, you just hit he jackpot!
The Calendar shows it´s March yet the water temperatures are telling us it´s early summer with water temps jumping to 80 degrees or about 23 Celsius. This is highly unusual as we´re officially in the middle of the winter fishing season where water temps should be around 70 to 72 degrees. For now with some Sardines and massive amounts of Bullet Bonito and Skippies (babies) as bait conditions are improving a bit. Rooster fish are spotty, Marlin are moving back in, kinda. Forget Dorado and Sailfish, they´re done for now. Then again there are still Sails being boated in the bay?! What does this all mean, who knows, but we´ll figure it all out together so stay tuned, things could get interesting!
Normally when you think February you think winter fishing. With the warm water conditions of El Nino we don´t know what to expect, but what we´re getting is weird at the very best. With water temperatures hovering around 77 degrees for the last month, we had our fill of summer species then the production fishing ships came in and raped Corbeteña and El Banco. Now we´re looking at our deep water locations as fish ghost towns. For those looking for Marlin, Sailfish and Yellowfin tuna you may want to rethink your plan. Having said that, everything can change in a few days so keep positive and we´ll show you how to still have fun and save a little money not targeting Moby Dick!
With this up and down season we are seeing strange and unusual things lately. One day we`re hot as a Jalapeno, the next day it´s not so ¨spicy¨. The seasons look like they´re trying to change then we see warm days and drastic humidity, which of course relates to warmer surface water temperatures. Which of course is great for summer species. All and all the fishing is good, but you have to deal with El Nino and other unwelcome challenges.
Well once again El Nino has us scratching our heads wondering what is coming next. Last week it looked like the ¨summer¨ fishing season had finally ended. Then all of a sudden Striped Marlin move in off Sayulita in force, the Dorado move back in to the Punta Mita area, Yellowfin Tuna for now at El Banco, it´s a real mixed bag with summer species swimming alongside winter species. It´s anyone’s guess from this point how the season is going to shape up for the rest of the winter, but if this is any example of what we can expect, I´m excited at the possibilities.
As is natural Mother Nature has once again reset the current clock as we see water temperatures turn chilly to the summer species of Dorado and Black Marlin. Other summer species are still hanging around the deep water locations, but for how much longer? For now fishing has it´s challenges like fishing always does. We see the void being filled in nicely by Sierra Mackerals, Needle Fish, Large Bonito (Tuna in cans), Sailfish and Dorado still hanging north of Corbeteña and El Banco. Yellowfin tuna off Cleophus of the Tres Maria Islands and Blue Marlin between Corbetena and El Banco. Fishing isn´t perfect for the jaded, but for the guy looking for a challenge and some serious action, now is the time to hit it or it may be too late amigos for Tuna and Marlin!
Well folks it had to happen, winter is moving in. With the present El Nino being one of the strongest in history I have been expecting conditions to remain the same for a while longer. There were a few storms up north in Southern California that threw some nasty cold temperatures and rain at them which pushed down some cold currents and fronts. These conditions changed quickly and once the water temperatures dropped drastically like they did this past week something had to give. Having said that if you´re happy with winter species, you´ll be fine. The winter storm pattern is setting up in northern waters and the currents being pushed down will affect the area. Winter fishing is here in Puerto Vallarta.
As we continue to see amazing fishing in mid January we wonder if this can continue for much longer. With warm water temperatures that stretch way, way north we could be in pretty good shape for summer species hanging out around our World Famous Fishing grounds for weeks or months to come, cross your fingers. Having said that we are still seeing Marlin, Sailfish and Dorado all around the place. One nice surprise is we´re finally seeing some decent sized Yellowfin tuna around El Banco or The Bank in English. The water is High Visibility blue at all the fishing grounds but of course there are always challenges when it comes to fishing and this week is no different.
What a difference a week can make and this week we´re seeing what we probably shouldn´t be, thank El Nino for this amigos! Sailfish, you bet, Marlin are all over our world famous fishing grounds. Dorado increased in size and abundance, Wahoo return, Football Tuna all over the deep water fishing grounds of Corbeteña and El Banco. The bay is boiling with action and frankly if you show up, you´ll catch fish. Short days smaller gamefish, longer days, more expensive I might add, bigger fish. Summer fishing in High Season, YeHa!!
As we all welcome the New Year we see our World Class Fishing Grounds move into ¨neutral¨ for lack of a better descriptive. Normally at this time of the year we see water temperatures drop sharply forcing our Billfish, Dorado and Yellowfin Tuna out of the area without as much as a ¨Good By¨. This year things are going to be a little different. With water temperatures still at the 80 degree mark we find we still have a fair amount of Marlin and Dorado cruising the area. We won´t complain about these conditions, the only thing is, this normal cold water conditions act as a barrier keeping fish from ¨wandering¨ north. This is not the case at the moment. So what does this mean, well these ¨fish¨ move and they move erratically. For now, they´re moving up the coast and out to sea. Basically our fishing grounds are ¨spreading out¨ and we can´t do a thing to stop it. The good news is we still have great fishing. The active word being ¨Fishing¨.