Dorado Finally Return to Puerto Vallarta

                                     Dorado Finally Return to Puerto Vallarta

Written by: Stan Gabruk owner of Master Baiter´s Sportfishing & Tackle

The big news this week is the return of Dorado in our world class fishing grounds. Late, yes they are. But like the old saying ¨better late than never¨. Marlin are in and out, mostly in. Sailfish are everywhere, Blue Water, plenty of Bait, smooth seas, it´s all a fisherman’s dream and those lucky enough to be here are looking at Prime Time Fishing!

We´re still seeing some crazy days when we´ll have like three days straight of great fishing with Marlin, Sailfish and even Dorado are picking up nicely in numbers. But you´ll still have a day or two a week when it seems the fish have disappeared. With strong changing currents and warm water all up and down the coast to points well north of California it´s like open range. Fish move and with an abundance of bait, they may be ¨stuffed¨ before you find them. Other days are off the hook, Sails, Dorado and Marlin are all possible in the same day! The Water is High Visibility Blue in color and in almost all cases the fishing is hard to beat. For those taking one day to go fishing, it´s always possible to get skunked, so multiple days insure a great experience. I had a long term client head out asking for a specific Captain the other day, very capable and experienced captain, got one or two small fish, nothing major. The next day, same captain, same places, boated a big Black Marlin, released two sailfish. Same everything. So fishing is never an exacting sport, but right now, you want to make sure you are at your chosen fishing grounds no later than 8 in the a.m. to catch the bite. So what we´re doing now is planning on ten hour trips, head to the Punta Mita point, take a heading of 300, head out about ten miles and drop your baits. From there start trolling towards Corbetena. Now Corbeteña may not have a Marlin in sight, but we don´t know this until we get there.

Corbetena this week was the place to be, most days. It´s been kinda weird, fish that would normally ¨hang¨ around the rock with all the varied underwater terrain, are in and out. Blue and Black Marlin are in the area running from 250 lbs to over 600 lbs. Sailfish are still in the 125 lb range, nice sized. Bonito 35 lbs, Jack Crevalls 30 lbs, and the Cubera Snappers or Dog Tooth Pargo at 50 lbs are coming to the surface to take trolled baits. One problem around Corbeteña and El Banco is there are large Bottle Nose Dolphin which are taking your bait right up to the hook, then bug out. The first time this happened to me I thought it was ¨kinda cool¨. But when they took almost all my baits, it wasn´t so funny and they´re doing that same exact thing now. So you´ve been warned. No Yellowfin Tuna to speak of, but this can change in twenty minutes!

The point off Punta Mita is once again the secret location. As mentioned earlier, hit the point, aim the boat at Corbeteña or El Banco and drop baits. There have been days where the area between Corbeteña and Punta Mita is where all the fish are. But, a day or two of trolling around this area with nothing can make you wonder what the deal is. Well, don´t analyze a fish, they´re worse than my ex-wife!  Same Fish, Marlin, Sails, Dorado, Snapper around the reef. We have lots of floating logs mixed with all sorts of organic stuff from the rivers and the Dorado are loving this! Find a patch of these leave, seeds and stumps and you have Dorado running 25 to 35 lbs amigo, finally!

The Marietta Islands and El Morro, it´s Sailfish city, but again, you´ll be going around this area off Punta Mita as a spring board. Most are boating at least one sailfish and many times two, released I might add. Bonito to 35 lbs, Skip Jack Tuna, Snapper for those who don´t mind jigging. All and all, not a location to spend much time in.

Inside the bay, well it´s the bay and the fishing for now is average. Jack Crevals around Nuevo Vallarta beaches, Bonito in the 25 lb range. Some smaller Snook around the river mouth(s). For the lucky there have been some nice sized football Tuna around Yelapa. Sailfish off the Los Arcos Rocks, again for the lucky. But the north end of the bay was dirty for a few days, so check conditions before heading inside the bay.

The bite time this week is all important. We´re not exactly in the full moon stage, but the bite has been happening in the morning mostly. Be where ever you´re heading by 8:00 a.m. after about 1:00 it will be a touch slower. But around 4:00 it picks up again, use this info wisely grasshopper! Water temps are still in the 85 degree range, I expected things to cool a bit, but they´re hanging in there. It makes me think we may have warm water well past January this year. If so things could be very interesting this winter, stay tuned. Lures: Blue, Pink, Purple in color are favorable, nothing new with these colors. Petrelaros are their reliable selves so give them a shot at least. Live bait is king, but with so many type of live bait right now, it´s best to make bait at the fishing ground, but still stop by and buy the Goggle eyes as insurance.

My weekly Video Fishing Report on my web page is a huge success and I even have clients coming in saying how much they love the straight forward approach. Hell I may even do it as a selfie type report if I have to. But the information is fresh and great, I normally post on Friday so you´ve got ¨Reel Time¨ information designed for locals heading out. It´s a lot of fun actually, but it´s done with a Cell Phone Camera and my computer program, so expectations of a super production values should be left next to your mouse. It´s  ¨Reel Time¨  information designed to be used tomorrow! Shared boats: We´re also doing what we can to help those looking to share a Super Panga or large ¨hook-up¨. We are now focusing on 8 hrs or 10 hr shared trips to enable me to keep my sanity with those switching and changing minds. So contact me and we´ll fix you up, I have more names by the day so you´re chances of ¨Hooking Up¨ are great!  We´re still doing shared charters just contact me with your date and we´ll see if we can hook you up. Naturally the more that are interested in shared pangas, the better it works. So tell your friends and share this article, could save you money amigos! Those on a budget you can still catch world class fish on vacation with this option!

Until next time, don´t forget to ¨Kiss Your Fish¨. . .

Master Baiter´s has changed locations in Marina Vallarta between docks A and B on the boardwalk. Email your Questions to me at: CatchFish@MasterBaiters.com.mx  Web page:  www.MasterBaiters.com.mx , Local Phone at: (044) 322 779 75 71 or if roaming: 011 52 1 322 779 75 71 cell phone direct Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Master-Baiters-Sportfishing-Tackle/88817121325 The trade name Master Baiter’s ® Sportfishing and Tackle is protected under trade mark law and is the sole property of Stan Gabruk.