Dorado in Yelapa, Tuna at Corbeteña and El Banco, Seasonal Rains Begin!

Dorado in Yelapa, Tuna at Corbeteña and El Banco, Seasonal Rains Begin!

Written by Stan Gabruk, owner Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle

As we march into summer and Fishings High season we see that the predictable seasonal rains, down pours would be a better description has all kinds of trees and assorted things running in to the bay of Banderas. The up side is that Dorado are moving into the bay and although they are on the smaller, not tiny side, they are still fun to catch and great to eat! Black and Blue Marlin are around Corbeteña and El Banco, but you may have to work a little for these highly desirable gamefish. Favorable conditions are here in Puerto Vallarta´s world class fishing grounds now. The only thing lacking is YOU!

We´ve had a lot of local faces show up this week, faces I normally see a little more often here in Marina Vallarta. But we all know we are dealing with the ¨New World¨ when it comes to the financials of our yearly visitors dealing with a wavering economy in North America! Fishing companies are struggling to deal with a lack of interest in those coming to Puerto Vallarta in Deep Sea Fishing for sure. So the catch has been a void of sorts on information in the different locations. This week we have the 5th International Marlin and Tuna Tournament of Riviera Nayarit, just about ten or so  miles north of Puerto Vallarta marina, held in the La Cruz Marina, which of course is the reason we have been seeing more boats at the regular places than normal. So I get reports, but with the tournament coming on people are tight lipped about their strategies…..  For those interested, there are a lot of locations in our fishing grounds that don´t get any attention at all, which should! The area between El Banco and Corbeteña can be a real winner for you who like to participate in the local Puerto Vallarta Tournaments! With all kinds of ridges and valleys, you need to use those expensive electronics to find them and to mark them on your GPS. There are also areas to the south east of Corbeteña where many tournament winners have been produced as well! Off El Banco, five to ten miles, many times there will be no action on the high spots, where everyone fights for position. Many times the area between El Banco and Punta Mita can produce trophy winning Dorado, Sailfish and even Marlin. So when you head out to the fishing grounds, zig when everyone is heading to the same two locations. Also if you are a serious competitor, these large boats that do 30 mph at best are comfortable, but they´re built for comfort, not competition. Fast boats can get where slower and larger boats can only wish they could get to and back before the daily gun at about 5in the afternoon!

If you are looking for Yellowfin Tuna, for the tournament or just to fill your fridge, then one thing you want to bring and keep with you is a kite. Nothing new about kites for sure, but this past week those getting larger Yellowfin Tuna at El Banco and Corbeteña over 125 lbs are using kites. When it comes to Yellowfin Tuna, which is the big draw right now, you better be patient and have a good bag of tricks or in common terms, you better have a great selection of lures. Poppers, Cedar Plugs, Jet heads, Soft head lure, and even live bait of larger and smaller size varieties are all working, but no one thing works more than a couple of times in a day. So change lures, and have a kite rigged with the double trouble swivels so you can run more than two baits amigo… keep this to yourself as always….. It´s out secret.

At Corbeteña Magnifico (our 31ft. Bertram Classic) ran into herds of bait eating Needle fish, commonly called false Marlin, these fish are great fighters and kinda strange looking tubular fish with a small bill. They look kinda like a barracuda with a bill or a balleyhos that was stretched out! Keeping bait away from these Needle fish is hard and when you are targeting larger fish, this will leave you short on bait and scratching your head. So be a little stingy on your bait usage and when you see Needle fish springing up as they will everywhere, run lures on a few lines or move out of the area. Sailfish are still here as are Blue Marlin and Black Marlin the 40 to 600 pound range. Not too abundant, but enough to justify the fuel expense. So keep an eye out for what you are targeting and don´t get stung feeding fish you don´t want your valuable bait! El Banco is the same, sin Needle fish!

The point of Punta Mita is seeing more in the way of Sailfish off the point about seven to twelve miles off the point. More Dorado are moving into the area here as well. Dorado in this area are normally more abundant, so I expect this area to improve quickly…. Or not… who really knows for sure, stay tuned!

The bay is seeing the seasonal rains dump the water into the bay via the streams and rivers. This means there is plenty of organic materials in the bay for the Dorado to eat as the Trash Line(s) become a real factor when fishing in the bay. As normal the organic materials that wash down the hillsides are like a free buffet for smaller fish. And of course this draws larger fish, so look for the line what looks like dirt floating on the water. Cast a diamond jig, or Rapalla in the water about two feet or so in the clean water side and you may find you´ll catch more fish than those heading out to the deep water locations! Needle fish, Sierra Mackerals, Bonito, Skip Jack Tuna and the list goes on are all waiting for you to come out and play! I put a couple of ladies out the other day for four hours and they came in with several nice Dorados for dinner! So remember, the guy looking for huge fish has to head out to the deep water locations, but if you´re looking for some action on smaller but great fighting fish, and then we have all your options covered amigo!

Water Temperatures are perfect, plenty of bait in all the locations you`ll be heading out to makes conditions favorable. But remember, fish move so what you found in one place today, may be completely different tomorrow. So be flexible, have a plan and be ready to improvise and adapt as the day goes by.

For those of you looking to book fishing trip this year remember the warmer it gets the better the fishing is. August is a great time of the year for those who are serious about fishing to come to Puerto Vallarta a for fishing. In fact from Mid July to the second week of January is when you want to plan your fishing trip here if possible. As the weather cools down, the fishing is still great, but to be up front, the really big fish, the ones that go in the record books are caught from the beginning of August to the end of October. I hope that is not too confusing… Hahahaa..

For those interested, the American consulate has not issued any warning about the Jalisco area as being dangerous or having drug cartel problems. Listen to the news for sure, but realize there are a lot of false statements in the North American press, talk with people who have come to Mexico,  you`ll find they all had a good time and no issues! Frankly as I look around the empty fishing grounds, empty hotels and empty Marina, most I talk with tell me these sorts of comments how nobody is in any danger!!! If you have any questions, feel free to con tact me at Master Baiter´s dot com dot mx and I will be happy to answer any questions or concerns, even if you don´t want to go fishing amigos!!

One word of caution: a small stick pointing out from the water may have a giant root ball under it. I have seen dead horses, floating refrigerators, furniture, you name it. I don`t know where it all comes from, but there you are amigos. Running out too early is not always the best idea when you have to go slow so you can avoid these half exposed prop and shaft hazards. Charter boats will be going a touch slower the darker it is in the morning.  So if you want to head out to the deep water locations early, allow for the slowness of the boat time wise….. or just go a little later and go a little faster. For those who want to be at the fishing grounds first thing in the morning, do a over- night, you will sleep under the stars, cook your catch and be there for the bite without having to worry about wiping out the prop in the morning… something to think about amigos!

For those of you thinking of entering our local tournaments from Barra to Manzanillo, Master Baiter’s Captains are the best in Puerto Vallarta with many being multi-tournament winners. We keep our prices down as much as possible for tournaments because we like to be in the action too! So if saving some money and not paying double the regular price of a charter per day appeals to you, then contact me about the tournament you are interested in and we will fix you up with tried and true captains, boats and crews with fresh line, top notch equipment and tackle and of course English speaking, professional crews of course! So come be part of Team Master Baiter’s and find out for yourself that “We Won’t Jerk You Around!”

That’s about it for now, until next week, don´t forget to kiss your fish!

As the oldest fishing company in Puerto Vallarta and the only company with any World Recognized Fishing Championships like the WBS Billfishing Series Grand Champions (2000 and 2001) under our belt. Nobody, but nobody in Puerto Vallarta can come close to us in quality or price when it comes to world class fishing boats. Remember, at Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle, We Won´t Jerk You Around! If you have any questions on any subject regarding fishing or Puerto Vallarta, feel free to ask!

For questions or suggestions you can reach me at: CatchFish@MasterBaiters.com.mx

The trade name Master Baiter’s ® Sportfishing and Tackle is protected under trade mark law and is the sole property to Stan Gabruk.