El Banco Explodes with Marlin and Sailfish

El Banco Explodes with Marlin and Sailfish

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

 

Normally the month of September is one of the slowest months of the year for tourism as temperatures are up, humidity is up and the fishing moves into high gear! Blue Water is everywhere and the dirty water that plagued us is now a thing of the past. Water temperatures are still a tad warm, but nothing to keep the fish down or away. We´ve seen some Hurricane weather, but for the season it´s been relatively quiet. The best news is Blue Marlin are moving in nicely around our deep water locations especially El Banco. Sailfish are also picking up in numbers as we enter the time of year for them and other large Trophy Sized Billfish as they take over El Banco!

Speaking of El Banco, for weeks and weeks we´ve had dirty, ugly, coffee colored water that was a result of changing El Nino currents. For the last two weeks we´ve had 250 lb to 500 lb Blue Marlin increasing in numbers and they´re taking baits. Sailfish are abundant, they´re also very happy to take your baits as well. One big surprise this week is the discovery of 75 to 100 lb Yellowfin. Now in reality if you´re heading to the high spots this is never a bad idea. But on the way out there, eight miles before you come to GPS Points, drip baits and get ready. That´s right, the fish are not on the High Spots for the moment. Hopefully this makes your day more productive with this information. Yellowfin Tuna have been running about 80 ft deep, so downriggers are a necessity right now. The challenge is to get these Tuna to take bait. Normally when we have Tuna and they´re not biting, it´s because there are Squid or Shrimps, maybe red crabs or even Jelly Fish, they´ll chose all of these over trolled baits. Some smaller Cubera Snappers around 40 lbs and of course there is a ton of Skippies or Skip Jack Tuna, Bonito, Flying fish, Goggle Eyes, you name it. For now, if you want to catch world class gamefish, you´re heading to El Banco! Oh, with the few boats that are heading out to our world class and deserted fishing grounds, well two to five Marlin are being boated daily. Time to get on a boat!

Corbeteña this week is slow and that´s about as nice and ¨fluffy¨ as I can get. It seems like everything is centered around El Banco for now. Still, you have a chance at Blue Marlin and before the end of the week I´m sure you´ll have more than a chance. But those looking for ¨Reel Time¨ information will have accurate information that´s useable right here, right now! Sailfish, yes of course, plenty! Marlin, maybe … they´re not really hanging around the area much. Cubera Snappers are in the 50lb range with other assorted species. For now if heading to Corbeteña, I´d suggest changing your plans to El Banco.

Marietta Islands and the Punta Mita point are sharing the same fate of smaller fish that really aren´t enough to grab your attention. Skip Jack Tuna, Bonita, some Jack Crevalls, no Dorado to speak of and what you find is so small you should feel guilty for not throwing them back! Not really worth the fuel dollar if this is where you want to go. Normally trolling from Punta Mita to the Marietta Islands will produce Sailfish, but this week the fish seem to have picked a new ¨hang out¨.

Inside the bay, well summer fishing in the bay is always automatic if the water is clean. But we´re having issues in the bay also.  We finally are seeing some evening rains of full force so we have a Trash Line once again. Located pretty much in the middle of the bay, you´ll have smaller Dorado feeding on it, Skip Jack Tuna, Jack Crevall and other smaller assorted species. The Dorado are like five pounds and if you keep this diminishing species at this size you should be ashamed of yourself and it´s double bad if you keep a five point female! If you don´t care amigos, who will? One nice thing is you can always rely on the river mouths to produce table fish or Snappers, Robalo, and assorted other fish that are all worth eating. Follow the locals lead and you´ll normally be glad you did.

In summary we´re saying the fishing is great, as always you have to be where the fish are, nothing new there. But it´s the season for Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Dorado. You could be surprised there are not too many Dorado locally until you read about the Dorado being boated in Ensenada or San Diego. It´s an El Nino Season and we´re adapting to conditions as they arise. For the serious fisherman the twelve hour trip is worth the time and money. The bite is still earlier in the morning and around 3:00 PM if you´re looking to make it an easier day catching fish. Rain is still forecasted for the future, all of a sudden we´re getting our seasonal rains in September? The Trash line and possibly some dirty water near the shore in the bay is to be expected. In reality this is not unusual for September. October we see the numbers of Sailfish, Dorado, Marlin increase and of course we Expect Yellowfin Tuna well over a hundred pounds any day now. El Nino, nothing we can do!

Master Baiter´s is offering Competition busting prices on four hour trips into the bay fishing the river mouths for Snapper, Snook, Skip Jack tuna, Jack Crevalls and whatever shows up for a free dinner in the sweet fresh water. This is what the locals do, they catch fish for the dinner table and they don´t need to spend a fortune. So for four hours, just fishing the river mouth and structure is for the next month: $199 usd.  Included: Ice, Huge Cooler, bait, captain, crew, licenses, lures, everything except food and drinks.  We have a Coffee shop in the Marina that is very happy to take your order for whatever you want amigos. The boat is beautiful, English speaking Captain, expect Master Baiter´s Quality at a price you can´t beat! Again, Good for up to four people. . . That´s the Super Duper Deal amigo, we´re waiting for your call.

Tournaments coming Up: We have a local and very popular tournaments coming up many have not heard of before and you might want to participate in. In the first week of November Puerto Vallarta has a great little Tournament I should mention the entry fee is only $2,000 pesos or $125 usd at today’s exchange rate! Fun, popular, and this year it´s two days to include Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and Tuna of course! We have your boat waiting. Here´s a link to get all the information: http://www.pvscene.com/13854/los-muertos-pier-fishing-tournament/

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.