El Banco: Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado Move In, Bait, Blue Water Dream

This week we took another step in the transition into another year of world class fishing in Puerto Vallarta. We’ve finally replaced all the clean green water, with high visibility blue water. Water temperatures are up to 83 degrees and there is no shortage of bait in the water. Last week I mentioned that things would be changing soon and this week we’ve seen something we haven’t seen for years. El Banco right now has some serious action. Now this is a twelve hour day, so you have to be “into it” or it just sounds like “too much”. But for those that understand fishing happens where it happens, you literally go the distance. And right now you can find up to 100 lb Yellowfin Tuna. Now the Marlin are picking up in numbers as well, blue or black, they’re both running the area, but wait, that’s not all, Dorado, Sailfish have moved in and are hanging out. Right now it looks like the “high season” for fishing has finally begun!

So here we are, Corbetena is running a little short on natural bait, so the action for some reason at the rock is a little weak in comparison to El Banco. Corbetena has Blue Marlin to 250 lbs, Black Marlin in the same range. Not many Sailfish, but there are Dorado in the 15 lb range. Yellowfin Tuna in the 30 to 50 lb range are moving around and your best opportunity for action is still about eight to ten miles to the north. Honestly for now, Corbetena is a full day and with sparse bait, you’ve got your day setup for you and some people are coming up empty at the rock. Now when we talk about El Banco (aka The Bank), this is a different story. The biggest surprise is how this area came to life in what seems like a day after my last report. First big surprise, Yellowfin Tuna running 30 to 100 lbs popped up, along with 350 lb Black Marlin, 225 lb Blue Marlin, 15 lb Dorado, Sailfish and who knows what else. El Banco has plenty of bait in the form of Skipjack tuna, Bonita, flying fish, Sardines and more. This is all happening from over the high spots to the northwest, but frankly look for the birds and start there. Now you may wonder why El Banco is firing and Corbetena is a little “sleepy”. It’s simple, El Nino! When we get the El Nino currents, it moves to the east by what can be many miles. When this happens, the currents will skirt El Banco, if we’re lucky. You see normally when we have an El Nino condition, the currents will move to the east by about fifty miles. This means our primary summer currents push our famous summer species into Cabo, head first! To see these currents skirting El Banco is encouraging for the summer. In fact I’m having “fishing fantasies” like I haven’t had since 2003! For the next twenty minutes El Banco is the best bang for your fishing dollar.

From El Morro / Punta Mita to Sayulita, the fishing conditions are improving, but they’re not great. One interesting thing that should grab your attention is the fact we have Red Snapper at 35 lbs running El Morro and probably around the Marietta Islands, but be careful for the “fish and game” equivalent circling the island. From Punta Mita to Sayulita there are 15 lb Rooster fish. Now there should be Sailfish and Dorado, but there are still very few boats going out so there isn’t much information to collect about the area. I expect in the next week or two this will change for the positive with sailfish and hopefully an increase in Dorado. Yes there are still Jack Crevalles, Bonito, Sierra Mackerels, Skippies and more. Not the best area to target until things pick up a bit, stay tuned!

World Class Fishing the Tres Maria Islands for Monster Yellowfin Tuna, Some important Facts You Won’t Hear Anywhere Else!

Inside the bay is still much of the same story. But having said that, they’ve seen a freak Sailfish or two in the bay following the ridge from Corbetena! There are 15 lb Dorado at Los Arcos, Capt. Pablo boated 15 over 15 lbs! With Jack Crevalles, Sierra Mackerels, Bonito to 20 lbs and Skip Jack Tuna at 10 lbs. Again, not much has changed, but the water is a beautiful blue and the fish are biting. Great day for family or touring. I suggest six hours to give you time to reach the south end of the bay! You’ll find action at four hours, but the couple extra hours will make a difference.

The positive steps of blue water, warm water at 83 degrees and improving bay bait conditions, things will only continue to improve. It seems the bite is a bit earlier, you should be leaving the docks about 06:30 as the bite is earlier now. The afternoon bite about 3 O’clock and it’s pretty strong. Remember we can leave in the afternoon and catch the afternoon bite. It’s not just morning fishing around here amigo, no matter how much they push the morning departures. With plenty of live bait, sometimes dead baits, and lures of pink, purple and Petroleros are a good option. For now make sure you run at least one lure to cover that possibility. Live bait is king. The tourist season is mostly over, but the fishing season is coming on nicely. In a few weeks the entire area will be picking up as the tournaments begin. And remember, if you have any questions or tour needs, we can handle it all in one place, with people you can trust. And think “tournaments”! We have several coming up and we can fix you up!

Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!

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