Fishing Frustrations, Strong Currents, Hurricanes and Rough Seas

Written by Stan Gabruk of Master Baiter’s Sportfishing & Tackle

When we enter this time of the year Hurricanes are a part of our daily life. Now we don’t get hit with Hurricanes, but they do pass the Bay of Banderas frequently. More frequently than you might think. We’ve see some interesting situations. Clashing Currents from two different Hurricanes hundreds of miles apart came together perfectly outside of the bay and we had some large swells with short intervals. It put the idea of fishing out of the picture. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have any fishing. It just means you couldn’t get out of the bay!

As conditions calmed down we finally got a chance to head out to Corbetena and El Banco. We found fish, but we found the challenge of tiny baits, Whale food in reality. So small baits are what they’re taking in the morning. That’s the secret, mid-morning live bait and lures are your best hope. Blue Marlin and Black Marlin are in the neighborhood at 350 to 500 lbs. Sailfish are there as well but the bottom line is with strong currents, the fish are on the move. Cubera Snappers over 50 lbs are taking trolled Skipjack tuna. Yellowfin Tuna Football sized at 40 lbs are in the area as well. Dorado have filed to turn up as yet, stay tuned. I should mention that Black Marlin have been at El Banco as well, but out of four boats the other day, only one had a strike. Feeling lucky?

The area from El Morro to Punta Mita is much the same. It seems that for now, not tomorrow, many of the species we expect have moved out. You can troll and jig at El Morro and get Guachilingo Snappers, Amberjacks and Cubera Snappers. Trolled baits will be targeting Sailfish, Striped Marlin, Rooster fish in the mid-size range, Bonito and even some Jack Crevalles. Give it a few days and the action will be back to normal. Punta Mita is not much better. The Sayulita area is a little better with Rooster fish, Sailfish, Striped Marlin, Bonito and that’s about it. If you can find a buoy out there you have a shot at some decent sized Dorado. But in reality they’ve thinned out a bit as well. So there are fish to be had, you just have to find them first. Maybe that should be the articles title, who knows.

In the bay we got some rough water but it didn’t stop any fishing. With the rain we’re dealing with the dirty water from the rivers as usual. Down near Los Arcos the water is clean and there are Jack Crevales in the 30 lb range. Dorado have disappeared! Not even any small ones, don’t worry, this will change before you finish reading this article. Bonito, possible freak Sailfish, Small Rooster fish at Punta Negra. It’s hard to make a call as to what’s in the bay since there have been so few fishing trips with the stormy weather. It happens from time to time and being on the tail end of this stormy week it’s hard to report on what’s not out there. But things change, give it a few days and we’ll be back to normal. Before you head out, feel free to fire me an email and specifically what’s happening out there “now”.

Except for the passing storms, the conditions are really great for fishing in Puerto Vallarta. Water temperatures are still at a perfect 88 degrees. The water is blue at the deep water fishing grounds. Bait isn’t really a problem as well. But as mentioned earlier small bait rigs in the morning then live bait come mid-day. Lures are having some luck, but it’s best of you go through your color. Start with the Iguanas, Petroleros, flying fish lures of blue and white or silver are good places to start. The bite hasn’t changed now for months for some reason, somewhere around 10 a.m. in the morning now. Also, remember we’re in Fishing Tournament Season now and we have a whole line of affordable boats with world class captains. If interested in entering any of the tournament in the area let us know, we can fix you up with a “tournament winning boat”!

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

Web page:  www.MasterBaiters.com.mx , Local Phone at: 322 779 7571 or our international number is: (011 52) 322 209 1128 10 to 9 local time. #MasterBaitersSportfishing on Instagram, Facebook,

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