Fishing Improves with Rooster Fish Numbers increasing, not easy!

                       

                            Fishing Improves with Rooster Fish Numbers increasing, not easy!

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

For the last couple of weeks Mexico as a whole has had some serious rain. Guadalajara, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta got a fair share of rain. This rain ultimately results in water in the rivers which of course flow to the sea, in this case we´re talking about Puerto Vallarta. If you read my summer time online articles then you know dirty water from inland will flood Banderas Bay with coffee colored water. Naturally fish don´t like ¨breathing¨ this dirty water going through their gills so they leave the area or won´t take baits they can´t see. With this dirty water comes all sorts of ¨Trash¨ from dead horses, floating debris of all kinds, I´ve even seen refrigerators floating out there. If you´re on a boat, then you´re looking for signs of underwater obstructions like stumps, tires, you name it! Other than putting trash in the bay, these rains also bring nutrients to the ocean that fish love to feed on, we call this a ¨Trash Line¨. So Rain can be a double edges sword, that is a plus and a minus, it just depends on which side of the ¨trash¨ you´re on.

As a result of this dirty water pouring into the Bay of Banderas we´re seeing the same situation as we see with the summer rains, dirty water. But things have changed for the better now that theres been a few days sin rain and we´re seeing strange things happening in the bay.  Sailfish for example are coming into the bay and this is very unusual for March let alone August! What this all means to the average fisherman heading out for half day fishing? It means you have hungry fish looking for your bait, clean or dirty water, you have Jack Crevalls to fifty pounds which is huge, Snappers to 35 lbs, Sailfish if you´re lucky enough to actually find one in the bay, but it happened, Skip jack Tuna to 35 lbs, Sierra Mackerals to 25 lbs, Pámpanos 15 to 40 lbs  and there have been Dorado caught close in at the south end of the bay as well, it just depends on what you come across. There are fields of churning water in the form of bait balls with birds diving into unimaginable amounts of bait in the area. For now the dirty water if filtering out where the south end of the bay is this clear green or blue water. Sailfish in a four hour trip blew my mind, but anything is possible with the correct conditions amigo!

Last week the only place with fish was the area around were between Punta Mita and the Marietta Islands. This week we have even better conditions with the Rooster Fish (25 – 50 lbs) returning to the area. If you´re in Punta Mita, Rooster fish are just half a mile out and hungry. Not exactly abundant, they´re picking up in numbers and aggressiveness so in a day or three it should be much better. The Marietta Islands are also churning in the area with Skip Jack Tuna, sizeable at 35 to 40 lbs, Sizeable Dorado to 40 lbs if you can find a buoy or floating debris, Snapper to 35 lbs or smaller, Jack Crevalls to 50 lbs as mentioned earlier. Sailfish are in the area as well, not exactly hungry for your presentation, but still, they´re fish, they´ll take a bait sooner or later. Anywhere outside of the bay is blue blue water and full of bait.

Our world famous fishing grounds of El Banco or Corbeteña are much the same as last week. Yes we have Sailfish, Blue and Striped marlin in the local area of these two deep water locations. But the deal is still the same, turning a fickle fishes head when he´s got all the fast food he needs in the form of Bait Balls the size of a WalMart parking lot. Because of this you need to mimic Flying fish bait with a lure of blue and silver. This will get you a shot at a billfish, they´re being boated daily. Still less than a 40% shot, but with the Wahoo that are still roaming the area you should hook-up on something in the area. If targeting these trophy sized gamefish, you should focus your efforts on El Banco, Corbeteña is full of Jack Crevalls with minimal numbers of Billfish for the last few days, but again, this could have changed already! Contact me for a more recent report if heading out.

Tres Maria Islands, also known as the prison Islands are up and down with Yellowfin Tuna, some days they´re scarce. Other days they´re over 200 lbs. it all comes down to time and money as you roll the dice. I have intentially stayed away from this area for chartering boats since it´s a fishery and basically illegal to fish inside the 12 mile boundary. It´s also a super long day, figure at least 16 hrs for this trip with no guarantees unless you´re there for at least an overnight trip! Recently the local authorities have been enforcing the ¨buffer¨ zone as somebody dubbed it. Anyone inside the twelve mile limit are now being chased down and brought back to the island to face the local officials. Those outside of the boundaries can still catch Yellowfin Tuna in sizeable ranges, but you´ll be doing it legally because these captains don´t want their boat confiscated. I am putting together some boats to handle this business so stay tuned amigos..

Details: Water temps are still at the 75 degree range outside the bay, 72 in the bay which is normal for this time of the year. What isn´t normal is Marlin at El Banco or Corbeteña. The bite right now is happening mid morning after 8:00 a.m. And if you´re looking for bait suggestions, mimic Flying fish with blue and silver lures of length, troll a little faster than normal with these and you may hit something like a Wahoo or Marlin, you never know. Petrelaros are working nicely also so there you are folks. The weather can´t be beat right now, the fishing is great and in a few months we´ll be talking humidity, heat and bigger fish, so hang in there amigos and thanks for reading!

Until next time don’t forget to kiss your fish and remember at Master Baiter’s Sportfishing & Tackle “ We Won’t Jerk You Around”!

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.

Downtown Store NOW OPEN… We´ve opened a second location at the intersection of Insurgentes and Basio Badillo in Old Town in the old Casa de cambio location. It may be easier to explain the location as on the road that goes to Conchas Chinas. You´ll know us by the huge fishing mural on our new location. We´ll be booking charters, Tours and selling our world famous T-shrts, hats and assorted products. Come by, say hello to Michele. If you´re a legal citizen, Caucasian(ish) and need a part or full time job in a fun environment, contact me and we can talk. Again, We´re at the corner of Basilio Bodillo & Insurgentes in Down Town