Fishing Spreads Out, Warm Water to California, Jacks Take over the Bay

              Fishing Spreads Out, Warm Water to California, Jacks Take over the Bay

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

 

As we all welcome the New Year we see our World Class Fishing Grounds move into ¨neutral¨ for lack of a better descriptive. Normally at this time of the year we see water temperatures drop sharply forcing our Billfish, Dorado and Yellowfin Tuna out of the area without as much as a ¨Good By¨.  This year things are going to be a little different. With water temperatures still at the 80 degree mark we find we still have a fair amount of Marlin and Dorado cruising the area. We won´t complain about these conditions, the only thing is, this normal cold water conditions act as a barrier keeping fish from ¨wandering¨ north. This is not the case at the moment. So what does this mean, well these ¨fish¨ move and they move erratically. For now, they´re moving up the coast and out to sea. Basically our fishing grounds are ¨spreading out¨ and we can´t do a thing to stop it. The good news is we still have great fishing. The active word being ¨Fishing¨.  Lately I´ve heard people say things like ¨Fishing is not catching¨ . Well Friends when it comes to fishing, you take the good with the bad. Fishing is fishing and we do all we can to coax these finicky finned creatures to take a bait. But first they have to be there to coax. So it´s wide open out there, the more time you give yourself the better you´ll find the ¨fishing¨.  For the jaded, the fishing is not automatic. For the tourist, you´d be better off taking a series of days fishing or not go at all. It´s a risk sport amigos, Fishing is Fishing and Fishing is never perfect. Having said that, give yourself some time, you´ll catch fish.

Corbeteña is stilt the place to be. Located thirty five miles out of Puerto Vallarta the ¨Rock¨ has seen most of the larger Bottle Nose Dolphin (Flipper) move out and this means you can actually get a bait to a potential hook-up candidate. With Marlin to 600 lbs, Sailfish at Tournament winning size of over 100 lbs and Dorado in the 35 to 60 lb range this is about as good as it gets. You may ask about Yellowfin Tuna, nothing, not even footballs. There are still Wahoo in the 60 lb range, but again a non-schooling species is hard to target. Do you feel lucky? El Banco, nobody but nobody has hit this normally producing area. For now it´s best to keep your attention focused on Corbeteña.

You second best fishing bet is the point of Punta Mita. Ever since the long liners bugged out the area has been producing well. I wouldn´t say it exploded, but six to ten miles off the point there are Blue Marlin taking Baits if they see it. With high visibility blue water, seeing a bait is not an issue. What has been surprising is the lack of bait and we still have fish in the area. So lures have been filling the gap nicely. For those with a full array of color the ones you´ll want to start with are the green and yellow combinations, Dorado mimics. Blue with silver spots is also a great second choice and of course anything with purple in it will also be a good place to begin. Boats with limited equipment will find catching fish almost impossible. Make sure you have plenty of live bait in the morning to make sure you give yourself the best opportunity to boat something impressive.

The Marietta Islands are less than disappointing and have been all summer. I can´t tell you what the deal is there, but it´s not happening. With their fill of Bonito to 35 lbs, Jack Crevalls to 50 lbs, Skip Jack Tunas, Sierra Mackerals to 25 lbs  (good size for sierras), Needle Fish a mix of other reef fish and maybe, maybe a Sailfish. I can´t recommend this area since you can get the same species in the bay.

Which brings us to inside the bay. Billions of Jack Crevalls around the Nuevo Vallarta area in the 35 lb range are great arm burners, but not great tasting, always a down side. My National friends can make then palatable, but don´t try it yourself. Bonito to 35 lbs, Needle fish to 40 lbs and possible larger. False Marlin are the nick name of these fish and while weird looking, they are good eating and a fun fight. Skip Jack Tuna, with some luck they´re still boating Sailfish around the La Cruz Area and off the rocks of Los Arcos and Dorado, yes Dorado in the bay. Short day trips can pay off nicely and not hurt the wallet to badly! All sort of action in the bay, on a budget it´s a great option.

A funny thing about this week, we saw the famous Red Tuna Crabs float in and there are no Yellowfin Tuna to be found, period! Now for us in PV this is very unusual, it´s essentially been a Tuna Free Season, unless of course you braved the time and distance to the Tres Maria Islands. You know the game preserve and fishery the Bloody Decks types have been raping as they say they´re outside the ¨buffer¨ zone. Well if you´re not fishing in the ¨Buffer Zone¨ which is the legal boundaries you should never go in since it´s a prison island. You normally have a 50 / 50 chance of boating Tuna of any size. Now normally they´re large, over 200 lbs, but it´s a long way and not cheap fishing. The Maximus I understand is now more or less being forced to keep it´s distance, and they normally do pretty well for cattle car fishing trips. But if you were looking for any sizeable Yellowfin Tuna, you had to be here or you were left wanting. With the Red Tuna Crabs rolling in we may see some YF Tuna turning up, but who knows for sure? Cross your fingers and look to the heavens for a little help!! In the mean time, the rock or Corbeteña is still your best option.

The bite moving a little later in the morning now so be where you want to fish by 8 O´clock in the a.m. Lures are working very well with sparse bait, use Green with Yellow, Blue with silver dots or lures with purple combinations, petrelaros are a good start. You´ll need a full array of color with bait not so abundant. Remember this when renting a charter boat. Shared boats for 8 hrs targeting Dorado has been very popular! Just fire me an email so I know when you´ll be here and we´ll do the rest. The Downtown Store on Basidillo Badillo and Insurgentes is open for High Season. Call Chris (El Centro Mgr) at (044) 322 112 9558 for fishing, tours or T-shrts amigo.  I am still in Marina Vallarta so take your pick. YeHa!

Until next time, don´t forget to ¨Kiss Your Fish¨. . .

Master Baiter´s is located 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. Come like me on 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.