It´s Time to Play Pick Your Fish, You Want It, It´s here in Puerto Vallarta NOW!
Written by Stan Gabruk, owner Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle
Here in Puerto Vallarta the temperatures are soaring around ninety, with humidity that makes you feel like a wax figure left in the sun to melt. The equator sun has heated the water to a perfect 84 degrees with unbelievably favorable conditions. Blue water, Hungry fish, it´s time to play ¨Pick Your Fish¨! Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and Monster Yellowfin Tuna are there for the taking. With deserted fishing grounds you can have Corbeteña all to yourself and when was the last time you had the Rock alone?
Every year we wait for August through December for the best fishing conditions Puerto Vallarta will have for huge, trophy game fish. Again with air temperatures hovering in the ninety degree range and with humidity in the 80 percent range there are times where you will feel like you could melt in the sun. But the world class game fish Puerto Vallarta boast about like it this way. With water as blue as you can get it these fish can see clearly. There is plenty of bait to be had right now. Live bait is king and running plastics is a waste of time, for now.
If you are looking for Dorado, then you can pick from Punta Mita, the Marietta Islands, El Morro, Corbeteña and around the bay. These gold and blue beauties have all but taken over every location you would expect to find them. They are so thick in some spots you could just gaff them on the boat (not sportsman like). They will take your live bait and only live bait right now with no apologies. This holds true for all the species out there right now. Last week was different, things change so keep changing your baits up no matter what my report says.
Corbeteña has been it´s reliable self all week. Yellowfin Tuna hurling themselves out of the water and looking like flying Volkswagens’, your jaw will drop in amazement! But Yellowfin Monsters over 200 lbs is not the only story here at Corbeteña. Marlin in the 300 to 700 lb range, ninety inch Sailfish in the 100 lb range are here as well competing for your bait. Dorado are anywhere from 30 to 50lbs and you could run into just about anything out there right now. For the most part the Black Marlin were nowhere to be found, but that is changing now. Sometimes Black Marlin will move in later in the season since they like warmer water and 84 degrees is perfect for Blue Marlin, but Blacks like it a tad warmer. So hang in there, they are now starting to move in.
If you remember, last year the water was warm, very warm in the early part of the fishing season and Blacks pretty much saved our fishing ¨bacon¨.
El Banco is still disappointing with green and clear water. Yellowfin Tuna are here as well, but much smaller than at Corbeteña at the 60 to 80lb range. With the extra distance required and the rising cost of fuel, Corbeteña is the best bang for your fuel dollar at the moment. Don´t count El Banco out, anything and everything can change in a heartbeat, stay tuned!
The second hottest place to head out to fishing grounds wise if the point off Punta Mita. Now this area is always alive with action come September. It was a late start for Punta Mita this year as well, but it has made up for their late arrival with arm breaking action. Hook into a bull Dorado on light tackle and you will be there for a while. If you head out a little, about five to ten miles you will find very large Sailfish running in packs. Pulling up on Sailfish with their bills in the air as they lounge on the surface will blow your mind. They are there, they are hungry and they will take any live bait you are offering. There you go, no thinking, no questions, just get your butt out there by hook or by crook! You won´t be sorry.
Most heading out are hitting Corbeteña or Punta Mita, why go anywhere else with deserted fishing ground and perfect conditions? For the record the Marietta Islands and El Morro are doing just fine, thank you very much. Worth your time, but why go when other locations are on fire! If you have the family on the boat snor keeling, then it would be wor t h a shot at t h e Dorado, Sailfish, and possible Rooster fish around the reefs. But then again, Punta Mita is burning up! Same distance, more reliable.
In the bay, the trash line is also on fire. This can run out as far as the mouth of the bay or as close in as Yelapa. One thing for sure there are fish to be had in the bay. Dorado are still cruising this trash line for seeds and organic ¨stuff¨ they like to eat and whatever else catches their eye, like say a small sardine doing the same thing. So if you see dirty water, that is not always the enemy amigo. Experienced captains know how to deal with a condition like this, no worries. That is unless you have a Gorilla captain beating his chest at the docks as he fails to live up to the expectation he created! Beware amigos, there are those who talk and run or there are those who walk the talk. Know the difference with long term experienced captains on established boats or companies. Sometimes this will cost a few extra bucks for experience.
So there you go, my reports are turning a little cookie cutter I know, but at least the cookie cutter is cutting large fish these past weeks. These conditions will continue into December and early January. If you are thinking of planning a fishing trip, the peso is strong making the dollar stretch a long way right now.
For those visiting PV, I have had people come into the shop and tell me how one guy told them something completely different than what I am writing about. Nothing new there, If you want to know what the real deal is from a guy who wants you to become a regular PV fisherman, fire me an email and I will get you the straight story if you are fishing with me or someone else. My goal is to be the source of information when it comes to fishing in Puerto Vallarta. You can also visit my blog to see years of past reports to get a feel for what any specific time of the year is like averaged over the years….
For those of you out there noticing the fishing, especially for Yellowfin Tuna has gradually improved, there is a reason for this. The three canneries in Mazatlan have all but gone out of business. With them raping our fishing grounds and every other fishing ground between the borders, they essentially put themselves out of business. Not to mention those captains helping them by informing these production ships (Seiners) about where they could find YF Tuna for a finder’s fee. Now that these production canneries are no longer in business we are seeing the numbers of YF Tuna pick up. Remember a Yellowfin Tuna can gain up to 150 lbs in one year. So it really doesn´t take long for fish populations to return when they are left alone. Something to think about….
Well that is about it for now, until next time don´t forget to kiss your fish!
You can contact Stan at Master Baiters at Catchfish@Masterbaiters.com.mx or you can see my blog at: www.masterbaiters.wordpress.com. Sign up for a subscription and you will have the latest and greatest sent to your in box!
The trade mark Master Baiter´s is the sole property of Stan Gabruk. Anyone else using my name is an imposter. Ask for Stan and remember at Master Baiter´s ¨We Won´t Jerk You Around¨!