“Lookie-Lu” Fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s Fishing Grounds

August 19th, 2024

This is a nice blue Marlin we caught off Corbetena on a day when others came up empty handed!

Lookie-Lu Fishing, I bet you’re scratching your head over that headline. “Lookie-Lu’s” was an advertising term used in the Real Estate business in California back in the ‘70’s. It’s the perfect description for fishing conditions for the last week. When people would look at a house, but not buy, they we called Lookie-Lu’s, more or less “kicking the tires”, but not buying. When it comes to fishing right now, especially at our deep-water fishing grounds of Corbetena and El Banco. Fishing is a Rollercoaster, some days up, some days down, but always changing. We have plenty of fish, they’re out there. We have plenty of bait and blue water. And we have plenty of wide-open spaces. Fishing has been spread out for weeks now, nothing new there. The frustration comes when the Lookie-Lu’s, just look and not take the bait. For the last week, we’ve seen more than our share of this, but we all know, conditions can change in a heart beat and again we have fish. Times like this require a skilled Captain and crew, not to mention a little luck never hurts.

From Corbetena to El Banco’s high spots is a 25 mile stretch. In this entire area, there are Marlin and Sailfish like I’ve been reporting for weeks now. There is also so much bait out there, you have to get to the fish before they’re stuffed with Chorras, aka bait! Normally bait like this is a good thing, but when there’s an overabundance, there is no real need to chase your bait amigo. And there is the challenge, but we’ve seen this all before. At Corbetena we boated a mid-sized Blue Marlin on our 35ft Cabo yesterday. It was a struggle, we basically went through all our lures, dead bait and finally live bait worked. It was the only fish caught at Corbetena for three days! So what’s the secret, I’d say throw the kitchen sink at them. That means try everything you have at them if live bait and basics aren’t working. There were No Yellowfin Tuna at the rock this week. But the good news is Spinner Dolphin are running the area. Sometimes there are 25 to 40 lb Yellowfin Tuna running with them, sometimes not. There are also some sailfish out there, but the primary species and concentration at all the deep-water locations, is Marlin and Primarily Blue Marlin between 225 lbs. to 500 lbs. for the lucky. We had some clients head out on Magnifico for a ten hour trip on Tuesday, they caught a bunch of Skip Jack Tuna at about 10 lbs, but that was the action. It was a family and we got quite a few, which saved the day and the clients were happy. But we were targeting Marlin and Sailfish, but the clients had plenty of action. Quite a distance for Chorras. For the next few days, I’d be on the cautious side, but anything can happen in a heartbeat. Stay tuned!

For now, your best bang for your fishing dollar is about four to five miles off the point of Punta Nayarit, aka Punta Mita. Sailfish are not exactly Abundant, but they’re “there” and they will take bait. My 30 ft center console (don’t call it a panga) hooked up with two Sailfish. We also got a small Dorado that was thrown back as well. We caught the Sailfish on dead bait. There are still Bonito, Skip Jack Tuna, and a rare Dorado. For now this area is on and off. It may be wise to wait a few days and contact me for the latest and greatest. Now keep this secret to yourself, but the water temperature seems to be the secret. With water temperatures now at some areas at 89 degrees, there is a “cold” spot about five miles off the point and this is where the fish have been taking baits. 89 is very warm, so the area that’s cooler is about 86 degrees. Things can change, but for now, this seems to be the secret!

Inside the bay is much the same as last week. There a billion of Baby Dorado at the 2 to 4 pound range. Bonito to 20 lbs, but their numbers are thinning out. Jack Crevalle’s are near Nuevo Vallarta, but again, they’re thinning in numbers as they should at this time of the year. Needle fish are starting to show up a bit. And of course, there is always the chance of a stray Sailfish near Los Arcos. With the rain we’ve been seeing, Cabo Corrientes could the the secret of the entire Bay of Banderas. With so few people here in Puerto Vallarta, it’s hard to get a feel for what’s happening at the Cabo Corrientes area. With conditions like this, I’m thinking of taking a run out that way. But for now, the entire area is on the slow side for now.

There really wasn’t much to say about the past week, but we’re still in summer and anything can happen in the summer fishing or rather High Season for fishing. It’s not an exact science, but the simple fact is things are improving with slight set-backs. That’s fishing. I’ve been sending people out about 06:30 for a 09:00 bite, but we may change that this week. With the rains, we like to leave a touch later so we can see the “dead head” tree stumps and debris in the water. I’m thinking the afternoon bite may be your best option. But with the wind in the afternoon, things can get a little bouncy, if you know what I mean. Water temperatures have been lagging a bit, but now we’re seeing some super warm water at 89 degrees. Find cooler water and your luck will change. As far as bait goes, that’s an open subject. I’d start with live bait, but run a Dorado colored lure of green, yellow and black markings as well. You know all these fish love to eat Dorado and they don’t care what size they are. It could be the problem, so run one of these 12 inch lures and cross your fingers. Try everything that makes sense or not! Then call me and let me know what worked. ha ha.

Here’s a little something fun you may be interested in. I pay for this newsletter thing, it’s expensive and I’ve decided to start sending a Fish Pic of the Day to my email list of interested clients.  I literally have thousands of fish pictures and I’ve started sharing some. Most are from the previous days, but some for those who would be interested in getting a fish pic of the Day in your inbox, just to our contacts page at out web site and sign up. Or just click the link and you can sign up at the bottom of the page amigo. It’s free, the pictures are all Screen Saver Quality. No Spam, nothing but great fish pics to remind you of our world class fishing in Puerto Vallarta!

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

Thank you very much for visiting my site. We do all of this to earn your confidence and your business. If you come in the shop or mention that you’ve been reading my reports, I’ll give you a nice little discount. And as a customer we will freeze and store your catch. This is an exclusive service for Master Baiter’s Sportfishing & Tackle’s clients exclusively!

Tours and Services: if you’re coming to Puerto Vallarta and plan on taking any tours, we can provide that service. Many of the tour companies like Vallarta Adventures have shifted from paying commissions and you are better off purchasing these online. We can provide the entire service of reserving your tours. For those that don’t pay a commission, we’ll charge a handling fee so my employees can see a bit of compensation for their troubles. Ask about our Unknown Paradise Tours you’ve never heard of. Let Carlos guide you and work with you. Carlos speaks 8 languages!

Written by Stan Gabruk

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