Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna at Corbetena, Really!

June 29th, 2026

Here we are in some of the slowest “tourism” periods of the year here in Puerto Vallarta. That means there are basically no clients heading out for our world class fishing in Puerto Vallarta. It’s been like this since about the first of May. Does that mean there aren’t any fish out there, of course not! What it does mean is there is no information to put a fishing report together. I know and understand my readers are looking for information I can’t provide, but I still need to put reports together. With the unpredictable conditions El Nino creates, we’re seeing some very large Marlin at Corbetena. Water temperatures have dropped, and that’s a good thing since they were too high for the season we’re in. Conditions now have calmed down, water temperatures are back where they should be and there is plenty of high visibility blue water. So, conditions are perfect, plenty of bait, the only thing missing is you!

As I mentioned earlier, with tourism at the lowest level I’ve seen since the H1N1 flue in 2009, there are no boats heading out to our famous fishing grounds. With the few boats that are lucky enough to have clients and the private boats, the following is based on that minimal information. Now the report isn’t bad, but it’s probably much better than what I’ve stated here. Especially since every boat coming back has a Marlin or Tuna to show for those taking the chance of getting nothing. Fishing isn’t an exact sport and So keep in mind that our fishing conditions are very good. But it’s that time of the year when the heat comes on and normally this time of the year is slow regarding fishing. This year with the El Nino Condition’s were seeing early season Marlin and YellowfinTuna! The seasonal rains have begun and the rain has been fairly steady in the evenings. It looks like this is the weather pattern we’re settling into. Believe it or not, the rain if good for fishing.

Getting down to business, Corbetena this week had a few private boats head out and they all boated Black Marlin anywhere from 350 to 600 lbs. Cubera Snappers are there for the taking also, running in the 50 to 60 lb range. And here’s the shocker, we’re seeing Yellowfin Tuna just north of the rock anywhere from 30 to 100 lbs.! There is plenty of bait, the water is blue, water temperatures have come down to where they should be at this time of the year around 82 to 85 degrees, depending on where you are. Now if there are Black Marlin there should be sailfish! More on this later…

At the eight-hour range near the Marietta Islands, there have been many larger Pargo or Snappers off the back end. We know Sailfish are in the area, no reports of any being caught, but plenty have been seen. So, I don’t know what the deal is, but they’re the area. The normal players of Jack Crevalles in the 30 lb range. Bonito are thinning for some reason, but there are plenty of Skipjack Tuna for bait. Again, high visibility blue water is the case.

In the bay, things are much the same, but different. With the rain, there has been some dirty water around the rivers, completely normal. But it’s not in the entire bay, so there are lots of options to take advantage of right now. Something a little strange is the fact we’ve been seeing many sailfish all around the bay. But for some reason they’re not taking bait. All these different fish species we have will have a different breeding time of the year and this may be the case, maybe not. We still have Jack Crevalle’s which are known primarily as a winter species.  Skipjack Tuna, Bonita, Sailfish around Los Arcos and La Cruz, but again, not taking bait. Sierra Mackerels Down by Garza Blaca or Punta Negra> There are literally thousands of baby Dorado, most under 5 lbs., anything over 10 lbs is fair game. Dorado numbers will start picking up hopefully soon. But the last few years Dorado haven’t shown up until August or so. With luck El Nino will change that. With all the rain we’ve been having we finally have a trash line, most are immature and not working well. This will soon change as well. But for now, leave early in the morning, head out slow to avoid the hazards of floating logs, Turtles and a host of other obstacles that will ruin your day on the water.

The report is a little weak I know, but this will make up for it all. Nothing about how the season is shaping up is normal. Normally we wouldn’t see Marlin at Corbetena or El Banco until late July. Blue Marlin will come in before the Black Marlin normally, but that’s not the case right now. Striped Marlin, which like water temperatures about 75 degrees, they never showed up. Mostly because the water temperatures this winter never got below 82 degrees, so that’s not too surprising . For now, the currents aren’t coming in from the south, they mostly coming in from the west! So, the currents and the species are far from normal. The Spike we had in water temperatures, that hit over 85 degrees, has come back down to 82 degrees or so. So for now, the Yellowfin Tuna coming is are from the east and south. We are expecting to see more sharks all across the west coast of the Americas! So, when you see the news reports about how sharks are showing up, that’s why.

What to expect: That’s a real grey area. In past El Ninos, the main current coming up from the south will arc around the Corbetena and El Banco areas and hit Cabo San Lucas head on! If you’re paying attention to the news reports, San Diego fishing charters are boating large Yellowfin Tuna, Marlin and Dorado, right now! Once we enter our normal peak fishing season starting about mid-July, this will tell the story. My initial feeling are mixed, we’re seeing Yellowfin Tuna at the rock and probably El Banco as well. The fish are so spread out you just have to make a best guess and go with it. One thing is for sure, the coming months will be exciting. If these currents continue coming in from the east, as far away as Japan continues, it could be truly amazing! Stay tuned!

Details: The bite right now is about 09:00, but if you’re targeting some Sierra Mackerels, get out a little earlier since they’re more of an earlier bite. So if you’re heading out to Corbetena, you can get the advantage of both bites! Again, with the Trash Line anything can happen, so give it a shot. Inside the bay the water is a little dirty from the run-off being dumped into the bay by the rivers. Normally this will be a shallow thing, maybe only a few feet thick. So your captain will understand that running a plainer with a lure, is a secret trick because the fish will feed off the bottom of this dirty water as well. Keep that to yourself. But we’re in a limbo time of the year, we’re not seeing drastic water temperature changes or the “clashing currents” that would normally stir up the silt on the bottom of the bay, another indication of where the currents are coming from. If you’re here in PV and thinking of going fishing, six hours or ten hours are your best options!

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

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Written by Stan Gabruk

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