On / Off Again Bite Frustrates, Roosters Return, Water Temps Increase Drastically

     

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

 

Another week into the weird season we are seeing some strange occurrences that will affect our world class fishing for the next several months. The Calendar shows it´s March yet the water temperatures are telling us it´s early summer with water temps jumping to 80 degrees or about 23 Celsius. This is highly unusual as we´re officially in the middle of the winter fishing season where water temps should be around 70 to 72 degrees. For now with some Sardines and massive amounts of Bullet Bonito and Skippies (babies) as bait conditions are improving a bit. Rooster fish are spotty, Marlin are moving back in, kinda. Forget Dorado and Sailfish, they´re done for now. Then again there are still Sails being boated in the bay?! What does this all mean, who knows, but we´ll figure it all out together so stay tuned, things could get interesting!

Lets start with Corbeteña, normally our most versatile fishing location it´s been slow as in no action to speak of. Yes you´ll find Cubera Snappers, Jack Crevalls and maybe some 35 lb to 50 lb Yellowfin tuna, if lucky. Surprisingly no Marlin, no Sails, no Dorado. For now Corbeteña is better than last week, but still other options are better.

And El Banco is that option with Black Marlin to 600 lbs, Blue Marlin to 500 lbs. Larger Cubera Snappers to 70 lbs are taking trolled baits. Jack Crevalls of course and plenty of Skip Jack tuna as bait. Wahoo are all around the area, many anglers coming in with frayed line and no lure, bait or fish. Wire leader is required for Wahoo, but they´re line shy, so if you can find invisible wire, you´re good to go. Otherwise target Wahoo at your own risk. Losing lures when they´re not taking live bait, can get expensive targeting this species. So good luck, Wahoo is coveted and might just be valuable enough to pay your phone bill! No real Tuna to speak of and if there was the Seiners would be there Raping the fishing grounds. Long Liners are there on top of the High Spots AGAIN. Feel free to run over their lines, they´re illegal, but be warned, they sometimes have guns and the authorities are a ways off. We run the lines, let the authorities sort it all out as something stupid is bound to happen with this ignored situation. For those determined to hunt Yellowfin of any size El Banco is on again, off again. For those willing to roll the dice, nothing ventured nothing boated…Stay tuned.

El Morro is Wahoo city with some Rooster fish but not enough to target or count on. Many frayed lines with nothing to show for it. The Marietta Islands are seeing some nice sized Pampano in the 35 to 50 lb range, great tasting and strong fighters. Round off the area with Jack Crevalls to 40 lbs, Skip jack tuna to 12 lbs, Sierra Mackerals to 20 lbs, Needle fish, maybe some Snappers and the occasional freak Sailfish! Rooster fish are here and around the Anclote reef off Sayulita but they´re not exactly plentiful. For the angler targeting Roosters you have a shot, but be prepared to change your plan late in the fishing day. Punta Mita is slow, no Dorado, no Sailfish but you may find some Striped Marlin anywhere from 8 to 16 miles off the point. With the mixed variety of species and the changing conditions improving an eight hour fishing day is worth the money.

Inside the bay is normally automatic fishing, not so for the last few days. You need six hours, four hours gets you to where the fish were yesterday, the extra couple hours lets us find where they went today! Sierra Mackerals to 20 lbs, Jack Crevalls to 30 lbs, Bonito 30 lbs, Needle Fish at 40 lbs, and who knows what else is cruising the neighborhood. For the family and younglings a shared boat for eight hours is the best deal in town.

Even with the challenges of spread out fish, the fishing is still great. Short day trips can be as much fun as longer duration trips with smaller fish, but plentiful. With water temperatures back up to 80 degrees we could see Yellowfin tuna moving back into the area, it wouldn´t surprise me. Marlin are going to be here for the next several months, why would they leave. Corbeteña is challenged with bait issues, but the bait moves and we expect Corbeteña to come back little by little. Capt. Cesar from Magnifico predicts Yellowfin over 200 lbs this March, it happened last year so I´ll keep an eye peeled.

Important stuff: the bite is a little late happening after 11 a.m., bait is limited around Corbeteña but Bullet Bonito and Bullet Skippies are a favorite snack so we have good reason to think things are on the upside. Lures: Ok, Magnifico went through the whole collection of more than a hundred lures and found some worked for a while, then they didn´t. So have plenty of color, dead bait, live bait and make bait for bullets. With all this and the Goggle Eye bait we hit you with in the morning should have you covered. Your captain will need all his secret spots and tricks, but the payoff is there, Buenos Suertes amigos! Blue water everywhere so bait visibility is not an issue…..

Shared boats for 8 hrs targeting Dorado has been very popular (½ Super Panga, 2 person max. per half the boat)! 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! We are also Smoking your fish, we keep half, but man is this stuff good. Call Chris for Details in my El Centro store. Contact us about a week before coming to PV so we can get you set up early on a shared boat!

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.