Puerto Vallarta Fishing, Roll the Dice Conditions   

At best, when we talk about fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s Bay of Banderas fishing conditions, about all I can do right now is roll my eyes. Why you may ask, it’s because for some reason it seems like the fishing has come to a halt. What we would expect with water temperatures below 70 degrees, is not happening. The warm water species are not in the area, the cold-water species are AWOL it’s got us all scratching our heads right now. But I shouldn’t be surprised, March is like that. Normally we see the Sailfish ‘return’, which means they’ll start picking up in numbers. We’ve still got ‘some’ striped Marlin out there, but it’s a 30% catch at best. It’s a fishing ‘Twilight Zone’ out there and while there is still some action to be had, it’s not guaranteed!

Last week I was all about the bottom fishing. People started coming into the shop and wanted to target Cubera Snappers, Amberjack and the rest of the species I commented on in my articles. Then the water got dirty right down to the sea floor bottom. Fish won’t take a bait or a lure it can’t see. There are still some Striped Marlin running the area for some reason as water temperatures hit yearly lows. But the catch rate of a Striped Marlin is under 30%. For now, and the next few days, don’t dish out hard earned money to liars. Many fishing companies are telling you Marlin and Tuna and Sailfish are running the area to get their pockets lined at your expense.

El Banco is the same. There were some areas of blue water for a few days, but that’s changed now. When blue water comes back, El banco will be the first area with blue water. I’ve gotten some reports of Yellowfin Tuna, but they’re only about 30 lbs. and ‘iffy’ if heading out. Again, give it a few days and check my reports, email me, or even call at your convenience.

I’d like to say the area from El Morro to Punta Nayarit is better, they’re not. I sent some people out targeting some bottom fishing and that didn’t turn out well for those days. So, you’ll find Jack Crevalle’s, Bonito, a few other species if you’re lucky. For now, anything outside of the bay is rolling the dice. I wish I could be more positive about this. But we know if you don’t like the present conditions, wait a few days, everything will change again.

So that brings us to the inside of the bay. The main players in the Bay of Banderas are again Jack Crevalle’s, Bonito and Sierra Mackerels. I’ve been selling our most affordable boats for a four-hour trips. To be honest, some come in with fish, some are coming in empty handed. It seems that even though the bite is still after 09:00, getting out a little earlier may help the cause. I’m noticing that our earlier morning clients are doing better than the later in the morning departures that seem to be coming up a little on the short side. My suggestion is to take the six hour trip, give yourself to find the fish around the bay and you’ll have action if you do that. Four-hour trips don’t seem to be enough time to find the fish.

Ok, so what should we expect in the coming weeks? Well March is the time of year when we normally see the Sailfish and Striped Marlin come back into the area. April see’s water temperatures tick up a bit, but it’s also the begging of ‘spring fever’ for the local species. After Easter, things can get a little ‘iffy’. Normally after Easter and into May, the tourism slows a bit as we enter the Spring / Summer season amigos. We always catch fish in the bay, so keep up with these articles. But like this past week, there are times when it just leaves you scratching your head.

As mentioned earlier, the bite has been running late in the morning now for many weeks. Things seem to be changing a little and it won’t hurt your cause to get out a little earlier in the morning. Leaving the dock about 07:30 on a six-hour trip will give you a maximized opportunity to boat fish. Live bait is king, but have a good bag of tricks with plenty of color in it. By that I mean have a colorful set of lures as one day they’re hitting purple colored and the next they’ll be hitting green and black digging baits. So there you go amigos. Take this information and put it to good use.

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

Written by Stan Gabruk

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