Puerto Vallarta Fishing, The Dorado Invasion!

Where to start? I almost feel like I’m writing the same article over and over again. Now when this happens in the winter time, say March, I know I’m going to be writing many a “cookie cutter” report. But when we come to this time of the year, the best time of the year for world class fishing. I don’t expect to have a “cookie cutter” report about how one species has taken over the entire fishing grounds. Anywhere from Corbetena to Yelapa has been invaded by Dorado! Are there other species out there? Well of course there is, but the thing is, there are so many Dorado out there, it seems getting a bait in front of another species is like getting a Nordstrom’s credit card out of my ex-wifes hand! But after Dorado being M.I.A. for so long, it looks like Dorado have returned to our fishing grounds in Puerto Vallarta!

Ok, so let’s start with Corbetena. There are Blue and Black Marlin in the area. And this week a few have been boated. Having said that, it’s surprising with all the bait in the water in the form of Skip Jack Tuna, any Marlin were caught at all. Sailfish are running the area as well. Smaller Yellowfin Tuna in the 40 to 100 lb range have been boated north of the rock as well. But the Dorado are the main actor in this play. Dorado from 30 to 40 lbs are pretty much getting more and more common. In other words, Dorado are the dominant species in the area right now. But that’s not the end of the story. There are just massive amounts of Skip Jack Tuna in the 6 lb range.

We’re also coming into “Whale” season and that means Krill flooding the area. When Krill arrive, the smaller species like Skippies will chow down on them and be happy as clams. As they’re stuffing themselves, Marlin like to take advantage of the easy lunch. If you’re targeting Marlin, you better be running Skip Jacks then cross your fingers. If targeting Yellowfin Tuna, start about 7 miles north of the rock and follow the currents. The bottom line here is Corbetena has turned into a Dorado Playground of mostly larger Dorado and with high number counts. Which is great. But if you’re targeting Dorado and not Marlin or Tuna for example. Well you can get Dorado closer in and for less of an impact to your fishing budget amigo. Now while there is no news about El Banco, anything is possible. It’s almost silly to head to this world famous fishing area when you’ve got so much being offered closer in. Yet, for the adventurous, there’s no reason you wouldn’t find Marlin, Tuna, Sails and more there. Feeling lucky?

Right now anywhere from El Morro to north of Punta Mita is Sailfish-Landia! Well Sailfish and Dorado that is. The good news is if you have the secret, you’re catching Sailfish. Amazingly enough this is the same secret we’ve shared for weeks. If off the point of Punta Nayarit (aka Punta Mita) drop baits at the three mile mark from shore. Once you’re past ten miles out, things will get thin species wise for some reason. With recent rains and remnant debris from Hurricanes, Dorado are everywhere and they’re aggressive. I had some clients come across a stump in the water surrounded by debris. It was a Dorado Gold Mine! Several boats were casting at this stump and it seemed like there was an endless supply of Dorado! But things are a bit different in this area. Flying fish and Sardines are running the area, not so much Skip Jack Tuna! If you’re looking to target Sailfish, this is a great place for just that.

Inside the bay is also incredible, but it’s once again a Dorado playground. The good news is the Dorado in the bay are large, plentiful and close in! Some days they prefer dead bait. Other days live bait and some days nothing but only Goggle Eyes.  And sometimes they prefer lures. What to do? I’d start with the Skip Jack Tuna on the outrigger and run a lure off the fantail. You don’t have to go far, find the trash line and drop baits. It’s just that simple. I Know, I’ve been out in the bay twice this week and will probably be out there again before the end of the week.

Now for the details, water temperatures are 86 / 85 degrees with perfect, high visibility blue water! Bait is abundant, but the Skip Jack Tuna in the bay are out in massive numbers. Normally we see this happen when the Whales arrive and they’ve arrived! Now the Whales are chasing Krill and every species will soon be stuffed with this “Whale food”. For now we’ve seen an explosion of Sailfish in the bay and frankly you can target Sailfish now and have a decent shot at boating one! Never thought I’d say that! The water everywhere is high visibility blue water. Conditions are about as good as we can hope for right now. The bite in the bay has been happening around 07:30. If you’re out of the bay, the bite is about 09:00. That means you can Target Marlin, Tuna or Sailfish after you’ve had a chance to hit the Dorado in the bay hard, then head to the rock. When you’ll hit the late morning bite and hopefully you’ll hookup on a Marlin or Tuna. But if now, no worries, the action is almost non-stop on that Golden fish, Dorado! FYI, we’ve started the fishing parties on Wednesdays. Group charters sold one seat at a time. Contact me for details.

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

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