Red Tide Moves in, Water Temperatures Drop, Yellowfin Tuna Still off Corbetena

It’s been a real rollercoaster kind of year. If you recall, we moved from a La Nina year directly into an El Nino year. When you go from one extreme to another, something is going to happen. The entire summer in PV,   even in an El Nino or warm water environment, the water never got as warm as it should have. We never got over the 88 degree mark in the middle of September. At that time I noted to myself that “I hope this doesn’t mean an early chill”. By that, normally by the end of December, right about the week before New Year’s Eve, we always get the “chill currents”. When this happens, water temperatures drop like a rock and the next thing you know we’re looking down the throat of our coming winter fishing season. With the recent cold snaps north of the border and in Canada, these weather patterns push their “influence” all the way to Mexico. This week we’ve seen the normal results of weather shocks like this in the form of cooler weather here in PV and cooler water temperatures. Now this could be temporary, but it’s an early indicator of what could be coming. For now we’ve seen some changes, but nothing drastic as yet. If you’re in Puerto Vallarta looking for world class fishing, then you better get in the game before it’s over amigos. We’ve had a wonderful season, but all good things eventually come to an end.

Last week with the cold snap up north, we saw a drastic drop in water temperatures as strong currents from the north were pushed into our area. This was the incident that brought the water temperatures down from 86 degrees to 81 degrees in ten days! If you’re a Dorado, this is a shock to the system and you won’t be putting up with this cold water for long. Now there is plenty of bait in the area and the Krill are coming on strong as we’d expect. So Dorado have a reason to hang around, but will they? For now we’re lucky enough to have Dorado still in the area, so those looking to target this Golden Fish better make haste or you’ll be waiting another season to have this bucket list experience. Corbetena this week has seen some changes as well. Water temperatures in some areas now are 79 degrees. Dorado over 20 lbs are still running the area for now. Sailfish have picked up in numbers and like cooler water anyway, so this is not surprising. Marlin have been mostly unseen this past week, but there are some Blue Marlin running the area, just not much around the rock.

Probably the best fishing news this week is the return of the Spinner Dolphin who have Football Yellowfin Tuna from 30 to 60 lb running with them. El Banco this week to the north, has seem some Yellowfin Tuna action with the Spinners running the neighborhood as well. Blue Marlin are more abundant here, but how abundant is the question. With plentiful bait in the form of baby Skip Jack Tuna, these baits are perfect sized or about the size of a Goggle eye for comparison. Flying fish, Rainbow runners, and now the Krill are moving into the area as is normal for the end of November. So the fishing is still active and fairly good for now. The latest news is all about Red Tide! Yes, it’s moving in and again, not unusual at all. But the challenge is to find clean water. Right now the entire area from Corbetena to El Banco has spotty Red Tide. Many of the spots can be a couple of miles wide, so it’s not too bad. But along with the colder currents and lower water temperatures, the clean green water has arrived again. If you remember the clean green water is always colder than blue water. And we’ve seen some excellent fishing in this clean green water, so it’s not a death situation for fishing. The secret right now is find warmer water, catch fish.

The entire area around El Morro to Punta Mita is mostly the clean green water, but there are spots of red tide here as well. If you’re looking for clean water you need to be a minimum of ten miles off the point. Now things can change quickly and I think they will. But for now, the deep water fishing trips are still producing, but for now this area isn’t your best bang for your fishing dollar. With some luck by Sayulita on the shore there could be some Rooster fish action for the adventurous. All and all this area was challenging to the local captains this week. Let’s hope this improves by next week.

Inside the bay, same story as last week, but most of the fishing action now is in the south end of the bay. Anywhere from Los Arcos to Yelapa are fertile fishing grounds. Dorado are still catchable in the 20 lb range. And I almost can’t believe I’m saying this, but Sailfish are target-able now! Football Tuna around Yelapa around 30 lbs are running freely. Sailfish may also be around the La Cruz Marina as well.

The big story this week is the dropping water temperatures and Red Tide. The red tide will be gone soon enough, the question is if the water temperatures will come back up? That remains to be seen, but the bite is still early in the bay and bit later outside of the bay. I suggest being at your favorite fishing grounds no later than 08:00 until further notice! Bait: this week most of the fish coming in were boated on lures! Dorado mimic colors and Petroleros of brown, purple and pink were the secret. Whereas live bait was being ignored for some reason. For now, I say give it a week and let’s see what happens. Red tide will be moving out, the clean green could be around for a bit. But with any luck, the blue water will be back shortly. Next challenge, Krill, the Whale food we all have to deal with.

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

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