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Marina Vallarta Las Palmas I Local 3

Spring Marches into summer as Sailfish and Dorado Move into PV’s Fishing Grounds!

Written by Stan Gabruk, owner Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle

Sitting in my chair sometimes can be a little frustrating when it comes to a popular subject like Sportfishing in Puerto Vallarta. Naturally we want to put a positive spin on things and point out what is good and try to stay away from anything negative. Normally we are in winter when we try to keep the visiting anglers spirits up. But we are moving into summer, spring is rapidly disappearing as we begin to feel the summer heat and humidity in and around the Bay of Banderas. With the summer heat and barely bare able humidity for the locals, this is when those world class gamefish of Sailfish, Marlin, Dorado and of course Yellowfin Tuna set up house at El Banco or Corbetena.  Looking at the Calendar you may think it’s July with the Available species at your finger tips, but it is still June which means it is early for this sort of fishing here in PV. So we’re happy with what we have for the time being and the fishing is great as long as you have fuel money and remember it’s still early season fishing. If you keep yourself with that state of mind, you will have a wonderful time fishing this month. The beautiful thing is you don’t have to head out for ten hours to catch some nice game fish. If you are looking for larger fish, then your day will be a little longer, but worth the effort.

This week we have seen the Sailfish moving into their primary summer hang-outs, off Punta Mita, Cabo Corrientes, El Morro and the Marietta Islands.  With plenty of bait in the water in the form of Bonito and Skip Jack Tuna, they are having a field day. The water has been very, very blue, almost Cancun blue so the visibility in the water is great for these hungry gamefish for sure. For the coming weeks and months we will be talking about these reliable Billfish in the 8 hr range for the most part. But Sailfish are not limited to closer fishing destinations, you will find them anywhere there is bait and blue water.

Yellowfin Tuna and Michelle Stewart Crosby at El Banco, She's a Fish "N" Chick for sure!
Yellowfin Tuna and Michelle Stewart Crosby at El Banco, She's a Fish "N" Chick for sure!

Yellowfin Tuna are still heavy in the area, but they are moving or I should say thinning out a little in the bay. The  last few weeks a four hour day fishing off Yelapa or Chimo was a no brainer and it was actually better fishing here than at the deep water locations. Well that is changing now as we see the numbers of Yellowfin Tuna in the 10 to 30 lb range moving around the bay out to the point of Cabo Corrientes where ten miles off the light house you can still hit Black Marlin in the smaller range. Yellowfin Tuna can run up to 100 lbs on rare instances and of course there are Sailfish as we mentioned earlier. Last week we were changing lures every fifteen minutes, now we are seeing simple old fashioned plugs like Cedar Plugs work. I gave some painted plugs of purple to Capt. Tory off Bella Del Mar the other day which he said worked great. Of course he lost one of the two I gave him, so we restocked the boat and they’re out there now giving them a work out. Don’t be afraid to switch your rigs if they aren’t working in 20 minutes or so. Anything is possible and the possibilities change every day. Keep your Mexican ears open on the radio as well, many times they captains are sharing what is working in different areas and this can be a help to you as well. That is if you understand Spanish, so have the crew keep an open ear.

Dorado have been on the slim to none side lately. Punta Mita is showing some signs of life out there with Dorado or Mahi Mahi five to ten miles off the point right up to the rocks off the point. Corbetena has also seen more of these gold and blue beauties move in as well. For now we are still on the low side of what we would be normally seeing when it comes to Dorado here, stay tuned, this will improve as the weeks move by and we enter July….

There has been Black Marlin in the area between Cabo Corrientes and Corbetena, but not at the Rock, strange indeed. There have been some Black Marlin at El Banco, but it is still early for Marlin as we all know, so anything here is a blessing.

Sailfish at Cabo Corrientes. Pictured is First Mate Lobo and Capt. Cesar from Magnifico, one of the finest sportfishing boats in all of Puerto Vallarta!
Sailfish at Cabo Corrientes. Pictured is First Mate Lobo and Capt. Cesar from Magnifico, one of the finest sportfishing boats in all of Puerto Vallarta!

The Summer savior, Sierra Mackerels are picking up in number and they will be a day saver for those looking for short days and lots of light tackle action. Bonito, Skip Jack Tuna, Needle fish and more will keep the bay happening. When the rains start in earnest, we will see the trash line form where Dorado and Rooster fish love to feed on the organic materials that flow into the bay. Snook will be doing the same thing at the river mouths.

Here in Puerto Vallarta we have seen many evenings that are threatening rain, but so far the seasonal rains have not started. This is something the locals look and hope for since it will for one thing make the area fresh for a while until the sun steams things up again. But more importantly with the rains the area explodes with fish and the rain water hitting the surface looks like small bait fish hitting the surface. It drives them nutz, but this is when it rains.

For those of you thinking of entering our local tournaments from Barra to Manzanillo, Master Baiter’s Captains are the best in Puerto Vallarta with many being multi-tournament winners. We keep our prices down as much as possible for tournaments because we like to be in the action too! So if saving some money and not paying double the regular price of a charter per day appeals to you, then contact me about the tournament you are interested in and we will fix you up with tried and true captains, boats and crews with fresh line, top notch equipment and tackle and of course English speaking, professional crews of course! So come be part of Team Master Baiter’s and find out for yourself that “We Won’t Jerk You Around!”

That’s about it for now, until next week, don´t forget to kiss your fish!

As the oldest fishing company in Puerto Vallarta and the only company with any World Recognized Fishing Championships like the WBS Billfishing Series Grand Champions (2000 and 2001) under our belt. Nobody, but nobody in Puerto Vallarta can come close to us in quality or price when it comes to world class fishing boats. We work for your business which explains why seventy percent of my business at Master Baiter´s is return business! You work hard for your precious vacation, money is hard enough to come by, you don´t need to worry about the companies you are dealing with! Remember, at Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle, We Won´t Jerk You Around! If you have any questions on any subject regarding fishing or Puerto Vallarta, feel free to ask!

For questions or suggestions you can reach me at: CatchFish@MasterBaiters.com.mx

The trade name Master Baiter’s ® Sportfishing and Tackle is protected under trade mark law and is the sole property to Stan Gabruk.  Always ask to speak with Stan to insure product quality and to insure you are working with the true Master Baiter´s ® and not an imposter