Stagnant Currents, Sailfish Dominant

For those of you who read my articles on a regular basis, you’ll notice this report is being published a little later than normal. When it comes to fishing in Puerto Vallarta, we’re just now getting into the beginning of the fishing tournament season. I was hoping with more boats heading out, I could paint a nicer picture of what I’ve been writing about. There were some Yellowfin Tuna caught. And there were some nice sized Dorado. Does that mean that things have changed and the fishing is back on track? Not quite amigo. But the good news is currents are starting to do their job and we’re seeing different species moving in. Normally Sailfish are the first to come in, followed by Blue Marlin and we’re seeing this happen now. Water temperatures are stepping up a bit, again with the warmer currents and there is plenty of bait in the water. For the local angler, there are some tricks you need to be aware of. But once you know where the action is and what to do, you’ll have a great day on the water.

As stated earlier, Sailfish are the primary billfish in the area right now. But if you head out to Corbetena thinking you’ll be at the right place, well, you’d be wrong. For the last couple of weeks, the action is about the correct location and luck. If you take a heading of 295 off the point of Punta Nayarit (aka Punta Mita) and head out 14 miles, you’ll be about 7 miles north of Corbetena. There you’ll find a deep ridge that plunges from 700 feet to 4,000 feet. On this ridge the currents are strong and this is where many of the Sailfish are being caught right now. But it’s also a great location for Blue Marlin right now. Since we’re talking about the Corbetena area, there have been some Blue Marlin running the area, but they’re thin in numbers. Many are under 100 lbs, so remember this is small for a Marlin of any kind, release them, please. If you’re at the rock, you can always jig for some nice sized Cubera Snappers. Things will improve day by day now. In the tournament we finished just this past weekend produced some Yellowfin Tuna. The winning Tuna was only 40 kilos or about 80 lbs. Not bad for a Tuna at this time of the year, but nothing impressive. Dorado are also around the high spots, but to get one of any size, that’s work. There should be Blue Marlin and Sailfish in this area, things change, so stay tuned. The fact of the matter is, the area between Corbetena and El Banco is where the action is.

Looking closer in, the area from El Morro to Punta Nayarit, it’s all about Sailfish and not much more. If you’re in this area, be ready to push some water with a full fuel tank. It will be work, but you should have a few Sailfish strikes. Striped Marlin is a low percentage possibility, but it is a possibility. Yes, you’ll still find Jack Crevalles and possibly Dorado, but it’s an outside possibility. For now your best bet is close to Punta Nayarit. Start about four miles off the point and work your way out. One thing for sure, you’ll need to keep a positive attitude and a good crew. Good luck!

We’ve moved into the time of year when we have the seasonal rains, which of course creates our famous trash line. Now we haven’t been having that much rain, strangely enough, but we do have a trash line and that’s a good thing. Now you may see dirty water, but the experienced captain knows that fresh water and salt water don’t readily mix. So what you see is dirty water floating on top of the salt water. This means that under this dirty water, fish are feeding on the organic type stuff like leaves, twigs, in fact these fish eat just about anything. Running the trash line right now will produce 35 lb Jack Crevalles, and baby Dorado in the 5 to 10 lb range. Bonito, Needlefish are thin in numbers, but picking up. Possible Snook near the shoreline. Many days the action in the bay is beating that of the deep water fishing grounds. Give this a few more weeks and we’ll begin seeing better conditions and more species moving into the bay. Bay fishing is about the action and Jack Crevalles will tear your arms off.   

My readers understand that right now, all this strangeness has nothing to do with ‘global warming’. What is weird is the timing. We are in the middle of a transition from a weak El Nino to La Nina in the middle of summer. Very strange, it explains the weird currents and lower than normal water temperatures. Which have come up to 83 to 84 degrees. But when you go below the surface, the water is noticeably cooler. We should be seeing 85 to 86 degree water temperatures at this time of the season. To be honest the currents are rather stagnant. Which explains everything. Where is this all going to go, who knows, but as we transition into a La Nina, I do not think we’re going to see the temperature level of warm water we need for species like Black Marlin, Blue Marlin, Dorado and more. There are no bait issues, the bay is loaded with bait. So we’re in a ‘wait and see’ situation for now. One interesting thing is the bite has moved to late morning about 10:30 or later. So don’t rush out, just to wait for the bite. Especially if you’re only going out for a short day. You could miss the bite altogether. Hopefully, this information will give you an advantage.   

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

Written by Stan Gabruk