Every year like clockwork we see the changing of the seasons just about the second or third week of January. This means the water temperatures drop, currents change, and abundant “Whale Food” in the form of hard shell Squids, Red Crabs and massive amounts of Krill Shrimp and Squids. And this is just the tip of the iceberg amigos. At times “too much” bait can be a problem for the vacationing Angler looking for a bucket list Fish to be checked off. But never fear, we have fish if you can get them to take your bait.
As we begin to see the end of the peak fishing season we’re lucky to have good if not unpredictable action. Fishing is a “liquid” sport and I mean that in forms of the word. Fish move and they’re moving all around the bay. With winter here the Whales are back as are the Porpoise everyone but fisherman love. For those looking to boat that bucket list fish before another year passes, I’d suggest you “Get it in gear” before the Marlin head for South America.
One thing is for sure, nothing stays the same for long in “Fish City”. Things have stepped down a notch from last week and we’re seeing what was concentrated around Corbetena and El Banco has spread out again. Marlin and Sailfish are out there, but for the next few days you’ll need to move some water. In layman terms that means you’ll be moving around from El Banco to Corbetena so you’ll need longer days on the water. The good news is there are fish out there!
In the world of Big Game Fishing, nothing ever stays the same from day to day. For the last few weeks it’s been wide open. By that I mean the fish are moving around the area with no real concentration for any real length of time in any one location. So, this means you have to be prepared to move around and find the fish. This is actually normal, but for those on a thin fuel budget this could be an issue if targeting large Marlin, Sailfish or Tuna. We have fish, but we don’t have them in a barrel.
Under big blue beautiful skies Puerto Vallarta is a fishing wonderland right now. Normally we have colder water than we do so it’s interesting to see warm water species all over the area in their “off” season. Yes folks Punta Mita is alive with some of the most desirable species we have and they’re not too far out. An eight hour fishing trip can almost make you think it’s summer! It doesn’t matter what you’re looking to catch, you have a shot, maybe a low percentage shot, but hey, it’s a shot, take a pic!
Welcome back to another week of exciting fishing. We’ve seen several weeks where the fishing has gone from great to terrible, then back to great again. Now I can’t say the fishing is “great” but I can say it’s very good. The conditions are hard to beat right now, it is warm and humid but that’s to be expected especially at this time of the year. We’ve seen some swings as to “hot and cold” fishing, again that’s normal. One thing that is keeping the fishing good is the amount of Sailfish and Dorado available for the last week or so, this makes the fishing good. Now if Corbetena or El Banco would get their act together then maybe we could call it all “Great”.
You know I can´t figure it out, we have winter species in the bay like Jack Crevalls, Needle Fish, Sierra Mackerals. Then we have the summer species of Marlin, Tuna, Wahoo and Sailfish in the same waters at the same time. Yes folks this is El Nino with it´s scrambled egg approach to fishing. We don´t know what to expect on a weekly basis, but we do know there are big fish at El Banco and Corbetena. We have Sailfish around the Marietta and Punta Mita area with Rooster fish. Then we have freak fishing situations like Blue Marlin being boated in the Bay. So fishing right now is like a trend we should ride and not get too much into the ¨why it´s happening now¨, just keep reeling!
People come in my shop all the time and want to discuss fishing and many other things. This week I found myself talking about how we have fish everywhere and where there are fish there are long liners killing your chances as the issue remains unsolved and those in the position of authority remain uninterested. Fishing is great, but don´t have expectations around the Long Liners, the good news is we can avoid them but you´ll be using more fuel than you should have to.
In the world of Deep Sea Fishing the only ¨constant¨ is that nothing stays the same for long. With a drastic drop in water temperatures last week I thought we had seen the best fishing fade away for the rest of the year. Then the Illegal Long Liners bugged out, and the fishing improved greatly. Water temperatures are still at 80 degrees which I would say is cold for these warm water species, but in San Diego where the water temps are considerably colder they´re still boating Marlin and Dorado. So what does this all mean? Your guess is as good as mine, but if they´re ¨playing¨ in colder water up north that means the season if far from over for Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and we even have Wahoo in the area. Now if we could find a way to coax a Yellowfin Tuna in the area we´d be happy campers!
Summer fishing is shaping up nicely as we see Striped, Blue and Black Marlin numbers increase. Sailfish are more abundant in a big way. Bullet Bonito and Skip Jacks are all over the place being chased by these World Class Gamefish. Water temperatures are perfect for summer species. Dorado are trickling in slowly. We´re not seeing larger Yellowfin Tuna yet, it´s still early for them around Corbeteña or El Banco. The season is coming together, time to start making those summer fishing trip reservations and keep up with these Fishing Reports, Fishing High Season is starting now!
