Getting straight into it, the fishing was . . and could be a lot better. We were looking at Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Marlin, Wahoo and more. Now we´re wondering what happened. It´s ¨Mystery Fishing¨, which really means where the fish went is a mystery! Sailfish are barely coming back, Marlin that were out there, not abundant but out there are MIA or Missing in Action. We had warm swirling currents which has now changed to cold water. You may ask how cold is it? Well the same areas where the water was 79 / 80 degrees, is now 73 degrees, that´s down seven degrees in days! Talk about a water chill curtain! Will it stay like this?
Normally in March we´re talking about disappointing winter fishing, not so this year. With El Nino being it´s unpredictable self raising water temperature to late spring equivalents we´re seeing unusual fishing with Black Marlin, tuna, Wahoo, Rooster fish and the list goes on. Yes folks, the fishing is incredible and there´s ¨Fish for Everyone¨!
What a difference a week can make and what a week it´s been! With the cold front that came through, closed the port and messed with the fishing it was little more than a night mare for a few days there. But with the cold front came a cold current that ¨pushed¨ Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna and other species into the area in decent numbers. For the lucky sole that is here in Puerto Vallarta looking to go fishing, you just hit he jackpot!
The Calendar shows it´s March yet the water temperatures are telling us it´s early summer with water temps jumping to 80 degrees or about 23 Celsius. This is highly unusual as we´re officially in the middle of the winter fishing season where water temps should be around 70 to 72 degrees. For now with some Sardines and massive amounts of Bullet Bonito and Skippies (babies) as bait conditions are improving a bit. Rooster fish are spotty, Marlin are moving back in, kinda. Forget Dorado and Sailfish, they´re done for now. Then again there are still Sails being boated in the bay?! What does this all mean, who knows, but we´ll figure it all out together so stay tuned, things could get interesting!
With this up and down season we are seeing strange and unusual things lately. One day we`re hot as a Jalapeno, the next day it´s not so ¨spicy¨. The seasons look like they´re trying to change then we see warm days and drastic humidity, which of course relates to warmer surface water temperatures. Which of course is great for summer species. All and all the fishing is good, but you have to deal with El Nino and other unwelcome challenges.
Well once again El Nino has us scratching our heads wondering what is coming next. Last week it looked like the ¨summer¨ fishing season had finally ended. Then all of a sudden Striped Marlin move in off Sayulita in force, the Dorado move back in to the Punta Mita area, Yellowfin Tuna for now at El Banco, it´s a real mixed bag with summer species swimming alongside winter species. It´s anyone’s guess from this point how the season is going to shape up for the rest of the winter, but if this is any example of what we can expect, I´m excited at the possibilities.
As is natural Mother Nature has once again reset the current clock as we see water temperatures turn chilly to the summer species of Dorado and Black Marlin. Other summer species are still hanging around the deep water locations, but for how much longer? For now fishing has it´s challenges like fishing always does. We see the void being filled in nicely by Sierra Mackerals, Needle Fish, Large Bonito (Tuna in cans), Sailfish and Dorado still hanging north of Corbeteña and El Banco. Yellowfin tuna off Cleophus of the Tres Maria Islands and Blue Marlin between Corbetena and El Banco. Fishing isn´t perfect for the jaded, but for the guy looking for a challenge and some serious action, now is the time to hit it or it may be too late amigos for Tuna and Marlin!
Well folks it had to happen, winter is moving in. With the present El Nino being one of the strongest in history I have been expecting conditions to remain the same for a while longer. There were a few storms up north in Southern California that threw some nasty cold temperatures and rain at them which pushed down some cold currents and fronts. These conditions changed quickly and once the water temperatures dropped drastically like they did this past week something had to give. Having said that if you´re happy with winter species, you´ll be fine. The winter storm pattern is setting up in northern waters and the currents being pushed down will affect the area. Winter fishing is here in Puerto Vallarta.
As we continue to see amazing fishing in mid January we wonder if this can continue for much longer. With warm water temperatures that stretch way, way north we could be in pretty good shape for summer species hanging out around our World Famous Fishing grounds for weeks or months to come, cross your fingers. Having said that we are still seeing Marlin, Sailfish and Dorado all around the place. One nice surprise is we´re finally seeing some decent sized Yellowfin tuna around El Banco or The Bank in English. The water is High Visibility blue at all the fishing grounds but of course there are always challenges when it comes to fishing and this week is no different.
What a difference a week can make and this week we´re seeing what we probably shouldn´t be, thank El Nino for this amigos! Sailfish, you bet, Marlin are all over our world famous fishing grounds. Dorado increased in size and abundance, Wahoo return, Football Tuna all over the deep water fishing grounds of Corbeteña and El Banco. The bay is boiling with action and frankly if you show up, you´ll catch fish. Short days smaller gamefish, longer days, more expensive I might add, bigger fish. Summer fishing in High Season, YeHa!!
