With Marlin and Sailfish ¨On Tap¨ combined with perfect blue water stuffed full of bait, it´s time to get serious. All around the west coast of Mexico from Cabo to points south of Manzanillo tournaments are springing up everywhere. Puerto Vallarta´s World Famous Fishing Grounds are turning a corner now as we enter the High Season for Fishing. It´s wide open at Corbeteña and El Banco to Punta Mita with the fishing grounds completely empty. No people or in other words ¨Deserted¨. You normally couldn´t pay for this luxury, and now you can have it all for the price of a decent boat and experienced Captain.
Being here in PV for as long as I have it´s funny how days in paradise can kinda meld together into seasons. The Season I see coming at us is very promising. Ten years ago, come July we had Yellowfin tuna footballs in early July. As we do NOW. Ten years ago as NOW we had perfect blue water at the deep water locations of El Banco and Corbeteña. Considered one of the top ten fishing locations in the world Puerto Vallarta is the place for fishing on the west coast of Mexico! Ten years ago we had super large Marlin move in overnight. Just like NOW. But ten years ago you couldn´t find space to drop a line around the rock or the High Spots. NOW, you can have the whole place almost to yourself. Imagine having one of the best places on the planet for fishing to yourself. It´s Mind Boggling and Priceless!
Well we´re looking at another week where the ¨lucky¨ one is the guy who showed up! With tourism down as the heat increases in Puerto Vallarta this is exactly when the serious Big Game fisherman wants to be here in our famous fishing grounds. It´s been wide open and those who do make it out on the water are catching trophy sized fish. Now picture yourself as the only boat in the area with species like this waiting for someone to show up. This is the exact situation here and now. Unusual, not so unusual from the last few years. With warm water conditions and plenty of bait these Trophy Billfish are closer in than you might expect, which of course means less fuel or as it actually equates to, less fuel buck for your ¨Fish Fix¨.
Being one of the top ten fishing locations Big Game Fishermen around the world begin to turn their attentions to the world class fishing grounds of Corbeteña, El Banco and the Tres Maria Islands. What they´re seeing is Marlin Populations increasing daily as larger fish follow. Sailfish are on-tap almost everywhere you are fishing, including the bay for the lucky. Bait fish like Bullet Bonito, Bullet Skip Jack Tuna, Flying fish, Goggle eyes and more make it a fast food factory for a finned fantasy. The cherry on the top is the fact our World Class Fishing Grounds are all but deserted. When was the last time you had conditions like this all to yourself? It´s all happening now in Puerto Vallarta’s Deep Sea Fishing grounds!
As we move into summer fishing with Puerto Vallarta’s Fishing ¨High Season¨ at hand we´re very interested in developing conditions. One thing that has happened this past week is an unusual increase in water temperatures. Now this can be of concern. Normal water temperatures for this area around June / July time frame is normally 83 degrees or so. This week we´ve seen spots around Corbeteña and El Banco at 88 to 90 degrees. Which for Marlin is no big deal, but for Yellowfin tuna, they don’t like these levels and will go to lower levels looking to have water temps cool their body temperatures down. Having said that, fishing is a notch improved since last week and we´re seeing more action at the deep water locations. It´s time to get on the water amigos, the fun on!
Every year I wait for the transition period between early May to early June to end as summer species like Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and more start to filter back into the area. Right now we´re seeing Marlin of all species picking up in numbers do to abundant bait, perfect Blue Water conditions, and deserted fishing grounds. If you didn´t know Puerto Vallarta is one of the best fishing grounds for Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna and Sailfish in the world. That´s a big statement for sure, but it´s accurate. For the lucky few here in PV right now, you´ve got a wonderful opportunity to boat a world class gamefish. If you´re reading this online or in the states in a paper publication then sit back, I´ll do my best to get you off your butt and on a plane for Fish City, aka PV from now until the end of December you can get that Finned Fantasy you´ve dreamed about!
As the seasons change we always know there will be excitement. We had the first Hurricane of the season pass us by over 400 miles to the east, nothing to fret about, but as far as summer season goes, it marks the beginning of ¨High Season¨ for fishing. With plenty of bait, plenty of fish and perfect conditions, Puerto Vallarta’s World Famous Fishing Grounds are open for business.
May is may and we´re still dealing with the transition from winter to summer currents and that´s obvious with the swirling cold and warmer currents we´re experiencing now. While the days are longer and the sun is higher in the sky we´re not seeing any major changes from last week. Rooster fish have slowed down, the currents pushing bait out is the main culprit. Sardines are still in the area, but not like they have been which is of course a Rooster Fishes favorite fast food!
Well it´s definitely May, humidity is up, daytime temperatures are up and of course like every May we continue with the seasonal transition. As normal as currents change, this will stir up the sea floor bottom turning the water into a Coffee colored muck fish prefer to avoid. This is normal, but it´s spotty so you can avoid locations like this in the bay. Outside the bay, the water mostly clear and blue but this doesn´t mean fish are cooperating any more than they did last week. There is plenty of action to be had for the short or full day angler looking for arm burning action in an ¨off time¨.
Water temps are a little different as they fluctuate, currents are changing, but essentially things are the same. Which of course means things are not bad, just not great. Larger species like Marlin and Sailfish are in and mostly out. For those of us living the lifestyle, this is no surprise. But for the guy looking for some great action on smaller fish, under 70 lbs, then you´re in for a great day. Looking for Yellowfin Tuna then you´ve got to put in the time and the distance for a ¨shot¨ at a trophy sized YF Tuna. For now it all comes down to how lucky you are.
