Here we are in September, arguably the hottest and most humid month of the year. That may sound like a bad thing, but we know when it comes to fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s Banderas Bay, the hotter, the better! Being close to the equator, the sun is directly overhead and the days are long. Water temperatures naturally rise and conditions become almost perfect for Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado, and Sailfish to name the most popular species. From now until about the end of December, the fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s fishing grounds is about as good as it’s going to get. For now, it’s the beginning stages of High Season for Fishing, the crowds are low and the fishing grounds are basically empty except for a few lucky Anglers and the private boats. The Marlin are getting larger during the day and the Sailfish are picking up in numbers as you’d expect come Mid-September. It’s time to raid the piggy bank and make your own plans to boat a once in a lifetime experience!
You may have noticed that I haven’t written an article last week like I normally do, nothing had changed and frankly the fishing wasn’t worth writing about. Tourism is down, so very few boats are heading out. But the private boats have been rocking at El Banco. The simple fact is we’ve just gone through the seasonal change where the warm water species are continuing to move in as the winter, or cold-water species are trickling out. We’ve had an interesting summer so far, not much rain so the trash line has been neutralized for the most part. But we’re seeing warmer water temperatures right on time. Bait is perfect, the water is a high visibility blue and the Marlin are rolling in. We’re in tournament season now and conditions will only get better from this point forward.
When it comes to fishing right now, especially at our deep-water fishing grounds of Corbetena and El Banco. Fishing is a Rollercoaster, some days up, some days down, but always changing. We have plenty of fish, they’re out there. We have plenty of bait and blue water. And we have plenty of wide-open spaces. Fishing has been spread out for weeks now, nothing new there. The frustration comes when the Lookie-Lu’s, just look and not take the bait. For the last week, we’ve seen more than our share of this, but we all know, conditions can change in a heart beat and again we have fish. Times like this require a skilled Captain and crew, not to mention a little luck never hurts.
As we get deeper into the early stages of Puerto Vallarta’s high season for fishing, we’re still waiting for the “fishing” public to arrive. Nothing new here, this is pretty much normal. As we see the conditions pick up, there really aren’t very many fishing charters. We have great fishing, but it’s hard to give a report, when there are so few anglers hitting our fishing grounds right now. Now this may sound negative, but in reality it’s an opportunity to have Puerto Vallarta’s world famous fishing grounds to yourself. Now this is priceless when you have 300 lb Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and more waiting for you to arrive! So forgive any holes there may be in this week’s report, but the bottom line is we have great fishing and if you head out to these fishing grounds, then next week, I’ll be writing about you! If not, I’ll be writing about somebody else.
After the last few disappointing weeks of fishing, things changed like a lightning strike. All of a sudden currents change and with it a massive invasion of varied baits. Small tiny baits eaten by Skip Jack Tuna are being follow by much larger species. 30 lb to 200 lb Yellowfin Tuna about 65 miles out are chasing these baits in unusually cool water for Yellowfin Tuna. That’s a 12 hr. day with no guarantees. These southern currents are bringing Sailfish and Striped Marlin are also in the mix. Snapper off El Morro and the action is unexpected. To see Yellowfin Tuna this early in the season can only be explained as a La Nina result. We aren’t complaining, but this may not last long as the bait is riding currents which means as quickly as they’re moving in, they can move out.
For the last three weeks now I’ve been surprised at the amount of Striped Marlin in the bay. As water temperatures rise we normally see Striped Marlin leaving the area. But when there is so much “Fast Food” why would you leave? Smaller Dorado are in the bay which is encouraging. For now we’re focusing on the “water” conditions. We’re in a “current” transition period where clashing currents can create dirty water and hair pulling frustration.
