What a difference a week can make! All of a sudden, we see Puerto Vallarta’s world class fishing grounds come alive. No, it’s not perfect, and remembering it’s the start of PV’s ‘high season for fishing’, we’re finally moving into a normal, summer, fishing season pattern. So, conditions are more favorable by the day. Water temperatures are where they should be, the water is blue and there’s no shortage of bait to entice those ‘Bucket List”, warm water species into the area. As I’m writing this, the west coast of Mexico has now already seen five Hurricanes in three weeks. They’ve brought some rain into the area, but they’re also pushing fish into the Bay of Banderas. This is the pattern we were lacking last year and I’m already getting excited for the season with the arrival of Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado and more!
Once we enter mid-June, we get past a rough spot where the season and Spawning for many species end. We see massive amounts of baby Dorado get larger by the day. We see Blue Marlin move in, Sailfish are picking up in numbers and it’s all about Blue Water! Water temperatures are now in the perfect range of 84 degrees. Bait is everywhere and Hurricane Barbera is passed us by 250 kilometers pushing even more fish into the area. ‘High Season for Fishing’ is here again as we see the very beginnings of our summer species beginning to move in. Blue Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, Sailfish, Roosterfish and more are available to those both lucky enough to be in Puerto Vallarta and secondly, those with the fishing budget to get that ‘Bucket list’ fish you’ve always fantasized about.
Here we are at the end of May ’25 and we’re looking to the weeks ahead of us as we seem to be entering a normal, summer pattern. We’re even seeing the first Hurricane of the season as it passes the Bay of Banderas. We will normally see these Hurricanes push fish into the area as they pass our world-famous fishing grounds here in Puerto Vallarta. It’s part of the fishing cycle we missed last year. Water temperatures are about where they should be and the water is getting bluer by the day. Sardines are hanging out around the area, so we’re still seeing Rooster fish, this has been happening now for the last three weeks and their bite is still strong. It’s still Spring conditions; fish spawning is an issue we’ll need to deal with. Tournaments are already starting to spring up from Barra Navidad to San Blass. Blue Marlin are showing up in the surrounding areas, Yellowfin Tuna * Monsters are at the Tres Maria Islands. So, there are some positive signs of a normal season after two years of ‘WTF is happening out there’?
For months now we’ve been trying to figure out what’s happening in our world famous fishing grounds of Puerto Vallarta in the Bay of Banderas! With the rapid switch from La Nina, to El Nino and back again to La Nina condition, to say the seasons expectations have changed would be an understatement. All the normal rules and indicators, helping to predict the coming fishing conditions are failing us miserably. Normally we begin to start seeing Sailfish return to the area in March, but not this year. Normally we can expect some great bottom fishing with the colder water temperatures, but not this year. So we’re going from day to day and doing our best as we move into the spring breeding season. What does this mean? Well, it means smaller species, for now, but this will change soon. The important thing right now is to take advantage of the present conditions and go for the ‘Action Fishing’, Yeha!
At best, when we talk about fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s Bay of Banderas fishing conditions, about all I can do right now is roll my eyes. Why you may ask, it’s because for some reason it seems like the fishing has come to a halt. What we would expect with water temperatures below 70 degrees, is not happening. The warm water species are not in the area, the cold-water species are AWOL it’s got us all scratching our heads right now. But I shouldn’t be surprised, March is like that. Normally we see the Sailfish ‘return’, which means they’ll start picking up in numbers. We’ve still got ‘some’ striped Marlin out there, but it’s a 30% catch at best. It’s a fishing ‘Twilight Zone’ out there and while there is still some action to be had, it’s not guaranteed!
This will be a year to remember, with the El Nino to La Nina ‘double’ flip, the normal types of winter conditions we’d expect, are anything but. We’re now in the middle of our winter fishing season, but it’s not really winter fishing. If that confuses you, then join the crowd. For now, we’re seeing plenty of action in the bay, like normal come March in the Bay of Banderas. Now that’s not as bad as it may sound, heading out for a short day, plenty of action related to Jack Crevalle’s and Bonito is a good thing. But Puerto Vallarta offers options most don’t think about or even offer. Bottom fishing, aka ‘Jigging’ is one of your best winter fishing options.
Well here we are in the middle of February and the water temperatures are much warmer than they should be. Normally at this time of the year we’re looking at water temperatures in the upper 60’s. And to be fair we did see a week of cold water, then ‘pow’, the water got warm again. If you’re confused, just think about the fish! For now we’re still seeing some of our summer species running our world class fishing grounds in Puerto Vallarta. But the Bay of Banderas hasn’t let us down, we’re still seeing great, action-fishing. For those looking for Sailfish and Striped Marlin, they’re out there, but the numbers are thin, you’ll need a full day fishing trip and you could still come up empty handed. That’s fishing for you, assess the situation and make a decision. But there is always great fishing in Puerto Vallarta if you’re open minded and focused on action and no so much a specific species.
Well, here we are again in what seems to be the never ending dirty water! For at least six weeks now we’ve seen fishing in Puerto Vallarta suffering through the change of seasons here in the bay of Banderas. We expect a few weeks of dirty water, it’s just part of the process of changing currents. The good news now is even though the water is still a little dirty, the fish can finally see your bait. The results of this the longer duration trips are now producing some great action. For those not interested in spending a fulll day on the water, a bay trip may be your perfect trip. But the simeple truth is we’re moving swiftly into the winter fishing season. Having said that, we still have some warm water species like Striped Marlin and we’re seeing the “indian summer fishing” time when Dorado start working their way to warmer water’s to the south. It’s the ‘last hurrah’ for the remaining summer species amigos.
Ok, after my last article, you should have a pretty good understanding what has been happening in our world famous fishing grounds of Puerto Vallarta in and around the Banderas Bay. The dirty water conditions continue. We’ve been dealing with these changing currents and dropping water temperatures. The dirty water is breaking up a bit, but the clean green is coming in behind it. Having said that, find blue water and you’ve got some world class fishing. We still have some challenging conditions, but with the proper information, what seems like a disaster in the making can turn into a world of surprise and excitement. Part of this is luck, admittedly, but the other part is skill and local knowledge! At this time of the year, the inshore or in the bay fishing is fun and affordable. But the days are rapidly coming to an end when Sailfish, Striped Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado and the rest will be leaving for warmer waters. As we move into the winter fishing season, things will change, but that doesn’t mean the fishing is bad or diminished. We just switch gears, species and processes. Soon we’ll be talking about Snapper, Grouper and Bass! Stay positive, it pays dividends in memories and never ending smiles.
OK, this fishing report is going to be a little different from what I normally write about. I’ve been writing articles for more than twenty years now regarding Fishing in Puerto Vallarta, focusing on the entire area in and around the Bay of Banderas. Now I could throw plenty of facts and data about what’s happening in the fishing grounds, and I’ll get to that. But with the rapid change from La Nina, to El Nino, then back to La Nina conditions in just a touch over a year, you have to understand this has never happened in my lifetime. So I’m going to try and attempt to describe and explain a bit about what’s happening now.
