This week, finally we have an interesting report from Corbetena. The water at the rock is that brown dirty, sediment cocktail fish just detest. But if you go eight miles or so north of the rock, you’ll find 100 lb Yellowfin Tuna. No joke, but the rub is getting them to take bait. With massive amounts of 2 inch Squids with shells, Green Runners, Sardines, Skip Jack Tuna and more, the biggest challenge can be competing with the “bait”. You could say it’s a race for which bait the “fish gets” first! In this area the water is the clean green I’ve been telling you about for what seems like months now. Striped Marlin have been making appearances, but again, fickle and picky. Dorado are also in the area at 15 lbs, but they’re mostly full of the tiny Sardines and the remaining Krill. Not to mention the small squids. Get my point? Also, with spring in the air, you need to hit the “bite” just right. Those who are “Tuna Starved” will find this an irresistible opportunity, but don’t be deceived, nothing is easy out there. Feeling lucky?
You know I’ve been writing these articles now for something like twenty years. In that time, writing and paying attention to conditions, you begin to learn and see what happens with the seasonal changes. That means how currents work, water temperatures change, the results of these types of natural ocean movements and the things that just don’t “fit” in the scenario. So it’s not surprising to me when the seasonal changes comes and frankly we’ve been waiting for it. But it’s a La Nina year, which throws a wrench into everything you’d expect, especially water temperatures. Then we come into March.
This past week was a real Rollercoaster. The good news is Striped Marlin are north of Sayulita. Grouper are in their “holes” in the bay. And of course we still have our fill of Krill. Here we are in late February and we’re still seeing our late summer species hanging around. With water temperatures at what looks like a seasonal low, Grouper and Sea Bass are gracing the bay. Those with families and short budgets can find plenty of “Action Fishing” in the bay.
Well, here we go again, Krill, Krill and more Krill! They’re getting under my skin. Maybe not the best way to start this article, but for four weeks now we’ve had these stagnant conditions. We all know, that is if you’ve been reading my articles, that we’re ending a La Nina year. You know, when the water stays cooler for the year, then at some point it “snaps” back.
Once again the area in between Corbetena and El Banco is showing why this area produces more tournament winners than anywhere else. Fishing is “fishing” and conditions will never be perfect, but if you focus on what’s “biting” and what’s not, then Dorado right now should be grabbing your attention!
This year we have the unfortunate luck to deal with our normal seasonal transition. Throw in La Nina and now crazy currents from storms to the north and to the west, included in the mix, fluctuating water temperatures and Clean Green water. All that is in the sauce we call world class fishing in Puerto Vallarta to Punta Mita. Has it been frustrating? A little, but there is a strong upside as well. Dorado have been mostly abundant in between Corbetena and El Banco. Find floating debris or a log anywhere from El Morro to Punta Nayarit and you’ve found larger Dorado who are attacking baits. For now it’s a real mixed bag that’s hard to figure out. One thing that isn’t confusing is when you come in after a ten hour fishing trip with a fish box full of Dorado.
Here we go again, the rollercoaster of rising and falling water temperatures has struck again. It’s frustrating because we know “The Big Chill” is coming. Every year I hope we get through the holiday season with warmer water temperatures so the fishing remains great for the holiday travelers. So we got past Christmas, but barely and now we’re seeing dramatic drops in water temperature. Which means we saw the return of dirty water and the clean green water. Both are indicators of colder water temperatures, but we’ve seen this as recently as two weeks ago. So what happened? Who knows, all I know is we have to deal with it. The good news is we still have Marlin, Sailfish and Dorado. The bad news is we also have massive amounts of Krill or Whale food. This means every species in the area is chowing down on the “fast food”, which is known as Krill. The challenges are obvious. But even with massive krill, which even the bait if feeding on, you can still have some great action. It’s not going to be easy, being equipped with the right information can improve the odds, stay tuned.
Welcome back to another exciting week of world class fishing in Puerto Vallarta. After years of writing about fishing and the conditions, I’ve learned that nothing is predictable when it comes to the oceans. Last week we were talking about the dropping water temperatures and the “clean green” water that wouldn’t go away. This lasted for two weeks and it’s an indication of changing seasons with changing currents. While people were catching fish in these clean green conditions, fish don’t cotton to it. Things have changed now and conditions are more favorable. Blue water has finally replaced the green water. Water temperatures are up, Krill is down a bit and more bait is moving in. This puts Puerto Vallarta fishing in a favorable position and these conditions should last past New Years. Thankfully we have warming water temperatures, Blue Water, Dorado and a host of world class action! Fishing is still in a transition period, but the good news is these recent changes are for the positive. YeHa!
Last week I reported that water temperatures had dropped drastically, incoming massive Whale food in the form of Krill moving in and Dorado moving out of the bay. That was all accurate and frankly I was more pessimistic about fishing in the “coming” week. I was about half “right”. The massive amounts of Krill are still in the bay, but the Whales have turned up and they’re doing their job consuming and breeding. Yes folk’s winter has returned to the Bay of Banderas with the arrival of our yearly visitors. This of course means that it won’t be long before we’re all targeting smaller game fish in the bay as the deep water locations “cool off”. But for now, Billfish are at Corbetena. The swirling currents are a normal part of the “process” and of course there are still plenty of “Dinner Mahi” for those willing to go the extra distance to our world famous deep water fishing grounds.
It was amazing, last week, what was looking so promising for the rest of “high season” for fishing, has now changed with the early indicators of early winter currents. Suddenly the drop in water temperatures dropped from 84 degrees to 79 degrees in a matter of a few days with early winter currents are going take it’s toll. We’re also seeing the winter currents stirring up the sediment on the ocean floors in some areas. When we get these winter currents, Krill or Whale food show move in as expected at this time of the year. The annual challenge of competing with local baits versus the baits you’re running is nothing new. It happens yearkly and the local Captains know how to deal with this. Having Said that, Blue Marlin are picking up in numbers and size. Dorado are still thick at Corbetena, Sailfish are spread out, with concentrations from Punta Mita aka Punta Nayarit to Corbetena and El Morro. Fishing is always the process of dealing with daily challenges, nothing new there. Normally they come about a month later in the season. Are you up for the challenge?
