It’s mid-July now and the calendar tells us we should have warm water, Blue and Black Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado, Trash lines and some normal dirty water close to shore in the bay. Everything that is happening is exactly right on time! With plenty of bait in many forms, blue water, smooth seas and about any “warm water” species you could want. The fishing has finally improved to measure up to a “world class” fishing experience. Tournaments have started and at weigh-in, the fish being brought in are “tournament worthy”. Now things aren’t perfect, they never are. But the fishing has gotten to the point where you can pick your fish, if you have the time and the fuel money. For those on vacation now and are “budget” locked, we can help you too. Inside the bay we’re seeing many freaky things, Sailfish are weird, but not that weird. What is weird is Black or Blue Marlin in the bay! I’m at a loss for an explanation, so I’ll keep my mouth shut and just enjoy the action!
We have fish, but they’re cruising with erratic currents and stuffed full of fresh bait. Varied water temperatures, varied water conditions and species normally not in the area for this time of the year. Being a person who’s supposed to be “more or less” an expert on the subject in the area. I have to tell you, this is driving me crazy. It’s hard to predict what’s happening on a daily basis. All I can really do is tell you what happened. Everything else right now is a “roll of the dice” Some days you’re coming up all winners. Other days, you’ll be wondering “What Happened”? And I’d be right there with you!
This year, the fishing has been strange. Especially Puerto Vallarta’s world famous fishing grounds. Last week we had many of our favorite summer species, Dorado, Yellowfin Tuna and Sailfish to mention a few. They all came in fast and hungry. The bait remained, but the different species have either moved on or have thinned out in number by spreading out across all of PV’s fishing grounds. Bass are still around, kinda strange with warm water temperatures in the bay. It’s a “La Nina” year, which means the normal conditions are anything but. We’ve seen summer species in the area now for months, when normally they wouldn’t be. Dorado are a perfect example. We’ve been dealing with this for about a year now, but things will be changing. The only question is how and when?
It seems every week that there are changes, but not often are these changes drastic. But change is a constant and one change this week is the arrival of Black Marlin and an increase in the number and size of the Blue Marlin. Dorado continue to be abundant but are increasing in size. Sailfish are all over our world famous fishing grounds. Bait abundant, perfect water temperatures and high visibility blue water. Our “High Season” for fishing is shaping up nicely as we enter August and some of the best fishing of the year!
I was telling a friend about the things I learned from a group from the Scripts Institute, students from the world famous College of Oceanography in San Diego county. Living in Southern California, to me this college was the way people actually got their foot in the door, in the oceanography world that is. So when I noticed a scientific type / military-ish boat was just “marching” a ‘step’ at a time around the bay it was out of the ordinary. You never really know what many of these ships are doing in the bay. This particular day the crew from this ship came to my shop to get some of our world famous T-shirts.
Every year like clockwork we see the changing of the seasons just about the second or third week of January. This means the water temperatures drop, currents change, and abundant “Whale Food” in the form of hard shell Squids, Red Crabs and massive amounts of Krill Shrimp and Squids. And this is just the tip of the iceberg amigos. At times “too much” bait can be a problem for the vacationing Angler looking for a bucket list Fish to be checked off. But never fear, we have fish if you can get them to take your bait.
As we begin to see the end of the peak fishing season we’re lucky to have good if not unpredictable action. Fishing is a “liquid” sport and I mean that in forms of the word. Fish move and they’re moving all around the bay. With winter here the Whales are back as are the Porpoise everyone but fisherman love. For those looking to boat that bucket list fish before another year passes, I’d suggest you “Get it in gear” before the Marlin head for South America.
These days there has been a lot of talk about the Tres Maria Islands. When you ask a Yellowfin Tuna Fanatic, they don’t know much more than the “rumors” they’ve heard and the Pictures they’ve seen. And yes, they’re impressive. For the Pacific side of Mexico, Yellowfin Tuna are revered as the top game fish Sportsmen are looking for. With the secret out, there has been a lot of attention turning in the direction of Puerto Vallarta. I’ve stolen some information and inserted my own slant to develop what seems to be the only real independent description of the Tres Maria Islands. He I have stolen a little history and there’s a little “Wikki” in there too. To my knowledge this is the best description of the area and the fishing conditions available.
One thing is for sure, nothing stays the same for long in “Fish City”. Things have stepped down a notch from last week and we’re seeing what was concentrated around Corbetena and El Banco has spread out again. Marlin and Sailfish are out there, but for the next few days you’ll need to move some water. In layman terms that means you’ll be moving around from El Banco to Corbetena so you’ll need longer days on the water. The good news is there are fish out there!
In the world of Big Game Fishing, nothing ever stays the same from day to day. For the last few weeks it’s been wide open. By that I mean the fish are moving around the area with no real concentration for any real length of time in any one location. So, this means you have to be prepared to move around and find the fish. This is actually normal, but for those on a thin fuel budget this could be an issue if targeting large Marlin, Sailfish or Tuna. We have fish, but we don’t have them in a barrel.
