I have to say that I am just flabbergasted that the fishing is so great this late in the fishing season. We normally expect an explosion of Dorado and Striped Marlin about now, but things have been ‘exploding’ for some time now. The amazing late season fishing in Puerto Vallarta isn’t showing any indications of slowing down any time soon. With Striped Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna footballs and plenty of larger Dorado, it makes ‘catching’ a no brainer! For the last few weeks I was afraid to allow myself to be optimistic about what was to come. But now it’s obvious that the second fishing season. An ‘Indian Summer’ of our fishing season means all you have to do is show up at your favorite fishing grounds and get prepared for a ‘bucket list’ day of fishing amigos.
Here we are, heading into late January and you’d almost think it was late November fishing. With water temperatures hovering at 73 degrees, all of a sudden the ‘clean green’ water returns. Clean green water normally isn’t a Dorados best friend, but if there’s bait in the water, minor things like water temperatures are easily ignored. None of this means much to the visiting tourist looking to get on the water and have a day they’ll never forget. To them all they want to do is catch fish and that’s easy. If you’re interested in fishing Puerto Vallarta’s world class fishing grounds, it’s not too late amigos to boat that bucket list finned fantasy. All you need to do is choose which species you want to target from Sailfish, Dorado, Striped Marlin or Yellowfin Tuna and I’ll tell you where to find them!
Well here we are again looking at the seasonal fishing reversals as winter species are moving in as our summer species of Dorado and Sailfish continue to linger. With massive amounts of bait in the water, including the dominant Krill or Whale food, the fishing is still great. We’re on the tail end of summer species like Dorado and Yellowfin Tuna. All of this is normal for this time of the y ear. But with El Nino, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next. The last El Nino year, we had Yellowfin Tuna at Corbetena into late February! Now that’s not a prediction, but with El Nino, anything is possible when it comes to fishing in Puerto Vallarta. With drastically low water temperatures, it won’t be long before we’re looking at Sea Bass, Grouper and Snappers moving into the area. But for now we’re still boating Dorado and Marlin for those lucky enough to be in Puerto Vallarta’s world famous fishing grounds!
Welcome to my first fishing report of the New Year! And how better to start a new year with a new beginning at El Banco, so to speak. Yes folks El Banco, or The Bank is showing signs of life and it has a strong heart beat for the moment. Also, Sailfish and Striped Marlin are still running our world class fishing grounds when talking about fishing in Puerto Vallarta. It’s also Whale Season, this means there are just tons of Krill, or rather Whale food in the bay. So there are challenges, but nothing the local captains can’t figure out. What’s really news is the drastic drop in water temperatures due to El Nino. Now you’d think water temperatures would be going up, but that logic is flawed as we see the winter fishing season coming on strong and early. A month early so start thinking “winter species”.
The clock is ticking and the end of the summer fishing season is upon us. But there is still time for those late to the game. Surprisingly Dorado are still in the bay. Sailfish are still taking bait, Striped Marlin are moving in and the winter fishing season is coming on strong. Soon fishing in Puerto Vallarta will be all about winter species. But not yet! If you’re looking to boat a Yellowfin Tuna, the clock is ticking. Thinking about a Blue Marlin, it may already be too late. But those looking for Dorado still have a chance. Sailfish will “hang” for a while, as long as we have plenty of bait. For those here in Puerto Vallarta looking to go fishing, we’re still targeting summer species, but the clock is ticking. Tick tock, tick tock.
Finally, a report I can “sink my teeth into”. I’m sure from that statement you understand that the Red Tide problem has finally moved out. And what is happening in Puerto Vallarta’s fishing grounds is exciting. Yes water temperatures are still down and it looks like the winter fishing season is arriving early. All of that is true, but for now we have action all around our world class fishing grounds. As colder currents and dropping water temperatures are indications of the switch to winter fishing, early this year I might ad. What we’re seeing now may be what we would normally see in February when the Dorado north near Cabo flee the cold water. As they, the Dorado pass Puerto Vallarta fishing grounds heading south, they’re hungry, this should last for a little while. The good news is we have action, YeHa!!
Normally at this time of the year, we’re in the best of the “best time of the year” to be here in Puerto Vallarta for world class fishing. Normally, but this year we’re seeing some interesting challenges. As you all know were’ in an El Nino year. What does that mean, well nobody really knows how to answer that question. Pretty much all we can do is look at what’s happening, analyze the situation and then make your best guess. Frankly there isn’t anything new about that, but when it’s an El Nino year, it’s hard to predict. With strange currents and dropping water temperatures, we’re seeing Jack Crevalles moving into the bay. This is a winter species that will hang around in warmer water if the bait conditions are to their liking. In the last few days we’ve seen Jack Crevalles picking up in numbers. To the optimistic, this is all just a glitch in the fishing season. To the pessimistic, it’s the end of the summer fishing season. Me, I find it’s almost impossible to predict the future now that I dropped and cracked my crystal ball!
