I’m afraid this week’s report is much like last weeks, but that’s not a bad thing. As we continue to see Corbetena on and off again when it comes to Marlin, we’ve seen Dorado move into most of our world famous fishing grounds. Now that we’re in the solid beginnings of world class fishing in Puerto Vallarta’s fishing grounds, things will only improve with the coming days. But it’s a “menu” item fishing report. It seems that each area has its particular species of choice. Water temperatures are warmer yet perfect, but don’t expect any changes there with an El Nino year. The water is blue, plenty of bait and the only thing missing is you!
Here we are again, a week has gone by and things have changed considerably! The bait issues at Corbetena and El Banco have gone away. Sailfish and Marlin have returned to both Corbetena and El Banco. All the deep water locations have blue water and mature Trash Lines. Dorado and Sailfish are also on the menu, thanks to the fish gods. We’ve even seen some decent sized Yellowfin Tuna as well. Two days after I wrote the last article, things changed drastically as Skip jack Tuna moved back into Corbetena, El Banco and Punta Mita! While water temperatures are still warmer than we’d like, we’ll have to endure since this warm water isn’t going anywhere soon. All the necessary “elements” are here now. The only question is if you can put those elements together. If so, the results will be the stuff memories are made of and will last a lifetime!
Tournament season has started and even though it’s still early in the season for peak fishing conditions, they’re not bad. With abundant blue water, plenty of fish and now a Trash Line, conditions are good. We’ve had a pretty good run for the last two weeks since the Hurricane passed, but like all good things, they come and they go. We’re not seeing the 35 lb Dorado in the bay any longer, but we’ve still got nice sized Dorado at Los Arcos, but the Dorado have spread out in the bay now. We’re getting a steady stream of Marlin these days, Sailfish are picking up in numbers and are in more locations. Water temps are up, no bait issues. Day by day the conditions take a click in the right direction. For now things aren’t quite as good as they were after Hurricane Beatriz. Those were freak conditions where if you were here to take advantage of the situation, you had some unforgettable action. Looking forward, I feel very positive for the season. With more fish moving into the area, we know conditions will only improve.
Tournament season has started and even though it’s still early in the season for peak fishing conditions, they’re not bad. With abundant blue water, plenty of fish and now a Trash Line, conditions are good. We’ve had a pretty good run for the last two weeks since the Hurricane passed, but like all good things, they come and they go. We’re not seeing the 35 lb Dorado in the bay any longer, but we’ve still got nice sized Dorado at Los Arcos, but the Dorado have spread out in the bay now. We’re getting a steady stream of Marlin these days, Sailfish are picking up in numbers and are in more locations. Water temps are up, no bait issues. Day by day the conditions take a click in the right direction. For now things aren’t quite as good as they were after Hurricane Beatriz. Those were freak conditions where if you were here to take advantage of the situation, you had some unforgettable action. Looking forward, I feel very positive for the season. With more fish moving into the area, we know conditions will only improve.
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.
You know for years now I’ve been writing this article and I’ve learned that when the fishing finally gets to the “World Class Level”, there are very few charter boats heading out with low tourism. So if you were here now, you would have our famous fishing locations all to yourself. It’s been just in the last few days that everything changed, Dorado, all of a sudden are very large. Sailfish are finally picking up in numbers. Yellowfin Tuna are still hanging out at the high spots. Blue and Black Marlin are fair sized and there’s plenty of bait. Puerto Vallarta fishing conditions have finally gotten to the point where the fishing is incredible. The abundance of species guarantee you’ll have the time of your life, but your arms might fall off before the end of your fishing day. Yes folks, these are the type of days that made Puerto Vallarta Fishing the envy of the free world. The only thing missing is you!
Before I move on, you legally can’t fish within twelve miles of Madre Island. Now in the winter time this doesn’t work for the Southern California boats because they’re trying to make their year, avoid the slow season of winter in California. But here’s the deal nobody is telling these California anglers, it’s not easy catching Yellowfin Tuna when the navy is busy chasing the boat you rented out. You see, these boats are fishing well within six miles of the island and frankly if you want to catch Yellowfin Tuna in February, you have to be on the reefs, the most sensitive part of the ecosystem. What the Navy does, they come and board your boat, have a nice, sometimes heated conversation with the Mexican navy protecting this area. The results these days are the Navy grabs the boat, the crew and everyone onboard and force them to go to the Island. There they’ll be held for the day if you’re lucky. The navy knows the Anglers on the boat are innocent and know nothing about them patrolling the area. But the captain, the crew and the owners are not telling you about this. You aren’t hitting these islands at the optimal time of the year!
After a few weeks of less than exciting fishing, things are starting to look up. Now I’m not going to tell you things have improved to the point you’re going to catch Moby Dick, but you can have a fun day on the water using light tackle. We call it action fishing and that’s the best you can expect for the time being. Now if you want to roll the dice, then take a twelve hour fishing excursion, targeting Yellowfin Tuna, Striped Marlin and possible Dorado and Sailfish
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?
If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you already know this is a “La Nina” year. It keep the water temperatures at a solid 84 degrees, which is perfect for all our world class species. We’ve been seeing solid fishing around our world class fishing locations. Unlike normal years, the “fish” or all the Sailfish and Marlin have a wide range of travel. What that means is they’ve been moving around and they’re spread out. You can’t just focus on one location and expect all the varied species waiting for you to arrive. Or can we? With massive amounts of bait already in the bay, more is moving in. I’m calling it “Hit & Run” fishing. With massive amounts of the Krill or seasonal “Whale” food, Krill stuffed Mahi are not interested many times in your bait. Marlin and Sailfish are chasing baits and playing fish tag. Smash the bait and then they turn away. The only “favorite” species we have that aren’t eating Krill is Yellowfin Tuna. The fishing is great, but you have to keep at it. Lazy Captains and crews are coming up empty handed. Those putting the effort of changing bait, changing trolling speeds and have the fuel to find the fish are coming up winners.
