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!
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!
. El Banco right now has some serious action. Now this is a twelve hour day, so you have to be “into it” or it just sounds like “too much”. But for those that understand fishing happens where it happens, you literally go the distance. And right now you can find up to 100 lb Yellowfin Tuna. Now the Marlin are picking up in numbers as well, blue or black, they’re both running the area, but wait, that’s not all, Dorado, Sailfish have moved in and are hanging out. Right now it looks like the “high season” for fishing has finally begun!
We’ve been waiting now for warm blue water for months. We’ve had this “clean green” water, but frankly it’s a sad substitute for warm, blue water. It’s cold, green, not a fish’s first choice. We’re coming out of a three year “La Nina” running head first into what’s being quoted as a “Super El Nino”. We’ll find out what that means soon enough, but the initial “symptoms” are the return of blue water, massive amounts of warm water bait, followed by Black Marlin and now sizeable Yellowfin Tuna. Puerto Vallarta’s world class fishing is returning now and soon fishing conditions will be back to the level people have come to expect. This won’t happen overnight, but Puerto Vallarta is back in the game and until the end of December, you can expect arm burning action, big fish and even bigger smiles!
Well, here we are again, we’re still transitioning and the fish are still breeding, so we still have those challenges when it comes to fishing in Puerto Vallarta. We go through this every May until early June, we prepare for it and bear through it. It’s a perfect time of the year for this to happen with tourism down. But there are some positive signs, water temperatures are up, bait is abundant and we have fish, yes folks the fish are out there, but they’re full of eggs and their appetites subside. That doesn’t mean you won’t catch fish, but it does mean you’ll be working hard for your catch. With changing currents, massive bait and in general improving water conditions, things are finally looking up. And hopefully soon we’ll have blue water and Blue Marlin!
In the world of world class fishing, not every day is a perfect day. The fishing grounds of Puerto Vallarta are considered some of the best in the world. Yet we still have to pay homage to the changing season, changing currents and of course changing water temperatures. We also know we have a seasonal swing from winter species to summer species. Conditions are changing and there’s no escaping that. Right now we’re in the middle of this seasonal change, which means there are some days are better than others. With plenty of bait in the area, the down side, temporarily I might add, is we now are experiencing red tide. Red tide, which is created by dead or dying plankton has taken over the entire area. We’ve seen this now for about a week and it could last for a brief while longer. Red tide is a normal condition and fishing in this red water is difficult at best. While not preferable on any level, this is a short lived condition. As you read this article, keep in mind things have probably already changed. Fish are out there, your challenge is finding clean water, even if it’s green. If not for the red tide, we’d still be dealing with “pregnant” fish!
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 reading my articles, you understand that we’re on the tail end of a La Nina year. When this happens the “system” starts to swing back to “normal”. That means the water temperatures, the bait conditions and even the water color all come into play. With “not horribly cold” water, as is normal for February, we have a mix of fish that include summer species that are just hanging around. In a La Nina year you can’t predict what’s going to happen. All levels of what would be normal don’t apply right now. Because of this you can have several summer species running with winter species and of course this makes things interesting, if not frustrating.
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.
