If you’ve been reading my articles, you know that the world and fishing in Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas have been dealing with a mid-summer switch from El Niño to colder La Niña conditions.
You may say, what does this mean to me? Well, we know that water temperatures affect weather patterns for one thing. But we’re talking about fishing; cold water is bad for the warm water species.
This week, water temperatures went from 87 degrees to 81 degrees, a drastic drop.
Then, all of a sudden, Jack Crevalles are back in the bay and Striped Marlin are moving in. Now this may sound like a good thing. But in reality, it could mean an early “winter fishing” season. Black and Blue Marlin are still running the neighborhood, but we’ll be keeping an eye on the coming weeks to get a better feel for what’s happening.
But for now, the fishing is great! Sailfish, Striped Marlin, and even Jack Crevalles in the bay all add up to excellent fishing action in Puerto Vallarta’s world-famous fishing grounds.
This week, we had the Los Muertos Dorado Fishing Tournament, which is very popular and very affordable; it was a lot of fun, but Dorado were sparse at best. You may remember that was the title of my last fishing report. Most of the Dorado in the area are either leaving or have left. Very few came in for the tournament and the winner weighed 18 lbs! That’s not big at all for a tournament winner. Now, there are some pictures out there of nice Dorado and I’m posting one myself.
But the reality? If you’re targeting Dorado around Corbetena, I hope you’re a lucky person, amigo. Now, when we’re talking about Marlin, we have plenty of those.
Blue Marlin are still running the area, but Black Marlin are few and far between. The reverse of this is Stripers or Striped Marlin; they like cooler water and will be around for a while. We also have Yellowfin Tuna around the Corbetena area in the 100 lb range. But it’s going to be a lot of work for one of two Yellowfin Tuna.
The bottom line is Corbetena is in great shape, and there is plenty of action; the only downside is Dorado are a bit thin in numbers.
The entire area between Punta Nayarit (aka Punta Mita) to El Morro has Sailfish action. You could run into a Dorado or two, but the action is mostly Striped Marlin and Sailfish.
Skipjack Tuna have also been a little thin for some reason, so these fish are hungry and will take lures and trolled baits. Some day’s, dead bait is a better option. Recently, the best area for an eight-hour fishing trip is behind El Morro to the Marieta Islands. This is a Striped Marlin hangout right now, and trolling the area could pay off in a Sailfish or Jack Crevalle as well.
Remember, you don’t have to troll all day; you can jig, and that’s fishing too. Grouper and Cubera Snappers are always in that area and provide great action as well. We just need to remember there is more than one way to catch a fish!
Inside the bay, the Dorado are either small babies or sparse, with few in the area around Los Arcos! With Jack Crevalles at 30 lbs, arm-burning action is guaranteed!
There is also a ridge from Corbetena, straight inside the bay. This ridge pushes currents into the bay along with Sailfish and possibly Striped Marlin for the super lucky bay angler! Plenty of Skipjack Tuna and Bonito keep you occupied. If this cooling trend continues, we’ll see Sierra Mackerels come back, and they’re tasty but not large. The bottom line here is there is always action in the area.
You may be sitting there reading this all and scratching your head. Well, join the crowd; it’s a strange fishing season, and we’re all at the mercy of Mother Nature.
But focusing on the positive, there is plenty of action, plenty of varied baits, and plenty of fun out there. Focusing on the conditions and predicting the future is difficult right now since I dropped my crystal ball and put a crack in it.
From what I see, conditions should remain about as they are presently. Most of the time, when we have a chill current come in, it’s short-lived. But we had Striped Marlin, Blue Marlin, and Black Marlin all in the same areas at the same time early in the season, and we may be moving back into conditions such as this.
Now, that wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. With water temperatures at 81, it’s not ‘Doom and Gloom,’ and you’ll have a great day on the water, but you won’t be catching Moby Dick! With Blue water everywhere and plenty of bait, things will improve in a few days, and we may see some more cold water species move into the area. When you’re in a constant state of flux, it’s best to keep positive with a ‘wait and see’ attitude.
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
