Normally, when I write my weekly fishing reports, I’m careful not to be too optimistic. This past week was much better than my ‘pessimistic’ outlook.
I was expecting the warm water species to move out as we see winter species moving in.
What is actually happening is the winter species are still moving in, but the summer species of Dorado, Sailfish, and even Yellowfin Tuna are still ‘hanging out!’
And, in fact, they’re enjoying the cooler water! Why? In a word, ‘bait,’ with massive amounts of Krill or tiny Squids, Ballyhoos, Flying Fish, and Sardines, the list is endless. If you were a fish, would you swim away from fast food and easy living? When it comes to world-class fishing in Puerto Vallarta, sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious!
What a week we’ve had at Corbetena! Sailfish, Spinner Dolphin with 60 LB Yellowfin Tuna, Striped Marlin picking up in numbers, and Sailfish is the cherry on the top.
The water temperature is 73 degrees, which is chilly for warm water species. But they can live with the inconvenience when the living is easy and their favorite food is abundant. It’s a giant fish McDonald’s out there right now.
One secret is that most of the action is north of the rock. With blue water and fair seas, what more could you want?
My pessimistic side is telling me this can’t last much longer. But my optimistic side thinks there really is no reason why this won’t continue. So, are you an optimist?
With the blue water continuing for most of the area, we did have a few days of clean green water off Punta Nayarit. It looks like that pushed the fishing in closer to the shoreline.
Right now, just over four miles off the point, things start happening. Sailfish are a little thin in numbers, but Dorado, at 20 to 30 lbs, are still hanging out and taking baits. Surprisingly, to say the least, the krill are not so abundant in this area. Flying fish are taking up the bait slack, so live bait is king in this area for now. But lures have been working as well. So, I say throw the kitchen sink at them and see what works. Then do that. Ha ha.
For those who want to take a chance for some spectacular action with the rarest species, Wahoo (40 to 80 lbs) are running between El Morro and the Marieta Islands! Using down riggers and fluorescent baits, not to mention faster trolling speeds, will turn other species ‘off.’ But a hungry Wahoo will see something he can’t resist. And once you’ve tasted a Wahoo, aka Ono, in Hawaii, it will become your instant favorite.
Inside, the bay is still rocking. Surprisingly enough to my pessimistic side, Dorado up to 25 lbs are still running in the area around Los Arcos! For the most part, it’s hard to turn the head of a Dorado, but they will take trolled baits for some reason on occasion. It’s not automatic with the Dorado.
What is automatic this past week is the very large Bonito at 20 lbs. Remember, Bonito is what they put in tuna cans here locally. Skip Jack Tuna, normally around 6 lbs, is monstrous at 20 lbs right now, and possibly football Tuna around Yelapa at 40 lbs; if they’re still there, the ‘pessimist’ says.
The optimistic ‘me’ says, get out there ASAP and get your share! Right now, you want six hour trips, four hours are iffy and coming up a bit short, even on Jack Crevalles, which are normally willing participants.
So, six hours is your best option if fishing in the bay. Throw in the possibility of a Sailfish, and you’re looking at some great action for families and professional anglers alike.
My inner optimist wants you to know there were 2 Striped Marlin boated off Yelapa a few days ago. The pessimist is demanding I say, “This will probably not happen to you unless it’s your lucky day.” So I guess a better title would have been, ‘Glass Half-Full or Half Empty Fishing.’
We’re still seeing a mid-morning bite this week, so figure being at your chosen fishing grounds before 09:00. Water temperatures are still chilly, 73 degrees F, with mostly blue water everywhere. Bait is both a curse and a blessing, depending on where you are. But the results are great at all our fishing grounds.
When it comes to bait, live bait has been working well, but so have lures. So again, throw everything in your bag of tricks at them and stick with what works. Fishing in Puerto Vallarta is never bad, but things change.
Soon, we’ll be looking at Grouper in the bay, along with Sea Bass and Snappers. It would be amazing if we had Sea Bass and Dorado in the bay.
What is the ‘Optimist’ brain telling you?
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
