After more than twenty years in the business of fishing in Puerto Vallarta, I’ve come to understand that what happened yesterday is not exactly what’s going to happen today or tomorrow.
Such is the nature of world-class Deep Sea Fishing. You see fish move, conditions change and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When the seasonal rains begin, there’s a whole new batch of factors that also come into play. Fishing is always a challenge, but this is nothing new, how you handle this challenge ends in catching fish or going in empty-handed. The good news is we have fish. Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado, Roosterfish, you name it. It’s best if you have an experienced captain but non-professionals will catch fish as well. That’s why I’m here, doing my best to send you in the right direction. Right now that’s going to be Corbetena where you’ll catch fish. Now which “fish” is the question.
Corbetena is the place to be right now. But that’s normal at this time of the year, most of the action will be found in our deepwater locations. Corbetena being the most active we’ve seen Black Marlin in the 500 lb plus range, Blue Marlin in the same size range, and even some Striped Marlin which should be long gone by now. Dorado at Corbetena has been sparse at best. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. It could be the bait situation where some days finding bait is a “B!tc#” at best. So if you come across “Chorras” or Bonitos, stop and fill the Tuna Tubes! Cubera Snappers have been taking trolled baits and will hit jig as well. Throw in Sailfish and Yellowfin Tuna in the 40 to 100 lb range, just depends on what you come across. Don’t worry if you see dirty water, not clean green cold water but dirty coffee-colored water. There are also trash lines past El Morro, so conditions change daily, but the fish are out there, feeling lucky?
El Morro to Corbetena is where you’ll find Sailfish, Dorado to 30 lbs, and for a few days at least, large Roosterfish. Captain Scooby boated twelve in one day north of Punta Mita over 40 lbs! Sailfish and Marlin on a heading of 330, 9 miles out from the point of Punta Mita. Find a floating log or clump of debris and trash and you most likely will have a Dorado “goldmine”.
Moving into the bay, most species are going to be on the “smaller” side. Dorado can be anywhere from 7 to 20 lbs. Sailfish are running in the Los Arcos to Yelapa area, not many, but they are running the area and some are boating larger Sailfish! Bonitos are in the bay, some days they seem to be scarce. Needlefish are moving in slightly, they taste great and are fun to catch, not to mention a little weird. Roosterfish can always be found off Punta Negra, but be sure to throw the small ones back. Estella Dera at the other end of the bay is sandy as well and always with a try as well. If you’re looking for larger gamefish, the bay is not the place to be, but you could get lucky. With dirty water throughout the bay, blue water is the first requirement, but experienced captains know how to deal with dirty water. Anything is possible in the bay and a six-hour trip is worth the expense.
It’s getting hard to call the bite, but it is somewhere between 9 and 11, not exactly a pinpoint time is it? The story here is bait, get bait when you can. It’s not wide-open bait time out there so make bait when you can. If you have Tuna Tubes, and all charter boats should have them, stuff them and head to your fishing grounds. Not many lures being hit, but the standards of Cedar plugs for Tuna, Guacamayos of green and yellow that mimic Dorado are great places to start.
Looking for Airport Transfers, Tours, Private Tours and Benjamin can fix you up. Tired of the cookie cutter tours, try something different and ask Ben to get creative. With 30 yrs. in PV, he is a local expert on the entire area!
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
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