Fishing in Vallarta Improves, Rooster Fish, Jack Crevalls, Sailfish Taking Baits!
If you have been keeping up with my articles, you know the conditions have been a real mixed bag for the last two to three weeks. With red tide, dirty water, cold water conditions and super abundant bait there were few reasons to head out fishing. Now thankfully things have improved to the point where it makes sense to head out to the fishing grounds, finally!
For you Yellowfin Tuna guys, there is good news and better news. The good news is that the Yellowfin Tuna are bordering on the 220 lb range down to 60lbs off the Tres Maria Islands. The better news is we have Yellowfin Tuna in the winter. So you summer guys who think it needs to be the heat of summer to boat a trophy sized Yellowfin fantasy will be happy to discover you can catch fish and not melt in the process from the heat. But this is a distance, but for normal YF Tuna guys, this is not big deal, it only filters out those who are not serious about their Yellowfin Tuna! Just remember to stay out more than six miles from the Islands or the prison will seize your boat… not a good thing!
Corbeteña and El Banco are not exactly on fire these days. Water has been dirty and there have been spots of red tide so these areas have been avoided as late. I expect this to change in the next week or so since we are seeing huge numbers of Striped Marlin off Mazatlan, about 175 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. This is strange since the water in that area is colder than what we normally have in PV. So I am thinking with a little luck and a few more days we may see some Marlin in the area. We have had sightings, but not takers when presented bait for the most part. But again, with so much bait in the water, they have their pick of ¨fast food¨ at the present. But patience pays off and they will take what you are presenting sooner or later. Cubera Snappers are still there and they´re hungry amigos.
The main story this week is still the Marietta Islands. With most of the real action still happening here there have been an army of boats attacking the reef. Some days are better than others with it being a hot and cold situation. With the water Temperatures still in the cellar we´re seeing some strange fish appear like Yellow Tail, not Yellowfin… We never see these fish in Vallarta for some reason, they do like cooler water so that probably explains it all. But the Rooster fish anywhere from 30 lbs up are still striking trolled Goggle Eyes as are Snappers (20-35 lbs), Sierra Mackerals (25 lbs plus), Jack Crevalls in the 20 to 50lb range, Cookies (don´t k now the English name for these) that are smaller at about 10 to 20 lbs, Bonito, Skip Jack Tuna and the list goes on. Including a Sailfish just a few days ago. There are Dorado in the area, but they have been anything but interested in what we´re offering. Again, lots of natural bait is the issue in most cases if the fish don´t bite. One little secret is that the area between El Morro and El Faro or the light house has seen some Dorado action for the patient. They have mostly been hitting Google Eyes, with a standard rig.
Both the north end of the bay and the south end has seen Jack Crevalls just take over and they are not shy in the least. Sierras, Snappers, Snook and more are in the bay finally. A few weeks ago the idea of fishing in the bay for the short day angler was not worth your fuel dollars. But now things have changed and the fishing is well worth your time. The spots are changing daily and the fishing in the bay has improved greatly. So four to six hours fishing is producing nice action right now for those not interested in catching Moby Dick.
Now north of Punta Mita at Sayulita is picking up a little with larger Roosters off shore there. Sailfish are also lingering around the area on the surface, but getting them to take bait is another thing. But this will change sooner or later, let's hope sooner! Snappers are at the point and Dorado are always a possibility. North of Punta Mita in San Pancho has seen several boats take the chance with nothing much to get excited about. Normally Sailfish are enjoying their winter vacation here, but this year is not your normal year. But you can say fishing is not a normal activity and you´d of course be right. So there you are….
It´s hard to make a call these days as to what will be coming in the near future. But I expect to see Striped Marlin at El Banco and Corbeteña in the next week if they decide to come down this way of course. The red tide and dirty water that plagued us all the last few weeks has moved out and cleared up. There are still some small spots of red tide, but nothing that will affect your day on the water.
When in Puerto Vallarta make sure you visit The Village in Marina Vallarta, with Restaurant row and 150 shops and services its Puerto Vallartas other Malicon (board walk in English) and should be on your list of places to visit…
Until next time, don´t forget to kiss your fish!
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