Fishing Report for Wk of Aug 5, 07 Master Baiter's Sportfishing and Tackle
Written by: Stan Gabruk
I'm here to announce the arrival of High Season for Sportfishing here in Puerto Vallarta (PV)! Marlin of all species are at Corbetena, Big, Monster Yellowfin Tuna, Sailfish, Dorado on tap, and Sportfishing Magazine guys crawling all over Marina Vallarta! So for those of you who've been hearing things are slow here in PV for fishing, it's anything but slow.
The Season is shaping up nicely this year. Many will say the season is slow coming on, but for me, High Season is right on time, Big Time! Water Temperatures are hovering in the Perfect Range between 84 and 86 degrees generally speaking in the deep water areas. Bait for the most part has been a on and off affair. Some days you can get it easily, other days it can get you talking to yourself. That's the bad new, the good news is maybe you'll get a chance to try those expensive Black Bart Lures out! Either way, the fish are thick and hungry at our world famous fishing grounds.
El Banco or The Bank has been showing some signs of life lately. Prior to last week the action was non-existant except for some small Yellowfins and some Sails. But this week we're seeing people like Juan Pablo Mal from Top Gun come in with a Monster Yellowfin over 300 lbs. Josh Tempel from Conquistador boated several Monsters along with a 800 lb. Black Marlin, that Marlin Mag. Just happened to catch on film. Keep your eyes open for future issues on this. Even with the problems I discussed a few weeks back at The Bank, our "Old Reliable" looks like it's still alive and kicking!
Corbetena is so hot the water is boiling…. With Yellowfin Tuna that is! The trick seems to be: get there early to beat the crowd. When the crowd does arrive, circle outwards from the rock. Blue and Striped Marlin have been tail walking in all directions once you're out there (see picture). Live bait the other day when I was out was in short supply, but the few "choritas" or baby Chorras worked just fine. But it did take us about an hour go make bait (which always feel longer). I had the great pleasure to go fishing with a few of my close friends here and came back with a nice 350 lb. Blue Marlin and that not bad. Chris, Alphonso and Jaco all had a hand in catching their fist Marlin, ever! Check out their picture, happy faces everywhere! Felicidades amigos.
The Marrietta Islands have been alive with Dorado in the 20 to 50 lb. range depending on the "school" you happen to run into. With the Seasonal Rains here, the trash line has been stringing along the islands providing anglers the chance to try an old reliable trick of casting a three inch, silver diamond jig just inside the "trash line", getting strikes almost immeadeately. This is how you wind up getting hook-ups like machine gun fire. But remember, throw the smaller "Breeder female" Mahi Mahi back. Right now all females are full of eggs, so eat the males, the ones with a flat heads. But like always, no need to take them all… just what you can eat.
It appears that the idea of conservation is sinking into the heads of professional charter fisherman here in Marina Vallarta. There are now several boats that will not kill a billfish unless it was gut hooked or some other similar issue. Just to mention a few, Conquistador, Sirena, Terminal Blues will only boat billfish that are dead, dieing or going to be mounted. We can still measure the Billfish we want mounted so release is still an option, so keep this in mind. Remember to support those who support the sport and we'll all have years to come of watching our friends and family have a Once In A Lifetime Experience!
With High Season here, remember there are a lot of charter companies that are not owned, managed or even worked by people working in booths or stands all over Puerto Vallarta. Beware of the guy that is walking up and down the streets or in the Marina. These people are putting people on the worst quality boats in the name of saving people money. But saving money is not everything, especially since you may never have the chance to catch a world class fish like a Black Marlin again in your life. Saving a Hundred Bucks on a fishing trip is like walking a mile in the pouring rain (without an umbrella) to save the few dollars on valet parking. The experience is never worth the savings. Baits / lures, fluorocarbon leaders, fresh drags, down riggers, Tuna Tubes, fresh line. These things are all invisible to the untrained eye, yet essential for catching fish at this level. A hundred dollars can make the difference in getting professional quality or Cheap Skate quality. It's your call in the end.
Update: August 11 Update…. Man, the Marlin are still coming in like Crazy… Chappy one came in yesterday with a Blue Marlin in the 620 lb. range. One gentleman hooked a 325 lb Yellowfin Monster Tuna and had to pass the pole off when he started to have chest pains. So we got him to a doctor ASAP, but we did give the pole to another boat so they could boat it. The Gentleman is fine, so no woriries. Sailfish are everywhere, it's crazy. Even short trips are coming back with very nice Sails. Fishing the trash line in the bay is producing large numbers of Mahi Mahi or Dorado in the 25 to 40 lb. range. There are a lot of people running from boat to boat taking pictures of the fruits of our world famous fishing grounds. If you plan on coming to Puerto Vallarta, don't forget to contact me for the latest conditions and fish count for the week…
Our Graffiti Project is still going strong with more and more donations coming in. If you'd like to volunteer time, money or materials we're fighting those Spay Can Vandals who mark our beautiful city with their disrespect for our community and it's people. Every week we see the Graffiti return, every week we re-cover it up. The city has provided paint for this effort. If you have Graffiti on your wall or if you would like to see these low rent markings covered, call us at: 322-137-0975. Carlos will answer the phone and handle the issue. Or you can send me an email at: stanray55@yahoo.com
In a nut shell, the water is blue at the fishing grounds, weather is very pleasant, and if the fishing grounds keep heating up, I'm predicting more World Record Pescado or fish being pulled out of our back-yard!
Until next week, don't forget to kiss your fish!
At Master Baiters Sportfishing and Tackle, we pride ourselfselves on being the Number 1 Sportfishing Charter Company in mainland Mexico. We have the best equipped and fastest boats in Puerto Vallarta. Our goal is to provide you the fishing experience of a lifetime at a price that won't be beat! Last year we boated more Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna over 300 pounds than we could keep track of.
We also have a wide selection of unique high quality Hats, T-Shirts, souvenirs and novelty items to surprise your friends and family back home with something truly unique as seen on Jay Leno, Conan and David Letterman! We're also recommended in the 2007 Fodor's Travel Guide for Puerto Vallarta (Pg. 156), if you're a travel agent this is impressive since you can't buy advertisement with them. All Master Baiter's stores are operated independently and separately.
Come to our Marina Vallarta store (Tel: 322-779-7571) located at the Light House. Facing the water, we're located between docks F and G or Email me at stanray55@yahoo.com . Come in and say hello to Stan, Carlos or our newest employee Erik. And remember, at Master Baiters "WE WON´T JERK YOU AROUND!"
