Water Temperatures Spike as Gamefish Go Deep!
One thing is for sure, when you think you´ve got a handle on what´s happening in Puerto Vallarta Sportfishing, everything changes! As I will me mentioning over and over again, El Nino has raised it´s ugly head which means we all have to think a little differently when it comes to fishing!
This week as I mentioned earlier the water was so warm at our world famous fishing grounds that if you were running surface baits as in trolling, you would be hard pressed to entice a Yellowfin Tuna up from the depths. So if they don´t come to you, you have to go to them! Running at or below 100 feet right now is the trick, making down riggers a necessity. Surface baits are still working for many fish species, it just depends on where you are and what species you´re shooting for.
At El Banco, fifty miles out from Marina Vallarta, the high spots had Cubera Snapper, Large Mahi or Dorado as they´re called in this neck of the woods. Sailfish, Black and Blue Marlin and yes even Yellowfin Tuna. But you´ll have to be creative and have a real bag of tricks to go along with those down riggers. Artificial baits have been working well the last week or so. Remember Purple is a great color to use when running deep baits. Purple is the dominant color in the spectrum so for that reason alone, visibility, it couldn´t hurt. Using live bait, Goggle eyes or Skip Jack Tuna with purple skirts off the nose was working wonders… but keep this to yourself, we wouldn´t want everyone doing this and taking off with our trophies!
At Corbeteña, the most flexible fishing location in PV (in my opinion), you can boat Cubera Snapper in the structure areas, but really only in the structure areas off the rock. I see guys all the time throw ¨wounded¨ baits over the side just to come up empty handed. When just a hundred yards over where there is volcanic structure, you could be hitting these fish as fast as you could reel them in. This is an instance where those electronics you paid so much for can come in handy. But you have to know how to use them first, so watch the DVD provided and put that knowledge to work! No structure, no Snappers! Now Corbeteña or the Rock as many call it has deep troughs or canyons as well. Perfect for Yellowfin Tuna to shoot up from attacking bait balls that love to linger around the island. With all species of Marlin in the area, Sailfish, Amberjacks, Rainbow runners, you have some serious opportunities on any given day to boat something you can brag about for years.
The islands of El Morro and the Marietta Islands are still a machine when it comes to Rooster fish, Skip Jack Tuna, Bonita, Needle fish, Sailfish and the list goes on. You can expect the mid day hours to afternoon to be a high producer time. But it never hurts to be out there early! With the price of Diesel going up daily, you can take your time and save a few of your precious fuel dollars this way. 8hr days here will be well worth the money. Now remember, these islands are protected, as they should be, so keep your distance and you won´t have any problems with the navy who now enforce the law on this.
North of Punta Mita, you´ll find a lot of action near and around the buoys. Mahi in the 35 lb range have been common place. Rooster fish are closer to shore around the reefs and fair sized from 25 to 50 lbs if you get lucky! If you head farther north near San Pancho, San Francisco in English, you could get Black Marlin Strikes as well as Sailfish. Last week there were so many Sailfish lounging on the surface that with their bills sticking up from the ocean surface, it looked like a Cactus Garden. Sometimes you can cast bait and they´ll take it. Other times, they´ll ignore it, I guess if we could figure out how these fish think, we´d be as nuts as they are!
In the bay there is always the trash line. Now the trash line is an area where the dirty water that washes down from the mountains that surround Puerto Vallarta, pushes into the bay. At the leading edge of this dirty water is a line of organic debris (seeds, leaves, and crap in general) that the Rooster fish and Mahi love to eat. Small bait fish love it also, which in turn draws in bigger fish. It´s like a fish home delivery pizza, it´s food that comes to you and its GooooD! Casting a three inch diamond jig with a small feather on the hook will drive these fish out of their minds. So a solid day of fishing in the bay is possible. If the rains aren´t happening, like this year for the most part, hang around the south end of the bay up to Cabo Corrientes. You´ll always find fish in these areas, but probably on the smaller size side as you´d expect. Snapper, Roballo, Bonito, Needle fish are just a few that come to mind. Casting, trolling or bottom fishing, they all work if you keep an open mind and think outside of the box.
With the unpredictable conditions that we now have anything is possible in the near future. Large Yellowfin, Black Marlin, you name it, they´re out there, but they´re not ¨easy amigo. Make sure you´ve got a full bag of tricks with you where you have plenty of color on your lures. Down riggers, Kites, and Squid for chum will make or break your day!
This week the tides were on the extreme side so remember this when heading out. Extreme conditions like super high or low tides, Full moon or New moon alike can all you pulling your hair out, so don´t be discouraged, get determined!
For the local boys, the Navy has teamed up with the Port Authority and they are finally checking things like Matriculas (operating licenses), Insurance papers and of course safety equipment when leaving the harbor. For years now the boats who have been taking advantage of corrupt officials will finally be playing on the same field as the rest of us. This will force the majority of the fish charter boats to comply will make competition on product quality and price instead of undercutting reputable companies by hundreds of dollars. With the cut throat conditions on fishing charters these days, be sure your boat has all its papers before you drop a deposit down on some joker cruising the boardwalks. If they have a book in their hand, run. If they don´t have an office or storefront, run. Keep your wits about you and you´ll have a great time on the water!
That´s about all for this week, until next time don´t forget to kiss your fish!
That's about it for now, until next week, don't forget to kiss your fish!
We Still Guarantee Your Catch or 30% of your money back. We are the only company I KNOW OF that does this anywhere! Only on specific company boats (company boats only in Marina Vallarta Store on the boardwalk). If you ask, we are also giving free hour fishing with every charter (except 12 hr charters) and a free T-shirt to who ever catches the biggest fish! That's about a $125.00 usd value. Take advantage of this insider offer for reading my articles.
Master Baiter´s now has a host of sites and features you can check out or become involved in. OK, if you´re interested in my Biweekly news letter contact me at: CatchFish@MasterBaiters.com.mx Or My Public www.Flick.com Photo gallery is here under the name: MasterBaiters.com.mx Puerto Vallarta! Facebook: MasterBaiter Stan …. My, Puerto Vallarta Sport Fishing Blog: www.masterbaiters.wordpress.com We have World Famous T-shirts, Hats and other souvenirs items to choose from. We're recommended in Fodor's Travel guide for PV. Fishing and Tours Phone from Canada / USA: 011 52 322 209 11 28.. In P.V.: (322) 209 11 28
Warning: There is a pirate Master Baiter's site that is in the process of being closed down by the Mexican authorities both on the internet and in a store in town. But the legal system is slow in Mexico, so if you visit any cloned site that claims to be Master Baiter´s offering guaranteed prices, at sites OTHER than www.MasterBaiters.com.mx, you are NOT dealing with me (Stan Gabruk) directly, . They even say they´re me on the phone, so don´t be fooled by imposters!
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Fishing Report for Aug. 22, 2009 for Master Baiter's Sportfishing and Tackle
Written by: Stan Gabruk
