Black Marlin and Blue Marlin Return to Corbeteña

The Ones That Never Get Away

The seasons are changing to our normal warm and humid conditions. With these warm weather conditions comes warm weather. To be specific it means we have our annual surge of warm water species (fish that is) moving into the area. This season is no different as we see an increase in Blue and Black marlin. Striped Marlin dwindling in numbers as they migrate north to Cabo as would be expected. Some local-ish Yellowfin Tuna action is welcome and right on time. To me it´s always funny how as tourism slows to a crawl here in Puerto Vallarta as our world famous fishing grounds explode with bucket list fish for the vacation adventurer. Streaky bites, changing currents, and plenty of bait in the water makes for an interesting combination of factors that combined make your fishing day unique. Dorado at the buoys, the commercial guys hate me telling you this, have been hot and then cold. Some days you´ll find your fill of fish, other days they don´t want your bait and still other days…., well you could spend a lifetime trying to understand seasonal fluxuations both normal and unexpected.

For the guy who will not go out fishing for more than four hours, you´re in luck the bay fishing is improving. For the last several months Jack Crevalls were the main player in the bay and around the area since they love the colder water temps. Last week we still had some Jack Crevalls in the cooler currents, but that has changed now and there are none to be found locally. When you see Needle fish and Sierra Mackerals move into the area you know the cold currents are coming to an end as summer fishing is upon us. For this reason the younger set will love catching smaller yet strong fighting fish. Bonito, Skip Jack Tuna at the Yelapa end of the bay. Snappers around the rocks and close in structure. With their numbers increasing this is what you can expect for now. No smaller Dorado except for freak occurrences for now, but stand by, this will improve as well.

What a Beautiful Sight

Those heading out a little farther to the Marietta Islands and the area off Punta Mita will find things have improved since last week with Rooster fish coming back into the area ranging 20 to 50 lbs and they´re hungry. Bonito, Snappers both running in the 30 lb range are increasing in numbers daily, again as we would hope and expect. Dorado are a little sparse around the islands, but there are off Punta Mita point, just find the buoys and you´ve got dinner amigos. Bonito, Sailfish and Skip Jack Tuna are there as well. The Presence of Rooster Fish is enough for many of my regular readers to get excited about… using light tackle is recommended for an additional adrenalin rush and fight. Limited on time and vacation dinero, then this is a great option amigo… YeHa!

For those looking for Yellowfin Tuna, closer in than the Tres Maria Islands, El Banco is showing signs of life with 80 to 120 lb Yellowfin Beauties. Cubera Snappers for the bottom fishing guys, other species as well. You may get lucky and find a stray Wahoo or two, no promises. For now you have better options.

The best fishing option right now is the abundance of Black Marlin and Blue Marlin at Corbeteña. For some reason they´ve just rolled in and they´re feeding on Bullet Bonito. Bullet Bonito are Yellowfin Tunas favorite as they are shaped like eight inch fish, Oh and we´ve got 80 pounder Yellowfin Tuna all over the place. No Dorado this past week and you will find Sailfish as well. Just get some of those bullet Bonito and you´ll be fishing in a barrel amigo. Corbeteña, when it´s firing is incredible and deserves it´s reputation as one of the best fishing locations in all of Mexico / World!

The bite, the most important thing to know if planning your day on the water is happening before 12:00 and after 5:00 in the evening. So early morning departures are preferable if heading to the deep water locations, including the Tres Maria Islands on a one day trip. You’d be better scheduling a later in the month trip when the moon phase if more favorable to your particular situation. Overnight trips are what the doctor is ordering if serious about boating Yellowfin Tuna over 250 lbs amigo. You can have your fantasy, but it´s gonna cost you!

I am going to write some separate articles and post them on my blog, but for those who have not heard Marina Vallarta is now under new ownership and things are already changing. An interesting situation exist with the boat owners in Marina Vallarta with an uncertain future changes that are inevitable. I am hearing all sorts of things, some are a little disturbing. One of these changes will naturally result in new docks or Muelles in Spanish. This means at some point ALL the docks will be replaced which means of course all the boats will have to leave their present dock or Muelle in the near future. If you have a lease, it´s expired, end of story. The new owners are meeting with present dock owners and informing them of the changes coming down the road. The reason I am mentioning this in this article is because there is only so much dock space in the Puerto Vallarta area and that will dry up quickly and increase in prices as expected with the changing market conditions. My suggestion would be to move your boat as quickly as possible to Nuevo Vallarta Marinas or the La Cruz Marina before the rush hits. Many boat owners are pitching the words ¨law suit¨ around pretty loosely. Remember, a lease is not ownership. If your lease has wording that suggest you have the dock in perpetuity, you are looking at a tough battle. You will find this expensive, long lasting and ultimately you will wind up on the short end of that law suit. If you have a slip or own one, I suggest you attend the meetings and get informed. If you don´t know of the ¨whats and wheres¨ details for these meetings I suggest you contact the Marina Office and find out what is happening.