So far we’ve had a great fishing season and it’s only going to get better. With some challenges naturally, we’re moving into the High Season for fishing in Puerto Vallarta.

Striped Marlin Disappear, Football Yellowfin Tuna, Sailfish and Killer Whales
Written by: Stan Gabruk owner of Master Baiter´s Sportfishing & Tackle

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We’ve seen some small changes this week In our world famous fishing grounds of Puerto Vallarta. Water temperatures are still a steady 85 with bait and water conditions just this side of perfect. Blue water, Sailfish, Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna are here for the taking. Dorado are still small, but we won’t complain. The whole area from the beaches to Corbetena are full of action as we continue deeper into High Season for fishing in Puerto Vallarta.

Once again this week we’re seeing Yellowfin tuna in the 50 to 100 lb range, a touch smaller this week but still perfect for the fisherman looking for action but not wanting a two hour fight. Sailfish are also picking up in numbers from El Morro to Corbetena. With plenty of Blue Runners, Green Runners, Caballitos, Sardines, Bullet bonito and Skipjack tuna the fishing is wide open right now. Striped Marlin have disappeared and most likely on their way to Cabo. We’ll see them on the flip side come mid-January. If you’re serious about catching fish and willing to put the time and distance in Corbetena is perfect and right on time according to our yearly expectations. Even though it’s the end of July and beginning of August, the fishing is improving daily.

As mentioned earlier the area from El Morro to Corbetena is filling in nicely with more Sailfish by the day. One interesting development is Wahoo have been boated off El Morro as well. Wahoo live this water temperature and they’re fond of the El Morro area. Wahoo is not a school species and they’re mostly a lucky “Hookup”. Where there’s a few, there are always more. At Punta Mita we have a nice mature Trash Line which of course means Dorado. Find any floating debris and you’ll most likely find 15 lb Dorado. Sailfish are still off the point with the possibility of Rooster fish off the sandy beaches of Sayulita. Rooster fish have been in the 15 lb range so throw them back to fight another day. Eight hour fishing trips are fun with the possibility of Blue Marlin at 300 to 500 lbs ten miles off the point on a heading of 300.

Inside the bay we’ve seen a bit of a slowdown with a pod of Killer Whales causing havoc. When the Killer whales or Orcas show up, everything is the water is food. This included Jack Crevalls, Turtles, and any other swimming species. Naturally this scares several species out of the bay but that’s not to say the fishing is bad. For now we’re still lucky enough see Jack Crevalls near the river mouths. The trash lines have been forming nicely as the seasonal rains are kicking in a bit. So Dorado in the 5 lb to 10 lb range are plentiful but babies. However baby Dorado like this are a great bait fish, so sailfish have been drawn into the bay. If you’re around la Cruz Marina or a few miles off Los Arcos Sailfish are skipping across the surface chasing bait. Smaller Yellowfin Tuna in the 20 top 35 lb range off Yelapa, but there are tricks to this, chum with live bait, draw them up, then let the action begin. So with the Orcas the fish are spread out so be ready to move around to where they’re “not”.

With water temperatures a steady 85 degrees, massive amounts of bait everywhere, and plenty of fish you can’t go wrong with a six hour bay trip. With the rains there could be some dirty water around the shoreline and beachs, but normally this is only a few feet thick so don’t freak. The bite is still at the mid-day mark. If heading out for a longer duration trip, it wouldn’t hurt to leave a little later in the morning and feel more comfortable about being able to see the obstacles.

Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!

Teri blogs her travel and experience in San Sebastian

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