The Action Continues to Impress
It seems that every week it’s a different story here in Puerto Vallarta. Either it’s the weather, fishing, or tourism, there is always something happening around here that affects the Fishing Industry. Now that the Dog Days of May are ended, tourism or in plain English; People are back in the Marina, and that means we’re seeing more charters going out. I know we’ve seen a strong upsurge in our charter business at Master Baiter’s in Marina Vallarta in the last few days! The weather has been seasonably cool and comfortable. The rains haven’t started yet, but it’s been threatening and soon will be a daily affair. And with the warmer weather and rains come the World Class Fishing we’ve all come to expect at our World Famous Fishing Grounds!
This week we’ve taken another step towards a normal fishing season here in Puerto Vallarta, PV to the locals. Dirty water is still - Streaky – anywhere between Corbetena and El Banco with clean and dirty water. Clean water is always a welcome site when you’re way offshore. Especially when you see the birds diving into churning water as you come onto one of those blue water dreams. Once there, you’ll be trolling or probably casting to Sailfish in the 80 to 100 lb range. Yellowfin Tuna, while still not monsters are an arm killing 50 lbs. Boat ten of these babies in rapid succession and you’ll know what I’m talking about amigo. Amber Jacks at the high spots, Cubera or Dog Tooth Snappers at the shallows with structure at Corbetena. I’d be trolling from El Morro to Corbetena dragging bait through the canyon areas to see what happens there as well, just a thought.
The Big action this week has been happening anywhere from four to twenty four miles off Sayulita. Sailfish, Jack Crevells, Snapper, and the occasional Stripe or Blue Marlin. For your fuel dollar or Peso this past week, this was the place to try. Not always great, but usually good.
El Morro and the Marietta’s have been their normal, reliable selves as late. Jack Cravells have taken over this area and are plentiful for the Angler looking for a great day without the distance or time. A fishing party right now will be just what the doctor ordered for the Angler looking for action on a short budget!
Sayulita has been alive with arm killing action. On any given day you can catch Rooster Fish, Snappers, Jack Crevells, Torros, Skip Jack Tunas and the list goes on and on. Six to eight hours will put you in the thick of it and well worth the fuel expense. Just make sure you have plenty of casting bait on hand. Nothing worse than running out of bait with fish so thick you could gaff them. But remember, that’s not fair or sportsman like amigo.
These days there have been several captains that have been throwing out cheap charter prices, by keeping your fish and selling them off the docks! They even kill billfish with no regard for your wishes. You essentially pay for their business venture and the last time I checked, it was still illegal to sell fish as charter boat operators. If this happens to you, there isn’t much you can do about it, except remember what happened and never use or recommend their services again. Oh, and forget the tip, they think they deserve it and the fish! So be aware amigos! There are a thousand fishing forums out on the web, use them and let people lknow what’s happening and maybe you can save someone else the same frustrations!
Graffitti is gradually being eradicated by the Carlos Crew! But it doesn’t happen all by itself amigos. It takes people who care and are willing to take action and actually care about the city they live in and the environment our children live in. This UGLY eyesore is not cute, classy, intelligent or attractive. It is nothing more than vandalism and I can’t understand how a person could do such a thing and make the area where they live look like hell! As English speaking citizens of Puerto Vallarta, I call on you to step up and give a darn. Master Baiter’s and Carlos does, come along and be part of the solution like Pam and Angela Schmitt, two sisters on a cruise vacation that decided to spend their day here painting graffiti. Thanks Pam and Angela for giving a darn and not even living in PV! Que Padre or How Cool in English!
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
Blue Water at the Fishing Grounds
Last week just as this article was going to print I knew it wouldn’t be read for several days, so I was justifiably concerned that things could change at any moment. And like you’d expect, conditions changed that day and the fishing got great!
The Dirty Water at Corbetena all the way past El Banco had cleared up and Yellowfin Tuna set up house! Not Monsters by any stretch of the imagination, but the herds are monsteous in boils miles in diameter. They’re Yellowfin Tuna in the 35 lb range and they’re right on time amigos. This is what we look for, with football Yellowfin in the area, it’s just a matter of days before the larger Billfish will be here. For now, along with the Tuna we’re seeing Dorado or Mahi Mahi in the 45 lb. range, Snappers or Pargo, Sailfish and the occasional Striped Marlin. So if you’ve got the “Berries” to venture out to these fuel guzzeling areas, you may come back very happy. Remember, everything counts in large amounts and smaller Tuna are very tasty amigo. So don’t throw them all back, keep one for me, my mercury is a tad low. You’ll need a 10 to 12 hr. round trip to reach these spots, worth the fuel money right now. Your wife doesn’t really need that facial this week, she isn’t going to look any better afterwards (maybe a little waxie), so it sounds like a waste of money to me that could be better spend in other ways. Besides, it’s been a while since she’s hit you with something and it would make her feel better. See, you’re doing her a favor stealing her facial money. If anything happens, just tell the little woman I said it was ok! Just make sure the litte woman isn’t a guy, otherwise that could hurt.
Just like the deep water areas, El Morro and the Marietta Islands have clear, blue water that are full of fish. Jack Cravells, Torros, Skip Jack Tuna, Snappers, Rooster fish and more. From recent reposts they’re hitting just about anything right now, so if you have a new lure that doesn’t work now, consider replacing it with something else. Boating 20 Jacks in two hours will test any Anglers metal! Six or eight hour trip will put you in the thick of it…
In shore spots have been a little slow unless you’re shooting for bottom fish along the rocky shore areas with structure. A host of Skip Jacks, Roballo, Torros, Sierra Mackerals, etc are there for the liking. Fly fisherman will love the action on a super panga for an eye opening experience.
I’ve been seeing some advertisements from other charter companies for less expensive boats, not tournament ready with all that it implies. Some are OK, most aren’t. Saving $150.00 usd on a charter and not using an established and reputable company will in the end cost you more than money. Don’t expect a certain level of quality is standard and everyone is competing on a level playing field. You’ve all heard the horror stories, avoid the problem all together and spend the money. In the long run it will be cheaper in frustration, time wasted and a bad day all around for you and the family. Fishing has never been cheap and it’s not for everyone, it never has been. If you’re not going to spend the money to have the best day possible, you’d be better off not going at all. 4 hrs on a Super Panga will run you $275.00 usd, you can bring four people for that price. Or broken down by four people comes to $69.00 usd per person …. If that’s too expensive, don’t come to Master Baiter’s, we won’t cut corners or quality.
Pittial is still on the primary list for Carlos this past week for the Graffetti project Master Baiter’s Supports. We don’t understand how the need for one person to mark their area or announce to the world what ever they’re announcing. I mean the markings should come with some sort of decoding device or something so at least we know what it means, I mean com on! These aren’t political statements for cripe sake. Until they issue a decoding device, Carlos and Master Baiters will continue to keep control of our cities appearance. It would be a lot easier with your help!
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
Dirty Water Doesn’t Mean “No Fish”
This week in my shop on the boardwalk in Marina Vallarta where I have a view of the beautiful boats, it’s plain to see that the majority of Sportfishers aren’t heading out to the fishing grounds. Private or professional, it doesn’t matter, very few have ventured out this past week. With schools in North America getting ready to get out, tourism is always at a low point at this time of year. So this is something we expect and basically endure until June.
But even with fewer visitors, the traffic has been lower than normal for this time of year, for fishing that is. The main reason these past few days is the agua sucio or dirty water. Now before I go on too deep into this, remember you’re reading this article a few days after being written, so check with me for the latest and greatest (info. At bottom of article). To continue; in some areas there has been red tide, other areas are clear one day, dirty the next. But most areas are dirty and unless you’re interested in a two day trip to find blue water, it would be best to check conditions before you go out fishing.
Even with less than perfect conditions, which to most of us mean we won’t be boating Marlin or Monster Yellowfin Tuna, you can still catch some heart pounding pescado or game fish out there. Jack Crevells, Rooster fish, Torros, Skip Jack Tuna and or course Snappers. For some reason these fish will take bait in dirty water, if they see it.
Recommending a longer duration trip this week is just customer abuse. If you’re looking to get out on the water for some nice action, then six to eight hours will get you to spots like El Morro, Marietta Islands or possibly up to Sayulita. Snappers are plentiful and have been for the last couple of weeks in these areas, so if you’re out there, give it a try. Jacks, Chorras, Torros are all fun to catch and fight like demons. So don’t let the time share guys tell you the fishing is dead, it’s not. But Moby thingy isn’t in the area at the moment.
Times when the water is less than perfect use your down riggers. Many times the dirty water is only on the surface and at any given moment fish could be just feet below the surface. Also, leaving an hour or so later in the morning will insure the sun is a little higher in the sky, giving the fish a better chance of seeing your bait. Another this is lures may work better than bait, so give those bright colored tiger prints a shot, don’t forget surface baits also.
With the slow down in tourism and ultimately many of the seasonal locals bugging out for the summer, Carlos has been hitting it alone the last couple of days. We’ve continued to receive donations from visiting clients though. People like: Vicky and Tom Germaien along with Joey and William Laurino. We’ll continue the fight with people who care!
El Banco and Corbetena have been dirty as well, but the only report I have from there is the Yellowfin Tuna are between 25 and 50 lbs, Mahi Mahi in the 35 to 50 lb range. That is if they’re there. More miss than hit, but there you are amigo!
Don’t forget to check out the living in Vallarta section and read about the dire needs of the PV fire dept. Something you need to be aware of if you live or visit in Puerto Vallarta (PV).
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
Mahi Mahi, Pargo…Wahoo!
In the weeks after Easter, Puerto Vallarta usually sees a drop in tourism and thus a drop in people hitting the fishing grounds. This year with Easter falling almost a month early in comparison to other years, the slow down in tourism is more obvious to the local charter companies and Master Baiter’s is no exception. But that doesn’t mean the fish have gone on vacation!
This may sound like a negative, but actually it can be positive situation if you’re one of the few heading out to Corbetena or El Banco! Normally when there’s an abundance of tourist there is no shortage of hungry Anglers looking for the blue plate special. When there are too many boats trolling the rock or the High spots at El Banco, the fish will go deep or just plain leave the area. This is why the boats trolling Corbetena will be there in the morning, but gone come mid day. When the number of boats in the area are diminished this means you’ve got even a better chance of boating Yellowfin Tuna and other species in the area.
Corbetena is one of the most versatile fishing grounds we have here in Puerto Vallarta. Wahoo will linger in the area off the rock finger on any given day. But most people won’t target Wahoo since you need to troll fast and the way they hit the bait, you’re pretty much stuck using lures rigged with cable and wire leaders. Wahoo have teeth like a Ginsu knife and will bite their prey in half, then come back and eat the pieces. So if you’re trolling live bait and a Wahoo hits it, half the bait stays and the other half continues on its way since its being trolled. Now this is like Linda Blair being trolled to these fish and they’ll stay away from baits for the rest of the day. You want to freak a fish out, this will do it! But the best kept secret when the Tuna leave the area is the bottom fishing. You can always count on Cubera Snapper or Dog Tooth Pargo in the shallow areas where there’s structure. When the Wahoo, Sailfish or Marlin attack their prey or bait fish, many times half of the fish will just sink. When this happens the Cuberas are there to take advantage of the free meal! If you mimic this by cutting a bait fish, skip jack is best, rig it up and toss it over the side and let it sink. It won’t be long before one of these Pargo, possibly up to 80 lbs will attack with a vengeance! They fight well and you’ll think you’ve got a Sailfish! So there are several ways to fish an area, not just trolling and casting. So keep this in mind if you’re heading out that direction and the forecast for fish is not exactly what you’ve been hoping for. You won’t come back empty handed…
This past week we’ve seen some interesting water conditions. One day the water is cool, the next warm. So it’s been a moving target like it can be at this time of the year. But areas between Sayulita and El Banco this week had a Sailfish convention. Sirena and Pecositas come in the other day with several sailfish taking the bait. Some Blue and Striped Marlin sightings, but no hook-ups. If you’re out past El Banco, the Yellowfin are still there in the fifty pound range and larger the closer you are to the high spots.
El Morro, the Marietta Islands and points north of Punta Mita are still solid areas for beautiful red snappers, Torros, Jack Crevells, Skip Jacks, Roballo and a host of other smaller game fish. Perfect for the kids, yet strong fighters!
The secret spot this week seems to be the area between Corbetena and El Banco, trolling in this neglected area may just surprise you with some Yellowfin Tuna, Sails and who knows maybe even a Marlin. So if you’re in the area, give it a try amigo!
Carlos is still out there painting his heart out. This past week he’s been focusing on business in Pitiall where he hasn’t been in a while just to see his efforts are once again needed. Carlos has been hitting it solo the last few days, but the donations are still coming in form folks like: Richard and Mabel Sears, Carla Johnson, and Mary Ann and her sister June from Atlanta. Thanks for your donations from all of us at Master Baiter’s Sportfishing and Tackle!
Don’t forget to read our weekly articles supporting the worth cause of our Bomberos this week else where in this paper this week. Important stuff, more important if you need them!
Until next week, don’t forget to kiss your fish!
