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!