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!