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MAINLAND MEXICO REPORT: PV’s bite best on the Long Run to El Banco, Corbeteña
BY ROBIN WADE/WON Staff WriterPublished: Mar 09, 2010
WEEKLY MAINLAND MEXICO REPORT
PUERTO VALLARTA — Once again the longer trips got the bigger fish, but the shorter half-day trips found more fish, and the better action. “We all want to put clients onto fish, but we don’t always have the particular fish clients are looking for. But there is always something fun and challenging to catch when fishing here,” said Master Baiter’s Sportfishing owner Stan Gabruk.
The long trips, which can provide larger fish, this past week found dorado (35 to 50 pounds) action at El Banco with several sightings of striped marlin (up to 325 pounds) on the high spots. “Those seeking yellowfin will still have to go further out, anywhere from 10 to 20 miles out from the high spots. But if you’re already 20 miles out from El Banco, then you are practically on the Tres Maria Islands front porch. With favorable water temperatures and plenty of bait, the yellowfin tuna will be hanging out here until things change current wise, so if you are serious, then that’s where you’ll have to go,” Gabruk said.
Corbeteña is also doing well for snapper up to 65 pounds, sailfish on occasion, rainbow runners to 35 pounds, striped marlin to 350 pounds, amberjack weighing 40 pounds, and whatever else decides to come out and play.
The hot spots are still between El Morro and the Marietta Islands though, with roosterfish, jack crevalle, Ojo de Peras, snapper, sierra and of course skipjack tuna and bonita. “Catch the incoming tide and get ready for some serious action on light gear. Trolling live, larger baits like bonito will get you a roosterfish here around the reefs. Some small striped marlin are also in the deep holes around the reef,” he said.
The great news this past week was that the shorter, half-day trips are working out well. “Casting in the surf line around the south end of the bay has been producing snook, bonita, roosterfish, snappers and a host of other fish. Simple tackle such as a Rapalas or Diamond jigs rigged with feathers will do the trick here.”
“We should start seeing the sailfish move back in the area as we enter March. Warm water temperatures continue for now so warmwater species should have no trouble lingering in the area.”
In other mainland Mexico action:
• IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO — Inshore fishing was the better way to go in the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo area, and even that was up and down, thanks to Mother Nature. Blue water fishing slowed as the full moon caused its normal slow down and confusion, but the earthquake down in Chile was what some blamed, really shut things down. It may have been too far to feel the quake here, but the small tsunami that came through after it acted like several major shock waves, to the sailfish in particular.
The sailfish have sensitive lateral lines used to pick up schools of baitfish a half-mile away. The tsunami, which came in a series of shock waves, must really put a scare into the fish as a bite that was just taking off, briefly shut back down.
“The recorded tsunami was only about three feet high, and did not go much higher than our normal high tide line. I was guiding with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II. We were in touch with the Port Captain’s office the entire time, which was in touch with the entire coast of Mexico just to be safe. We didn’t feel or see a thing, but we didn’t get any fish then either,” said fly fishing guide Ed Kunze.
A few days after the quake, Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, called Kunze to say the bite in general, was picking back up. “He was into a very large school of jack crevalle, and they were huge. He was down at the Valentine River mouth, where the hard-fighting jacks were weighing in at an astonishing 30-pound average,” Kunze said.
Later in the week, working with a family and Santiago on the panga Gitana they found a floating grass patch and managed to pull a few smaller dorado and one nice one weighing about 30 pounds off of it. “My client’s 13-year-old daughter had the honors of bringing in the dinner for that night. They had it cooked up at Lety’s restaurant, which is probably the best seafood restaurant here,” Kunze said.
The next day, Kunze had the same family with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II fishing up in the Buena Vista Beach area. “The father was fly fishing and Cheva was throwing a surface popper out 75 to 100 yards and then handing off the caught fish to his daughter. She darned near wore herself out reeling fish in that day. We did manage to raise a few roosters, and caught a jack crevalle. Plus, we found our own dorado hotel in the form of a huge patch of floating grass. This day we pulled 8 dorado off it. Nothing was big, but it was a fun and the family had another great day on the water,” he said.
Reporting for the Independent Sportfishing Fleet, Capt. Temo, skipper and owner of the Secuestro De Amor said fishing was one of those good-day/bad-day types of fishing weeks, with one day providing a hot bite and the next day a slow one as Mother Nature had her way.
“However, he did say there were many more marlin in the mix later off and on,” said Larry Edwards, to whom Capt. Tempo reports. “He also said that the boats that were lacking action on the slow bite days, were going to the white rocks to provide action for their clients on the prolific numbers of jack crevalle available on both pencil poppers and live bait,” Edwards said. He too, reported some fair roosterfish action, with the better roosterfish bite coming from the Pantla Beach area.
“Angler Ed Des Enfants of New Port Richey, FL caught a couple of nice roosterfish aboard the Secuestro De Amor, that weighed approximately 45 pounds each,” he said.
With excellent sea conditions and temperatures stable at 78 degrees inshore and rising to 79 degrees offshore, there was very good clarity and anglers were treated to calm fishing days.
• CANCUN (COZUMEL): Puerto Morelos should be known as the area to go to for a wide spectrum of fish to catch. This past week, 15 boat charters included an 8-fish variety that included 25 red snapper, 15 king mackerel, 18 triggerfish, 1 shark, 4 grouper, 15 bonito, 2 amberjack and 1 Atlantic barracuda.
Larry Edwards, reporting for the Marina El Cid and the areas from Cancun to Cozumel, said rigged ballyhoo continued to be the bait of choice. “Water temperatures held steady at about 80 degrees with light tropical surface breezes,” he said.
• MAZATLAN: Just when captains from the Aries Sportfishing Fleet thought the area was rising from its doldrums, back the area fell into tough fishing and difficult catching for the offshore fishery. While the water temperatures remained good, the clarity was just so-so and the water had a greenish tint to it, which can have a big effect on the fishing.
Overall catches for the offshore fleet and 25 charters included 2 stripers released, 1 sailfish released, 1 mako shark, 2 yellowfin tuna and 2 dorado. The inshore fishing again had much better action and was abundant with a good bite almost all the time.
“This past week’s inshore fishing slowed down for snapper but there were still plenty of fish that were caught on the bottom, including a very nice 191⁄2-pound permit,” said Chappy Chapman for Inside Outside Charters. “Dorado moved in very close to shore and we were able to cast Rapala Sub-walks to them and landed 7 dorado. So while catching numerous fish on the bottom, casting for dorado was an added bonus,” he said.
• SAN CARLOS (SONORA): San Carlos had a great but short run of sierra this last week with some fish weighing up to 7 pounds. “I have never seen a run of sierra like this in the spring,” said Bryan Replogle of Team Margarita Sportfishing.
The yellowtail fishing around the full moon was a little slow but some larger ones were starting to turn up at San Pedro. “Our boat caught 2 yellows weighing around 25 pounds on a trip towards the end of the week. Hopefully the bite will pick up as the moon wanes,” Replogle said. Some larger snapper are also coming in for those who put the work in to find them, along with grouper and the other bottomfish. “The weather here has been great, and reason enough to come, let alone the improving fishing,” he said.
Readers: To have your reports included in the Mexico report, send photos and e-mails to baja@wonews.com.
MOTHER NATURE DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE HER WAY — Although the bite backed off this past week, some sails were still caught, like this 8-foot sail taken on a Penn 30W with 60-pound PLine mono and 1⁄2 and 1⁄2 braided Spectra and a mullet bait. Skipper Juan (Japonesio) on the Duquesa II, deck hand Alberto, left, and Mr. S. Nikoras from Vancouver, B.C. worked as a team to bring this hard fighting sail aboard. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LA DUQUESA AND GRAN JEFE FLEET OF SPORTFISHERS
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WEEKLY MAINLAND MEXICO REPORT PUERTO VALLARTA — Once again the longer trips got the bigger fish, but the shorter half-day trips found more fish, and the better action. “We all want to put clients onto fish, but we don’t always have the particular fish clients are looking for. But there is always something fun and challenging to catch when fishing here,” said Master Baiter’s Sportfishing owner Stan Gabruk. The long trips, which can provide larger fish, this past week found dorado (35 to 50 pounds) action at El Banco with several sightings of striped marlin (up to 325 pounds) on the high spots. “Those seeking yellowfin will still have to go further out, anywhere from 10 to 20 miles out from the high spots. But if you’re already 20 miles out from El Banco, then you are practically on the Tres Maria Islands front porch. With favorable water temperatures and plenty of bait, the yellowfin tuna will be hanging out here until things change current wise, so if you are serious, then that’s where you’ll have to go,” Gabruk said. Corbeteña is also doing well for snapper up to 65 pounds, sailfish on occasion, rainbow runners to 35 pounds, striped marlin to 350 pounds, amberjack weighing 40 pounds, and whatever else decides to come out and play. The hot spots are still between El Morro and the Marietta Islands though, with roosterfish, jack crevalle, Ojo de Peras, snapper, sierra and of course skipjack tuna and bonita. “Catch the incoming tide and get ready for some serious action on light gear. Trolling live, larger baits like bonito will get you a roosterfish here around the reefs. Some small striped marlin are also in the deep holes around the reef,” he said. The great news this past week was that the shorter, half-day trips are working out well. “Casting in the surf line around the south end of the bay has been producing snook, bonita, roosterfish, snappers and a host of other fish. Simple tackle such as a Rapalas or Diamond jigs rigged with feathers will do the trick here.” “We should start seeing the sailfish move back in the area as we enter March. Warm water temperatures continue for now so warmwater species should have no trouble lingering in the area.” In other mainland Mexico action: • IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO — Inshore fishing was the better way to go in the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo area, and even that was up and down, thanks to Mother Nature. Blue water fishing slowed as the full moon caused its normal slow down and confusion, but the earthquake down in Chile was what some blamed, really shut things down. It may have been too far to feel the quake here, but the small tsunami that came through after it acted like several major shock waves, to the sailfish in particular. The sailfish have sensitive lateral lines used to pick up schools of baitfish a half-mile away. The tsunami, which came in a series of shock waves, must really put a scare into the fish as a bite that was just taking off, briefly shut back down. “The recorded tsunami was only about three feet high, and did not go much higher than our normal high tide line. I was guiding with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II. We were in touch with the Port Captain’s office the entire time, which was in touch with the entire coast of Mexico just to be safe. We didn’t feel or see a thing, but we didn’t get any fish then either,” said fly fishing guide Ed Kunze.A few days after the quake, Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, called Kunze to say the bite in general, was picking back up. “He was into a very large school of jack crevalle, and they were huge. He was down at the Valentine River mouth, where the hard-fighting jacks were weighing in at an astonishing 30-pound average,” Kunze said. Later in the week, working with a family and Santiago on the panga Gitana they found a floating grass patch and managed to pull a few smaller dorado and one nice one weighing about 30 pounds off of it. “My client’s 13-year-old daughter had the honors of bringing in the dinner for that night. They had it cooked up at Lety’s restaurant, which is probably the best seafood restaurant here,” Kunze said. The next day, Kunze had the same family with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II fishing up in the Buena Vista Beach area. “The father was fly fishing and Cheva was throwing a surface popper out 75 to 100 yards and then handing off the caught fish to his daughter. She darned near wore herself out reeling fish in that day. We did manage to raise a few roosters, and caught a jack crevalle. Plus, we found our own dorado hotel in the form of a huge patch of floating grass. This day we pulled 8 dorado off it. Nothing was big, but it was a fun and the family had another great day on the water,” he said. Reporting for the Independent Sportfishing Fleet, Capt. Temo, skipper and owner of the Secuestro De Amor said fishing was one of those good-day/bad-day types of fishing weeks, with one day providing a hot bite and the next day a slow one as Mother Nature had her way. “However, he did say there were many more marlin in the mix later off and on,” said Larry Edwards, to whom Capt. Tempo reports. “He also said that the boats that were lacking action on the slow bite days, were going to the white rocks to provide action for their clients on the prolific numbers of jack crevalle available on both pencil poppers and live bait,” Edwards said. He too, reported some fair roosterfish action, with the better roosterfish bite coming from the Pantla Beach area. “Angler Ed Des Enfants of New Port Richey, FL caught a couple of nice roosterfish aboard the Secuestro De Amor, that weighed approximately 45 pounds each,” he said. With excellent sea conditions and temperatures stable at 78 degrees inshore and rising to 79 degrees offshore, there was very good clarity and anglers were treated to calm fishing days. • CANCUN (COZUMEL): Puerto Morelos should be known as the area to go to for a wide spectrum of fish to catch. This past week, 15 boat charters included an 8-fish variety that included 25 red snapper, 15 king mackerel, 18 triggerfish, 1 shark, 4 grouper, 15 bonito, 2 amberjack and 1 Atlantic barracuda. Larry Edwards, reporting for the Marina El Cid and the areas from Cancun to Cozumel, said rigged ballyhoo continued to be the bait of choice. “Water temperatures held steady at about 80 degrees with light tropical surface breezes,” he said. • MAZATLAN: Just when captains from the Aries Sportfishing Fleet thought the area was rising from its doldrums, back the area fell into tough fishing and difficult catching for the offshore fishery. While the water temperatures remained good, the clarity was just so-so and the water had a greenish tint to it, which can have a big effect on the fishing. Overall catches for the offshore fleet and 25 charters included 2 stripers released, 1 sailfish released, 1 mako shark, 2 yellowfin tuna and 2 dorado. The inshore fishing again had much better action and was abundant with a good bite almost all the time. “This past week’s inshore fishing slowed down for snapper but there were still plenty of fish that were caught on the bottom, including a very nice 191⁄2-pound permit,” said Chappy Chapman for Inside Outside Charters. “Dorado moved in very close to shore and we were able to cast Rapala Sub-walks to them and landed 7 dorado. So while catching numerous fish on the bottom, casting for dorado was an added bonus,” he said. • SAN CARLOS (SONORA): San Carlos had a great but short run of sierra this last week with some fish weighing up to 7 pounds. “I have never seen a run of sierra like this in the spring,” said Bryan Replogle of Team Margarita Sportfishing. The yellowtail fishing around the full moon was a little slow but some larger ones were starting to turn up at San Pedro. “Our boat caught 2 yellows weighing around 25 pounds on a trip towards the end of the week. Hopefully the bite will pick up as the moon wanes,” Replogle said. Some larger snapper are also coming in for those who put the work in to find them, along with grouper and the other bottomfish. “The weather here has been great, and reason enough to come, let alone the improving fishing,” he said. Readers: To have your reports included in the Mexico report, send photos and e-mails to baja@wonews.com. MOTHER NATURE DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE HER WAY — Although the bite backed off this past week, some sails were still caught, like this 8-foot sail taken on a Penn 30W with 60-pound PLine mono and 1⁄2 and 1⁄2 braided Spectra and a mullet bait. Skipper Juan (Japonesio) on the Duquesa II, deck hand Alberto, left, and Mr. S. Nikoras from Vancouver, B.C. worked as a team to bring this hard fighting sail aboard. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LA DUQUESA AND GRAN JEFE FLEET OF SPORTFISHERS |
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