LONG RANGE SALT REPORTS

MEXICO UPDATE: Look for bluewater the marlin are coming BY ROBIN WADE/WON Staff WriterPublished: Jul 27, 2010

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ROBIN WADE WEEKLY MEXICO REPORT Puerto Vallarta big game fishing picks up • PUERTO VALLARTA — The skies have opened up in Puerto Vallarta which means the seasonal rains are now a daily occurrence. The evening rains bring both opportunities and challenges alike when it comes to sportfishing in Puerto Vallarta. Marlin have moved into the bluewater fishing grounds and sailfish are more abundant daily. Roosterfish and dorado though have been missing in the nutrient rich trash lines. Outside the bay the water is moving in streak currents. Some currents have dirty water, others have blue water. “If you're heading out to Corbetena, the water is clean and blue. With plenty of bait in the area there are marlin everywhere,” said Stan Gabruk of Master Baiter's Sportfishing & Tackle. “Black and blue marlin have been running between 350 and 800 pounds, it just depends on what comes your way out there. Sailfish are running large as well and are running in the 80- to 100-inch length, roughly around 100 pounds,” Gabruk said. BLUE WATER AND MARLIN A GOOD MIX! — Heading out to the blue water by Corbetena, the crew of Magnifico had a great day to say the least. Here Capt. Alonso, Jonathan Matheny and Ashley Crain from Baton Rouge, along with first mate Carlos are pictured with a 475-pound black marlin caught about three miles before you reach the rock. Finding blue water was the secret to their success. PHOTO COURTESY OF MASTER BAITER'S SPORTFISHING & TACKLE El Banco has been seeing a lot of marlin action as well. “There have been mostly blue and black marlin with the occasional striped marlin. The secret here is to drop your lines in at least 6 miles before El Banco’s high spots and you will find some arm burning action.” When it rains around Puerto Vallarta, the silty water flows into the rivers and streams around Vallarta. “This water is what we call agua Sucio or dirty water and is the color of coffee with two creams. This water is no problem for some species like snapper, snook and roosterfish for the most part. They love to feast on the natural organic materials like seeds, leaves, bugs and stuff. It forms a trash line in the bay and is the friend of fisherman.” For a short day of fishing in the bay, the sight of this trash line is like a guarantee that you'll have action but right now the species that normally feed on this organic mix are missing. “Dorado and roosterfish are the primary players when hitting this trash line and they have not been here. That is not to say other species will not be taking advantage of this free fish buffet though. Snapper, bonito, snook and others will be in line to get it while the getting is good,” he said. El Morrow was another area where you could find fish in the clean spots around the islands. The same held true for the Marietta Islands with bonito, needlefish, pompano and snapper. “Sailfish have been seen in the area, but for some reason have not been hanging out here though.” In other Mexico fishing action: • CANCUN TO COZUMEL: The sailfish are still present but this past week lacked the presence of dorado throughout the area for the first time in a few months and for no apparent reason. “Everything is virtually the same as in past weeks and maybe the dorado simply eluded the anglers this week, it's anyone's guess,” said Larry Edwards for the Marina El Cid Sportfishing Fleet. The overall fish counts for a total of 20 outings included the typical wide variety report for this area that included 3 sailfish, 7 shark, 21 bonito, 3 Spanish mackerel, 7 yellowfin tuna, 13 Atlantic barracuda, 1 wahoo, 2 jack crevalle, 2 triggerfish, 2 mutton snapper and 3 grouper. • IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO: It's the rainy season in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, with rain possibilities at most any time but primarily in the late afternoons and night. “According to Capt. Temo Verboonen, the fishing has slowed a little for billfish but still a few blue marlin and striped marlin attacked the lures. There was an occasional sailfish taken along with sporadic yellowfin tuna action, but no real concentration of offshore fish in any specific location. “The inshore bite has been superb with excellent bite action on the jack crevalle and there was still a good bite on rainbow runners, too. The roosterfish though moved into the deeper and cleaner water and away from the river mouths. “With the heavy rains we had this week, the 82-degree blue water has been pushed out to the 20 mile mark,” said fly fishing guide Ed Kunze. “Most of the rain came late at night, but we even had a few days of rain. The most eventful rain, and the one which pushed the blue water out, was about 6 inches in two hours one morning. This event could be seen on the Terrafin satellite, where the green and nutrient rich chlorophyll laden freshwater was pushed out 5 to 6 miles in front of the rivers here on the coast,” Kunze said. The boats fishing the blue water averaged 3 billfish a day here and the majority of the fish were sailfish and striped marlin. • MAZATLAN: The dorado counts shot up this past week for the offshore cruisers, allowing for some good angler action with 12- to 15-pound fish. “The billfish counts fell off a bit this past week for no apparent reason, as the water conditions are near excellent for the entire area,” said Aries Sportfishing Fleet's representative Larry Edwards. The overall fish counts for 20 charters included 1 striper, 2 sailfish, 10 yellowfin tuna and 109 dorado in the offshore waters. The inshore super pangas reported in for 5 trips that included limits of dorado, along with 10 pargo and 10 mojarres. Readers: To have your reports included in the Mexico report, send photos and e-mails to baja@wonews.com.