Fishing Banderas Bay

By Bob Reitmeyer

Banderas Bay is marked on the North by Punta De Mita and on the South by El Faro which is the lighthouse there. In between lies 21 miles of open water know as Banderas Bay. The bay extends from its Eastern shoreline to the Marietta’s which are a group of islands and upwellings on the bays Western edge.

Fishing the bay is an interesting challenge because the water depths vary greatly between areas. The northern shoreline is shallow, but deep water exists from Puerto Vallarta south to the lighthouse.

The three most sought after species are the Pacific sailfish, Yellow fin tuna, and the Dorado all of which are caught from early summer into December. These are known as Pelagic species meaning that they migrate to warmer waters in the off season. Another popular sport fish is the Rooster fish which inhabits the bays Northern shoreline and the area around Moro which is the Marietta’s largest island. There are other fish species as well. When the bay temperatures fall into the sixties during the winter months large numbers of Red snapper, Pargo, Sierra Mackerel  Pacific Bonita, False Albacore invade the inshore waters. Another species that is here most of the year is the Jack Cravalle. The largest are tackle busters.

Now that you have read this far you are assuming that one can sink the boat with fish here, but that is not the case. Wild fluctuations in water temperature, tides along with bait migrations make one day very different from the next. The saying “you should have been here yesterday” is the run of the mill response to the question how is the fishing? This year is a good example.

Bottom fishing this winter and spring was spotty. The Yellow fin tuna came early in May and have been here since mostly in the Yalapa area. Fish to 100 pounds have been caught here, but the average weight is around 25 pounds. They are still there, but currently have lockjaw! Sailfish made an early showing along the bays Southern shoreline and quickly disappeared  A few fish have been caught around Los Arcos in recent weeks, along with a stray Blue Marlin which seldom come into the bay.  A Dorado run which is expected each September never materialized, although a few school sized fish have been caught locally.

Currrently the bay waters are Green in color which is associated with cool temperatures. Hence the poor fishing. Temperatures should begin to rise and the water color will change to Blue. When it does all of the major species will show up close to the local beaches and in range of the sport fishing fleets here.

Boats of every size come from the Punta de Mita, Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta marina, Los Murtos pier, Mismaloya, Boca De Tomatlan and Yalapa to fish the bay. Although some of the largest charter boats are expensive, Pangas normally charge $40 usd. per hour for fishing trips. These trips include locally caught bait. When the fish are here a short trip is all that is necessary.

At this writing all is quiet and we wait. The recent full moon, along with the hurricane which past well offshore of our area caused very high tides which have discolored the waters close to area beaches.

You’ll never know if you don’t get out there and try.

Maybe manana!