Fishing Puerto Vallarta

[Gringo Pescador]

Just got back from a weeklong trip to Puerto Vallarta & thought I share some of my adventure.

Went out on 2 guided trips.

The 1st day was Surf fishing, picked up a little Jack and a 4+' Needle fish. The Needle was great fun - hit about 20' from me, shot 3/4 out of the water when he hit, then took off up & down the surf! We were hoping for Rooster fish as they have been known to pull them up to 40lbs out of the surf in that area, but no such luck that day.

The 2nd day was in the Bay in a 23' Panga. We had one heavy rod trolling live bait and the rest was done with fly rods. Lost count of how many Dorado, Jack & Mackerel were caught on fly's, and got a 25lb Rooster on the troll. Did get to see a big ol Marlin rise straight up out of the water about 20 yards from us, but never got him to bite, saw plenty of dolphin and sea turtles as well.

Kept the Rooster and a few of the Dorados - Phil (the guide) dropped me at my hotel and took the fish to a local restaraunt. I showered, rounded up the family by the time we got to the restaraunt, we had a beachside table reserved for us and we were served a great meal of the fish I had caught that day!

It was a great couple of days, and I highly recommend Phil if you ever go down - great guy, great fisherman, and the fact that he uses light tackle was key for me. You can check out his site at www.vallartafish.8m.com (warning, if you are at work - his site has sound:-" ).

[Proverb]

Sounds like a lot of fun. How did it taste at the restraunt?

[Gringo Pescador]

The dinner was awsome! The Rooster was prepared into an incredible Ceviche (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceviche) and served with tortilla and 4 different kinds of salsas. The Dorado filets were dry rubbed and cooked with a great blend of spices and just enough kick to remind you where you are. :chef: And it was only $10 a head!:cheers:

[Bigbass Dez]

WOW looks like you had a blast , My wife and i spent our honeymoon there back in 2000 ...I made the mistake of taking a freshwater rod /reel with me only to have my bearings rust out within two days of being there and fishing off the beach .. those rocks that are behind you is where i was fishing , there was one rock pile/ pier that extended out a lil futher off in the water .. I thought it was cool how on sundays they would bring the baby sea turtles down to the beach and allow everyone to release them in the water .. the food was great and your right very cheap ..i didnt get a chance to get on a boat for a trip not enough time .. so many memories !! the guys down on the piers fishing with aluminum cans and about 50 yards of fishing line wraped around it (AND THEY CAUGHT FISH) like all day long .. i remember the pirate ship that blasts off there cannons everyday ...i got pics from there at the house .. this brings back wonderful memories i wish i got into better fish like you did ! i got a blow fish and some other fish that looks like bluegill but far different colors , i had no ideal what i was catching every fish was different .. FUN TIMES .. BBD :colors:

[cavdad45]

Our next Mexico trip will be to PV. Looks like you had a great time. Last Nov my family and I went to Cancun which was great for the family but not so great for fishing. Did go on a charter with a couple guys from OK and we caught several amberjacks in the 50-70lb range and I caught a red snapper variiant that went nearly 80. But it was not fishing. We had two rods in the water and waited and you took your turn after the fish hit. Then you couldn't enjoy the fight because you had to crank him up ASAP before the sharks ate your catch which happened on a couple fish.
Would I do it again? Prtobably not. I want to work the rod, entice the strike, set the hook, fight the fish, and land finally land it. Don't want to feel like a commercial longliner.
Next time, more research ahead of time and better planning.

[Gringo Pescador]

Had the same experience in Cancun cavdad - hated it, thought is was a waste of money - ever since, whereever I go down south I hunt up light tackle options. And I make sure before I go, that I will be FISHING, not drinking beer and watching somebody else do it. On our honeymoon my wife & I went to Playa Del Carmen, just south of Cancun - took a daylong flats fishing trip - light spinning and fly rods - had a great time. I can recommend an outfit down there to anyone that would like it too..

[cavdad45]

Hey Gringo, looks like we are set for this coming November for a week at PV. I am planning a minimum of two or three guided trips while down there. Depends on the sea state. It looks to be peak season for sailfish and dolphin, as well as blue and black marlin. Looking forward to finally getting my mount on the family room wall (dolphin.)

How is the area for do-it-yourself surf casting? What equipment do you recommend that I should bring? Or should I just use a guide?

[fishnislife]

Nice Gringo!
Your one lucky guy. Thanks for sharing. Those pix are awesome.
BTW - I love Ceviche. I can't amagine having it that fresh and made up the right way.


fishnislife

[Rosann G]

Thanks for adding the link to Phil and his fishing charters, etc. I really enjoyed looking at the different pages and hope someday that Bill and I can hook up with him to go fishing. I've been looking forward to reading your report when you got back from PV. Bill and I went on a cruise last October that stopped there and we were lucky enough to see a sea turtle laying her eggs on the beach. We also watched a man throwing a surf net out but he never caught anything while we watched.
Rosann

[Anonymous]

Right on Cavdad! I am jealous! As far as surf fishing one your own I will tell ya all I know -

We were using 9'+ poles with huge spinning reels with I think 50# line (provided by the guide) and the lure in the pic above as well as a 7 or 8" plug. The lure in the pic is a painted oval piece of lead with a hook - so it was pretty heavy. The plug he had was hand made, lead & wood and painted white with eyes and some hologram tape.

Basically using your whole body you wing it out as far as possible (I would say we were going out between 50 & 75 yards). Then as soon as it hits the water you reel like a madman to keep it on the top of the water on its way back in (mimicking fleeing baitfish), then do it all again, over, and over, and over..

We fished off of two beaches north of Puerta Vallarta - if you look at a map of Banderas Bay and follow the water line around the north to the point - it looks like a foot with the toes pointing south and the heel pointing north - we fished beaches on the west and east of the heel. The nicest place was on the east, but we went offroad to get there, so it would be tough to know how to get there not knowing the area.

I think if I went again I would take my salmon pole, my biggest spinning reel and attempt it on my own (keeping my option open for a guide if I couldn't get anywhere on my own) - but then I have my own translator (my wife) which would give me a big advantage (by the way, if you want to bring a translator and fishing partner along, I think we could rearrange our schedule:-").

I tried fishing from the beach outside the hotel with my travel gear, one of the locals gave me some prawns and we were catching little perch-like fish, but there really didn't seem to be much hope of catching anything of substance that way (though it was still fishing and therfore still fun).

One thing I will warn you about the surf fishing - The next day - I couldn't laugh, cough, sneeze, or sit up in bed without feeling like I broke all my ribs - casting that thing all day really showed me how out of shape I was and I was was really glad I took a "cervesa & siesta" day between that trip and the day out on the boat!

Another tip for surf casting - tape your finger (see my right hand in the pic with the Jack), the guide had me tape mine and I and I am glad he did, without it, holding/releasing that line on each cast would have made hamburger of it!

When out on the boat - I would highly recommend finding someone that will use light tackle for the dorado (or allow you to use yours), The guys I went with were trolling fly rigs - much more fun to play them that way than with the big game sticks!:thumright

Also - if you do catch anything and want to have it cooked for you - I recommend the "El Dorado" restaraunt on the beach in the Romantic zone - they did us very well with the food, environment and price (as noted above).

If you have any questions or want to know more - feel free to PM me!

[michaelunbewust]

CAVDAD, MY MOM IS FROM A LIL NORTH OF P.V., AND THERE ARE SOME WORLDCLASS BASS LAKES WITHIN AN HOUR OF P.V. THEY ARE ALSO GUIDED, BUT, CAN BE FISHED WITHOUT GUIDES. I NOTICED ON YOUR POSTS, YOU LIKE THE "HAWGS". AND AT THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE STAYING LOOK UP A COUPLE OF EXTRA FISHERPEOPLE, BECAUSE THE CHARTERS WILL GIVE YOU A DEAL FOR MORE RODS, AND A LONGER TIME OUT ON THE WATER, UNLESS YOU WANT THE PEACE OF BEING OUT BY YOURSELF. BUT, BY YOURSELF THEY WILL STICK TO THE TIME PRE-ARRANGED. I GO WITH MY DAD AND BROTHERS, AND WE END UP FISHING FROM DAWN TO DUSK WITH THE GROUP DEAL (ALSO AN EXTRA $20 AMERICAN HERE AND THERE-WILL GET YOU MORE TIME, AND, BETTER SERVICE). AWESOME PICS GRINGO!!!! IF YOU WANT A CEVICHE RECIEPE THAT IS CLOSE TO WHAT YOU HAD, PM ME.

[cavdad45]

Thanks for the replies it helps me answer some questions. I will no doubt have more as time gets closer. Thanks again. Really looking forward to the trip.