Happy new year from Nuevo Vallarta fishing report for our January action. Curious to see what we have been catching and what the fishing report will be for 2023 looks like in Nuevo Vallarta then keep on reading here. We had an unbelievable Christmas with mahi-mahi, action, sailfish, yellowtail, Spanish mackerel, roosterfish, and some snapper. Do you want to know how and where we were catching the best-eating fish? Look no further as we have the info here to share with you.
The winter fishing here in Nuevo Vallarta has had some hot days of fishing with cool mornings to start with. The weather in the winter here is something to look forward to. The mornings are around 65 degrees and warm up to 79 degrees. This makes for ideal conditions for fishing here in Mexico. The Pacifico ocean often cools down some here in the winter months like January. The locals and Captains refer to this cold water, but the temperature is always around 78 to 65 degrees. Most anglers would love to have these kinds of conditions back home. I know most folks up north have already winterized their boats and stored their fishing gear away for the season. Here in Nuevo Vallarta, we are just getting started.
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With the cooling of the water, some of the pelagic fish move from the fishing place to the fishing place or offshore farther. The big blue and black marlin like the water to be a little bit warmer. Some move offshore to different areas. This does not mean we won’t catch them, it’s just less of them around to catch. The sailfish, mahi-mahi,tuna, and yellowtail will be here for some rod-bending action offshore. The amberjack will move in about the time the roosterfish show up this month. We already see some of these fish show up in good numbers. Nothing like catching amberjack or roosterfish on a big 5 lbs Bonita. The roosterfish and amberjack like the reef areas and can’t stay away from the live bait we use to land these huge fish. One of the tricks we use for roosterfish is a large Spanish mackerel as a teaser on a short line behind the stern of the bost. This brings them up to our live bait. Then hold on for dear life when they hit the line. There big fish can go well over a 100 lbs.
In the month of January, we have schools and schools of sardines showing up all over the bay and offshore this helps our inshore and offshore fishing tremendously. There are days when we find and fish around the huge bait balls and we will catch fish until it feels like our arm is going to fall off. When the bait is around the fish start feeding and you can catch them on just about anything. The next few months we remain the same with more and more bait coming into our bay. The offshore fishing is a little different and we usually toll for the striped marlin that loves the cooler water temperatures. These huge pelagic fish roam offshore but are often found in the bay looking for big schools of sardines or bait balls.
When trolling offshore we always like a couple of live baits ready. We call the bait google eye. Many times during the trip we will see a Dorado, sailfish or striped marlin finning on the surface. This is when they are most active and feed during the tide changes. If we see them finning on the surface, they will 90 % of the time hit the live bait on our 2 speed avet spinning gear loaded with 150 yards of mono line backed with 400 yards of spectra line. You will need all this line when these marlin get hooked. They can make a run of several hundred yards in just a few seconds. So when your are out there on one of our inshore or offshore trips keep an eye out for that fin in the water. This could turn a good day into an extraordinary day.
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The inshore fishing for the month of January will be good for the troll, jigging, bottom fish and of course live baiting. We watch the conditions daily for temp changes, water clarity, and bait movement. I always tell our clients if they find the bait you will find the fish.
The fast-feeding yellowtail, good-eating Spanish mackerel, California bonitas and snapper will be here for the taking for those who venture out on one of our 6 hrs trips here in the bay. If you are looking for a fun trip fishing in the bay and want to catch a lot of fish this is the trip for you.
There is a big bonus coming to Nuevo Vallarta in the winter months. Not only do we have fantastic fishing, perfect weather, beautiful beaches, and incredible restaurants we also have humpback whales show up. Imagine hooking up a huge fish and then looking over and seeing a 20-ton 40-foot-long whale right beside your boat. Can’t believe it?? Happens almost every day.
So please come down and enjoy this winter wonderland we call home
Merry Fishmas and Happy New year
Capt. Pete and crew
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