el sparko invades puerto vallarta

[el sparko]

well; the great elsparko finally broke down and booked a trip to Puerto Vallarta. 59 winters with no warm escape is enough!
I'm thinking of getting in some fishing and if any of you intrepid sportsmen are in the area I'd really enjoy hooking up and maybe go shares on a charter.
at the very least I'm going to try shore fishing.
no I start counting the sleeps until feb. 6

[CurtisV.]

Been to PV couple few times.
Fished in and out of the bay, both times only a couple Jack Cravalle.
Some barracuda. Small mackerel.
In PV I didn't have much success shore fishing.
Last time out just went to the marina and haggled a boat price with another guy.
I found shore fishing much better on the Mayan side (Caribbean)
Haven't been off shore in the Mayan yet.
All have been done mid February.
With no plans on a vacay this year due to the fact we've moved a couple provinces over.
I so can't wait till spring......
Have fun in PV.
Good restaurant to hit up would be BLAKE'S Sports Bar.
Great food great service!!

[Zip-in-Z]

I decided to bring my fishin rod and some Mr. Twister yellow jigs on two previous trips to P.V. .... caught some interesting fish off shore near a rock outcrop during lowtide and a small Barracuda, don't forget the pliers. We also chartered a 55 ft twin diesel for 6 of us & went out 20-25 miles and caught three sail fish and two dolphin fish or Mahi-mahi's and a number of Bonito's ... that was priceless.

The women got sea sick, bring some Gravel and lots of sun screen it was 33C with no wind in Feb ... better yet, give them some cash and send them shopping, I recall they all wanted to end the charter shortly after we got under way.

Skipper and 1st mate really looked after everyone, and provide lots of Corona's, however, I imagine at today's prices it would be in the order of $6-700.00 USD, or more.

Enjoy the vacation ...

.

[yetiseeker]

You can also get a taxi and head to the beach just down from "Barceló Mismaloya Puerto Vallarta" hotel. I think the beach area can be found by either looking up the hotel, or by googling "Arcos Spa".

The locals have some beach front restaurants, and vendors selling carvings, shirts, jewelry, etc.

They will rent the 20 foot fiberglass boats for around $50 / hr and take yuou snorkeling, whale watching, sight seeing and of course fishing all in for the $50/hr for the boat regardless of how many people go. You can talk with them the day before and they can arrange beer, food, bait, fishing gear, snorkeling gear - anything you want to do.

From that beach, it is about a 5 minute boat ride to "Los Arcos National Park". There you will see stingrays and a wide variety of fish - take some bread and you'll be surrounded by so many fish (all small) that it will be an awesome experience for you and your family.

These same boat guys can also take you fishing and - I caught Mackerel, Roosterfish, Bonita and about 20 other species I didn't understand the translation of what the guides called them.

And then, if your into a longer day trip, you can again organize with these beach fellows to go approx. 25 km's offshore to the Marietas Islands - again, beautiful scenery and can bottom fish or troll around the islands. I think they charged approx. $350 for the day - that was 10 years ago or so and would therefore expect it to be a bit higher now.

Anyway, if you're in that area near the hotel - check out the locals guides and they will certainly provide you an excellent experience - bare minimum - I recommend Los Arcos National Park.

And lastly, if you do go fishing, bring a fish back to the local restaurants on the beach and get them to cook it up - they can do an open pit fire and grill the fish - if you're lucky to get one of the red snapper in the area - amazing grilled when fresh!!

[Lowrance Fishburn]

If u get the chance, perhaps next year, try Cabo for fishing. "Marlin Alley" is what this one particular area is called. Hire a charter, let them do the work and just wait for a big blue fin. Costs a few hundred but Its a great experience.

[Angler2]

About 4 years ago we rented a condo in Nuevo Vallarta at Xmas. Took my son and his girlfriend out for a half day trip in a local panga. Water was incredibly rough and all we caught were a dozen 14" yellowtail. The next week I went down to the local marina as the fishing charter boats were coming in. One boat consistently brought in fish every day. I chartered a 34' cruiser with captain and deckhand for half a day (morning). Had a fantastic day catching 40-50 lb rooster fish, monster snapper and all other type of bottom fish. Pretty much had a rod in my hand the whole time as my wife more interested in watching whales! (probably saw 100+) Over all best charter trip taken in warm water. Have done several other charters with poor results. If you have the time doing a little research on which boats are catching fish can increase your chances of a good day. Good luck!

[el sparko]

I found a cool site, shared fishing.com.
they are very reasonably priced and you can pre-book and pay on line.