PUERTO VALLARTA PARGO--This 50-pound class pargo hit a trolled skipjack on the Corbetena high spot for Stan Vath's boat Tinknocker. Photo courtesy Stan Vath.

DAILY SPORTFISHING LOG OF THE BOAT TINKNOCKER

Oct. 16, 2004, Stan Vath, Tinknocker, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Fishing Log:

10-08-04 Left Puerto Vallarta dock at 0400 hrs. Ran back out to Roca Corbetena and made 5 nice Skipjack and started trolling three of them. It was very slow today. The YFT were not showing today. Dorado, Sailfish, Wahoo and Pargo were available if you wanted them. Don Burnside caught Sailfish and Bob Dawson caught a nice Barred Pargo on a reef that runs off the Rock. Arrived back at PVM at 2000 hrs. 87 KM.

10-09-04 Got up around 0730 hrs. Bob made a huge omelet for breakfast. Don and Bob rented a car and went to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club to reprovision TINKNOCKER. Larry and I got in the tender and ran over to Marina Vallarta 4-5 miles away to pick up the oil I ordered. With over 200 hrs on this trip already it’s time to change the oil and filters on the mains and gensets. We have an X-CHANGE-R oil pump system that actually blends your used oil with diesel and returns it to you largest tank. It works awesome and the exhaust is unchanged as long as you keep the mix below 5%. It’s a real plus to not have to dispose of 46 gallons of old oil and you gain 46 gallons of fuel. We finished all our chores by 1930 hrs got cleaned up and went to a special Italian dinner at the restaurant Tulum in the Hotel.

10-10-04 We drove over in the car to Punta Mita to have breakfast and check the place out. It’s a real nice anchorage and many restaurants and hotels. We ate at EL DORADO right on the bay and it was excellent. We got back around 1300 and took a nap. At 1400 it was time to head to Marina Vallarta to top off our tanks. It’s really going to be a plus when Paradise Village Marina gets their fuel dock. 9KM

10-11-04 Left the Puerto Vallarta dock at 0300 hrs. and went to make some Caballitos. It was a tough pick but we ended up with 20 baits or so and headed out to Roca Corbetena to fish Tuna. Josh Temple “PRIME TIME” fished with us today along with Kawi. Got there right at grey and started making Skipjack to slow troll. The first knockdown was a 50 lb. Pargo that ate a whole Skippy. It was the largest pargo we have caught. Then while casting jigs on the slow troll I caught a 37 lb. Wahoo on a diamond jig. Puerto Vallarta tuna fishing was tough today and the Marlin and Dolphin have been taking our baits. We did have a tuna knock down right at dusk. I let the fish run for 10 seconds and set the hook but it didn’t stick. That’s fishing. We headed back to PVM and arrived at 2345 hrs. 93 KM

10-12-04 Today was a reorganization day. Don and Bob changed out all the line on the bait rigs as well as made up some custom fly’s to try and get the Skippy’s easier. They also went through all the terminal tackle and and organized it. Bob went through the cockpit tackle center and totally cleaned and organized it. Larry took apart the macerator on the fish box as it was inoperable. The impeller was totally trashed but fortunately we had a spare so it’s back on line. I tried to fix the bait freezer again but it’s futile. We had fillets on the BBQ, garlic bread, salad, corn, Cabernet and apple turnovers with vanilla ice cream. Our best meals have been right on TINKNOCKER.

10-13-04 Jose is washing the boat this morning and Esmeralda is cleaning inside. We are fine tuning the 80ST’s and 80STW’s adding spectra and all new topshots. Bob and Don are flying home this afternoon and are planning to return as soon as possible. We had a port genset issue the other day and after a thorough inspection after it cooled down found a burned main feed wire. We will repair it tomorrow. This is a very surgey marina. We cross-tied the stern, added a third spring line and it made a big difference.

10-14-04 We rented a car and went to the city. Our first stop was at Ferreteria Zaragoza. They have a great selection of marine parts and tackle. We got everything except the large terminal block which I rebuilt with the aid of Marinetex. Then off to Wal-Mart for supplies, etc. On the way back we stopped at Praxair to refill our Helium tank. They are open till 6:00pm and it’s 4:30pm and no one is here. Buenos Dias!

10-15-04 We successfully repaired the port genset today. It took most of the day because the wiring is in a real tight area and not mechanic friendly. Then off to Praxair where we exchanged our Helium tank and then returned the rental car. Late afternoon we took the Tender out to the bay to check out the bottom. We hired a local diver to clean it a week ago but he did a lousy job and overcharged. I put a tank on and in ten minutes had it scrubbed perfect. We can be self-contained if we have too.

10-16-04 We are setting up a midday anchor for El Banco and Roca Corbetena. This is a real snaggy, rocky bottom muck like the Hurricane Bank but with less lost gear down there. It will consist of a small Bruce, short shot of chain and 400 feet of line. I hope this will be the answer.

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from Puerto Vallarta and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for Puerto Vallarta may be found at Mexfish.com's main Puerto Vallarta page.