ABOUT 10 SPORTFISHING BOATS PER DAY FISHING AT EL BANCO

Aug. 16-18, 2005, Merle Erickson, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Fishing Trip Report:

I fished three days at Puerto Vallarta, August 16-18th, on the Yolaray at El Banco.

For the trip, I released 2 small sailfish and 2 small blue marlin, and was skunked on the 18th. We also got one football tuna and a few pargo.

Overall a disappointing fishing trip.

There were not many tuna caught at Puerto Vallarta during my stay, but Josh Temple decked a beautiful 291 pound tuna on 8/17. I saw it was weighed on a certified scale on the Yolaray. To his credit, Josh brought it all the way into Puerto Vallarta Bay to get an accurate weight.

There are about 10 Puerto Vallarta boats fishing El Banco every day, which is about triple what it was last year. Prior to my arrival, lots of good size tuna were caught, but a huge rainstorm on 8/15 seemed to slow the fishing during my trip somewhat, although there were some excellent catches during my three days at El Banco.

(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.