FRANTIC PACE TUNA ACTION SOUTH OF BAHIA DE BANDERAS

Feb. 9, 2007, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, Prime Time Adventures, Josh Temple:

I and Herk Marsella of the Prime Time Adventures charter boat Frantic Pace, a 52-foot Custom Carolina, set out earlier this week in search of blue marlin south of the usual Puerto Vallarta fishing waters, on Tuesday.

What we found instead was a plethora of yellowfin tuna from 30 to 250 pounds, located about 60 miles south of Puerto Vallarta's Bahia de Banderas, on a little fished bank rising from over 10,000 feet depths of water to depths of just under 5,000 feet.

This fishing area is known as the "Sand Bank." This area south of Cabo Corrientes has been well known in the Puerto Vallarta sportfishing area for producing great catches of billfish and tunas.

When our team spotted the right fishing water conditions coming together, we decided to set out for an adventure.

Traveling during the cover of darkness, the crew aboard the Frantic Pace set their spread of lures out as they neared the Sand Bank and immediately raised a hefty blue marlin.

This fish was estimated at 500 pounds. It demolished a purple and black 12-inch EAL lure by 7-Strand. It ended up throwing the single hook during the first series of leaps and runs.

The crew of the Frantic Pace redeployed the lures and continued to the San Bank where they encountered a massive school of porpoise and yellowfin tuna.

The fish frenzy was hard to miss, as literally dozens of frigate birds and hundreds upon hundreds of blue and brown footed boobies soared and dove over and into the porpoise and tunas, as the birds and fish herded dense shoals of flying fish along the up current edge of the Sand Bank.

The Frantic Pace team, trolling lures, had to eventually pull away from the feeding frenzy as they were exhausted from their efforts of pulling in tuna after yellowfin tuna on every lure in the spread.

After keeping a few fish for eating, the Frantic Pace anglers released tuna after tuna before deciding to leave the area and continue their hunt for blue marlin.

While they were unsuccessful at raising another blue marlin, the crew aboard the Frantic Pace enjoyed some dorado action and found two more giant schools of tuna under porpoise.

All in all it was another fantastic Mexican fishing trip with Prime Time Adventures out of Puerto Vallarta.

Also fishing aboard the Frantic Pace were Sue Marsella and Matt Lawson.

Puerto Vallarta fishing waters were blue-green at 78 degrees.