Fishing in Puerto Vallarta

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Fishing

Sportfishing is excellent off Puerto Vallarta, and fisherfolk have landed monster marlin well over 500 pounds. Surf casting from shore nets snook, roosters, and jack crevalles. Hire a panga (skiff) to hunt for Spanish mackerel, sea bass, amberjack, snapper, bonito, and roosterfish on full- or half-day trips within the bay. Yachts are best for big-game fishing: yellowfin tuna; blue, striped, and black marlin; and dorado. Hire them for 4 to 10 hours, or overnight. Catch-and-release of billfish is encouraged. If you don't want to charter a boat, you can also join a "party" boat.

Most sportfishing yachts are based at Marina Vallarta; only a few call "home" the marina at Paradise Village, in Nuevo Vallarta. Pangas can be hired in the traditional fishing villages of Mismaloya and Boca de Tomatlán, just south of town; in the Costalegre towns of La Manzanilla and Barra de Navidad; and in the north, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, as well as at El Anclote and Nuevo Corral del Risco, Punta de Mita. The resort hotels of the Costalegre and Punta de Mita arrange fishing excursions for their guests. Bass fishing at Cajón de Peña, about 1 1/2 hours south of Vallarta, nets 10-pounders on a good day.

Logistics

Most captains and crews are thoroughly bilingual, at least when it comes to boating and fishing.

Licenses

Licenses are necessary, but don't worry about procuring yours on your own. If the captain hasn't arranged it ahead of time, he will make sure that a SEMARNAP official is on hand to sell you one before the boat departs. Cost is about $12 per day; there are no weekly rates.

Prices

Prices generally range $300-$400 for four hours on a yacht to $600-$1,050 for a day-long cruise for four to eight anglers. A longer trip is recommended for chasing the big guys, as it takes you to prime fishing grounds like Los Bancos and Cobeteña.

Party boats range from $125 to $140 per person for an eight-hour day. Drinking water is generally included in the price; box lunches and beer or soda may be sold separately or included, or sometimes it's BYOB. Pangas and superpangas, the latter with shade and a head of some sort, charge $185 to $400 for four to eight hours and generally accommodate one to three or four anglers. For a boat and round-trip transportation to Cajón de Peña, an all-day affair, expect to pay $150 to $600 per person.

Outfitters

CharterDreams (Marina Las Palmas II, Locales 11 and 12, Marina Vallarta. 322/221-0690. www.charterdreams.com) has a variety of excursions, from trips with one to three people in pangas (skiffs) for bass fishing to cruises with up to eight people aboard luxury yachts. Although most fisherfolk choose to leave around the smack of dawn, you set your own itinerary. The same rates apply for whale-watching or private sightseeing or snorkeling tours. Aboard group boats -- aka party boats -- belonging to Cruceros Princesa (Faro de la Marina, Marina Vallarta. 322/224-4777), you'll get a reliable boat, knowledgeable crew, and a box lunch to boot. Equipment, live bait, box lunch, water, and a soft drink or two are included. The eight-hour tour departs from the maritime pier. Yachts from 38 to 46 feet are available for individual charter as well.

In Barra de Navidad, at the southern end of the Costalegre, contact Gerardo Kosonoy (315/354-2251. hakunakosonoy@yahoo.com) for honest fishing excursions. Alternately, you can easily round up a fisherman with a panga from one of the two large fishing co-ops on the lagoon side of town. There's usually at least one representative hoping for clients at the water taxi dock. Gerardo and the other fishermen charge 400 pesos ($37) per hour for one to four passengers.

Master Baiter (Puesto del Sol Condominiums, near lighthouse, Marina Vallarta. 322/209-0498 or 322/209-0499. www.mbsportfishing.com. Calle 31 de Octubre 107, across from McDonald's, Centro. 322/222-4043) is a comprehensive fishing outfitter with a proven track record. Its superpanga fleet consists of 26-foot skiffs with shade and bathroom; some have GPS. The 8-, 10-, and 12-hour yacht charters allow enough time to fish El Morro, Corbeteña, and beyond. An overnight trip ($2,650) allows further exploration, and includes meals and drinks. Both storefronts (downtown Vallarta and Marina Vallarta) sell fishing tackle, although there's a better selection at the Marina store.

Do you remember the seductive-looking divers in Night of the Iguana? Well, their progeny might be among the local guys of Mismaloya Divers (Road to Mismaloya Beach, Mismaloya. 322/228-0020). Panga trips here are comparatively inexpensive, usually around $185 within the bay or $230 to the Marietas (five lines, one to four passengers), including lunch and drinks. Local fishermen at Punta de Mita have formed the Sociedad Cooperativa de Servicios Turísticos (Tourist Services Cooperative, Av. El Anclote 1, Manz. 17, Nuevo Corral del Risco. 329/291-6298. www.prodigyweb.net.mx/cooperativapuntamita). The families who run this co-op were forcibly relocated from their original town of Corral del Risco due to the development of luxurious digs like the Four Seasons. The guides may not speak English as fluently as the more polished PV operators, but they know the local waters, and the fees go directly to them and their families. Sportfishing costs about $46 per hour, with a four-hour minimum, for up to four people. Two hours of whale-watching or snorkeling around the Marietas Islands, for up to eight people, costs $111. Kids older than six but younger than 60 pay $2 for a wristband allowing entrance to the Marietas, a national aquatic park.

Captain Peter Vines of Vallarta Tour and Travel (Marina Los Palmas Local 4, in front of Dock B, Marina Vallarta. 322/209-0005; 866/682-1971 in U.S. and Canada) can accommodate eight fisherfolk with top-of-the-line equipment, including the latest electronics, sonar, radar, and two radios. Rates are very reasonable, especially because they include lunch, beer, soda, and fish-cleaning service at the end of the day. Transportation from your hotel is included in the full-day bass-fishing expedition to Cajón de Peña.