Just got back to San Diego after a week in the PV area. Fortunately, my home and family was spared from evacuations or worse.
I know alot of you go to PV for the great offshore tuna, marlin, and sailfish fishing. It can be fantastic with no shortage of good charter outfits (frequently talked about on this site) running out of the PV area. But if you're just interested in a little more laid back experience, some beautiful scenery, and great fishing without having to take out a second mortgage on the house - I highly recommend taking a drive up to Sayulita, about 40 minutes north of PV, or better yet - rent a place there for the week. Here, beer is still 15 pesos, a great dinner on the beach is about 80 pesos, and there's a nice beach break for surfing.
I've done the big tuna and Marlin trips to El Banco and Corbetena and they are a blast when the fish are up. This time I just wanted to do some inshore fishing for some Dorado and possibly a nice Roosterfish (still haven't bagged one of those). I took a Panga off the beach there for a GREAT day of fishing. More on the boat and captain later, but first, here's some evidence of my good time.
We pushed the boat off the sand around 8:30am. Five minutes tossing a net in front of the beautiful homes along the beach filled the tank with bait. Cesar wasn't too confident about catching a big Roosterfish that day, so I opted to try for Dorado first and try for a Rooster on the way in if it didn't work out. After trolling a few minutes in close, we headed offshore only about 4 miles and a little south. Cesar quickly found the trash line where alot of birds were working and a panga was running a long line for Dorado. We put the lines in and were soon onto the fish. We boated a decent Dodo early on and Cesar announced that we were going to catch alot of Dorado today.
It didn't take long to get the decks bloody.
Even had a friendly sea turtle swim over to the boat to say hello while I was fighting a fish.
We had one triple hookup (boated two) and later got a double hookup, one on bait. We released several and farmed a few more. In 4 hours, we had caught all the Dorado we wanted (not trophies, but decent fish) and decided to put off the quest for Rooster until another time. It was time to head for the beach for some cold cervesas and cook some fish.
All in all, a GREAT day on the water and we were back on the beach by around 1:00pm. If you're interested, here's the charter information.
I ran into an American guy at my resort who is living in Sayulita with his wife and son who used to work on the crab boats in Alaska. He bought the Santiago Sea Hunter (24' panga) and has been running a charter service there for about a year. His Capt Cesar Plascencia comes from a family of fisherman and loves to fish. He speaks great English and knows how to put you on the fish. Really nice guy and fun to fish with.
Contact the owner, Kelly Kurik via email:
kellykurik@hotmail.com or on his cell phone: 322 107-7088
Cesar can be reached on his cell phone: 322 132-8705
Rates are $45-$50 hr (depending on the season) with a 4 hour minimum. Cesar will take you offshore to chase the big tuna also, and you're alot closer to the fish than from PV.
Comments on the boat and equipment: Basic 24' panga with new 75hp 4-stroke outboard. 4 rod holders, 2 tuna tubes, bimini top and two swivel seats. Kelly tells me he will add a 27' center-console panga soon. The fishing gear is a little worn and well used, but got the job done. Kelly promised that upgrades were on the way.
Another great part about the trip is that Cesar's brother is one of the cooks at El Costeno restarant on the beach and for 50 pesos, they'll cook up your catch and serve you a great full course meal. They also have awesome Shimp Fajitas!
What do you do with the rest of the fish?? Cesar also hooked me up with a great service for packaging your fish to take home. Carnes Del Mundo is a specialty meat packing company run by Americans located 20 minutes south of Sayulita (20 minutes north of PV) in the town of Bucerias. They will trim and professionally vacuum pack your fish and freeze it. You can either pick it up with your cooler on your way to the airport or they will deliver it to some locations. They'll charge you $1.00/lb for what you bring them (cheaper if you skin it and rough trim it before you drop it off). I've included their business card and location below.
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