Ryan Collins
My time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico has been terrific and I definitely recommend it as a travel and fishing destination. The town has great culture, restaurants, adventure activities, and of course fishing!
I had a wonderful time in PV with my wife Lauren, her mom Carol and dad Steve. Now I am back home, thousands of miles from PV, but I have tons of great memories and experiences from the trip.
Today I have one more video which I'd like to share with you. Last week while fishing from shore in Puerto Vallarta, shoals of sardines were attacked in the surf by jack crevalles, red snappers, and sierra mackerels. It was an all-out blitz that produced shoulder-to-shoulder fishing conditions!
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The scene was similar to the first blitz which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, but the action was even more intense. Plus we got an up close and personal look at a manta ray which was unintentionally hooked but safely released.
Please click play below to watch!
Video timestamps:
0:01 - introduction
0:30 - sardine footage
1:16 - hooked up with red snapper!
2:00 - hooked up with sierra mackerel!
3:11 - manta ray on the beach
3:25 - successful manta ray release
Equipment used in this video:
ANGLR Bullseye
Van Staal VR50
Tsunami 7' three piece travel rod
20lb Power Pro braid
20lb Seagur Blue Label Fluorocarbon
Trokar size 5/0 circle hook
GoPro Hero 4 (refurbished)
GoPro battery pack life extender
Telescoping Waterproof selfie stick
Selfie stick sand spike
​Flexible camera tripod attachment
Ryan,
Great PV videos.
I will visit Puerto Vallarta for about 10 days beginning ~Feb16,2022 and looking to fly fish from shore. Your Jack Crevelle footage from rock shore makes that look very promising.
Can I expect good fishing in mid-February from shore? Also, can you recommend competent fly fishing guides in PV?
Happy Fishing!
Bruce
Ryan, Very much liked watching your recent PV videos. I especially like that you post the equipment you use. I have been down to PV numerous times (was there when you were there, Nuevo) have never beach fished and plan on taking up beach fishing in this area. Everything I read says longer is better but I notice you use a 7′ spinning rig and the surf in this area doesn’t seen big enough to warrant a 10’er plus Being from Canada, I need a travel type rod to break down and was wondering if the 7′ is adequate for distance and lure size for the PV surf. It seems to work for you. I would appreciate knowing what weight range lures you use and what size of economical salt reel I should investigate for 2X’s a year use in PV. Would like the reel in the $100 – $150 range. Keep up the informative videos . The information is great. Greg
Hey Greg ?
Funny that you were in PV at the same time I was!
Yes the 7′ rod worked fine for me, especially considering I was casting smaller and lighter lures. The most popular lures for the Bay of Banderas from shore (at least from what I observed) were kastmaster metal type lures in the .5 ounce – 2 ounce range.
If you are only going to purchase one travel rod/reel setup, then maybe go with a Penn Battle 5000 (https://www.themightyfish.com/products/penn-battle-ii-spinning-reel?variant=12098448523371) spooled with 30 pound braid, and pair it with a St. Croix 7’6″ travel rod (https://www.themightyfish.com/products/st-croix-tidemaster-inshore-76-h-fast-travel-spinning-rod-3-pc). You might be able to find a similar, less expensive travel rod from Tsunami, but just make sure it can cast lures weighing up to 2 ounces.
That 7’6″ St. Croix travel rod setup might not be super ideal if you are fishing an oceanside beach with huge surf, like Punta Negra to the north of Nuevo, but for the bay of Banderas beaches I think it would work just fine. You could also take this rod/reel setup out on a boat. Panga boats are only $50/hour and there is good fishing close to shore, so hiring a boat might also be a cool thing to do next time you are down there.
Tight lines and LMK if I can help with anything else! ??
Thanks Ryan, your information is very helpful. What size bucktail were you using from the previous video? 3/4 – 1 oz?
I didn’t use any bucktail jigs while in Mexico, so I think you might be thinking of the teaser fly? That was a 4 inch fly that I fished about 1 foot ahead of a 2 ounce chrome Deadly Dick.
Hi, love your thread and videos. I grew up in MA, still visit Sandwich, MA every year to see family. Love love love fishing!! I fish everywhere!!! Well, I saw yur thread and was just in PVR over Thanksgiving. I fly for United Airlines, so I bring my fishing pole on lots of layovers. Anyway… can you recommend some spots and plugs for fishing PVR on my next layover there? We layover at the Sheraton… Thanks!! Keep up the great fishing!!! Love the videos!!! Sincerely, Brian
Thanks for checking out MFCC Brian! Great to hear you grew up in Sandwich. I’m very familiar with that town and I was actually at Cafe Chew yesterday.
Funny that we were in PVR at the same time. I was in the romantic zone, so a bit to the south of where you were, I think.
Los Muertos beach near the river is where most of the action occurred. The most productive lures were Kastmasters in the 1oz – 3oz range, which did a good job of imitating the 4 inch long sardines that were there in abundance.
Hey Brian,
My brother flew DC 10s out of Dulles for United after being in the Air Force for 20 years. Set up your next visit to Sandwich in late May and hit the first wave of big Bass coming through the Canal!
Wow! Great experience! Great trip. The Manta Ray was really beautiful! Nice Snapper too!
The snapper was delicious with some garlic and onions!
What where you using for bait to catch that red snapper?