Named spots
| Spot | Type | Depth | From nearest port |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banderas Canyon | canyon | 731 fm | – |
| Middle America Trench | feature | – | – |
| Tres Marías Basin | feature | 2418 fm | – |
Nearby buoys
2026-10-19 10:40 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46014
2026-10-19 10:30 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46026
2026-10-19 10:00 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46012
2026-10-19 10:30 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46042
2026-10-19 10:30 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46059
2026-10-19 10:30 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46028
Latest NOAA NDBC observations. Satellite and in water readings may differ.
Fishing Puerto Vallarta / Banderas
Puerto Vallarta fishes warm and tropical, and the chart leans into that. Banderas Bay is deep blue water that drops off fast, so you are working warm tropical water, current edges and the color changes where cleaner blue meets greener or cooler water rather than any hard cold seam. The hunt here is about finding the temperature breaks and the color edges offshore, and the warm water that sets up over the deep structure, which is where the big pelagics hunt.
Structure does a lot of the work off Vallarta. Roca Corbeteña, a pinnacle roughly twenty five to thirty miles northwest, and El Banco, a seamount out around forty nine miles northwest, are the classic offshore targets, with Punta Mita, Cabo Corrientes and El Morro adding edges and points closer in. A temperature or color break sitting over one of those high spots is the spot to look for, which is why pairing the SST and chlorophyll layers with the depth contours matters so much here.
Seasonally this is a big game fishery when the warm water pushes in. Black and blue marlin are the headline, with fish over four hundred pounds showing in the better stretches, and large yellowfin tuna in the one hundred to two hundred fifty pound class work the same grounds. Sailfish and dorado fill in offshore, and roosterfish patrol the inshore rocks and beaches. The marlin and tuna offshore tend to peak from fall into winter. None of it is promised. Warm years and cool years look different, and seasons and regulations change, so always check current rules.
The move is to watch where the warm blue water and the breaks are stacking up over Corbeteña, El Banco and the points, and to run to the edge that has the temperature, the color and the structure all working together rather than chasing warm water with no edge to it.
What you get with ReelTemps
- Sea surface temperatureFind the temperature break
- Chlorophyll-aSpot the green-to-blue color seam
- Composite & single passBlended picture or the freshest overpass
- CompareTemperature and color side by side
- Depth readoutFathoms and feet on hover, tap or mark
- Currents & buoysSee the water move and ground-truth it
- Route, ruler & waypointsPlan the run and save your spots
From the water
I've tried every temp map out there and they all feel like they were built ten years ago. I'm not exactly a tech guy, but this one actually makes sense the second you open it. First time using it, I marked a break in about 30 seconds the night before and boated bluefin right on it the next morning.
Used to burn half a tank driving around looking for color change or a solid temp break. Now I check ReelTemps before I leave the dock and I know exactly where I'm going. Less time driving around guessing, more time with lines in the water.
Albacore season used to mean a couple hours of homework the night before and just hoping it held up. Now I do most of my research that morning and pull it up on my phone if things change once we're out there. Makes calling an audible a lot easier.