Cabo San Lucas is known as “The Marlin Capital of the World” and it is home to some of the best sport fishing in general. Anglers come from around the world to catch the striped, black, and blue marlin and many more of the 5,000 different species living in the Sea of Cortez. Whether you are a rookie angler or a seasoned pro, everyone can have a great time reeling in the biggest catch of their life out on the Los Cabos waters. Sport fishing in Cabo San Lucas has brought in some of the best charter boat companies, tournaments, and anglers from all over. You can charter a smaller 4 man boat or celebrate with all your friends on one of the state-of-the-art all inclusive yachts that can host up to 25 guests. If you are planning a trip to Cabo San Lucas, do not pass up the opportunity to go sport fishing, it is an adventure you will remember forever.
Cabo San Lucas Fishing - General Information
Los Cabos Charter Boats: It is highly recommended that you reserve a charter boat far in advance, and at latest up to one week before you arrive in Cabo San Lucas. You can reserve anything from a shared charter to help lower the costs if you only have one or two people all the way up to 8, 12, and 25 person super yachts. View a list of Cabo San Lucas sport fishing charters or read advice on sharing a fishing charter.
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Costs: A smaller vessel that will fit up to four people will generally cost around $500 for an eight hour day, not including taxes, fees, gratuity, cleaning and freezing, etc. If you have a large group, expect to pay upwards of $1,500 for a whole day on a nicer boat or $2,800+ for a yacht. It is expected that you tip your captain anywhere between 10-20% of the total charter price, which he will share with his deckhand. Tipping should be related to their quality of service, not for the amount of fish you caught on the trip. If you plan on keeping any fish, you will have to pay for the cleaning and freezing once you get back to the docks; price depends on size of fish.
Catch and Release: Although the Los Cabos area is well known for its abundance of large sailfish, you are only legally allowed to bring in one sailfish per day. Most anglers will catch and release all of their sailfish and bring in the smaller game fish that are great for eating like tuna, Dorado, Wahoo, and yellowtail. Bring your fresh fish back to your resort’s restaurant and for a small fee they will cook your fish for dinner that evening… nothing better than fresh fish that you caught with your own hands.
What to Bring: After several margaritas the night before and an early meeting time with your captain, people will often forget the bare essentials. Here are several items that you must remember if you want the fishing trip to be fun for your group: sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, warm clothes for the early morning, camera, Dramamine for sea sickness (take one hour prior to setting sail), lunch and beer if you didn’t pay in advance for them to be included, and towel for when you get wet.
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Season: Sport fishing is great year around in Baja, but there are several months where the big prized marlins are biting. If you want to catch a blue or black marlin, your best bet is to head down sometime between June and October. View our entire Cabo San Lucas fishing calendar for a complete breakdown of what fish are biting and when. Read over our insider fishing tips to ensure a successful adventure your next time visiting Baja California.
Complete Cabo San Lucas Fishing Guide
Reviews
Our Cabo vacation at Villa la Estancia far exceeded our expectations. While I am always nervous about accommodations in foreign countries, Bob from EstanciaCabo.com was quick to answer all my questions and calm my fears. Check in at the hotel was a breeze, and the staff could not have been more helpful! The room was very clean, spacious, and beautiful. Additionally, the grounds of the hotel were pristine. Not a day went by when the staff wasn't constantly cleaning, trimming, and polishing. Estancia is the perfect distance from town - a 3 minute cab ride or short walk along the beach. We could not have been happier with our experience! We were so happy with Estancia that we are having all our guests stay there for our June 2011 wedding, and we will certainly be using EstanciaCabo.como for all of our reservations!
Thank you so much, Patrick and Donielle (St Louis, MO)
You did it again. As you know we are frequent visitors to Los Cabos and the surrounding area. Since this was going to be a longer trip I felt I should give you a call for the best deal at our favorite Vill del Arco. Once again you did a great job! From the incredibly reliable service of transportation to and from the resort to the room itself, everything was perfect. Knowing a bit about the resort I was able to secure a top floor room near the penthouse for a small upgrade fee which due to your incredible rates made perfect sense. We also added the "All Inclusive" to our stay upon arrival and were very, very pleased with our decision, it really is all inclusive!
Villa del Arco and really all the Villa properties are very well managed and the rooms are always very clean, not to mention the incredible staff. All the way from the groundskeepers to the management.
We will be calling again soon because unlike other travel providers to Cabo you go above and beyond to make your clients stay, as easy and relaxing as possible.
Can't thank you enough.
Craig
Craig L., Farmington, NM
We had a great time and I really appreciate the hassle free room booking. Nice for the hotel to be expecting you versus some of the horror stories you read about. The accomodations were great and just as you explained.
Thanks again for your help, explanations and advise.
Kind Regards,
Richard
Richard Anderson, Kensington New Hampshire
Hi Bob,
Thank you for arranging our stay at Villa La Estancia, the place was absolutely beautiful, clean and organized. We enjoyed our stay very much and we already passed the word around to family and friends. I am sure you will hear from us pretty soon.
Thanks Mike
Hi Bob! Thank you for your business. We enjoyed stay at Villa del Arco. We refer you for our friends in San Diego, Seattle and Orange County.
Thank you.
Lev.
Lev , San Diego
Hello Bob,
I wanted to get back with you in regards to our family trip July 15-22. We had a wonderful time. I actually called my source who I met when we were there the previous April. Our rooms were the same as before and the views were even better. As always, we had an amazing time. We only left the Villa Del Arco the night before we left to eat at La Golindrina (Spelling). That restaurant was unbelievably excellent!!! I highly recommend it. The food was amazing, the service impeccable and so kid friendly! Thank you for the wonderful rates! If you ever run any specials at any of your locations, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Lauren
We loved Villa Del Arco and definitely plan on going back. Our view was spectacular especially for the New Years Eve fireworks display. The spaciousness of the 2 bdrm/3bath unit was perfect for our family of four. All the employees were very kind and helpful. Thank you again.
Lisa B., Overland Park, KS
Thank you! Kate and I had a great trip to Cabo for our 1 year anniversary. We definitely will be returning and wouldn't hesitate to book through DestinationCabo again! Thank you so much for your help, really everything couldn't have been easier for us from the transportation to check-in to check-out. The room was very nice too! One small snafu was just that for most of our first day, the hot water wasn't running, but the hotel had it fixed by that evening so it wasn't a big deal.
Mike Sprouse, LA
My wife and I absolutely loved our 10 day stay at Villa La Estancia in Los Cabos. We stayed in Villa 1208 and the unit was amazing! With the hotel units being owned it is calmer and more elegant than most of the other resorts there. One of the highlights of our vacation was going out of the Marina on the "La Gringa Boat Tour" with our new friends. It is Cabo's newest powered catamaran tour, offering unforgettable whale watching, snorkeling and fun filled sunset tours that include the iconic Cabo Arch at Land's End on the confluence of the tranquil Sea of Cortez and mighty Pacific Ocean. The La Gringa crew was fun, informative, friendly and entertaining. They served us up a delicious lunch and snacks, chips, guacamole, and Mexican salsa with complementary open bar and soft drinks. We saw Blue whales and had a fantastic lunch then enjoyed snorkeling the calm, fish filled shallow waters off a secluded beach. The entire trip was first class and a great value, we are looking forward to going back soon.
Thank you! David & Tricia
Dave and Tricia, Lake Oswego
Everything went as planned. The room was spacious and clean. The chips, salsa and margarita upon arrival was a nice touch! Your van transportation was fantastic. We had Roberto. Great guy.
We would book through you again.
Michael C., Irving TX