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
Hi Bob.....
We had a great time in Cabo...Loved the accommodations, the rooms were great. Loved the view of Land's End. The food was the best I've had at an all-inclusive, as were the drinks. When I ordered a beer it came in a can, not a dixie cup. It was a little confusing at first on what was included, because we had to sign for everything, but got that figured out, and was no problem. Will definitely stay here again. I am planning a trip for about 6 couples, so if you could send me some information to pass on that would be great.
Thanks for all you help.
Patsy
Hi Bob. I have put reviews on trip advisor but wanted to contact you directly too.. The tour on La Gringa was outstanding! The crew was an asset to Jose, the local coordinator & Destination Vacations. By booking through you this has been an affordable holiday for my family. It takes over 24hrs to get to Mexico from Australia so expectations were high, & meet!! Thank you
Shona Fairleigh, Australia
What a place!! My girlfriends and I had an exceptional time in Cabo! Villa 3201 was incredible! Spacious (plenty of room for 8 comfortably), clean, updated, warm, and inviting, not to mention the view!!! The catering services we used on site were top notch. I was expecting a Mexican taco bar brought to the villa in aluminum trays and on a more "serve yourself" type fare. Not so! It was a full-on 5 course personally served gourmet meal! What a pleasant surprise! The staff couldn't have been more professional. From the time we stepped off the plane until we got back to the airport! PERFECT! Thank you, Bob, for all your help. You went above and beyond and I so appreciate it! Sorry we didn't ever connect but maybe next time! Take care and thanks again for everything!
Cheers!
Mary B.
The picture is the night of the Mexican taco bar! (I'm in the pink!!) :)
Mary Buntmann, Greenwood Colorado
My wife and I could not have asked for a more beautiful villa to spend our 10 year anniversary at than in Bob and Sue's Villa 1208 at the Villa La Estancia! Every detail about their villa was phenomenal!! We enjoyed cooking meals in the kitchen and eating them outside in the warm August breezes. Their housekeeper, Yvonne, ws very nice and did a great job of cleaning things and keeping everything tidy. We loved hanging out at the pool every day and got to "ride out" our first tropical storm, Julio. I already told my wife that I could see us coming back to Villa 1208 every year!!! Thanks again!
Todd and Nanette Seattle, WA
We had a great time. The place was much better than I expected. I don't think the pictures do it justice. The view was unbelievable. We loved it!!! Keep me on your list. The price was great.
Linda L., Roseville, CA
The trip to Cabo was absolutely AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much for all your help and for getting us upgraded to the penthouse. We will definately make plans to go back next year. I was very skeptical bacause we have been to Cancun - Wow not even fair to put them in same sentence. Thanks again for helping us with a wonderful experience and great trip.
Kim S., Gainsville, GA
Hi Bob,
Just wanted to let you know the tripadvisor review is finally posted. Our internet name is happy traveler. And the review is titled Stunning location, perfect for our needs, Incredible Staff! We were very thorough and complimentary about everything. Thanks again for all your help.
Lela & Joseph
Bob,
We had a wonderful vacation in Cabo. The condo was very nice, we all loved it! Everyone at the resort was very helpful and lovely! We certainly will come back and go through Destination Cabo!
We travel quit a bit and my only 3 topics of improvement which I'm not sure you can do much about:
wi-fi. Typically at high end resorts, paying for wi-fi no longer exists, felt nickel and dimmed having to pay $10/day/per device. The pool attendants are very kind and helpful, would be nice to not let people come down at sunrise and lay towels on chairs only to sit empty most of the day. If the pool attendants helped guests find chairs as they arrived, I think everyone would have a chair when and where they wanted. Perhaps even adding more cabanas: we would have rented a cabana, they only had 2 seats per cabana and would only let us reserve 2 of them, with 6 of us, did not work. I would also suggest the facility buy new towels for the condo, we had plenty. however, they are looking rather worn.
What we loved: The catered dinner on Christmas Day was amazing!
Your tips on everything including Costco and Walgreens saved big $$
Not buying the inclusive package was fantastic advice
Restaurants: our 20 something kids enjoyed Tabascos for lunch, Panchos for dinner was very good as was LaDolce.
Your transportation recommendation was terrific, service awesome
We all had a great time, everything you presented on your website was accurate.
Thank you for your help in making our Christmas memorable and Happy New Year!
Wendy
Wendy, Seattle
We had a great Spring Break in Cabo!! Thanks for all of your information, it really helped! All 16 of us had a blast!
Jennifer , Hasting, MI
We had the most amazing time in Cabo, and the resort was much more than we imagined. It looks very nice on the internet, but to see it in person is so much more -- it was truly beautiful. The staff was so friendly and more than willing to assist us with any questions.
We would also like to thank the two of you for all your patience and assistance throughout the planning of our vacation. You were so helpful and really put our minds at ease. We will definitely rent from you again on our next trip to Mexico.
Ed McKenna and Kris Dever, Seattle Washington