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
Thanks for taking the time to come to La Gringa marina to meet us before our sunset cruise! We had a wonderful time in Cabo with our family. The penthouse suite at Villa Del Arco was beautiful. We had our New Years Eve dinner there, steaks on the grill and could see the fireworks from our room. It was great to have a hot tub right there. We ate most of our lunches at the Buccaneer and went into town for dinner. Your recommendations were helpful. The kids enjoyed the kayaks and jet skis. We appreciate all your help in arranging transfers and the sunset cruise. It was a very enjoyable trip for our family. Hope to see you again sometime.
Nancy S., Penn.
We had a great time! The villa was excellent & the transportation to & from airport was right on time! Perfect- we'd do it again!
Lisa F., Roseville, CA
Hey Bob -- Just wanted to let you know that everything worked out great with our trip to Cabo. Accommodations with Villa del Arco went smoothly, shuttle to/from the airport right on time. Thanks for setting it up and making it easy for us.
Carlyn, Bothel, WA
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
We recently returned from our annual trip to Cabo and this year was the best of the four years we have visited Cabo. The two bedroom suite we rented at Villa La Estancia was very spacious, open viewed, and well decorated. Villa La Estancia is probably the most quiet and laid back of the three resorts located nearby. We also liked the restaurants that was located on the property. For the first time, we purchased the 3 day mini all inclusive package and that worked out very well. One of our more exciting adventures was a deep sea fishing trip that included eight guests with plenty of room to roam around on the charter. The charter company was Sol Mar and we were the only charter that was successful catching a Tuna, a Dolphin (Dorado), and yes, a Marlin. We had the Tuna and Dorado prepared for us that evening and was most delicious. The weather was perfect and actually much cooler than Texas. We could not have asked for a better vacation.
Mark Bauer, Dallas TX
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 had a wonderful trip! The weather was beautiful and the condo was perfect We could not have dreamed of better accommodations. Thank you for letting us stay here for the week. I loved Cabo San Lucas and I hope to return soon to visit the beautiful city again. This was the perfect vacation! Thank you,
Just wanted to thank you for helping us book the Villa in Cabo. Everything turned out great, and the place was nice.
Hiten
We had a great time and everything was perfect. The villa was awesome and the transportation provided was great. I appreciate your assistance and will contact you next time we head down south.
Thanks
Jeff
Jeff Galloway, Washougal Washington
We had a GREAT trip! Hadn't been to Cabo in 9 years so we had HUGE sticker shock. Wondering how much of that was spring break or just that Cabo has gotten a lot more expensive. We felt that it was Hawaii prices. Wish we'd thought to do the discount card as you recommended. Just ran out of time.
Wow, the town/highway/growth had changed. All good but somewhat sad to see all the American comforts (Walmart, Costco, Home Depot). Thankfully the water and people were still exceptionally authentic.
The resort was amazing. Our suite was just perfect for the 7 of us - plenty of room, nice to have washer and dryer, comfortable beds, great shower pressure. At first we were sad to not be located on a higher floor and right behind the pirate ship but it ended up being a great location for the kids going back and forth to the room. What we loved most, having spent all our vacations at Palmar, was how quiet and secluded Arcos felt and wasn't filled with drunk spring breakers (there were plenty on the beach on either side of us, but Arcos felt like its own little Oasis). We loved the trolly to the market and access to the whale slide. The pools at Arco were clean and maintained and the beach in front was clean and cared for and the vendors were not pushy at all but rather fun to talk to.
Amazing, friendly service. Highlights: Mariano the bellman, Leticia the massage therapist at the spa, all the receptionists at the workout room/spa, our housekeeper who put up with 5 boys, Horatio who gave us the tour but was not high pressure to buy (although we seriously considered it). The hospitality suite and workout rooms were great, clean, up to date. The spa was luxurious beyond belief. I would have forgone food the entire week just to spend a few days there. The food in both restaurants and Tortuga at Palmar was average so we ate mostly in town and at Office and at Mango Deck.
We rented a car and went to Cerritos and Todos Santos. What a great day and I'd highly recommend that.
Overall A+. We would love to rent from you again, but at non-peak season. Do you have places in other resorts around the world?
Meg
Meg, Boulder, CO