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., Pennsylvania
Our vacation was amazing! The accomodations and service at Estancia were fabulous- just 2 negative comments. La Casona steakhouse has terrible service and no one to complain to with their lack of English speaking employees. I will say that the gentleman who escorted us to our villa worned us when we walked by! The other issue was the food and beverage plan that we chose, $89 per day per person for a minimum of 3 days and when we went to renew they changed the rules on us. Neither was even enough to dampen our spirits. We loved the entire experience, would definitely stay on the property again and will recommend you and Destination Cabo to our friends.
Cathy Schwab, Leawood Kansas
Dear Bob,
Many thanx for all your help/advice when speaking last evening as well as making the booking process extremely easy. Rest assured, I'll certainly be recommending you and your firm!! Let me know if you ever find yourself in NH!!
Best regards,
Michael
Bob, thanks again - everything was perfect in Cabo with your help. I would recommend you to any of my friends and relatives to use your service if traveling to Cabo. Hope we can team up again Joe
Joe W., Houston
Marcus requested that I reply to your inquiry as my wife and I hosted this family vacation. First of all, the vacation was extraordinary and a memorable event for all 10 of us. It will be one in our top 5 taken as a family. The Villa Del Arco was a first class facility. It was clean and the help very attentive to our needs that included very active children ages 5,4,4, and 18 months. The penthouse suite was beautiful and very functional. The room layout, furniture, hot tub and decor was perfect. We won't forget the ocean views, ocean wave sounds, sun sets and the picturesque views of the pools and property. The additional room was also well appointed. We enjoyed the restaurants and found the quality of the food at both the Del Arco and Las Palmas(?) to be tasty and well prepared. The service was good at both locations. We had a great time and will likely return sometime in the future.
Fred S., Blue Springs, MI
There isn't anything you didn't think of. Everything is in a good place, we love it. The housekeeper was very thoughtful and pleasant. The villa is both clean and vibrant, we have never been to a villa that is so clean. Thanks for sharing your home with us. P.S. we will tell all friends about 1208!
I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful villa. Just returned last night and we had a wonderful time. The accommodations couldn't have been any nicer. The staff, the spa, transportation, etc. Everything was top of the line. If you ever want to give my name and number as a referral, I'd be happy for you to. Thanks again and will definitely be calling in the future. Thanks again!
Mitzi D., Clarksville Virginia
Just returned home last night and wanted to let you know that all was wonderful! The resort was beautiful and your place was so nice and had everything that we needed (and more!). We ended up not doing the AI but did our shopping at WalMart to stock up on the seafood! We followed your recommendations regarding restaurants and had some great meals in town. The whales also cooperated and they put on quite the show (we actually could pick what group to actually follow as there were multiple pods!) All and all a great vacation and hope to do it again. Thanks again.
Ian & Tracy, Gig Harbor, WA
I just wanted to drop you a quick email to let you know we had a wonderful time in Cabo. Villa Del Arco was beautiful and we could not have asked for a better room or room location. I also wanted to thank you for quickly taking care of the small snag for us at check in so quickly. I was starting to sweat it but it turned out seamless. We are interested in maybe staying at the Villa Group hotel in Cancun next year during Christmas break. Would you be able to help us with those reservations?
Laurie
Laurie, San Jose CA
Great trip, great accommodations, great service, beautiful weather. We had a great time and thanks for coordinating. Would definitely go back again.
Joe B., Falls Church, VA