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
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,
I meant to contact you before this, but we've had some busy times since we got back. We were down there to celebrate our 25th anniversary, but this year is also my parents 50th and we were busy with that. We had an awesome experience. Everything went very smoothly. We loved the resort. The service was wonderful. Somewhere I had read a review that the concierge was only there to try to sell timeshares and not be helpful, but that was not the case at all for us. Julia was who we primarily dealt with and once we told her we weren't in the position or interested in buying right now due to children in college, she never pursued it, and was very helpful making local calls to confirm reservations we had. The others were also helpful when we had questions and never pushed us. Your advice was helpful especially getting through the timeshare pitches at the airport. We absolutely loved our time in Cabo and will definitely return and try to book through Destination Vacations!! Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Lori
As I sit in Los Angeles, shivering from the cold air, I'm dreaming of the warm breezes that blew into our Villa del Arco room, the amazing salsa, fresh grilled fish and lovely people of Mexico. We were completely overwhelmed when we walked into the end unit and saw the most amazing view of the ocean from our patio doors. Icing on the already sweet cake was having that wonderful personal hot tub on the patio. It was beyond our expectations! We encountered a couple of minor issues but the positive aspects of Villa del Arco far outweighed those issues. We enjoyed being just far enough away from The Office and Mango Deck to not hear all the noise yet it was close enough to walk to when we wanted some action.
I was a little apprehensive to pay up front for the condo instead of paying upon checkout but everything turned out wonderful! Thank you again for hooking us up in a ROCKIN' condo and putting an exclamation point on our wonderful girls vaca. LOVE CABO and will definitely use Destination Cabo again.
Debbie H
Debra Hoffman, El Sugundo California
I Loved It!! All of the staff is amazing there. Two of my waiters by the pool were Juan and Raymundo and they were great, I loved water aerobics everyday with Hugo and the entire entertainment staff at night was funny and very enjoyable!! Also, Bagous, the cook at the Japanese restaurant was so good!
I had such a good time and enjoyed Cabo so much I am now looking to relocate there!
Thank you for your response, I wanted to make sure everyone got the credit they deserve!!
Best Regards,
Amanda
Bob,
Everything went real well. The people at the Palmar were very helpful and courteous. I successfully avoided all the time share creepers. The grounds and pools were beautiful and the rooms were nice. The weather was great. It was obviously spring break time when we were there, but we already expected what comes with that and since we brought 3 teenagers with us we only contributed to the problem.
Thx for everything -
Nat & Tricia
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
We had an amazing time in Cabo. Thank you for the recommendation for Del Arco.The penthouse fit our family of five's needs perfectly. We were close enough to all the restaurants and fun in downtown Cabo (about a $7 cab ride or 25 minute stroll down the beach) but far enough away to avoid the cruise ship scene and crowds. Having the breakfast included in our rental worked out great as they served until 12 pm, late enough for our teenagers to enjoy the full breakfast buffet each day. The snorkel trip included was perfect, we saw whales and enjoyed a day on the ocean. The snorkel spot was crowded but the kids enjoyed jumping off the rocks and the view of the arch was very nice. The airport transportation to and from the airport you arrange was perfect, even stopping at Costco on the way in for a 25 minute power shopping to stock up for the week.
Our room was spacious, clean and a great view from the huge wrap around balcony including jacuzzi with an full ocean view to watch the sunsets. There were a few issue with jacuzzi and showers but maintenance showed up immediately to fix any issue. The spa at Del Arco is very nice and the massage rooms are wonderful. I've had many massages and the neck, back and shoulder massage I received was one of the best ever.
Thank you for your help in planning this trip. We had a great time!
Karen Schultz, Atherton, CA
Thank you for arranging our stay at Villa Del Arco/Villa La Estancia. We have visited Cabo several times, and have always stayed at La Estancia, but this last stay was the easiest and best vacation, largely due to you. You had the ability to work out a vacation for us on the exact dates we needed, which I could not do on my own through VRBO or other sources. I will definitely call you the next time we plan to visit Cabo, which will hopefully be next year at this time.
The car service we arranged through your contacts was very good and reliable. The driver was very pleasant and had a plethora of information for us about the area.
My family had never stayed at Del Arco before. I can honestly say that Del Arco was equally as beautiful and comfortable as La Estancia. We will gladly stay at either resort in the future.
I can also honestly say that in the future I will save my time and call you directly instead of trying to work a deal through VRBO. Your rates are competitive and your resource of the large number of units you represent makes trip details easily arrangeable.
Thank you for the wonderful Christmas trip.
Kurtis and Rory
Lubbock, TX
Kurtis & Rory , Lubbuck, TX
The place was great just the internet was a bit difficult at times but worked it out. The lady that came out to trouble shoot the problem was great and at the end it all worked out. Thanks for the great place we all had a blast.
Pat G., Dana point, CA
The trip went very well. Thanks for letting me rent your place at an affordable rate! The resort and your assistance met all of my expectations. Thanks again
G. Ramirez