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
Thank you Bob. Everything worked out perfect. Starting with transportation from the airport, to the amazing 2-bedroom suite with beautiful views, the pool, restaurants, and very friendly service of the staff. The six of us in the suite had all-inclusive, and that is the only way to go. We will be calling you for our next Cabo trip. Hopefully soon!!
Laura A., Hanford, CA
Bob, Great time. I think Arco has upped their attention to detail....wonderful new SVS(I think thats the service). We felt llike we were at the Taj Mahal and royalty. Very nice touch!! And yes the towel colors are the same tan stripe. Thanks Again...til next visit.
Wende B., Navato, CA
Very nice place. Staff was able to repair the master bedroom toilet that had a sticky valve. Everything else was fabulous. The unit layout is perfect.
On the extremely positive side, my business partner has a number of investment type properties and has been staying in different type properties around the world, and yours is the best he's ever been in and was quite impressed.
Your Cabo guide is great and you were right on with the restaurant recommendations. We ate lunch at Tobascos everyday, although their prices have gone up a bit...
Thanks again, and we hope to come back some day.
Ray V.
I really enjoyed myself and am eagerly looking forward to my next visit. My family had the best vacation of their lives, and I got to eat some really great food and drink delicious sangria. I highly recommend this place to all interested parties.
Villa La Estancia - #1303
Just a note to thank you so much for all of your recommendations regarding our trip to Cabo. I can't tell you how happy and impressed we were with our accommodations. What a beautiful place!!! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect vacation - everything about our trip was first class. Your suggestion about taking a private taxi to and from the hotel was very much appreciated. Our day trip on La Gringa was probably the highlight of our trip. We decided to take a private tour with our group of 7 - probably more expensive but worth every dime. Jose Luis did a fantastic job on lunch, and Arturo and Miguel (Captain and First Mate) were the best in seeing that we were well taken care of. Again, thank you for a wonderful vacation. Will definitely keep you in mind for a future trip to Cabo.
Maria Pastor, Baton Rouge LA
Just want to tell you what a spectacular time we had in Cabo!
Highlights were fishing -we each caught a 30-40 pound tuna! - with Pocho's charters. (Highly recommend them.) They prepared dinner at Pocho's restaurant that night- sashimi and grilled tuna. Wonderful.
We also had dinner at Pedregal- Capella- what an amazing dining setting!
We also sailed on the America's cup racing boats one afternoon.
Weather was fantastic. The Villa was SOOO nice!
Thank you for helping make all this possible. We would definitely consider doing it again!
Wendy
Wendy, Portland, OR
We had a great visit to Cabo and loved staying at Arco. The little touches like the free bottle of wine and basket of food in the room along with nightly tastings brought to us from the restaurant and little spa gifts left on our bed were unexpected and made it even more special. We had a great time and would love to go back soon! Thanks so much and please keep my e-mail in case you have any future specials!
Lisa B.
The trip was great and the all inclusive package you supplied was a great value. We couldn't believe how much was included. The transportation to and from the airport that you arranged was seamless and very comfortable-thanks. One suggestion, add La Fonda to your list of restaurants - it was outstanding.
And yes La Gringa Adventure tour was great a good value and lots of fun and we saw 3 whales-a Pop, Mom and Baby...
All the best for the new year.
Gary S., LA
Thank you so much for the use of your condo and all the helpful hints in planning our trip. We had a great week. Hope to come back and visit again The girls had a great time experiencing the night life in Cabo as did we. Thanks Again, John and Jane
The resort was great. I did read about unfriendly staff when checking in, and was prepared for that to happen. It never did happen. Everyone at del arco was helpful, friendly, and pleasant. Thank you for a wonderful vacation.
Greg Gursey