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
Wanted to let you know we had a wonderful time at La Estancia. The staff is top notch. The facility very well taken care of, beautiful. Our room was huge!
We also booked transport with Transpacifico, and would recommend that to everyone! The only way to go! Only wish I would have read my voucher again before getting off the plane. DO NOT listen to anybody coming out! Go directly to your driver is right!!
Overall, we would come back and loved our stay!
Thank you very much!
Heidi
Heidi Houser, Preston Washington
Bob,
The family had a great time. We had an unbelievable whale sighting, jumping in the air and all, from our Jet Skis! What a trip. Even got some pictures. The place is really very nice. Unbelievably clean, and employees were very kind a gracious, and spoke pretty good English too! We declined the food plan, and found some pretty good places in town, via the concierge and owners. The vendors were a little annoying, but I guess I wasn't expecting it. Thank you for hooking us up and working with us on the room. We did enjoy room service on our last evening with Grandma and Grandpa and watched the Academy Awards. It was really comfortable.
Thank you -
Regards,
Gail
Great job! The accommodations were spectacular and the welcome basket a nice touch. We had special turn down service each night and one night there was a complimentary bubble bath turn down service. Everyone at Los Arcos was wonderful and the entire trip went off without a hitch! Thank you again.
Steve K., Mukilteo, WA
We thoroughly enjoyed our Villa La Estancia stay with you last year and we're interested in another trip this year.
Steve , San Jose, CA
Bob
I just wanted to thank you for all the help you provided us to make our vacation to Cabo a great one. We went to Peacocks, Ediths, La Dolce, Sancho panza and loved them all. All your recommendations were right on. We loved our accomodations and the great location to the beach and pool. My husband took a course there which he is allowed to write off. Could you send me a receipt for the hotel as well as a receipt from the transportation? Once again,thanks
Carla
Thank you so much for all your help organizing our trip to Cabo. We had a FABULOUS time. This is a part of Mexico we had not been to before and we are now captivated by its beauty and culture! La Estancia was a perfect place for us. We loved having the opportunity to cook for ourselves in the condo paired with the option to enjoy the culinary flavors of the local favorites. The condo was huge and the balcony views were magnificent. The condo was very clean and we were amazed that we didn't see any bugs the entire week! The consierge staff were superb. They were helpful, friendly and resourceful. We enjoyed the 20-30 minute walk to town and felt safe walking at anytime of day or night. The beach was magnificent and we loved the cool ocean water and the waves!! Loved seeing the humpback whales as well. Can't wait until next time!
Judy Tobias, Eden Prairie Minnesota
Our trip was fantastic. The property was everything that was promised, thank you. We enjoyed many of your restaurant suggestions, went snorkeling and sport fishing. My son caught a 150 pound marlin :)
Staff at the resort are fabulous, very attentive and helpful. The weather was great and the waters calm. It rates among our best family holidays. I look forward to connecting with you in the future.
Todd F., Kamloops, BC
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 Kent, Portland Oregon
The place was really so beautiful we loved it so much. Thanks for letting us stay in your villa we have created some memorable moments here thanks once again. We will sure come back again and ask for 1208 villa. The Carveys
Thank you so much, we had an amazing family reunion! All of the reservations were just as we had planned, had no problems with the transportation! Thank you again for everything! I will get testimonials from our other family members and send them to you as well. We were all very impressed.
Matt E., Anchorage, AK