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
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
It's Kim. Just wanted to tell you everything went smoothly, and this place "is to die for". OMG!! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Kim, Los Angeles
Everything was flawless. The car service is excellent, Villa Del Arco was great as always. Can't wait to go back.
Mark S., Cabo
Bob,
We had a wonderful vacation in Cabo. The condo was very nice, we all loved it! Everyone at the resort was very helpful and lovely! We certainly will come back and go through Destination Cabo!
We travel quit a bit and my only 3 topics of improvement which I'm not sure you can do much about:
wi-fi. Typically at high end resorts, paying for wi-fi no longer exists, felt nickel and dimmed having to pay $10/day/per device. The pool attendants are very kind and helpful, would be nice to not let people come down at sunrise and lay towels on chairs only to sit empty most of the day. If the pool attendants helped guests find chairs as they arrived, I think everyone would have a chair when and where they wanted. Perhaps even adding more cabanas: we would have rented a cabana, they only had 2 seats per cabana and would only let us reserve 2 of them, with 6 of us, did not work. I would also suggest the facility buy new towels for the condo, we had plenty. however, they are looking rather worn.
What we loved: The catered dinner on Christmas Day was amazing!
Your tips on everything including Costco and Walgreens saved big $$
Not buying the inclusive package was fantastic advice
Restaurants: our 20 something kids enjoyed Tabascos for lunch, Panchos for dinner was very good as was LaDolce.
Your transportation recommendation was terrific, service awesome
We all had a great time, everything you presented on your website was accurate.
Thank you for your help in making our Christmas memorable and Happy New Year!
Wendy
Wendy, Seattle
Our first time in Cabo, and your accommodations certainly spoiled us! We really enjoyed the activities here as well as Vill del Palmar which was great for the kids. We thank you!
Tom and Jodie
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
Thank you for everything! We had the greatest time in Cabo and will recommend you to all of our friends. Please send me all the specials you might have throughout the year. I wish we can go back soon.
Regards,
Lena
Lena V, LA
Greetings!! I must say that I had THE best time in Cabo recently. I booked my stay through this website and everything, and I mean everything, was perfect!! The price was unbeatable, first of all. The transportation that we booked couldn't have worked out better. The driver was right there waiting for us once we got off of the plane. The drive was smooth, the driver was pleasant and very informative. We were lucky and just missed the storm, so the weather was really nice. Humid, but nice.
I have never written a review for anything before. I had to make certain to do that this time. It was our first time staying in Cabo. Check-in went smoothly, and, the best part, our room. It exceeded our expectations. It was just like the pictures. We had the perfect veiw and the accomodations were wonderful. Bob, on behalf of my party of 4, I would like to say Muchisimas Gracias! for helping us have an AWESOME vacation. I have already been spreading the word about this website and the Villa Del Arco to all of my friends and co-workers. The hotel is gorgeous!! We are already planning our next getaway for Cabo. We want the bigger room with the spa on the balcony. That just sounds so relaxing. I can't wait. Thanks again
Jessalyn Starks, Califonis
Thank you! Kate and I had a great trip to Cabo for our 1 year anniversary. We definitely will be returning and wouldn't hesitate to book through DestinationCabo again! Thank you so much for your help, really everything couldn't have been easier for us from the transportation to check-in to check-out. The room was very nice too! One small snafu was just that for most of our first day, the hot water wasn't running, but the hotel had it fixed by that evening so it wasn't a big deal.
Mike Sprouse, LA
All was fantastic! I will definitely be a return customer of yours! Shana
Shana H., Sausalito