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 Bob we had a wonderful vacation in your villa. We caught a 150 lb. tuna on the ninja and had some exquisite meals here at the villa. Deanna #1 thank you from our hears! Much Luck, Art and Deanna Phoenix AZ 2009
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
We had a great time. We've stayed at Villa Del Arco probably 5 times over the last 7 years and enjoyed the facility and services. Overall, we had a great time there with our daughters and would go back to this resort again. Thanks for the follow up and have a great day!
Lori
Lori W., Springfield MI
Our family of 6 had a wonderful time at gorgeous Villa Del Arco. I was very impressed by Destination Cabo. In particular, Bob was very informative and patient with all my questions. He secured us a great room at a great price, and he took care of all the details, making the trip planning much easier for me. It's very difficult to find accommodations in which our family can be together without having to book 2 separate rooms, so this hotel is a gem to me. It was a pleasure doing business.
This is the first vacation ever, that I was not ready to end, and I cannot wait to return. Thank you Bob and thank you Villa Del Arco, for an outstanding vacation.
Sincerely,
JoAnn O.
Chicago
JoAnn O., Chicago
Cabo was fabulous!! Everyone was very pleased with the resort and had a great time. The next time we go back to Cabo I would like to stay at the Villa Del Arco. That was beautiful!! But, the Villa Del Palmar was perfect with all of the kids.
Patty , Hastings, MI
What a great trip! We absolutely loved Cabo. It was our first trip to Mexico and we weren't sure what to expect. Thankfully you had sent Destination Vacations Welcomes You To Cabo download. It was amazingly helpful to us in planning transportation, shopping and activities. Our transportation through Transpacifico was seamless including a planned stop at Costco! Our room at Villa Estancia was gorgeous and spacious. Our three daughters 18,15 and 10 had plenty of space to change their bathing suits hundreds of times without running into each other. We loved the pool, swim up bar and beautiful beach. The water was cooler than we had expected but it didn't stop our girls from playing and swimming in the waves. We loved the Villa Del Palmar Fiesta with the dancing and Mexican buffet. With so many activities to choose from, we have to plan another vacation back to Cabo. Maybe next time without the kids!
Thanks again for your prompt response and helpful information,
Lynne
Lynne K., Chanhassen, MN
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
Gail and I had a fabulous time. The Villa de Arco was as advertised and our room was exactly as the pictures you sent. As you remember we had scheduled to stay 5 days in 1601, then move to 1501 for the last two nights. The guests coming to stay in 1601 called the hotel and were stuck in the states so we got to spend our whole stay in 1601, a nice treat. We enjoyed the fresh desserts delivered to our door nightly by the head chef and the little touches by the maid staff (towels that looked like swans and a turned down bed designed differently every night). The transportation to and from the airport was timely and efficient. This time of year was a bit muggy and we did get rained on 2 1/2 days, limiting our water activities but so what. It even rained so much one night that our ceiling leaked and the staff offered to move us to another room. Not necessary as it dried up quickly and was no real bother at all. All in all a tremendous stay and well worth it. We look forward to using your services again. Tommy & Gail O'Rourke
Tommy & Gail O'Rourke
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
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