Los Cabos Mexico offers some of the finest ocean Sportfishing in the world! This Baja region where the Sea of Cortes meets the Pacific Ocean at the vivid world known rock arch provides excellent fishing opportunities for numerous types of fish. These fish range from Marlin, Swordfish, Wahoo, Shark, Dorado (Mahi Mahi), Yellowfin Tuna, Snapper and Roosterfish. You never have to worry about going to Los Cabos during fishing season as it is always fishing season, with the peak times being May, June, December and January. Los Cabos is rated in amongst the top 5 fishing destination on earth and is known as “The Marlin Capital of the World!”
There are over 500 fishing vessels in Los Cabos that offer fishing charter opportunities for your luck to catch the fish of a lifetime! The challenge is to be able to find the right fishing Charter that will get you on the fish while feeling safe, upholding professional integrity and conservation efforts.
In the past 20 years Los Cabos has become a very large tourism destination which brings the aggressive timeshare companies and sales agents. A person shopping for a fishing charter can be easily fooled by a one of these companies. The rates will sound appealing, but you can bet that their priority is not to get you onto the fish but to sell you a timeshare property. I highly recommend not booking a fishing charter through a timeshare representative but to contact a legit fishing charter directly.
There are 3 primary ways to book a fishing charter during your stay in Los Cabos:
1) Book online prior to your trip. (I highly recommend to get a referral of a company first before doing this)
2) Book through your resort representative during your stay.
3) Go to the San Lucas Marina and deal with the fishing charters directly. This is the most effective way to get the best price. Look for flags on incoming boats. Each time a boat catches fish they have to fly a flag on their boat as they come into port. The company with the most flags knows where to find the fish!
My wife Marina and I have fished Cabos San Lucas twice over the past year. After bartering with numerous fishing charters and making our way through all the timeshare representatives we finally found a very reputable company on the south west side of the marina; Mucho Loco Sportfishing. In the first few moments of walking into the office and meeting the owner Rafael, I knew we found the right company. Rafael is a fisherman, not a salesman! He is very honest and does not try to barter deals as he has integrity in his prices and belief in the value that he provides in his charters. Through my experience in Cabo I quickly learnt that Rafael is one of the most respected charter owners on the docks by fellow fishing charters/captains and his customers that keep returning year over year! The rest of the crew is very friendly and they work very hard to get you onto fish! The guides speak decent English and do a great job of keeping you entertained during your excursion. Our favorite guide is Jose; I highly recommend that you ask for him!
Rafael has been chartering in Los Cabos for over 25 years and has built his company from a single panga boat to a fleet of three large deep sea fishing vessels. Mucho Loco Sportfishing offers two 28’ and one 31′ boats. Each of these boats is equipped with all the necessary features to catch fish in a comfortable and safe experience. Rates start at $350 for the 28’ ½ Loco boat. Rates are subject to change based on availability of course, but we have received the same deal each time we have gone with Mucho Loco. Bait, fishing licenses, food and beverages are extra. Just tell Rafael that BC Fishn sent you and he will take good care of you!
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING A FISHING TRIP IN LOS CABOS:
The respectable time to depart for your fishing trip is between 6:00-6:30am. This allows enough time for the boat to meet the smaller bait boats in the harbor to collect enough bait fish before heading out to sea. The sunrises in Los Cabos is one of the finest sunrises that you will ever experience! The rock arch is shadowed by the pink skies reflected in the vibrant blue ocean. As you leave the harbor the view from behind the boat is incredible!
Depending on where the fish are, prepare yourself for a 1 to 1 ½ hour ride out to sea. Sometimes the fish are near the shoreline and sometimes they are miles out off the coast; it all depends on the ocean currents. If you are experience motion sickness I highly recommend getting the Transderm-V patch that prevents motion sickness. This small patch behind the ear works wonders! (Ask your pharmacist for details.)
The method of fishing is somewhat basic but if you prefer the guides will do all the work for you. The primary method of fishing for majority of these game fish is fast trolling numerous surface lures that pop in and out of the water. For the Dorado and Tuna similar lures to our “west coast” squid hoochies work well. The guides will be on the observation deck of the boat trying to sight fish as well as birds. If you spot birds circling in an area that means that there is bait fish, which brings the big fish! Once one fish is hooked on get ready because usually there will be a few more following it. The last time we went out we caught 3 fish within moments after the first bite! Once the guides run the boat through a school of fish they will start casting a live bait fish out, get ready because there is a good chance of crazy action at this point!
Based on the fish that my wife and I have caught, these Baja beauties offer an incredible fight for the angler. Dorados are very aggressive fish and offer a fantastic fight for their size. It is an unbelievable site to watch them soar through the air and run when hooked on. As they approach the boat their golden green colour will reflect brightly in the water. Yellowfin Tuna provide an explosive fight! They will rip line off the reel very quickly and just as you think you have them close to the boat, this torpedo like fish will take a few more runs! Wahoo are similar to Tuna, but we found that they like to dive deeper first, then run. Their razor sharp teeth will sheer through a leader very quickly which adds that extra challenge of trying to keep this fish on the line and into the boat. I wish I could tell you how a Marlin fight, but I have not yet had any luck. Maybe next time!
While trolling the deep sea waters there are a very good chance that you will see lots of wildlife such as whales and sea turtles. January offers an excellent time for whale watching as the whales are migrating near Los Cabos during this time of year.
On your way back into the San Lucas harbor this gives you an excellent photo opportunity for the famous Los Cabos Arch. Just tell your guides and they will be very happy to help you get that perfect picture. This is also the time to put up the flags of which fish that you have caught. Just after the arch you get the “Seal of Approval” from the local Seals that live in the harbor. These seals are very well trained to come up behind the boat for a quick meal of your left over bait fish. Your guide will get the seal to come up out of the water and take the fish, have your camera ready!
Once the boat is docked you will be welcomed back by the rest of the crew. Each time we have gone with Mucho Loco Sportfishing Rafael welcomed us back to ensure we had a great time! Before we got off the boat we made sure to tip our guide as the tip is not included in the price of the charter.
IMPORTANT INFO YOU NEED TO KNOW REGARDING YOUR CATCH:
The fish is property of the fisherman and only he/she will decide what to do with the catch; the options are:
- Release it and let it grow for the next opportunity.
- Fillet it and freeze it (smoking is optional) to take home with you to savor your victory.
- Make a trophy for your home or office.
- Give it to the Orphanage or the needy.
When fishing with Mucho Loco Sportfishing, Rafael will have your fished filleted for you at the attached processing shop to his office. When we are in Cabo we kept some of our fish and took them to a nearby restaurant in the San Lucas Marina, called Alexander’s. You can also make arrangements with the resort that you are staying at and they may keep and cook your catch for you as well. Catch and release of Billfish (Marlin & Sailfish) is highly recommended by all fishing charters in Los Cabos and BC Fishn.
Fishing in Los Cabos has been a fishing experience of a lifetime for me and my wife. We have gone a couple of times now and you can be sure that we will be going back again. The Mexican people are very humble and welcoming to showcase this world class fishery to all enthusiastic anglers. If you have any questions about fishing Los Cabos please don’t hesitate to contact us at BCFishn.com and we will do our best to point you in the right direction based on our experience. Don’t forget to post your pictures onto our BCFishn Facebook page if you do go!
Tight lines and conserve our waters!
Danny
Mucho Loco Sportfishing Contact info:
Calling from US or Canada:
011 52 1 624 147 5324
011 52 1 624 143 0018
Email: info@mucholocofishing.com
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