Cabo San Lucas

[Down to Earth]

Since we don't have a Mexico forum I'll ask here. Who's fished Cabo San Lucas and what time of year did you go? How was the fishing and who did you go out with?

Thanks.

[JimBuck]

Down to Earth, I went in January and the fishing was out of this world. We went through Pisces Charters, the price was a bit more than others but it was recommended by friends and the fishing/service was fantastic. Between the captain and deckhand they had over 50 years of experience.I've been Billfishing a few times in various parts of Mexico but this was unlike anything I've ever done. Went out to Golden Gate in the morning....caught our bait, then the captain and deckhand follow the schools of Mackerel that are then followed by pelicans, seals and MARLIN. No trolling involved, it was all run n' gun fishing for 7 straight hours. They locate a school of Mackerel, gun it over to the school, toss your bait in the school of baitfish and HOLD ON! We boated 8 Marlin the first day, then went a few days later we enjoyed it so much. Ended up boating 10 that day along with a few pesky pelicans. There were points where your boat would be on top of a school of bait and you could watch the marlin taking turns, striking at the ball of bait....straight out of BBC Planet Earth and probably nothing I'll ever experience again (hopefully I'm wrong). They provided 24 beverages of your choice and a bag lunch. I recommend getting as big of a boat as you can....it really pays off to be in a larger boat amidst all the waves and madness. I know I'll be back again. We fished from "Ruthless" with Leon as captain and Ernesto as deckhand. Both excellent, excellent fisherman and people. Let me know if you wanna know anything else about it.

[NoWiser]

I stayed at a resort called Punta Colorada, just north of Cabo San Lucas on the Sea of Cortez for a week in the middle of March a few years back. I think the nearest town was La Ribera, or something like that. I'm not sure.

Fishing was fun, but was not spectacular. We caught a couple of striped marlin and dorado, along with a handful of jacks. We chased a few schools of roosterfish around, but could not get any to hit. I think had we been in some smaller boats with lighter tackle we could have gotten a few. Shore fishing was pretty fun. I can't remember exactly what we all caught, but I know we got some ladyfish, jacks, spanish mackeral, and pompano.

It was a great trip that I would love to do again, although I would probably do some research and find a time of year when the fishing is typically better. If money wasn't an object and I didn't have this addiction called ice fishing for lake trout I would probably be planning another trip there.

[traveler]

Downtoearth; I've been fishing Cabo once or twice a year for 10 years now...and keep going back:) The situation Jimbuck described (and described vividly) is something every dedicated fisherman dreams of, but seldom if ever gets to experience. especially a traveling "tourist" fisherman. It's WAY beyond what you can expect, overall a marlin a day is a pretty good outing, a 3 fish day is darn good. You're right to do some research, it certainly helps to narrow things down and improve your odds at getting into fish. I could go on and on about Cabo fishing...but I'll try to be concise:)

Calender wise, March/April is slow...June is kind of the start of the good fishing, with things getting better as summer progresses, until the big tournaments in October. August/Sept is HOT, and the chance of hurricanes, but it can be very good fishing. Dorado, Striped marlin,sailfish, tuna, wahoo...the normal offshore fish. Cabo isn't as good for black or blue marlin as many places, but the tourneys in October are timed to maximize the chance at them. Traditionally, fall/early winter is the best season for numbers of striped marlin, the fish that put Cabo on the map as one of the best marlin spots anywhere. The past 2 years the striper bite has been off the charts from November through janruary, and thats the bite Jimbuck ran into. I've had the good fortune to experience it myself a few times, and it's everything he describes (and More). Will it happen again this fall? I sure hope so! I'll be there... If you have any more questions, just ask. I can recommend cheap hotels, nicer ones, and various charters. The outfit Jimbuck used, Pisces, was my go-to outfit the first few years I fished Cabo, and Ruthless is a great boat, as is Tracy Ann. I fish with Redrum sportfishing now, just because a friend got me to try them and I really liked them. Both outfits are middle of the road, pricewise. Cabo rocks:)

[Wayne Sieber]

Down to Earth - All I will say is stay away from RedRum Charters......No good.....

[traveler]

Feetdown, did you read my post or post that incedentially? I guess anytime someone says "all I'll say" I wonder why that is. I know the guys at Redrum, have fished with them for 2 years, and personally like them, so i wonder why you think they're "no good"?

[wahoohendoo]

went to cabo last year in may. ended up landing 3 marlin and a sail day 1 and 4 marlin day 2. caught 2 trolling the rest was running and gunning, all sight fishing. we went with cabo magic's boat THE GREY LIGHT.very fun, good fishermen. i think the boat owner passed away this winter is what the web site says. definitly a great time on the water just do your research like you are doing now.

[traveler]

8 billfish in 2 days? Thats a couple great days, especially for May. Love the name... Cabo Magic is up for sale...anyone want to do business in paridise??

[Down to Earth]

traveler,

I've been looking at the fish calendars and it seems that August/September is a good time to be down there for multiple species in the "on" period. Though I know a guy who goes in April and does really good on the tuna. I'd really like to go after the dorado and the late summer early fall seems to be the time to go. Probably not the time one from MN would think they should be going down there. I'm a couple years out, but I want to start early.

[traveler]

If you want Dorado, it's a great timeframe. I went down the 3rd week of August a couple years ago and did really well...but it's HOT. Like mid 90's and full sun. get a birth control hat for sure. I've never been down there in Sept., but have gone 1st week of Oct several times and it's still great dorado fishing with a shot at a blue or black. Keep in mind, you can have good striped marlin fishing virtually anytime. Your friend was probably on the Sea of Cortez side in April, lots of guys prefer it up there if marlin isn't your primary target. Cabo has an edge being on the tip and being able to acess both the Cortez and the pacific. It's also more fun:)

[JimBuck]

Traveler, nice advice. I chuckled about the Birth Control Hat...great name for it. Good to hear others have had a similarly good experience with Pisces. I hear that they canceled the big tournament they have during May due to tons of cancellations from travelers (swine flu scare)....it sounds like the city took a pretty big hit economically.

FeetDown, I'm curious about your experience with RedRum Charters? What happened that made the trip bad?

[traveler]

Jimbuck; yup, a couple May tourneys went down, and Cabo as well as other Mexican tourist destinations are really suffering from all the flu cancellations.

Good to hear from someone else who's been in on the Golden gate madness! 2 years ago it was only that way on the finger bank, twice as far away so not near as many boats would make the run. Last year the gate was so good at the golden gate they didn't need to! Nothing like watching those stripers cruising below the boat, free jumping all over the place, or crashing the bait balls while you watch! Whales, sea lions, the whole scene is just surreal...can't wait till November to go back!

[Tom Linderholm]

Chiming in late, but went for my 6th time in March and made it twice, once with Marlin Masters 3 Marlin & 1 Dorado and once with RedRum 5 Marlin, 3 Dorado, and 1 Mako. Fishing was surreal with Golden Gate still being the hot ticket utilizing run n gun tecniques. I've been with 8 different charter boats and for bang for the buck the two I listed above were far better than most I have been with.

Not sure about the Red Rum mention above, I too would like to hear the story behind it.