Cabo San Lucas

Where you actually are

Cabo San Lucas is the last town at the bottom of the Baja California peninsula. The Pacific Ocean is on one side, the Sea of Cortez is on the other, and the two meet at the rocks off Land's End roughly a mile from the harbor mouth. The town is built around a natural bay. The marina sits inside it, ringed by docks, restaurants, tackle shops and the sportfishing fleet.

The reason there is a fishing town here at all is the shape of the bottom. The shelf off the cape is narrow and a canyon cuts in toward the bay. You do not need a long steam to find water deep enough to hold billfish. On plenty of days you are fishing within an hour of leaving the dock. In most places that would be a half day run each way.

Two oceans from one dock

Coming out of the marina you turn one way or the other, and those are two different bodies of water.

Turn right, around Cabo Falso, and you are on the Pacific. Cooler, generally windier, usually a bigger swell. That is the direction you go for the offshore banks. Turn left and you run up the Cortez side toward Chileno, Palmilla, San Jose del Cabo and eventually Punta Gorda. Warmer water most of the year, usually calmer, more structure close to the beach.

Most mornings the decision gets made on wind and swell rather than on preference. Where fish were yesterday matters less than whether you can fish where they are today without getting beaten up.

What swims here and roughly when

Broad strokes only. Every season moves.

• Striped marlin are the signature fish and can turn up in any month. Numbers are generally best from late autumn through spring.
• Blue and black marlin follow warm water, so most years they are a summer and autumn proposition.
• Yellowfin tuna usually build through summer and hold into late autumn.
• Dorado are a warm water fish here as well, best in summer and autumn.
• Wahoo tend to show in autumn, often around the moons.
• Roosterfish work the inshore sand in the warmer months. They are a release fish.
• Sierra and the smaller inshore species pick up as the water cools in winter.

Anyone who guarantees you a specific fish in a specific week has not run boats here long enough.

Not only fishing

The same water carries a lot besides billfish. Humpbacks and gray whales move through roughly December into April, and in a good year you see them without going to look. Sea lions haul out on the rocks at Land's End all year. Mobula rays school and jump in numbers at certain times, which is one of the better things you will see from any boat anywhere.

For spearfishing and freediving, both the inshore rock and the offshore high spots hold fish, subject to visibility and current. Visibility here is a moving target. It can be excellent for weeks and then go green after a swell. To confirm for the trips we run, the experience level we ask for, and the gear we provide.

Weather, season and honest expectations

Hurricane season in this part of Mexico runs roughly June through November, with the highest risk generally from late summer into early autumn. Most days in that window are fine. Some are not, and the port authority can close the port with little notice. Winter brings northerly wind that stacks the Pacific side up quickly and makes the Cortez side the better call more often than not.

If you get seasick, say so when you book rather than an hour offshore. The Pacific side in a fresh breeze is a bad place to find out.

Getting on the water with us

Everyone fishing in Mexican waters needs a Mexican sportfishing licence. That is a regulation, not an upsell, and it applies even if you release every fish you touch. To confirm for how we handle licences and what they cost.

Trip lengths, departure times, what is included, cancellation terms and what happens if the port closes are all still being confirmed. Ask before you book. You will get a straight answer rather than a hedge.