Los Frailes is a headland well up the Cortez coast, at the southern end of the Cabo Pulmo stretch. A submarine canyon runs almost to the beach here, which is unusual and which is why the place has the reputation it does. It is a long way from Cabo San Lucas and it is not a casual day trip.
Los Frailes is a rocky point and a bay on the East Cape, north of Punta Gorda and at the southern edge of the Cabo Pulmo area. The headland gives some shelter from the north, which is why there has long been a small camp and an anchorage there.
The feature that matters is underwater. A canyon comes in very close to shore at this point, so deep water sits nearer the beach here than almost anywhere else along this coast. That geography does the same thing a seamount does. It concentrates bait and it brings deep water species within reach of the shoreline.
This needs saying before anything about fishing. Los Frailes sits right next to Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, which is a no take zone. Fishing inside the park is prohibited. The boundary is a real line with real enforcement behind it, and it is not something to guess at.
Any boat working this area needs to know exactly where that line runs and stay outside it. We do, and we will not be talked over it. The recovery of the reef inside the park is one of the best conservation outcomes anywhere on this coast and it exists because the ban has been respected.
This is the honest part. Los Frailes is a long way from Cabo San Lucas marina. Around the cape, up past San Jose, past Punta Gorda, and keep going. It is not ground you casually add to a normal charter. Reaching it and fishing it properly takes a long day, an overnight, or a departure from further up the coast.
to confirm for whether we run it, from where, and over what duration. If someone quotes you a standard half day to Los Frailes from Cabo San Lucas marina, look at a chart.
The East Cape as a whole has a reputation for shore and near shore fishing that is unusual because of how quickly the water deepens. Los Frailes is the sharpest example of that.
The bay is a good anchorage in the right wind and the area is worth seeing for its own sake. Because the deep water comes so close, this coast gets pelagic visitors near shore that you would normally have to run offshore for. Outside the park boundary the diving and freediving over the rocky ground can be excellent when visibility cooperates, which is generally a matter of swell and season.
Trip formats, durations, departure points, overnight arrangements and pricing are all still being confirmed. So is anything about permits beyond the standard Mexican sportfishing licence that everyone aboard needs.
The short version of how a trip with Indigo Adventures works. Licences, deposits, boats and what happens to your catch. The full FAQ has the rest.
Read the full FAQ→Indigo Adventures is based in El Pescadero, on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur, a few minutes south of Todos Santos. Boats launch from three points: Punta Lobos beach in Todos Santos, San Jose del Cabo, and the Cabo San Lucas Marina. Which boat runs your trip decides where you meet us.
Custom fishing and spearfishing charters, freediving excursions, whale watching from mid December to April, and kayaking. Every trip is built around your group, your dates and the conditions rather than a fixed timetable, and almost every one goes out private.
Book online on the Book Now page, where availability is live and a 50 percent deposit holds the date. If you would rather we picked the trip, send an enquiry with who is coming, when you are here and what you want out of the day, and we will say which trip fits and which one does not.
No. Everyone fishing in Mexican waters needs a Mexican sportfishing licence, and each angler buys their own. We help you arrange it before the day so nobody is sorting paperwork on the dock. The same licence covers rod and spear.
Rarely. Almost every trip goes out as a private boat for you and your group. If a split makes sense for a small party we will say so when you enquire.
Three on the 24 foot Punta Lobos panga, up to four on La Ruca and La Morita, and up to six on Don Pancho and El Wahoo King. Whale watching numbers run a little higher because nobody is swinging a rod.
Yes. The catch goes home with you. Filleting at the dock, vacuum sealing and freezing are available, and most guests fly home with a cooler. Marlin are mostly released, with judgement on the day.
Yes, on fishing days. The crew rigs and handles the gear and hands you the rod when something eats. Guided spearfishing needs breath-hold experience and runs on a strict buddy system, which is the only legal way to spearfish in Mexico. Water, ice and snacks are normally aboard.
