December is really two months. The first two weeks are quiet, well priced and fish well, with striped marlin building and the last of the wahoo run. From about the twentieth the town fills up and holiday rates take over. Whale season starts around mid month either way.
December is the handover into winter. Water drops steadily, from the high seventies at the start of the month to the mid seventies or lower by the end. Air is mild and dry, generally high seventies to low eighties in the afternoon, with mornings that need a jacket by the second half of the month.
North wind returns. December can blow, and the pattern that runs all winter starts to establish itself now. Early December is often calmer than late December. Rain is not a concern.
The change through the month is real. A trip in the first week and a trip in the last week are different trips, with different water temperatures, different fish and a completely different town around them. Do not treat December as one thing when you are picking dates.
Striped marlin are building back toward their winter strength, and December is a good month for them. Wahoo are still running through much of the month, which is the last of the fall fishing. Yellowfin tuna are around and tapering. Dorado thin out quickly.
The wahoo at the end of their run are often the best of them. They come with the same requirements they do in the fall, wire and speed, and they are the fish most likely to make a December day stand out.
The warm water billfish are leaving. Blue marlin and sailfish get uncommon as the month goes on and are effectively finished by January. On the other side, sierra come back inshore and yellowtail start showing on structure again.
Whale season begins. Humpbacks and greys generally arrive from around mid December, and by the end of the month sightings on the run out are routine.
Offshore for striped marlin and wahoo is the strongest use of a day. If the north wind is up, an inshore day for sierra is a good short trip and it works well with family over the holidays.
Days are short now. Sunrise is late and the light goes early, so the same trip covers less water than it would in June. That argues for an early start and for not wasting the good hours of the morning.
From the middle of the month a fishing day often comes with whales on the way out. If whales are the point rather than the bonus, we run that as its own trip.
Spearfishing still works, but the water is cooling and you will want more suit than you needed in October.
The first two weeks of December are one of the quieter and better value stretches of the whole year. Good weather, good fishing, and a town that has not filled up yet. Anyone with flexible dates should be looking at that window.
From around the twentieth everything changes. The holidays are the busiest and most expensive period of the year in Cabo. Hotels fill, restaurants need reservations, and boats book out early. If you want a date between Christmas and New Year, book to confirm ahead.
Treat December as two separate months. Early December is one of the better value windows on the calendar. Late December is the most crowded and most expensive time to be here, and you are paying holiday rates for fishing that was no worse three weeks earlier.
Book December if you want striped marlin, the tail of the wahoo run and the start of whale season. Skip the holiday weeks unless family timing decides it for you, and skip December altogether if you want warm water species or the biggest marlin of the year.
Every species with this month inside its peak window. Tap one for the full page.
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.
