September is the hottest and wettest month of the year in Cabo and the peak of hurricane season. The fishing can be outstanding, with marlin and tuna at their best, but the weather risk is real and the heat is punishing. This is the one month we steer most people away from.
September is the peak of hurricane season and the hottest, most humid month of the year here. Air runs in the mid nineties and the overnight low barely counts as cooling off. Water is at or near its annual high in the mid to high eighties. Most of the rain Cabo sees in a year falls in this month.
September carries the highest chance of a named storm affecting the cape. Some Septembers pass with nothing worse than heavy afternoons. Others do not, and the town has been through serious storms in this month before. If you book September you are taking on real weather risk. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you.
To be clear about what that means in practice: the point is not that a storm is likely to hit while you are standing here. It is that the chance is high enough that you should not build a trip around dates you cannot move. Quiet Septembers happen every few years. So do the other kind.
Here is the frustrating part. The fishing in September can be as good as it gets all year. Blue marlin and black marlin are at their peak, and the largest fish of the year tend to come out of the late summer and early fall window. Sailfish are around. Dorado are strong. Yellowfin tuna are on, and this is when the heavier fish start showing.
Storms cut both ways. A system that passes wide often stirs the water up and turns the bite on for the days that follow. It can just as easily blow out the only day you had.
The other thing September has in its favour is space. There are fewer boats working the water than at any other point in the year. The spots are not crowded, the fish see less pressure, and on a good day it feels like the whole fishery belongs to you.
Nothing cool water is here. No yellowtail, no sierra, and striped marlin are at their thinnest of the year. Wahoo are only just beginning.
Offshore, early, and with dates you can move. September is the least forgiving month to arrive with a single locked in fishing day and no room to shift it.
Watch the tropics for the week before you travel. We are doing the same. If a system is coming we will tell you straight rather than take you out into it.
On the good days the water is warm and calm, which makes it a fine month for spearfishing when conditions allow. Visibility can be poor after rain, when runoff colours the water.
September is the quietest month of the year in Cabo. Hotels are cheap. Some restaurants and shops close for the month. The marina is quiet enough that you will recognise faces after two days. There is a version of this town in September that is more pleasant than the busy season, if you can take the heat and accept the risk.
Travel costs are at their lowest of the year. Look into trip insurance, and check what your airline and hotel allow if a storm changes your plans.
We are not going to tell you September is a good month to plan a trip around. It is the one month we actively steer people away from unless they have a specific reason to be here.
Skip September if you have one fixed week of vacation, if you are travelling with family, if heat and humidity bother you, or if this is your only shot at Cabo for a few years. Wait four weeks. October gives you nearly the same species list with better weather and a town that has woken back up.
Come in September only if your dates are flexible, you are price sensitive, you are comfortable with the possibility that a storm takes your fishing away, and you are specifically after a big blue or black marlin.
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.
