The spearfish is the billfish almost nobody sets out to catch, because you cannot really plan for one. They turn up in the trolling spread while we are working on marlin and sailfish. They are rare, they are small for a billfish, and they are the fourth fish in a billfish slam. We release them as a matter of course.
A shortbill spearfish looks like a slim, small marlin with a bill that never quite finished growing. That short bill is the giveaway, along with a long low dorsal fin and a light body. Beside a striped marlin it looks almost delicate.
They are an open ocean fish of the tropical and subtropical Pacific, and they are genuinely uncommon in our catch. We would be misleading you to describe a spearfish season or a spearfish spot. What we can say is that they are out there, that they eat the same lures and baits as everything else in the spread, and that a small number come up over the course of a year.
The billfish slam. Striped marlin, blue or black marlin, sailfish, swordfish and spearfish are all billfish, and anglers who chase slams need a spearfish to complete the set. In this part of the world it is almost always the hardest of the group to tick off, not because they are hard to catch but because they are hard to encounter.
For anyone building a slam, the honest advice is to fish a lot of days for marlin and sailfish and treat a spearfish as a gift when it happens. Nobody catches one to order.
Trolling. Almost every spearfish we see hits a lure or bait in a marlin spread, most often on the smaller baits toward the back of the pattern. They will also come up in a teaser wake and eat a pitched bait, exactly the way a striped marlin does.
Because they are small, on standard marlin tackle a spearfish is over quickly. If you want the fish to feel like anything at all, hooking one on lighter gear is the way, and if we raise one behind the boat with a light rod in hand we will use it.
Quick, jumpy and sharp rather than long and heavy. They run and they come out of the water, and the whole thing is often finished in a few minutes. Do not expect a marlin fight. Expect a spectacular fish on the surface and then a decision to make about the camera.
We release spearfish. They are uncommon, they are not a fish anyone needs on ice, and the population is not something to be casual with. As with the rest of the billfish it is the captain's call on the day, but with a spearfish the answer is very nearly always the same one.
The release is straightforward if it is done properly. Keep the fish in the water, use the leader and a hand on the bill rather than a gaff, get the hook out or cut the leader as close as safely possible, and hold the fish alongside on the drift until it kicks off strongly on its own. Circle hooks help a great deal on any billfish, and we use them on bait for exactly this reason.
The photo happens with the fish in the water. Everybody gets a better picture that way, and the fish swims off.
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.
