The boat supplies the fishing. You supply everything that keeps you comfortable for a day in the sun on a moving deck. Most people who have a rough day on the water had a preventable one: no hat, no long sleeves, the wrong shoes, or nothing done about seasickness until it was already too late to fix. Here is the list.
Assume the fishing gear is handled and assume nothing else until you have asked. In general a charter provides:
Ask about the to confirm lines when you book, so you can pack around the answers rather than guessing at the dock.
The sun off Baja is stronger than it feels, because the wind on a moving boat carries the heat off your skin while you burn. Water reflects light back up under a hat brim, so you burn in places you do not expect: the underside of the chin, the backs of the hands, the lower lip.
Deal with this before you leave the dock, not after you feel it. Once you are sick, oral medication will generally not stay down and the day is mostly over.
Say something early. A crew can change the ride, the heading and sometimes the plan if they know in time.
Dehydration on the water feels a lot like seasickness and makes real seasickness worse. Drink water steadily through the day, more than you think you want, and do not wait until you are thirsty.
Water, ice and snacks are normally aboard, so you are not starting the day dry. Some trips also include lunch and alcohol, though which trips those are: to confirm. Whether you are welcome to bring your own cooler aboard: to confirm.
Salt spray kills electronics quietly. Bring a dry bag or a waterproof case for anything you care about. A phone in a back pocket on a wet deck has a short life. If you want good photos, a wrist lanyard is worth more than an extra lens.
Leave behind anything you would be upset to lose over the side, hard soled black shoes, glass bottles, and bananas if your captain is superstitious, which many of them are.
Split charters are rarely run, so a booking is effectively a private boat for your group rather than a seat alongside strangers.
Departure time, trip length, meeting point and exactly what is included on your specific booking: to confirm.
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.
