Fishing Experiences in Los Cabos

​When most people hear about fishing in Los Cabos, they think about deep sea fishing for sport fish like Marlin, Tuna and Dorado.  When we built our house on the beach in Zacatitos and since it has become clear that fishing is much more than just sport fishing.  Early in the morning and at the end of the day, we would often see the workers down on the beach casting into the surf for fish.  They also would dive in front of the house for lobster and clams or mussels.  Every morning, we would see the pangas and other boats out on water fishing on the Gordo Banks out in front of our beach.  More recently, we have watched Lisa Ferrier as she enters the water and comes out after spear fishing.  It seems appropriate to write about all of the kinds of fishing experiences that are available in Los Cabos.
 
Surf Fishing
 
Surf fishing (casting from the beach to catch fish) is very popular in Los Cabos and no license is required.  All that you need is an interest and the right equipment and you can fish on most of the beaches on both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez.  There are lots of types of fish caught regularly from the beach.  One of the most popular is the Roosterfish (named because of the rooster tail fin behind its head), also called Pez Gordo.  This fish can range from 15 to 30 pounds and is most often caught by casting when you see it in the water while feeding off of smaller fish.  Los Frailes just south of Cabo Pulmo is considered Rooster Alley.  There have also been pictures in Facebook of people catching Roosterfish.  Sierra Mackerel is another fishermen’s favorite as there are lots of them and they are not too big.  They feed on sardines and stick to the shoreline.  They are especially abundant in the winter when the water is a little cooler.  They can often be spotted because of the bait fish jumping out of the water to avoid them.  As they have very sharp teeth a wire leader is required or you will lose your lure.  There are lots of different types of Snapper (fresh at most restaurants in Los Cabos) – red, dogtooth, Cubera, Hogfish – and the max out at about 20 pounds.  Snapper are most likely to be found in rocky areas.  Grouper (another popular fish in local restaurants) can be found near the beach. 
 
Articles about surf fishing in Los Cabos suggest that you fish early in the morning just after dawn.  Using the right equipment is also important – a long surfcasting rod and a spinning reel and the right lures.  Although locals have often been seen with hard lines and fresh crab or bait fish when they fish.  It is a great idea to ask the locals where the good spots are for fishing along the beach.  The right equipment is available at Jansen Inshore Tackle (www.jansen.mx) in both Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Los Cabos.  There are also several companies like Baja Anglers that offer day surf casting tours with a guide (www.baja-anglers.com).  You can also find a calendar at www.cabofishing-net that tells the best times of the year to catch all of the different fish in Los Cabos.  
 
Spearfishing 
For the last little while we have watched a women walk backwards into the water on our beach in Zacatitos with a big orange float. Later on, she would come out of the water with a big fish. Curious, I decided to do a little research on spearfishing in Los Cabos. Clearly a skill that has been around for centuries, people can go out from the beach to free dive (or with scuba) to use a spear gun or pole spear to get the fish and the float is used as a catch bag for beach entry. Spearfishers from the beach are looking for headlands with 5 to 25 meters of water to search for the fish. Spearfishers can also enter the water off of boats, which allows them to go to deeper water is search of very specific types of fish. One of the most popular places is Gordo Banks, which is right out from Zacatitos on the East Cape. The most popular are Blue Fin Tuna, Dorado, Snapper and Wahoo. For a good overview of spearfishing in Baja visit https://spearoscout.com/best-spearfishing-spots-in-baja-me…/
I wondered how large the fish were that you could catch with a spear gun and had assumed that it might be 30 to 50 pounds, otherwise the fish could just take off and the spearfisher would be dragged along behind.  Rocky Rafkin has been spearfishing for 50 years.  Rocky explained to me that spearfishing is more like hunting than it is like fishing. He said, "You have to find the refrigerator. Sooner or later everyone ends up at the refrigerator to get something to each." In other words, spearfishing involves searching out where the bait is that your chosen fish is interested in. You can't chase the fish, they have to come to you.  Also, he indicated that he and his friends had caught tuna as big as 300 lbs.  I wondered how. Rocky said, rather than a single float, they use multiple floats connected with line that acts as leverage on the fish (as if using multiple pulleys) and allows much bigger fish to be caught. His wife, Lisa Ferrier who is relatively new to spearfishing (3 years) holds eight women’s world record for Spearfishing at the age of 56.  So, you are never too old to try it (with a skilled guide).  Companies like Spearfishing Cabo (www.spearfishingbaja.mx) are available to help beginners to experts.
Deep Sea Fishing
Sportfishing is clearly what Los Cabos is known for worldwide.  With some of the biggest fishing tournaments in the world, fishermen flock to Los Cabos to try their luck either on vacation or in a tournament.  I had my first experience with Sportfishing in November of 1999.  Four of us (myself, Robert Ruyg, Steve Harris and Tisno Onggara) went out early one morning from the marina in Cabo San Lucas.  I learned that this was not all play and fun but could be hard work.  I was the first one in the chair and fought for 48 minutes to bring in 110 lb. striped marlin.  But the skill of the captain and crew (not me) is what made it happen.  With one crew member coaching me and the captain backing up the boat as fast as possible to take pressure off the fishing line, I was able to catch the marlin.  Later, Tisno caught a larger marlin that was released.  After the marlin was cut up, Sharon (Robert’s wife) prepared marlin for us three different ways, with different salsas that night for dinner.
Many fisherman come to compete in one of the many tournaments including: the Triple Crown of Fishing Cabo Summer Slam; Bisbee’s East Cape Tournament; Los Cabos Bill Fish Tournament; Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore tournament; Bisbee Black & Blue Marlin Tournament; Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot; Los Cabos Big Game Charter Boat Classic. These deep-sea fishing tournaments are after Tuna, Wahoo, Marlin and Dorado.  Several of these tournaments begin with a shotgun start where all boats leave at the same time and must be back by a specified deadline.  The Bisbee Black and Blue Marlin tournament offers the biggest prize package in the world – with over $4,000,000 awarded.
However, it is not necessary to be part of a tournament or pay a fortune to have a deep-sea fishing experience.  Charters from Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Los Cabos and Los Barriles with experience fishing captain start from as low as $300 or $400 for a 5 or 6-hour trip.  Clearly, it can be much more depending on the size of the boat that is selected and the number in the fishing parties.  But you can even have a great experience on a panga out of Puerto Los Cabos going to the inner or outer area of Gordo Banks on the East Cape.  There are great recommendations and reviews on Trip Advisor or Viator to lead you to the captain for the type of experience that you would like.