Los Cabos, Mexico - Fishing

I went sport fishing while in Cabo. It was a blast. I would recommend it to anyone who isn't squeamish about killing fish.

What to bring with you before leaving for Cabo:

• cooler
  
• duct tape
  
• large zip lock bags
  
• dramamine or the patch if you get sea sick

Our boat caught 4 dorado and 3 marlin (1 got away just before we could land it). Our hotel contacted a man named Victor Vargas who is apparently the head honcho of fishing in Cabo San Lucas. He set us up with another couple and a boat (the Charly III, captained by Rambo and deck handed by Salvatore).

Be sure to bring plenty of food and beer (including a few for the captain/deck hand) for the day. Plan on being out for about 5-6 hours. If you are prone to sea sickness, take half a dramamine pill the night before and half in the morning (or apply the patch before you go to sleep).

Cost:

• Cab fare to the dock - varies
  
• Fishing license - $14/person
  
• Bait - $20/boat
  
• Boat - We had a coupon from a timeshare presentation so the cost was $140, I think it's about $300 otherwise. We didn't know the other couple we were with and they paid about $300. I think you can get the whole boat for about $300 if you know all 4 passengers, but they'll obviously charge as much as they can if you pay as two couples.
  
• Tip for crew - I'm not sure what's appropriate we tipped 20% but I think it depends on how many fish you catch and how good your day is.
  
• Filleting the fish - $5 per dorado, the marlin could be filleted, smoked, vacuum sealed and delivered to your hotel for $5/lb.

It's not cheap, but it's a blast. This boat went way out into the Pacific (about 45 minute ride from the marina). We trolled about 6 miles off the coast at a pretty swift pace. This is the place you want to go if you want to catch big game marlin. It's a thrill and a lot of hard work. It's also a good way to catch dorado (mahi mahi). But catching tuna this way is supposedly much more difficult. Salvatore told me that the tuna can be right on the coast or 50 miles out so catching one takes a bit of luck.

I heard from two other people that you can also go fishing in the Sea of Cortez. The people I spoke with left directly from the Palmilla and the Hilton resorts on the Corridor and were shuttled out to large fishing boats on smaller vessels. They spent the day mooching and caught lots of tuna and dorado, but no marlin. This sounds like the much more tame version of sport fishing, but it also seemed to be a more productive way to catch good fish to eat.