I’m doing a cruise in January down to cabo and was wondering if anyone has any experience with any guides down there? I’ve never done deep sea fishing before and don’t have a ton of money but this may be a trip worth doing, what do you guys think?
I would love to go, thanks for the invite 
[:p]. My trips to Mexico have not involved fishing but I don’t think I’ll be there anytime soon, too many horror stories. Tell Sammy I said hi, lmao…
Fishing in Cabo is some of the best you can find. I have had great experiences with Pisces (piscessportfishing.com). I have been out with them numerous times and have not been disappointed. Wish I was going!
I was in Cabo (by way of cruise ship) in February. The ship got into port too late (8:00am) and left too early (4:30pm) to be worth taking one of the larger charters out to where you can catch Marlin, Dorado, etc. The cruise ships don’t dock in Cabo. They anchor in the harbor and you have to catch a ferries back and forth, cutting even further into your shore time.
The fishing grounds Cabo is really famous for are 2+ hours away from port. A half day charter only gives you about 1 hour of true fishing.
We hired one of the pangas at a cost of about $60 for four hours and trolled live bait along the coast for 3 hours. I wouldn’t bother again. We caught 1 barracuda and that was it. If I had it to do over again I’d take my own rod and just fish the surf.
If you have 10+ hours in port and $1k to blow, by all means go for a charter. I heard nothing but good stuff from guys on my ship who had taken all day trips on previous cruises.
I have fished Cabo for many years and I believe that it offers some of the worlds best marlin fishing.
I always try to arrange a trip with the ‘Flyhooker’. It’s a 31 foot Bertram that is a fish attractor. The owners are George and Mary Labrum, but the crew and captain are mexicans and the are very competent. I recently heard the Labrums sold the flyhooker, but are still booking charters for the boat. You might want to do a google search for the flyhooker or george labrum. If you reach them, please give them my regards.
With the limited amount of time you have, a panga is certainly worth looking into. Many times I’ve chartered pangas between the big boat trips. They’re cheap and most of the time can be productive.
The roosterfish (Pez Gallo) are in the surf and the pangas can get in close enough to pick up a fish. The IGFA world record rooster came from Cabo.
Good luck in your search for a boat. Definitely don’t miss the chance to fish in Cabo even if it is short inshore panga excursion.
It’s not what we do in life that haunts us, it what we don’t do. Email me if I can provide you additional information. Steve
Take my advice, I screwed up bigtime. I went to the docks the night before when the skiffs were coming in. There you could see their catches and who are the best captains. Since so many people tried to rip us off, a captain told me that if I make a deposit, he’ll hold the boat for me (mind you, he was on the boat). I hum hawed around then came back an hour later, he was taken by then.
The next morning I decided to hire someone. THE VERY LAST BOAT THAT WASN’T TAKEN I hired. WRONG CHOICE. He was the last captain for a reason. Total waste of time. The 1st captain came back with a ton of fish. Good luck!
Thanks for the info guys! fsh4fun you’re welcome to come but it is my honeymoon so you might not see much of me We’re in cabo for two nights actually so hopefully we’ll have time to play there. I really have no idea how everything works down there, how much am I looking at to spend? Pez, what’s a panga? Roosterfish would be really fun to catch and if it’s significantly cheaper than a dorado/marlin trip that sounds like fun to me! how do you hire a boat?
Check out Gordo Banks Pangas. Reasonably priced, they supply all your gear, and best of all, it’s run by an American. A 22’ panga will start around $210 and up per day.
At that time of year, you’ll be fishing for Sierra, Striped Marlin, Wahoo or bottom fish like pargo or grouper. You can basically forget about the roosters. Though there are a few resident fish, they don’t start showing up until the water starts warming up. May thru October are the hot months for Roosters.
i fished with pisces also and had a great time we only caught 1 marlin but we made up for it in dorado and tuna.
you can get prices and availability from there website piscessportfishing.com. you can keep your fish if you want but i suggest catch and release on the bill fish. the tuna and dorado are much better table fair.
we book in advance and pay by CC the prices and what is included is listed on the website
hope this helps wish you the best for your honey moon
As BVS mentioned time is critical if you want to go deep sea fishing in Cabo. How much time do you really expect to have available off the ship? I’m guessing not enough as the good fishing grounds are not so close and most go out pretty early in the morning. My advise is if you can get out of the cruise go and do the deep sea fishing instead. It will be a lot more enjoyable. If you already agreed to the cruise all I can say is learn from your mistakes.
I’m hoping to go fishing on my honeymoon, not have a honeymoon on my fishing trip If I can’t go fishing I’m sure I’ll find another activity to replace it!
I can’t image wanting to take a cruise or a long fishing trip on my honeymoon 
. To each their own.
Since you’ll be traveling during peak viral illness time here’s a useful link to let you know what all those seniors and foreign crew will likely be spreading on that ship that time of year http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2010/chapter-6/cruise-ship-travel.aspx [:/].
I agree with fishing the surf. Buy an inexpensive 3-piece travel rod, and make sure you use a salt water reel. Lots of new species to catch by just wading out. Don’t take your freshwater reel & think it will be OK as long as you rinse it off. Toast. Let us know what/how you do upon your return.
are there resident fish that are semi easily caught from shore around there? What kind and what kind of lures do you use?
Unsure as to specific species there, but I had a ball in the surf at Cancun wading out up to my waist catching snook & ladyfish, among others. They loved the 1950s bucktail baits, plus the Storm swim baits. Other guys were using Daredevils & Kastmasters, something that’s inexpensive and can be thrown a mile. Better yet, check out the half dozen or so videos on youtube related to surf fishing. And go with braided line & at least a 10# fluoro-leader. By the way, no license needed.
Here’s my advice… quit bragging you evil evil man. I’m gonna be shoveling snow in January and contemplating which ice auger to buy and you’re going to be on pristine waters with the forecast being sunny and 75 degrees every day indefinitely. Man I wish I could go. Hope you have a blast but, if you do, don’t rub it in.[:p]
go fishing on my honeymoon, not have a honeymoon on my fishing trip
Oh dear - starting off you marriage with your priorities ALL mixed up…[sly]
This will be your perfect opportunity to “test the waters” and find out if you’re marring a future TubeBabe or that gal from the Ugly Stick commercials (“oh no, you are NOT going fishing today” - and proceeds to try to destroy the guys rod, ends up in the garbage compactor - but then “badoing” pops right out! I LOVE that ad!)
But seriously - sounds like your time is too short for a boat trip, unless the new MRS wants to spend the day out. And if you spend more renting a boat/guide than her ring cost, well… could be a short marriage!
And surf fishing may not bring you a Marlin, but lots of interesting little fish. Surf Perch! We used to get lots in Florida when I was a kid.
Just caught a Dan Hernandez episode of ’ Surf Fishing ’ of all things! He was using a simple weight/hook setup, with Gulp Sandworms for bait.
I’m sure you can find gear at Cabelas.
http://dansshoppingcart.com/mm5/merchant.mvc
He’s got a hook kit meant for inshore fishing. Plus comes with a DVD.
http://www.dansshoppingcart.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=dansshoppingcart&Product_Code=HOOKKIT&Category_Code=Tackle
I can just picture it - sunset on the coast, a small beach fire, a bottle of wine, you pitching in the surf, the Mrs frying up the catch - now how much more romantic can you get than that!
Have a great time. And congrats.
There’s a restaraunt behind Squid Roe called “La Palapa” It’s run by a guy named “Gus”. Get ahold of him and arrange a panga. He’s a good hookup and if there’s time he’ll cook your catch for you after. He also gives you all you can drink tequila with dinner, I recommend Tres Reyes. Good Luck
what do you think?
http://www.cabelas.com/…01990&hasJS=true
and what’s the difference between inshore and surf fishing?
is that near the port in Cabo?