CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT - OCTOBER, 2011CABO FISHING TOURNAMENT SEASON WINDS DOWN WITH ONE TO GO
Ah, October. It's the most publicized month for fishing here in Los Cabos as it marks a month of major sport fishing tournaments that put Southern Baja on the global stage with media outlets from around the world covering the action. First was the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament where Team Chupacabra came away with a 543lb blue marlin and a check for $364,725 USD for their first place showing. Coming in second was a 408lb black marlin for Team Angelina 1. In the gamefish division, a 240lb tuna for Team Fisherman and a 216lb for Team Karma 3 showed that big yellowfin as still hanging around and promise to do so late into Fall and early Winter.

The Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue tourneys came next. While no qualifying marlin came to the scales during the Bisbee's Offshore (minimum weight of 300lbs), Team Fisherman came close with a 297lb blue - a heartbreaking 3lbs short of taking first place and a sizable winner's check. With no qualifiers, the prize money for top marlin was split amongst the tuna and dorado divisions with Lance Fudickar of Team Wild Hooker taking top tuna at 204lbs and Team Go Deeper taking the dorado division with a 37lber... the sole dorado that was weighed as most teams were targeting marlin and marlin only. Of note is the fact that Go Deeper had a phenomenal end of September as they boated a grander (or near grander depending on which scale you trust) blue marlin on the 29th after a grueling 28 hour battle split amongst a couple of anglers. Big, big billfish are here and we think it's just a matter of time before more grander marlin are caught in Cabo.

The Black & Blue saw no huge fish but a hefty 409lb blue taken by Team Bad Medicine and a 395lb blue taken by Team Tiger Spirit brought smiles to those teams faces with checks for $394,090 and $1,162,842, respectively. Although Tiger Spirit's marlin was smaller their check was much bigger as they entered every daily jackpot level and took the $5K and $10K dailies for the entire tourney. Interestingly enough, team leader and owner of Tiger Spirit, Ned Wallace, gave the after-expenses proceeds to his captain and crew – all local Los Cabos residents who've been fishing these tourneys for Ned for eighteen years. A very generous gesture that will no doubt change the lives of the crew and their families.

The final tournament of the year will be the Western Outdoor News (WON) Tuna Jackpot. This one is a fan favorite as it's one of the lowest costs to enter, provides a bevy of divisions to enter and Pat McDonell and the gang from WON throw nightly parties with tons of raffles and prizes. If you're looking to enter that tourney, we have boats still available although they're likely to go quick as it looks like it may be a record year for entries. More entries, bigger payouts... that's a good reason to get into the action!
Inquire about a tournament charter boat for the WON event.

Fishing outside of the tournaments proved to be very consistent with only a couple of off days when swells picked up as a result of a late season Hurricane well to the south of us near Puerto Vallarta. Storms like that one can soup up the water and make for uncomfortable seas but they also push fish our way. Tuna to 300lbs and larger grade dorado were found immediately after the seas settled and they just keep coming. An average day of late includes a nice mix of dodo's and tuna with more than a fair share of opportunities to pitch live baits at tailing or feeding marlin. The good news is we're seeing more and more fish and the threat of hurricanes has passed us by.

NEED A CHARTER BOAT FOR A CABO TOURNAMENT? Contact us for availability.

Yep, marlin fishing from a kayak.... FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

KAYAK FISHING IN CABO SAN LUCAS
An Angling Experience You Won't Soon Forget
We're always looking for new ways to make a day fishing with us memorable, so we've just added Kayak Fishing as an option to our charters. If you've ever thought about testing your angling skills against marlin, dorado, or tuna from a kayak... now's your chance to actually do it. For an additional $150 fee, we'll bring along a Hobie kayak and when we get on some fish, we'll drop it over the side and launch you on your way to making lifelong memories. That's none other than owner Don Armstrong pulling on a striped marlin that took him for a 6 mile ride in bit over two hours. Don won, releasing the fish after reviving it alongside the kayak. These Hobie's are equipped with a pedal drive system that makes fishing at water level remarkably easy and comfortable. Advance notice is required for the kayak fishing option.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING SEASONS CALENDAR
Find the Best Time of Year to Fish for Your Favorite Gamefish Species
There really isn't a bad time of year to come fishing in Cabo San Lucas. In fact, a "bad" day fishing in Cabo is likely to rival the "best" day fishing anywhere else in the world. Still, there are times of the year that have been historically proven to be the best months to fish for game fish like marlin, dorado, tuna and wahoo. The chart below will help you make the decision as to when to target them and when you're most likely to have epic days on the water chasing your preferred game fish species.

Team Chupacabra and their first place blue marlin at the 2011 Los Cabos Billfish Tournament (photo courtesy of Los Cabos Billfish/Bonnier) Team Karma 3 and their tournament leading tuna of 216 lbs at the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament (photo courtesy of Los Cabos Billfish/Bonnier)

FISHING FORECAST FALL/WINTER 2011
Take a look at our seasonal fishing chart for Los Cabos at the bottom of this page and you'll see that November and December offer up good to excellent fishing for dorado, black, blue and striped marlin, sailfish and tuna. Our chart is based on historical data going back decades and it has proven to be very, very accurate. But, unlike most years of late, we're seeing conditions that have not been the norm for the last few years – those conditions being warm water that's clean and cobalt blue, some well defined temp breaks near banks and structure spots and an influx of bait with the first green mackerel of the year showing up around the Finger and Golden Gate banks.

What's that mean, you ask? It means we could very well be in for one of those banner Fall and Winter bites that can only be described as truly epic. The last time we saw conditions like this at this time of year it manifested an incredible striped marlin bite with double digit days at the Golden Gate and, believe it or not, into the hundreds when some diehard fishing nuts took to the Finger Bank and came away with counts as high as 197 stripes in a single day, on a single boat!!


This map shows the most productive banks, canyons and seamounts off of Los Cabos. Click on the image for a larger version.

The map shows where the Finger Bank is located in relation to Cabo San Lucas. It's about a 50 mile run and is outside normal charter range but a trip can be arranged with a fuel/time surcharge. Closer in and often as productive is the Golden Gate and San Jaime Banks. Those areas are within a normal full day charter for most of our boats.

On the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape, we'll be working a couple of areas, namely the Gordo Banks, Cabrillo Seamount and the 95 and 1150 spots. Those areas all hold fish year-round but can be especially productive in Fall and Winter. Tuna and dorado are prime targets but deep-dropping for snapper and grouper as well as early season yellowtail is always an option. The key is to ready to change tactics if your target species isn't biting and our crews are ready for just about anything.

So there you have it, our fishing forecast through the end of 2011. It's hard not to get excited with what we're seeing now and anticipate for the weeks ahead. If you're itchin' to get on some fish, come on down to Cabo and we'll hook you up!