Cabo San Lucas & the East Cape Fishing Guide

Cabo San Lucas is best known for marlin, and boats also catch dorado, tuna, wahoo and roosterfish. The East Cape, around Los Barriles and Buena Vista, is a top place for roosterfish from the beach or a panga. Cabo Pulmo National Park on the East Cape is closed to sport fishing, so plan your trips around it.

📍 Southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Boats leave from the Cabo San Lucas marina and from San José del Cabo; East Cape boats run out of Los Barriles and Buena Vista on the Sea of Cortez side. Gordo Banks lies off San José del Cabo, and Cabo Pulmo National Park is up the East Cape coast.

📅 Baja Mexico Fishing Calendar — best months, closed seasons, bait & rigs →

Map: spots, ramps and marinas

★ Fishing hot spot · ● Boat ramp · ● Marina · ▭ Protected area (solid red = no fishing, dashed = fishing with rules)

Open the full Baja California & Sea of Cortez map →

Quick facts

Bisbee's Black & Blue marlin tournament started in Cabo San Lucas in 1982 with a $10,000 purse; it is held each October and a marlin must weigh at least 300 lb to qualify.
The Black & Blue's record blue marlin weighed 993 lb (1994). In 2023 the winning team, Stella June, took a record $4.4 million.
Bisbee's also runs the Los Cabos Offshore (October) and the East Cape Offshore, fished out of Buena Vista in late July or early August.
Gordo Banks is a seamount about 8 miles off San José del Cabo; its top is about 110 ft down.
Cabo Pulmo National Park was decreed on June 6, 1995, covers 7,111 hectares (99% of it sea) and protects the only coral reef in the Gulf of California.

What you can catch

Striped marlin
Marlin are rated good in every month on Cabo charter calendars; peak season is about May to December.
Blue and black marlin
The big fish of the October Bisbee's tournaments; release is the norm.
Dorado (mahi-mahi)
Best in summer and fall; sport-fishing-only species, 2 per day.
Yellowfin tuna
Late summer and fall; Gordo Banks is a well-known tuna spot.
Wahoo
Fall and winter offshore.
Roosterfish
East Cape beaches and inshore, about April to November; can reach 5 ft and over 100 lb.
Sailfish
Late summer and fall.
Snapper, grouper and jacks
Inshore and bottom fishing, best spring to early summer.

Month by month

January	Marlin, wahoo and mako shark offshore.
February	Marlin and swordfish; grouper and jack crevalle inshore.
March	Marlin; yellowtail, snapper and grouper inshore.
April	Marlin; roosterfish start showing on East Cape beaches.
May	Marlin season picks up; roosterfish, snapper and yellowtail.
June	Marlin; roosterfish and snapper inshore.
July	Dorado arrive; roosterfish on the East Cape. East Cape Offshore tournament late July or early August.
August	Dorado, tuna, wahoo, sailfish and marlin; roosterfish still good.
September	Peak mix of marlin, dorado, tuna, sailfish and wahoo.
October	Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue tournaments; marlin, tuna, dorado, wahoo.
November	Marlin, tuna, dorado and wahoo; roosterfish tapering off.
December	Marlin, tuna, wahoo and mako shark.

Tips

Get a CONAPESCA sport fishing permit for every person fishing from the boat; most charters arrange it, so ask when you book.
Do not fish inside Cabo Pulmo National Park. Sport fishing is not among the allowed activities in any zone of the park.
Release marlin and sailfish when you can; the legal limit is 1 billfish per angler per day.
For roosterfish, fish the East Cape beaches from Los Barriles and Buena Vista with live bait or poppers.
Do not fillet your catch on the boat; the rules forbid it.

Rules and license

CONAPESCA (sport fishing permits and limits); CONANP (Cabo Pulmo National Park) · Official rules page ↗

Mexican sport fishing permit (CONAPESCA): needed to fish from a boat or underwater; fishing from shore needs no permit. Permits are individual and cannot be transferred. Carry it while fishing. Fees change, so check current rules.
Daily limit (NOM-017-PESC-1994): 10 fish per angler, no more than 5 of one species. Marlin, sailfish, swordfish and shark: 1 per angler per day, counting as 5 fish. Dorado, roosterfish and tarpon: 2 per angler per day (of any of these), also counting as 5 fish.
Marlin, sailfish, swordfish, tarpon, roosterfish and dorado are reserved for sport fishing only within 50 nautical miles of the coast (fisheries law LGPAS, Art. 68).
One rod or hand line per angler; line no stronger than 60 kg (130 lb). No filleting fish on board. Sport-caught fish may not be sold.
Trips longer than 3 days: you may keep no more than 3 days' worth of limits. Fish over the limit must be released alive.
Sport fishing is for fish only: no taking crustaceans (lobster, crab, shrimp) or shellfish. No fishing within 250 m of swimming beaches or of commercial fishing gear.
Cabo Pulmo National Park: sport fishing is not among the allowed activities in any zone of the park. In the preservation zone (about 35% of the park, over the reef) all fishing and anchoring are banned. Only permanent residents may fish for home use, in set areas.
Cabo Pulmo: anchor only on sand clear of coral. Visitors pay a park fee and must use CONANP-authorized operators.

Rules change. Always check the official page before you fish.

Boat ramps and marinas

The map above shows 3 boat ramps and 3 marinas from OpenStreetMap. Tap any dot for directions.

Marina del Rey
Puerto La Ribera
Puerto Los Cabos

Sources

Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every number on this page comes from the sources listed above.