Striped Marlin Fishing in Cabo San Lucas

Why anglers travel to Cabo for striped marlin

Cabo San Lucas is the only place on earth where you can catch a striped marlin every month of the year. The fish never fully leave — they thin out in the summer heat and stack up again as the water cools — and from late fall through spring they gather on the banks in numbers that make multiple releases per boat, per day a realistic expectation, not a lucky day.

What makes striped marlin fishing in Cabo San Lucas special is that it is a hunting game, not a trolling lottery. With the SIMRAD SY50 omni sonar we find the fish — sometimes singles cruising the surface, sometimes a pack stacked on a sardine bait ball — and then we pitch a live bait in front of them. You see the fish light up, watch the bill come out of the water, and get the bite with your eyes before it happens with the rod. First-timers are ruined for blind trolling forever.

They are also the most athletic of the marlins on light tackle. A 150 lb striped marlin will greyhound across the surface in long, greyhounding leaps, tail-walk, and jump twenty times on a good fight. On the 30 lb stand-up gear we fish them on, every fight is a genuine contest.

Best striped marlin spots around Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin are found by reading water, bait and sonar rather than running to a fixed mark, but these are the grounds we work most:

• Golden Gate Bank — 20 miles up the Pacific side, and the heart of the winter fishery. When the sardines stack up here, this is where the bait-ball action happens.
• San Jaime Bank — a little closer in, holds fish on the temperature edges and is often the first place they show in November.
• The Finger Bank — further north toward Todos Santos; worth the run when the Gate is slow or crowded.
• The 95 Spot and the 1150 — southeast toward San José del Cabo, good when the Pacific side is blown out by north wind.
• The Lighthouse and the grounds right off the Arch — striped marlin cruise past the harbour mouth itself; some of our fastest bites of the season happen inside a mile of the marina.
• The East Cape — La Ribera, Punta Pescadero and Cabo Pulmo hold striped marlin through the spring on the Cortez side.

Striped marlin season in Cabo: month by month

There is no month you cannot catch one — that is what makes Cabo the Marlin Capital of the World — but the fishing changes through the year. Here is what we see on the grounds.

How we fish for striped marlin

The day starts with live bait — caballito or mackerel from the bait boats outside the marina before sunrise. Then we run to the grounds and start hunting: binoculars, the SY50 sonar sweeping 360 degrees around the boat, and a constant watch for tailing fish, frigate birds and bait on the surface.

When we find fish, the mate rigs a live bait on a circle hook and we ease into position for the pitch. The bait lands ahead of the fish, the marlin turns, and you watch the whole eat. On bait balls we slow-troll live baits around the edge or cast into the school — when it is right, multiple hookups at once are common and the cockpit turns to chaos in the best way.

We also raise them on lures and teasers. Pulling a spread of rigged bait, teasers and skirted lures covers water when the fish are scattered, and switching a teased-up marlin onto a pitched bait is one of the great thrills in sportfishing.

• Pitching live caballito or mackerel to sighted fish — the core of the Cabo striped marlin game.
• Sonar hunting with the SIMRAD SY50 omni to find fish below and around the boat.
• Slow-trolling live baits around bait balls on the Golden Gate.
• Lures and teasers with rigged bait in the spread to raise scattered fish.
• Circle hooks on everything — quick, clean releases, and we tag fish for research when the guest wants to.

Striped marlin gear and tackle

All tackle is included and rigged for the size class we expect. If you bring your own, this is what handles Cabo striped marlin:

• Rods: 6.5–7 ft 20–30 lb stand-up rods for bait fishing; 30–50 lb outfits for the lure spread.
• Reels: quality lever-drag reels in the 20–30 class with 400+ yards of line — a striped marlin takes line fast and jumps closer to the boat than you expect.
• Line: 20–30 lb monofilament, no braid on the bait outfits. Light line is the whole point — it is what makes the fight fair.
• Leader: 60–100 lb fluorocarbon, short and clean so the crew can grab it for the release.
• Hooks: 6/0–8/0 circle hooks matched to the bait, rigged to swim naturally.
• Lures: medium skirted lures in purple/black and blue/white, plus casting poppers and stickbaits for fish on the surface.
• You: polarized sunglasses are essential for watching the bite, plus sun protection, a long-sleeve shirt and a camera you can grab fast.

What a guided striped marlin trip looks like

We leave the marina around 6 am, pick up live bait on the way out, and run to whichever bank the water looks best that week. Most winter days we are among fish within an hour of the marina. Full days give the best shot at multiple releases; in peak season a half day can produce, but we will always recommend the full day for marlin.

Striped marlin are a catch-and-release fishery on our boats. The crew handles the fish boatside, removes the hook, and revives it alongside until it kicks away strong. If you want a mount, we take measurements and photos for a replica — the fish swims free.

Included: captain and mate, all rods and terminal tackle, live bait, drinking water, ice, beers, Gatorade and burritos or sandwiches, plus two Mexican fishing licences (additional licences are $25 each). No hidden fees, and multi-day discounts are available.