Wahoo Fishing in Cabo San Lucas

Why anglers come to Cabo for wahoo

Wahoo are the drag-screamer of the Pacific — a striped missile that can hit a lure moving at fifteen knots and empty a spool before you clear the second rod. They are also one of the best-eating fish in the ocean, with firm white fillets that most of our guests take home to the grill. That combination of speed, size and table fare makes wahoo one of the most requested species we target from August through December.

Cabo San Lucas sits on the tip of the Baja peninsula where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific, and the wahoo stack up on the seamounts and current breaks a short run from the marina. The Gordo Banks, the 95 Spot, the 1150 and the Pacific-side ridges all hold fish when the water is warm — and unlike many destinations, you can leave the dock after breakfast and be setting the wahoo spread within the hour.

Wahoo here are solitary hunters that travel in small packs, so a hooked fish usually means more are around. Some of our best days have been triple and quadruple hookups that turned the cockpit into controlled chaos. A 40- or 50-pound wahoo on light drag is a genuine test, and the 60-plus pounders we see every season are legitimate trophy fish.

Where we fish wahoo around Cabo

Most of our wahoo come off the offshore banks and any current break that holds bait. The exact spot changes with the water — your captain reads the temperature breaks and bait marks each morning — but these are the grounds we work:

• Gordo Banks — the inner and outer bank north of San José del Cabo; the most consistent wahoo ground in the region once the water passes 78°F.
• The 95 Spot and 1150 Bank — seamounts on the Cortez side that concentrate bait and wahoo on the tide changes, often with tuna mixed in.
• Golden Gate and the Pacific ridges — when the current wraps around the cape, the Pacific-side banks can be loaded while the Cortez side is quiet.
• Iman and La Fortuna banks — East Cape structure we run to on overnight trips, famous for fall wahoo when the moon is right.
• Any temperature or color break offshore — wahoo hunt the edges; a two-degree break with flying fish is worth a dozen passes.

How we fish them: high-speed trolling and the moon

Wahoo fishing is about speed and the moon phase. We troll at twelve to fifteen knots — far faster than normal marlin trolling — running a spread of deep-diving lures and heavy marauder-style plugs that track straight at that speed. The fast retrieve triggers the wahoo's instinct to chase down fleeing prey, and it covers the miles of bank edge you need to find a pack.

The five days on either side of the full moon are the prime window. Wahoo feed hard at night under a bright moon, and the bite around dawn and the tide changes can be electric. If your dates are flexible, tell us and we will point you at the best moon.

We also catch wahoo slow-trolling live bait and casting iron to surface boils, and they regularly crash the marlin spread — but if wahoo are the target for the day, we rig for speed and run the banks hard.

One thing every wahoo angler learns: their razor teeth make short work of monofilament. Every lure in the wahoo spread runs a short single-strand or multi-strand wire leader, and we keep wired spare rods ready because the first strike is rarely the only one.

Wahoo gear and tackle

• High-speed trolling lures — Marauders, Bombers and heavy jet heads in dark purple/black and red/white for bright days, orange and pink early and late.
• Wire leaders — 90–175 lb single-strand or 7-strand cable, non-negotiable against wahoo teeth.
• 30–50 lb class trolling tackle with smooth drags — a wahoo's first run peels hundreds of yards and there is no time to adjust.
• Heavy swivels and ball-bearing snap swivels to keep the lures tracking at 12–15 knots.
• Everything is included on our boats — we supply the full wahoo spread, rigged fresh for the day's water. You only need to bring sun protection.

Wahoo month by month in Cabo San Lucas

What a wahoo trip with us includes

Wahoo trips run on our offshore boats — the 28ft walkaround for small groups on a budget, up to the sportfishers for families and full-day comfort. Every trip includes the crew, fuel, full tackle and wahoo spread, live bait, two fishing licences, ice, water, beer and lunch.

We fillet and bag your catch at the dock, and wahoo vacuum-packs and freezes beautifully for the flight home. If you want to chase the fall full-moon windows, book early — those dates are the first to go.