Is there good fishing in and around Los Cabos - La Paz, Mexico?

The fishing here in Baja California Sur has to be among the best in the world.

 

I’m not a real fisherman but I’ve dabbled in it because I’ve been around it since I moved here in ’82. Also, I’ve travelled a bit. When you go to Croatia, as an example, you don’t see a fish in the water, even though the water is absolutely beautiful; nicer than this even in some of the coves around here. You won’t see one thing alive in...

The fishing here in Baja California Sur has to be among the best in the world.

 

I’m not a real fisherman but I’ve dabbled in it because I’ve been around it since I moved here in ’82. Also, I’ve travelled a bit. When you go to Croatia, as an example, you don’t see a fish in the water, even though the water is absolutely beautiful; nicer than this even in some of the coves around here. You won’t see one thing alive in the water.

 

One of the great things here is that the Sea of Cortez is so abundant but you won’t see giant fishing trawlers. What you do see are these little guys going out on these pangas. 

 

bThe fish you can catch here where I am in the area of La Ventana, about 40 minutes by car southeast of La Paz include Blue marlin,striped marlin, swordfish, mahi-mahi, wahoo, roosterfish, the fighting fish, like bottom fish, red snapper, sea bass—an endless variety of fish. 

 

On the Pacific side of Baja California Sur you get another variety of fish because it’s cooler water, such as halibut. This side, the Sea of Cortez side, a lot of these fish are warm water fish. In fact, they migrate in the winter from here. On the Pacific side, you have different lobsters, pearl oysters, or shrimps, etc.  As a fishing destination, including the cost, Baja California Sur this has got to beat the Caribbean and even Hawaii. 

 

The government has tried to protect this area. A lot of pressure came in the late 80’s. As Cabo grew around sport fishing and even Las Barriles grew around sport fishing, the guys involved in it were the same guys who were paying the taxes, and they were the guys motivating the government. They put a lot of pressure on.

 

Even Jacques Cousteau did a lot of research in this bay because of its abundant sea life. I remember watching a video with him where he was sitting with a minister of fisheries in La Paz asking them why they were letting the Japanese in here fishing. They minister was saying, “Oh, but they’re only allowed to take one species of fish,” and then Cousteau rolled the video he’d taken of these frozen marlin, and that blew the lid off. The hotels in Cabo went crazy and so they threw the Japanese out. It’s funny. In one way, Mexico is pretty good with environmental protection. All the islands in front of our property are protected. You can’t build anything on these islands. 

 

So one of the big reasons the fishing is so good here is it because it has not been overfished.

 

(Fishing with Ventana Bay Resort, Ventana Bay, Mexico, pictured.)

Fishing in Los Cabos and La Paz is always wonderful. We have a boat that we use on the beach. We are home to black and blue marlins, pelagic fish (fish that go across the oceans), and treefish. Fishing is huge in the sports industry in Los Cabos and La Paz. There’s a fairly small, regular commercial fishery from small boats that mainly catch red snapper.

 

Freediving for pelagic fish and whatever they can spear is also widespread around Los Cabos and...

Fishing in Los Cabos and La Paz is always wonderful. We have a boat that we use on the beach. We are home to black and blue marlins, pelagic fish (fish that go across the oceans), and treefish. Fishing is huge in the sports industry in Los Cabos and La Paz. There’s a fairly small, regular commercial fishery from small boats that mainly catch red snapper.

 

Freediving for pelagic fish and whatever they can spear is also widespread around Los Cabos and La Paz. Free divers dive down and just hang in the water waiting for the fish to come to them.

 

One of the area is famous for getting large fish is that the divers can leave the port and be in deep water where the big fish are within ten minutes, whereas in other places you would need hours to get out into the deep water. This is what makes freediving very popular. 

 

 

 

Another reason freediving is famous is that since it’s the peninsula, so you can get from the Pacific to the Sea of Cortez or vice versa very quickly. There is deep water in both the Pacific side and on the Sea of Cortez side. There’s a lot of catch and release to promote the preservation of the fish, and we all respect it. 

 

(Pacific crevalle jack, a pelagic fish Baja California Sur, Mexico, pictured.)