These diverse action-packed saltwater fisheries are just an inexpensive, short flight from any city in the West! Billfish, dorado, roosterfish and yellowtail are the top targets and the fishing often peaks in our winter months when there is little else on the menu.
Two million years ago a peninsula broke away from the mainland due to tectonic forces, creating the Sea of Cortez. It left 12 islands scattered in the sea, and created 3 more on the Pacific side, most of which are protected within biosphere preserves. Cortes navigated the sea in 1535, followed by Jesuit missionaries in 1697, establishing a mission in Loreto. Next came the Spanish, and fast forward to today and now Loreto, Cabo, and La Paz each feature modern airports with international flights arriving daily.
Little did these early explorers know that Baja Sur would become one of the finest sportfisheries on the planet. Baja Sur offers marlin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna, roosterfish, and yellowtail for the traveling angler, with excellent fishing opportunities nearly every month of the year.
With the vast Pacific Ocean to the west, and the exotic Sea of Cortez to the east, few destinations offer the diversity of fishing found south of the border in the waters surrounding Baja California Sur. With quick access to strategically located airports, this is an easy access fishery teeming with wild roosterfish, colorful dorado, striped marlin, yellowtail, and more.
Ocean currents collide offshore of Bahia Magdalena, trapping massive amounts of baitfish against a series of sea mounts and pinnacles. This fishery is legendary for striped marlin attacking baitfish on the surface, as are the mangrove lined shorelines harboring pargo and snook.
In sharp contrast to Bahia Magdalena is the Sea of Cortez. Less than 150 miles in width and up to 14,000 feet in depth, the typically calm waters of the Sea of Cortez are home to aggressive roosterfish, dorado, golden trevally, yellowtail and many other exotic species willing to attack your fly.
An additional joy to the fishing in Baja California Sur are the encounters with marine mammals. Fin, Blue and Bryde’s whales are commonly seen, and the magnificent migrations of Gray whales bring mothers and calves into the bays of Baja California Sur each spring.
