Sportfishing in Cabo?

[pattict1]

We are on Princess and am curious if anyone has done this excursion. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

[gottago2mexico]

While I don't know anything about specifically the Princess excursion, normally the cruise fishing trips are shared boats with up to 6-8 people on the boat. You have one line each, and the primary focus is to try to help each person catch at least something. If all 6-8 other people on the boat are fun to talk to and be around, this works pretty well, however if one person is a jerk, then it can spoil the trip for everyone. Either way, you're not allowed to choose where and how you'd like to fish, and the boat will normally be somewhat crowded.

 

Private charters are the way to go - you get up to six lines all to yourself (or split between your group), so you have six times the chance of reeling in a fish. You can go where you want, fish how you want, and have the total attention of the captain and crew. The deck is not crowded, and they'll usually leave on your schedule, instead of you racing to make sure you make the boat. You also usually get a better boat this way, and this is the only way you're likely to have a shot at a big-un.

 

Keep in mind that no matter what kind of trip you take, you will not be allowed to take the fish back on the boat with you. You can have a local restaurant cook it up for you if you have time (Solomon's Landing on the marina will do this for you), you can do catch & release, or if it's really big, you can even ship it back on a plane to your home.

 

Hope this helps!

[pattict1]

Thanks for the info. I am always nervous about booking my own tour outside of the cruiselines. I have this fear that something will happen and we will get left behind. The tour on your own sounds much more appealing than the cruiselines sportsfishing.

 

Do you any idea how much it would run to do this outside of the cruiseline?

 

Patgti

[PeggySand]

HI, two years ago, my husband and his sister's boyfriend hired a panga (is that the right word?? It's a little boat with two crew members) and went fishing. They hooked a 179 pound Thresher Shark that took them around three hours to reel in (they took turns). They paid about $40 pp to go fishing, and it was the highlight of our 11-night cruise for both of them. However, they were both sore the next day from the reeling in of the fish! Lots of the locals ate good that day because they lined up as the shark was being cut up. Not knowing the rules, we took a large piece back on the Mercury with us and put it into the fridge. The next day in Mazatlan, we took it to one of the timeshare resorts and they cooked it for us while we listened to the sales pitch. The whole day was free including use of the resort, food and drinks and transportation. They even sent us home with a bottle of Kaluha for each of us!! It is taking a chance when you hire a boat yourself, but in our case, it couldn't have worked out better.

 

Have a great time,

Peggy

[pattict1]

PeggySand,

 

Thanks for the info. It sounds like a wonderful experience. So where did you hook up with this panga?

[gottago2mexico]

 

Do you any idea how much it would run to do this outside of the cruiseline?

 

 

For a good quality 26' to 28' cabin cruiser, with a restroom (pangas don't normally have restrooms), your charter will start about $400 - $480 (depending on quality of boat and charter). It goes up from there if you want a larger or more exclusive boat. This is for a full 8-hour charter.

 

There are shorter 5-hour charters in Cabo you can get that are perfect for cruise passengers. These normally run about $340 and up.

 

These prices are for the whole boat, not just a spot on a shared boat. So, if the ship is charging you $180 for a spot on the boat, if you have two people, you are actually paying less to do a 5-hour private charter than just two spots on a shared boat. It's the way to go.