Cabo San Lucas: Fish On The Line!

Going ocean fishing is something on many fishermen’s bucket list of things to do. For many other people, they would like to, one day, go swimming with dolphins. I got to experience both in a one-week trip to Cabo San Lucas and let me tell you, it’s an experience that I will never forget.

Context

In order to better understand the following blog post, allow me to put things into context, or provide some perspective.

Some find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn’t feel the need, or desire, to go spend some time in a hot country during the long winter months in Canada. The same people also seldom understand that there are people who aren’t fond of the heat. I’m one of those people. I like my four seasons (yes, winter included). I don’t like the hottest days of the year. In fact, my favourite season is Fall, when the days are comfortable and the nights are cooler.

But just because we don’t understand something, it doesn’t make it any less true or real for the people who are like that though.

Also, when referring to yours truly, you have to understand that we’re talking about a bushman here. My peace, my heaven, is when I’m out in the woods. Camping, hunting, fishing, driving around in trails on my ATV, or walking through nature. The further from society and it’s constant bickering, away from the noise, the crowds, the easily offended, this entitled society, the more I feel… connected! That’s why I have never returned to a place like Las Vegas after visiting it once. It’s way too crowded, too noisy and fast-paced for a guy like me!

CABO SAN LUCAS

So how do you lure a guy like me to some beach resort in Mexico, a place I had no intention of visiting? Aside from the willingness in a happy couple doing things for one another because we know that it makes our significant other happy, one has to capture their significant other’s curiosity with something that they like. In this case, Sharon mentioned “ocean fishing” and that was enough to convince me.

Before I could blink and change my mind, she had us booked in an adult only all-inclusive resort, the Hotel Riu Palace, for a week of relaxation. That was back in February 2020, just before COVID. I mean… all you can eat buffets at breakfast, lunch and dinner… free booze… and some ocean fishing? Sure, I’ll ‘suffer’ through a few hours of sun for that! Worse case scenario, our room will have air conditioning, right? Most importantly, she will be happy.

🐬 Swimming with dolphins

As we were going to be there for a week and my idea of fun isn’t roasting by the pool or the beach in the hot sun, we decided to book a couple of activities. Of course, we had pre-determined that one of those activities would be ocean fishing, the main reason that drew me to accept going there to start with.

But when flipping through the pages of an activities booklet, we saw that we could go swimming with dolphins. Sharon and I decided to purchase this activity as well. After all, when will we be able to do that ever again, right?

So on a beautiful morning, off we went, sitting with in a small group, in a few inches of water, with a beautiful creature sliding up right in front of us and allowing us to touch and pet it. The texture of the dolphin’s skin is like rubber, but with a soft and smooth surface. It was quite neat. As dolphin do, it did a few jumps and dives in the deeper part of the pool, showing off in front of us.

But then, the real fun started. We got to go in the deep end with her, one at a time. As I was hanging on to its dorsal and side fins, this beautiful creature took me to the bottom of the pool, gained speed, swam up towards the surface and took me straight out of the water. What an amazing ride! Feeling the power of this dolphin right beside me was an eye opener for sure.

🎣 Ocean fishing

Now, to the meat and potatoes… at least for yours truly! We had the option of booking with a group of fishermen or to have a more private setting in a boat with just the two of us. We felt like a more intimate setting, without having a bunch of strangers on the boat, was a better way to go. If you’re going to do it, might has well do it right.

So in the early morning, the two captains took us both from the Marina on this fishing boat. It was a beautiful morning and the ocean was relatively calm. One of the captains was driving while the other was getting our lines ready, some with live baits. Once the lines were in the water, the captains were on the upper balcony of the boat while we were sitting more at water level, enjoying the ride while watching the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean.

Then out of the blue, one of the captains jumped down and threw a line with live bait in the ocean behind the boat. Soon, something heavy was tugging at the line. That’s when I sat in the chair at the back of the boat as the captain handed me the fishing rod, and felt the powerful fish at the other end, while hour host was reeling in the other lines.

I had no idea what was on that hook but I knew that it was a hell of a lot heavier than the 30-35 lbs Spring salmon I had pulled out of Northern BC! Having never fished in the ocean before, I know that there are some weird species out there so I was sort of expecting some sort of weird shaped, colourful fish that I knew nothing about.

As I’m rocking back and forth trying to reel this fish in, some 75-100 yards away, I see a Marlin jump about 10 feet out of the water. I asked the captain if that was the fish I had on, and he confirmed that it was. My eyes opened even wider as I let go a “this fucker is coming into the boat“, adding to my motivation not to let it off the hook.

After bringing it close to the boat three times only to helplessly see it dive back down, it became a battle of will, a test as to which one of us would tire out first between the fish and the fisherman. But eventually, some 45 minutes later, this beautiful Striped Marlin was pulled on board. He was estimated to be between 120-130 lbs and the captain took out his measuring tape to confirmed that it was… 8-feet long from bill to tail!

After making the decision to keep it (and to get it mounted on a plaque), the captain secured it at the back of the boat and threw the lines back into the water. Not even five minutes later, not one, but two lines had fish on! It was Sharon’s turn to sit in that chair. To help the captain, I grabbed the other line while standing in the boat. Not one, but two Marlins were jumping out of the water! As Sharon was working on one, I was working on the other while the captain was reeling in the other lines. Then the captain went and help coach Sharon. Unfortunately, the fish I had on managed to get himself unhooked so I ended up reeling an empty line into the boat.

Meanwhile, Sharon battled hard with her own Marlin. She had an injured shoulder and after a while, it was becoming too painful for her to battle such a big catch. So she asked me to take over in the chair and I eventually battled that fish into the boat as well. We weren’t going to keep that one (one was enough) so Sharon got a quick picture with her own Marlin and we released it. Fun fact is hers had a broken bill, something that happens from time to time when they’re fighting in the ocean. It was approximately the same size as mine.

The captains later told us that 80% of the time, people don’t catch Marlins when going out. We were fortunate enough to be on the right boat, at the right place, at the right time to not only bring one home, but to hook three of them, bringing two of them into the boat!

It’s with burning arms, but with an endless smile on my face, rich of a once in a lifetime experience, that we pulled into the Marina with a “Trophy” flag on the boat, as people gathered to see what we caught.

We donated the meat to the captains, for their families, but kept a slab of the tail. One of the captain knew the owner of a restaurant at the Marina and he took us there with the piece of Marlin in a plastic bag. The Chef cooked it for us, seven different ways, and served it to us on a platter, as we sipped on a cold Daiquiri, watching the boats coming in and out of the Marina. Talk about eating fresh! Straight from the ocean, into our plate!

As a good “fisherwoman”, Sharon pulled out the right lure to get me to bite by taking me to Mexico, therefore catching the biggest fish of her life… in yours truly. I’ll be the first to admit though… it was well worth the experience! Will I return again? I wouldn’t go for me but as in any good couple, I might do it for her as I know that she likes it.