Cabo San Lucas in a Week!

[Little Red Man]

Heading to Cabo in just one more week! Super pumped, but had a question.

I WILL be booking a boat for a few days, but really want to fish my arse off, and likely cannot afford to pay for a charter for every day I day I am there.

So, in some of the other threads about Cabo on the site, folks were alluding to bringing some of their own gear. I am wondering what might constitute a "surf" rod. Would a 9' steelhead rod with an Abu Ambassadeur do the trick, do ya think? Should I buy some lures in Canada before going? If so, what would you recommend?

Any info greatly appreciated folks.

[honker_clonker]

I was down there at the end of August and brought some of my own gear. I used spinning equipment in the 6000-8000 size range and 9 foot heavy action rods. My mainline was 50lb suffix 832 and I used 40 lb leader.

Lure selection was 3 oz Williamson Abyss vertical jigs, the largest size rapala X walk in clown color, the largest deadly dick/ cast masters, Roberts Rangers and crippled herring. Most of my lures were in the 2-4 oz range and 4-6" range which equates to long casts. The colors should be blues, silvers, and red and whites.

Cast around rocks, bouys, color changes, bait and retrieve really fast. Blind casting can produce fish too. Skipping the lure along the surface or having it dart just below the surface was the ticket when I was there. The setup seems overkill but there is potential to get 40+ pounders from shore. Even the little guys will give you a run.

Other techniques will probably work like soaking bait but theres nothing like having fish crash the surface after your bait.

[Little Red Man]

Great info Honker...thanks much....out of curiosity, what did you catch using these lures and techniques?

PS Did you buy the lures here or down there?

[honker_clonker]

I was catching Jack crevalle, rooster fish, lady fish, needle fish, pompano I think and some unidentifiable other species. Nothing too big but fun none the less. The best results were obtained early in the morning, just before sun up until about 9 am. The sea of cortez has the most life I have ever seen, its truly amazing.

I bought most of the lures in Canada but also some down there. I brought a 13x9" single tray tackle box and it had everything I needed. Dressed trebles seemed to draw more hits than standard as well. Most of the lures are pretty standard but the Roberts Ranger was a hot lure I picked up down there. It was very easy to keep on top and casted over 100 yards into a head wind no problem. High gear ratio is important because cranking like mad in 40 degree heat takes a toll on you!

[Tyangelo]

Picked up a 170lb Striped Marlin there in 2005. Went with Red Rum
charters.