Help with choosing where and when to fish Mexico

[newchipper]

I am going to buy a trip to Mexico for my girlfriend for Christmas, and we both enjoy fishing, so I think its a great opportunity to try deepsea fishing, which neither of us has done. The only problem is that I am having trouble wrapping my head around what part of Mexico, and what part of the season is the closest to a sure bet. Ideally, we would like to go as early in 2012 as possible, but are willing to go later if it gets us into good fishing seasons, and are open to going to either coast. I would like to have as consistent of fishing as possible, and would like a black or blue marlin, or bigger tuna to be a possibility. I understand none of these would be for sure, but would like to have a good hope anyways. I have found a couple of links searching on here, which have been a big help, but lots of other info I find on the internet seems to conflict each other, and thought I would ask for some advice--there is always lots of great info on this forum. Thanks in advance for any help you offer. Aaron

[Kingfisher]

Head to the Atlantic side for sure. I have been to both the Pacific side and the Atlantic sides. The ocean on the Atlantic side is just such a deeper blue. It is spectacular. Venders galore all over the beach on the Pacific side in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

I would not go to Cancun. But farther south to Playa del Carmen area. The "Mayan Riviera". There are plenty of sites that will tell you when to go and what sort of fishing to expect.
http://www.mayanrivierafishing.blogspot.com/

My wife and I stayed just off from Playa in Cozumel. It was fantastic. Great snorkling and great fishing to be had. No crowds and no venders.

Another great place to go that is cheap as can be is Cuba. Most of the places they have are all inclusive. Finding a fishing guide can be tough. But when you do get out it is well worth it. Some of the largest bone fish I have ever caught were down in Cuba.

Enjoy your trip.
Rob

[Gunner22a]

Been to Cancun and always go fishing. Headed back for the first two weeks of Feb coming up. Have always sailed out of Marina Chock Choy (wrong spelling for sure) at the north end of the resort strip. Lots of choices for boats and you can save about 25% by booking online and giving a deposit. I have fished for 6 hours for as little as $105US beer and soft drinks included on a shared charter for 6 people. Christmas is early for the big sailfish which normally come late Feb - Apr but there are lots of other fish. You will catch baracuda all day long but they arn't the best for eating. In fact during some months they can make you ill. If you want fish to keep ask the skipper to go ground fishing for a bit. They will know where to find the grouper and red snapper, both of which are fantastic eating. Most of the resorts will cook them up for you and most local restaurants will for something like 5 bucks. I found the west coast about 50% more expensive

[Oldmanfry]

I went to cabo San Lucas one fall late November, (I was tagged out already) that was suppose to be the best time of year for marlins. I ended up catching 2-200lb blue marlin, my g/f caught a 160 pounder. We then cruised around and caught about a dozen Spanish mackerel. Good eatin! There is a place there called the golden triangle. There were a ton of boats in this mile wide "triangle". When the marlin come up to sun themselves, these birds swoop down and grab the barnacles off them. Every body flies over there and throws out their lines. It is pretty cool watchin the marlin fly outta the air and grab your hook and take off. It's not good if you easily get motion sickness.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[Gary K]

I speak highly of captian ricks out of puerto adventureas. About 10 minutes outside of playa del carmen.

They have lots of boats, great staff, and to top it all off, resonable prices.

another plus side of puerto adventureas, There is lots of returants and bars that will cook your catch free, or next to no charge. And a few of the resturants are right on the water in the marina, which has soem dolphins to watch in there at all times.

http://captricksfishing.com

Hope im not violating any rules posting that link up there. but there it is!


http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/...87/marlin3.jpg

[fish farmer]

Cabo San Lucas, October to end of November, hands down the best marlin and sailfish fishing in mexico.

[bubba 96]

google captain rick, here is link http://captricksfishing.com/ he is awsome went yr b4 and he put us on huge fish and lots, 3 sailfish, barricuda, dorado all on same day dorados are awsome to catch.....email this guy and set it up he will give ya the best times to go....We went last wk apr 1st wk of may..


Sorry Gary missed your post...But thats confirms capt rick...

[Don K]

Originally Posted by fish farmer

Cabo San Lucas, October to end of November, hands down the best marlin and sailfish fishing in mexico.

X2. The big fish are on the pacific side before Xmas, the Caribbean is typically later (February). We've chartered private boats for as little as $350 for a 10 hr trip. I've found the best deals by heading down to thevmarinas and dealing directly with the captains.
If you're going to cancun or playa you could look at chartering a panga. Most of the fishing is fairly closer to shore and you'll save a couple hundred bucks. They're still pretty decent boats 24-28' and have lots of power. Just a bit more wave action!

[Brandonkop]

Just got Back from the Maya Riviera, we stayed at the Barcelo Maya Palace which was pretty nice. They had fishing boats about five minutes from the resort. This time of year isn't the greatest, but one of the boats caught 4 Mahi Mahi on a 4 hour trip. We just got a Bonita, 6 bites that shredded the bait and a couple bottom fish. I asked the guys on board when is the best time of the year. He told me Come in May before the full moon for the best fishing of the year. So there you have it right from the guys who do this everyday. Go to the Caribean side... way more beautiful. But if you want to catch a few hundred pound Tuna then you might want to go to the Pacific Side.

Brandon