Cabo San Lucas trip turns slow start into tuna, marlin action
A quiet run near La Herradura ended with a dorado, a healthy striped marlin release and a tuna, all from one patient offshore spread.
A quiet stretch off La Herradura turned into the kind of mixed-bag finish Cabo crews remember, with a dorado, a released striped marlin and a tuna all coming after the first bite window shut down. The trip started slowly on May 13 as the boat headed back toward the same La Herradura area that had fished well the day before, but a heavy concentration of bait did not translate into early bites.
That dead period is the lesson baked into the run. In Cabo, good bait and clean-looking water can still mean a long wait, and this outing showed it plainly. The crew kept working the zone and then began the run back toward port, where about 4 miles off Cabo San Lucas the day finally turned. A dorado ate a pink trolling lure and came aboard, giving the spread its first real pulse of the trip.
The key move came while that dorado was still being fought. A rigged dead bait stayed in the spread, and it drew a striped marlin strike. The fish was released healthy, the sort of clean release offshore crews want when the bite finally opens up. Later in the trip, the crew added a tuna to the catch, finishing with the kind of multi-species mix that makes Cabo such a reliable place to keep a tuna rod in the rotation even when the first part of the day feels dead.
The final tally was one striped marlin released, one mahi mahi landed and one tuna landed. That mix fit the broader spring pattern in Los Cabos, where offshore anglers can expect striped marlin and dorado action while yellowfin tuna start to matter more as the season pushes toward summer. Another Cabo report from earlier in the week had already shown how stubborn the billfish could be near La Herradura, and this one carried the same message in a more productive form: keep baits in the water, keep moving with the structure and the bait, and do not leave Cabo too early.
The trip was never about a hot start. It was about staying in the game long enough for the spread to find its rhythm, and in Cabo, that late turn is often the whole trip.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
