The All Weather Coats: Fishing in Cabo

The one thing Stevie decided we would do before we even left Washington was to go on a fishing charter. Apparently Cabo is a destination spot for sport fishing and hosts one of the biggest tournaments for marlin in the world. So on Wednesday we headed out on a 25' boat to try to catch some fish. We were joined by a lovely couple we met at the pool on Tuesday, Chris and Chris (male and female). The male Chris had wanted to go fishing but was hesitant to go by himself so it worked out great for us to share the boat.

The trip started off great - we got an awesome view of El Arco de Cabo san Lucas, an arch shaped rock, on the way out as well as a great view of the coast.

Within 1/2 hour of leaving the dock we were into some serious fish and were reeling in dorado (mahi mahi) right and left. I reeled in one, but left the others to Stevie and Chris.

Unfortunately, this is where the fun ended for me. Despite taking a Dramamine and then another, my propensity for sea sickness overcame me and I spent the next 4 1/2 hours feeling like I had a bad case of morning sickness.

Stevie's highlight, though, was when the captain got a marlin on the line and he got to reel it in for a minute or two. The tricky fish then soared out of the water, performed a fantastic twist, and promptly threw the hook out of its mouth. I know Stevie was sad, but the funny thing was the boat captain who was mad! He reprimanded Stevie for not reeling fast enough even though he had never taught us the proper technique for reeling in a big marlin. And it was technique - it was very impressive how the captain spotted the marlin in the waves and pursued it until he got it on the line. It was some serious talent.

Getting the marlin on the line

The fin of the marlin

Stevie reeling the marlin

A fun part of the fishing trip was at the very end when we were pulling back into the harbor. Pedro, the helper, took the leftover bait fish out of the tank and fed them to the pelicans and other birds. Stevie and Chris tried too and nearly lost their fingers in their massive beaks!

Finally, when we got back to the dock, the captain asked us if we wanted any of the fish. We asked for one of the dorado. They then take it to a guy who fillets it right there for you, sticks it in a bag and off you go! We knew that most restaurants would prepare the fish for you so we decided to take it back to our resort and have them cook it up. It was a fantastic fish dinner - couldn't be any fresher!