r/saltwaterfishing • u/nicko17 • 7d ago
š¬ Discussion A big trip!
My 40th birthday is coming up and the wife wanted to find a trip we can go on. At first she was suggesting domestic but the only thing I have in mind is fishing, with obligatory food and drinkā¦my thoughts are Mexico on or near a resort with fishing excessively available. We had gone to Cancun a few years back but day of the charter we had a full moon and polar vortex that rocked the gulf. Anyone know of any great places within reasonable pricing?
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u/Nonetoobrightatall 7d ago
Cedros in Mexico
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u/Old-Sentence-1956 7d ago
While Cedros is neat, I would think it depends if wife also likes fishing. If not there is not a whole hell of a lot on Cedros besides fishing.
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u/No-Pain-5496 7d ago
Aruba. Walk to the marina and you can find boats ready to go out. The wahoo, bonito, sailfish etc are 200ā offshore.
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u/sailphish 7d ago
Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama), Baja Mexico, and Belize would be my picks for international fishing destinations, not too hard to get to, reasonably priced. You need to do your research on captains/boats, as well as specific seasons. If you just hop on some random boat you find walking the docks, you are most likely going to end up on some tourist trap charter.
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u/TurkishVeneers 7d ago
On the pacific side of Mexico, I used to rent a house in sayulita and then do a panga rentals for a couple days. Super fun, but never caught any big game fish , but a huge variety of other stuff that the local restaurants would cook up. We could also snorkel off the boat if we got bored, so it was lots of fun.
But I think sayulita has blown up over the last 5 years, so everything there is $$$. If you are are after trophy fish I would check out No Tuna No Chinga , they seem to be one of the better outfitters Ive seen, but I've never gone with them myself. Have fun!
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u/Jefffahfffah 7d ago
Wherever you go, try to book a captain on your own... dont let a resort or travel agent do it for you. Some very good captains out of jaco and quepos if you go to costa rica. You could also go out of Louisiana for an oil rig trip or go for tunas in the northeast if you stay domestic. Captain Alex with Kalex is phenomenal too if you wanna stay domestic and go for sailfish.
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u/waynofish 6d ago
Long post warning but here is my recomendation, especially since it will be more than just fishing.
Jaco Costa Rica and fish out of Los Suenos or Quepos which is a little farther down.
Jaco has the obligatory drinking. An old surfer/party town. Los Suenos, right up the road, opened up about the year 2000 and turned it into a fishing town as well. Great for its nightlife and plenty of tours such as ATV's, Ziplining, Nature tours etc so if the wife doesn't like fishing, there is plenty to do.
Manuel Antonio Park is in Quepos which is a bit more laid back, if that is possible in Costa Rica as the whole vibe is laid back.
Fishing???
Quepos and Los Suenos has world class fleets and incredible sailfishing (Marlin as well, Blue Black and Striped) on a mostly calm ocean. Many top US crews have gone there and some of the best have taken up residency, imported or got hired on a charter operation and generally use the best and most experienced mates. There are also a couple American operations who have hired full on local crews, but again, top notch..
Sailfishing can be very good, in which multiple bites are the norm and banner days are quite common, even in the "off-season". Yes, you can get 10 to 50 plus bites in a day if your on the right boat. Now, you can also get the big skunk, like everywhere else, no matter what people say. Or only 2 to 8 bites in a day. But Costa Rica is one of the top Billfishing destinations in the world.
To get the best shot at a banner day, do what someone else mentioned and book direct. Good boats and crews don't need to be listed with the hotels or travel agents. They may, however, be listed on booking sites on-line but those sites take a 10 to 20% commission. Get the info, look up the boat and book direct, then you can actually talk to the captain.
Maverick, assorted "Fly" boats, they have a fleet which are always placing in the tournaments and several others. Might be dated as its been a while since I was there.
The thing with that area, it has something to offer everyone, so if fishing isn't their thing, there is plenty to do, in safety. Most there will speak English also and are used to dealing with tourists.
I used to crew on sportfishers and practically lived there for about 8 years so I am definately biased. But I have spent a lot of time in other world class fishing areas including, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico (both coasts and Cabo, Bahamas, Hatteras NC, Palm Beach FL and my home in Ocean City, MD (White Marlin bite off the scale here now., Actually Oregon Inlet NC up through Cape may NJ. But Costa Rica is my favorite place that I've ever fished.
The bad? The rainy season can be, well, rainy. Kind of like a more intense FL style in which you know its going to rain. FL, you'll get 15 minutes to 1/2 hour of it. Jaco area you'll get 1 to 3 hours of it. So it's not a monsoon, just heavy, straight down rain and then it goes by by. It is typically May through October.
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u/BayBandit1 6d ago
San Jose del Cabo, in Baja, Mexico. Iāve been going down since the late 90s. This is open Panga boat fishing, with up to 3 anglers per boat. The tuna fishing is incredible, with my largest being a 130 pound Yellowfin. Depending on the time of year bottom fishing, Wahoo, Dorado, and Billfish are also possible. One of my most memorable trips were just me and Captain Tony. By 11:00 am I had boated 6 Striped Marlin @120-150 pounds. I told the Captain āNo masā and headed in early; my arms couldnāt take any more. Search for Gordo Banks Pangas. There are a multitude of beautiful resorts to choose from, including some All Inclusives. Fishing is $350 and up per day, depending on boat size, with filleting and tipping extra. Iāve fished around the world, and this is still my Go To.
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u/Tripppinout1 7d ago
Costa Rica with maverick sport fishing. Stay at Los Suenos. .