In February 2021, as the pandemic was coming to a close and borders were opening back up, my wife and I joined a group of friends and traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a much-needed winter getaway.  This was our first trip to Mexico, and first trip out of the country in nearly two years, and it did not disappoint!  Crowds were small as tourism was just starting to pick up again and the whale watching season was at its height.  We were able to get out into town and explore all things Cabo, especially the local restaurants and culture. With so few visitors at this time, it seemed like we had almost every watering hole to ourselves as we bar hopped through Cabo and took in all it had to offer. 

     We had so much fun in Cabo, we decided to go back for a family vacation with my wife's side of the family over New Year's 2022.  While there, we were fortunate enough to connect with our Kansas City friend, Dan, who provided our family with an opportunity to go yachting (more about that in another blog) and deep sea fishing.  Dan owns and operates a yacht charter along with the best fishing charter in all of Cabo, Ultimate Fishing Cabo, and graciously booked us an outing on one of his fishing vessels, the "Little Juan."  My wife Lori and I, along with our oldest daughter and son, met the Captain of the "Little Juan," Adrian, at the marina and set out on a  fine Boston Whaler to see what we could catch.

     We trolled for a couple hours with not much luck, but it really didn't matter because the scenery was so beauatiful and the ocean life all around us created an experience for us of things never seen before.  About halfway into the trip, Adrian spotted the fin of a Marlin bounding through the water chasing after baitfish.  We made our way towards the marlin's location in hopes of being able to hook this sport fish of a lifetime, but it eluded us.  Just when we thought we might come up empty handed for the day, there was a tug on the line and suddennly a whining sound of drag being taken from the large reel out into the ocean could be heard piercing the air.

     This began the first real deep-sea fishing catch I've ever experienced.  My son and I took turns reeling in the big fish, tapping out each time our forearms began feeling the burn of reeling in our first ocean monster.  After some time, and assistance from our very experienced Captain, we were able to land our first deep sea catch, a beautiful Dorado that was almost as long as my son was tall!!!  Ending this day of fishing on such a high note left me yearning to come back for more.

     In November of 2023, Lori and I returned to Cabo to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary.  During this trip, we again linked up with our friend, Dan, who graciously provided us with the opportunity to do some fishing.  We jumped at the opportunity to go fishing, anticipating what the day might bring.  We drove with Dan to the marina, and he escorted us to a fine fishing vessel and assured us we were about to have an amazing day.  Little did we know just how amazing it would be!!!

     Shortly after getting our bait and setting out to sea, we soon found ourselves steaming towards some Marlin, whom the boat Captain pointed out he could see surfacing from a distance.  The anticipation was great and filled us with the excitement of the possibility of experiencing this catch of a lifetime.  Upon arriving at the location where the fish were sighted, we were quickly alarmed by the old familiar sound of drag being taken from one of the reels on the boat.  Controlled chaos ensued.  The first mate directed me to a chair at the rear of the boat and quickly educated me in the manner in which I should begin reeling.  He then quickly reeled in the other lines to avoid getting them tangled with the fish we were attempting to land.

     After several minutes of fighting the fish and a noticable cramping in my forearms, the first mate, Victor, hoisted the great Marlin onto the boat for us to admire in awe.  This beauty was almost as long and the boat was wide and weighed in at an estimated 130 lbs., according to Victor.  With little delay, lines were back in the water and we resumed our fishing.  Within moments, we had hooked another Marlin - this one noticibly larger than the one I had just previously caught.

     Lori took up position in the chair on the rear deck of the boat, secured the fishing rod from Victor and began reeling with intensity.  There was to be no tapping out on her part as she was determined to land this fish on her own.  Victor maintained control of operations at the rear of the boat while voicing direction to the Captain who advantageously navigated the boat in a manner so as to keep from losing the fish.  Victor's partnership with the Captain was that of a well-oiled machine, each of them working together in a manner that was sure to garner success.  After fighting the fish for several minutes, Victor was able to assist Lori in landing this once in a lifetime catch - a beautiful Marlin that Victor estimated was near 200 pounds!!!

     Our fishing excursion did not end there.  We continued fishing and hooked an additional two Marlin that we were able to bring in close enough proximity to the boat so they could be safely released by Victor back to their ocean sanctuary.  After our excursion was complete, we returned to the Marina, all smiles, and couldn't wait to share our experience with anyone that would listen. 

     We relayed our fishing experience to our friend, Dan, who graciously extended us an invitation to go fishing again later in the week.  We humbly accepted the invitation and were able to enjoy a second fishing excursion with Dan, his family and Dan's friend, Craig.  This second excursion mirrored the first and resulted in several Dorado being boated along with another Marlin that took nearly two hours to land!!! This was nothing short of a spectacular outing that left us with lasting memories of our greatest anniversary celebration to date and new friendships that will last our lifetime.  Many thanks go out to Dan and his wonderful crew at Ultimate Fishing Cabo for providing Lori and I with this experience. Should you find yourself in Cabo looking to do a little deep sea fishing, I highly recommend you give Ultimate Fishing Cabo a call and book a trip that you won't soon forget.  

https://www.ultimatefishingcabo.com/