Flying to MSP with a 28qt cooler full of Dorado thanks to Captain Manuel and his first mate Juan! I could offer the team no fewer than five stars. My wife and I didn’t lift a finger on the boat and the crew was polite with above average english proficiency.

Word of Advice: If you want to take fish home DO have a plan for getting them cleaned, packaged, iced down, and in a cooler before you get on the boat.

We had no plan. Upon docking, we were told ‘Julio will clean your fish for you’ and sent chasing him down the dock as he pushed a wheel barrel full of our fish. He appeared to speak no english.

We then watched Julio fillet our Dorado in a less than sanitary back alley communal fish shack 1/4 mile from the slip as a dozen other non-english speakers milled about.

I felt the need to hover during the 15min process while observing other bags of fish being handed off to locals’ vehicles pulling up alongside the shack. My (albeit pampered, white, english-speaking American) spidey senses were on high alert.

I failed to clarify with Capt’ before leaving whether Julio was pre-paid, or if I would owe him. Once the fillets were in my hands I was asked in broken english for $30 plus some
Dorado as a tip.

After settling up, we hurried back to the marina feeling anxious about what to do now with two walmart bags of Dorado-length fillets.

As we walked briskly back to the relative safety of the marina, we were asked by a shop owner to set the fish down and browse her inventory as her hermanos eyed up our fish hungrily. Needless to say, we hurried by.

We Ubered to the local walmart to buy a cooler, packing supplies, a knife, and ice before finishing the packaging in our hotel room. Dry ice proved impossible to find in Cabo, but we were able to check the wet-iced cooler without issue at the airport.

Five stars stand for the Black Marlin and crew. The charter itself and the uncomfortable situation to follow all could have been improved had I better planned, communicated, and/or carried higher proficiency in the Spanish language.

I think it rather unfair to expect a better experience being a stranger in a strange land. If you book with Black Marlin please learn from my mistakes!

Our trip was January 11th 2024.
Incredible experience!  Conditions were moderate under a 10 to 18 mph wind.  Here we go!

Boat and location: easily found across senor frog’s in the marina.  The crew was prompt and ready to go at our appointed time.  They offered us a chance to buy additional water and snacks as we were departing the dock.  Regardless, they were patient, joyful and ready to be of service.
The boat itself was not new, but well maintained amd exceptionally clean.  It does have a bathroom which was appreciated by both my wife and myself.
Once leaving the marina area, we immediately began fishing.

Crew:  both Manuel the captain, and Jorge the deck hand were spectacular.  Manuel did a great job of keeping the boat in a good position and assisting us in catching fish.  Jorge, was always helpful in landing fish, maintaining tackle and keeping bait in the water.  In the middle of the trip, we ran across a group of whales which they pointed out.  Kimberly was so excited they stayed with them a good while watching them breach and play for around 20 minutes….(it was a 2-fer trip.  I dont think manuel knew he was going to offer a whale tour as well)

Fishing:  my personal bucket list was (was i say) a marlin.  They put me on a 7 1/2 ft marlin by 8 a.m..  after that we followed up with three more marlin, the largest around 8 1/2 feet and 140 lbs plus several skipjack.  In a perfect world, I would have loved adding dorado, but the crew tried and sometimes that doesn’t work out and that’s ok!  It was a great day, and we are already planning a trip back with Manuel and the Black Marlin. For more marlin, dorado, tuna!
Thank you for a wonderful trip!  See you soon!

Thanks guys!
Dan Priest

We were a family of 4 (parents and teenagers) who are avid anglers at home and we wanted to catch new ocean species. Our main fish targeted were marlin and mahi mahi.

The captain and mate were efficient at finding the fish and knowledgeable on what to use when and where to find the fish. They made sure we were prepared before we left dock and had what we needed for the day, and would have made arrangements for us to stop and grab anything on our way out if needed.

They kept the boat clean after each catch and took care to release fish that we wanted to. We aren’t a super chatty bunch and neither were they, so that was fine with us. It was SUPER hot out and we rested in the shade between catches if we could. There are really comfortable benches to lay on. They have good seats at the back for reeling in the big ones. The mate was constantly moving about setting up rods and looking for fish and working with the captain.

Would do it again!

If you are looking to catch fish in Cabo, this is the crew. Capital Manuel had us with three Mahi Mahi in the boat within the first hour. We got our limit within the next hour. And then the fun started, Captain Manuel and First Mate Jose spotted a group of six to eight Striped Marlins. Jose hooked one and after an hour and a half we had it in the boat. I say we had it in the boat because it would not have been possible without the coaching of Jose and the great boat maneuvering by Captain Manuel. 102” Striped Marlin will be in my wall in a few months. Thank you Captain and Jose for a great time, you made the trip a lifetime of memories for us.

We had the pleasure of fishing with the best captain and crew in Cabo today! We showed up to a boat that was ready to go fishing immediately, and we’re on under way in minutes( they took care of everything). We headed West and started catching Dorado almost immediately after leaving the marina. The crew quickly switched tactics as we proceeded further out and spent the next part of our trip, putting four marlin on the boat, two of which were being fought at the same time. This is by far the best trip I have been a part of in Cabo. My only regret is I didn’t book the Black Marlin and its crew sooner.