The tuna are still at the San Luis Bank, including fish over 100 pounds, but this week comes with two real obstacles: there is so much skipjack in the area that they take your bait before the tuna can get to it, and the sharks are still working the same grounds and taxing hooked fish. The good news is the billfish are coming back, with a clear increase in striped marlin and sailfish activity. The 40 pound tuna have moved out with the porpoise past the 95 Bank, there are cubera snapper biting at Iman, and the roosterfish are still working the shoreline from in front of the Secrets hotels down to Punta Gorda. There is plenty to fish, you just need a plan.
Check the live San José del Cabo weather and sea conditions before your trip so you fish the right window.
Check the Live Weather Report
Daliken Sportfishing Report
Today's Conditions
We are just past the new moon on a building waxing crescent, so the tides are easing down from the spring range toward neap later this week. That means the current is still moving but softening day by day, which makes timing your windows more important than it was a few days ago. Mornings have been the calmest water of the day, with the breeze building through the afternoon. September is the warmest water of the year here, and that is what keeps this much bait and this many predators concentrated on the banks.
Tide, Moon and Currents
Coming off the new moon spring tides, the water movement is softening through the week. Softer current means the feeding windows tighten up around the tide changes, and it also means the bait sits differently on the bank. For exact times the day of your trip, check the live weather and tide report linked above.
The Two Windows That Matter
This is the best window of the day, no question. First light with sunrise around 6:10, the flattest water, the lightest wind, and the tuna most willing to eat before the sun gets high. If you only fish one window, fish this one. It is also when the sharks have been least aggressive, before they key in on the activity.
The second window opens as the sun drops and the heat comes off the water, running right up to sunset around 6:20. The billfish in particular have been showing well late, and the cubera bite at Iman improves as the light fades. The trade-off is that the afternoon breeze is usually up, so it is a rougher ride than the morning.
Tuna Holding at San Luis, Fish Over 100 Pounds
The San Luis Bank continues to hold tuna and the fish over 100 pounds are still there, which keeps it the best shot at a trophy yellowfin in our area. The program has not changed: live bait worked slowly over the bank, patience, and heavy gear ready.
What has changed is how hard you have to work for it. The two obstacles below are real and worth understanding before you book a trophy tuna day, because they are the difference between a hookup and a fish on the deck.
There is so much skipjack in the area that they take the bait first. The bank is thick with them right now, and when you put a bait down for the tuna, more often than not a skipjack gets to it before anything else does. It means constantly re-baiting, burning through your live bait supply, and losing time you should be spending fishing. Our crews work around it by adjusting bait size, working the edges of the skipjack schools rather than the middle, and being selective about where we drop. It is a grind some mornings.
The sharks are still heavy in the zone and they are taking hooked tuna. This has been the story of the whole summer and it has not let up. They will take a tuna during the fight, and more than once we have brought up half a tuna, the back end gone. It is frustrating for everyone on board. We manage it by fighting fish as hard and fast as the tackle allows, never babying a fish, and by moving off a spot entirely when the sharks key in rather than feeding them one after another. Come in knowing that not every hookup reaches the boat right now.
Striped Marlin and Sailfish Activity Increased
The best news this week is that the billfish are coming back. Both striped marlin and sailfish have shown a clear increase in activity compared to the last couple of weeks when they were around but full and refusing to eat. Now they are feeding again. Trolled lures and rigged ballyhoo across the clean water is raising them, with a pitch bait ready for anything that lights up on the teasers. If you want a mixed day, working billfish in the morning and then hunting tuna, this is the week it becomes realistic again. All billfish released.
The Bite Right Now, Species by Species
Tuna at San Luis, Big Grade
Fish over 100 lb still holding on the bank. Live bait worked slowly, heavy stand-up gear, patience. The skipjack stealing baits and the sharks taxing hooked fish are both real obstacles, so come prepared for a working day. The reward is a trophy yellowfin, and they are there.
Tuna on the Porpoise, 40 lb Grade
The 40 pound class has moved offshore with the porpoise, working outside the 95 Bank. Finding the porpoise is the whole game here. We run out looking for pods and bird activity, then work live bait around them. Fewer shark problems out there, which is a bonus, but it is a longer run and a hunt.
Cubera Snapper at Iman
A great option that does not get enough attention. Cubera snapper are biting at the Iman Bank on bait, and these are powerful, hard-pulling fish that dive straight for structure the second they eat. Excellent eating too. A good change of pace when the tuna are being difficult, and the late afternoon has been the better window.
Roosterfish Inshore
Still active along the shoreline, working the stretch from in front of the Secrets hotels down to Punta Gorda. Live caballito and green jacks are the ticket, all fish released. The reliable light tackle option close to the marina, with no long run and no shark problems to deal with.
Secrets to Punta Gorda Still Holding Roosters
The shoreline continues to produce. The productive stretch right now runs from in front of the Secrets hotels down to Punta Gorda, and the roosters are working that beach line on live caballito and green jacks. It is a short run from Puerto Los Cabos, the water is calmer than offshore, and every rooster goes back in the water. If the offshore grind does not appeal to you this week, or you are bringing family, this is a genuinely fun day.
Trolling Speeds That Are Working
Speed matters more than most anglers realize, and each technique this week has its own range. Here is what we are running.
| Technique | Speed | Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow-trolled live bait | 1.5 to 2.5 knots | Tuna over 100 lb at San Luis | Just enough speed to keep the bait swimming naturally and upright. Too fast and you kill the bait, too slow and it sinks and tangles. |
| Working porpoise schools | 2 to 3 knots | 40 lb tuna past the 95 Bank | Stay off the edge of the pod, never run through the middle. Match the direction the porpoise are traveling and let the bait swim alongside. |
| Trolled lures | 6 to 8 knots | Striped marlin and sailfish | Skirted lures at varied distances, dropping to the low end in a chop and the high end on flat water. Watch your spread, adjust when it blows out. |
| Rigged ballyhoo | 5 to 7 knots | Billfish, mixed pelagics | Slower than lures so the bait swims and does not spin. If it is skipping or corkscrewing, back off the throttle or re-rig it. |
| Bait on the structure | Drift or anchored | Cubera snapper at Iman | Not a trolling technique. Position over the structure, get the bait down and be ready to turn the fish immediately when it eats. |
Tackle Recommendations
| Target | Rod | Reel | Line and Leader | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuna 100 lb+ San Luis |
Heavy stand-up or bent butt, 80 to 130 lb class | 50W to 80W two-speed, full drag | 100 to 130 lb main, 200 to 300 lb leader | 9/0 to 11/0 circle, harness and gimbal belt. Heavy gear matters extra right now because a long fight means the sharks find you. |
| Tuna 40 lb Porpoise schools |
7 ft medium-heavy, 30 to 50 lb class | 6500 to 8000 spinner or 30 class conventional | 50 to 65 lb braid, 40 to 50 lb fluoro | 2/0 to 4/0 circle, live bait. Light drag at first, let them run, then come tight. |
| Striped marlin and sailfish |
6.5 to 7 ft, 50 to 80 lb class | 50 class two-speed lever drag | 80 lb main, 200 to 400 lb leader | Circle hooks on bait for clean releases, pitch rod rigged and ready at all times. |
| Cubera snapper Iman |
Heavy 6.5 to 7 ft, 60 to 80 lb class | Conventional with strong drag and fast retrieve | 65 to 80 lb braid, 80 to 100 lb fluoro | Lock the drag down. Cuberas run straight for the rocks and you have about two seconds to turn them. |
| Roosterfish Inshore |
7 to 7.5 ft spinning, medium-heavy | 5000 to 8000 spinner | 30 to 50 lb braid, 40 to 60 lb fluoro | Live caballito or green jack, circle hook, all fish released. |
All of this gear is on board and included on our trips. If you fish your own rods, this is what matches the conditions right now.
Fish the Morning Window Hard and Have a Plan B
My honest advice this week is to leave at first light and fish the six to nine window like it is the only time you have, because it is the best water, the lightest wind and the least shark pressure of the day. If you are after a big tuna we work San Luis with live bait, but understand going in that the skipjack will steal baits and the sharks may take a fish, and that is simply the reality right now. If you want cleaner tuna fishing, we run out past the 95 Bank and hunt porpoise for the 40 pound grade, which is a longer trip but far less frustrating. The billfish coming back up is genuinely good news, so if you want a mixed day we can troll lures and ballyhoo for the stripers and sails and then switch to tuna. For something different, the cubera at Iman on bait are a blast and nobody expects how hard they pull. And the roosters from Secrets to Punta Gorda are still there for a short, easy, fun day. Whatever you pick, be on the water at 6.
Tackle and Techniques
What We Are Running
- Big tuna technique: live bait slow-trolled at 1.5 to 2.5 knots over San Luis, work the edges of the skipjack schools rather than the middle, fight fish hard and fast to beat the sharks
- Porpoise technique: run offshore past the 95 Bank looking for pods and bird activity, stay off the edge of the pod and work live bait alongside at 2 to 3 knots
- Billfish technique: trolled lures at 6 to 8 knots or rigged ballyhoo at 5 to 7, pitch bait ready, all billfish released
- Cubera technique: bait on the structure at Iman, drag locked down, turn the fish immediately or lose it in the rocks
- Roosterfish setup: live caballito and green jacks along the beach from Secrets to Punta Gorda, all released
- Timing: 6:00 to 9:00 AM is the prime window, 4:00 to 6:15 PM is the second one, especially for billfish and cubera
The Week Ahead
Worth planning around this week. Scattered showers are expected today with decreasing intensity, but heavier rain is forecast to return early in the week, so conditions on land may get wet and roads can flood quickly here when that happens. Tropical Storm Norbert is active out in the Pacific but it is well over a thousand miles away to the west-southwest and moving away from the peninsula, so it is not a direct threat to Los Cabos. The rain we are seeing is coming from separate monsoon-driven conditions over the southern peninsula rather than from that system.
As always during September, which is the peak of the season here, we monitor the Capitanía de Puerto notices every day and no trip goes out if the port is closed or conditions are unsafe. If weather affects your booked date we will keep you informed and work with you on rescheduling. Check the live weather report before your trip.
Tuna over 100 at San Luis, billfish waking back up, and cuberas at Iman that pull like a truck. Between the skipjack and the sharks you earn every fish this week, but there is plenty out there to fish for.
From the Day on the Water
Book Your Trip
Our fleet runs daily out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina in San José del Cabo, the quieter side of Los Cabos away from the Cabo San Lucas crowds. The bigger boats have the range for the San Luis tuna program and the run past the 95 Bank, and the pangas are perfect for the Secrets to Punta Gorda rooster bite. Choose the boat that fits your group:
Fish With Us From the Cabo San Lucas Side
On the Cabo San Lucas side instead? Our California 32ft runs out of Cabo San Lucas with legendary Captain Roberto and quality gear including Shimano Talica reels. Same honest fishing, no need to cross to San José.
Looking for a Bigger Boat?
Larger groups or anglers who want more space, range and heavy tackle for the offshore programs can see the full lineup on our fleet page.
View the Full FleetBrowse our latest Los Cabos fishing reports for the full week of catches and conditions out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina.
Questions or custom dates? Message us on WhatsApp at +52 624 205 0563
