 |  |
by Tom Gatch
The summer of 2026 holds the promise of developing into a banner year for intrepid anglers who are setting their sights on booking a Baja fishing adventure over the next several months.
One of the primary reasons is the El Niño system that is developing in the Eastern Pacific, which promises to elevate water temperatures that will, in turn, entice schools of exotic gamefish to migrate further up the Pacific coast of Baja by the end of the fall season.
While inshore fishing has remained seasonal for the boats out of Sergio’s Sportfishing, with most of the passengers catching a wide variety of rockfish, barracuda, bonito, calico bass, and a few yellowtail in the 18 to 20-pound class.
The big news is the arrival of big, late-spring, bluefin tuna, which are being targeted by the offshore panga fleets out of Punta Banda. Most of these tuna are being caught between 12 and 20 miles offshore, and are averaging between 45 and 90 pounds.
Further south, anglers at Castro’s Fishing Place in Eriendira are cleaning up on quality reds and lings on the bottom, with an occasional yellowtail being taken on the troll.
Down in Bahia San Quintin, anglers have been catching halibut on Sabiki live bait while drifting near the oyster racks near the mouth of the bocana. Those fishing off Isla San Martin are running into a few nice homeguard yellowtail, along with some fat calico bass.
Located just off the Pacific coast of central Baja California, Cedros Island offers a pristine, natural environment that is surrounded by waters that support a healthy marine environment that is teeming with sea life, as well as a bevy of hungry gamefish that attract anglers from around the globe.
This is the only fly-in fishing resort in Baja where you can actually stay on the island for several days, without having to travel there on a panga or cruiser. Their 2026 season just began in May and will continue through November.
Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas reports, “Early summer settled over the region with a stretch of clear skies, calm seas, and steadily warming water that set the stage for an exceptional week of offshore action.
As conditions stabilized across the 95 and 1150 Spots, crews reported consistent billfish activity, scattered dorado, and the first hints of early‑season variety. With light winds and reliable bait, anglers arrived to find Baja’s offshore grounds in prime form”.
As an example, the 35‑foot Cabo Flybridge ‘Bill Collector 2’, with crew members Captain Abel, Mates Ninja, and Danie,l reported a productive day at the 1150 Spot. The anglers on board included Hunter Collins, Neal Collins, Samira Carnio, and Tyler Stinson.
They caught and released 6 Striped Marlin weighing 90 to 100 pounds on cocinero, took 3 Dorado in the 20 to 25‑pound range on cocinero and lures, landed 3 Yellowfin Tuna weighing 3 to 4 pounds on palos, and added 7 Skipjack from 3 to 5 pounds, also on palos.
They left the boat with broad grins and the knowledge that their shared fishing adventure would be remembered for years to come.
Brian Bricston, at Gordo Banks Pangas, proclaimed, "It feels HOT! We are starting to see humidity in the 50-60% range at this time and temperatures nearing the low 90s. We are expecting this year to be extremely hot and humid, with plenty of storm development in the Pacific.
This should make for an interesting year as we are curious to see how these warmer water temps have an impact on our bait situation and fishing conditions.
The week began well, with plenty of tuna action on live sardines at Vinorama and San Luis. Sharks were an issue all week, especially the second half of it. Early in the week, there was still a good chance to land anywhere from 5 to 10 tuna on a morning outing while still battling sharks.
As the week progressed, it became more challenging as boats were lucky to land one or two. Some captains reported losing up to 15 tuna to sharks in an outing. Some boats also lost nice-sized dorado to them. Most of these tuna were in the 10–20-pound range. We did see some nicer 30–40-pound tuna feed, though we were not able to land them, as these longer fights gave the sharks plenty of time to get to them.
Because of the shark challenges, many captains decided to try offshore throughout the weekend for dorado and marlin. Most boats that targeted marlin were able to land one or two. Some lucky boats also came across some nice-sized dorado and wahoo while trolling lures and ballyhoo.
One Saturday, one of the cruisers landed 3 dorado, all of them in the 25–35-pound range, and released 2 striped marlin. The best action continues to be at the 1150 Bank and its surrounding grounds. Some of these dorado schools were found while trolling lures and ballyhoo back to the marina.
Roosterfish action closer to shore seems to be decent at this time, though for this time of year, we would expect to see more action and a bigger size of roosters. Bottom action remains slow.”
Bricston concluded by saying, “We did have some boats try different rock pinnacles this week, though they reported strong currents and not much action. One boat did, however, land 3 barred pargo and 1 nice leopard grouper on Thursday, all of them on sardines and caballitos.
The live bait supply remains consistent. We continue to see a great sardine supply throughout the shorelines next to our marina, which now has large sardines too! We are also seeing plenty of caballito and green jacks.”
Jonathan Roldan, at Tailhunter International in La Paz reports, “I’m still not going to say it was great fishing. That’s the double-dog honest truth. But we have caught some incredibly large specimens, I mean, these are trophy fish!
In the 31-years we have been here, I’ve never seen so many BIG fish. Anglers are getting fish-of-a-lifetime. They are catching personal best fish. They are catching trophy fish. They are also catching some fish that are close to world records! First-timers are getting giant fish that anglers would give a right arm to catch. We’re seeing epic battles with fish lasting 2,3,or more hours!!!
It’s incredible. My fish packing crew and I have been in the fish packing room for up to 5 hours each afternoon packing hundreds of pounds of fillets. And this does not count the fish that break off…the fish they release…the extra fish they are giving away to captains and to a few lucky folks on the beach!
So...it’s been crazy!”
Roldan concluded by saying, “So, the bottom line is, there’s not a lot of fish. But, there are some really, really BIG fish! If you’re fishing a few days with us like most folks...I think you have a good shot at catching one of the biggest fish of your life! But, you might have just one crack at it, so bring your ‘A’ game!”
Working up the Cortez coast, Capt. Juan Cook tells us that he has taken several parties fishing in the remote waters of Bahia Gonzaga and reports that they have enjoyed great fishing for a variety of popular species, which include white seabass, orangemouth corvina, cabrilla, and yellowtail. Most of the action has been taking place adjacent to deep, rocky structures.
From San Felipe, Tony Reyes Fishing Tours reports that their first mothership charter down to the Midriff Islands just returned, “We had our first trip of the 2026 season. We started fishing in the southern areas of San Francisquito Bay, finding good-sized yellowtail and cabrillas.
The weather was pleasant with calm seas, and some giant squid were caught here. Afterward, we sailed north, reaching Snake Island to fish. In this area, large schools of fish fed on the surface. More jacks and mackerel were caught here, and numerous small species were released, such as a pretty little 4-pound yellowtail, and a small grouper.
We found fish in practically every area we visited. On the last day, we fished in the Enchanted Islands, with a moderate west wind blowing. Big barred pargos were biting here. The most effective lures were the Nomad 165, Yo-Zuri lures, and Rapalas. All the fish were caught by casting small jigs, and sometimes larger fish were caught trolling with Mirro-Lures and Nomads.
Overall, we did exceptionally well! Our final count was comprised of 286 yellowtail to 30 pounds, 389 cabrillas to 20 pounds, 16 sheephead to 12 pounds, 178 spotted bass to 6 pounds, 1 big grouper at 82 pounds, 22 barred pargo to 6 pounds, 12 giant Humboldt squid, 43 big sierra mackerel to 10 pounds, and 3 broomtail grouper to 45 pounds.”
It is easy to see why fish counts like these should help light the fire beneath a bevy of enthusiastic Baja anglers who want to keep their rod bent and their coolers filled over the coming months of summer.
It’s time to make those reservations now!
Photo credits:
1. Mara's Sportfishing
2. Pisces Sportfishing
3. Gordo Banks Pangas
4. Tailhunter International
5. Tom Gatch
6. Tom Gatch
I had to make a claim. They made the process easy and friendly. Using email was also helpful with...
Mexican Insurance made easy, I have used Baja Bound Mexican Insurance for all most 5 years, price...
I drive with confidence in Baja knowing that I have Baja Bound on my side. Always great customer...
