Who: NW guide Reel Time Fishing
Targeted Species: Yellow Fin Tuna, Striped Marlin, Mahi Mahi (Dorado), Blue Marlin, and Black Marlin
Where: Cabo San Lucas
Why: NW Winter Snow birding for Bucket List Tuna and Marlin
Contact Phone: (208)790-2128 Web: www.reeltimefishing.com
Last year Rob and I hooked up with Northwest Guide Toby Wyatt of Reel Time Fishing and his wife Cindy in Cabo, San Lucas.
We jumped at the opportunity to snowbird down to Mexico during the cold season to check out what Reel Time Fishing is developing in Cabo.
Toby, a long time PNW guide who fishes from Buoy 10 to the Clearwater River, has been working on his Mexico operation for a couple years. He has dialed in the experience for his guests: local captains, resorts, luxury transportation, and solid connections to various vacation options outside of fishing. When we arrived, his team was there to keep us happily on course, and walk us through the ins and outs of Cabo. Knowing Toby was in our corner gave us security and peace of mind when traveling abroad.
We planned our trip to Cabo at the beginning of December, considered to be an excellent time for sport fishing, including a good chance for Marlin (both Rob and I wanted to catch Marlin). We booked our airfare and reserved our dates with Reel Time with a group of industry friends from Spokane six months prior, and got our passports. Along for the trip was well known Chef and Restaurateur Adam Hegsted, Chef Aaron Fish and his wife Miranda, Creative Director Jason Olsen and his wife Heather and Rob and Me. Traveling with a group was fun and Toby’s offered some great recommendations to create the trip we were looking for.
We arrived in Cabo together and set out through customs to our transport, arranged by Reel Time Fishing. We were greeted by a black Escalade and our driver “Eddie”, that I can only describe as our personal navigator, Toby’s eyes and ears on the ground. We were picked up from the airport in style and dropped off at our all-inclusive resort, the Hotel Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas. Eddie drove us throughout the trip to the docks, an ATV excursion, anywhere we wanted to go.
The resort was incredible. We did not want nor need anything. Drinks and food were included in our all-inclusive package. The many restaurants, entertainment and pools left nothing to be desired. Our refrigerator was stocked and there was tequila on tap.
The main reason we went was the fishing. The fishing was outstanding! Rob and I both caught our first Marlin’s! Over two days of ocean going fishing we caught Ahi Tuna and Mahi Mahi as well. The fight Rob and I had with our Marlin’s was a fight of adrenaline that is unparalleled in NW waters. Nothing can prepare you for it. It is extraordinary and definitely bucket list worthy! We had a cooler full of Mahi Mahi and Tuna to take home. We released the Marlins as most locals do. The crew took care of the cleaning and hooked us up with a processor to get our fish prepared for transport on the plane.
We filmed a Crave TV episode with Chef Adam Hegsted and Chef Aaron Fish. Seeing NW Chefs prepare fish with Cabo ingredients was truly impressive. We spent a day by the pool. We Shopped local shops and took a leisurely boat taxi across the bay. We took a day trip out to the countryside for a day of four wheeling through the desert.
“It’s a great way to break up the time on the water. There is something about cruising through the Mexican desert that makes you feel alive.” -Jason Olsen
I had a chance to sit down with Jason Olsen and talked shop about his Cabo experience with Reel Time Fishing in Cabo
Jason
How was fishing with Toby’s team?
“Second to none! Nothing compares to that whole trip. It’s a lot of buildup. And it doesn’t disappoint. As far as going out on the boat with Pepe, knowing he was linked to Toby, I felt comfortable and safe knowing I was in good hands. Toby has seasoned dudes, and he has a standard for bringing people on. I would definitely go again at the drop of a dime. I was impressed with Pepe. He knew exactly what to do and where to go. He had an innate instinct on where to go to catch the fish and had electronics to get us on the fish. Also, having someone to show us around and be our wheels on the ground, saved us money and we did it in style.”
What kind of fish did you catch?
“Yellow Tin Tuna, mostly. We went out from about 5 am and by 11 am we caught 10 Tuna.”
What was the fight like?
“A lot harder than freshwater fish. High energy. At one point I had to strap myself into the chair.”
Tell me about the flags.
“So the whole experience coming back to the dock was pretty great. After we caught the fish, Pepe had me hang up these flags I wasn’t sure what for. The minute we pulled into the marina, It was a bit of a parade. A bragging parade. Everyone could see what kind of fish we caught and how many from the amount of flags that were flying on our boat. It was pretty great to showboat our way into the Marina.”
Tell me about the food.
“The resort accommodations and restaurants were amazing! The experience of going out in the morning and coming back and having my fish prepared by a local chef, was like no other. My liver hurt when I came home.”
Words of wisdom from Jason
“Take the seasickness patch, don’t be a hero! Go with a guide that is credible. Toby’s network takes the worry out of travel. Listen to Toby and you will do just fine. Use his knowledge and connections. The culture and being able to start my fishing endeavors at such a high caliber was an amazing opportunity.”
Toby
“One thing we do is we babysit our guests. We transport them from the airport to the resort to fishing and back. “We are like a coach in your corner.”
“We have a full service-all Baja Peninsula tour company that specializes in sport fishing. We help keep you safe and save you money. We have 4 captains in Cabo and packages with many of the Cabo Resorts. We can accommodate Groups of up to 40 people and have access to a 45 ft boat and 90 ft yacht.
Packages From
5 nights 6 day Package, tax and room at four-star resort Soulmar on the beach plus one day of fishing. Includes airport transfers round trip. $709 pp
5 nights 6 day Package at Marina Fiesta, all inclusive, all meals and airport roundtrip transport and one day of fishing. Includes airport transfers round trip. $1049 pp
5-night 6 day package at Rio Santa Fe, all inclusive, all meals and drinks, plus three days of fishing. Includes airport transfers round trip. $1699 pp
Prices subject to change, not including holidays, prices based on availability. Packages do not include airfare. Call for details.