East Cape - Hotel Pamas de Cortez - Senorita Bonita

The Senorita Bonita is a 32' Blackfin that is offered by the Van Wormer resort's Palmas de Cortez operation. First, the good things. Hotel Palmas de Cortez is the nicest of the East Cape fishing resorts. It is located in the town of Los Barriles which is about a 1:45 minute drive from the Los Cabos airport. The hotel and condo/villas are situated along a beautiful white sand beach where the fishing boats pick up and drop of their fisherman from a temporary dock that can be rolled in and out of the surf. The hotel has a nice infinity edge pool and swim-up bar overlooking the beach and Sea of Cortez. The drink and food prices are downright cheap compared to Cabo.

The resort is nice although not what would be considered luxurious by Cabo standards. Last summer we stayed in a two bedroom condo unit that had a nice balcony overlooking the beach. The condo offered two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a pretty complete kitchen.

The morning ritual of twenty plus boats attempting to pick up their charters at the small dock off the beach was kind of a hassle. Our two days of fishing on the Senorita Bonita were less than memorable. We wanted to target Striped Marlin and were very disappointed that the Captain told us that there was no live bait available and that the water temperatures were abnormally cold for the time of year. We saw countless Stripers over the two days sunning themselves on the surface but they never took a look at our trolled lures and had absolutely no interest in the dead ballyhoo that were tossed at them on dozens of occasions. The captain seemed competent but not all that aggressive about catching us fish. On day one we ended up with a very nice 50 pound Yellowfin tuna and on day two we caught two Dorado in the 35 to 45 pound range. Not the multiple Striped Marlin per day fishing we were expecting!

The most disappointing aspect was the condition of the Senorita Bonita and the tackle. The tackle ranged from average to poor condition. The lines were old and chafed and two of the reels had very rough drags. One of the reels actually seized up just bringing lures in and out! Beyond that, the Senorita Bonita was infested with cockroaches! We noticed several running around the deck and the cabin on the first day. On the second day we opened a few hatches and saw scores of them running around the bilge and the cabinets in the cabin. Having paid extra for a "twin engine supercruiser" this was far from acceptable.

Overall, I give the Palmas de Cortez a "B" as a fishing resort and the Senorita Bonita a "D" as a charter boat. I would give Palmas another try but would have a discussion with the management about the boat and crew prior to finalizing any reservation.

Cabo San Lucas - Reel Easy Sportfishing: Sea u Later

The Sea u Later is the second boat in the Reel Easy Sportfishing operation in Cabo San Lucas. It is a 2001 Luhrs 32 Open with twin Cummins diesels. This is a great layout for fishing in Cabo. The 13' beam give you good stability and lots of room (2 feet wider than a 31' Bertram). The bridge deck area is a great place to watch your lures/bait and be out of the sun but only steps from the rods.

I fished on board about three years ago and the captain (Alvarao) and mate were very good. We fished live bait up in the Golden Gate Bank area and ended up releasing 4 or 5 Striped Marlin mostly on 30 lb test gear. Lots of fun.

This boat is recommended and is a lower priced alternative to the Picante Fleet. I think that it is very comfortable for up to three serious fisherman and that four may be a little crowded. The Luhrs has a similar layout to the Cabo Yachts 31' & 32' Express boats that are part of the Picante Fleet and although the Reel Easy operation is not quite as polished as the Picante operation the Sea u Later is at least several hundred $ per day less expensive.

Cabo San Lucas - Reel Easy Sportfishing: El Chilito

I have fished on both of the boats offered by this operation which is located in front of the Marina Fiesta Hotel/Time Share. El Chilito is a 28' flybridge cruiser with a single diesel that is now about 10 years old. It is typical of a lot of the local fleet although it seems to be maintained to a higher standard than most boats of its type that you see around the marina. I fished on board about 4 years ago and I remember the crew being competent but not great and the boat being kind of wet especially with a little wind blowing. There was little to no protection from the elements. We caught about 6 small yellow fin tuna with the largest being about 20 pounds. We had one big strike that was probably a Striped Marlin but it came off after taking line for about 20 seconds.

Overall, this boat is certainly a step up from the typical local boat and was a good value for the money. I would not recommend any more than two to a maximum of three fisherman due to the size of the boat and the amount of room in and around the cockpit.

Opening Thoughts

Over the past 20 years I have fished in some of the world's best billfishing spots. I have been lucky enough to have mostly fished on private boats owned by friends and colleagues but I have found myself chartering more often over the past several years. I sometimes have found it difficult to get good information about the best and most productive charter boats in different areas so I thought I would share some of the information I have recently gleaned hoping that it would be helpful to others.