BAJA & SEA OF CORTEZ FISHING MAP

Fishing Hot Spots

From the marlin grounds off Cabo San Lucas and the roosterfish beaches of the East Cape, up the Sea of Cortez past La Paz, Loreto, Mulegé and Bahía de los Ángeles to San Felipe and Rocky Point, across to San Carlos and Guaymas, and up Baja's Pacific coast to Ensenada, Isla Cedros and Magdalena Bay. Tap any star or dot to see what it is and what to fish there.

📅 Baja Mexico Fishing Calendar — best months, closed seasons, bait & rigs →

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Fishing & access

Marine chart layers

Parks & rules

Data rule: The Golden Gate Bank, Isla Cedros and the San Benito Islands come from the Marine Regions (VLIZ) gazetteer and the big bays and islands from OpenStreetMap; these are general centers, not pinpoints, and each star says so. Marinas, launches and points come from OpenStreetMap, and the protected areas come from the World Database on Protected Areas. Cabo Pulmo National Park, which is closed to all fishing, is shown in solid red; the other national parks and protected areas, where sport fishing follows their own rules, are shown in dashed red. Every star shows its source when you tap it. BigJoe does not invent coordinates. The exact sources used on this map are listed under Map sources & checks below.
Select a Fishing Hot Spot on the map or from the list below.
★ Fishing Hot SpotBoat rampMarinaWreckObstructionRock (yellow = awash)Coral / rock bottomCanyonWeather/tide stationNo-fishing zone (solid red)Protected area, fishing with rules (dashed red)

Safety: these are planning references. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts and proper safety equipment before heading out.

Lake guides for this map

Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:

📘 Cabo San Lucas & the East Cape

All fishing guides →

Fishing Hot Spots by area

Marinas, islands, bays and offshore banks. Tap one to fly to it on the map.

Marlin, roosterfish and yellowtail in the world's aquarium

Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez the aquarium of the world. Cabo San Lucas is the marlin capital, with striped, blue and black marlin, and the East Cape at Los Barriles is famous for roosterfish from the beach. Up the gulf, La Paz, Loreto and Mulegé have dorado in summer, yellowtail in winter and spring, and cabrilla, pargo and grouper on the rocks all year.

On Baja's Pacific side, Ensenada's boats chase yellowtail, white seabass and bluefin tuna, Isla Cedros is a yellowtail and calico bass paradise, and Magdalena Bay fills with striped marlin in the fall.

Rules: Mexico requires a fishing license for every person on a boat, even if they are not fishing. Cabo Pulmo is closed to all fishing, other parks have zones and limits, and catching totoaba in the upper gulf is illegal.

BigJoe’s gear for Baja California & Sea of Cortez

What BigJoe would bring to fish these waters.

Trolling luresSkirted trolling lures for marlin, ahi & onoShop on Amazon ↗Trolling rod50 lb class trolling rodShop on Amazon ↗Trolling reelLever-drag trolling reelShop on Amazon ↗Ulua rod12 ft heavy surf rod for uluaShop on Amazon ↗Papio luresPoppers & plugs for papioShop on Amazon ↗JigsSlow-pitch jigs for bottomfishShop on Amazon ↗Line80 lb monofilamentShop on Amazon ↗Gaff6 ft fishing gaffShop on Amazon ↗

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Species GuidesFish found in these waters.Weather & TidesCheck the ocean before you go.All Hot Spots mapsThe Caribbean, the U.S., Canada, South America and the Pacific.

Map sources & checks

Coverage
Baja California & Sea of Cortez. Mapped features come from public datasets and can be incomplete or out of date: a missing reef, ramp or wreck does not mean it is not there.
Map data
Hot spots
26 hot spots, each with its own source (tap any star to see it): OpenStreetMap marina or harbor (10), OpenStreetMap/Nominatim named place (general position, not a pinpoint) (6), OpenStreetMap boat ramp (4), Marine Regions gazetteer (3), OpenStreetMap mapped feature (3).
Protected areas
8 protected areas from the official list above, drawn in dashed red. Fishing rules inside them are set by the managing agency; check with them before you fish.
Chart layers (Charts button)
GEBCO ocean depth and OpenSeaMap buoys, lights and markers. GEBCO and OpenSeaMap are useful references, not official navigation charts.
Weather & tides
See Weather & Tides for this area: Open-Meteo weather and marine models. Tides here are estimated from a global sea-level model, not official tide tables.
Dates
This page last updated October 15, 2026. Each dataset keeps its own retrieval date, shown above.

⚠️ Planning reference only, not for navigation. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts, and proper safety gear before heading out.

See something wrong or missing? Tell us and we will check it against the source.