After last week’s Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore – which set a record for its prize pool for the third consecutive year, topping $1.6 million – there are seven big fishing tournaments left in the 2022 Los Cabos fishing tournament season. Three of them (maybe four) promise cash prize pools of at least one million dollars, while another is a one-day affair where the owner simply drives away in a new car. Bisbee’s Black and Blue, aka the Super Bowl of Sport Fishing, offers the greatest lure. Nearly ten million dollars were on the line last year, and since Bisbee’s has made a habit lately of breaking records, who knows what the 2022 version will bring?
That’s the thing about fishing tournaments in Los Cabos. It’s not just a fun way to go after marlin, sailfish, tuna, dorado, wahoo, and more in one of the best fishing destinations on the planet, it’s a potentially lucrative pastime to boot. Millions are won on an annual basis.
If you love fishing, in other words, Los Cabos is the place to be for the next three months or so. But since not everyone can get away from work for that long, we’ve run down the details and payout info on all seven of the upcoming tournaments. So you can pick and choose which ones you may wish to enter.
After all, you never know what might happen.
East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot Tournament – August 20
Similar to the East Cape Dorado Shootout with its drive-away first prize, the biggest wahoo caught on August 20th will earn one lucky fisherman a showroom fresh 2022 Volkswagen Polo. In total, over $100,000 in cash and prizes are expected to be up for grabs, including great raffle prizes, return trips, fishing outings, and much more. The entry fee is only $500 per team and includes dinner at the awards ceremony.
East Cape Tuna Shootout Tournament – September 24
Palmas de Cortez in Los Barriles hosts several single-day, single-fish tournaments each summer. Unlike the dorado and wahoo tournaments, however, in which the largest fish of that type caught during the day earns the winner a new car, the winner of the Tuna Shootout on September 24 – meaning the team which has caught the largest yellowfin tuna that day – simply walks away with estimated $35,000 dollars in cash. Over $100,000 in total prizes will be awarded, including jackpots, raffles, return trips, and more. The entry fee is only $600 per team.
Marlini Fishing Tournament – October 2 – 3
This small tournament sponsored by local fishing apparel and gear company Marlini whets the appetite for all the big-money tournaments to follow later in the month. Not to say that the cash prizes are good in this one: an estimated $85,000 dollars in cash is on the line, with dorado and wahoo being the targets of choice. Emphasis on dorado, as the majority of cash ($75,000) is awarded in this category. Team entry fees ($175 dollars) include shirts, hats and commemorative stickers for each team member (4 max).
Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – October 16 – 20
Just as September is El Mes de la Patria, the “the country’s month,” in Mexico, October is the month of the fishing tournament in Cabo San Lucas. Bisbee’s two cash-rich tournaments–the Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue–get most of the publicity, but the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament also sends out a siren call to big-game fishermen eager for big-money prizes and jackpots. Team Sneak Attack led by owner Shawn Guttersen and captain Vicente Bojorquez captured first place and the largest marlin jackpot in the 2021 LCBT, as well as an invitation to Quepos for the Costa Offshore World Championship to go along with the cool $498,140, in prize money, after bagging a 554 lb. black marlin. The latter wasn’t quite as big as the 593 lb. black marlin that won Team El Suertudo top honors in 2020, but considering it only took a single day (due to weather conditions) for Sneak Attack to top last year’s winning check of 344,700, no one was complaining! Base entry in 2022 is $5,000 per team, or 25,000 all-in, across-the-board for all jackpots and prizes.
Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore – October 20 – 23
Commonly known as “Little Bisbee’s,” to differentiate it from the “Big Bisbee’s” Black & Blue marlin fishing tournament that also takes place each October in Los Cabos, the Los Cabos Offshore dates back to 2002, and is considered a more laid-back, charity focused endeavor than the Black & Blue…despite the massive payouts on the line. In 2021, for example, 187 teams competed for $1,965,200, smashing the previous marks of 128 teams and $1,457,000 in payouts. Cash prizes are awarded to the teams with the three biggest qualifying fish in the game and billfish categories at the LCO, and large amounts of fish/meals are always donated to local families in need. Base entry for teams is $1,500 U.S., with $22,500 necessary for “across the board” entry in all jackpots and challenges. The Early Bird Deadline for the LCO this year is August 31st.
Bisbee’s Black & Blue – October 25 – 29
Oft billed as “The World’s Richest Fishing Tournament,” thanks to its million dollar payouts, this marlin fishing tournament originally premiered in 1981, and remains to this day the highest profile annual event in Los Cabos. If you wonder why, consider the 2021 tournament, when the 2020 records of 127 teams for $4.6 million were completely obliterated as 198 teams competed for the $9,725,000 in cash on the line. Base entry for this millionaire maker is $5,000 U.S. per team, and requires a $71,500 U.S. outlay across all categories, jackpots and challenges. Prizes are awarded for the top five catches of black and blue marlin, assuming they meet the minimum standards (300 lbs.). Early Bird Deadline this year, as for the LCO, is August 31st.
WON Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot – November 2 – 5
The Western Outdoor News has a long history with Los Cabos, dating back to the 1950s, when Baja columnist Ray Cannon’s rave fishing reviews helped put the area on the destination travel map. The WON Tuna Jackpot is thus one of the most iconic fishing tournaments in Cabo San Lucas, and a fixture of the autumn sporting calendar that follows hard on the heels of the Los Cabos Billfish and Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue Tournaments. 164 teams made it to Cabo San Lucas for the 23rd annual event in 2021, competing for record cash payouts of $1.47 million dollars, making this officially now the biggest tuna fishing tournament in the world.
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Saludos from Co-Founders…
Chris Sands – Writer and Michael Mattos