A Cabo San Lucas boat crewed entirely by local fishermen took top honors at the 11th annual Pelagic Triple Crown Fishing Tournament, claiming $106,750 USD in prize money. The victory by La Chingona over a 35-boat field, combined with a second local crew winning the tuna division, put homegrown talent at the center of one of Baja California Sur’s most competitive sportfishing events.
The tournament carried a total purse of roughly 5.7 million pesos ($332,000 USD). Competitors targeted dorado, wahoo, and tuna across Pacific and Sea of Cortez waters. Antonio Bojórquez, a crew member on La Chingona, said the win came after years of preparation against crews with deep tournament experience.
“We’re a local team. This is hard work, and we managed to win the tournament after beating some great teams,” Bojórquez said. “Winning this tournament represents a lot of effort.”
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Tournament Circuit Draws Global Competitors
The Pelagic Triple Crown is one event in a dense calendar that has made Cabo San Lucas arguably the world’s top big-game fishing destination. The tournament series, organized by Pelagic Gear, launched in 2016 and rotates through several ports along Baja’s southern cape. Its format emphasizes catch-and-release scoring alongside traditional weigh-in categories, a structure that rewards boat handling and fish-finding skill over raw luck.
The crown jewel of the Cabo circuit remains Bisbee’s Black and Blue, held each October. That tournament, now in its mid-40s, regularly posts million-dollar purses. In 2023, a single marlin landed a team $3.6 million. The event draws boats from across the United States, Central America, and as far as Australia. Los Cabos also hosts the Bisbee’s East Cape Tournament out of Buena Vista each July, the Stars and Stripers Tournament, and several smaller derbies from June through November.
So what makes these waters so productive? The answer lies in geography. The tip of the Baja peninsula sits where the cold, nutrient-rich California Current meets the warm Sea of Cortez. That collision creates upwelling zones that support massive baitfish populations, which in turn attract pelagic predators. Jacques Cousteau famously called the Sea of Cortez “the world’s aquarium.” Striped marlin, blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, dorado (mahi-mahi), wahoo, and roosterfish all cycle through Los Cabos waters on predictable seasonal patterns.
The Pelagic Triple Crown’s target species reflect the June calendar. Dorado arrive in large numbers from May through October, peaking in summer. Wahoo run strongest from June through September, favoring deep structure along the Pacific side near the Golden Gate Bank and Jaime Bank. Yellowfin tuna hold year-round but concentrate around the Gordo Banks, a pair of underwater seamounts about 10 miles off San José del Cabo, from late spring through fall.
El Más Crudo Crew Adds Tuna Title to Bisbee’s Win
A second Cabo-born team, El Más Crudo, captained by Carlos “Sharluko” Peralta, won the tournament’s tuna division. Peralta’s crew previously won the 44th annual Bisbee’s Black and Blue, one of the most lucrative sportfishing tournaments on earth. That double accomplishment across two premier events puts El Más Crudo among the most decorated local boats in Los Cabos history.
Local dominance at these events is not a given. Most top-finishing boats in Cabo’s major tournaments are American-flagged vessels with professional crews and corporate sponsorships. When local pangas and sportfishers break through, it carries weight in a community where commercial and recreational fishing remain central to the economy. Los Cabos supports an estimated 800 charter boats, and the sportfishing industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the municipality.
Visitors looking to fish these same waters can book half-day or full-day charters out of the Cabo San Lucas marina or the Puerto Los Cabos marina in San José del Cabo. Half-day trips on a shared panga start around $150 USD per person. Private sportfisher charters on 30- to 40-foot boats run $600 to $1,500 USD per day depending on the season and vessel. June through November is peak season for the widest variety of species, though striped marlin fishing picks up from December through March.
The next major tournament on the Los Cabos calendar is the Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore event, typically held in late July or early August out of Buena Vista. Bisbee’s Black and Blue follows in late October. The source for this story is Gringo Gazette.