A Cabo Adventure on the Jaruco

By Dale Wills

After testing negative for COVID, we were off to the land of Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo and Hotel California. In fact, our travel itinerary arranged for us to leave Dallas, Texas around 7 a.m and by 10:30 a.m (Cabo time), I was looking out the Jaruco’s salon window at a half dozen Cabo striped marlin cutting bait just feet from the side of the boat—we didn’t even have our riggers out yet. Breakfast in Texas and Cabo striped marlin for brunch; what a way to start a trip. For the rest of the first day, we pretty much had non-stop striped marlin action and a big part of the Cabo Pacific Ocean to ourselves. We fished two more days with a scattered bite and managed to release 61 billfish (57 stripes and four sailfish) but more importantly, we were out on the water and fishing.

I can’t thank the entire Jaruco team enough for the exceptional hospitality. Spoiled is more like it. The crew, including Captain Jimmy, first mate Kieran, second mate Edward and Chief Stewardess Lotte are very dedicated to their craft. Thanks to Lotte’s delicious desserts I added a few unwanted pounds. Jim McGrath from Grand Slam Sportfishing Supply and John D Riggs from Riggs Yacht Sales were also on the trip dusting off their angling skills. The laughs these guys produce are infectious.

As expected, tourism in Cabo is certainly down but we did mask up and support a couple of local restaurants. We drove through “the cave” just before a spectacular beach view at Don Manuel’s at Pedregal and then on our final night we enjoyed the live music and awesome tacos at La Lupita in San Jose Del Cabo. Both great choices if you are visiting Cabo.

I’ve certainly been playing it safe since the COVID epidemic brought our world to a halt in March. Fortunately, for my own sanity, the Jaruco trip help put things back in perspective. Again, many thanks to the entire Jaruco team. It’s truly a world-class operation and a very exceptional boat. We look forward to sharing more insight on this awesome team in the near future. Meanwhile, enjoy a few pictures from the trip and thanks for reading. Safe travels and we can’t wait to see you on the next InTheBite adventure.