Fishing in Cozumel

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Fishing

The waters off Cozumel swarm with more than 230 species of fish, making this one of the world's best deep-sea fishing destinations. During billfish migration season, from late April through June, blue marlin, white marlin, and sailfish are plentiful, and world-record catches aren't uncommon.

Deep-sea fishing for tuna, barracuda, wahoo, and dorado is good year-round. You can go bottom-fishing for grouper, yellowtail, and snapper on the shallow sand flats at the island's north end and fly-fish for bonefish, tarpon, snook, grouper, and small sharks in the same area. Regulations forbid commercial fishing, sportfishing, spear fishing, and collecting marine life in certain areas around Cozumel. It's illegal to kill certain species within marine reserves, including billfish, so be prepared to return some prize catches to the sea.

Charters

You can charter high-speed fishing boats for about $420 per half-day or $600 per day (with a maximum of six people). Your hotel can help arrange daily charters -- some offer special deals, with boats leaving from their own docks. Albatros Deep Sea Fishing (987/872-7904 or 888/333-4643) offers full-day trips that include boat and crew, tackle and bait, and lunch with beer and soda for $550 for up to 6 persons. All equipment and tackle, lunch with beer, and the boat and crew are also included in Ocean Tours' (987/872-9530 Ext. 8) full-day rates, which start at $550. 3 Hermanos (987/872-6417 or 987/876-8931) specializes in deep-sea and fly-fishing trips. Their rates for a half-day deep-sea fishing trip start at $350; a full day is $450. They also offer scuba-diving trips and their boats are available for group charters (a great way to snorkel and cruise around at your own pace) for $400 for up to 6 passengers.