Los Cabos Fishing Tournaments: Bisbee's, Stars & Stripes, and the Full Calendar

Bisbee's Black & Blue is the richest fishing tournament on the planet — $4.7 million in total purse in 2024, with a single team taking home over $3.5 million for one fish. But it's just the crown jewel of a tournament season that runs May through November and has shaped Cabo San Lucas's identity, economy, and marina district in ways that go well beyond the catch.

Bisbee's Black & Blue: The Big One

Bob Bisbee started the Black & Blue Marlin Tournament in 1981 with 29 boats. Today it's the most prestigious — and most lucrative — sportfishing event in the world, attracting 100+ teams from across North and Central America every October.

The format is deceptively simple: three days of offshore fishing, with teams competing across multiple categories (largest marlin, daily jackpots, release divisions). What makes it the richest tournament in the world is the optional jackpot structure — teams buy into daily and overall pools that compound the purse into seven-figure payouts for a single fish.

The Numbers

• Total purse (2024): Over $4.7 million
• Largest single-team payout (all-time): Approximately $3.9 million (Team Bad Company, 2006, 540-lb blue marlin)
• Base entry fee: ~$5,000 per team
• Typical team investment (with jackpots): $25,000-$75,000+
• Team count: 100-120 boats
• Duration: 3 fishing days, typically the last Wednesday-Friday of October

Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore

The "warm-up" tournament held the week before the Black & Blue. Same waters, same organization, slightly smaller purse and field. Many competitive teams fish both as a tune-up and double-shot at prize money. The two Bisbee's events together create roughly 10 days of tournament activity in Cabo San Lucas — registration parties, practice days, fishing days, weigh-ins, and awards.

The Full Tournament Calendar

Bisbee's gets the headlines, but Los Cabos hosts 15+ organized fishing tournaments throughout the season. Here's the major event calendar:

Month	Tournament	Target Species	Notes
May-June	Los Cabos Billfish Tournament	Blue/striped marlin, sailfish	Early season, growing field
June	Stars & Stripes Tournament	Marlin, tuna, dorado	Open to recreational teams
July	Pelagic Triple Crown (Leg 1)	Marlin, tuna	Multi-leg series
August	WON Cabo Tuna Jackpot	Yellowfin tuna	Western Outdoor News event
September	Cabo Offshore Classic	Marlin, tuna, dorado	Peak marlin season begins
October	Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore	Blue marlin	Warm-up to the main event
October	Bisbee's Black & Blue	Blue marlin	World's richest tournament
November	Los Cabos Classic	Marlin, tuna, wahoo	Season closer

Between these organized events, the Cabo marina hosts dozens of smaller club tournaments, charity events, and informal derbies that keep the sportfishing community active year-round.

Why Cabo Is the Fishing Capital of the World

The geography is the answer. Los Cabos sits at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, exactly where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez "the world's aquarium" — and the confluence of cold Pacific upwelling with warm tropical Gulf waters creates one of the most productive marine ecosystems on the planet.

For anglers, three facts matter:

• The 1,000-fathom line — the submarine cliff where the continental shelf drops into deep water — is just 1-3 miles offshore from Cabo San Lucas. This means blue-water game fish (marlin, tuna, wahoo) are accessible within a 15-30 minute boat ride. No other major fishing destination puts world-class offshore water this close to port.
• Year-round fishery: Striped marlin are present September through March. Blue marlin peak July through November. Yellowfin tuna run year-round with peaks in summer. Dorado (mahi-mahi) are abundant May through November. Roosterfish and jack crevalle work the inshore waters. There is no dead season.
• Catch rates: Tournament data consistently shows Cabo producing more marlin strikes per angler-day than any other destination in the world. A competitive team in the October Bisbee's window averages 3-8 marlin raises per day.

For more on the sportfishing culture and charter options, see our sportfishing guide and charter guide.

Tournament Season and Marina Life

The Cabo San Lucas marina — 380 slips in the inner harbor, with additional moorings and the IGY Marina Cabo San Lucas expansion — transforms during tournament season. The marina walk becomes a spectacle: tournament boats decorated with flags and banners, crews rigging baits at 4 AM under dock lights, weigh-in scales drawing crowds of spectators every afternoon, and the bars along the marina strip buzzing with tournament after-parties.

For property owners in the marina district, Hacienda Beach, or Pedregal (which overlooks the harbor), tournament season is the peak of what makes Cabo feel like Cabo. The weigh-ins at the main marina plaza are free, public, and genuinely exciting — watching a 400-pound marlin swing from the scale while the team and crowd erupt is one of those Cabo moments that doesn't translate to a photograph.

For the full breakdown of marina living — slip costs, boat ownership, and waterfront real estate — see our marina living guide and boat slip costs guide.

The Tournament Economy

Fishing tournament season is a significant economic driver for Los Cabos beyond the marina:

• Direct spending: Each Bisbee's tournament generates an estimated $20-$30 million in direct economic impact across hotels, restaurants, charter boats, fuel, tackle shops, and services.
• Season-long impact: The full May-November tournament calendar, combined with recreational charter fishing, contributes an estimated $150-$200 million annually to the Los Cabos economy.
• Employment: Hundreds of captains, mates, deckhands, and shore support crew depend on tournament and charter seasons for their primary income. The fishing industry supports an estimated 3,000-5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Los Cabos municipality.
• Real estate connection: A meaningful percentage of Cabo property buyers cite fishing as a primary lifestyle motivation. The tournament scene reinforces Cabo's global brand positioning, which in turn supports the luxury real estate market that draws from the same demographic.

The Conservation Shift

Modern Cabo tournaments have shifted significantly toward catch-and-release formats, particularly for billfish. While the Black & Blue still has a weigh-in component (you need to bring a qualifying marlin to the scale for the big prizes), many tournaments now award points for releases rather than harvested fish, and the percentage of marlin released in Cabo has increased substantially over the past two decades.

The IGFA (International Game Fish Association) has recognized Cabo San Lucas as a model for sustainable tournament fishing, and several Cabo events operate under tag-and-release protocols that contribute to fisheries research data.

How to Get Involved

You don't need to own a boat or enter Bisbee's to participate in Cabo's fishing tournament culture:

• Watch the weigh-ins: Free and open to the public at the marina plaza during all major tournaments. Arrive by 3 PM and grab a cold beer — the boats start returning between 3 and 5 PM.
• Charter a tournament boat: Several charter captains enter smaller tournaments with charter clients aboard. It's a way to experience tournament fishing without the full team commitment. Budget $2,500-$5,000 for a tournament day on a shared charter.
• Join a fishing club: The Cabo San Lucas Sportfishing Club and the Los Cabos Offshore Anglers organize member events, social tournaments, and conservation activities year-round.
• Attend the parties: Bisbee's registration party, the awards ceremony, and the various tournament-associated events are social highlights of the Cabo calendar — many are open to the public or available with a modest ticket purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions