Sport Fishing Magazine named Cabo San Lucas one of the top 11 places in the world for Sport Fishing. In many regions, fishing serious blue water means a run of 10 or 20 or even 40 miles before lines go in. On a rough day, you pay your dues at the outset. How does a run of a couple of miles sound? That’s about all you need to start targeting open-ocean fish out of the area; many bragging-size marlin, dorado, sails and wahoo have been taken a short distance from shore here, where the Pacific Ocean waters mix with the lower Sea of Cortez. And some of the prime banks such as Golden Gate and Gordo can require not much more than a run of 10 miles, depending on your point of origin.

When: Fishable and fished year-round; figure on the hottest action during hot weather for sails, wahoo and dorado, usually May through July. For marlin (stripes, blacks, blues), plan on October or November.