Awesome

At 30’ long with an unparalleled 12-1/2’ beam, ‘Awesome’ astounds our guests with her roominess and is an absolute favorite with East Cape anglers, who consider her the quintessential day boat. She is fast with a new 315 Cummins diesel. A comfortable wrap around bench is located under the bridge on the starboard side and as the motor is located in the center of the deck it provides a queen-sized bed area for a well deserved nap after a good fight! The head is located in the small cabin. Your captain welcomes you at anytime to join him in the bridge and will be happy to have your company and will share his knowledge of fishing and ‘hunting’ the surface with you. Based on her spacious 12-1/2’ beam, ‘Awesome’s’ enviable layout can manage 5 fishermen hooked up across the stern without touching elbows. ‘Awesome’ is especially proud of her tall bridge – the tallest in the East Cape fleet without a tower and a great lookout for ‘hunting’ the seas.

Your Fishing Day

Assuring you have the best day possible on the Sea of Cortez is our goal and we work hard to let you know how much we value you as our guest.

An awesome fishing day is approximately 8 hours and begins at 6:45 am. On fishing mornings, please meet at our headquarters at East Cape Casas & RV Resort located across from the Modelorama tienda and behind Otra Vez Restaurant on 20 de Noviembre, Los Barriles’ Main Street.

We will deliver you the short 1000’ to the water’s edge then assist you into our awaiting 14’ Panga for short shuttle to the fishing boat. Our hope is to ‘load and go’ getting you to the fishing grounds early. You and your fishing day are our priority and there is no ‘waiting your turn’ on a dock to board a boat.

Start the Day with Fresh Fruit Smoothies! What about Lunch & Beverages?

Theresa’s signature fresh fruit smoothies, packaged donuts and rolls will be on board to help you start your day.

Please bring your lunch and beverages. If you’d like, Awesome Sportfishing can arrange a delicious box lunch for approximately $10 per person as well as coordinate your beverages of choice on board. We are happy to meet your special requests - please ask!

Tackle & Filleting

We provide all the tackle you’ll need to for catching fish. If you have your own, you are always welcome to bring it along and our deckhand will review your gear to assure it is ready for fishing. We want to manage your catch the best way possible to assure you the most delicious eating possible. As part of our service we will fillet your catch on board as soon as is practical after the fish is caught in order to put it on ice. Ice and a cooler will be on board for your catch. Please speak with your deckhand for any particular ways you’d like your fish managed or filleted.

Awesome Rates

1-4 Anglers………$750
5 Anglers…………$800
6 Anglers…………$850

We like to encourage non-anglers to join their fishing friends and family in order to experience and enjoy the Sea of Cortez. Non-anglers may accompany 4 or more fisherman for $60 each up to a maximum of 6 people. Non-anglers do not handle fishing rods.

Payment Procedures & Policies

A 25% deposit is required within 7 days to assure reserved fishing days. For your convenience you may pay with one of the following three options:

With a direct Deposit at any Wells Fargo Branch or a transfer for Wells Fargo Account holders:
To: Theresa Comber, Wells Fargo Account #2605658240

With a check to:
Theresa Comber
PO Box 3292
Hailey, Idaho 83333

With a Credit or Debit Card:
By calling 1-909-266-9707. There will be a 3% service amount in addition.

Final Payment:
Due in full with US dollars or Peso equivalent or Credit or Debit Card for all fishing days the day before the first fishing day. No checks or traveler’s checks are accepted in Mexico. Balance in full may be paid in advance using any of the three easy options above.

Cancellation Policy
Deposits for trips cancelled more than 45 days will be applied to a future trip. Based on the Captain’s decision, deposits may be refunded due to unsafe weather conditions only. Anglers choosing not to fish on reserved days will forfeit all deposits.

Tournament Fishing
We love to tournament fish and have deep experience and many wins under our fighting belts. Please factor in 15% to the price of each fishing day for major tournaments, defined by extended fishing hours when lines are out at 4 pm and scales close any time after 4 pm.

Licenses & Baitfish

In accordance with Mexican fishing laws, all anglers and non-anglers must have fishing licenses and which can be purchased at our Awesome Sportfishing office.

The License fees are:
DAY: 229 Pesos
WEEK: 449 Pesos

Baitfish
Baitfish is in addition and will cost approximately $30 to $35 usd per fishing day.

Gratuity

We couldn’t be more proud of our captains and crew. They are professional, enthusiastic, well spoken and regard our clients as guests onboard their vessels. They will assure you the very best fishing day possible and their goal in addition to your safety and comfort is to catch fish. When our clients step off the boat at the end of the day and say ‘That was an ‘Awesome’ day’, we know it is in large part because our captain and crew have worked so hard. Providing a standard, minimum 15% gratuity will provide them with your thanks. You may be as generous as you’d like knowing that they are hard working professional fishermen supporting families and striving to do their best.

Your lodging

Please notify us of your lodging location and call or check in the day before fishing. Based on the needs of your group, we are well versed in East Cape lodging options and are happy to provide recommendations for your stay as well as airport shuttles and restaurants.

Or, perhaps you’d just like to sleep on ‘Awesome’!

Please see our 'Partners' tab for our recommended lodging options.

Our Catch & Release Philosophy for Billfish

Sea of Cortez billfish including striped, blue and black marlin, sailfish and swordfish are the most coveted of blue water game fish. We admire these incredible billfish and honor them in our seas as they are slow growing, migratory and are susceptible to by-catch in many of the world’s commercial fishing zones. We are proud to be members of The Billfish Foundation and hope you will join us by supporting our practice of catch and release on all billfish unless specifically discussed in advance with your captain or the fish fails during the fight.

Captain Luis Duran

Captain Luis Duran’s roots run deep and wide in the East Cape, with the Sea of Cortez playing a vital family role. As a tiny child his parents brought him across the sea to La Ribera, where his father soon began fishing as a Captain at the iconic and historic Rancho Buena Vista, considered by many to be one of the birthplaces of blue water sport fishing. One of 11 children, Captain Luis soon began fishing alongside his father. When he wasn’t learning how to fish the deep blue waters, he was plying the depths of his deep love of music. Often Captain Luis is singing and serenading from the bridge – “Popeye the Sailor Man” always gets the kids and the kids in all of us, singing along.

Captain Luis is married to Maria, and together they have Priscilla, their daughter who is studying to be an account in the University in La Paz. They also provide some of the best food in the East Cape at their Café Maria Restaurant in the heart of town. We are lucky that Maria makes the best fisherman’s lunch anywhere for our onboard clients. With the coveted life experience of literally thousands of fishing days under his ‘fishing’ belt, Luis still longs to fish. He loves the fishing lifestyle and the Sea of Cortez and especially the newness each day brings. His constant reminder to us is “I’d rather be fishing, everyday, than doing anything else!” We try hard to help make that happen and appreciate you choosing us so he can go fishing! To his great credit, Luis just captained his ‘Awesome’ boat for the record breaking tuna catch with a 262-pound yellow fin in the 2012 East Cape Bisbee Tournament, shattering the previous record. A kind and gracious gentleman who speaks superb English, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t step off the boat at the end of the day and say “that was an AWESOME day” – thanks for Captain Luis!

Our Captains Adan and Luis are great friends, they are incredibly talented and together they make up a great team. With a well developed ‘hand in glove’ symmetry they also like to fish together, so whenever possible we put them together. Don’t be surprised if you are on ‘Awesome’ with Captain Luis in the bridge and Captain Adan on the deck; or fishing on ‘Too Awesome’ with Captain Adan up in the bridge and Captain Luis down on the deck!

Who’s Covering the Details?

When a sport fishing business is running smooth and easy, it must be because there is someone working hard and managing all the essential details and operations behind the scenes. For Baja’s Awesome Sportfishing, our ‘Details’ man is Omar Araiza. He’s always one step ahead of us, calculating our needs before we’ve even forecast them. He seamlessly provides exquisite customer service - on the phone, in the office, on the beach - yet is just as capable of sourcing parts from all over Southern Baja while filling up our diesel truck with 300 gallons of fuel and managing the lines on the shore.

Omar is a Los Barriles born ‘local’, whose family is one of the anchors in the East Cape. With a Tourism Business degree from La Paz then spending 5 years in the Cabo San Lucas’ vibrant hotel business, he longed to return to the quieter pueblo life of Los Barriles to be with his fiancée, his brothers, his nieces and nephews and especially his son, mother and father. On his days off, Omar’s favorite thing is to fish alongside his father, who made his living on the sea.

These days Omar has joined his brother Noe (the restaurant manager at Smokey’s Bar & Grill) in their passion for protecting Baja’s sea turtles. Honored for the work they have been doing the past few years, summer and fall until just before Christmas Omar will be helping to shepherd thousands of Sea Turtles through their incubation and hatching, then carefully setting them loose to promote their successful return to lay their own eggs in 15 years’ time.

As good in English as he is in Spanish, Omar will always be the first to offer his assistance and stand by to assist you in any way to make your days ‘Awesome’!

What more?

Safety at Sea
Our Captains are in charge of their vessels and in charge of your safety and well being; they take their responsibilities very seriously. As a team they have decided that at all times while underway, they will appreciate your offer of a cold water, soda or snack, but not of a beer or any alcohol. Life jackets are found under the Captain’s benches and in the cabin of both boats in the compartments under the V-berth cushions. We just want you to know where they are - but we’re pretty sure you’ll never need them.

We need your eyes
Our Mother’s always say “Many hands make for light work”. The same principle applies while fishing – “Many eyes spot fish”. Although the four professional eyes we have on board with your Captain and Crew are peeled for spotting fish, your eyes and help are essential to the success of the day. They’ll welcome you pointing out, or shouting out, that you’ve spotted a fish!

The best day possible every day
We are committed to making it the best day possible, every day we are on the Sea of Cortez. Please let us know if there’s anything you need, any questions you have, or anything more we can do to assure that when you step off the boat at the end of the day, the first thing you say is ‘That was an AWESOME day’!

Awesome Sportfishing