It’s official. We’re now just a little more than two months away from the start of fishing tournament season in Los Cabos, as the summer slate of 
events kicks off June 2 – 5 with the Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing.
It’s great news for fishermen and fisherwomen, as well as for those who simply love Los Cabos. After two record breaking years of fishing tournaments, excitement is at an all-time high for 2022. Bisbee’s trio of tournaments offered a combined 13.2 million in prize money last year, breaking all the records previously set in 2020. It’s expected records for attendance and payouts in these and other tournaments will be broken again this year.
And it all starts with the estimated $500,000 on the line for the 8th Triple Crown of Fishing Tournament in Cabo San Lucas. Fifty teams and 213 anglers competed in 2021, with Team Laguna Madre taking first place in the billfish division, breaking the tournament record for prize money in the process, with a winner’s share of $131,000 out of the combined half a million dollar prize pool. Over 140 billfish were documented during the course of last year’s tournament.
So those are numbers to beat in 2022, and the rules remain the same. There are two categories: billfish and gamefish. Species eligible in the former category include blue, black and striped marlin, as well as sailfish, spearfish and swordfish. Of these, blue marlin, black marlin and swordfish are the most valuable, counting 300 points per properly documented catch and release. Striped marlin, sailfish and spearfish count 100 points each. Documentation is done via video evidence and radio verification.
Game fish like tuna, dorado and wahoo, meanwhile, are assigned points at the rate of one point per pound. A 30 lb. wahoo, for example, is worth 30 points.
There are four divisions for daily jackpots. Billfish jackpots are paid out according to the most billfish release points each day, while tuna, dorado and wahoo jackpots are paid out based on the single heaviest fish caught of each species, each day.
We mentioned fishermen and fisherwomen earlier and this was not mere political correctness. A future sport fishing superstar, 8-year-old Evelyn Schultz from Detroit, boated a 30.2 lb. yellowfin tuna solo to win a daily jackpot in the 2019 event; and Kim Bullman’s performance in 2021 was even more impressive. She took home the awards for Top Female and Top Overall Angler, helping to propel Team Laguna Madre to their first place finish by accounting for 800 of their 1300 points.
Both the kick-off party and the post-tournament awards ceremony this year will be held at Baja Cantina on the Marina, also the headquarters for Bisbee’s fishing tournaments in Cabo San Lucas. Registration for the event is open now, and will remain open until June 10th, the day before fishing officially begins. Base entry is $3,500 per team (up to six anglers), with $72,500 across-the-board for all jackpots and challenges. Prize money is tied to the number of teams entered, of course, but a reasonable expectation relative to 2021 puts the estimate in the 500,000 overall range for this year’s Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing Tournament.
Tournament sponsor Pelagic Gear is, as most of our readers probably know, a Newport Beach based company that’s one of the world’s leaders when it comes to lifestyle apparel and high-performance gear associated with watersports like fishing, boating, diving and surfing.
In addition to their Cabo San Lucas based tournament, Pelagic also hosts fishing tournaments in Palm Beach, Florida (Pelagic Shamrock Shootout), Costa Rica (Blue Marlin Classic), Puerto Rico (Rockstar Puerto Rico), and San Diego, California (Pelagic California Tuna Challenge).
For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.
Photo credit: Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing
Upcoming Events Calendar
March
Cabo Collegiate Golf Tournament – Feb. 27 – Mar. 1
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Mar. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Mar. 4, 11, 18, 25
Cheese and Wine Festival at Sheraton Grand Hacienda del Mar – Mar. 12
April
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Apr. 7, 14, 21, 28
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Apr. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Semana Santa – Apr. 10 – 17
End of Whale Watching Season – Apr. 15
NORRA Mexican 1000 – Apr. 29 – May 6
May
NORRA Mexican 1000 – Apr. 29 – May 6
Cinco de Mayo – May 5
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – May 5, 12, 19, 26
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – May 6, 13, 20, 27
Dia de la Madre – May 10
Warren Hill’s Los Cabos Jazz Festival – May 15 – 18
Premier Golf Pro-Am Tournament – May 15 – 21
June
Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing – Jun. 2 – 5
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Jun. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Jun. 3, 10, 17, 24
Stars and Stripes Golf and Fishing Tournament – Jun. 22 – 26
July
East Cape Dorado Shoot Out – Jul. 16
Ladies Only Fishing Tournament – Jul. 20 – 24
August
Los Cabos Open of Tennis – Aug. 1 – 6
Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore – Aug. 2 – 6
East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot – Aug. 20
September
Mexican Independence Day – Sep. 16
October
Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 16 – 20
Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore – Oct. 20 – 23
Bisbee’s Black & Blue – Oct. 25 – 29
November
Day of the Dead – Nov. 2
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25
SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 15 – 20
Revolution Day – Nov. 20
December
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Virgin of Guadalupe Day – Dec. 12
Start of Whale Watching Season – Dec. 15
Nochebuena – Dec. 24
Navidad – Dec. 25
Nochevieja – Dec. 31
