The Vargas family
Since 2004 the Vargas family has run fishing charters out of the Cabo San Lucas marina. When you write to us, a Vargas answers. When you fish with us, our own captains and crews take you out.
A broken rod, brotherhood and Star Fleet
Victor Vargas was one year old when his father died. The man left almost nothing behind: an old fishing rod, broken. Fishing became how Victor and his four brothers stayed close to him. This business exists because those brothers loved and protected one another.
Victor is the youngest of eight. Betty, Arturo, Angeles, Juan Carlos, Antonio, Sofia, Julio and Victor: their mother, a remarkable woman, raised every one of them into a good person.
- 1982First trips with Antonio
- 1987Joins Star Fleet at 17
- 1991Opens Star Fleet’s Cabo office
- 1997Victory, his own two super pangas
- 2004Founds Top Anglers
- 2006His brother Julio joins
- 2008A new identity: today’s logo
- 2020With Victor Jr, rebuilds and gets through the pandemic
- 2024Max joins after university
- 2026Andy and Eliana join: the whole family on one team
Mazatlán, 1982
Antonio went to work for Star Fleet in Mazatlán, one of the oldest fishing fleets in Mexico and the Heimpel family’s business, and became its manager. The Vargas brothers learned the trade from the Heimpels. From 1982 Antonio took his little brother out on the boats. In 1987, at seventeen, Victor joined the fleet at the bottom and worked at Antonio’s side.
Cabo San Lucas, 1991
In 1991 Star Fleet sent Victor to Cabo San Lucas for the first time, to open its office. He came to work and to learn.
February 13, 1992. Victor sent this photo home to his wife, Eliana, with a note on the back: “The hotel you’re looking at is Plaza Las Glorias, where we send the people off in the morning, and I took the photo from the main dock, where we welcome the clients. I love you very much!” Plaza Las Glorias is today’s Hotel El Tesoro. On the right, Victor and Eliana in Florida in 2015.
Victory, 1997
From 1997 to 2002 Victor had a company of his own in Mazatlán. He called it Victory, and it ran two super pangas.
Top Anglers, 2004
In 2004 he founded Top Anglers Sportfishing Charters at the Cabo San Lucas marina, his big game operation. The first boats were the Marlin Hunter I, II, III and IV. Today the fleet has 20 boats, and the family still runs it.
Julio, 2006
In 2006 Victor’s brother Julio joined Top Anglers. Together the two brothers kept the company going, year after year. Julio is part of the heart of this company, and a certified Top Angler.
The next generation, 2024
In April 2024 Max judged his first tournament: the National Big Game Trolling Tournament Baja Sur 2024 in La Paz. That November he worked on the judge boat at the 32nd World Championship in Cabo. In August 2025, at the 33rd World Championship in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France, Victor captained both Mexican teams and Max sat on the jury. In 2026 Max judged the Adriatic Offshore Tuna Championship in Croatia and sat on the international jury of the 34th World Championship in Ancona, Italy. He works alongside his mentor and good friend Tonći Luketa of Croatia, the FIPS-M Big Game representative.
Everything that followed, Top Anglers included, traces back to one decision: Antonio’s choice to work for Star Fleet.
Fishing is still how Victor stays close to the people he loves. He fishes with his brothers, too: he and Arturo, the oldest and the youngest of the boys, still head out together to the islands off La Paz. Whatever the brothers brought home went to their mother, the best cook on earth. He fishes with his children, who run the company beside him, and now with his daughter’s two boys. And he fishes with friends who became family, like Rick and Julie Cavanaugh.
Since 2026 the whole family works together: Victor Jr, Max and Andy run the daily operation, with Eliana on the team, all of us working on what we love most. Victor is still at the marina, holding every trip to the standard he set in 2004.
Growing up on the water
In the 1990s we kept most of what we caught. Years on the water taught us better. Today we ask our guests to release every billfish and keep only what they will eat, and anyone can learn to fish this way.
Stories from the family
A Legacy in Every Sunrise: How a 2006 Photograph Captures the Heart of Top Anglers Charters
Mexico at the 34th Big Game World Championship in Ancona, Italy
XX Campeonato Nacional Big Game Trolling 2026 in Cabo San Lucas: Results
Max Vargas Judges the Adriatic Offshore Tuna Championship in Croatia
Captain Victor Vargas to Represent Team Mexico at the 33rd World Championship Big Game Fishing in France
Jason Bailey Earns Bronze for Team USA as Mexico Captures Gold at the 2025 Pan-American Billfish Championship
Meet the family
Victor Vargas
CEO & FounderFounded Top Anglers in 2004. Still at the marina every morning.
Victor Vargas Jr.
Chief Operating OfficerRuns the fleet and the fishing operation.
Andy Vargas
Administrative ManagerHandles bookings, payments and the paperwork.
Max Vargas
Chief Strategy OfficerGuest relations, marketing and the fishing reports. International sportfishing judge accredited by the FIPS-M.
Tournaments and championships
Hosts in Cabo, 2024
In November 2024 we hosted the German National Big Game Championship in Cabo San Lucas. Victor then ran the boats for the 32nd FIPS-M World Championship, held here the same month.
33rd World Championship
In Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France, in August 2025, Victor captained both Mexican teams, one of which finished first on two of the three fishing days. Max sat on the jury.
Bisbee's Black & Blue
We have fished the richest tournament in sportfishing for several years. In 2025 the crew of our 45' CABO Express came home with a prize.
Pan-American Championship
Jason Bailey, a friend of the Vargas family for many years, won bronze for Team USA at the 2025 Pan-American Billfish Championship in Piñas Bay, Panama.
XIX National Tournament
Victor fished for Baja California Sur at the XIX Mexican National Big Game Trolling Tournament in Mazatlán. The team took third place and was named official backup team for the 34th World Championship in Italy, 2026.
Nautical Pathfinder
Named a Nautical Pathfinder Trusted Charter for safety, service and responsible fishing.
Recognition from the sport
The FIPS-M gem · Víctor Vargas
At the 32nd Big Game World Championship in Cabo, Gilbert Zangerlé, then president of the FIPS-M, presented our founder with the federation’s gem, given only to the very best.
The FIPS-M pin · Max Vargas
At the same championship, Gilbert Zangerlé presented Max Vargas with the FIPS-M pin.
The FIPS-M pennant · Max Vargas
For his work at the 32nd World Championship: testing line, judging on board the judge boat (radio, counting strikes and releases) and helping run the event. Presented by Gilbert Zangerlé and Atilio La Porta, then FIPS-M president and general secretary.
32nd Big Game World Championship
Team Germany, from the German Sea Anglers Association (DMV e.V., member of the DAFV), thanked Top Anglers with this plaque "for the invitation and the organization".
34th Big Game World Championship
Max Vargas served on the international jury. Team Germany presented him with this plaque for his work.
At the 32nd World Championship in Cabo, November 2024
Our guests, their fish
Questions
Who owns Top Anglers?
The Vargas family. Victor Vargas founded the company in 2004, and his children Victor Jr, Max and Andy run it with him. You deal with the family directly, with no booking platform or call center in between.
How long has Top Anglers fished Cabo San Lucas?
Since 2004, when Victor Vargas founded the company at the Cabo San Lucas marina. He started on the boats of Star Fleet in Mazatlán in 1987, first came to Cabo in 1991 to open Star Fleet’s office, and ran his own company, Victory, in Mazatlán from 1997 to 2002.
Is Top Anglers licensed and insured?
Yes. We hold the Mexican fishing permits the law requires and carry marine insurance, and our captains are licensed by the Mexican maritime authorities.