Cabo Bite Map
BetaPick a fish and see where today’s water best matches what it looks for, anywhere in Baja California Sur, from Cabo to Mulegé. Free, every day, from the Vargas family to sport fishing.
Fish these zones with a local captain
Our captains run the Elite version of this map, with currents at five depths, and leave from the Cabo marina every morning.
Why we built the Cabo Bite Map, and how to use it →
How to read it
Red squares are the day’s Elite zones: the best few percent of the water for that fish in the area you’re looking at. Orange is Priority and yellow is Candidate. Blank water is less likely today, or the satellite could not see it. On a poor day you will see few zones or none: the map never invents good water.
Marlin and sailfish follow their food, so their score includes the bait map: pick skipjack or bonito under “Bait for billfish” to see where the bait water is.
Our captains use the Elite version of this map in their own app, with currents at five depths. Want to fish the zones with one of them? See the fleet.
Questions
Is the Cabo Bite Map free?
Yes. No account, no app, no ads. It is our gift to sport fishing in Baja; use it, share it and tell us how it does on the water.
How does it pick the zones?
For every square of about 2.7 km (about 900 m along the coast for inshore fish) it compares today’s satellite water temperature, temperature breaks and water color with what each species looks for, adds bottom depth and structure (banks, drop-offs), the time of year and, for marlin and sailfish, how good the water is for their bait (skipjack and bonito). The best squares of the day become Elite, Priority and Candidate zones.
Is it a forecast of where the fish are?
No. It rates conditions, not fish. Fish move, satellites miss things under clouds, and a good captain reads the water every morning. Use it to plan and to learn, and let your captain decide.
Can it show the next days?
Yes, up to about 10 days ahead. Pick a day above the map: we take today’s satellite map and move it with the change the Copernicus ocean forecast expects for that day, warmer or cooler water and more or less color. Temperature breaks stay where the satellite saw them, so the further ahead, the rougher it gets: the first three days are the most useful, and from day seven it is mostly a sense of the trend.
How often is it updated?
NOAA publishes new satellite water temperature and color every day, usually 1–2 days after the image is taken. The map checks for new data every 30 minutes.
Why is it in beta?
Because we are still tuning it with our captains’ daily catch reports. The species profiles will get better every month.
Does it cover all of Baja California Sur?
Yes: from Cabo San Lucas up the Sea of Cortez to La Paz, Loreto, Mulegé and Santa Rosalía, and up the Pacific to Magdalena Bay, Bahía Asunción, Bahía Tortugas and Guerrero Negro. The seasons it uses come from our Los Cabos calendar, so in the north some fish arrive later or leave earlier than the map assumes.
Where the data comes from
Water temperature: NOAA Geo-polar Blended SST (5 km, daily). Water color: NOAA VIIRS gap-filled chlorophyll-a (daily). Both via NOAA CoastWatch. Bottom depth and structure: NOAA NCEI ETOPO 2022. Coastline: Natural Earth. Next days: Copernicus Marine Service ocean forecast (temperature 1/12°, chlorophyll 1/4°, daily). Seasons: our species calendar. For planning only, not for navigation; always follow the Port Captain and your captain.