Striped marlins and more

Mexican sardine run

The Mexican Sardine Run occurs yearly in Octobe, November and December in the waters off Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico. Each year seems to get better and better, not only can you see marlin feeding but you have the chance to see ocas, whales and much, much more!

The trips are an excellent opportunity to encounter a host of diverse wildlife, California sea lions, wahoo, dolphins, and not to mention the huge schools of sardine.

The action is not just beneath the surface, you will see so many birds on this trip and dence about of wild landscape.

Unique trips

The unique thing about this trip is that unlike a normal driveby sighing of a marlin, you have the opportunity to observe the beauty of the fish as it is feeding it stays in the area and you are able to get a photo of them in action as aren’t swimming away. If you can stay with the baitball, you can stay with the marlins.

Lets go!!

We head out on the boat before sunrise so we can watch the wonderful sunrise of mag bay over the bird Island, this gives the chance to see thousands of birds take flight over the island with the rich orange colours I the sky in the back ground. This is an exciting moment for nature lovers and photographers.

We head out to the ocean and search in the sky for the action, the frigatebirds follow the sardines, and we follow the frigatebirds. They are our eyes in the sky.

Frigatebirds search for a meal by flying high enough to see through the water’s surface to the frenzied activity below. As the birds find the baitball, they circle and skim the surface for food.

We use local boats and captains who have been on this part of this ocean their whole life, they know where to look and when to enter the water.

When its time to check out the action below we jump into the warm water and search in all directions for what we will see next.

Some of the bbaitballs ar made up of 100 fish and others are the size of a bus. We see a swirling baitball which is the stage for the feeding frenzy. The marlins push the baitballs to the surface so wwe just need to stay behind them at the surface to watch an amazing show. One after another, the marlins dart up and dowwn, you can see the flashes of silver and blue pass by in the afternoon glow.

Sea lions like to join the party and help the marlins with corralling the sardines close to the surface to make feeding easier. The marlins are more cautious about attacking the baitball when the sea lions are around and search for space between the sea lions’ attacks, perhaps as a precaution to avoid breaking their fragile bills by dashing them against the sea lions.

As more sea lions arrive and fill themselves on the sardines, the marlins withdraw to search for another baitball. Fortunately, many other such aggregations are in the open ocean outside Magdalena Bay. 

Lets find the pelagics

While you are out on the open ocean there is a great chance to see the whales migrating down to their breeding grounds in the south. there is a chance to see 7 different types of whales. Orcas also love this area, it is so rich with food for them. Different species of dolphins thrive in the ocean around mag bay. Mobula rays school and migrate in this area, you have a chance to swim with thousands of cruising mobula rays on this trip.

There is much more to mag bay

The sand dunes of the corner of the bay hoast a healthy mangrove habitat. Here you can see multiple species of birds and beautiful sand dunes. This mangroves are a wonderful addition to check out while you are shown the treasures of Magdalena Bay.

Our first trip of the season is October 16 and they continue to run into December. If you would like some more information check out or website or email us, don’t miss this unique ocean lovers trip.