You know those fishing stories that just stick in your head? For me, it was always the ones about Cedros Island fishing. They call it the "Yellowtail Capital of the World," and honestly, that title alone was enough to get my attention.

But it was more than just the name — it was the whispers of non-stop action, those crazy videos of HOG yellows (40+lbers) boiling on the surface. Especially for surface iron fanatics like myself, fishing Cedros Island sounded too good to pass up. A bucket-list trip. A shot at experiencing some of the best yellowtail fishing on the West Coast. I was IN!

Choosing Toro Sportfishing for Your Cedros Fishing Trip

When planning this Cedros fishing trip, the choice of lodging and guiding services are few, but Toro Sportfishing stood out for several compelling reasons. Initially, the stunning images of their beautiful white lodge sitting at the top of a hill overlooking Cedros piqued my interest. It exuded a sense of comfort and exclusivity. However, upon closer inspection, the offerings extended far beyond luxurious accommodations. The promises of endless craft cocktails, massages, jacuzzi, and amazing food elevated this beyond a mere yellowtail fishing trip, it felt more like an opportunity for a true vacation with family and friends, a chance to unwind and create lifetime memories. Plus, I found out they offer all sorts of other cool stuff on the island besides fishing!

Honestly, after reaching out and chatting with their team (shoutout to Rachel for answering all my first timer questions!), I knew I'd made the right call. They were super professional and genuinely helpful. Now, after two trips with Toro, I can tell you their crew is just amazing. They've got it down to a science! Yeah, it might cost a bit more for a Cedros Island fishing experience like this, but trust me, it's worth every single penny!! This is a trip you MUST do, it's a bucket list trip without a doubt. Going to Cedros with Toro isn't just about landing trophy fish, it's about creating unforgettable memories.

I’ve got to take a moment to talk about the rooms—they’re spotless. The lodge has six rooms, each with two queen beds that are super comfortable. Every room has an ocean view and gets cleaned daily while you’re out fishing. One thing that really stood out to me: Toro offers a laundry service. Just toss your clothes in the hamper before heading out, and by the time you’re back, they’ll be washed and neatly folded on your bed. That kind of service? Above and beyond. 10/10.

Preparing for the Trip – What to Know Before You Go

When you're heading to Cedros, you don’t want to overpack—but you also don’t want to be that guy asking your buddy for extra jigs on day 2 and end up cold and wet or hot and burnt. Here's everything you need to know to show up prepared, dialed in, and ready to fish hard.

Before You Travel: Don’t Forget These 4 Things!

First thing first, your passport. No passport, no fishing! If you're coming from the U.S., you’ll most likely be crossing into Tijuana using the Cross Border Xpress (CBX) bridge in Otay Mesa. Unless you're already in Mexico and can drive to the airport, this is the move. Just make sure to grab your round-trip CBX pass ahead of time — it’s about $40 and makes crossing the border way easier and faster. Grab your CBX pass here.

You must also acquire a Multiple Immigration Form (FMM) which takes 5 minutes to complete. Follow these instructions that are provided by CBX, on how to fill out your FMM form. This must be printed out prior to your trip. If you forgot to do it, do not worry, you can still fill out the form at CBX. It’s better to come prepared with all your documents so you can avoid long lines. This is what you will be required to show at the time of crossing CBX, make sure to have these on hand:

1. Passport
2. Multiple Immigration Form (FMM)
3. Boarding Pass (Whatever your guide sends you)
4. CBX QR Code (Print this out or save it on your phone)
   

Getting to CBX - The Day of Your Trip

As I mentioned above, print all of the following documents before your trip to have a smooth and easy experience. Passport in pocket, FMM and boarding pass printed out, CBX QR code on your phone. Now it’s showtime! There are 2 ways you can get to CBX, someone gives you a ride and drops you off or you can drive your own car. CBX has a parking lot that charges $20-43/day depending on the lot you choose (closest/furthest to CBX). View CBX parking prices.

Luggage & Weight Tips

• You’re allowed 30–35 lbs of clothing
• Fishing gear isn’t weighed strictly, but don’t go wild—keep it tight and intentional!
• Jacket, bibs, boots: Think layers! Mornings are crisp, afternoons can be hot, and evenings cool down again.
• Miscellaneous items: Sunscreen, cameras and a dry bag for the boat

Travel Logistics

 

• Get to CBX by 5:00 AM the day of your trip. Your flight leaves at 8:00am, give yourself some time to account for high season traffic.
• After crossing, you’ll be met by Toro’s staff who will spot you out like a sore thumb. You’ll be the one with all the fishing rods, don’t worry!
• They’ll handle your bags and load them into a shuttle + gear truck.
• From there, you will take a short drive to the private terminal and board a private aircraft and won’t see your gear again until the lodge.
• The plane is tight—no bathrooms, rods ride in the middle aisle! Make sure to use the bathroom before getting on board.
• YES, you can bring a 10’6” CUI jig stick—we confirmed this with the pilot and Toro crew and have done it twice without issue.
• The flight from Tijuana to Cedros Island takes 2 hours. Departs Tijuana 8am and arrive to Isla de Cedros at 10am.

The Gear That I Bring to Cedros

• 1 yo-yo setup (for deep fish or reef zones)
• 1 swimbait rod (for fishing calicos)
• 2 jig sticks (always bring a backup if you’re throwing irons daily)
• A bag of swimbaits, a box of lead heads, plenty of surface irons, yo-yo jigs, and extra line
• Waterproof jacket/bibs & boots
• 2 Ozark Trail Soft Cooler Bags. Each bag can hold 15lbs of fish. You are allowed to bring back 30 lbs of fish per person.

If you’re a surface iron addict like me, that backup jigstick will come in handy when your main one gets wrecked or spooled.

Want to throw what we fish? Shop our irons here and use code CEDROS15 to get 15% off your order. All the fish we have caught at Cedros have been on “The Righteous”, “MIGHTY” (surface irons) and our brass yo-yo, called the “MIGHTY Heavy”.

Must-Have Setups

• A proper jig stick (8'-10') paired with your favorite surface iron.
• A yo-yo setup for those deeper bites or sinker-style strikes
• A swimbait rod in case conditions call for a slower approach
• Bring backup 40# or 50# mono, especially if you're fishing tight to structure
  

For a full breakdown, hour by hour, please watch our Cedros Island Fishing With Toro Day 1 so you can see everything in full detail.

Arriving to Cedros - A Warm Welcome from the Crew

Touching down at Cedros, the first thing that hit me was the warmth — not just from the sun, but from the people too. Lenin, who’s your go-to guy with Toro, was already there waiting with cold Pacificos in hand as we stepped off the plane. Couldn’t have asked for a better welcome!

Everyone was smiling, hyped, and ready to pull on some yellows. While we cracked open our beers and took it all in, the Toro crew wasted no time — they loaded up all our gear into four trucks, and within like 15 minutes, we were already pulling up to the lodge.

Toros Fishing Lodge - First Look

Toro's lodge seriously lives up to the pictures. Perched up on that hill, the views of Cedros Island are just unreal. The cleanliness and aesthetic of the place is unmatched! As we walked into the lodge we were welcomed with some margaritas as we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the place itself. But let's be real, we were itching to fish for yellowtail! We couldn't kill too much time soaking it all in yet and Toro's team gets that, and they had us ready to go within an hour of arriving! We arrived at the lodge at 10am and were on the boat at 11:15am. Here are a couple of images from our first day at the island, just a couple hours after getting off the plane!

Unwind After the Grind – Life at the Lodge with Toro After Fishing

This may be weird to say but coming back to the lodge after your first day of fishing is quite exciting. What Toro's team has prepared for you next is what we all live for! Upon arrival at the lodge (6:30pm) the kitchen will have a delicious appetizer ready for you along with some refreshing craft cocktails. Personally, I love how they make you feel at home and push you to treat it like your own kitchen! Get in the cooler, grab whatever drinks, go behind the bar, grab your favorite drink, go to the snack section and pick out your favorite chips, at any time of the day!

Seriously, the food here is next level. Just take a look at this tomahawk steak they prepare for you! If you want them to cook up your catch from your trip, just ask! Lenin and the kitchen crew are more than happy to do it. Do you enjoy smoked fish? Toro includes this into your package and they even vacuum seal it and freeze it so you can take it home! It is important to note that there is a certain amount they can smoke per person.

After eating an amazing dinner + dessert, you have the experience of unwinding, a personal massage! Make sure you book one with Rachel or Lenin before or at the time of your trip. After your massage, its all about chilling in the jacuzzi or around the fire pit, swapping fishing stories under the stars with a cold drink. Perfect way to end a day on the water in Cedros!

Toro’s Daily Routine - What a Full Day Looks Like

• Wake up: 4:30–5:00 AM
• Breakfast: 5:20 AM (buffet + hot meals)
• On the boat by 6:00 AM (5 min drive from lodge)
• Fish all day: 6AM–6PM
• Crew washes gear + fillets and seals your fish
• Back at lodge: 6:30PM Time to enjoy snacks, beers, massage, hot tub
• Dinner served at 7:00 PM
• After dinner: chill by the fire pit, enjoy some drinks, plan for the next day
  

Must Have Gear for Fishing Cedros Island + Techniques That Worked

For me, Cedros is all about throwing the iron. It's literally Iron Paradise. If you're an efficient caster, there is no need to bother with bait unless you are targeting other species. All I personally brought was a tackle box of 30 surface irons and 3 yo-yos. Here's the list of gear that I take to fish Cedros Island:

Rods:

• 7’ Seeker 6470 (Yo-yo)
• 9’ Calstar 550 (Jigstick/Yo-yo)
• 10’6 CUI (Jigstick)
• Seeker 540 (Jigstick)
• Seeker 6490 (Jigstick)
• Seeker ULUA (Jigstick)

Reels:

• Trinidad 20a
• Torium 20HG
• DAIWA Saltist 40BG
• DAIWA Saltiga 35HA
• DAIWA Saltiga 40HA

Line

• Izorline XXX 40# and 50# Monofilament Line

Irons

• 6” The Righteous Surface Iron
• 5.5” MIGHTY Surface Iron
• MIGHTY Brass Yo-yo
  

Cedros Fishing Lessons: Avoiding Common Mistakes

We definitely learned a few things the hard way, here's what you need to take away:

Bring Extra Lures (Seriously!): The reefs out there will eat your gear. These yellowtail are strong, and you're gonna lose some battles. On our first trip, three of us went through over ten surface irons in three days while fishing Cedros.

Lock Your Drag Down (Especially in shallow water and sea lions): Trust me on this one! You don't want to lose a monster because your drag slipped or a sea lion decided to join the party.

Additional: Put your pride aside. If you know you hooked a big one, have the captain drive to it! I know you want to seem like the strong man that fought it all by himself with no help but here's the reality: fishing isn't about that. Fishing is about catching! Do whatever you can to get that fish on the boat. We had several times where we hooked Yellows over 40 lbs that we lost due to structure, fishing 60 feet of water. We quickly adapted and chased every one of those monsters down and get them on the boat. That's the photo you saw up there with 3 monsters over 35 pounds.

Adapting Your Fishing Approach

Even in yellowtail heaven, they don't always cooperate on the surface, especially when fishing early or late season. If you see baitfish jumping but no boils while fishing, try throwing a yoyo jig into the bait ball, let it sink, and reel it in fast! We picked up a bunch of yellowtail doing this when they were feeding deeper. We like to begin with doing mini drops - 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, etc. and work your way to the bottom of every cast. You can also do this with a surface iron, it'll just take longer to sink out.

Yellowtails aren’t biting? No problem! Just ask your captain if you can go target halibut or calicos and they will put you in tight on the kelp or take you to their go to spots for halibut! In the mix of it all, you can get lucky and hook/catch a whitesea bass!

The Best Fishing Spots on Cedros Island

While the yellowtail can cruise all around the island's waters, the south end, especially Punto Morro, is a consistently productive spot for Cedros Island fishing. Another area that can really turn on for yellowtail is San Agustin. For us, we had our best chances at catching the biggest yellows at Punto Morro and ran to San Agustin when the bite got slow at Punto Morro. If you want to see some run and gun fishing at San Agustin, check out our Cedros Island Fishing with Toro Day 2 Video!

Be prepared to “run and gun” the bird schools are no joke at Cedros. These Yellows are moving fast up and down the reef. That means you will be chasing these schools of boiling fish, making a cast or two and moving again, running and gunning! To me, it is the best type of fishing you can experience but you need to make sure your casting skills are proficient to make the best out of it. With that being said, put in the time that is required to develop your skills and go to your local bay or lake and practice your casting!

Yellowtail Surface Iron Fishing: Most Memorable Moments at Cedros

Unforgettable Yellowtail Schools: A Cedros Fishing Dream Come True

Cedros Island definitely lived up to the hype for yellowtail fishing. There are two moments from that trip that are just burned into my memory. First up? The biggest school of yellowtail I have ever seen, hands down. And it happened on our very first day fishing Cedros, take a look at the biggest yellowtail school we have ever seen! The second? Pulling up on a frenzy of yellowtail just hammering squid right on the surface! It was absolutely wild – classic Cedros Island fishing!

Last but definitely not the least, was all the double, triple and quad hook ups with the boys + captain Flaco. I will never forget this photo where we pulled 3 HUGE Yellows in 60 feet of water on The Righteous Surface Iron. All Yellows were over 36 pounds.Take a look at this clip from our day 3 of fishing with toro: Tripled Up on Huge Yellows!

Personal Best Yellowtail: Landed on the Mighty Surface Iron

Then there was Jeff's monster 46-pound yellowtail that he landed on our 5.5” MIGHTY Surface Iron! That whole hour was just insane – we were all hooking up with fish over 40 pounds, shattering our personal bests left and right during our Cedros Island fishing adventure. Seriously, go check out our Day 3/4 video for that mayhem!

Hooking a fish at Cedros Island just feels... different. These yellowtail are strong! You could hook into a ten-pounder that fights like a twenty, or a fifty-plus pound beast that'll test every bit of your gear and your strength, be ready to drop on a knee! And yeah, Toro himself apparently landed a 65-pounder on surface iron in ten feet of water! Get ready to yell and have the time of your life fishing Cedros!

Final Thoughts: My Unwavering Recommendation for Cedros Yellowtail Fishing with Toro

Are you considering fishing Cedros and wondering if you should go fish with Toro? Here is my answer: 

YES. A thousand times yes!  Booking with Toro means first-class everything. Enough said. 

Cedros Island Yellowtail Fishing FAQ

What's the best time to fish Cedros Island?

Spring (March - May): Early-season yellowtail, chance at big white seabass and halibut. Big Yellows tend to show up in the beginning of the season, late May/early June.
Summer (June - August): Prime months for calicos, yellowtail, tuna, dorado and wahoo.
Fall (September - November): Excellent for those huge, trophy yellowtail.

How do you get to Cedros Island?

You have to fly in from either Ensenada or Tijuana. The flights are pretty quick (two hours) and you have to book through a guide service like Toro sportfishing.

Do I need a fishing license for Cedros yellowtail?

Yes, you'll need a Mexican fishing permit. If you book your yellowtail trip with Toro Sportfishing, they take care of all that for you, which makes things way easier. I am sure any other services for fishing Cedros provides this as well.

What kind of fish can you catch around Cedros besides yellowtail?

Calico bass, Dorado (Mahi-Mahi), Wahoo, Giant black seabass, Halibut, White Seabass.

What fishing gear should I pack for Cedros Island yellowtail?

1-2 surface iron set ups, 1 Yoyo set up, 1 Bait set up, 1 Calico set up for swimbaits.

Is Cedros good for beginner fishermen targeting yellowtail?

Yes! With the abundance of fish, it is a great place for you to learn how to cast and fight fish. An amazing place to put your skills to the test.

Is live-bait available for fishing Isla de Cedros?

Yes! Toro is the only facility on the island with a bait barge and offers live bait free of charge with every fishing trip.

What's a typical fishing trip with Toro Sportfishing like?

• All Inclusive Trip – Fishing, stay, meals, drinks, vacuumed sealed fish, massage and more
• Highly experienced local guides who know these waters like the back of their hand for finding yellowtail
• Comfortable boats (pangas) for fishing
• Seriously delicious food and amazing craft cocktails
• A chance to relax and explore the island after a day on the water catching fish
  

How do I book a yellowtail fishing trip with Toro Sportfishing?

The best way is to go straight to the Toro Sportfishing website or give them a call or email. Booking early is a good idea, especially during the busy yellowtail seasons.

How much does a Cedros yellowtail fishing trip with Toro cost?

Fishing Cedros with Toro can range from $2,650 for a 4-day trip to $2,900 for 5 days, with 8-day options around $3,980. For the latest prices, check out Toro’s Fishing Prices.

How much yellowtail can I bring back home from Cedros?

Usually, it's around 30 lbs of filleted, vacuum-sealed fish per person. Those Ozark Trail cooler bags from Walmart are perfect for this – two of them will do the trick for your yellowtail.

Is tip included if I fish with Toro?

Tips are not included in your trip cost. It's highly recommended to bring cash and tip the Toro crew at the end of your trip—they work hard to make your experience unforgettable.

Do I need a CBX pass for my Cedros yellowtail trip?

If you live in the US you will most likely use the Cross Border Xpress bridge from Otay Mesa, unless you live in Mexico, as you can just drive to the airport. If you are using CBX you'll need to purchase a round-trip pass cost is about $40.

Where's the best spot to leave my car when traveling to Cedros for yellowtail fishing?

The CBX Parking lot is super convenient, though it can cost $20-$43 a day. If you've got family in San Diego, getting a ride is always a good option. Uber works too. There's also street parking, but park at your own risk when heading to Cedros for fishing.

Stay Stoked! - Memories of a Lifetime