Marlin Baitball Trip Report 2025

Magdalena Bay, Baja, MX.
December 8 - 14, 2025

December 9, 2025. Day 1.

Woke up with a bit of a head cold today. I blame Jake for that, he was sniffling on the Dolphin Dream last week and clearly passed it on.

 It’s alright. I heal fast.

We headed out early. The bay was thick with moisture, wrapped in fog that soaked everything. That’s Mag Bay in winter, cool Pacific nights, hot days, foggy mornings. 

It was beautiful though. Super photogenic. The bay was nice and flat, as it usually is at sunrise. Hoping for a smooth day out at sea.

This is a private trip for my friend Brad, who wanted to come out this year.

I didn’t have a scheduled trip this season, so when he said he wanted to go, I jumped at the chance to make it happen.

Thank you, Brad!

I love Mag Bay in the wintertime. 

Our friend Dawn joined us as well, so it’s going to be a great week, hopefully with a lot of wildlife.

And with that… it begins.

Just outside the bay, we encountered some Pacific white-sided dolphins. We tried a jump, but they were on a mission and wanted nothing to do with us, so we left them.

Not long after, we spotted a breaching humpback. We took a few shots and moved on, marlin were calling.

Fingers crossed.

12PM. Damn… What a Day.

Blue, flat, calm water.

Lots of marlin. Lots of baitballs.

Exactly what you dream of in Mag Bay.

We reached an area loaded with baitballs. 

They were everywhere.

The first few were running hard, so our jumps were super quick. 

In, Out, Gone.

After a couple rounds of that, we decided to be more selective. 

We started searching for static baitballs, the ones where the sardines have stopped running and are holding in a tight cluster. 

Static baitballs are gold for filming and photography.

At first we didn’t find any, but after some searching…we found a lot.

We had many good encounters today.

The marlin were a bit skittish, in and out quickly, not sticking around.

But the sea lions?

They were not shy at all, actively feeding and hunting right in front of us.

The action just kept going all day.

Baitball after baitball after baitball.

While scanning for more action, we saw a blow, a humpback whale was in the area trying to feed on a baitball.

A huge school of skipjack tuna erupted on the surface, so we jumped in.

And there, under the tunas, was the humpback we’d seen earlier.

So Wild.

Our final baitball of the day was Insane. Insane. Insane.

It had everything, Marlin, Sea lions, Skipjack tunas, Pelicans diving all around us.

All hammering a tiny baitball.

And the pelicans didn’t care we were there. 

They surrounded us, diving right beside us. Total chaos. Total magic.

We stayed with it for a good 45 minutes. 

The marlin didn’t stay, but everything else did, and it was an absolute epic show. 

A perfect way to end our day one in Mag Bay.

What a day.

Can’t wait for tomorrow.

December 10, 2025. Day 2

We left port into another foggy, foggy morning. Moisture on everything. As we pushed off, I heard a kingfisher calling its signature song. Love that sound. 

The morning begins.

It feels colder today than yesterday. A deeper cold. 

We’re all sore, the good kind of sore, the “we really did something yesterday” kind of sore.

The bay was nice and flat.

It begins.

We ran out toward blue water, about 50-plus miles, and found some baitballs, but none were static.

So we moved closer in. 

The water wasn’t as blue, but it was alive. 

We ran into a superpod of common dolphins, with a few spinners mixed in. We photographed them from the surface. It was a hell of a show.

After that, we went looking for marlin activity.

We found a few baitballs, nothing epic, but good.

The marlin just were not hanging around for very long.

We heard over the radio about some whale activity. So we headed to an area where a Bryde’s whale had been reported doing fly-bys on a baitball. 

When we arrived, it was chaos.

We got in for about five minutes and then left. Too many boats, too much crowding, no one listening to anyone.

It felt dirty being there.

So we moved on to find another baitball, hopefully with no boats. 

There was one nearby, one with a decent size baitball and had whale actively feeding on it.

There was a few boats there, so we respectfully slid in the water and joined the group of divers in line to watch the show.

I wasn’t expecting much, since there was a few divers in the water, but then… boom!

A brydes whale swam up to the baitball, opened its mouth wide and swallowed up a lot of sardines. Then it disappeared back into the blue. 

Then it reappeared, and attacked the baitball again, and again, and again!

Over and over it fed on the baitball.

It was magic.

So good.

Most boats were respectful. One group wasn’t, their divers were swimming down after the whale on breath-hold, trying to get right next to it, selfie sticks out. No manners at all.

The Bryde’s whale made several passes at the baitball. It was a hell of a show and definitely the highlight of the day. I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time.

My photos weren’t great, tough light, terrible angle, I was a bit far, bubbles everywhere from the wildlife, fish scales in the water column. So my images were blah.

Just means I have to come back!

But the GoPro video was decent, which I’m very happy about.

It was an incredible experience, a dream moment for everyone there.

12:46 p.m. The activity died down, so we headed inshore to look for Pacific white-sided dolphins. Would’ve loved another shot with them.

We didn’t find them and decided to head in.

What an incredible day.

December 11, 2025. Day 3.

Another beautiful morning. The seas were a little lumpier today, but nothing too bad.

It’s been good for baitballs, not a lot of static ones, but still plenty around. 

We spent most of the day searching.

We found a good baitball that looked like it was going strong, but another group jumped in and the marlin all dropped down and left.

So the search continued.

12:00 p.m.
We got a report that orcas had been spotted in the area. A pod of 7–9 orcas was seen, so we decided to use what time we had left to go look for them. 

Sadly, after about an hour of searching, we didn’t find them. I think there were about eight boats out looking, and no one had any luck.

We’ll try again tomorrow. They normally stick around for a couple of days whenever they visit Mag Bay.

On the way back to port, we decided to stop by the sea lion colony, a spot known for playful juveniles. 

When we arrived, there weren’t many sea lions in the water. Most of them were hauled out on the beach, which was a bit strange. 

Maybe the orcas had them spooked?

We decided to jump in anyway and hang out with the few that were around. As soon as we hit the water, about 30 sea lions swam out to join us, and it was game on.

These guys are so cute and so much fun to be in the water with. 

Photographing them, however, is tough. They don’t sit still for photos, they’re rolling, spinning, and dancing all around you. 

Absolute chaos.

So you do what you can: hold the shutter down, spray and pray that one or two frames come out.

Conditions on the way back were tough.

The previous two days had been calm, with smooth rides out and back. Today was different. The ride home was windy, cold, and choppy, and our backs and bodies took a beating.

We had dinner at 5:30 p.m., and then called it a day. Everyone was ready for bed by 7:00 p.m.

A good day, but a tough one at sea.

Mag Bay reminded us today that you earn every shot you take out here. 

December 12, 2025. Day 4.

It’s 10:34 a.m. and we’ve already experienced epic magic, the best marlin baitballs of the trip so far.

Normally, the marlin see us and take off, but today our crew of three was a well oiled machine, (lol) and knew exactly what to do to keep them comfortable and feeding.

Every time the marlin showed signs of discomfort and started to disappear, we backed off.

Once they settled back in and began feeding again, we slowly returned to the baitball. It took some patience, but the three of us dialed it in, and the marlin stayed with us, feeding on the baitball the entire time.

It was magic.

The baitball was a nice size, and I knew the images were going to be good, exactly what they were hoping for.

After a while, the marlin completely relaxed. They stopped caring that we were there and started charging in hard.

It was so good.

Another boat arrived, full of people.

I watched them jump in. One guy immediately free-dived down on the baitball, and just like that, the marlin disappeared.

We quietly climbed back onto the boat and went searching for another baitball.

11:30 a.m.
We stopped for an early lunch. It had already been a very good morning. All the pressure for the day was off, everything else from here on out was a bonus.

I was watching my buddies sitting there with big smiles on their faces, chattering away.

There is no better feeling than seeing my friends having a good time.

That’s the reason I do what I do, sharing this world and these moments with people. 

People travel a long way to reach these places, and see amazing things, so you always hope they get to experience something special.

After lunch, we jumped in on another baitball, and damn… what a baitball.

Easily the best of the trip.

It was small, but it was so good.

There were a lot of marlin and one sea lion, and the action was nonstop. 

The marlin were not shy at all. We had in-your-face marlin passes, the sea lion was bold and playful, and the baitball was swirling all around us.

This went on for about an hour.

Insane. Insane. Insane.

I was so happy we got the magic we were all hoping for, and more.

Brad took out his drone to film the craziness from up high. Me and Dawn were in the water, having our minds blown by the boldness of the marlin.

 It was so crazy.

A marlin swam between us, inches away chasing a sardine.

Dawn looked at me and said, “What are the chances of me getting speared today?” 

I laughed and said, “pretty high!”

Dawn replied, “tell my parents, I died happy!”

PS: No one got speared. 

Brad finally put the drone away and joined us. He was in less than a minute and yelled out.. “This is Crazy!”

After an hour the baitball finally dropped down and disappeared, we all climbed back on the boat exhausted, and very, very happy.

On the way back in, we ran into a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins playing with five humpback whales.

The whales took off as soon as we arrived, but the dolphins wanted to play, and play they did. 

We spent a good forty minutes with them spinning around us, rolling, darting, and circling nonstop.

Our captain, Gabino, motored in big circles around us to keep the dolphins interested, and they were all in. 

They’d swim up to the bow to ride the wake, then peel off and come right back to us.

I only had about 200 shots left on my card, and I filled it.

My GoPro was dead, so I swam back to the boat to grab another one. 

That battery lasted only a few seconds before dying too. 

I swam back a second time and borrowed Brad’s action camera, I had to capture the chaos.

It was insane.

We were laughing and smiling at the craziness of the moment and the craziness of the day. 

Today was a good day… A good day!!!

December 13, 2025. Day Five. Final Day at Sea.

Dawn had a family matter come up, so she headed home a day early. Today it was just Brad and me.

We headed out into the fog, but after a few minutes motoring through the bay, the sky opened up.

For the first time this week, we were greeted with blue skies and bright sun. The sea was flat calm.

What a joy it was to be out there.

On the way out, we spotted something floating, a dead bull sea lion. 

He was huge. We slowed to see if anything was feeding on it. 

Nothing yet. No sharks. So we continued on.

Excited to see what the ocean would give us on our final day.

We found our first baitball and jumped in. It didn’t last long, so we climbed back aboard and continued the search.

Our second baitball was better. 

We jumped in and found it full of marlin. They were shy at first, but after some patience, they relaxed, and then it was game on.

It takes work to help marlin settle in, especially when they’re skittish, but we did a good job and they stayed with us.

Brad started having camera issues and hopped back on the boat.

So it was just me and the baitball.

I slowed down my shooting and spent some time simply watching. 

A deep sense of gratitude washed over me, for being there, for witnessing this, for the privilege of it all.

Knowing this would be my final dive of the day, I took a few quiet moments to give thanks, to the ocean, to my friends, and to the wildlife for allowing me to be there… for the magic, and for the beauty of it all.

A sea lion showed up and made it hard for the marlin to get in on the baitball. 

He kept charging through it, scattering the sardines and keeping the marlin at bay.

Then a bull mahi-mahi arrived, glowing in full yellow hunting colors. He was beautiful.

I hoped he’d hit the baitball, but he didn’t. 

He just circled, again and again.

After about an hour, we called it and headed in. The ocean was flat and calm, a total dream.

I sat quietly on the ride back, realizing this was my last dive of the 2025 season. 

And man… what a way to end the year.

A huge thank you to my friends for this week.

What a day.
What a trip.

To Watch the Highlight videos on the Wild Minute… Click Here.