I was just down in Mexico for a wedding a few weeks ago. We stayed at the Iberostar just north of Playa del Carmen. We chartered 2 boat with Dream Catcher out of Puerto Morelos. Cost was $800 US for an 8 hour fishing day per boat....tips on top of that are always encouraged. It's not billfish or Dorado season down there so little chance of catching a marlin. Our boat caught 10 fish total, including Spanish Mackerel, King Mackerel, and Barracuda. Biggest Barracuda was 4-4.5 feet long. We also caught a nice Jack Crevalle which was the best fighter of the group by far. We played with a sailfish for 5 minutes or so, but unfortunately just couldn't get it to stick when it bit. We were really hands on in our boat. They fish with old Penn depthmaster manual downriggers which were easy to use. We also grabbed rods that pooped off, rather then letting the guide set the hook, which meant a few lost fish for sure by the greener guys on the boat. Generally trolled live bait, some of which they already had, and some which we caught by cast netting near shore from the boat (kind of a cool experience). The other boat with us ended up catching 17 fish total, mostly the same species, but they did catch a couple amberjacks, and a red snapper. They said the amberjacks were incredible fighters. Mostly I'd say it was a really good experience and the first mate we had (Jorge) was a good guy who speaks decent English. The cruise from the marina to the fishing grounds isn't far (30 mins tops) so you spend a lot of time fishing which is nice. The price always seems expensive, but no more so than a charter out of ukee for the day I guess. The boat was really comfortable and easily held our party of 4 guys. Splitting the cost 4 ways also made it much less painful. If I were going back to the area and wanted to do another trip, I'd definitely consider using this charter again. You can find them on facebook - Sport Fishing Dream Catcher Peurto Morales.
Hope it helps. Cheers.
