There's been some great information and advice given here, but I'm a little confused.
Jeremy says he's not worried about expense, but we're telling him how to do this on the cheap with Arturo in Puerto Lobos. What we don't know is what level of comfort Jeremy and his crew require or how long they'll be in Sonora. We also don't know what else they might want to do besides fish.
As I understand it, Tom Albers handles everything for you at $600 per person. That gets you driven down there, fed and housed comfortably for four days, fishing gear supplied and keeps you from getting lost or in trouble. I've never fished with Tom, but I've met him, seen his place and talked to his clients.
If they can be in Sonora for four days, have a little stronger sense of adventure and their own tackle suitable for ocean fishing, I'd suggest mixing it up a bit. Stay comfortably and eat well in Rocky Point the first night, then early next morning drive down to Lobos to fish and stay a night there, then fish again the next day and come back.
Two guys can get a room in Lobos for $40 a night. Arturo might find you something a little better if it's available, but there's no guarantee of that. (I also believe Arturo is now up to $300 a day per boatload of people, which is still cheap ocean fishing and much better fishing than you'll get taking a panga out of Rocky Point.)
Now if the fishing gurus here will allow me to be so presumptuous, I'll explain a key fact about ocean fishing. Bigger boats are more comfortable, but making them go fast and far takes
a lot of gas. In Mexico, gas is about $4.00 a gallon, and they won't let you bring much across. That's one of the reasons why guys like Albers and A.J. (Arturo's) don't like to do a lot of trolling. The prices they charge won't cover buying dozens of gallons of gas. They use up enough just getting out to the reefs where the bottom fishing can be good. I'm sure Arturo's will let you troll a little on the way out, but trolling becomes less productive for the better species as you get farther out and the water gets deeper.
There's another guy in Lobos who likes to troll and is cheaper, but he uses smaller pangas with smaller motors, drives slower and doesn't go out very far. His trips are shorter but will do two in one day, which is kind of nice because it breaks it up. The waters are more shallow, and trolling is a bit more productive, although not usually for really huge fish. Last weekend he and a friend of mine picked up these groupers trolling within a couple miles of shore. (Sorry about the horizontal. It's late.) They also got a 20 lb yellowtail and had 3 other good hook-ups that didn't end well. A day with Arturo and a half day with Quitla (left in the picture) could make for a well-rounded trip. Anyone interested in trying Quitla too can PM me.
What's good about Lobos is there's some variety. Decent or better fishing for every pocket book and lodging that's adequate for most guys. (Not gals.) What's not so great is that any Mexican beach town offering fine dining and accommodations along with quality fishing requires either a long drive from Arizona or an airline ticket.
And if somebody could just tell you what the wind will be like on a given day in October...
