Mark, I've fished the Yucatan a lot. My first advice would have been to get off the plane in Cancun and head south and stay somewhere there. Cancun is more like Miami Beach than MX. That said, there are "deep sea" charters that run out of Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. It is more like what Dan said than deep sea. You're fishing the drops and where currents meet. Caught a huge sailfish that way one year. These days, I prefer DIY wadefishing in Sian Kaan. It's a hike from Cancun, but I usually stay in Tulum. No high rise resorts there.
If you decide to go deep sea charter out of Cancun, there are American boats that fish for sails later in the spring as Dan said. They'll fish the inside and outside of Isla Mujeres, an island off the coast of Cancun. The ones in Playa will run down through the channel between Cozumel and the mainland, then down the coast to around Tulum, then turn and troll back.
Years ago, a Mexican friend of mine and I night fished for snook right in the surf off the north tip of Cancun. The resorts now restrict that, saying it isn't "safe". Buschit. Just like here, fish run the swash channel near shore. Every week you'll see or hear of some tourist catching a snook, jack crevalle or tarpon fishing from the beach early morning or early evening.
PS- I've always used light spinning tackle inshore, lately 14-17 lb test braid with fluorocarbon leader. Favorite lures are Capt Hank Brown jigs, Mirrolures. Caught a huge jack one year off the rock jetty on the north tip of Cancun on a Bomber Long A.
Good luck!
Last edited by local_dirt; 11/28/15.
