General Information
Costa
Rica's warm tropical waters are home to an abundance of
big fish, which lure fishermen from around the world.
Sailfish,
blue marlin, striped marlin, roosterfish, tuna and snapper
are just a few of the species caught in large numbers off
the Pacific coast, while tarpon and snook fishing is unexcelled
on the Caribbean side. Because Costa Rica's two oceans are
so close, you can actually fish both during vacation, reeling
in your last Pacific sailfish in the afternoon and fighting
your first tarpon by 7 o'clock the next morning.
Your
friends may have told you some pretty unbelievable stories
about Costa Rica's fishing, but you'll quickly discover
that they haven't exaggerated. According to the International
Game Fish Association, Costa Rica holds 44 line class records,
17 fly rod records and 18 all-tackle records, a total of
79 world records! The line class records include a 162 pound
blue marlin caught on 4 pound test and a 11 pound Pacific
sailfish landed with 2 pound test line. There are five fly
rod records for sailfish, and two each for blue and striped
marlin.
Costa
Rica will turn you on to the best fresh and salt water fishing.
From spectacular runs of tarpon, snook and jack on the east
coast to the incurable quantity and variety of the west
coast fisheries where marlin, sailfish and roosterfish will
all test your angling skill to the limit.
Great
accommodations, hospitality, food and fun are all part of
the adventure.
Out
at sea, Costa Rica's Pacific coast offers outstanding all
water action, from the Papagayo Gulf and Flamingo Bay in
the north, to Quepos in the mid Pacific, down to Golfo Dulce,
a fishing hot spot in the south pacific. Sport fishing boats,
equipped with modern safety gear and electronics, typically
head about 10 to 30 miles offshore in search of large bill
fish, like blue marlin and sailfish. Fishermen, who are
always amazed by the quantity and size of the fish in Costa
Rica's waters, also pull in plenty of jacks, snappers, yellow-fin
tuna, wahoo and roosterfish. Accommodations are first-rate
along the Pacific, with exciting tours and excursions available
for family members who don't fish. Fishing lodges in the
mores remote areas can be accessed by short, daily flights
in light aircraft.
The
country also offers some fine freshwater fishing at lake
Arenal, and even a trout fishing camp up in the mountains.
Costa
Rica is a world leader for tropical fishing vacations, offering
first rate lodging on both the Pacific and Caribbean coast,
activities for the entire family, well-equipped, safe boats,
and abundance of big fish.
PACIFIC
COAST
The
Pacific Coastal region is divided roughly into the Northern,
Central and Southern fishing areas, with conditions varying
with the seasons in each area.
NORTHERN
PACIFIC
Cabo
Blanco to the Gulf of Papagayo
Flamingo
Beach, with a full-service marina, is the major sport fishing
center in the northern coastal area, but boats also charter
out of nearby Coco's beach, Tamarindo, Ocotal, Potrero,
Brasilito and few points in between. A bit further south,
there are boats operating below Cabo Blanco, out of Nosara,
Garza, Sámara and Carrillo beach, a region that gets more
protection from the winds that normally blow late December
into March and April. Some boats from the more northerly
areas often base at Carrillo beach from about December through
March if the wind is blowing and the main billfish population
is moving north from the central coastal area.
SEASON
Marlin:
Caught every months of the year, with mid- November to early
March exceptional, then slowing a bit from April into early
June when it picks up again, peaking in August and September.
Sailfish:
Caught throughout the year, with May though August normally
then top season. They may begin to thin out in September
and the slowest months are from late August through November.
Tuna:
Peak months are probably August through October, but
when all else fails, there are always tuna, anytime of the
year you want to look for them, and more often than not
when you'd just as soon avoid them to concentrate on billfish.
The yellowfish and some bigeye tuna are often found well
inside the Santa Catalina Islands, 30 minutes or less running
time from the beach, while school of 12 to 20 pounders are
usually abundant on the outside. You frequently find concentrations
of 40 to 60 pound tuna, and there are plenty of the 200
to 400 ponders caught every year.
Dorado:
More properly known as dolphin, these colorful gamesters
are most abundant from late May through October.
Wahoo:
The first showing begins about the time the rains starts
in May, peaking in July and August.
Roosterfish:
Available all year, but there are more caught in the
Papagayo Bay area from November through March.
CENTRAL
PACIFIC
Cabo
Blanco to Drake Bay
Quepos
is the enter of fishing on the central coast, but there
are charters available out of Puntarenas, the resorts at
the southern and of Nicoya Peninsula, Jacó Beach, Punta
Leona and at Drake Bay. Billfish are the target of most
visiting anglers, and they are seldon disappointed from
around December through April.
SEASON
Marlin:
October is normally the top month for marlin in this
area, but action is also good in September and November
and occasionally blues and rare black are likely to be found
anytime of year although they are usually out further than
the boats hunting for sailfish are likely to be fishing.
Sailfish:
Middle December to end of April- when they begin moving
north- is rated the best season, but the big schools often
move in about October and occasionally stay longer.
Tuna:
Found through out the year as they are all along the
Pacific coast, but most abundant from about June through
September.
Wahoo:
Not common in the area around Quepos, but more abundant
in the late summer further south, especially the Drake Bay
and Caño Islands area from late June to early August.
Dorado:
Best action begins with the winter rains that start
in late May and wash debris from the river mounths creating
the shore trash lines that the dolphin favor.
Roosterfish:
Fishing for this hard-hitting inshore species is incredible,
with the best spots off the river mounths and the rocky
drop-off. Best fishing is from June through early September.
Snook:
Favored spotsare just off many river mouths all along
the coast, up the Sierpe river and in the big lagoon on
the Sierpe. The best months seem to be from July through
November during the heavy rainy season.
SOUTHERN
PACIFIC
Golfito
& Playa Zancudo
Golfito
is the largest town on Costa Rica's southern coast, but
there are only a half dozen operators scattered between
the northern end of Dulce Gulf, the town of Golfito, Puerto
Jiménes on the Osa Península and Zancudo beach. Zancudo
is a narrow peninsula with miles of beach on the ocean side
and bordered by several rivers on the other. Expect to raise
a dozen or more sail sand likely a marlin to two outside
Matapalo Cape during peak season, and plenty of jacks, runners,
mackerel, amber jacks, roosterfish and big snapper inshore.
SEASON
Marlin:
August through December is the peak season, but occasional
striped, blue or black may be taken most any month if the
water temperature is up.
Sailfish:
A few taken off and so year round with best fishing
from December through March. It often slows from April into
early June, then picks up again and peaks in August and
September.
Tuna:
Best fishing for the 100 pound and up yellowfish corresponds
with marlin and sailfish season, but the schools of up to
30 pound tuna can early always be found outside.
Dorado:
Best runs are traditionally from late May though October,
when the rivers are running full.
Wahoo:
Not abundant, but occasionally fish may be taken most
any time of year while trolling offshore for bill snore
around the structure off Matapalo Cape.
Roosterfish:
The region is famous for its big roosters and they can
be caught virtually in months of the year.
Snook:
All year, but best from mid or late May through July
and in January and February.
CARRIBEAN
COAST
Fishing
along Costa Rica's Caribbean coast can vary more from one
day to another than from month to month.
Historically,
tarpon fishing has been promoted by the lodges on Costa
Ricas's east coast during the dry season from about December
through mid May, while snook traditionally peak from about
September through November.
SEASON
Tarpon:
They're always around, with traditional high season
from December through May.
Snook:
Big snook generally peak from March through May and
again September through the end of November.
Fat
Snook (cable): Peak from mid-November through late January,
but often make an appearance much earlier.
Billfish:
When you can get outside to the blue water you will
find Atlantic sailfish and occasional Atlantic Blue marlin
most anytime of the year. Most are caught from February
through September.
Wahoo:
Plentiful on the outside from early February through
mid June.
Dorado:
Caught just outside the river mounths throughout the
year. Best fishing is when the runoff carries out the debris
that forms inshore trash lines.
Tripletail:
January through June
Kingfish,
Spanish and cero mackerel, jack crevalleand barracuda: Abundant
close to shore anytime the ocean in flat.
