Costa Rica Sport Fishing
World Class Sport Fishing in Costa Rica
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Jan 24, 2008, 12:38

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World Class Sport Fishing in Costa Rica

Sport Fishing Costa Rica

Come and go wild in Costa Rica! Fishing in Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean for Sailfish, Striped, Blue and Black Marlin, Dorado, Tuna and Wahoo. Fishing in Costa Rica's Golfo Dulce for mighty Roosterfish, Cubera's, Jacks, Bluefin Trevally, Sierra Mackerel, and Grouper is excellent throughout the year. Most outfitters provide a variety of fishing options such as live bait, trolling, casting, and fly-fishing inshore and offshore.

Fishing can be divided into three main areas, Inshore,offshore and Mangroves / rivers. For Inshore the species most sought after is the Roosterfish. Twenty-five to fifty pound fish are very common and we catch a couple over 50 each week. One lodge record is 106 lbs. Costa Rica has a dozen different kinds of snapper with the cubera being top dog. They average about 15 to 20 lbs with the biggest to date here 63 lbs. Other species caught inshore include but are not limited to Barracuda, several types of Jacks, Snook, Bonito, Mackerel, African Pompano, Bluefin Trevally, Rainbow Runners, Shark, etc

Offshore Sailfish are the main target, these fish are available year round when a half dozen are common any day. From November to May the numbers increase and days of 12 fish or more are common. If you ever fancied learning to catch billfish on the fly, due to the sheer numbers of fish raised, Costa Rica has to be one of the top places anywhere in the world.

Believe you me catching your first billfish on a fly is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life. Other species available are Marlin — The "lady in the blue dress" or Blue Marlin is the most common of our Marlin and cruise our cobalt waters all year. They peak in November and December as well as March and April. Black Marlin are most abundant in July and August and few Striped Marlin are around at the same time.

Tuna — Yellowfin is the main species. The big boys, those 100 to 300 pounds can test your back any day of the year if you are lucky enough to come across a school of porpoises offshore. The big Tuna swim with them and the feed on the same bait fish. "football size tunas hang around floating debris or peak in schools in July and August and November and December. No wonder the Marlin peak at the same time.

Mangroves / Rivers The Golfo Dulce has numerous rivers flowing into it that resulted in its name, the "sweet gulf ". This is by far the least explored and developed fly fishery. This fishery is accessed from flats boats. Much of the opportunity here peak in the rainy season, June through mid-November, which draws fewer fishermen, although the fishing is still good.

Prime mangrove and river species are black snook, the largest of the snook family, barracuda, numerous jacks headed by Pacific jack crevelle, mangrove snappers, and various other snappers, corvina (similar to weakfish), and of course roosterfish which like the corvina will frequent the river mouth drop-offs into deep water at the confluence with the gulf Incredibly, several tarpon have recently been caught here, apparently having migrated through the Panama Canal. Your fishing Valhalla here and these wonderful interlopers show up.