Costa Rica Fishing - News, Reviews, & Reports

Los Suenos Peak Season Ends with a Bang

Conventional wisdom, and more importantly the people who know and work in the industry, say that the peak fishing season along the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica runs from November though the end of April.  For those of you who are not aware, those months also coincide with the dry season, or Costa Rican summer, when the vast majority of the country enjoys hot and sunny weather for the better part of six months.  When Phillip Arnold and his group of twelve planned their first Costa Rica fishing vacation at the end of April we crossed our fingers and hoped that the rains would not have arrived yet and that the billfish where still in the area - and boy were they ever.

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(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)

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Costa Rica Fishing Report - April 2009

As we come to the end of another great peak fishing season along the Central Pacific Coast in Costa Rica, the Northwest Pacific region of Costa Rica is eagerly awaiting it’s turn.  If the first half of this year’s numbers are any indication, the Guanacaste region has good reason to be excited for the bite that is soon to move it’s way.

As reported earlier, the fishing reports and sheer number of fish being taken out of the Pacific waters this year has been amazing.  While Costa Rica sportfishing is already known as some of the best in the world, this year impressed even those who have been here for years.  The fishing has been so good in fact that many captains are saying this is the best fishing they’ve seen in the past 10 years.  No one has been able to pinpoint exactly why it has been so good, but there are three possible explanations.  The first is the new, stricter laws imposed upon the commercial fishing boats which limits the number of billfish they can take.  Another is of course the wonderful economic woes the entire world is facing right now.  The number of visitors, and therefore fisherman, to Costa Rica has decreased a little bit from previous years so that means there are less fishermen out there and more fish for the ones who are able to travel.  Finally another reason may simply be that we are just enjoying a nice cycle, or it could be any combination of the three.  In any case, there have been a lot of people in 2009 who have returned extremely happy from their Costa Rica fishing vacation.

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(4 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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2009 Los Sueños Signature Billfish Tournament - Leg 1 Results

In light of this weekend’s second leg and conclusion to the 2009 Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series Tournament, it is about time we gave you the final results to Leg 1 of the tournament.  The first leg of the tournament, presented by Viking Yachts, was held at the Los Suenos Resort & Marina in Playa Heradura, Costa Rica from January 21-24, 2009.  The annual tournament saw a total of 43 boats go to battle in the three day tournament along Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast.  Perhaps even more astonishing than the overall number of billfish that were successfully released in three day tournament is that, as per tournament rules, they were all hooked up within a 50 mile radius of the Los Suenos Resort.

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(6 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Costa Rica’s 2009 Sailfish Numbers Continue to Impress

By now most people know that Costa Rica is a tourism mecca and home to some of the best sport fishing in this half of the world.  Many fishermen know that fishing in Costa Rica is typically best between December through April when the dry season weather coincides with the peak fishing season.  For those who were brave enough, and fortunate enough, to take fishing vacation to Costa Rica this year have been rewarded with some of the best numbers in recent memory.  Fishing reports have been coming in with some astonishing numbers, with many captains saying it is the best they have seen in the past decade.

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(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)

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Costa Rica Fishing Report - Crocodile Bay

The latest fishing report out of Crocodile Bay suggests that the gamefish were as excited for the new year as we were.  Todd Staley, fishing director at Crocodile Bay, reports that the marlin and yellowfin tuna are very strong in numbers, but the mahi-mahi action has slowed and the sailfish have not arrived to that part of the country yet.  The Wert family from Nebraska came down and landed a prize 250 lb tuna and a beautiful sailfish.  Paul Brown and friend Dina also had one heck of a fish story.  Early on they hooked into a yellowfin tuna and fought it for over seven and a half hours.  They got it close to the boat several times and just when they were about to get it to the deck the hook broke and the goliath swam off.  The crew estimated it to be at 350 lbs.

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(4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)

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Are the Sailfish Back in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is known worldwide a first class destination for sport fishing, yet the locals see something different.  Every year tourists flock by the hundreds of thousands to come to this small Central American country to try their hand at some of the world’s best sport fishing, and while it is still great many might not know just what they are missing.  If you were to ask boat captains here with even just ten years of experience they will tell you that the sailfish numbers are no where what they used to be 15-20 years ago.  They will proceed to tell you grand fish tales of huge marlin and days of 20+ sailfish hookups, and you can’t help but wonder ‘what changed?’

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(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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Costa Rica Kayak Fishing Report

Costa Rica kayak fishing guide Ralph Solano spent his Christmas morning the way he wanted to - fishing on the Pacific Ocean.  The only thing he enjoys more than fishing himself is getting new people interested in kayak fishing, and that’s exactly what he did on Dec 25th.  Ralph took first time kayak fisherman Carl Lindstrom out to Flamingo Beach where they proceeded to catch four different species of in-shore fish, including some great tablefare.  Their final tally was two needle fish, two jacks, three delicious red snappers and last but not least a 22 lb corvina.  For those of you who are ceviche connoisseurs, you know that corvina is great fish to use when making your favorite dish.  For those new to ceviche, we’ve included a great recipe for you using corvina.

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(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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Costa Rica Fishing Report - Nov 08 / Tamarindo

As conventional wisdom goes, November marks the end of the green season and the start of the dry season in Costa Rica.  That means that the best fishing bite is supposed to shift south from Guanacaste down to the Central and South Pacific regions of Costa Rica to coincide with the warmer, clearer water.  The tough part for us fishermen is knowing exactly when the billfish are coming back and when the bite finally slows in the north and heats up in the south.  We do our best to judge it based on the weather and reports of where the bait fish are, but sometimes you just never know.  Luckily for us and Ron Wells, the fish were still in Guanacaste when he came down last month.

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(5 votes, average: 4.6 out of 5)

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Costa Rica Fishing Report - Dec 08 / Carrillo

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do something I have never done here in Costa Rica - fish out of Playa Carrillo.  In my three plus years here I have fished pretty much all over the country, including the hot spots like Los Suenos and Manuel Antonio.  I had never fished out on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula however because we never knew of any quality boats out there.  That changed last weekend however when we were invited out for a day of fishing on the Kingfisher.

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(5 votes, average: 4.4 out of 5)

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Club del Mar Hotel Review - Jaco, Costa Rica

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a weekend at the beautiful Club del Mar located in Playa Jaco, Costa Rica.  I’ve known this hotel for years and drive past it every time I make a trip down to the Central Pacific region of Costa Rica, but I’ve never actually seen it in person.  However last month a good friend of mine got married in Playa Jaco so I jumped on the opportunity to stay at the Club del Mar (http://www.vacationscostarica.com/fishing/club_del_mar.html) for a weekend and I’m so glad I did.  It is a beautiful boutique hotel located at the very southern end of Jaco and is a great destination for couples, families, and fishermen alike. Read the rest of this entry »

(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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