A Spectular Freshwater Fishing Day
Enjoy a spectacular freshwater sportfishing day on Lake Arenal. You will connect with a professional bilingual fishing guide, who will take you out on a custom 20-foot bass boat complete with Yamaha four-stroke motor, trolling motor, and all bait and tackle (spinning rods, bait casters, and fly rods).
Fishing here will be targeting delicious rainbow bass, the hard fighting machaca, tilapia, and mojarra. Lake Arenal is an artificial dammed lake created to generate electricity in the early 1970s and has since become an excellent source for the fishery. Anglers worldwide come to this location to fish on this incredible lake with views of the Arenal Volcano surrounded by nature and the tropical jungle.
FAQs
Answering questions about this activity.
What type of fish are machaca and guapote?
Machaca is one of the most aggressive and hardest-fighting freshwater fish in Costa Rica, so much so they have earned the nickname “mini tarpon.” Related to piranha's, once hooked, they will leap out of the water several times. They typically aren’t considered table fare, but are often used in soups.
Rainbow bass is part of the cichlid family, which includes oscars, wrasse, angelfish, and the closely-related peacock bass. Better known as ‘guapote’ in Costa Rica, they are the main target of freshwater anglers in this part of the world and are prized for their combination of intelligence and aggression (plus the meat is great-tasting!).
What are the best months to catch these fish?
Machaca can be caught all year round in Costa Rica. They primarily feed at the surface, so even if the water is murky, shallow, or deeper than usual, they will still hit your lure or fly if it makes a big enough splat.
Guapote can be and are caught all year round, but the fishing is typically better when the lake water levels are lower as they have less space to hide in. Those months would coincide with our dry season or summer, so typically, Jan-May is spectacular.
