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by Jerry "Bubba" Halstrom of the Tico Times |
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11/13/08
The weather has returned to our normal pattern for “green season” the past couple of weeks. Most of Costa Rica has had nice days with calm water, light breezes and the occasional evening showers.Boats all along the Pacific coast are still catching good numbers of mahimahi with some sailfish, marlin and tuna in the mix. The fishing on the Caribbean side continues to be good for tarpon, and the guapote bite at Lake Arenal, in north-central Costa Rica, has been about average for this time of year.
Northern Pacific
Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports some good action with mahimahi, grouper, tuna and the occasional blue marlin. Capt. Randy Wilson on the Talking Fish took out Richard Krug for a half day and caught several grouper and mahimahi and a nice blue marlin estimated at 300 pounds. Capt. José López on the OutCast took Rick and Vivienne Werner for a half day and caught a good number of mahimahi. Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing took a U.S. client from New Jersey out for some inshore kayak fishing near Playa Flamingo. They hooked up a 50-pound roosterfish on 30-pound line, and it took him 35 minutes to land and safely release that fine fish.Capt. Skeet Warren on the Bushwacker fished offshore with Eddie Alexander and friends from the U.S. state of Mississippi and caught three sailfish and seven mahimahi. A few days later, they went inshore and caught one sailfish, two roosterfish, two wahoo, three jack crevalle, two sierra mackerel and a lot of bonito. Warren says the seas have been calm and the weather great.
Central Pacific
I was lucky enough to go out last weekend with Capt. Jeremy Trujillo on the Desperado, a really nice 60-foot Bertram with DirecTV. I don't know if it gets any better than being 25 miles offshore, fishing and watching college football on ESPN. The air-conditioning was so cold I needed a blanket, and the leather couch made for a nice spot for a nap. My friends and I had a great time on a beautiful boat, and we caught a bunch of good eating fish – six nice mahimahi – and raised two sailfish. Capt. Dana Thomas took a Ukrainian gentleman out for a day of fishing on the Hoo's Up. The client had fished all over the world – Jamaica, Bahamas, Mexico, Florida and elsewhere – but he had never caught a sailfish or marlin. The captain took him out 26 miles and fished a spot known as “the corner,” hoping to get a sailfish. They caught a dozen mahimahi, but the guy wanted a “beeg feesh,” and told Thomas that if he got him a marlin he would pay him $500. The captain responded that he would catch him a marlin for free if he could, but the bite lately has been for mahimahi and not many marlin have been caught. Then Thomas heard on his radio about a boat that missed a couple of marlin, so he headed in that direction. About an hour later, the Ukrainian guy got his wish and they hooked up a nice blue marlin. The guy battled his fish and it was safely released. The client was very happy and had no problem following through on his $500 promise. Capt. RJ Lillie went for a half day recently and caught 15 nice mahimahi. The clients kept a few of the bigger ones and had the local restaurant near their hotel cook up their catch. Capt. James Smith and the guys on the Dragin Fly went out about 25 miles last week and had a great day offshore, catching five mahimahi, nine yellowfin tuna, four sailfish and a marlin. Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin took a U.S. couple from Texas out for a half day and caught eight nice mahimahi and a sailfish, while Capt. Dominic Santana on the Caballo del Mar in Herradura went out recently with a couple of guys from the United States, who caught 12 mahimahi, two mackerel and a nice roosterfish. Capt. Chris Bernstel reports the Kinembe II has been working the tuna pretty hard out of Quepos, as well as the typical piles of mahimahi going into the cooler. There have also been a few sailfish and marlin in the mix. Bernstel also reports a good inshore bite for snapper.Capt. Dave Dobbins of Fish La Manta in Quepos reports all the mahimahi you can catch just a little ways offshore.
Southern PacificCapt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports summer-like weather conditions in the Golfito area. The tuna and mahimahi are outside in good numbers. Wahoo are making a good showing off Matapalo and down off the reefs of Punta Burica, chasing Yo-Zuri bonito lures, subsurface tremblers, Rapalas and jetheads. There are still black marlin around the tuna and bonito schools, Baker says, and the sailfish bite has been spotty, with boats averaging a couple per day.
Northern Region
Capt. Ron Saunders of Arenal Fishing reports partly sunny days and cool mornings at Lake Arenal, which is near capacity. The upside of high water is lots of tall, grassy shoreline to cast in. The downside: the shelves keep changing depths, which keep the fish moving around. Saunders has been fishing rain or shine the last couple of weeks and is catching a few medium-sized fish on half-day tours. Fish appear to be in a post-spawn funk – lots of strikes and smacks on the top-water, but it takes work to get them to actually take the hook.Philippe Tisseaux of San Carlos Sportfishing in Nicaragua reports that the San Juan River is still up with all the rain in October, but they are still catching tarpon over 100 pounds. There has also been a good snook bite farther up the river; one lucky angler is reported to have caught a 52-pound snook near El Castillo.
Caribbean
Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark took Todd Staley out for some fishing last week in Tortuguero. They jumped 20 tarpon and released two, and caught a couple of snook in the 15-pound range and a nice snapper. The next morning, they caught three snook, one over 20 pounds. Diann Sánchez of the Río Colorado Lodge reports sunny days and a good tarpon bite on the northern Caribbean coast. The lodge has hosted several groups in the past few weeks and everyone is having some luck. The groups going for tarpon have been jumping an average of eight to 10 per day and releasing two or three. Several groups have been fishing the lagoons and have had good luck with guapote, machaca, mojarra and snook. One group went offshore and caught wahoo, kingfish and barracuda.10/30/08
Rain, rain and more rain is the only way to describe the weather we had in mid-October, but once it stopped the sun came out and the weather returned to normal with nice days, light breezes and a few afternoon and evening showers.
Boats up and down the Pacific coast are catching good numbers of mahimahi with some sailfish, marlin and tuna in the mix. The fishing on the Caribbean side continues to be good, and the water levels are up but the bite steady at Lake Arenal.Northern Pacific
Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports some good fishing after the rain and wind stopped. Nick and Stacey Branca, who last fished with Tamarindo Sportfishing 10 years ago on their honeymoon, caught a 300-pound blue marlin and a half dozen nice mahimahi on the Talking Fish. Amy Kimball and friends also went out on the Talking Fish and caught a sailfish and a dozen mahimahi. Felipe Fernández with the Good Day Team reports a good mahimahi bite in the Flamingo area. They fished on the boat Online and caught 17 mahimahi in the 30- to 40-pound range and three nice sailfish. Capt. Skeet Warren on the Bushwacker last Sunday caught one sailfish and 15 mahimahi from 20 to 30 pounds. He said it was raining so hard they couldn't even take photos.
Central Pacific
Capt. RJ Lillie on the Predator fished a current/trash line 14 miles out with a group of guys from Florida, who caught 10 mahimahi from 20 to 25 pounds on a half-day trip. The guys were happy to fulfill their promise to bring home enough fish to feed their group of 20. Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin took an international group – a North American, an Italian and two guys from Mexico – out for a day offshore last week. They fished 25 miles out and caught a couple of sailfish and a mahimahi before 1 p.m. Capt. Jeremy Trujillo on the R&J took a couple from the U.S. state of Tennessee out for a full day offshore. They caught a sailfish, a tuna and four nice mahimahi. Trujillo said they fished in green water 25 miles out from Los Sueños Marina. Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II reports a slow inshore bite in the Quepos area. He went offshore last week and caught a marlin, a sailfish and a dozen nice mahimahi; everyone has been catching big numbers of the latter, he adds. Capt. Dave Dobbins in Quepos took a couple of guys out for a half day of inshore fishing. Angler Van Porter released a nice roosterfish, and Roger Morales caught and kept a nice grouper for the grill. Morales caught his fish on a 30-pound test hand line. Dobbins also put a hurtin' on a dozen or more small snapper. (My personal goal for this year is to catch a sailfish on a hand line.) Felipe Fernández and the guys on the Good Day II in Quepos caught 14 mahimahi and released a sailfish and a 400-pound blue marlin on a recent trip offshore. Fernández also reports good numbers of mahimahi being caught in the Quepos area, even though the blue water is 45 miles out. Leanne Batten with Quepos Sailfishing Charters had client Chris Stuart fish offshore last week with Capt. Glen Morales on the Reel Deal. They had nice weather and calm seas, and caught three nice mahimahi.Southern Pacific
Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports “tons” of mahimahi just outside Cabo Matapalo, only five to seven miles out. The local panga fleet has been chasing the schools of mahimahi, trying to make up for the recent bad weather. Baker thinks the marlin are chasing the schools of mahimahi as well. Off Playa Zancudo, good numbers of sierra mackerel, jack crevalle and a few snapper have been taken casting bucktails with a twister tail added (white or chartreuse) and bouncing the rig back to the beach.
Northern Region
Capt. Ron Saunders of Arenal Fishing says the water at the lake is up about 10 feet with all the rain this month. The high water has slowed the bite a little, but they are still catching average-size guapote, mainly trolling with some topwater action.
Caribbean
Diann Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge reports a steady bite on the northern Caribbean coast. Several groups have been in the past few weeks and all have been catching tarpon. One group jumped 11 tarpon and boated two, another jumped six and boated three, and yet another group jumped 16 and boated four.My last column ran with a photo of a marlin that came up dead and could not be released (TT, Oct. 17). I asked the captain for details, because 99 percent of sportfishing boats will do everything they can to safely release billfish. Capt. Skeet Warren sent me this account: “The marlin was caught on a 15/0 circle hook. It got tail-wrapped while jumping, and when the hook pulled out of its mouth, it somehow hooked the tail. I have never seen that happen before with a circle hook. We dragged the fish beside the boat for 30 minutes trying to revive it.
“After 30 minutes I finally made the decision that the fish was dead. Instead of leaving it for the sharks, we put it in the boat and fed about 50 people in Brasilito. In the last year, I have run 117 days fishing and had only that fish and a roosterfish die, and the rest were released. I have been captaining boats since 1981 and have fought very hard for the use of circle hooks and releasing fish.” Please catch and release all marlin, sailfish and roosterfish10/16/08
The weather on the central and southern Pacific coast has been great for October. On the central coast, we've had nice days with light winds and showers roughly every other evening, and some good mahimahi and sailfish action. Southern Pacific anglers report good numbers of marlin and inshore fishing. The northern coast has seen some heavy rains because of storms forming off the Pacific coast of Mexico, but boats there have been catching good numbers of blue marlin and mahimahi. On the Caribbean side, the weather continues to be nice, the seas calm and the fishing solid. And up north at Lake Arenal, boats are bringing in the guapote and enjoying nice days with some afternoon showers.
Northern Pacific
Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports good fishing despite the rainy weather. Capt. Maikel Rodríguez on the Salsa took Scott McCay and his wife offshore. They caught two blue marlin and dozens of yellowfin tuna and mahimahi.
Capt. Steve Curtis on the Capullo in Tamarindo has had a few trips recently. Paul Waddell and Joe Woody each released a 300-pound marlin – it was Woody's 40th birthday, and he said he got his birthday wish. Angler Sam Panice went out and caught a 350-pound blue marlin and a handful of nice mahimahi. Jim Winslett caught two blue marlin and a mahimahi from a 22-foot boat, “The Old Man and the Sea” style.
Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing reports a slow bite in the area because of all the whales around. When you fish out of kayaks, those whales do look pretty big.
Felipe Fernández with the Good Day Team reports a good bite the past few weeks in the Flamingo area. They fished on the Online last week and raised 40 sailfish and released 17.
Capt. Skeet Warren on the Bushwacker had a few charters out of the Four Seasons Papagayo recently and reports a good marlin and sailfish bite.
Central Pacific
Capt. James Smith and the guys on the Dragin Fly had a big sailfish day last week, fishing 35 miles out and releasing 10 sails. Earlier in the week, the guys on the Drum Roll released 11 sailfish. Both boats were lucky enough to find blue water.
Capt. Tom Carlton and Capt. Dana Thomas took theirs wives, Tatiana and Laura, out recently for some cold beers and bottom fishing on the Agwe, hitting a couple of secret spots five to 10 miles out. They caught about two dozen grouper in the 10- to 20-pound range and a few varieties of delicious snapper.
Some buddies from Missouri and I went fishing with Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish, 26 miles out by a hot spot called “the craters.” The water was almost chocolate-brown and loaded with garbage. We caught a 35-pound and a 60-pound mahimahi and had a fish fry that night. It was a great day until the Missouri Tigers beat my Nebraska Cornhuskers by 40 points in U.S. college football.
Raúl Cabezas and the guys on the Reel Deal in Quepos took a couple out for a day offshore and caught seven mahimahi, all over 35 pounds.
Leanne Batten of Quepos Sailfishing Charters reports beautiful weather and calm seas in the Quepos area. Angler Geoff Rowsan fished the Reel Deal last week with his dad and brother, ending the day with eight mahimahi. They took their catch to a local restaurant called Marlintini's, and the chef prepared their mahimahi eight different ways. The guys said it was delicious.
Southern Pacific
Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing in Zancudo reports excellent numbers of black marlin chasing yellowfin tuna outside Matapalo – a good time to go after the big ones. They have also had a nice inshore bite for snapper, grouper and corvina. The surf casters in the area have been catching some nice snook. Baker says they put single hooks on unpainted cedar plugs and cast out over the waves; the snook attack, thinking it's a finger mullet.
Northern Region
Capt. Ron Saunders has been catching medium-sized guapote and machaca on the morning bite at Lake Arenal. Lake levels are slightly high, with mild winds and afternoon showers. Saunders guided two sets of newlyweds last week and reports that both parties were rewarded with several fish and had a great time.
Caribbean
Bill Reed and his buddies from Canada fished a couple of days with Capt. Speedy Thomas out of Tortuguero, averaging two or three tarpon releases each day. They fought one fish for four hours before the line broke.
Capt. Eddie Brown reports flat seas and a good bite on the Caribbean side. They've been jumping six or seven tarpon per day and releasing two or three.
Diann Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge reports good fishing on the northern Caribbean coast. The lodge hosted several groups these past few weeks, and everyone caught fish. One group went offshore and caught two yellowfin tuna in the 40-pound range and a nice wahoo. The tarpon groups were all jumping six or seven fish per day and boating about half of them.
Jim DiBerardinis of Tarponville Lodge on the southern Caribbean coast reports calm seas and nice weather. Several groups have come in for fly-fishing, averaging three or four releases per day of tarpon from 85 to 135 pounds. DiBerardinis says the last time the fishing was this good was when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit. Is the tarpon fishing better in Costa Rica when the Caribbean has an above-average hurricane season?
10/2/08
The weather on the Pacific coast over the past few weeks went from one extreme to the other. We'd have a few days of beautiful weather with sunny days and a light breeze and then a couple of days of overcast skies with showers throughout the day. The rainy days are a sign of things to come, with October generally being the wettest month of the year along the Pacific. We don't usually get storms, mostly just showers, so don't let it change your fishing plans; the fish don't mind a little rain.
Boats on the northern Pacific coast have been catching mahimahi, tuna and blue marlin. On the central Pacific, we've had a good inshore bite with some mahimahi, sailfish and tuna moving in. Mahimahi, tuna and marlin have been biting in the southern Pacific, while the Caribbean side continues to have a steady tarpon bite and flat seas. In the north, the results are in from the San Carlos tarpon tournament in Nicaragua, and the fish are biting up at Lake Arenal.
Northern Pacific
Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports lots of mahimahi with some tuna and grouper mixed in. They've also seen a decent billfish bite offshore.
Capt. Adam Hermsen on the Ocean Smasher took his final trip with the Pete Lamba group, going out for a full day. They went offshore first and caught a handful of mahimahi and some yellowfin tuna in the 20- to 30-pound range. In the afternoon they tried some reef fishing, but the bite was a bit slow.
Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports water temperatures in the mid-80s with decent water and lots of mahimahi. Several boats have been raising two to three marlin per day, all blues, and generally getting one to the boat. The mahimahi bite has been the big news, with lots of fish on the trash lines. Keidel also reports the bottom fishing has been a bit slow on the reef, but it sounds like it's getting better every day.
Central Pacific
Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle took some guys out recently for a half day of inshore fishing. Keene already had bait in his live well, so they hit a couple of inshore rocks within three miles of Los Sueños. They ended the day with some nice snapper for dinner and released a 150-pound sailfish. It's not often you get a sailfish when inshore fishing, but with live bait you never know.
The guys on the J-Barrilete fished a local hot spot called the “26 rock” with a couple from Texas. They caught 11 mahimahi in the 25-pound range and three roosterfish about 35 pounds each. That same day, the guys on the Fandango caught 10 mahimahi in the same area; the rock was hot that day.
Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin took a couple of guys from California out for a half day, also at the 26 rock. They ended the day with some nice mahimahi and small yellowfin tuna. The Cali guys loved the fresh sushi and mahimahi fillets.
Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish recently took a group of guys out 30 miles offshore. They were rewarded with a few nice mahimahi in the 40-pound range. The guys took their catch to their hotel and had it cooked up with all the trimmings.
Capt. RJ Lillie on the Predator fished the 26 rock recently on a half-day trip with a couple of guys from Florida. They caught some wahoo, mahimahi and yellowfin tuna, all in the 20-pound range.
Capt. Dave Dobbins of Fish La Manta in Quepos reports good numbers of mahi-mahi being caught offshore between the rain showers.
Raúl Cabezas and the guys on the Reel Deal in Quepos fished several times the past week and report a good inshore bite with some big snapper, pompano and roosterfish.
Tatiana Carlton of Capt. Tom's Sportfishing reports some good roosterfishing and bottom fishing for snapper. Offshore has been a little slow because of the green water, but they expect the marlin, tuna and sailfish bite to pick up this month.
Southern Pacific
Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing in Zancudo reports a lot of rain, with in-between days of summer-like weather. Big tides and surf in the area have kept them from fishing their snook and corvina hot spots, but they expect a good bite when things calm down. The boats getting outside still report plenty of mahimahi and yellowfin tuna from 10 to 20 miles out, with some black marlin in the mix.
Capt. Mark Corn of the Osa Yacht Club in Puerto Jiménez hosted a couple of clients from a ladies' fishing club called the Deep Sea Hookers for three days of fishing. They ended the trip with a 250-pound blue marlin, a couple of sailfish, a bunch of big mahimahi and a handful of big roosterfish, blue jack, pompano, snapper and amberjack. Corn says those gals could catch some fish.
Northern Region
Capt. Ron Saunders reports stable lake levels with some afternoon showers and mild winds on Lake Arenal. Brothers John and Bill Burness, vacationing from Oregon and Kentucky in the United States, went for an afternoon fishing tour near the dam. They fished topwater lures and caught a few nice fish. John released a 10-pound guapote that he caught with light tackle and a spinner-bait lure.
More than 70 anglers from all over the world participated in the recent fishing tournament in San Carlos, Nicaragua. The winning tarpon weighed 140 pounds and was caught by a boat out of Los Chiles in northern Costa Rica. The second-place tarpon was 118 pounds, caught by a boat out of La Esquina del Lago Lodge in Nicaragua. The winning snook weighed in at 18 pounds, and the winning guapote was six pounds. Philippe Tisseaux of San Carlos Sportfishing says several 200-pound-plus monster tarpon were hooked and then lost.
There are monsters in Nicaragua. While fishing the San Carlos area, I lost a 220-pound tarpon after a 15-minute battle. I was fishing the San Juan River in Nicaragua and hooked a big fish using a purple and black Rapala lure. The fish was so big that it couldn't jump out of the water. It just raised its huge head out of the water and shook it from side to side, working the lure loose with each shake. It made four or five runs and was less than 20 feet from the boat when it came up for the last time. It shook once, twice, and the lure came out and plopped into the water in front of it. I felt like I had been punched in the belly when I lost that big fish.
Caribbean
Capt. Eddie Brown reports nice weather, flat seas and a decent bite on the Caribbean side, where they have been jumping eight to 10 tarpon per day and releasing two or three per day. The snook bite has been steady with fish in the five- to 10-pound range.
Diann Sánchez of the Río Colorado Lodge reports good fishing on the northern Caribbean coast. The lodge hosted some fishermen from Brazil and Finland, who averaged four tarpon releases per day, as well as some groups from the United States that averaged two or three tarpon releases per day; a group from Florida had the hot hand and released 11 tarpon.
Local angler Bob Stark from San José fished several days in the Parismina area. He says the fishing was good the first part of the week, but then some water was released from the Pacuare Dam, and the dirty water slowed the fishing down.
9/18/08
Hurricanes Hanna and Ike brought an unusual amount of wind and rain to the Pacific coast recently, but the weather cleared up last week and the offshore and inshore bite improved up and down the coast.
Boats on the northern Pacific coast have been catching some reef fish and seeing some marlin and mahimahi just offshore. The central Pacific coast has seen good inshore and bottom bite with a fair offshore bite. Solid marlin fishing continues to be the focus of boats on the southern Pacific, while the Caribbean side continues to have flat seas and good fishing. And the fish are still biting at Lake Arenal in the northern region.
Northern Pacific
Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports heavy winds and rains the first week of the month, but once the weather cleared they fished the reef and caught good numbers of snapper, grouper and roosterfish. Keidel also reports a good mahimahi and marlin bite less than five miles offshore.
Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports that the high winds and heavy rains slowed charters the first week of the month, but now that the weather has cleared they are fishing more and having luck reef fishing for grouper and fishing offshore for mahimahi.
Congratulations to Capt. Adam Hermsen for accepting a job fishing in the Galapagos Islands. I am so jealous. Good luck, Adam.
Central Pacific
I went fishing last week with some friends on the Fish Whistle with Capt. Brandon Keene. We caught 20 grouper and 10 snapper, all in the 10- to 30-pound range. The weather and water were perfect, the beers were cold, and the fishing was incredible. My arms were a little sore the next day from all that reeling. I guess I'm getting old, because I used to laugh at the thought of an electric reel – not any more.
Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish took a group of friends offshore. The group wanted to catch something they could eat and ended the day with four nice mahimahi from 20 to 50 pounds. Even after sharing their fillets with the crew, they had enough fish for several fish fries.
Capt. RJ Lillie on the Predator did some fishing from shore recently on a day off. The river mouth looked good, and Lillie used his ultralight rod with a small Crappie jig and caught four fish, including a four-pound jack and a 10-pound snook.
Capt. Jeremy Trujillo on the R&J took a bachelor party out the first week of September and fished all over. They fished hard and at the end of the day were rewarded with a 250-pound blue marlin.
Capt. Dana Thomas on the Hoo's Up has been doing some inshore and bottom fishing and reports a solid bite. A Florida couple caught four big roosterfish and 20 jack on a half-day trip. One of the clients hooked a 15-pound jack and had it up to the boat when an 80-pound cubera snapper came up from below and bit the jack in half.
Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin confirms the beginning of the month was tough fishing offshore, as the rain and the chop made for some slow days. They have been focusing more on the inshore bite, catching good numbers of roosterfish and jack on live bait and poppers.
Capt. Bill Mcmenemy on the Straight Up reports a good roosterfish bite northwest of Los Sueños. U.S. anglers Dave Muenzer of Florida and Joe Campano of Delaware caught a handful of nice fish, including several nice roosterfish.
Felipe Fernández on the Good Day Too fished out of Los Sueños and raised a marlin and a sailfish and caught five nice mahimahi in the 40-pound range. Fernández says they fished about 30 miles offshore.
The Agwe out of Los Sueños Marina, captained by Tom Carlton, had a good week offshore, catching three blue marlin and 15 sailfish in five days of fishing.
Raúl Cabezas on the Reel Deal in Jacó had some clients go offshore for a half-day last week and caught three nice mahimahi. The customers were happy to catch something they could eat.
Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II reports a decent offshore and inshore bite for mahimahi, roosterfish and a few sailfish. He says some nice snook have been caught in the river mouths.
Southern Pacific
Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay says they are winding down the season on a high note with a good marlin bite. John Gregore and Todd Jones had five chances at marlin on their last day of fishing. They broke a big one off and landed a 250-pound blue marlin. Jesse Ketz from the U.S. state of Minnesota caught all the fish he dreamed of, including a 300-pound blue marlin.
Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing in Zancudo reports a lot of black marlin on the outside, good numbers of yellowfin tuna, a few sails and some nice mahimahi. The inshore bite for roosters and snapper continues to improve. They have also had a good run of black snook and calba snook in area rivers.
Northern Region
Capt. Ron Saunders of Arenal Fishing reports sunny days with some late afternoon showers at beautiful Lake Arenal. Italian father-and-son team Alfredo and Renato Ricci from Rome fished two consecutive days. The highlight of the trip was father Ricci's beautiful six-pound guapote.
Caribbean Region
Capt. Eddie Brown reports a steady bite and flat seas in Tortuguero. He and his clients have been seeing 10 to 15 tarpon per day and releasing three to six per day. They have also been catching some snook in the five- to 10-pound range.
Diann Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge reports calm seas and great fishing on the northern Caribbean coast. The Bond family from the U.S. city of Chicago jumped 39 tarpon and boated 10. Sánchez adds that snook in the 10- to 20-pound range are being taken from the beach.
On the southern Caribbean coast, Jim DiBerardinis of Manzanillo Tarpon Expeditions had a big group of regulars from South Africa in for some fly-fishing for tarpon. The first day of their trip, they jumped 18 tarpon and boated 10 of them, all averaging 100 pounds.
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9/4/08 |
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The weather continues to be nice up and down the Pacific coast. We had a couple of days with strong winds, but for the most part it's been sunny with some showers in the late afternoon. The boats on the northern Pacific report a decent sailfish bite with the occasional marlin. On the central Pacific, we've had a strong inshore bite and an average sailfish bite. The marlin bite is still going on the southern Pacific, with some tuna in the mix. In the northern region at Lake Arenal, they are catching a few nice guapote, and the folks in San Carlos, Nicaragua, are gearing up for their big tarpon tourney. The bite on the Caribbean side is still hot with all boats catching tarpon and big snook. Northern Pacific Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports scattered sailfish, marlin, tuna and mahimahi are being found to the north and south. The bottom fishing has been productive for roosterfish, snapper and grouper. The water temperature has been in the mid to high 80s. Capt. Adam Hermsen on the Ocean Smash-er reports an average of three to five sailfish per day, with the occasional marlin. Some yellowfin tuna in the 40- to 50-pound range have been found with the dolphins. There has also been some action on the reef, mainly roosterfish, snapper, bonita and tuna. Rich Stark from the U.S. state of Ohio fished a couple of days with Capt. Randy Wilson on the Talking Fish. They caught several sails, a good number of mahimahi and a few nice groupers. Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports that a couple of anglers fished a half-day on the Salsa with Capt. Maikel Rodríguez. They caught a big sailfish and a big mahimahi. Central Pacific If you are a whale watcher, now is a good time to get out on the ocean. Almost all boats are reporting seeing humpback whales with their babies. We came across a mother and calf less than a mile from Los Sueños Marina. The mother whale was cruising south at a slow pace, while the calf was jumping around and having some fun. We followed the pair for half an hour, and the little guy must have jumped 20 times. I have been out on the ocean hundreds of times and never get tired of seeing something like that. Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish took a couple of U.S. fishermen from South Carolina out for a day offshore. They fished a local hot spot called “the corner” and caught four sailfish and a couple of nice mahimahi. Some Jacó guys recently went bottom fishing with Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle. Keene knows some secret deep drop spots about 20 miles offshore, where they banged out 22 silky snapper in the 12- to 15-pound range and 12 black groupers about the same size. Capt. RJ Lillie on the Predator fished over by Tortuga Island at a spot called Negri-tas. The lucky anglers from Florida, who had never caught a roosterfish, ended the day with 10 roosters and five jack. Lillie says they had a double hookup with 50-pound-plus roosterfish. Capt. Dana Thomas has been pulling double duty on the Hoo's Up and the Hoo's Your Daddy. He reports an average bite offshore with two or three sailfish and a mahimahi each day, and a good inshore bite with four to six fish per day. The Stinston family from Florida went inshore fishing at Negritas with Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin. They caught four big roosters and a handful of jack, all on live bait. Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II reports a bit of a slowdown offshore, but says the inshore bite for roosterfish, jack, snapper and a few whitetip sharks has been strong. He says he heard that a few commercial boats may have sunk at a local hot spot called the Furuno Bank during last week's windstorm. The Streb family fished offshore with Capt. Dave Dobbins of Fish La Manta last week, ending the day with one marlin and two sailfish. Dobbins also did some bottom fishing in front of Quepos and caught 15 snappers. Capt. Rudy Dodero of Sportfishing Dom-in-i-cal reports the normal slowdown for this time of year. He says the inshore bite has been good in the morning, before the seas get choppy with the afternoon rains. Southern Pacific Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay reports a steady marlin bite. Almost all of the boats going out are getting a shot at a marlin or two. He says there have also been average numbers of mahimahi, sailfish and tuna around. Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing in Zancudo says the weather has been good in the morning, with the wind picking up in the early afternoon. Anglers have been going out early and avoiding the afternoon choppy seas. A couple from Germany recently fished offshore and caught a sailfish and three nice mahimahi, and had a marlin throw the hook. They fished inshore the next day and caught some nice roosterfish, mackerel, jack and pompano. Baker also reports some tuna in the mix. Northern Region Capt. Ron Saunders of Arenal Fishing took a couple of guys out last week for some freshwater action. They ended the day with a handful of guapote, including a couple over five pounds. The anglers are planning to head for the Caribbean side to try their luck with some snook and tarpon. The Río San Juan Tarpon Fishing Tournament will be held Sept. 13 and 14 in San Carlos, Nicaragua. More than 40 boats are expected to participate. If you would like to fish the tournament, boats are still available; contact Philippe Tisseaux of San Carlos Sport Fishing at (506) 8842-7673 or visit www.nicaraguafishing.com. Caribbean Capt. Eddie Brown reports a good bite and flat seas in Tortuguero. Last week, he had a customer go two for seven while fly-fishing for tarpon. A few days earlier, they caught six snook while surf casting off the beach near the river mouths. One snook was over 25 pounds, with the others ranging from 10 to 15 pounds. Diann Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge reports some good action on the northern Caribbean. The boats are jumping 15 to 20 tarpon per day and getting a handful to the boat. One pair of anglers came across a feeding frenzy and jumped more than 50 fish, boating more than 20. Sánchez also reports that a local fisherman caught a 30-pound snook. |
8/21/08
The weather continues to be beautiful up and down the Pacific coast. Though it is rainy season, the showers usually don't start until late afternoon, so it doesn't affect the fishing.
The boats on the northern Pacific coast report a decent sailfish bite with the occasional marlin. On the central Pacific, we've had a steady sailfish and inshore bite, while the southern Pacific has had a solid marlin bite with some nice-size tuna in the mix. In the north at Lake Arenal, they're waiting on the full-moon bite. The boats on the Caribbean side are catching fish and gearing up for their best tarpon months of the year.
Northern Pacific
Capt. Adam Hermsen on the Ocean Smasher out of Tamarindo reports that boats are releasing two or three sailfish on average, and lots of boats are getting a shot at a marlin per day. Hermsen adds that the green water has moved in and slowed down the inshore bite.
Joe Bergler fished on the Salsa out of Tamarindo and caught three sails and a blue marlin. Capt. Gene Kelly of Tropical Fishing Adventures says Bergler was a happy camper.
Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports that Spaniard Rafael Gonzales fished a half-day recently on the Salsa and caught numerous roosterfish, several nice grouper and an amberjack in the 70-pound range while jigging and casting lures.
Central Pacific
The Cormier family recently fished with the guys on the Estrella del Mar and caught five sailfish and three nice dorado. Ken Cormier says they had an action-packed vacation in Jacó with great fishing, canopy tours, Quad-runner tours and horseback riding.
Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish took Steve Lansch and his wife offshore at the beginning of August. They released three sailfish, one over 180 pounds, Kieldsen says. Lansch says he's caught plenty of sailfish but never one that size.
A lucky group of guys from the United States went offshore with the guys on the Barbarrosa and came across a big log about 30 miles out. The log was a “honey hole” – they raised nine blue marlin and released four. They also released four sailfish and two sharks, and kept a couple of tuna for dinner. The lesson here is that even if the fishing is just average, you should go; you could be the next lucky angler who stumbles across a honey hole.
Capt. RJ Lilley on the Predator fished the “26 rock,” a submerged rock 20 miles from Los Sueños, with a couple from Cuba. The fishing was a little slow, but they stuck it out by the rock and were rewarded with a small tuna, a wahoo and a 400-pound black marlin. That's three blacks for Lilley in the past two months at the 26 rock.
Jason Betker fished inshore and offshore with the guys on the Scorpion out of Los Sueños, catching a handful of nice dorado, with a few more than 40 pounds, as well as some yellowfin tuna and roosterfish. Betker froze 15 pounds of mahimahi fillets and was lucky enough to get them back to the States in good condition. He had friends over for a fish fry.
Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin took a honeymoon couple from Florida out to the 26 rock and caught three sails, three wahoo, a tuna and a dorado. A guy couldn't ask for a better wedding present.
I went fishing with the guys on the Dragin Fly last week, and we ran 35 miles offshore and fished out by Cabo Blanco. It was my friend's birthday and he was a little hungover, so we got a late start. We fished four hours and went three for four on sailfish. Birthday boy caught a fish, had a few cold beers and took a nap.
Anglers Dave Toxie and Sabine Roes from Washington, D.C., fished with Bill McMenemy aboard the Straight Up out of Los Sueños. The lucky anglers caught a monster roosterfish northwest of the resort.
Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II reports a steady offshore bite and a decent inshore bite. Bernstel used live bait and caught marlin the last two times he fished a local hot spot called the Furuno Bank. On a recent half-day trip, Bernstel took a guy from Minnesota out and caught three big roosterfish and four big jacks while slow-trolling live blue runners near the rocks.
Capt. Dave Dobbins of Fish La Manta reports some good action offshore of Quepos. He took a couple out recently and caught four sailfish.
Southern Pacific
Paul Bradley and son Adam are frequent visitors to Costa Rica. Adam recently caught a 30-pound-plus roosterfish while trolling between the mouth of the Sierpe River and Caño Island with Capt. Pablo Chaves.
Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay had a big group from Texas at the resort last week. The group fished inshore and offshore. The guys who went offshore caught three marlin between 150 and 450 pounds each day. The sailfish bite has been slow, but they did catch some mahimahi for the grill. The guys fishing inshore caught lots of roosterfish in the 20- to 30-pound range. They also caught a grouper that weighed more than 200 pounds. Before the big group arrived, Staley reports, they had a hot snook bite, with a couple in the 30- to 40-pound range.
Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports good weather and calm seas on the southern Pacific coast. They're enjoying a good yellowfin bite, with fish ranging from 20 to 200 pounds. The black marlin are around, chasing the tuna, but the sailfish and mahimahi bite has been spotty. Baker says the good marlin bite makes up for a slow sailfish bite. Roosterfish are the main target for inshore fishing and are being caught in good numbers. Some snapper and sea bass have also been in the mix.
Northern Region
Lake levels are above average at Arenal and the fishing has been a little slow, but the bite is expected to pick up during the week of the full moon Aug. 30. Nuevo Arenal resident Justin Hamel went fishing for some guapote with Capt. Ron Saunders of Arenal Fishing. He caught a nice five-pound-plus guapote while topwater fishing.
Caribbean
Jim DiBerardinis of Tarponville says their big tarpon season is coming up, starting in September. Ricko Hannos and his group from South Africa visit the lodge every year in early September. Last year, Hannos battled a 200-pound tarpon on a fly using 20-pound class tippet.
Capt. Eddie Brown in Tortuguero spoke with me while fishing. He reports a steady tarpon and snook bite, saying they are jumping six to eight tarpon a day and getting a couple to the boat. Brown's client reeled in a 75-pound pompano a few minutes before we talked to him.
