COSTA RICA FISHING REPORT

May 15, 2009

Pacific Bite Solid; Tarpon Steady on Caribbean

May is a weather transition month along the Pacific coast as we go from dry season to wet season. Occasional evening showers wash trees and debris out into the ocean and many game fish will congregate around this debris as it collects in the current lines. Find the right current line with the right debris and it can be your lucky day for mahimahi, tuna, sailfish and marlin.

The northern Pacific bite continues to improve with the tuna and mahimahi moving in. The central Pacific bite has been good for sailfish and marlin, while the southern Pacific fishing was red hot for a few days and then slowed to average. The tarpon bite on the Caribbean side has been steady.

Northern Pacific

Capt. Donaldo Duarte on the Dream Chaser out of Playa Flamingo recently released a 300-pound black marlin and kept a 50-pound mahimahi for the grill. They had plenty of sushi as well, because they caught more than a dozen yellowfin tuna.

Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing reports the fishing is getting good in Tamarindo. On a recently half-day of fishing, he caught two nice wahoo, four mahimahi and several 40-pound tuna. That's some good eating.

Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports some great tuna action with mahimahi and sailfish mixed in.

Capt. Rick Ruhlow on the Kingfisher reports fair to good fishing out of Playa Carrillo. Ruhlow's longtime friend Dave Kurfess recently released 11 sailfish in two days of fishing. The water is a beautiful blue color just eight to 10 miles off the beach, Ruhlow reports, and the boats out of Garza are reporting small yellowfin and mahimahi close to shore.

Central Pacific

Capt. James Smith on the Dragin Fly took a group out for back-to-back days offshore. They caught seven sailfish and a blue marlin the first day and nine sailfish and a couple of nice mahimahi the second.

The guys on the Spanish Fly found a nice log offshore and caught three nice blue marlin on a recent full-day trip. That's the good thing about rainy season: If you come across a good log or trash line, you could be in for some great fishing.

Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin' reports lots of mahimahi and tuna 20 to 30 miles offshore, as well as some sailfish and blue marlin.

Capt. Dana Thomas had a couple of big days out of Los Sueños Marina when the sailfish bite exploded about 30 miles out. Thomas averaged almost 20 sailfish releases per day.

Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barrilete out of Herradura reports lots of small mahimahi and some small tuna in the current lines. He fished a half-day offshore recently and caught two sailfish and went one for two on blue marlin.

Jerry Glover of Luna Tours in Quepos says the fishing has been pretty good since the full moon. The sailfish have moved a little closer, and the Ojaran II caught eight recently. There has also been some mahimahi action, with several in the 40-pound range. The inshore bite is also steady, with three to five roosterfish catches on a full-day charter.

Capt. Dale Weir on the Blue Water III reports a decent inshore bite with three to four roosterfish and a couple of snapper on average. Offshore, there have been lots of small tuna and mahimahi 15 to 20 miles out, with a few sailfish in the mix each day.

Leanne Batten of Quepos Sailfishing Charters reports some good offshore and roosterfish action out of Quepos. Visitor Matt Rubenstein headed offshore hoping to catch a big sailfish. He fished by himself with Capt. Glenn Morales and first mate Michael Meza. They hooked into a marlin Rubenstein fought for two hours before getting it to the boat, followed by three sailfish releases.

The guys from Frenzy Sportfishing had the Johnston family in for few days of fishing. They caught some roosterfish, mahimahi, snook and a bunch of sailfish.

Southern Pacific

Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports a bit of a slowdown in the sailfish bite, but the sails are always around. The marlin bite should get better as they chase football-sized tuna around. The small mahimahi have moved in close to shore and are around in good numbers. Baker says the big tuna should be coming in soon.

Caribbean

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports calm seas and good fishing in the Tortuguero area. Brown fished with angler Earl Warren recently and averaged five or six hook a day with two or three releases. One group hooked 15 tarpon and released four. Some nice snook have also been caught by surf-fishing anglers.

Diana Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge says the fishing and weather have been great. U.S. visitors Lance and Del Barnett and Doran Lemke fished for three days recently, jumping 19 tarpon and boating four tarpon, 12 jack and a shark. Luis Miguel Lopes of Portugal fished for seven days and jumped 22 tarpon, boating seven, along with some jack. The lodge is currently offering $100 off per day.

April 24, 2009

It's still summer weather throughout Costa Rica, but we are starting to get the occasional showers that signal the beginning of rainy season. Don't let the words “rainy season” scare you from fishing in Costa Rica. Our rainy-season days are usually partly sunny and nice in the mornings with some late afternoon and evening showers, and we still catch fish.

The northern Pacific bite continues to be hit-and-miss, with some sailfish and marlin being caught, while the central Pacific action has been average, seeing sailfish, mahimahi and a few marlin. On the southern Pacific, the fishing has been a little strange since last month's earthquakes. The tarpon bite is hot on the Caribbean side, and the fishing at Lake Arenal has been steady.

Northern Pacific

Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports a recent average of five to seven sailfish raised and two or three released each day.

Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing says Terry Poulin on the OutCast caught a nice wahoo and grouper. Holly and Mack Reese and their children caught a 200-pound striped marlin and a sailfish on the Talking Fish.

Capt. Skeet Warren on the Bushwacker reports a scattered bite out of Flamingo, with some red tide in the area and some greenish water offshore. They have been averaging one or two sailfish per day despite the less-than-ideal conditions.

Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing continues to report some good kayak fishing in Potrero for mackerel, jack, pompano, black tuna, barracuda, roosterfish and more.

Central Pacific

Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle took a couple of guys and their sons out for some bottom fishing, and they caught so many fish that they came in early. They hit a couple of local hot spots and caught 20 or more grouper and a half dozen nice snapper, all in the 10- to 40-pound range.

Capt. James Smith on the Dragin Fly took out a group from Houston, Texas, and released seven sailfish and kept a big mahimahi for the grill. The Texans were very pleased with the fresh mahimahi fillets. The day before, Smith took out a bachelor party and caught a couple of sailfish, a mahimahi and a 400-pound-plus marlin. The best man caught the big fish, but nobody had a camera on the boat – five guys and no camera.

Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin' reports the hot bite is 50-plus miles out from Los Sueños; however, he did catch a marlin and a mahimahi one day last week while fishing a half-day at a local hot spot called “the corner,” about 25 miles offshore.

Capt. Walton Smith and the crew of the Sunny One in Los Sueños have had some good fishing, averaging four or five sailfish a day as well as some mahimahi. They've also released a marlin or two a week.

Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barrilete in Herradura reports a scattered sailfish and mahimahi bite inside 35 miles and says most of the good fishing has been about 40 miles or more offshore.

Bill McMenemy from the Staight Up in Los Sueños had the Gulledge family from the U.S. state of North Carolina in for several days of fishing. They caught some big mahimahi, a handful of sailfish and several blue marlin.

The guys from Frenzy Sportfishing have had a couple of groups in the past few weeks and have been catching good numbers of roosterfish, sailfish and mahimahi. They also added a marlin.

Charles Rossi fished out of Quepos with the guys on the Ojaran II and raised 11 sailfish and released seven.

Capt. Dave Dobbins on the Blue Water II reports a good afternoon bite about 35 miles out in front of Quepos, with most boats releasing a handful of fish each day.

Capt. Dale Weir on the Blue Water III fished in front of Los Sueños and caught a couple of nice marlin and a 500-pound-plus blue marlin.

Southern Pacific

Mike Stiles of the Río Sierpe Lodge had a group from South Africa in for five days. They really wanted to target roosterfish by casting only – no trolling. The group released 24 roosterfish, including a couple of fish over 60 pounds, and caught 16 other species while fishing the Sierpe delta, showing no interest in the good sailfish and marlin bite offshore.

Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports that earthquakes last month caused some unusual conditions, including toxic bubbles and some fish kill. Before the quakes, they had some great fishing for sailfish and tuna. A couple of women from Nova Scotia, Canada, released a 600-pound marlin in the waters off Matapalo after a good fight.

Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay also reports some strange events after the earthquakes. Before the tremors, the fishing was great; the day after, the bite stopped, bubbles appeared and the water temperature went into the 90s Fahrenheit. As things slowly returned to normal, the fishing was still a little strange. The marlin showed up early, the sailfish bite was elusive for a couple of weeks and the reef fish bite has been extra active. Staley added that longtime client Allen Ryals and Steve “Baldy” Ulman released 58 sailfish in five days of fishing on their recent vacation.

Northern Region

Capt. Ron Saunders from Lake Arenal reports sunny days, light breezes and a good bite. The lake level is down and the water temperature is up, and that improves the topwater bite for guapote. Saunders has been catching three or four guapote per day in the two- to seven-pound range.

Caribbean

Diana Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge says the fishing has been great on the Caribbean. A wide variety of fish have been caught, including guapote, mojarra, bluegill, tigerfish, mudfish, tuna, shark, barracuda, jack and, recently, a 300-pound marlin. The tarpon fishing has also been good, with anglers averaging three or four tarpon releases each.

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports calm seas and good fishing in the Tortuguero area. He says there are good numbers of tarpon outside the breakers, with anglers averaging three or four releases per day. They've also caught some nice eating-size snook in and around the river mouth.

Jim DiBerardinis of Tarponville reports calm seas, light winds and one or two tarpon released per day during their seasonal migration.

April 3, 2009

The recent big fishing story was the second leg of the Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series tournamen t the last three days of February. All told, 45 boats entered, catching and releasing 172 sailfish and 391 marlin – amazing marlin numbers for a three-day tournament this time of year. First place went to the boat Let it Ride, second place was D Flawless and the Game On finished third.

Meanwhile, while some guys fished for thousands of dollars, others continued with their usual 9-5, taking clients offshore.

It's the middle of summer along the Pacific, and the fishing in the central and southern parts of the coast has been steady for sailfish, mahimahi and marlin. The northern Pacific bite has been scattered, but boats are still catching some sails, marlin, mahimahi and tuna. Those fishing the interior and the Caribbean coast are catching fish despite unusual weather.

Northern Pacific

Petra Schoep from Tamarindo Sportfishing reports Jake Cassell went fishing on the Salsa with Capt. Maikel Rodríguez and caught two sails. Richard Thompson and friends caught a blue marlin and a mahimahi also on the Salsa. The Talking Fish also reports sailfish caught as well as a full cooler of grouper and other good eating fish.

Capt. Lee Keidel from KingPin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports a scattered marlin, sailfish and tuna bite offshore with a good snapper and grouper bite closer in. Capt. Lee caught a blue marlin, a sailfish and two nice mahimahi on a recent day offshore.

Capt. Ralph Solano from Costa Rica Wild Fishing has been kayak fishing out of Potrero and catching good numbers of tuna, amberjack, mackerel, roosterfish and more.

Capt. Peter Heideneich and Chris Watkins from Go Fish Costa Rica have had good fishing out of Tamarindo. They recently released three marlin and a sailfish and kept a mahimahi for supper. A few days later, they caught a 200-plus pound striped marlin on a half day trip. The guys from Go Fish are also helping to organize a Skins and Fins charity golf and fishing tourney in which the proceeds will go to benefit a local school here in the Tamarindo area. They can be reached at 8302-6514 for more details.

Central Pacific

Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle took the boss for some bottom fishing and caught a 70-plus pound broomtail grouper, three nice cubera snapper, an amberjack, a mahimahi and about nine small grouper.

Capt. R.J. Lillie on the Predator took the Ahner brothers out for a couple days offshore. They released 13 sailfish, a big striped marlin and kept two 40-plus pound mahimahi for the grill.

Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin' released 15 sailfish and kept a 40 plus pound mahimahi 25 miles out at a local hot spot called “the corner.”

Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish also fished the corner and released six sailfish and a nice blue marlin. Kieldsen thinks the best is yet to come with the sailfish bite after raising 15 fish one day and 17 fish the next.

Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barillete in Herradura took the Ashton group out for some offshore action and they caught a couple of marlin, more than a dozen sailfish and a handful of mahimahi on their three day fishing adventure.

Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II in Quepos took Joe Bond offshore and they released a nice marlin and a few sailfish, and kept a mahimahi.

The Tom Held group fished out of Quepos with the Blue Water III and caught five sailfish, while the Estrella Mar caught two sailfish and a 450-pound black marlin.

Sissi Espinoza from Blue Pearl Sportfishing sent reports for the past two weeks that they have been averaging four or five sailfish and a mahimahi or two. They have also had some big inshore days with amberjacks and roosterfish.

Dennis Arnold from the Caribsea reports they have been releasing eight to 13 sailfish per day. They also caught a 250-plus pound striped marlin.

The guys from Frenzy Sportfishing have had a busy time, making good on that hot sailfish bite south of Quepos with several 20-sailfish days, while also catching good numbers of mahimahi and a marlin or two.

Capt. Dave Dobbins on the Blue Water two took Clarke Baratti out and caught a 350 pound blue marlin on a half day trip. Dobbins reports a good sailfish and mahimahi bite with a few marlin and wahoo around.

Capt. Rudy Dodero from Sportfishing Dominical reports the bite is still hot, recently releasing nine sailfish on a half day trip while running about 25 miles offshore.

Southern Pacific

Todd Staley from Crocodile Bay reports sailfish are still the headliner and the fly guys are having great fun
because of the number of chances they are get to hook a sail on the fly. The mahimahi action has also picked up and Teresa Pacor's 61 pound fish took top honors. The roosterfish bite is coming around with several 50-pounders caught recently.

Capt. Bob Baker from Golfito Sport Fishing says the weather is great and the fishing for sailfish is at its very best. Baker also reports the mahimahi and y ellowfin tuna are still hanging around, with catches weighing more than 200 pounds.

Northern Region

Capt. Ron Saunders from Lake Arenal says water levels are high and water temps are around 71 degrees F. The weather is breezy with occasional showers. Clients are catching guapote and machaca, and the bite is fair-to-good, mostly using topwater plugs and spinner baits, with the occasional troll.

Lee Swidler took a couple of fly fisherman up to the north-central part of Costa Rica to fish for guapote and machaca. They fished the Río Cote, Río Muerte and Río Frío and both Craig Staude and Dave Osberg claimed a machaca as their first Costa Rica catch. Waters were a little dark due to on-and-off rain, but fish were caught on both dry flies as well as streamers.

Caribbean Region

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports some unusual weather for March. A recent cold front came through but, before that, the seas were calm and they were jumping 10-12 tarpon per day and releasing two or three. Fishers have been catching two or three snook on the inside when it has been too rough to get outside for the tarpon.

Diana Sánchez from Río Colorado Lodge says the weather in Barra del Colorado was bad through February but the flooding has subsided. They are still getting some rain, but the sun is also shining, so things are getting better by the day. The tarpon are rolling, with one boat jumping 10. Drum and barracuda are also being caught as well as a few snook.

March 12, 2009

The recent big fishing story was the second leg of the Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series tournamen t the last three days of February. All told, 45 boats entered, catching and releasing 172 sailfish and 391 marlin – amazing marlin numbers for a three-day tournament this time of year. First place went to the boat Let it Ride, second place was D Flawless and the Game On finished third.

Meanwhile, while some guys fished for thousands of dollars, others continued with their usual 9-5, taking clients offshore.

It's the middle of summer along the Pacific, and the fishing in the central and southern parts of the coast has been steady for sailfish, mahimahi and marlin. The northern Pacific bite has been scattered, but boats are still catching some sails, marlin, mahimahi and tuna. Those fishing the interior and the Caribbean coast are catching fish despite unusual weather.

Northern Pacific

Petra Schoep from Tamarindo Sportfishing reports Jake Cassell went fishing on the Salsa with Capt. Maikel Rodríguez and caught two sails. Richard Thompson and friends caught a blue marlin and a mahimahi also on the Salsa. The Talking Fish also reports sailfish caught as well as a full cooler of grouper and other good eating fish.

Capt. Lee Keidel from KingPin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports a scattered marlin, sailfish and tuna bite offshore with a good snapper and grouper bite closer in. Capt. Lee caught a blue marlin, a sailfish and two nice mahimahi on a recent day offshore.

Capt. Ralph Solano from Costa Rica Wild Fishing has been kayak fishing out of Potrero and catching good numbers of tuna, amberjack, mackerel, roosterfish and more.

Capt. Peter Heideneich and Chris Watkins from Go Fish Costa Rica have had good fishing out of Tamarindo. They recently released three marlin and a sailfish and kept a mahimahi for supper. A few days later, they caught a 200-plus pound striped marlin on a half day trip. The guys from Go Fish are also helping to organize a Skins and Fins charity golf and fishing tourney in which the proceeds will go to benefit a local school here in the Tamarindo area. They can be reached at 8302-6514 for more details.

Central Pacific

Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle took the boss for some bottom fishing and caught a 70-plus pound broomtail grouper, three nice cubera snapper, an amberjack, a mahimahi and about nine small grouper.

Capt. R.J. Lillie on the Predator took the Ahner brothers out for a couple days offshore. They released 13 sailfish, a big striped marlin and kept two 40-plus pound mahimahi for the grill.

Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin' released 15 sailfish and kept a 40 plus pound mahimahi 25 miles out at a local hot spot called “the corner.”

Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish also fished the corner and released six sailfish and a nice blue marlin. Kieldsen thinks the best is yet to come with the sailfish bite after raising 15 fish one day and 17 fish the next.

Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barillete in Herradura took the Ashton group out for some offshore action and they caught a couple of marlin, more than a dozen sailfish and a handful of mahimahi on their three day fishing adventure.

Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II in Quepos took Joe Bond offshore and they released a nice marlin and a few sailfish, and kept a mahimahi.

The Tom Held group fished out of Quepos with the Blue Water III and caught five sailfish, while the Estrella Mar caught two sailfish and a 450-pound black marlin.

Sissi Espinoza from Blue Pearl Sportfishing sent reports for the past two weeks that they have been averaging four or five sailfish and a mahimahi or two. They have also had some big inshore days with amberjacks and roosterfish.

Dennis Arnold from the Caribsea reports they have been releasing eight to 13 sailfish per day. They also caught a 250-plus pound striped marlin.

The guys from Frenzy Sportfishing have had a busy time, making good on that hot sailfish bite south of Quepos with several 20-sailfish days, while also catching good numbers of mahimahi and a marlin or two.

Capt. Dave Dobbins on the Blue Water two took Clarke Baratti out and caught a 350 pound blue marlin on a half day trip. Dobbins reports a good sailfish and mahimahi bite with a few marlin and wahoo around.

Capt. Rudy Dodero from Sportfishing Dominical reports the bite is still hot, recently releasing nine sailfish on a half day trip while running about 25 miles offshore.

Southern Pacific

Todd Staley from Crocodile Bay reports sailfish are still the headliner and the fly guys are having great fun
because of the number of chances they are get to hook a sail on the fly. The mahimahi action has also picked up and Teresa Pacor's 61 pound fish took top honors. The roosterfish bite is coming around with several 50-pounders caught recently.

Capt. Bob Baker from Golfito Sport Fishing says the weather is great and the fishing for sailfish is at its very best. Baker also reports the mahimahi and y ellowfin tuna are still hanging around, with catches weighing more than 200 pounds.

Northern Region

Capt. Ron Saunders from Lake Arenal says water levels are high and water temps are around 71 degrees F. The weather is breezy with occasional showers. Clients are catching guapote and machaca, and the bite is fair-to-good, mostly using topwater plugs and spinner baits, with the occasional troll.

Lee Swidler took a couple of fly fisherman up to the north-central part of Costa Rica to fish for guapote and machaca. They fished the Río Cote, Río Muerte and Río Frío and both Craig Staude and Dave Osberg claimed a machaca as their first Costa Rica catch. Waters were a little dark due to on-and-off rain, but fish were caught on both dry flies as well as streamers.

Caribbean Region

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports some unusual weather for March. A recent cold front came through but, before that, the seas were calm and they were jumping 10-12 tarpon per day and releasing two or three. Fishers have been catching two or three snook on the inside when it has been too rough to get outside for the tarpon.

Diana Sánchez from Río Colorado Lodge says the weather in Barra del Colorado was bad through February but the flooding has subsided. They are still getting some rain, but the sun is also shining, so things are getting better by the day. The tarpon are rolling, with one boat jumping 10. Drum and barracuda are also being caught as well as a few snook

February 19, 2009

The big weather story the first half of February was the unusually heavy rains that pounded the Caribbean side and parts of the interior. There was flooding all along the Caribbean coast, and some tarpon trips were postponed because of high waters. In contrast, the weather up and down the Pacific coast was summerlike with sunny days and no rain. Boats in the northwestern Guanacaste province had to deal with those pesky Papagayo winds the first week of February, but they seemed to die down the second week.

The big fishing story in February so far has been the good bite on the central and southern Pacific coasts. Boats out of Los Sueños at Playa Herradura that caught fish were running south into the Quepos area, and boats from Quepos and Dominical were fishing a local hot spot called the Furuno Bank, averaging good numbers of sailfish and some marlin. Down south in the Golfito area, anglers report good sailfish numbers with some marlin in the mix. And, despite the heavy rains, the fishing is getting back to normal at Lake Arenal and along the Caribbean coast.

Northern Pacific

Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing reports that the winds have died down and the bite is improving south of Tamarindo. Anglers there have been seeing marlin, sailfish and mahimahi with some scattered tuna.

Roger Kirkwood from the U.S. state of Illinois, who stayed in Playa Hermosa and fished with Capt. Roy Quirós aboard the Ch'aska, said he had a great trip because his wife, Donna, caught the biggest fish. Kirkwood had high praise for Quirós and voiced his support for those helping to preserve Costa Rican sportfishing.

Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing had a group out for some kayak fishing despite a few days with high winds. They caught some small tuna and barracuda and were pleased they had something to eat.

Capt. Skeet Warren fished 10 days down in the Carrillo area and reports lots of blue marlin and striped marlin, with some sailfish and roosterfish as well. The Bushwacker is a 42-foot Bertram and can go offshore even when the winds blow.

Central Pacific

I fished with some friends from Texas on the Dragin Fly with Capt. James Smith. We released nine sailfish the first day and six the second. The group of six guys caught 28 sailfish and six mahimahi on an annual Costa Rica fishing trip.

Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin' released five sailfish and kept a 40-pound-plus mahimahi for the grill on a recent day offshore. On another day bottom fishing, he caught 10 fish, including some cubera, amberjack, tuna, mahimahi, jack and more.

Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish had a good week, averaging four or five sailfish and a marlin each day.

Fishing about 45 miles southwest of Los Sueños, Capt. Jeremy Trujillo on the Desperado went nine for 13 on sailfish and raised three marlin.

On a half-day offshore bottom-fishing trip with a group from Florida, Capt. RJ Lillie released two sails, two mahimahi and a nice cubera snapper.

Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II reports some great fishing around the Quepos area. He released three marlin in one day, as well as two black marlin in the 500-pound range and a nice blue marlin. Bernstel says the sailfish, mahimahi, tuna and striped marlin have also been around in good numbers.

The Mazek family fished with the Blue Pearl II and the Estrella de Mar in Quepos and caught more than 30 sailfish in two days. They were hoping for some good fishing, and they got their wish.

Sissi Espinoza reports that Brit Alex Scott fished with the Blue Pearl I inshore and offshore and had a great time. Scott and his friend brought some light tackle and caught dozens of fish on their half-day inshore trip. They also fished offshore a couple of days and averaged five sailfish and a couple of mahimahi each day.

Dennis Arnold of the Caribsea reports a good week of fishing in Quepos, despite the full moon. They averaged seven or eight sailfish and a mahimahi per day, and also caught a nice marlin.

Leanne Batten of Quepos Sailfishing Charters has a handful of great fishing reports from the first half of February. Her clients averaged five to eight sailfish per day with some mahimahi and marlin in the mix. The highlight was the 300-pound-plus yellowfin tuna one guy fought for about four hours.

Mark Janzen on the Mar I in Quepos has had a good month so far with an average of five or six sailfish per day, as well as some mahimahi and a couple of marlin.

Rudy Dodero of Sportfishing Dominical has been fishing the Furuno Bank, averaging nine sailfish per day as well as some big mahimahi and a few nice marlin.

Southern Pacific

Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay says the fishing is so good lately, his job has been easier – lots of handshakes and thank-yous at the dock from satisfied customers. The guys have been raising 10 to 15 sailfish a day as well as some mahimahi. Staley reports the marlin are hanging around a little longer than normal.

Northern Region

Capt. Ron Saunders from Lake Arenal reports lots of rain and heavy winds the first week in February, bringing the lake up almost two meters to what must be full capacity. The extra rain brought water temperatures down to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with normal being about 75 F for good top-water action. The second week of February, things started to warm up and clear up, with the guapote and machaca starting to bite again – the warmer weather brings better fishing.

Caribbean Region

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports the first week of February was a washout, but the second week was much improved, with the water clearing up and the ocean flattening out.

Likewise, Brent Gill of Silver King Lodge reports total flood conditions the first week of February on the Río Colorado. They had to postpone a couple of trips because the river was running about six feet higher than normal.

2/5/09

The fishing on the northern Pacific coast continues to be hit or miss, but some marlin are starting to show, and the next few months should see some good fishing. Central Pacific fishing has also been variable, with some good days and some average days, while the southern Pacific reports good sailfish and marlin action. The folks up at Lake Arenal report good fishing and volcano watching. On the Caribbean coast, the fishing is returning to normal after some heavy rains and dirty water.

Northern Pacific

Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing raised seven striped marlin and released three last week. The next day the marlin scattered, but they are still getting a shot at one or two a day.

Bob Auster fished on the Talking Fish with Capt. Randy Wilson of Tamarindo Sportfishing and caught two blue marlin, a sailfish and a 35-pound mahimahi.

Ainsley Dyson went kayak fishing with Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing and is now hooked. They caught a mixed bag of fish and had a great time.

The guys from Go Fish Costa Rica report a good bite after catching a big striped marlin, a 400-pound blue marlin and a couple of mahimahi on a recent offshore trip.

Central Pacific

Congratulations to Capt. Cristian Sáenz and the guys on the Clean Sweep for winning the first leg of the 2009 Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series. They released 35 sailfish and four marlin in the three-day event. Capt. Elliot Kline on Da Bait and Capt. David González on the Super Fly tied for second place with 26 sailfish and three marlin each.

Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin' recently released six sailfish and a 50-pound mahimahi, as well as raising two marlin, one well over 500 pounds.

The guys on the Marlin Mujer had a grand slam with a blue marlin, black marlin, a few sailfish and a couple of mahimahi.

Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish caught six sails and a blue marlin one day, and nine sailfish and a blue marlin the next.

A group from Florida went out with Capt. Jeremy Trujillo on the R&J and caught a black marlin, three sailfish and a couple of mahimahi.

On a recent full day offshore, Capt. RJ Lillie released four sails and two mahimahi and raised two marlin.

The guys on the new Sunny One are off to a good start in their first season, averaging four or five sailfish and a couple of mahimahi each day.

Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barrilete caught two marlin, 10 sailfish and a handful of mahimahi in three days of fishing.

Capt. Chris Bernstel on the Kinembe II has been busy offshore and reports a good sailfish bite with some marlin and mahimahi in the mix.

U.S. couple Matt and Tina Thomas fished on the Blue Pearl and caught six sailfish, a marlin and a mahimahi. Matt had just fished Florida and been skunked, so he was very happy with the fishing in Costa Rica.

The guys on the Reel Deal out of Quepos report good fishing and have been averaging four or five sailfish and a couple of mahimahi every day.

Dennis Arnold of the Caribsea also reports an average of four or five sailfish and a couple of mahimahi each day. He also released a couple of nice blue marlin recently.

Carlos Rojas reports that the Wild Lady and the Sea Lady have been averaging three or four sailfish and a couple of mahimahi each day. They also released some nice blue marlin in January.

Southern Pacific

Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay reports lots of sailfish starting to show; they've been raising double-digit sails and some nice marlin in the past few weeks. Staley took his wife and two boys out by the Matapalo rock looking for some wahoo and ended the day going three for seven on sailfish, with the boys hooking their own fish. They were never more than a kilometer from the rock.

Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports lots of blue marlin off Playa Zancudo, only 10 miles from Cabo Matapalo and Pavones. He says the yellowfin tuna in all sizes are 10 to 20 miles offshore, the mahimahi and sailfish are starting to show up in good numbers, and the inshore bite for snook and snapper has been steady.

Northern Region

The water level at Lake Arenal is high but stable, and water temperatures are rising, which is great for the guapote bite. The weather has been partly sunny moving into the dry season, very comfortable for fishing and volcano watching.

Capt. Ron Saunders of Arenal Fishing says the fishing is good, overall. Scott Gray from New York caught nine guapote and three machaca on a half-day tour. William Crow from California had a surprise catch on a recent trip: an 8.5-pound “wild” tilapia.

Caribbean

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports some rains and choppy seas, but they are still catching some snook and tarpon in and around the river mouths. Brown says the choppy seas have made it difficult to get past the breakers and out to the tarpon, but they expect calm seas and a good bite any day.

Brent Gill of Silver King Lodge reports some heavy rains, but they are still catching a few good-sized tarpon in the river mouths, mainly using sardines. Gill says the rains have slowed the backwater jungle fishing somewhat.

Diann Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge reports that things are getting back to normal after some rains and murky water. She says the next few months will be busy on the Caribbean.

12/12/08

The weather on the Pacific coast the past few weeks has been up and down, with a couple of nice days and then a couple of rainy and windy days. That's OK, because it's the end of “green season,” and it will soon be hot and sunny every day on the Pacific side. If you are reading this from someplace cold and snowy, remember: It's just about summertime in Costa Rica.

The Caribbean side has started to dry out and water levels are returning to normal after record rains the last week of November caused severe flooding in the region.

Northern Pacific

Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing reports some good kayak fishing up in the Flamingo and Tamarindo area. In a few days of fishing, he caught more than 100 fish, including jacks, roosterfish, wahoo, mahimahi, mackerel, snapper, grouper and more.

Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports the Zivley group went out last week and caught mahimahi, grouper and two nice roosterfish.

Central Pacific

I fished last week on the Dragin Fly with some friends from here in Jacó and from the U.S. state of Missouri. Capt. James Smith and crew always do a great job. We were lucky enough to have some nice weather, and we caught four sailfish, five mahimahi and eight yellowfin tuna. The tuna, all between 40 and 50 pounds, were a pleasant surprise. I had fresh sashimi on the boat, seared tuna steaks the next couple of days and the best tuna salad sandwiches all week long.

Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle took the Litton group offshore and fished more than 35 miles out. They caught two striped marlin, a sailfish and eight big mahimahi in the green water.

There were rumors of a good striped marlin bite out of Los Sueños Marina last week. Last year about this time, we had a really good striped marlin run that lasted into January, with boats seeing more than a dozen striped marlin some days. The bite last year was more than 35 miles out, but everyone ran the distance for the chance at multiple marlin bites.

Capt. Dave Mothershead on the Miss Behavin went out on a bad weather day and fished hard, but it was a little slow; he went 0 for 2 on sailfish. The captain saved the day when his clients hooked up and released a 400-pound-plus blue marlin. A couple of days later, he fished the same area and caught four sailfish and more mahimahi than he could count.

Capt. Jeremy Trujillo on the R&J also took a couple offshore on a bad weather day and went four for 12 on sailfish, with three nice mahimahi for the grill.

To get away from some of the wind and rain, Capt. Dana Thomas on the Hoo's Your Daddy fished to the south and went six for 12 on sailfish, with two big mahimahi.

Meanwhile, Capt. Bill Kieldsen on the Sailfish went 25 miles out for a full day offshore and ended the day with nine sailfish and four nice mahimahi.

Chris Augosto from the U.S. state of Rhode Island with Capt. RJ Lillie braved the rains and high seas and was rewarded with steady fishing. Lillie ran about 10 miles and put the baits out. They were in the mahimahi bite early and often, catching a dozen in the 20- to 40-pound range – pretty good for a five-hour trip in less-than-ideal conditions.

Capt. Chris Bernstel reports business as usual on the Kinembe II in Quepos. He took a couple of guys from the U.S. state of Nebraska out for some meat fishing. The guys wanted to catch fish they could eat, and ended the day with four nice mahimahi, a big cubera snapper and a six-foot-long shark that took about an hour to get to the boat. They didn't eat the shark.

Southern Pacific

Capt. Mark Corn of the Osa Yacht Club has been doing some offshore kayak fishing recently. He says they store the kayak on the swim platform of their big boat, and when they tease the fish up, the angler and guide are put in the tandem kayak to hook and fight the fish. So far, they have caught sail, tuna and mahimahi. They're hoping for a small marlin next.

Northern Region

Philippe Tisseaux of San Carlos Sportfishing in Los Chiles had a big group from England in recently for some tarpon fishing. They jumped 50 tarpon and boated and released a dozen fish from 80 to 180 pounds. The bite was good only in the early morning, so they spent the afternoons chasing snook.

Caribbean

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports water levels have returned to normal after a week of record rains on the Caribbean side. Once the rain stopped and the water levels dropped, they had some calm seas and were able to catch tarpon on the outside of the river mouth, as well as some snook in the backwater.

Diann Sánchez of the Río Colorado Lodge says the rains and runoff coming from the mountains caused some local flooding recently. The good news is that this usually results in fantastic calba (fat snook) fishing once the waters begin to subside.

11/28/08

Boats on the northern and southern Pacific coasts are catching good numbers of mahimahi, sailfish and some marlin. On the central coast, the marlin bite out of Los Sueños Marina continues to be red-hot. The fishing on the Caribbean side has been good for tarpon, with some fat snook starting to show.

Gerardo Molina and Wilson Martell report they had a great three-day fishing adventure on the northern Pacific coast. They caught tuna, sailfish, mahimahi, trevally and their main goal, roosterfish. They vow to return for the “big one.”

Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports Tom Douglas and friends fished on the OutCast and Salsa and caught marlin, grouper and mahimahi.

Central Pacific

Dennis Arnold of the newly remodeled Caribsea in Quepos spent a few days offshore with a group that caught four sailfish, a wahoo and 23 mahimahi from 20 to 60 pounds. That's a good way to christen the boat.

Southern Pacific

Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay says the new airstrip in Puerto Jiménez is almost ready, just in time for high season. Staley and the guys have been getting everything ready for high season, as well as doing some preseason fishing. They say the marlin and mahimahi have been biting less than 10 miles offshore and report good numbers of hungry roosterfish in the Matapalo area. Some of the guys were trying to catch snapper for dinner, but they couldn't get the bait past the hard-hitting roosterfish.

Caribbean

11/13/08

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

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

Capt. Dave Dobbins of Fish La Manta in Quepos reports all the mahimahi you can catch just a little ways offshore.

Capt. 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

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

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.

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

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

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.

10/16/08

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.

8/21/08

CAN'T MAKE UP YOUR MIND? CALL

TROPICAL FISHING ADVENTURES Inc

Captain Gene Kelly

PO 2104, Montauk NY 11954

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