Sport Fishing in Costa Rica

 Situated on the western tip of the northwest Pacific coast, Tamarindo (home of the Playa Grande Community) offers the shortest running time out to the deep water beyond the Continental Shelf.
Flamingo Beach, with a full-service marina, is the major sportfishing center in the northern coastal area, but boats also charter out of nearby Coco’s beach, Tamarindo, Ocotal, Portero, Brasilito and a few points in between. A bit further south, there are boats operating below Cabo Blanco, out of Nosara, Garza, Guanamar and Carillo beach - a region that gets more protection from the winds that normally blow late December into March and April. Boats from the more northerly areas often base at Carillo beach from about December through March if the wind is blowing and the main Billfish population is moving north from the central coast area.


When and Where They’re Biting


 Marlin Caught every month of the year, with mid-November to early March exceptional, then slowing a bit from April into early June when it picks up again, peaking in August and September.

 Sailfish Caught throughout the year, with May through August normally the top season. They may begin to thin out in September and the slowest months are from late August through November.

 Tuna Peak months are probably August through October, but when all else fails, there are always tuna, any time of the year you want to look for them, and more often than not when you'd just as soon avoid them to concentrate on Billfish. The Yellowfin and some Bigeye tuna are often found well inside the Santa Catalina Islands, 30 minutes or less running time from the beach, while schools of 12 to 20 pounders are usually abundant on the outside. You frequently find concentrations of 40 to 60 pound tuna, and there are plenty of the 200 to 400 pounders caught every year.

 Dorado Commonly called Mahi Mahi or Dolphinfish, but more properly known simply as Dolphin, these colorful gamesters are most abundant from late May through October when the seasonal rains flood the rivers, carrying out debris that forms trash lines close inshore that they like to lie under. Troll past a floating log and you’ll likely hook a Dorado.

 Wahoo The first showing begins about the time the rains start in May, peaking in July and August. Most are caught around the rocky points and islands, but you will pick one up occasionally fishing offshore. (Acanthocybium solandri) Other Names: Ono, Oahu Fish, Pacific Kingfish, Ocean Barracuda.

 Roosterfish Available all year, but there are more caught in the Papagayo Bay area from November through March. That may be because more boats in the northernmost area of this region are fishing inshore during those windy months, and the Roosters like the structure of the shoreline and islands where they’re found in 50 to 60 feet of water