Costa Rica sportfishing information or recommendations??

[dobiel]

We're going to Costa Rica in January and we are looking to do some fishing down there. I was wondering if anyone has been down there and can refer me to any fleets or specific boats/captains to do some offshore fishing with. We're also interested in doing an inshore trip for jacks and roosterfish or whatever bites so any advice you have would be greatly appreciated. We're doing as much extensive research as we can online but it would be nice to hear any recommendations from a local guy/gal. We're looking at staying in Jaco or Quepos for a week and doing two full day charters. Thanks!

[traveler]

I did a lot of research a couple years back for a CR trip that ended up falling through. I didn't end up keeping much info, sorry, but keep us posted on the trip. I'd still like to get down there one of these years.

I leave a week from Tuesday for a week chasing marlin in Cabo:)

[dobiel]

I knew I'd get a response out of you, Traveler! I was hoping and expecting some experience, though. I'll post the results but I really need to talk to someone who's fished there. I don't want to rely on hooking up the trip the week of since it appears that the good captains book up pretty fast and well in advance.

[traveler]

Sorry...I had a whole folder in my fav's when i did the checking, but I'm on a new computer now and it's all gone. I can tell you what I remember, and some general advice. probably you'll know/have heard some of this already;

I always research and book in advance, nothing else makes sense when you're going that far and spending that much $$. One of things I strive to do is book my own boats/hotels, travel, etc...as oppossed to useing an all inclusive or a booking agent. i think it's cheaper, and it lets me choose the specifics of the boat (because catching fish is the most important part, right?) Mexico is great for this, Costa Rica a little trickier, some places, like Panama,Guatamala, etc... it's almost impossible as the fishing locales are more remote and the lodges are almost all the all inclusive type. Generally, the bigger the town you're fishing out of the better chance you have of setting up a do it yourself trip. I check saltwater sites and talk with fishermen as much as possible, then start looking at specifc charter websites. I'd sooner get my timing (what fish/what season) from someone without a vested inteterest in selling you a trip.

As for CR, I was looking at late fall in Carrillo (sp?) kind of north of Jaco. I look for marlin mostly, and that was the best season/place i came up with. I do remember the Wetass 2 was one of the boats I was talking to, Sonny Koscis I think. I think he fishes up in Tamirindo (far north coast) but comes down to Carrillo in the late fall as it gets very windy up there that time of year. Tamirindo in early fall was also tempting, as the north coast is suppossed to have great roosterfishing as well, but I think theres good rooster action all along the coast. Lots of sails down there.

I'm sure you've seen Los Seunos is the newest, pricest area, so I'd avoid that. Seems to me that GOOD boats were running around 800/day, with bigger boats being used north/middle, and smaller craft down towards Golfito. That was several years ago mind you, so who knows now. I'll post up as more comes to me...

[traveler]

check this one out...pretty good reputation from what i can find out; Kinembe II" in Quepos

[mazzilin19]

This is a pretty reputable site: www.worldwidefishing.com/costarica/salt.htm

All different locations in Costa Rica.

I used this HSOforum for researching a trip back in 2002 & 2003.

We took two full day trips out of Tambor in '02 and three full day trips out of Tamarindo in '03. It's all up to you on how much you want to spend and what size craft you want to fish. I prefer the smaller boats with less amenities. As for the rooster fishing, a lot of people we ran into while we were down there, suggested to hire locals to take them out on "pachangas" sp? very inexpensive, but you need to go with a highly recommended person. Usually the captain of a boat knows a couple of respected locals. I wish you luck! Check the seasonal fishing tables to see what fish will be in the waters when you are there. You can use that criteria (distance traveled to get to the fish) to determine which charter to use. Local city websites have good reccommedations for boats too.

[fishin magician]

September 2008 stayed in the Gulf De Papgayo area and used a place out of Coco Beach. Wife and I caught some really nice Dorado's. Had one sail fish on but it did not stick.

Here is the link. http://sportfishingbluemarlin.com/Default.asp

[dobiel]

Thanks a lot for all the info guys! I'm pretty set on doing the advance booking for the trip, especially for the offshore trip. Depending on the info I find I'll bring my own gear down and try to book an inshore charter while I'm down there as I'm not afraid to troll the marinas and chat with the locals to find the best captains and best deals. I'm just not sure I want to hassle with bringing my own stuff down if most of the boats are already equipped with quality light tackle gear and I haven't been there so it's tough to rely on finding things as easily as you'd like the first time down. We'll be doing all the booking on our own and definitely not all-inclusive. It appears to be pretty inexpensive down there for things like food and beverages. The fishing looks a little on the expensive side, though. A large percentage of the boats I'm looking at are way too big for what we'd need. We're use to fishing out of 26 foot Pangas so I'm hoping there will be a lot more unadvertised charters with smaller crafts. I'm going to continue to research as much as I can but feel free to chime in on this thread with any more info tht comes to mind. Thanks again!

[traveler]

I think you're right thinking you can find the inshore trip once you get down there. One thing I've found, the bigger boats tend to be better equipped while many pangas are short on good gear/line/tackle. If you have good light tackle I'd take it, although it's kind of a hassle. Seems to me the ports farther south along the coast have calmer seas and run smaller boats, but i don't know if they're any cheaper.

[dobiel]

Traveler, Kinembe II looks like the perfect platform for our inshore trip...or even the offshore trip, really. Assuming they have some quality light tackle levelwinds and graphite rods, I will definitely consider them. I'm looking closer at a few boats from this fleet, too. http://www.hookedoncostarica.com/costa-rica-fishing-charters/

I'm not sure if you read my trip summary from Mazatlan in March. The airlines lost my rods BOTH WAYS! Found and delivered to the hotel a day later on the arrival in Maz and delivered a day later to my house on the way home. It was a serious pain in the a$$ with the case extended out to allow for the 7 1/2 foot rods. I'm not entirely sure I want to relive that headache and stress unless I absolutely know that I'll need them. In that case I was happy I had them because we bottom fished with Curados and Stradics with Teremar inshore rods rather than the Penn Senators(old) and short glass rods that the boat was equipped with. It was great! It looks like we're gonna settle on somewhere in Jaco so it'll only be a relatively short drive down to Quepos if we book with someone down there.

[traveler]

Dobiel; glad that one looks good. I checked out the other link and it looks like they offer a lot of options.

No, I didn't catch your Mazatlan report. Where/when was it? I get to Maz every other year as we have relatives down there, but I don't fish there (much) anymore as I prefer to save my fishing budget for Cabo. Ever been to Cabo then? Pretty had to beat for the $$. I've seen a lot of pretty average (at best) tackle in Mazatlan, with the good gear you have I'd have a hard time not bringing it. Yeah, the tube is a hassle, but it's all worth while once you start fishing!

I've never had the rod tube misplaced (knock on wood) except first time to AK, but that was a plane-switch thing and all the luggage followed us on the next plane. I always fly American down to Mexico and so far so good... I have an SKB 7'2" tube, great product for anyone in the market.

[dobiel]

I haven't been to Cabo yet. I'd love to go there some day. I'd imagine you'll be able to refer me to someone good when I do decide to go down there??

[traveler]

Oh yeah:) Or we'll plan a trip at the same time and team up!

[NCLaker]

We were just in Costa Rica last January. Stayed in the Quepos/Manual Antinio area. We had great luck with a captain - I'll post the his name and the charter name if I can find the info.

On one outing we caught 2 Mahi (50 & 60#s), and 2 sailfish (both ~120# range). We had multiple other fish but were not able to get them to take the bait (including a Marlin). It was a great trip, on a pretty nice boat, he even stayed out a little longer past the time we were suppose to head back. We had 6 of us on the boat (plus the captain and 2 deck hands) - fit very comforatbly. Boat was called the "Dream Chaser" - but not sure if they always have the same captain for that boat or not.

they filleted the Mahi immediately and we were able to take that with us. All bill fish in Costa Rica are suppose to be CPR - which we did with ours.

I'd post pic's but don't know how to post them.

[dobiel]

Oh yeah:) Or we'll plan a trip at the same time and team up!

Sounds like something to take into serious consideration in the future. I love fishing the ocean and have lots to learn. We are finally getting to the point of being able to travel a little more and plan on doing it as often as we can. Keep me posted on how your Cabo trip goes.

[dobiel]

We were just in Costa Rica last January. Stayed in the Quepos/Manual Antinio area. We had great luck with a captain - I'll post the his name and the charter name if I can find the info.

On one outing we caught 2 Mahi (50 & 60#s), and 2 sailfish (both ~120# range). We had multiple other fish but were not able to get them to take the bait (including a Marlin). It was a great trip, on a pretty nice boat, he even stayed out a little longer past the time we were suppose to head back. We had 6 of us on the boat (plus the captain and 2 deck hands) - fit very comforatbly. Boat was called the "Dream Chaser" - but not sure if they always have the same captain for that boat or not.

they filleted the Mahi immediately and we were able to take that with us. All bill fish in Costa Rica are suppose to be CPR - which we did with ours.

I'd post pic's but don't know how to post them.

If I may ask, how expensive was the trip and how big was the boat? You need to find a HSOforum to host the pictures like photobucket.com or similar. Then all you need to do is right click and copy the image link and paste it on the post box. Have someone show you once and you'll have it figured out. It's pretty easy.

Anyways, it sounds like you had a great trip. I'm hoping for similar results, or even better wouldn't bother me! How was the food and drinks down there? Weather temps for daytime highs and lows? We'll also being going in mid Jan. Any other sites that should not be missed?

[masker]

I am not sure where Jaco is located, but if it is in the Guanecaste, I can recommend a very good captain. Two years ago I caught a very nice blue marlin, my partner caught a dorado and a roosterfish and we caught a number of grouper reef fishing.

e-mail me at [email protected], and I will give you his name and number if you are interested.

[NCLaker]

Dobiel, what is your e-mail? I will send you a link to their site, it has all the information you should need. Our captian as Donaldo. Dream Catcher Sports Fishing was the charter.

[traveler]

If I remember my CR map, Jaco is south of Los Seunos/Quepos (sp?) and Gunnacaste is up on the north coast...quite a distance apart. How big was your blue?

[NCLaker]

... Anyways, it sounds like you had a great trip. I'm hoping for similar results, or even better wouldn't bother me! How was the food and drinks down there? Weather temps for daytime highs and lows? We'll also being going in mid Jan. Any other sites that should not be missed?

Food: We didn't go to a lot of restaurants. You MUST got to Cafe Agua Azul. It is a small roof top diner with a great hill top view of the ocean. All the food is Great, make sure you order the fish sticks (I think they use Mahi). Another great place the outdoor eating place right on the far side of the Manual Antonio beach. NO FRILL, but great food at a very cheap price (get the Mahi). We also went to a place with a big WWII airplane inside of it - it was decent.

Temps: I don't recall exact temps. I just remember sweating a lot (humid) and always being in a swim suit or shorts. Ya kind get use to it.

Sites: If you like beaches, Manual Antonio has a great beach. If you want more privacy and fewer crowds - go to the beaches in the Manual Antiono National Park beach. Guided nature tours of the National Park is pretty cool if you like wildlife. Any where you go, expect to see & hear lots of monkeys. Deep Sea fishing of coarse. If you like to do latin dancing, Some of the bars are hopping. Manual Antonio beach has normal ocean stuff like parasailing, jet skis, etc. Another MUST is the jungle zip line tour. Strongly recommend "Canopy Safari", staff really made it a fun time. Very safe.

Lodging: We had a very good experience going thru "Escape Villas". We stayed in an absolutely amazing house called "Casa Fantastica" - google it. If you can get that house I promise you will not be disappointed. Only negative is you have to walk up a pretty good hill to get back to the main street. Not a problem if you have a car or don't mind a little exercise. We had various types of monkeys visit multiple times daily ... make sure you DO NOT FEED THEM - EVER.

Strongly recommend Costa Rica if you want a tropical getaway as a destination vacation. People are extremely friendly, and almost all the locals speak english. You'll feel pretty safe, they do warn you not to leave any personal items unattended - lots of petty theifs. BTW, plan on burning most of a day to get from/to the airport to Quepos/Manual Antonio. Very slow going with a lot of winding up/down mountains. We scheduled a day extra before and after to account for the commute - stayed at a cheap place each way.

Good luck, You'll LOVE IT!!!

[dobiel]

Originally Posted By: dobiel

... Anyways, it sounds like you had a great trip. I'm hoping for similar results, or even better wouldn't bother me! How was the food and drinks down there? Weather temps for daytime highs and lows? We'll also being going in mid Jan. Any other sites that should not be missed?

Food: We didn't go to a lot of restaurants. You MUST got to Cafe Agua Azul. It is a small roof top diner with a great hill top view of the ocean. All the food is Great, make sure you order the fish sticks (I think they use Mahi). Another great place the outdoor eating place right on the far side of the Manual Antonio beach. NO FRILL, but great food at a very cheap price (get the Mahi). We also went to a place with a big WWII airplane inside of it - it was decent.

Temps: I don't recall exact temps. I just remember sweating a lot (humid) and always being in a swim suit or shorts. Ya kind get use to it.

Sites: If you like beaches, Manual Antonio has a great beach. If you want more privacy and fewer crowds - go to the beaches in the Manual Antiono National Park beach. Guided nature tours of the National Park is pretty cool if you like wildlife. Any where you go, expect to see & hear lots of monkeys. Deep Sea fishing of coarse. If you like to do latin dancing, Some of the bars are hopping. Manual Antonio beach has normal ocean stuff like parasailing, jet skis, etc. Another MUST is the jungle zip line tour. Strongly recommend "Canopy Safari", staff really made it a fun time. Very safe.

Lodging: We had a very good experience going thru "Escape Villas". We stayed in an absolutely amazing house called "Casa Fantastica" - google it. If you can get that house I promise you will not be disappointed. Only negative is you have to walk up a pretty good hill to get back to the main street. Not a problem if you have a car or don't mind a little exercise. We had various types of monkeys visit multiple times daily ... make sure you DO NOT FEED THEM - EVER.

Strongly recommend Costa Rica if you want a tropical getaway as a destination vacation. People are extremely friendly, and almost all the locals speak english. You'll feel pretty safe, they do warn you not to leave any personal items unattended - lots of petty theifs. BTW, plan on burning most of a day to get from/to the airport to Quepos/Manual Antonio. Very slow going with a lot of winding up/down mountains. We scheduled a day extra before and after to account for the commute - stayed at a cheap place each way.

Good luck, You'll LOVE IT!!!

Wow, thanks for the information. We are looking for something quite a bit cheaper than Casa Fantastica. It looks like a beautiful place to stay and I would definitely consider something like that if we had a bigger group or for a honeymoon but we are looking for something with clean sheets, good location, and inexpensive. We've decided on Quepos and I have already been contacted by Chris, owner and Captain of the Kinembe II. He is a really cool guy and might be able to set us up with some deals for lodging. He called me last night about 20 minutes after I emailed him. Seems like a stand-up, top notch, kinda guy and I'm looking forward to fishing with him. I'm still keeping some other charters in mind for an inshore trip but won't count him out if he's got some nice light tackle gear(doing everything I can to avoid bringing my own stuff). We're really starting to look forward to this trip and I'm wishing it was January already, especially with all this cold, wet weather we're having. Yuck!

[NCLaker]

Good luck with your trip planning. Sounds like things are coming together.