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Fishing in Costa Rica

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    Fishing in Costa Rica

    I’m in the planning stage of going to CR this summer and was wondering should I wait to book a guide when I get there or start setting that up before I get there?

    #2
    We booked in advance. Fished out of Quepos.

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      #3
      Well before if you want a good guide. We booked 6 months in advance. Great boat and guide if you are fishing out of Quepos. PM me if you want his info.

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        #4
        Book in advance. We went after Rooster fish, but only had one good run. Caught some big Mahi and some Tuna.

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          #5
          Yeah, book in advance. You know the summer is their rainy season right?

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            #6
            I booked in advance. I had a good trip out of Tamarindo.

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              #7
              Advance-we fished Tamarindo
              No Roosters but some good sail fish
              Last edited by dosrobles; 01-26-2022, 06:50 AM.

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                #8
                I would book in advance and you have options on the beach, depending on location within CR

                Pangas charter and run right off the sand in many areas. If a Panga skipper has a no show, they will work a deal right there, to get offshore and fish.

                The boats there will keep the fish you don't take with you. They sell these fish to markets locally, which means they bank the money you paid to fish with them, they get a few solid fish for the crew/boat out of the pile caught - selling to the local restaurants so they can offer fresh fish to the tourists lodging locally.

                I haul a small nylon cooler with ice, take as much filets as I can possibly eat - with a beach side cantina/kitchen - they cook the fish, they bring the drinks and any leftover fish filets, the cook gets that for him and his family.

                Next morning - repeat.

                Full day charters, you eat lunch and have water/beer on the panga. So you can literally fish everyday, eat on the boat as you fish, then haul the filets in and get thing staged for the evening meal, hooking up some RICOS that have the catina (fresh grouper filets - mahi filets = best friends!)

                Going my way, you can fly down with a backpack with basics, couple of 2 speed reels and a pair of custom sticks in the travel tube, setup for the 2 speeds

                One 2 speed = 30 Wide for sails and striped marlin roosters and bottom work with groupers

                One 2 speed casting reel - Halcos, jigs and lures for Mahi and bonita (live bait for rooster fish) etc.

                The boats have quality gear - if you don't - do not worry about it. I haul some high end stuff, just because I know what I can do with it and it's my gear with seasons of use mixed with various fishing disciplines offshore (troll, jig, cast, yoyo and cast metals, live bait as well as deep drop).

                I'm making plans for the winter this year and or the top end of next year down CR way. Traveling light, fish safari style, my gear goes out on the boat with me kinda light. This makes finding those little surfer cottages along the sand, easy enough to do on the cheap.

                Rent a moped or a 4x4 ATV when you want to roam, they are street legal there.

                You really never need to leave the coastline more than 5 to 7 miles. Offshore, there are fishing zones and conservation zones - the guides know darn well where to fish for jumbo grouper, adjacent to the protected habitats off limits for all forms of fishing.

                Certain areas along the CR coastline have these protected zones. Tamarindo has a zone just to the North of the main harbor, offshore, where the Yellowedge and Snowy Grouper top 50 lbs or more. Quality deep water Grouper in that 200 - 500 ft down zone. Which is just off the beaches down there literally everywhere - hence why the PANGA makes sense, with the right skipper and crew in the area with the right overlap between zero fishing pressure to that border edge = lotta action with quality sized fish - all species pursued excluding the pelagics

                Striped marlin and sailfish down there - they get thick and they get competitive when a school of either species is on the bite. Literally dozens of fish swimming in large schools of same species - pelagics. Striped marlin are like redfish or speckled trout, they will nail casted jigs, spoons and swimbaits with abandon - once the boat gets a bite near - you can literally cast lures and hook striped marlin over and over - 100 - 200lb fish. A bit larger than the sailfish but both doable, with a quality light weight 2 speed reel fishing a setup matched for their size.

                In my AVET LX RAPTOR strike at 28 lbs and full drag 38 lbs is perfect for these fish up to 200 lbs and it's matched to a 7ft long United Composites Predator single piece custom rod blank fishing 50-80lb class line. This setup can cast lures in the 2.5 ounce and higher range out about 70 yards = you can side arm a good artie lure, work the lure in for the strike, and hang on for the fun!

                Trolling is OK but, it bores the crap out of me. So as we troll, I have a personal rod rigged with alure, get bit on a trolled bait, I'll side cast to cover the other fish - prowling with the primary. Wahoo, Mahi, Striped Marlin, Tuna and Sailfish - down there you nail one, there are many with it typically of same species. Get a twofer on hookup or more.

                Once the skipper see's this game, it becomes the on thing till it plays out and fishing deep for dinner, is the last deal before hitting the beach for the evening.

                REPEAT THE NEXT DAY!!!! SON
                Last edited by AtTheWall; 05-04-2021, 08:00 AM.

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                  #9
                  We went to Tamarindo, booked ahead of time with Gofish CR...

                  Give Steve and Lissa a call, great folks that became friends through the trip and we will definitely go back and book with them again... They can set everything up for you, accommodations, excursions, etc...



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                    #10
                    Forgot to add - befriend a local immediately there. The majority of Ricos speak fluent english, they must learn a foreign language in public schooling down there.

                    Do not wheel and deal like they are Mexicans along the TEXAS border, THAT IS UNCOOL.

                    A befriended local will cover you and any question while there. If you desire something, they know who, where and when and how much. They make phone calls and things start happening quickly, based on your wishes.

                    I gave my local buddy and his family some quality grouper filets - day one. It was so honorable to them, the entire family came down to the beach to share with me - and we sat around their family beach scene eating, chatting and taking it all in, staring at the Pacific Ocean with toes in the sand

                    That family - all I have to do is return....over and over.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by AtTheWall View Post
                      Forgot to add - befriend a local immediately there. The majority of Ricos speak fluent english, they must learn a foreign language in public schooling down there.

                      Do not wheel and deal like they are Mexicans along the TEXAS border, THAT IS UNCOOL.

                      A befriended local will cover you and any question while there. If you desire something, they know who, where and when and how much. They make phone calls and things start happening quickly, based on your wishes.

                      I gave my local buddy and his family some quality grouper filets - day one. It was so honorable to them, the entire family came down to the beach to share with me - and we sat around their family beach scene eating, chatting and taking it all in, staring at the Pacific Ocean with toes in the sand

                      That family - all I have to do is return....over and over.
                      I sent you a PM, but this is excellent advice I forgot to add. I have an awesome local contact that lives in Quepos. We paid him $100 a day and it was like having your own tour guide and taxi service. Awesome dude that busted his arse...

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                        #12
                        25ft PANGA with 3 paid anglers = 700 bucks / 8 hour day = 233.00 per person for the day. Then the tip - if you nail fish and come back looking like this, they will make money on the quality market class filets and or feed their families fresh fish that eve.

                        The more isolated the area, the Panga costs drop. Panga skipper on the sand at am sunrise, no anglers - time to wheel and deal to get him fishing.

                        Sometimes, no plans, down there, knowing you can lean on locals outside the main stream of the multi-media tourism market there, which pinches out a lot of the low under the radar locals.

                        Those under the radar locals - appreciate a yank talking business on the sand holding a couple of custom 2 speed setups = YOU ARE ON!

                        My experiences........I like to work the scene a bit after doing the planned trip (booked in advance) run.

                        Any subsequent day down there, I'm lining it up. It may be Pacific, it may be Caribbean, it may be snook or tarpon and or offshore. I will drive or the RICO version of LYFT, have a driver pick you up and haul you to the other coast. Flexibility is fun down there, and they will work deals.

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                          #13
                          This





                          On the beach becomes

                          This - every day - CHEF SURPRISE ME - I'M ALL IN!

                          And it happens and everyone is smiling











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                            #14
                            Originally posted by AtTheWall View Post
                            Forgot to add - befriend a local immediately there. The majority of Ricos speak fluent english, they must learn a foreign language in public schooling down there.

                            Do not wheel and deal like they are Mexicans along the TEXAS border, THAT IS UNCOOL.

                            A befriended local will cover you and any question while there. If you desire something, they know who, where and when and how much. They make phone calls and things start happening quickly, based on your wishes.

                            I gave my local buddy and his family some quality grouper filets - day one. It was so honorable to them, the entire family came down to the beach to share with me - and we sat around their family beach scene eating, chatting and taking it all in, staring at the Pacific Ocean with toes in the sand

                            That family - all I have to do is return....over and over.
                            This is great advice. Ticos, not Ricos, are very generous people and fish filets open doors down there.

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                              #15
                              Yeah, I was gonna say Ticos, not Ricos. If you want to befriend one don't call him a Rico.

                              I have fished out of Quepos a few times and it's been great. We have fished with John Schuchert at Quepos Fishing Adventures. He's a good guy, little disorganized but never to the point it caused us any issues. The boats are plain but work. I have always fished with Junior and he's always done a great job for us. Our typical day starts out catching sails until we have caught a couple each and then we move out to catch yellowfin and catch tuna until we don't want to catch anymore. Then head in and maybe catch a couple snapper or grouper for dinner. We have caught a good sprinkling of solid dorado and last trip down I caught a blue marlin. I have never had a single day with them that I didn't catch enough fish that I was worn out when we got in. And we usually fish 3 days each trip down there so I am usually pretty sore and tired when we get done. Typically it is about the same price per boat as a bay fishing trip is here. As soon as Southwest starts flying down there again I'll be planning another trip. But we typically go in the winter, January or February.

                              We also take fish and get it prepared for us. It's cheap and really good. There is a restaurant in the harbor at Quepos that we like where we can sit and watch the sun go down over the harbor/ocean. As soon as we get off the boat I just go drop the fish off and tell them what time we will be back. Then we go jump in the pool for a couple hours and then head back for dinner. It's pretty nice.

                              We just rent a house when we go and taxis are cheap. It's real easy to get around. I have never felt unsafe in Quepos/Manuel Antonio.
                              Last edited by Capt Glenn; 05-04-2021, 11:53 AM.

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