Sportsfishing Guide to
Costa Rica
Caribbean Coast:
Tarpon
can be found all year round, high season from December through
May.
Snook
generally peaks from March through May and again in September
through the end of November.
Fat Snook (Calba) peaks from mid-November through late January,
but often makes an appearance much earlier.
Billfish Atlantic sailfish and occasional blue marlin can be found
almost anytime of the year. Most are caught from February through
September.
Wahoo is plentiful on the outside from early February through
mid June.
Dorado can be caught just outside the river mouths throughout
the year. Best fishing is when the runoff carries out the debris
that forms inshore trash lines.
Northern Pacific:
Coast Marlin can be found every month of the year, especially
from November to early March; then slowing from April to early
June and picking up in August and September.
Sailfish
are also available throughout the year, with May through August
as the top season. The slowest months are from August through
November, with September as the lowest time.
Tuna peaks from August through October.
Yellowfin and Bigeye Tuna are found at Catalina Island, 30 minutes
from the beach where schools of 12 to 20 pounders are abundant.
There are frequently large concentrations of 40 to 60 pound Tuna
and there are plenty of 200 to 400 pounders caught every year.
Wahoo season begins with the May rains and peaks in July and August.
They are caught around rocky points and islands and occasionally
offshore.
Roosterfish are available all year. The roosters like the structure
of the shoreline and islands where they are found in 50 to 60
feet of water.
Central Pacific:
Quepos/Manuel Antonio is the center of fishing on this part of
the coast.
Marlin has its top month in October, but it's also good in September
and November; occasional blues and rare blacks are likely to be
found anytime of the year.
Sailfish are best from the middle of December to the end of April
when they begin to moving North, but the big schools move in October.
A few sails always show from June through September.
Tuna are easily found throughout the year along the Pacific Coast,
but are more abundant from June to September. Most are 8 to 12
pounders but you can make catches in the 100 to 200 pound range
as well.
Wahoo are not common around Quepos, but in the late summer you
can find them on Drake's Bay and Caņo Island.
Dorado begins with the winter rains late in May that wash debris
from the river mouths creating the inshore trash lines that dolphins
favor.
Roosterfish are better in the mouths of rivers. Best fishing is
from June through early September.
Snook are found in many river mouths along the coast. Best months
are from July through November during the heavy rainy season.
Southern Pacific:
Marlin
peaks from August through December, but you can pick up an occasional
striped, blue or black Marlin if the water temperature is up.
Sailfish peaks from December through March. Slows from April into
early June and then picks up again in August and September.
Tuna season follows the marlin and sailfish season, but schools
can be found nearly always.
Dorado is best from late May through October when the rivers are
running full.
Wahoo is not abundant, but can be occasionally found.
Roosterfish can be caught virtually any month of the year. This
region is famous for big roosters.
Snook can be found all year, but is best from mid to late May
through July and in January and February.
for your custom fishing trip
to Costa Rica!
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