Sportfishing Seasons
The existent rich marine life attracts fishermen from all over the world to Costa Rica.
The most attractive internationally well-known spots for sportfishing (Catch and release) they are distributed in the Regions of North Pacific, Central Pacific, South Pacific, inland (the north area among others) and the Caribbean.
There are so many opportunities for sportfishing in this tropical paradise because there are many species of fish in the different areas during the entire year. So you won�t miss the chance to sportfish in Costa Rica.
The Caribbean Coast has special places for the sport fishermen: the channels of Tortuguero, Barra del Colorado, Puerto Viejo, Cahuita and Puerto Mo�n. According to the National Tourism Institute, those are the best places to find a variety of species and services.
In these areas, according to the season, we can easily find species such as Tarpon, Snook, Fat snook, Billfish, Wahoo, Golden, Tripletail, Kingfish, Barracuda, Spanish, Cero Mackerel and Jack Crevalle.
On the other hand, the Pacific Coast has more than 28 special beaches dedicated to fishing the marlin, sailfish, tuna, dorado, wahoo, roosterfish, cubera and snapper.
This area also has places that give professional service to the visitors. It is divided in three main regions along the coast:
North Pacific: El Golfo de Papagayo,flamingo,Tamarindo, Potero, Coco, ocotal, Cabo Blanco, Nosara, S�mara beaches, Catalina's Island and Coco's Island, among others. These places maintain good level of services, especially between the months of December and March (when the wind blows with more force from the Central region to the Pacific North area).
Central Pacific: Punta Leona, Quepos and Manuel Antonio beach. Besides having a famous national park, Manuel Antonio also has several strategic spots to catch billfish (12 to 20 thousands from the coast). Other species like tuna, roosterfish, wahoo, golden, jacks, mackerel, cubera, snapper and snook are found inshore.
South Pacific: The Golfo Dulce and surroundings, Puerto Jim�nez, Zancudo Beach and Drake Bay, are excellent points in this area for sportfishing. Marlin, Matapalo castrates, plenty of jacks, runners, mackerel, amberjack, roosterfish are the characteristic species of the place. Also, in the Golfo Dulce it is possible to find small barracuda, snapper, corvine and snook over 40 pounds.
Inland: This area illustrates the internal wealth of the country, not only because of the different types of forests but also because of special places such as, Arenal Lake for sportfishing.
San Jos� (specifically Cerro de la Muerte) has several trout hatcheries where you can catch and cook the fresh fish. Toward the north, San Carlos' Fortune and, specifically, Arenal Lake are good points to find rainbow bass. Ca�o Negro, besides being a natural paradise for wildlife, is a point of interest for tarpon fishermen.
Annually, there are international tournaments in Costa Rica which allow the best fishermen to demonstrate their abilities in the country. According to the International Game Fishing Association, Costa Rica holds 44 line class records, 17 fly rod records and 18 all-tackle records all published by the Tourism National Institute.
Seasons for species (According to the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism).
Tarpon From December to May in the Caribbean Coast.
Snook High season March-May, September-November in the Caribbean.
In the Central Pacific, the mouths of the rivers along the coast, especially in Sierpe, are the best places during July to November.
The snooks are available the whole year at South Pacific.
The best period from the end of May until July, as well as in January and February.
Fat Snook Middle of November-January in the Caribbean Coast
. Billfish February-September is the season of the billfish in the Caribbean Coast.
Wahoo In the Caribbean the season is from the middle of February until June. In the North Pacific the season is from May-August. One can usually find the wahoo inside rock places and deep seas.
In the South Pacific wahoo is found mainly in Drake Bay and Ca�o's Island between the months of June and August.
In the South Pacific wahoo is not plentiful, however they can be seen occasionally along with species like the Billfish and Matapalo.
Dorado (golden) They are usually found in the mouths of the rivers of the Caribbean and inshore during the whole year. It is also possible to find them during the rainy season (May-October) in the rivers of the North Pacific and central Pacific.
In the South Pacific from the end of May until October they are found within high currents.
Tripletail January-June in the Caribbean Coast.
Kingfish, spanish, cero mackerel, jack Crevalle, barracuda The whole year in the Caribbean coast and deep sea.
Marlin In the North Pacific they are found during the year, except between November and March. The Marlin appears in the months of April-June and they increase between August and September.
On the Central Pacific Coast: October, September and November are the best months for the marlin. In the South Pacific there are also important spots for the fishing of marlin during August until December.
Sailfish Annually in season, especially between May and August in the North Pacific.
Central Pacific: Middle of December until April. However they can also be seen in the South Pacific during December until March and August to September.
Tuna The higher months are August to October, although it is possible to find them the rest of the year. The yellowfish and bigeye tuna are concentrated in Catalina's Island in abundant quantities.
In the Central Pacific tuna is available the whole year; during June until September the tuna can be from 8-12 pounds and some are up to 200 pounds.
Roosterfish In season the whole year. These fish are in the Golfo de Papagayo (North Pacific) 50 or 6o feet under the sea from November to March. In Central Pacific, the best spots for fishing are at the mouths of the rivers Parrita, Palo Seco, Damas, R�o Naranjo and in the area of Dominical between June and September. The South Pacific is famous for the great size of the Roosterfish during the whole year.
