Fishing Costa Rica's Tarpon and Snook

The Tarpon (Spanish: sábalos) is a large coastal fish prized by anglers. There are two species in a single genus, Megalops, in the family Megalopidae: one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans. Both are large silvery fishes. The genus name derives from the Greek adjective megalo meaning 'large', and the noun opsi, meaning 'face'. The tarpon is a large thick-bodied fish generally silver in color other than its back, which can range from a dark green to gray. It has a large scoop shaped mouth and the last ray of its dorsal fin is greatly elongated. Its scales are large and thick like a coat of armor.

The Tarpon is a large, hard fighting fish and is judged by many to be the world's most exciting gamefish. Once it feels the hook being set it begins the spectacular display of frequent, twisting, acrobatic leaps into the air to free itself from the hook. Most Tarpon landed are between 25 to 80 pounds on average, but can range from a few inches in length to about 300 pounds. The world all-tackle record is 283 pounds four ounces.

The Snook (Centropomus Undecimalis) is a powerful fish and a thrilling catch, much like the freshwater Largemouth Bass. One of the reasons why anglers come to Costa Rica is because the Snook, one of the most sought-after and prized gamefish, is abundant. One hooked, its strength and speed are hard to compare to any other game fish of its size. The Snook is a large, Pike-like fish with a protruding lower jaw and a prominent black lateral stripe that runs from just behind the gills to the tail. The Snook is overall a silvery-green color with fins that are sometimes bright yellow. It is a sleek and extremely strong fish and the World Record of 53 lbs. 10 oz was set in Costa Rica

They range in size up to 48" and 50 pounds. The largest Snook ever caught in Florida weighed about 44 lbs 11 ounces. Snook are tolerant over a wide range of water salinity from freshwater to offshore saltwater. They are however, extremely sensitive to temperature changes, particularly cold weather. Water temperatures below 60 deg. F can cause the Snook to go into shock or even die. In cold water areas, Snook can be found congregating in the warm water discharges of power plants. They normally tend to gather near shorelines, inlets and estuaries and prefer structures for shelter such as mangroves, rock formations and reefs.

For the best Snook and Tarpon seasons, see Costa Rica's Fishing Seasons.

More Costa Rica fishing photos:

Salifish | Dorado | Fish Costa Rica/Americana World Records | Roosterfish, Goliath Grouper, Wahoo and Barracuda