September Fishing Report from Costa Rican Fishermen
COSTA RICA FISHING REPORTS
FishCostaRica/Americana Sportfishing offers the world’s finest deep sea fishing charter service. Here’s my September Costa Rica fishing report on the success of our anglers. Also see below for the most recent news via Twitter from captains fishing in Costa Rica.
Richard Krug
FishCostaRica/Americana Sportfishing
AUGUST WAS A SUPERB MONTH FOR COSTA RICA FISHING
Better late then never, I always say, especially when 1) it’s something good and 2) it has something to do with my clients. So here are three photos of the Fowler group (Scott, Jack and Jason) who fished out of Los Sueños Marina in the Central Pacific on the 32ft Miss-Behav段n with Captain Dave Mothershead and on the 27ft Golden Rod with Captain Guillermo way back in March when the big sail bite was on. I received them just a short while ago. Took the Fowlers a long time to get the photos here, but there’s nothing shabby or outdated about this nice double (right) or the wahoo or that dorado (below left and right, first two photos).
August was an excellent month for fishing in Costa Rica all along the Pacific coast, a bit slower on the Caribbean where the rains had lingered longer than expected. Those of you who have taken the time to look at our daily or glanced every so often at the bottom of this page over the past month have seen four or five snippets posted daily abut the success of some of our clients and other anglers and groups fishing with the many world-class captains we book for our Costa Rica fishing charters and complete fishing vacations on both coasts of the country.
To keep up with what’s happening on the Costa Rica fishing scene, either follow us on Twitter or bookmark this page and check it out — scroll down near the bottom — daily. Even better, book an exciting Costa Rica fishing trip and have your very own unique story and photos appear. It’s simple: call me toll-free — 1-800-407-9438, 1-800-399-8532, 1-866-978-5198 — or . Fish Costa Rica and Americana Sportfishing will set you up with the best captains fishing in Costa Rica.
Anglers fortunate enough to come down and fish the Pacific coast of Costa Rica in August were catching pretty well everything, everywhere: sails, marlin, tuna wahoo and dorado offshore; big roosters, snapper, mackerel, Pacific jack, albacore jack, grouper, needlefish, etc. inshore.
Some of the August hotspots included Punta Burita in Panamá, just south of the Costa Rican border for 60lb and bigger roosters (Punta Burita is a favorite spot of Captain Bobby McGuinness who fishes out of Golfito); the Furuno Bank and Corners (captains fishing out of Quepos) for sails; and the famous Ventiseis for just about everything. For those of you who don’t already know, the Ventiseis is a hump between Quepos and Los Sueños 26 km (16 miles) out rising to 80 feet of the surface. It’s a great fishing spot.
On the North Pacific coast, fishing has been really great off the ledge right in front of Tamarindo, about 12-13 miles out, where anglers have been seeing 10-12 sails and marlin most days, along with tuna and dorado; and north of that in the Gulf of Papagayo, close to the Bat Islands (Islas Murciélago) where anglers are seeing an equal number of sails, marlin, dorado and tuna. Inshore fishing has also been splendid up there, as many boats are going up along the Nicaraguan coast, with one captain that I know. Luís Ruíz on the 40ft Plautus, setting an all-tackle world record for Pacific jack.
Speaking of sails, and returning south to Los Sueños, Colt Conner, Christopher Smith and a couple of their buddies went out on a ｾ day with Captain Bill Kieldsen on the 35ft Sailfish. Chris won bragging rights and was especially chuffed that day as you can see from the photo at right, releasing this 120lb sail plus a 50lb dorado, while the others bagged a few more big dorado.
With four months left in 2009, there is lots of great Costa Rica fishing still in store this year. If you have a couple of extra bucks, pounds, roubles, shekels or whatever, and a bit of free time between now and Xmas, corral your buddies and/or family and do some fishing here. We’ll set you up with one of the many world-class captains fishing in Costa Rica, and you’ll be certain of a fabulous Costa Rica fishing adventure on the Pacific, Caribbean or both coasts. By the way, for those looking for something other than sails, the tarpon season starts this month on the Caribbean side where Captain Eddie Brown and/or his brother Captain Roberto Brown are ready to take you out at any time.
Now, moving ahead to 2010, sails and the Central Pacific, let me sing my annual song which I will repeat in every fishing report until the end of the year: if you, your family or your buddies are thinking of a fishing trip in January/February/March to take advantage of that great Central Pacific sail bite, the time to start pinning your trip down is right now so that we can book you with one or more of the many international-class captains fishing in Costa Rica on exactly the days you want.
Don’t wait. Call me now toll-free — 1-800-407-9438, 1-800-399-8532, 1-866-978-5198 — or . Fish Costa Rica and Americana Sportfishing will set you up with the best captains offering sportfishing charters in Costa Rica.
FISH THE CARIBBEAN COAST… AND THE PACIFIC AS WELL!
Our focus tends to center on the Pacific side, since most anglers come to Costa Rica for billfish, tuna, dorado, roosters, etc., and it’s the Pacific coast where these fish abound. For instance, there is a world-class sail bite off the Central Pacific coast between January and April, one reason (aside from the really excellent weather) why this period is the busiest Costa Rican fishing season, and also the site of several major IGFA-sponsored international billfish tournaments.
Many of the boats that FishCostaRica and Americana Sportfishing charter compete in these prestigious tournaments which usually are held out of Los Sueños Marina in January, February and March. Captains such as Johnny Cerpas (38ft Macushla), Daniel Espinoza (42ft Spanish Fly) and James Smith (42ft Dragin Fly) are just three of the many world-class captains we charter who have distinguished themselves at these IGFA events.
Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, however, has its own lure: tarpon are among the world’s top game fish; these prehistoric fish give anglers, pound-for pound, the best action one can hope for. Landing a 95lb tarpon is the equivalent of pulling a 1949 Buick from the bottom of the sea.
The tarpon season is now underway, and usually lasts through mid-January, with an added bonus of a big snook bite from November-January. Carl Krepper and Peter Makaus fished last month on the 22ft Bull Shark with Captain Eddie Brown. Eddie (seen left in the small photo below) is considered to be Costa Rica’s top tarpon fisherman/guide, and he didn’t disappoint.
“Carl and I returned last night from Costa Rica”, Peter wrote. “What a wonderful trip. Both of us want to thank you so much for all of your trouble arranging everything… I cannot praise Captain Eddie enough. A true delight to fish with, he never stopped trying and did he find the fish (five tarpon and five jack on one of the days)! Just a fun and enjoyable trip. Hope we can do it again sometime in the future”.
You too can fish with Eddie if you have both the inclination and a few days to spare between now and mid January. Call us toll-free now — 1-800-407-9438, 1-800-399-8532, 1-866-978-5198 — or and we’ll send you up to Tortuguero on the Caribbean side near the Nicaraguan border for some awesome tarpon fishing, both jigging 300-500 yards offshore, and trolling the incredibly beautiful canals and lagoons.
Meanwhile, at the very opposite end of the spectrum, the South Pacific near the Panamanian border, Captain Bobby McGuinness, chosen world’s top captain of 2006 by the IGFA, continues to show why he holds more IGFA world records than any other captain now fishing in Costa Rica. A couple of weeks ago he took Ed Rymut and his wife Pat for a day inshore on the 37ft Cazador, and by the time they came back that afternoon their one-day haul looked like this: 12 roosters (one big one seen above left, and another at at left), seven jack, one pompano and one albacore.
Ed also wrote: “Had a huge red snapper to the boat that broke off. Pat and I could barely lift our arms… we will definitely be fishing with you guys again”.
Bobby is so well-respected internationally that one of the Gucci family invited him to the Dominican Republic for the last week of August until the end of September to try to set some world records on their boat. I’m sure Bobby will have many tales to once he’s back. I promise you some of the best ones. BREAKING NEWS: Bobby’s daughter had emergency surgery, so he has put off the Dominican trip to a later date.
The billfish season starts in earnest in the South Pacific at the begining of November, so if you want to go out with Bobby for some of the best Costa Rica fishing you can hope for, call toll-free now — 1-800-407-9438, 1-800-399-8532, 1-866-978-5198 — or . Bobby McGuinness is just one of the many international tournament-class captains in the country; Americana Sportfishing and will hook you up with the top captains fishing in Costa Rica, no matter where: the North Pacific (Tamarindo, Flamingo, Papagayo); the Central Pacific (Los Sueños/Jacó, Quepos/Manuel Antonio); the South Pacific (Golfito, Puerto Jiménez) or the Caribbean. Don’t wait! I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
P.S.: Last-minute news: David Via and his friends, fishing with Captain James Smith on the Dragin Fly over the weekend, had a fabulous trip. Raised 14 sails, brought six to the boat, and then at the very end of the day found a school of hungry mid-size tuna and landed 17. Great fun!
