That’s Fishin’- April 2018

April 14, 2018

Welcome to the April edition of That’s Fishin and a big hello to all our visitors from around the world! Thank you for visiting Costa Rica and we hope that your visit totally exceeds your expectations.

It has been an excellent high season so far with lots of visitors excited to get out on the water and experience our world class fishery for themselves. There has been a high demand for Sport Fishing this year and if you plan to go fishing you should book your boat as early as possible to secure the best boats. The fishing has not disappointed either and the story for me this season has been our excellent species variety. Offshore we have had good numbers of Sailfish with many charter boats releasing 2-5 Sailfish a day and some Anglers have been lucky enough to experience double digit Sailfish release days. There have been Blue, Black & Striped Marlin out there also, the Blues & Stripeys in the deeper water and the Black Marlin over our Offshore reefs. We expect a good Sailfish bite to keep us busy during April and put that with an excellent run of Tuna & Dorado (Mahi-Mahi), which are a welcome addition to any trip this, many boats have returned to the dock having caught Sailfish, Marlin, Tuna, & Dorado in the same day which is an awesome day’s fishing wherever you are in the world! There is the odd surprise species out there too—several nice Wahoo have been reeled in recently during Offshore trips out of the Marina Pez Vela!

YEAR OF THE TUNA

After a truly excellent 2017 for Tuna fishing off our Pacific Coast, the 2018 Tuna season has already started with a bang here in Quepos! Big schools of Tuna which travel together with mega pods of Spinner Dolphins work their way 20-40 miles off our coastline. Lots of fish in the 30-50lb range, a considerable amount of 80-120lb class fish and then the odd really big fish of 200lb plus are out there off Quepos waiting to be caught. You have to experience Costa Rica Tuna fishing for yourself to believe it, a simply magical experience with hundreds of Spinner Dolphins all round the boat, birds diving, and Tuna busting the surface. We have a pretty cool backyard out there and I would love you to see it for yourselves during your time here.

INSHORE FISHING

The Inshore fishing around Quepos has been fantastic this year. March produced some BIG Roosterfish with Captain Manuel Gabuardi aboard GOOD DAY releasing a huge Roosterfish estimated around the 100lb mark. The world record is 114lb caught in Mexico in 1960!

Our beaches & river mouths have been fishing well with some nice sized Roosterfish, Snook, & Snapper. Inshore boats Chloe Frijole, Marlin B, & IDRA 2 have been catching some great fish and are great choices for a half day Inshore trip with your family & friends.

A slow trolled live bait is the number 1 method for catching fish inshore here in Quepos. Sardines, Blue Runners, Goggle Eyes, & Lookdowns are the preferred live baits here. Sardines are a great all round bait for the most species variety but it is hard to beat a live Lookdown for a BIG Roosterfish.

COOK YOUR CATCH AT Z POOLSIDE BISTRO!

If you have not tried the Cook your Catch fish platter at Z Gastro Bar in the Marina Pez Vela, then you are missing out! The chef’s at Z will turn even the plainest looking bag of fish into an amazing tasting platter with your catch of the day prepared in 4-5 different styles to suit every taste. Ceviche, Fried, Grilled, Blackened, & with different sauces and sides to compliment. Z have recently opened their new location in Manuel Antonio, the Z Poolside Bistro bringing the same great quality and Cook your Catch service. So whether you want to dine at the Marina after your fishing trip or prefer to do so up ‘on the hill’ in Manuel Antonio, bring your catch of the day along to Z and they will cook it up a storm. Some of the best eating fish here in Quepos are Tuna, Dorado, Snook, Snapper, Grouper, Wahoo, Corvina, Mackerel, & Amberjack. Enjoy!