That’s Fishin’ – February 2020

February 19, 2020

Welcome to the February installment of That’s Fishin’ and if you are visiting Quepos right now you have chosen an incredible time of year to visit and fish our world famous waters!

Right now is the time that large numbers of Big Pacific Sailfish which gather here and some of the best Sailfishing of the year traditionally happens between January and March. Most visitors are delighted to be in with a chance of catching 1 Billfish, however, when our fishery offers the chance of catching multiple fish in the same day, anglers come flocking from the world over to experience it for themselves.

Our Sailfish average in the 70-80 lb range with fish in excess of 100 lbs common and we use light 20-30 lb tackle to fish for them. In addition to the great Sailfishing that you can expect right now there will be Blue Marlin and Striped Marlin Offshore, as well as some monster Black Marlin which can be targeted over the Offshore Reefs. A slow trolled live Bonito is the number 1 tactic for targeting a Black Marlin.

The Dorado made a very welcome reappearance during January and providing some incredible fishing after all but disappearing in December. We have experienced some strange weather this year for sure and got way more rain in December and January than we usually would. This helped keep the Ocean temperatures down around 83-84 degrees which is where the Dorado like it to be.

There has been some excellent Tuna fishing experience by the Quepos fleet during December and January and expect this to continue through February. There have been several 200 lb plus Tuna landed by charter boats already this season and lots of fish in the 20-100 lb range. Livebaits, Jigs, Poppers are all successful methods for targeting Tuna here close to the Spinner Dolphin megapods, which is a jaw dropping sight to witness in itself!

INSHORE FISHING

There has been some excellent Inshore fishing during November, December and January with a few slow periods in between. The Savegre, Naranjo, and Parrita river mouths provided some crazy fishing for both tourists and locals in December when huge schools of Sardines moved very close to shore with all manner of predators behind them creating a feeding frenzy on the beaches with fish literally chasing the sardines onto the beach. Guys that were fishing in Parrita river mouth reported big schools of Jacks hitting their legs whilst they stood in the surf fishing. Snook, Roosterfish, Jacks, Snappers, Tripletail, Corvina, and Mackerel provide most of the action at the river mouths and some excellent Inshore fishing opportunities will continue through February. The Marina Pez Vela has some great Inshore charter boats specializing in Inshore fishing which can be chartered for a half or full day and boats to suit every budget. In addition to the river mouth fishing, moving out to deeper water at the rocks and islands close to Quepos, this is the area if a big Roosterfish is on your bucket list. There have been some nice Roosterfish in the 40-50 lb category caught recently and there will be some larger fish out there for sure. Live baiting a Lookdown, Blue Runner, Goggle Eye, or Sardine is the best chance for a big Rooster here.

2020 PESCADORA LADIES BILLFISH CHAMPIONSHIP!

This month sees the second installment of the ALL LADIES Billfish Championship, The Pescadora. Ladies from around the World will descend on Quepos for the weekend of February 21-22 and will be testing their skills against some of the world’s top female Anglers and see who can become, THE PESCADORA! Come down to the Marina to join the fun and give your support to some of our local ladies and competing teams. If last year was anything to go by, it is going to be one fun weekend for sure!

TOURNAMENT DATES

The 2020 Marina Pez Vela Tournament calendar is now in full swing with at least one event taking place each month from now until May. This is our biggest line up of tournaments EVER seen here in Quepos, full details can be found at marinapezvelatournaments.com.

February 21-22, 2020 The Pescadora Billfish Championship (Ladies Only!)
March 7, 2020 Roosterfish Rodeo (NEW!)
March 20-21, 2020 Quepos Billfish Cup
April 17-18, 2020 Marina Pez Vela Open
April 20-23, 2020 Offshore World Championships
May 23-24, 2010 Pelagic Pura Vida Inshore Classic & Kids Only tournament!