That’s Fishin’ – July 2024
Welcome to the July instalment of That’s Fishin’ for a quick update of all things Fishing here in Quepolandia. I hope that you will get the chance to go fishing this month whilst you are here, we have a host of great charter boats at Marina Pez Vela ready to take you fishing.
OFFSHORE FISHING
What a year it has been so far in terms of our Tuna fishing! There have been some WICKED TUNA sized Yellow Fin Tuna getting caught over the past month with many fish over 100lbs caught by the Quepos charter fleet. We see many Tuna in the 20-30lb range which fall to artificial lures but a Bonito Livebait is the key to catching a BIG Tuna here or why not try to catch one on Topwater, it does not get much better than that!
Lots of small Dorados have been getting caught along the current lines 8-12 miles out, there are a few larger Dorados out there also and numbers should increase as we move through July and August.
Right now is the peak time to catch a Wahoo here in Quepos during Offshore trips. We target Wahoo at our Offshore reefs 20-30 miles Offshore and one of the best methods to catch them is running deep diving lures such as Nomad DTX’s or Rapala X-Raps. Ballyhoo/Islander combos work great also, as well as the timeless ‘Cedar Plug’, which are always good to entice a Wahoo to strike! Typically May to August sees our best Wahoo fishing but this year the Wahoos have been relentless and they have stuck around for most of the year. Our best Wahoo day last season aboard GOOD DAY was 8 nice sized Wahoos in a day, let’s see if we can better that this year! Most Wahoos in our area run from 15-25lb but there are regular 30-40 pounders and often some big boys over 50lbs. A couple of years back we caught a 70lb Wahoo during July, which was my largest in 8 years of fishing here.
There was some good Sailfish action during early June with some boats releasing 5-10 Sailfish a day when they found the fish but the Sailfish bite slowed as June progressed. I would expect July to produce some good Sailfishing, as well as some of the best Marlin fishing of the year so far. Water temps were warm during the early part of this year and over all Marlin numbers were pretty low but early June produced some good numbers of Blue Marlin and this should just keep getting better as the rainy season progresses. There have been some Black Marlin showing at the Offshore Reefs and these can be targeted using Livebaits.
July/August is the peak time to head out to our MARLIN FADS/SEAMOUNTS for a multi-day adventure to the best Blue Marlin fishing on the planet. These trips take place on large Sportfishers and check out Carolina Gentlemen, Too Sea, Caribsea, Sportsman & Double Nickel if you would like to head out on a Marlin FADS Trip.
INSHORE FISHING
The next couple of months typically produces some of our largest Roosterfish of the year, every year huge trophy sized Roosterfish in the 50-80lb category are caught in Quepos from May-August. Bonito, Lookdown, Blue Runner or Goggle Eye livebaits are the best way to catch them and you can choose between a full or half day charter to target them as your fish in stunning scenery next to our islands and rocky coastline.
Snappers, Jacks, Mackerel and the occasional Snook can also be caught during Inshore charters and this time of year is also excellent for bottom fishing for Grouper, Red Snapper, Tilefish & Congrio. We have some great inshore boats available at the Marina, check out Good Day, Asi O Mas, Fly Catcher, Nueva Vida, The Bite, Cocodrillo, Idra 2, Sky 2, Mucho Fisho, Mirse Azul, Cayla & Isabella, for an inshore charter of your own.
TOURNAMENT DATES
Our final tournament of the season, The Summer Shootout takes place on July 6th. There are still some great boats available, all our welcome and we hope to see you there for this super fun, family friendly, one day tournament. Entry starts at just $300 per team and the winning team is the boat who catches the highest number of species plus there are some fun Jackpots for the heaviest Dorado, Grouper, most species & more.
The 2025 tournament calendar is now set, so get these dates in your diary and check out our full Marina Pez Vela tournament event schedule at marinapezvela.com/tournaments.
November 9 Dorado Derby 1
November 16 Dorado Derby 2
January 9-12 Pelagic Rockstar
February 1 Roosterfish Rodeo
February 20-22 Pescadora Billfish Championship (Ladies Only)
March 8 Sailfish Slam
April 5 Marina Pez Vela Open
June 28 Summer Shootout</strong
See you out there!
Benn Gilmour
Jackpot Sport Fishing, Marina Pez Vela, Quepos
Cell: 8458 4997
[email protected]
jackpotsportfishing.com