That’s Fishin’ – May/June 2023

June 8, 2023

Welcome to the May & June edition of That’s Fishin’.

OFFSHORE FISHING

April produced some fantastic Marlin fishing for the Quepos fleet as good numbers of Blue Marlin in the 150-250lb range were released. There were a few big black Marlin caught over the Offshore Reefs as well as a few striped Marlin out deep.

April produced some big bull Dorado and we saw the first schools of baby Dorados of the season, which are almost certainly the Offspring from last year’s peak Dorado run in November. We love seeing lots of baitfish and small juvenile fish out there, showing signs of a healthy ocean and fishery. There have been lots of groups of Tuna about over the past few weeks, however, they have been pretty tough to catch on some days. Bonito livebaits have been the #1 bait but blue runners and some artificial baits have been working too. Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Dorado should all still be present as we move into May/June and the Wahoo should make an entrance as the seasonal rains begin and the water temps drop. Our Offshore reefs are the #1 place to catch a Wahoo and May to August is the best time here to do so. Offshore deep drop bottom fishing can also produce some excellent results with Grouper, Snapper, Tilefish and more at this time of year also.

2023 MARINA PEZ VELA OPEN

The MPV Open tournament took place on April 15th and was once again another great success. 25 boats joined the fun and managed to release 64 Sailfish and 18 Marlin during the 1-day event whilst 7 Dorado and 5 Tuna were brought to the scales. Congrats to Team Caliente who took top honors on the day releasing 12 Sailfish, closely followed by Team Bounty Hunter aboard TRIP who took second place with 2 Marlin, 5 Sailfish and a Dorado. Huge congratulations to all the winning teams and anglers!

2023 Marina Pez Vela Open Results

1st Caliente 12 Sailfish
2nd TRIP 2 Marlin, 5 Sailfish, 1 Dorado
3rd Crush Em 9 Sailfish

Top Lady Angler Ronette Carter
Top Junior Angler Maverick Morretti
Heaviest Dorado Anticipation 35lb
Heaviest Tuna Hatta Dream Ladies 80lb

INSHORE FISHING

The quality of the Inshore fish caught over the past month has simply been phenomenal! Inshore boats IDRA & PRIME TIME 2 both landed potential IGFA World Record Tripletails, both of which are going through the verification process at the moment. Huge congrats to Capt. Riccardo and Capt. Rudy for the excellent catches by their Anglers. Boat COWBOY also caught a potential Junior World Record in the form of a 43lb Snook on April 18th. Lee Armishaw from England fishing aboard GOOD DAY caught a Pacific Red Snapper which looked to be larger than the current World Record but choose to release such a beautiful fish. There were 2 Tarpon released by Quepos boats during April, Capt. Marvin aboard THE BITE released an estimated 90lb Tarpon and Capt. Manuel aboard GOOD DAY released an estimated 50lb Tarpon. It has been fantastic to see more and more Tarpon turning up here after originally coming through the Panama Canal which now gives our Anglers an outside chance at catching one.

The next couple of months will hold some excellent opportunities for super-sized Roosterfish at the rock and island locations close to Quepos. Every year Roosters in the 50-90lb category are landed during these next few months, fish of a lifetime stuff for sure! Jacks, Mackerel, Corvina, Snapper, and Snook will also be possible during Inshore trips and we have many great boats here at the Marina Pez Vela ready to take you fishing.

TOURNAMENT DATES

Our next tournament takes place on July 1st, the Summer Solstice Shootout which has a totally different format to most of our events, where you have to catch as many different species of fish as possible…kind of a fish species scavenger hunt! And now for some more GREAT NEWS, the dates for our 2024 tournament calendar have now been released, be sure to put them in your diary and we hope to see you there at some of our events! Full details & upcoming schedule at marinapezvela.com/tournaments.

July 1, 2023 Summer Solstice Shootout
November 11, 2023 Dorado Derby
November 18, 2023 Dorado Derby Dos
January 11-14, 2024 Pelagic Rockstar
February 3, 2024 Roosterfish Rodeo
February 15-17, 2024 Pescadora Billfish Championship (Ladies Only)
March 9, 2024 Sailfish Slam
April 13, 2024 Marina Pez Vela Open
April 14-19, 2024 Offshore World Championship