That’s Fishin’ – September/October 2023

October 22, 2023

A warm welcome to the September/October edition of That’s Fishin’! This is the most peaceful time to visit our area, with fewer people, lots of greenery helped by the seasonal rains, and abundant wildlife. There will be plenty of availability on boats this next couple of months, this is the time we Fishing operators carry out our annual boat maintenance as we gear up for high season but there will always be great boats still in the water and ready to take you fishing.

OFFSHORE FISHING

During September and October there will be some excellent Fishing opportunities Offshore. Dorado numbers should increase as the rains intensify and bring the water temperature down. Afternoon/evening rains mean more logs, tree trunks and debris washing out of our rivers which end up Offshore and create the perfect feeding habitat for large Dorado. Wahoo should be prevalent at the Offshore Reefs and an early morning start on an Offshore charter will give you the best chance at catching some of these toothy predators. There should be good numbers of Blue Marlin Offshore and always a chance of a Black and Striped Marlin also. Huge congrats to Cheryl, Rob, & Matt Wegener from Michigan who caught a BILLFISH GRAND SLAM with Captain Manuel Gabuardi & myself aboard GOOD DAY on August 7th. A BILLFISH GRAND SLAM is catching 3 different Billfish species in one day, which is no easy feat anywhere in the world & Costa Rica remains one of the best places to do so! Mom Cheryl caught a 250lb Blue Marlin, Dad Rob caught a 300lb plus Black Marlin and a Sailfish and young Matt caught a 35-40lb Dorado for a truly epic day on the water! Huge congrats to Capt. Marvin on the 31’ Centre Console THE BITE who also released a stunning Black Marlin during August also. There has been a steady Sailfish bite just 15-20 miles Offshore recently and Sailfish will continue to be caught through September/October. Those pushing further Offshore will encounter Yellow Fun Tuna schools which provide some excellent action and tasty Sashimi opportunities for our Anglers. Offshore Bottom fishing for Snapper, Grouper and Tilefish remains excellent at this time of year too, typically fishing in depths of 200-400 feet.

INSHORE FISHING

The quality of the Inshore fishing over the next couple of months will largely depend on how much rain we get. During periods with lots of rain, the Inshore waters get murky from the run off from the rivers and can often make fishing along the beaches and rocks close to shore pretty tough going. When this is the case, the Inshore captains will often head out 8-15 miles and search of Dorado slightly Offshore and also do some deep drop bottom fishing for Snapper & Grouper. When there is not too much rain there will be Roosterfish to target along the beaches and rocks plus Jacks, Mackerel, Snappers and more. Captain Roy Zapata aboard SKY II & Captain Riccardo aboard IDRA 2 have been catching plenty of Roosterfish during August. These boats together with Captain Alonso on ASI O MAS or Captain Marvin on THE BITE are all great options for an affordable Inshore charter out of Marina Pez Vela.

2023 DORADO DERBY

Our first tournament of the new season, the 2023 DORADO DERBY is just around the corner! This event is held over the weekends of November 11th & 18th 2023. You can enter either one of the tournaments or both if you wish! They are two separate events the DORADO DERBY & the DORADO DERBY DOS. The event got so popular and the Dorado fishing has been so awesome during November these past few years we wanted to extend the FUN and give more people and teams the opportunity to get involved and see what all Fishing tournament fuss was about. These are 1-day FAMILY FRIENDLY, FUN Tournaments. The entry cost is just $300 per team with additional optional Jackpots for those who want to increase the stakes. Form a team with your employees, work colleagues, customers, groups of friends, families—we have had all of these fishing the DORADO DERBY in recent years and are all perfect team ideas to come and join the FUN. The heaviest DORADO of the day takes the overall win and then there are additional prizes for Top Lady Angler, Top Junior, Heaviest combo of 2 Dorado and other cool Side Bets/Jackpots. Every year important donations are made to local charities as part as this event. Team 2 COSTA RICA REAL ESTATE have been huge supporters of the event entering multiple teams and are certainly gunning for success this year! Local Teams from VISITE QUEPOS, CAFÉ AGUA AZUL, QUEPOA SPORTSBAR, TECSA COMPUTERS & BANCO PROMERICA have been fantastic supporters of our tournaments in recent years. Team PEYTONS PIRATES will be fishing with me aboard GOOD DAY, they always have a blast and are in it to win it! We will have to let the fishing do the talking come November 11th and we cannot wait!

TOURNAMENT DATES

Our full list of tournament dates are now set, we would love to see you there & just drop me a line if you would like to get involved, you can view the full event schedule at marinapezvela.com/tournaments.

November 11 Dorado Derby
November 18 Dorado Derby Dos
January 11-14 Pelagic Rockstar
February 3 Roosterfish Rodeo
February 15-17 Pescadora Billfish Championship (Ladies Only)
March 9 Sailfish Slam
April 13 Marina Pez Vela Open
April 14-19 Offshore World Championship
July 6 Summer Shootout