Costa Rica Fishing: Pacific Bite Solid; Tarpon Steady on Caribbean

May is a weather transition month along the Pacific coast as we go from dry season to wet season. Occasional evening showers wash trees and debris out into the ocean and many game fish will congregate around this debris as it collects in the current lines. Find the right current line with the right debris and it can be your lucky day for mahimahi, tuna, sailfish and marlin.

The northern Pacific bite continues to improve with the tuna and mahimahi moving in. The central Pacific bite has been good for sailfish and marlin, while the southern Pacific fishing was red hot for a few days and then slowed to average. The tarpon bite on the Caribbean side has been steady.

Northern Pacific

Capt. Donaldo Duarte on the Dream Chaser out of Playa Flamingo recently released a 300-pound black marlin and kept a 50-pound mahimahi for the grill. They had plenty of sushi as well, because they caught more than a dozen yellowfin tuna.

Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing reports the fishing is getting good in Tamarindo. On a recently half-day of fishing, he caught two nice wahoo, four mahimahi and several 40-pound tuna. That’s some good eating.

Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing reports some great tuna action with mahimahi and sailfish mixed in.

Capt. Rick Ruhlow on the Kingfisher reports fair to good fishing out of Playa Carrillo. Ruhlow’s longtime friend Dave Kurfess recently released 11 sailfish in two days of fishing. The water is a beautiful blue color just eight to 10 miles off the beach, Ruhlow reports, and the boats out of Garza are reporting small yellowfin and mahimahi close to shore.

Central Pacific

Capt. James Smith on the Dragin Fly took a group out for back-to-back days offshore. They caught seven sailfish and a blue marlin the first day and nine sailfish and a couple of nice mahimahi the second.

The guys on the Spanish Fly found a nice log offshore and caught three nice blue marlin on a recent full-day trip. That’s the good thing about rainy season: If you come across a good log or trash line, you could be in for some great fishing.

Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin’ reports lots of mahimahi and tuna 20 to 30 miles offshore, as well as some sailfish and blue marlin.

Capt. Dana Thomas had a couple of big days out of Los Sueños Marina when the sailfish bite exploded about 30 miles out. Thomas averaged almost 20 sailfish releases per day.

Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barrilete out of Herradura reports lots of small mahimahi and some small tuna in the current lines. He fished a half-day offshore recently and caught two sailfish and went one for two on blue marlin.

Jerry Glover of Luna Tours in Quepos says the fishing has been pretty good since the full moon. The sailfish have moved a little closer, and the Ojaran II caught eight recently. There has also been some mahimahi action, with several in the 40-pound range. The inshore bite is also steady, with three to five roosterfish catches on a full-day charter.

Capt. Dale Weir on the Blue Water III reports a decent inshore bite with three to four roosterfish and a couple of snapper on average. Offshore, there have been lots of small tuna and mahimahi 15 to 20 miles out, with a few sailfish in the mix each day.

Leanne Batten of Quepos Sailfishing Charters reports some good offshore and roosterfish action out of Quepos. Visitor Matt Rubenstein headed offshore hoping to catch a big sailfish. He fished by himself with Capt. Glenn Morales and first mate Michael Meza. They hooked into a marlin Rubenstein fought for two hours before getting it to the boat, followed by three sailfish releases.

The guys from Frenzy Sportfishing had the Johnston family in for few days of fishing. They caught some roosterfish, mahimahi, snook and a bunch of sailfish.

Southern Pacific

Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports a bit of a slowdown in the sailfish bite, but the sails are always around. The marlin bite should get better as they chase football-sized tuna around. The small mahimahi have moved in close to shore and are around in good numbers. Baker says the big tuna should be coming in soon.

Caribbean

Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports calm seas and good fishing in the Tortuguero area. Brown fished with angler Earl Warren recently and averaged five or six hook a day with two or three releases. One group hooked 15 tarpon and released four. Some nice snook have also been caught by surf-fishing anglers.

Diana Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge says the fishing and weather have been great. U.S. visitors Lance and Del Barnett and Doran Lemke fished for three days recently, jumping 19 tarpon and boating four tarpon, 12 jack and a shark. Luis Miguel Lopes of Portugal fished for seven days and jumped 22 tarpon, boating seven, along with some jack. The lodge is currently offering $100 off per day.

By: Tico Times (Original here)