Costa Rica Fishing

Hi Harry,
Yes, we will be available on the December 26th. The most popular fishing trip for a party of four or under is on the Fandango based out of Los Suenos just beside Jaco. The boat is designed for fishing with a good open deck area and equipment to make even the most avid angler feel comfortable.

Los Suenos Marina is the closest to San Jose and also the finest marina in all of Costa Rica.

Prices change as of the 15th of December to $950 for a whole day. This way the boat is yours for your party. There will be a captain and a mate to make sure you have everything you need. These guys are excellent at finding the best fishing areas day in and day out.

Known by top Tarpon fishermen around the world Costa Rica’s Barra del Colorado offers some of the best conditions in the world for these amazing fish. The Colorado river begins its decent to the Caribbean from Lake Nicaragua. This river has excellent conditions for supporting both Tarpon and many other species of fish. Based upon the time of year and the weather conditions will determine where you will find these fish. Typically most of the ocean fishing is done in 45 to 70 feet of water jigging in the river delta area. Tides and rip water change constantly as do the hot spots.

In the ocean these large silver game fish usually run in schools where as once they enter the rivers around December they typically split up in to smaller groups. Many anglers really enjoy using light tackle such as fly fishing gear to see how many of them they can jump in a day.

There are a few different lodges offering many different Costa Rica Tarpon Fishing Packages to choose from. Remember, these places are only accessible by boat or plane so make sure you have arranged for travel to and from the fishing lodge you choose.

Price per person fishing including air travel to and from San Jose including one night lodging and all food is around $600. Additional days will cost you about $450. You will be able to fish in the ocean and in the river, but you must have two separate fishing licenses for each person in the event you want to experience both salt and freshwater.

I would be more than happy to tell you who to use, in fact I couldn’t recommend anyone better. “Use us”. I’m sorry I’m laughing to much right now. Actually we can setup the whole trip for you and that is our business. We just do it on a little more personal level, and we are very particular in who we use for service providers.
Tomorrow I will send you more information about these packages and the companies. The prices for trips remain the same if you go direct or if you use us. The difference is that we will arrange everything for you so that you don’t have to spend so much time making international calls.
We just had a client from Florida that came down about three weeks ago with his daughter and son who were in their early twenties. They did this same trip that you mentioned an interest in. They spent two nights at the river lodge, and then one day on the Pacific. They had two of their fish mounted (small fortune) and had a great time.

We plan on going to Costa Rica probably in November. We would like to do some fishing while we’re there. We’re interested in deep sea fishing as well as fishing is rivers and streams. We’re interested in tarpon, roosterfish and possibly sailfish or marlin. We would be looking at possibly a day or two for just the two of us. What do you suggest? What area of Costa Rica should we be looking at?

Our Response:
Hello Lynn and Jo-Anne,
There are many options available for the type of fishing trip you are looking for. Tarpon fishing is done on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica whereas most people prefer the Pacific Coast for deep sea fishing.
For the best Tarpon fishing it’s best to go to where the Rio Colorado (Colorado River) flows into the Caribbean. This year because of a drought the Tarpon really never started running upstream and so the fishing was best right on the break water. There are a few big lodges up there in which our clients in the past have just loved.

Here is an example itinerary for one person:
Early AM Fly to location from San Jose: $68
Fishing same day for Tarpon on 23′ boat: $435
All food and lodging included
Following morning, fly back: $68 or take a river boat through 50 miles of inland canals to Limon and then be taken back to San Jose by van. This again includes meals. $135
Some people say that you see more wildlife on that trip than what the Amazon has to offer.

The above would get you Tarpon fishing at its best in Costa Rica for $571 to $638 per person. This location can only be reached by boat or air.

They also offer fishing trips in which you go up river. Based upon what time of year it is and the conditions, this could be for Tarpon and for other fresh water species. The rates are the same for salt and freshwater. Licenses for fresh and saltwater are separate and are additional in cost.

For the best Sportfishing, Los Suenos (Jaco), Tamarindo, or Quepos will be your choices. If you want to fish for billfish you will have to go deep sea fishing. This requires a whole day fishing. The prices are pretty much the same along the whole coast. 31′ boats decked out for deep sea fishing start at around $900 per day. They have everything you need to be comfortable. There are plenty of companies, but we only use a handful that have proven to excellent with our clients.

Over the years of living here we are constantly asked about real estate in Costa Rica and prices. Well, most will lead you to believe that you can not get good deals on property in this tropical wonderland we call home. What a misconception that is!

We have added a new section to our site called “Costa Rica Travel Guide“. Here you will find write ups on real estate, travel, tourism, fishing and more. Once you get to the page take a look at the navigation bar on the left side and you find all the categories available to browse. There are hundreds of pictures taken from around Costa Rica in all types of areas.

If you want to jump straight into the Costa Rica Real Estate area feel more than free to do so. You will find lots, property, houses, rentals, condos, and more available. New listings will be added regularly.