Into the blue

Where the bite is

Five coasts, five fisheries

The Pacific shelf drops off fast, so blue water and big fish are often less than an hour from the marina. The Caribbean side is a different game: rivers, lagoons and tarpon.

How the fishing works

Season chart

When they're running

This is a rough guide based on charter-fleet calendars and fisheries data: every one of these fish can be caught outside its best months, and weather, water temperature and bait change things from year to year.

Meet the fish

Crews and boats

Who to fish with

Charters checked against each crew's own website, with where they leave from and how to reach them.

Playa Flamingo · charterBushwacker Fishing ChartersBushwacker is a one-boat charter in Playa Flamingo, on Guanacaste's north Pacific coast, built around a 42-foot Bertram with a…

Tamarindo · charterCapullo Sport FishingCapullo Sport Fishing is a long-running Tamarindo charter with two boats: the 36-foot Topaz Capullo for groups of up to 8 and the…

Playas del Coco · charterFishing Adventures Costa RicaFishing Adventures is a local charter company in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, running private fishing trips in the Gulf of…

Jacó · charterJaco Tour SportfishingJaco Tour Sportfishing is a tour office in the center of Jacó that books fishing charters out of Los Sueños Marina and Playa…

Montezuma · charterMontezuma CrewMontezuma Crew is a small boat outfit on the southern Nicoya Peninsula that runs sportfishing, scuba trips, dive courses and…

Quepos · charterQuepos Fish AdventureQuepos Fish Adventure is a Quepos charter company that owns its own fleet of six boats, from a 28-foot inshore boat to a 40-foot…

All 10 charters

Docks and beds

Marinas and fishing lodges

Where the boats tie up, and the lodges where you walk from breakfast to the dock.

Golfito · marinaBanana Bay MarinaBanana Bay Marina is a small marina and sportfishing center on Golfito Bay, inside the sheltered Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica's far…

Golfito · marinaFish Hook Marina & LodgeFish Hook Marina & Lodge is a compact marina, small hotel and open-air restaurant on the Golfito waterfront, in the sheltered…

Playa Herradura · marinaLos Sueños Resort and MarinaLos Sueños is a resort community and marina on Herradura Bay, just north of Jacó on Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast. Its…

Puerto Jiménez · fishing lodgeCrocodile Bay ResortCrocodile Bay is a sportfishing operation and marina in Puerto Jiménez, on the Osa Peninsula side of the Golfo Dulce, running…

Tortuguero · resortManatus HotelManatus Hotel is a small hotel on the canals of Tortuguero, on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast, reached only by boat or…

Barra del Colorado · fishing lodgeSilver King LodgeSilver King Lodge is an all-inclusive fishing lodge on the Río Colorado, inside the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge on Costa…

All lodges

In the water

The fish

• AmberjackThe amberjack Costa Rican crews catch on the Pacific is mostly the almaco jack, a…
• Dorado (Mahi-Mahi)Dorado (mahi-mahi) are fast, colourful offshore fish caught all along Costa Rica's…
• GrouperThe groupers caught on Costa Rica's Pacific reefs are mostly spotted cabrilla and…
• MarlinCosta Rica's Pacific coast holds blue, black and striped marlin, all caught offshore and…
• Pacific SailfishThe sailfish is Costa Rica's best-known game fish, caught offshore along the whole…
• RoosterfishThe roosterfish is an inshore fish of Costa Rica's Pacific coast, famous for the tall…
• Sea BassIn Costa Rica, the fish sold and served as 'sea bass' is usually corvina, a family of…
• SnapperSnapper are caught all year on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, from the huge Pacific cubera…
• SnookCosta Rica has snook on both coasts: common and fat snook on the Caribbean, black and…
• SwordfishSwordfish live in the deep offshore waters of Costa Rica's Pacific, but they're mostly…
• TarponTarpon are Costa Rica's big Caribbean game fish, caught in the river mouths, rivers…
• WahooWahoo are long, fast, razor-toothed relatives of the mackerels, caught offshore and…
• Yellowfin TunaYellowfin tuna are caught offshore along Costa Rica's Pacific coast all year, and…

All fish species

Read before you go

The guides

1. 01Diving the Catalina Islands, Guanacaste: Giant Mantas off FlamingoThe Catalina Islands are a chain of rocky islets off Guanacaste's coast near Playa Flamingo, and they're Costa Rica's best-known spot for…
2. 02Sportfishing in Jacó: Los Sueños, Sailfish and the Central PacificJacó is the closest Pacific fishing town to San José, and its boats leave from Los Sueños Marina in Herradura, a few minutes north of town.
3. 03Fishing in Sámara: Small Boats, Roosterfish and Easy BeachesSámara is a relaxed beach town on the Nicoya Peninsula's Pacific side where fishing is done from small boats launched off the beach or from…
4. 04Montezuma: Fishing, Boat Trips and the Wild Southern Tip of NicoyaMontezuma is a small, laid-back beach town on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, with a waterfall, rocky coves and Costa Rica's…
5. 05Canopy Tours in Costa Rica: Where to Zip Line and How to Pick a Safe OperatorCanopy tours, where you clip into a harness and ride steel cables from platform to platform through or over the forest, run all over Costa…
6. 06Cocos Island: Costa Rica's Offshore Shark SanctuaryCocos Island is a national park more than 500 km off Costa Rica's Pacific coast, famous for schools of hammerhead sharks, and the only way…
7. 07Fishing from Dominical: Surf Town Base, Quepos BoatsDominical is a surf town south of Quepos with no marina of its own, so most anglers staying here fish on boats from Marina Pez Vela in…
8. 08Golfito: Sportfishing and Boating on the Golfo DulceGolfito is an old banana port on a deep, sheltered bay inside the Golfo Dulce, near the Panama border, and it's one of the main fishing and…

All 40 guides