Snapper in Costa Rica

Snappers on Costa Rica's Pacific

Snappers (family Lutjanidae, pargos in Spanish) are reef and inshore fish with strong jaws, sharp canine teeth and a habit of grabbing a bait and diving for the nearest rock. They're among the most common catches on inshore and reef trips in Costa Rica, and they're excellent to eat.

The old version of this page named red snapper, yellowtail snapper and grey snapper, which are mostly Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico names. On the Pacific side, these are the snappers you'll actually catch:

• Pacific dog snapper or Pacific cubera snapper (Lutjanus novemfasciatus, pargo dientón or pargo negro). The big one. MarViva describes it as found only in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, olive to coppery red with grey bars and big canine teeth. FishBase lists up to 170 cm and 35.7 kg, and MarViva gives a maximum of 45 kg. Adults live on rocky reefs and in wetlands, and MarViva notes they can swim up to 20 km up rivers.
• Spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus, pargo mancha). A pinkish snapper with a dark spot below the soft dorsal fin, common on inshore reefs and a favourite for the table.
• Yellow snapper (Lutjanus argentiventris, pargo amarillo or coliamarilla). Rosy to golden, with bright yellow fins and tail. FishBase lists up to 71 cm.
• Pacific red snapper (Lutjanus peru, pargo seda). A red snapper of deeper water. FishBase lists up to 95 cm, with a common length of about 50 cm.

The Caribbean side has its own snappers, such as the Atlantic cubera snapper, but they're usually a side catch on tarpon and snook trips.

Where to find them in Costa Rica

Snappers live along the whole Pacific coast. Cubera and yellow snapper hang around rocky points, reefs, river mouths and mangrove edges, often in very shallow water close to the rocks, the same places you'd fish for roosterfish. Spotted rose snapper are common on inshore reefs and sandy bottoms near structure, and Pacific red snapper live on deeper reefs. The Golfo Dulce and the Osa Peninsula in the southern Pacific, the central Pacific and the rocky coast of Guanacaste all have good snapper fishing.

Best months

Snapper are caught all year. FishingBooker's month-by-month guide rates snapper fishing strong in every month except October. Adventure Tours Costa Rica, on the central Pacific, reports the most snapper from July to December, and Crocodile Bay, in the south, reports big cubera snapper inshore from about March to May. Calm seas and clear water near the rocks help more than any particular month.

How crews fish for them

• Casting at the rocks: poppers, stickbaits and swimbaits thrown tight to rocky shorelines, often at dawn and dusk, catch cubera and yellow snapper.
• Live bait: a live sardine, mullet or blue runner slow-trolled or drifted near structure is deadly for big cubera.
• Bottom fishing: cut bait or live bait on a weighted rig over reefs catches spotted rose and red snapper, along with grouper.

A big cubera hits hard and heads straight for the rocks, so crews use strong braid, heavy leaders and tight drags. Watch your fingers: those canine teeth are sharp.

The rules

Snappers aren't a catch-and-release species in Costa Rica. Sport anglers can land 5 fish per trip for their own use under the fisheries regulation (Decreto 36782, article 68), and selling sport catches is banned. INCOPESCA's agreement AJDIP/026-2018 sets legal first-capture sizes for snappers sold in Costa Rica, including 30 cm for spotted rose snapper, 32 cm for yellow snapper and 28 cm for Pacific red snapper. They apply to the commercial catch, but they're a sensible guide for what to keep. Everyone fishing from a boat needs an INCOPESCA sport fishing licence (Ley 8436, article 75).

Fishing isn't allowed inside national parks and biological reserves such as Isla del Caño, Marino Ballena, Manuel Antonio and Corcovado, so crews fish the reefs outside them.

Eating quality

Snapper is one of the best eating fish in Costa Rica: white, mild and firm. Whole fried snapper is a classic in coastal restaurants. Keep a pan-sized rose or yellow snapper and let the big cubera, which take years to grow, go back.