Tarpon in Costa Rica

What a tarpon is

The Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is an ancient-looking fish covered in huge silver scales, each as big as a coin on a large fish, with a big upturned mouth, a bony jaw and a dark back. The last ray of its single dorsal fin trails out in a long filament. FishBase lists a maximum of 250 cm and 161 kg, and MarViva notes a maximum age of 55 years, so the big ones are old fish.

Tarpon can gulp air at the surface using a swim bladder that works like a lung, which lets them live in warm, oxygen-poor rivers and lagoons. When hooked, they're known for leaping clear of the water again and again, which is how they earned the nickname "silver king". The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable, with habitat loss and incidental catch as the main threats.

Where to find them in Costa Rica

Tarpon are a Caribbean fish in Costa Rica. MarViva describes their natural range here as the coastal waters, bays, estuaries and rivers of the Caribbean side. The best-known tarpon grounds are in the far north of Limón province, around the mouths of the Río Colorado at Barra del Colorado, and south through Tortuguero to Parismina. The ICT's Caribbean guide names tarpon as the number one sport fish there and mentions fishing from boats and from shore at the river mouths of Parismina and Jalova. There are no roads into this area, so people arrive by small plane or by boat through the canals.

In a newer twist, a small but growing number of tarpon are being caught on the southern Pacific coast: MarViva and the Costa Rican sport-fishing federation FECOP report that the species has reached the Pacific, probably through the Panama Canal, and anglers around Puerto Jiménez have started to see more of them.

Best months

Tarpon are caught all year on the Caribbean, but the weather decides a lot. Heavy swells often make it dangerous to cross the sandbars at the river mouths, and when that happens guides fish the rivers and lagoons instead.

• The Tico Times calls September and October two of the best months, when seas often flatten and schools of tarpon gather off the river mouths.
• Alberto Font, writing in The Tico Times, named September to October and March to April as the best times for both weather and fishing.
• FishingBooker's month-by-month guide rates February to May and September to October highest, with July, August and December weakest.
• The ICT's Caribbean guide notes that the rainy season starts around mid-May and that sediment from the rivers slows the fishing for a while.

So aim for September or October, or about February to April. See the season chart for snook and tarpon side by side.

How crews fish for them

Most tarpon fishing is done from small boats with a local guide. When the bar can be crossed, boats head out to the schools rolling off the river mouths and along the beaches; when it can't, they work the rivers, channels and lagoons. Anglers cast or drift lures and jigs, troll, and use the fly for the classic challenge. Expect heavy spinning or conventional gear for big ocean fish.

Hooking a tarpon is hard because of its bony mouth, and keeping it hooked through the jumps is harder. Many anglers count a jump as a win. When a fish does come to the boat, a guide controls it by the jaw for a quick photo in the water and a careful release.

The rules

Costa Rica's fisheries law (Ley 8436, article 76) declares the tarpon a species of tourist and sport-fishing interest, alongside sailfish and marlin. Sport fishing for tarpon is catch and release: INCOPESCA's 2014 sport-fishing rules (agreement AJDIP/086-2014) say tarpon, like billfish, are to be released in the water without being lifted aboard, and The Tico Times describes tarpon fishing at Barra del Colorado as catch and release. Selling sport catches is banned.

Everyone fishing from a boat needs an INCOPESCA sport fishing licence (Ley 8436, article 75), which comes in 8-day, 30-day and 1-year versions. Much of the best water lies in or next to protected areas, including the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge and Tortuguero National Park, where SINAC's rules apply, so fish with a guide who knows which areas are open.

Eating quality

Tarpon are bony and not prized as food, and MarViva lists their commercial value as low. They're fished for sport and released.