A tarpon-fishing trip to Barra del Colorado, on the northern Caribbean coast, brought me to Costa Rica for the first time in 1983, and less than a year later I had quit my job, sold everything I owned in California and moved to Costa Rica, toting enough fishing tackle to stock a small store. I haven’t been back to the United States since 1985, and have no plans to go.
The day after we got our old VW van out of Customs, I headed to Playa Flamingo, on the north Pacific coast of Guanacaste, to see what could done to diminish the billfish population. A handful of private boats was parked at the old marina, but only after knocking on doors did I learn the only charter boat there was the Blue Marlin, operated by the late Tom Bradwell, Costa Rica’s fishing pioneer on the west coast.
Tom’s boat at the time was the lone charter not only in Guanacaste but along the entire Pacific coast, all the way south to Golfito.
Today, Costa Rica is a mecca for sport fishermen from around the world, with enough fishing boats to invade North Korea spread from Golfito all the way north. And Guanacaste is still among the country’s primary fishing regions for marlin, sailfish, tuna, dorado and more during the high season.
The Flamingo Marina is currently closed by litigation, with boats lying off on buoys, ferrying fishermen out in pangas (skiffs). Though plans exist for improvement and expansion of the marina, don’t hold your breath until it happens.
The Guanacaste sportfishing fleet now spreads from the outside of the Nicoya Peninsula to Tamarindo, and from there further north into the Gulf of Papagayo, with charter boats operating out of Ocotal, Playas del Coco and a few points in between.
Seasonal winds take their toll during the winter months, with the best fishing in the region beginning in January and February along the Nicoya Peninsula south of Cabo Vela, where the land configuration provides shelter from the northerly winds.
A number of top charter boats are permanently based out of Playa Carrillo, with a couple in the Sámara and Nosara regions, but greater numbers operate out of Tamarindo and Playa Flamingo, making the run south as the winds dictate when the bite is on.
Fishing off Carrillo traditionally peaks in March and April but often continues longer, and you’re not likely to come home without bending your rod a few times throughout the summer months.
Boats are mostly 30-footers or larger, with the going prices changing often because of the soaring fuel prices here. Larger boats change a bit more. A boat in the 30-foot range will fish up to four anglers very comfortably, and some 30-footers will take up to five fishermen – but the more anglers aboard, the less rod time everyone will have.
Anglers fish all day. Boats are fully rigged, with tower, electronics and professional-quality tackle provided, and you will have an experienced skipper and mate. Lunch, soft drinks and beer aboard are included.
Billfish and other blue-water species are what most anglers are after, but there is also some sensational inshore action for roosterfish, snapper and other species along the inshore structure and at the Catalina and Murciélagos (Bat) Islands, best reached out of Flamingo and Tamarindo.
I got lucky on a trip to the Bats a good many years ago, fishing with Randy Wilson, a pioneer skipper in that area, when we got into a bunch of wahoo just off the island.
Whenever you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica, and wherever you are planning to fish, it’s advisable to make reservations well ahead of time, particularly during the peak fishing seasons in the various coastal regions and especially during the Christmas and Easter holiday seasons.
We plan fishing trips here, and had a lot of disappointed anglers this past year who couldn’t find a boat or even hotel rooms in coastal areas during peak season.
