Big Barracuda Taken at Barra Colorado

The largest barracuda I have heard of in my 20 years in Costa Rica was caught at Barra Colorado, on the northern Caribbean coast, last weekend, when Aurora Adamanson, from the Caribbean-slope town of Turrialba, boated a 56-pound great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) just inside Samay Lagoon, while fishing out of the Río Colorado Lodge.

Lodge operator Dan Wise said Adamanson was alone in the boat just inside the lagoon while her fishing partner was ashore fishing the surf. We assume it was taken on 20- or 30-pound line, which is what lodges normally spool for tarpon.

“She had a Dan Gapen weighted Bait Walker lure in the rod holder with cut bait… when the rod went off, Aurora single-handedly caught the first known barracuda of that size,”Wise said.

This is the largest barracuda we have heard of from Costa Rica, with most world records caught in the waters of Florida, Africa, Australia and the Philippines. Two records for the smaller Mexican barracuda (Sphyraena ensis and S. argentea) have been caught on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.

Tarpon fishing in the region continues wide open, with David Bankfon and Natalie Gumminger from Missouri jumping 15, and Natalie boating one on their first tarpon trip.

Repeat guest Harrison Jewell from Edmonds, Washington, brought his fishing buddy for tarpon and they jumped 15 and landed seven in three days of fishing, Wise added.

From the southern Pacific Golfito area, Scott Beard reports that Stacey Parkerson from Coral Springs, Florida, fishing with Bobby McGiness on the Sweet Dreams out of Banana Bay Marina, landed two new potential line-test records for Pacific sierra mackerel. They were taken on eight- and 16-pound test, weighing in at 2.85 and 3.2 kilograms.