Caribbean still hot; only steady action on Pacific is in north

The Caribbean is still the hot spot this week with some phenomenal fishing. The weather has been good and the ocean flat enough to fish comfortably outside the river mouth. Dan Wise at Rio Colorado Lodge in Barra del Colorado entertained a group of 10 businessmen from Russia. An interpreter was not needed because the smiles on their faces said everything. In six days of fishing, they hooked 348 tarpon and landed 97 of them. Numbers like that are what made the lodge created by the late Archie Fields famous worldwide.

On the Pacific side, talking to Bill Kirby out of Los Sueños, Jeanette Pérez out of Quepos, Greg Mufson out of Zancudo and myself here in Puerto Jiménez was like hitting the rewind button for each conversation. Green water has really slowed things down. Those lucky enough to find a floating log that has been around long enough to develop an ecosystem of various types of bait might get a marlin, but for the most part not much is happening offshore along the central and southern Pacific coast. The saving grace has been some inshore action, but even that hasn’t been enough to shout about.

An interesting fellow is fishing here at Crocodile Bay. Manuel Salazar took an 87-pound dorado in 1976 in Papagayo on the northern Pacific coast, giving Costa Rica a world record that stood for more than 35 years.

The north is seeing the only steady action on the Pacific side. Esmeralda Méndez of Papagayo Fishing Charters reports that lots of sailfish and marlin have moved into the area. She says the boat La Chila has been taking good numbers of fish. Other reports from the area say there are enough dorado around to supply a good dinner to the traveling angler.

Happy Friday the 13th – don’t take any bananas on the boat!

Skippers, operators and anglers are invited to email fishing reports by Wednesday of each week to todd@crocodilebay.com. To post reports and photos on The Tico Times’ online fishing forum, go to ticotimes.net/Weekend/Fishing/Fishing-Forum.