Smiles began returning to the faces of operators along the Pacific coast as fishing and catching is beginning to return to normal. In the far north, it has been banner roosterfish fishing. Arco Pacífico had a boat working the waters off Playa Blanca, and big roosterfish were banging trolled live bait. They had 14 bites and ended the day landing eight roosterfish between 40 and 60 pounds. Offshore boats are picking up a sailfish here and there, as well as dorado.
At Los Sueños in the Central Pacific, the boats are running a long way to get out of the green water but are being rewarded for their efforts. Lots of dorado are in the area, as well as some billfish. Some nice tuna hit the docks this week between 40 and 50 pounds, and the bragging fish of the week was a whopping 200-pound tuna.
Green water has also been a problem down south, as has lack of people fishing. Capt. Bobby McGuinness on the Cazador took a group fishing inshore. He added three fish to the number of International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world records he has guided people to, bringing his total to 232. This week he helped his client gain three women’s line class records for barracuda. The IGFA named McGuinness the world’s best captain in 2010 and gave him a lifetime achievement award.
On the Caribbean side, it’s the same old song: The tarpon are still chewing.
The Amateur Fishing Club held the second and final leg of its annual tarpon tournament out of Barra del Colorado last weekend. While most of the country was getting drenched in rain, they were blessed with sunny skies, flat seas and hungry fish.
Twenty-two anglers landed 110 fish, double what was landed in the first leg of the tournament in September. Alberto Laurencich, who took first place in the September tournament, did a repeat performance, taking first again. Addy Schifter took second prize, and Cynthia Moya took third, fishing on the Bull Shark with Capt. Eddie Brown, who is also her husband. Brown’s boat landed 31 fish in the tournament.
Talking Conservation
Enrique Ramírez, executive director of the sportfishing conservation and lobbying group FECOPT, will be my guest on “Wetline Costa Rica” this Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 a.m. on Rainforest Radio.
FECOPT is made up of sportfishing groups from Guanacaste, Quepos, Golfito, the Amateur Fishing Club and the National Fishing Club, as well as Marina Pez Vela. Ramírez and I will discuss the current issues of shark finning, billfish and the effect of foreign fleets working in Costa Rica.
The show can be heard live locally on Rainforest Radio 960 AM or online at www.rainforestradio.com.
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 wordpress-257819-2837440.cloudwaysapps.com/Weekend/Fishing/Fishing-Forum.
