Billfish tourney kicks off

The 73rd Annual Light Tackle Tournament for Billfish gets under way next week at Crocodile Bay Resort on the Osa Peninsula. Teams from various parts of the globe including the U.S., the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, South Africa and Costa Rica will be fishing 20-pound tackle.

The tournament will also honor Nora Schofield, who pioneered women’s sport fishing in Costa Rica and taught men a few lessons on catching fish over the last few decades. 

Fishing in the Southern Zone has been very good recently, with most boats raising double digits daily. As we ease past the moon, the fishing is expected to be good for the tournament. A few big dorado are mixed in with the sails, but marlin haven’t made much of a show in the south lately.

In the Central Pacific, fishing has been good in certain areas and ok in others. Boats doing an overnight trip out of Marina Pez Vela to the hump off Caño Island are seeing as many as 25 sails a day. The Furuño is also producing fish, but not in the same numbers. A little further north, the sail action has been a slower but some boats have been playing catch and release with snapper up to 60 pounds. Good roosterfish action has been reported in both Quepos and Herradura.

The last report I had out of Guanacaste was that the action is so-so, with a few marlin and sails but nothing to write home about. The winds can be a problem this time of year, but should be done blowing in the next month.

Over on the Caribbean side, the ocean has calmed some, and anglers getting out beyond the breakers are catching tarpon. Snook action continues inside the Tortuguero River and at Samay Lagoon.

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Sierpe’s first tarpon

A special report from Captain Pablo Chaves at Sierpe-Fishing

While fishing in the Sierpe River, Dorothy Windsor of Perez Zeledón and her party were trolling for common species: snapper, grouper, sea bass, snook…

But almost immediately, they got a big surprise. The first bite was a Tarpon, despite the fact that tarpon usually stick to the Caribbean coast. There have been reports of tarpon along our south Pacific coast, though, and even in some rivers of the Corcovado National Park. But never has there been a report of one hooked in the Sierpe River.

Unfortunately, the tackle and the leader were not suitable for tarpon, so it managed to escape after 10 minutes of fighting. But there will be opportunity to capture another.

You can watch the short video here, which features the tarpon jumping.