Big Game Fishing – Marlin and Billfish in Costa Rica Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Read this entire feature FREE with photos at http://jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/fish/costa/bigfish/costa.html
Giant marlin, sailfish beyond number, high-jumping tarpon, record class snook and a dozen or more hard hitting fresh water species . . . Costa Rica has them all!
World Class Marlin often approach record breakers.
Fishing just doesn't get any better than you will find in friendly, peaceful Costa Rica, and because this is a small nation, it's possible to enjoy it all on a single visit perhaps with a day of white water rafting and a volcano and rain forest tour thrown in.
On
Pacific, it's common to release a dozen or more sails and even a marlin or two in a single day, and not unusual to release more than 30 sailfish a day. There are also dolphin (including long standing International Game Fish Association's all tackle record 86 pounder), giant yellowfish tuna, wahoo, cubera, roosterfish, a variety of snapper, grouper, blue runners, rainbow runners, snook and much more. And Costa Rica boat operators release all billfish that are not record contenders, so future of resource is assured.
The all-time tournament record of 1,691 billfish releases by 120 anglers in four days was established in Costa Rica a few years ago during International Sailfish Tournament. And all were caught on 20-pound test line. At last count, there were more than 70 current IGFA world record fish from Costa Rica waters, including 17 all tackle trophies.
There's not been a year in recent memory without three or more Super Grand Slams reported on local charter boats, with sailfish, blue, black and striped marlin released on same day. Grand Slams, with three of four billfish species released same day, are routine during peak season.
If hanging a giant billfish on a fly rod is more to your taste, a number of charter operators specialize in big game fly-fishing. The first Pacific blue marlin ever caught on a fly was taken in Costa Rica, along with eight other marlin and sailfish tippet-class IGFA records. The Annual Billy Pate International Sailfish Fly-Fishing Tournament consistently posts highest catch and release record of any similar tournament in world.
The Caribbean coast offers an entirely different type of fishing, with fine lodges and even luxury houseboat accommodating anglers and nature lovers in pursuit of tarpon, snook and other species for many fishermen, there's simply no bigger thrill in world than having one of these 80- to 100-pound aerial acrobats smash a lure and immediately become airborne, often soaring 12 feet or more out of water, twisting and turning, only to land and leap again, time after time. Most operators on Caribbean have put in bigger and faster boats in recent years and are now able to get out from river mouths more frequently when surf is up and where tarpon often spread for acres just offshore. When they are schooled it's not unusual to jump three or more of Silver Kings on a single cast, as one fish throws lure and another picks it up moment it hits water.
The larger boats are also able to make longer run to less frequently fished San Juan River where it forms border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. With miles of lagoons and tiny lakes tucked into jungle, it has been virtually untouched by fishermen for nearly two decades and represents a new horizon for anglers based in Costa Rica, an easy run by boat from Barra.
The 23- to 25-foot boats now available provide still another option. Tarpon fishermen on outside have found barracuda, jacks, kingfish, sierra, tripletail, cubera, grouper, jewfish, and other gamesters just outside river mouths, but with better equipment and some intensive training of guides, fishermen on northern Caribbean today regularly catch all of above along with Atlantic, sailfish, dorado, wahoo, tuna to over 100 pounds and even an occasional Atlantic blue marlin. Costa Rica has long been known for best snook action in world; with bigger fish most often caught fishing from shore near river mouths.
The all-tackle 53 pound, 10 oz. IGFA snook record was caught at mouth of Parismina River and has been in books since 1978.
Light tackle fishing up river in backwaters and lagoons is unsurpassed, especially when calba, or fat snook (Centrapomus parallelus) are running. These are small snook that swarm Rio Colorado area from about September through November, sometimes overlapping as much as a month either way. They average about five pounds, with eight and nine pounders fairly common.
