That’s Fishin’- May/June 2018

You are visiting Costa Rica at an excellent time with less people and the start of our afternoon rains to cool the air and give the jungles the water they need to spring back to life after the dry season.

With the rains, our Ocean temperatures now begin to cool which makes way for some of the best Tuna fishing of the year. Big Yellow Fin Tuna with a few Big Eye Tuna mixed in can be targeted 20+ miles off the coast during a full day Offshore trip. Smaller fish in the 20-50lb range can be caught using artificial lures such as Bucktail Jigs, Tuna Bullets and even dark coloured Bass worms fished on a Jig head have been working great this season! For the bigger Tuna Livebait is always the first choice and a Live Bonito takes some beating but Blue Runner, Goggle Eyes and Sardines can all work well too. Good livebait and the right Tuna school will put you in with a chance of catching an 80lb plus fish and there are many larger fish out there too with many 100lb plus fish landed this year and even some 200lb plus monsters. Wicked Tuna stuff for sure!

We might not get the Sailfish numbers in May & June that we do December through April, however, we see Sailfish on most Offshore trips, there will be a few Dorado out there and it is an excellent time to fish for Marlin.

BIG BIG FISH!

There have been some seriously BIG MARLIN released out of Quepos & Herradura recently! I cannot recall a period in the last couple of years where such an amount of BIG Marlin were caught in a short space of time. A shout out to some of the boats getting in on the action & apologies to those that I have missed, as I know there were more big fish! Pacific Fly 450-500lb Black Marlin, Simpathetica estimated 700lb+ Blue Marlin, Sea Fly 700-800lb Black Marlin & a 250lb Yellow Fin Tuna, GOOD DAY TOO 500LB Blue Marlin & 700lb Black Marlin and GO FISH released several good sized Black Marlin. Lots of other boats have caught some seriously nice sized Black Marlin whilst Livebaiting at our Offshore reefs and these opportunities should continue through May & June.

INSHORE FISHING

Now is an excellent time to take a trip with one of our great Inshore captains. There are some BIG Roosterfish to be caught at this time of year and the rocks at Naranjo, just south of Manuel Antonio is an excellent place to target a big Rooster. If you would like to target Snook then you have come to the right place as Quepos is the home to the IGFA all-tackle World Record Snook of 59lb 12oz in addition to several other world records on various light line classes. The Rivermouths at Parrita, Naranjo, Savegre and Baru are all great locations to target Big Snook. Some excellent inshore boats are IDRA 2, Marlin B, Mucho Fisho & The Pink Panga and a half day 5 hour trip is perfect for families looking to get in amongst the action whilst serious fishers may prefer a full day on the water.

2018 QUEPOS BILLFISH CUP!

The Marina Pez Vela was recently host to another awesome tournament the Quepos Billfish Cup which took place in March. Capt. Keith Banks & Team Caliente were awarded top honours in the big boat category releasing 19 Sailfish & 1 Blue Marlin for 4300 points, great job guys! Team FISH TANK aboard their 63’ Hatteras came in second with 20 Sailfish for 4000 points whilst GAME PLAN continued their great run of form in this year’s tournament season taking third position with 17 Sailfish & 1 Blue Marlin. In the small boat category Team SHAKE & BAKE fished incredibly to take the win with 14 Sailfish & 1 Blue Marlin. GOOD DAY took second position with 5 Sailfish & 1 Blue Marlin whilst also scoring wins on the Jackpots with a 37lb Dorado and Tuna of 33lbs & 24lbs. The 32’ Boston Whaler QUEEN BEE took third position in the small boat division with 4 Sailfish & a Blue Marlin. Congrats to all of the winners and thanks to the awesome team at the Marina Pez Vela for delivering another world class event for us here in Quepos!

BEST BLUE MARLIN FISHERY ON THE PLANET!

May commences the peak season for our Offshore FAD & Seamount fishing. The large boats in the fleet specialise in multi day trips where they take small groups of keen Anglers on 2-5 night trips around 100 miles Offshore from Quepos to the richest Blue Marlin grounds on the planet. Anglers flock from the world over to experience this phenomenon for themselves in the hope to experience the double digit Marlin release days that the FADs have become famous for. Blue & Striped Marlin are common, in addition to Sailfish and the occasional Black Marlin whilst Tuna and Dorado are also caught during these trips.

We have some fantastic boats here in the Marina specialising in these trips, both the 46’ CARIBSEA and the 57’ TRANQUILO are excellent choices to take you on this multi-day fishing adventure. Both boats have undergone extensive refits ready for this FAD season and you can reach out to them on [email protected] and [email protected] or simply contact me for more info.

WELCOMING QUEPOS TACKLE SHOP!

Congratulations to Quepos Tackle Shop which recently opened its doors in downtown Quepos. It is a great shop, fully stocked to satisfy the needs of the Sport Fishing community here and no more long drives to Herradura needed! The store is located directly opposite the Gran Escape and is open from 6am-6pm Monday to Saturday. Whether you are looking to pick up a rod & reel to go beach or river fishing during your vacation or whether you need to stock up on some serious tackle for your boat, they have an excellent selection of top quality rods, reels, lures, line, terminal tackle, teasers, dredges, coolers, cast nets and much more. Plus a great little café/restaurant ‘The Love Shack’ out front servicing delicious breakfast, lunch, & dinner, as well as providing boat ready takeaway breakfasts and lunches for the fishing community. Check it out!

Tight Lines!
Benn Gilmour, Jackpot Sport Fishing
Marina Pez Vela, Quepos
Cell: 8458 4997
[email protected]
jackpotsportfishing.com