That’s Fishin’ – May/June 2019
There was some truly world class fishing action in April here in Quepos with some great catches of Sailfish, Tuna, Marlin, Dorado, Roosterfish, Snook, and Cubera Snapper, making Angling dreams come true.
OFFSHORE FISHING
The fleet enjoying some good Sailfish fishing throughout April with plenty of Sailfish caught but no one had a better day than the guys on Double Nickle who released 29 Sailfish on April 5th, what a day, congrats guys! Striped Marlin made an appearance during April with some nice Stripeys caught along with a few Blue & Black Marlin. The Blue Marlin bite on day charters should improve into May and June as water temperatures start to drop with the afternoon rains. If catching a Blue Marlin is high on your bucket list then you should seriously consider heading out to the FADS & Seamounts on an overnight trip. Caribsea, Double Nickle, Tranquilo, The Hooker, and Pescadora are all great Quepos boats to take you on the Marlin fishing trip of a lifetime. May to November is the peak time for overnight FAD fishing trips and when the bite is on you could be in with a chance of some truly insane Marlin fishing!
April provided some excellent Tuna fishing which should improve into May which is usually a great month for Tuna. There were some BIG Bull Dorado caught during April further Offshore and closer to shore some smaller Dorado started making an appearance. Expect numbers to increase into May and June.
QUEPOS BILLFISH CUP!
What a weekend we had March 15-16th for the 8th Annual Quepos Billfish Cup. With the luck of the Irish on our side, the event took place under a Paddy’s Day theme, with a GREEN awards banquet and some awesome Irish food catered by the excellent team at Z GASTRO BAR. Green hats and Lucky Fishing Shirts compulsory!
17 boats managed to catch 149 Sailfish and 7 Marlin during the 2 day event. A huge congrats to GAME PLAN who continued their great run of form to take the top honours in the big boat division with 20 Sailfish. Team PELAGIC MAGIC released 2 Blue Marlin & 7 Sailfish for 2nd position, whilst GALLO PINTO took 3rd place with 11 Sailfish. In the small boat division TEAM GUNNER could not be matched with 15 Sailfish to take the win ahead of SWORDFISH & LOS GATOS who each released 13 Sailfish. GOOD DAY caught the heaviest Dorado & Tuna of the weekend and Sebastian Ortiz was the top Junior Angler putting in some incredible fishing and beating most of the adults! Shari Burrows was another star of the weekend not only winning top Lady Angler but also top Angler beating all of the guys with her 15 Sailfish, fantastic stuff!
INSHORE FISHING
April saw some great Inshore fishing with some incredible fish caught. Chloe Frijole released their largest ever Roosterfish in the 80lb range caught by 87 year old Phil Longacre, a true fish of a lifetime, wow guys! GOOD DAY released a 70lb Roosterfish from the rocks at Naranjo and then a 50lb plus fish from the beaches south of Quepos caught on an artificial soft plastic lure, a huge fish for the shallow water beach area. Marlin B has had some great action with Trophy Roosterfish and also some good sized Snook from the river mouths. There have been some big Cubera Snappers caught in recent weeks with Pacific Dream Fishing releasing some huge Cuberas. Some Anglers are eluded by Cubera Snappers for years as they are one of our most difficult fish to catch, but Keith Moore from England caught 2 big Cuberas in 1 hour during a recent trip aboard GOOD DAY! Expect some big Roosterfish and Snook during May but live bait will start to become more difficult to catch with the start of our afternoon rains which changes the water clarity inshore. Be patient with your Captain who will try his best to give you a great day and enjoy the experience of catching your own live bait which is a necessary part of any successful inshore charter.
PURA VIDA PELAGIC INSHORE CLASSIC!
Grab your friends, grab your kids and get yourself registered for this month’s first ever Pura Vida PELAGIC Inshore Classic taking place on May 25-26th. This is a first of its kind event here in Quepos and thanks so much to the guys from PELAGIC for making it happen! Saturday 25th is the 1 day Inshore Classic tournament where prizes are awarded to the longest Roosterfish (measured & immediately released) and then the heaviest combo of 3 ‘Grand Slam’ species such as Snook, Snapper, Grouper, Corvina, Mackerel, Jacks, & more. Team entry starts from $800 (That’s just $200 per person if 4 Anglers aboard!) and some great Inshore boats to consider for this event are Chloe Frijole, Marlin B, IDRA 2, Mucho Fisho, Mirze Azul, Wahoo, & The Pink Panga. On Sunday May 26th PELAGIC are then hosting a totally free kids fishing tournament from 8am-12pm to promote responsible fishing with both the children of Costa Rica and our visitors alike. What a weekend this is set to be, please contact myself or the team at Marina Pez Veal for any info at all and come down to the Marina to join all the fun!
TOURNAMENT DATES
Please mark your diary for our fantastic events coming up over the next year, whether you are a seasoned professional or a total notice, our tournament calendar includes something for everyone. What are you waiting for?
May 25-26, 2019 NEW! Pelagic Pura Vida Inshore Classic & KIDS ONLY tournament!
November 16, 2019 Dorado Derby
January 11-12, 2020 Pelagic Rockstar
February 21-22, 2020 Pescadora Billfish Championship (Ladies Only!)
March 20-21, 2020 Quepos Billfish Cup (2020 MPV Championship Series)
April 18-19, 2020 Marina Pez Vela Open (2020 MPV Championship Series)
See marinapezvelatournaments.com for further details! Hope to see you out there!
Tight Lines & I would love to hear from you if you would like to go fishing! Benn Gilmour, Jackpot Sport Fishing Marina Pez Vela, Quepos Cell: 8458 4997 [email protected] jackpotsportfishing.com