FISHING REPORTS & SEASONS - GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA
Current fishing conditions and forecasts
The colder water is moving into the northern part of Guanacaste which will start bringing in the striped and blue marlin. We still have some sailfish in the area, but we are starting to target the marlin in blue water offshore.
The schoolie dorado (5-20lbs) have moved off to the south – the good news is bigger dorado haved moved into our waters and are traveling in pairs right now out front. It's not uncommon to run into 40 lb dorado with 60 lb bulls mixed in.
Anglers looking to target grouper and snapper will be happy to hear that we expect with the colder water moving in, the bite will turn on so we'll be checking out our favorite spots and reporting back soon. The rest of Febuary and March are looking real good, and with the lingering effects of El Nino, it might just bust wide open any day now.... Hope you're here when it does!
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SEASONAL CHART OF COSTA RICA GAME FISH SPECIES - BEST TIME TO FISH COSTA RICA
Specific times of the year for the best bite by species
Fishing is a year-round thing here in Guanacaste. There really isn't a bad time of year to come fish with us. Even in winter months when the Papagayo winds blow offshore, inshore fisheries are very active. in fact, when the Papagayo blows, the sea follows and the wind mixes our normally warm waters with nutrient-rich cold water that lies just below the shallow coastal thermocline. Algal blooms follow fueled by these nutrients creating a food-chain that leads from plankton to bait fish to pelagic predators. Without the Papagayos, we wouldn't have the abundance of sealife and the fishing wouldn't be the same.
If you're looking to target specific game fish species here in Guanacaste, we've put together a seasonal calendar for the most popular game fish species caught here. The legend is at the bottom of the chart. Use this chart to choose the best time of the year to fish for your target species. Don't let "FAIR" months scare you as a "Fair" day fishing in Guanacaste, Costa Rica is probably better than the best day of fishing you've ever experienced before! Anything can happen at anytime of the year here in "Jurrasic Park".... so come ready to pull on some big, big fish, and don't be surprised if it was one of the fish that was only supposed to be "Fair" at the time!!
| SPECIES |
JAN |
FEB |
MAR |
APR |
MAY |
JUN |
JUL |
AUG |
SEP |
OCT |
NOV |
DEC |
| BLUE MARLIN |
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| BLACK MARLIN |
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| STRIPED MARLIN |
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| SAILFISH |
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| DORADO |
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| YELLOWFIN TUNA |
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| SPANISH MACKEREL |
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| WAHOO |
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| SNAPPER/GROUPER |
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| ROOSTERFISH |
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| JACKS |
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| LEGEND |
EXCELLENT |
GOOD |
FAIR |
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