Looking for the best fishing grounds in Costa Rica? Choose the area of papagayo sportfishing Costa Rica on the North Pacific coast. Featuring an incredibly rich quantity of game fish, stunning topography, and a wide range of charter fleet, Papagayo provides some of the greatest opportunities for sport fishing in Costa Rica.
Papagayo can be understood as a curved bay that is located between the Papagayo Peninsula and the mainland of Costa Rica. This area embraces over thirty -five miles of shore line, peaceful emerald water and steady blow that puts sailfish, marlin, tuna, mahi-mahi, rooster fish etc.
Papagayo fishing grounds can be visited on full, half, or quarter day shared basis or private charter for your group only. Shared trips are very cheap, often $200-400 per person while per day private charters cost between $1000-3000 for 4-6 people. Boats leave from either the Papagayo or Playas del Coco marinas.
Inshore Fishing
Papagayo is particularly famous for phenomenal Papagayo Inshore Fishing that takes place just several miles from the coast. This is an exciting light tackle fishing where people catch fish and fight them continuously on spinning rods and the countervailing reels.
A normal boat trip for inshore fishing in the company of Papagayo fishing boats entails floating live sardines over reefs and rock piles in 20-60 feet of crystal clear waters. Fishing chasers use popping plugs, jigs and flies to cast between areas and attract any predator that may be present. Squid and shrimp bottom fishing also yields good snapper and grouper fish.
Offshore Fishing
Going more than 10 miles off the island unleashes the opportunity to hook and tussle with Pacific billfish and tunas around floats and temperature breaks. Sailfish and striped marlin, the two top catches at Papagayo, are most abundant between November and the middle of May Trolling with diving plugs, feathers and ballyhoo entice these aerial artists, as well as dorado, yellowfin tuna and wahoo.
This means that clear waters enable the Initiation of offshore day trips from the shores of Papagayo throughout the year. However there is comfortable fishing from May to October since the sea is warmer and the winds lighter. During these months, dolphins and whales also move around to add onto the experience.
Top Papagayo Species
Because of such a great variability of the landscape, it is not surprising when the fishermen of Papagayo catch more than 20+ kinds of fish commonly. But these four fish tend to show up more than others:
- Sailfish – Quick and flashy, sailfish are very acrobatic when caught, jumping out of the water in spectacular arcs. Both fight and beauty make multiple hookups popular although while trolling offshore.
- Mahi-Mahi (Dorado) – Brightly colored and fast moving on light gear, mahi weigh from 5-40 lbs around floats and flotsam. The tasty white fillets are consumed in seafood restaurants across the pacific coast.
- Roosterfish – These fish gain girth and heft and can reach sizes of more than 50 pounds; these fish lurk along the surf line and in the shallow reef areas. Their broadsides glow with iridescent blues and are not as easy to catch as one would think on medium spinning gear.
- Cubera Snapper – They are one of the inshore fishing bucket list species that wait for bait around rock piles and reefs. Tackle busters over 30lbs make them one of the most sought after and challenging snapper to fish.
Planning Your Papagayo Fishing Trip
Are you up for the challenge of taking on some of the best light tackle and offshore fishing in Costa Rica? Visit the Papagayo region of the North Pacific coast. It has a rich package of charter services and excellent fishing venues for various fish species; therefore, it is the perfect place to catch trophy fish.
Author's Bio
Tuna Fish Sportfishing helps you find the best fishing charter for the beautiful papagayo sportfishing Costa Rica on the North Pacific of Costa Rica. Our location in the enchanting Guanacaste province, provides guests with opportunities to explore untouched natural parks, and breathtaking tropical environments, in addition to some of the world's premier big game sport fishing grounds.
