Costa Rica is recognized as one of the top sport fishing locations in the world. It was my dream to catch a large fish such as a sailfish or a marlin. This was on my bucket list. Why not add a deep sea fishing charter in Costa Rica to your tour package?

What is the best time of year to deep sea fish in Costa Rica?

The best time of year to deep sea fish is anytime! Costa Rica is home to a variety of fish species therefore it is always a great time to deep sea fish. There is always Sailfish, Marlin, Dorado, Tuna, Roosterfish, Grouper, and snapper.

If you are looking to catch a Sailfish or a Marlin, the timing can differ depending on where you are fishing. Starting in November, Billfish will appear offshore of the South Pacific Coast lasting two to three months.

The fish will begin to move North so in the mid-January they will be off the Central Pacific coast. The area is Los Sueños Marina just north of Jacó. This is where we fished in January. The best time for  Costa Rica Sailfish that bite off the Central Pacific coast between mid-January and the end of April.

The fish then move North Pacific in May and will stay in this area until September or October.

Where is best fishing in Costa Rica?

Fishing in Costa Rica is plentiful so there is really not a “best place” to fish in Costa Rica. Dependent on what time of the year you are fishing, the fishing may be better in a certain area. As stated above, if you are attempting to catch a Sailfish or a Marlin, the fishing is best off the South Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in November through January, with the Billfish moving to the area of Los Sueños Marina just north of Jacó starting in January.

What fishing charters are available in Jacó Beach?

EcoTerra Costa Rica arranged a 6 day all-inclusive tour which I purchased through Groupon. On the last day of our vacation in Jaco Beach, there were no tours scheduled. I inquired if EcoTerra had a fishing charter as an optional add on tour. They did not have a tour through their company, but instead suggested a captain. After reviewing the information provided, I did not feel the price and the reviews of the captain when I searched him on TripAdvisor would fit our needs.

How do you locate a fishing charter in Costa Rica? I looked for reviews in TripAdvisor and began emailing some of the top rated companies in the area. I came across Go Fish Costa Rica. It is a 5 star rated company on TripAdvisor. Go Fish Costa Rica is based out of Los Suenos marina which was in close proximity to the Best Western Jaco Beach where we were staying.

How much does it cost to go fishing in Costa Rica?

Dan Ross, the owner of the company, contacted us back. We agreed upon a 1/2 day private charter for myself, my husband, and my son (who was 9 at the time). The price, including transportation to and from the hotel to the marina, was $550. A $200 deposit was requested by Dan in advance of the trip with the remainder to be paid on the day of the charter. Here is some information on the charter:

The boat

As discussed in my previous posts on our trip to Costa Rica, it was extremely important to have transportation because I did not wish to rent a car and then attempt to find our way around a foreign country. On the morning of our charter, Dan himself met us in a taxi in the front of the lobby at 7:00 a.m. He accompanied us to the marina where a small boat took us from the shoreline to the 30 foot Super Panga that was awaiting our arrival offshore. We then met our Captain, Michael.

The boat was pretty large in size in comparison to boats we have been on in the past. There was no expectations of sea sickness. My family and I have cruised and boated in the past, however I always take some type of sea sickness medication. In addition, I also always give medication to my son strictly for prevention. At a good clip, we probably rode a good hour before the Captain and first mate put some lines out off the back of the boat. We then trolled. Within a few minutes we had hooked something on both lines. They handed me a pole letting the other line go. The battle was on.

Does Costa Rica have good fishing?

Ok folks, catching a trophy fish was on my bucket list. In fact, this was one of the reasons why I chose to travel Costa Rica in addition to the warm weather. When imagining sport fishing, I dreamed of conquering something that weighs more than me. Maybe it even had a little to do with being a badass that was able to reel in such a monster–well that was probably the real reason I wanted to do it. Whatever I had in mind, it turns out I am not the superhero I thought I was Catching a sailfish is agony! Exhausting. Honestly, most of the time I felt defeated. I reeled and reeled and reeled some more. It seemed as if I was making no gains. If you paused even a second to take a breath, the fish would take off and you would lose all momentum.

Catching a Sailfish is hard work

I will attribute my failure of being able to say I actually caught a sailfish with no assistance to three things.

• 1.) I was not given gloves so immediately I felt as if I had rubbed a blister on my hand. There was pain for the remaining hour plus of reeling. Subsequently after my complaint, I was then given gloves which honestly did not seem to help much after having already rubbed a blister on the inner portion of the palm of my hand.
• 2.) The reel holder was skimpy. It was not one of the ones you see on TV. It went around my waist but did not seem to take any of the weight away from my arms. When the fish was hooked, I was not wearing the reel holder.
• 3. ) The sailfish was hooked in his tail. When I did finally reel him to the boat, which took not only me and my husband but also the Captain and first mate over an hour to do, it was discovered the hook was in his tail. This obviously meant he had all the power to continue to swim away from me. It also meant I never got to see the fish jump from the water. I wanted to see this so badly!

But I did get the sailfish to the boat. I had done it (with a lot of help)!

Fishing is never a sure thing

That was all she wrote. The beast was the one and only fish caught and the only bite had. We spent the next 4 hours trolling. Michael tried, but there was nothing else biting. To make matters worse, we were nauseous. You see, deep sea fishing means deep sea. We had never been so far away from shore in any other fishing adventures we had. We had no idea how rough the seas could be. No matter how big the boat is, the seas were rough. I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled I was that I had taken motion sickness medication. I am positive I would have been puking off the side of the boat had I not done so.

My thoughts?

Bucket list fulfilled and I have the photo to prove it! What are my thoughts?

1. Deep sea fishing is difficult. I would have been happy doing inshore fishing instead. This appears to also be very awesome in Costa Rica as they have species of fish that I have never seen such as the rooster fish.
2. Deep sea fishing with your kids is not something I would recommend. When I had hooked the sailfish, the captain expected him to stay at the front of the boat out of the way. My son was never allowed to come back and help me reel in the monster. What a disappointment!
3. A half day fishing trip was definitely enough time for my family. Dan Ross recommend a longer charter explaining if given more time or being able to go farther out our luck would have been better. I was happy to be back on shore and thrilled we had only booked a half day.

Drop us a comment. Have you been deep sea fishing? What did you catch? What did you think of the experience?

Related: Travel to Costa Rica with kids