Costa Rica - Help!

[Kevin Huntington]

Whattup TPFR,

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the extremely mild weather.  Have a quick question to run by the group - I will be heading to Costa Rica for 4 days in early March for my to-be-brother-in-law's bachelor party. I of course have to pack the 8 weight and hit the water to some degree while I'm there.  Only one other guy in the group fly fishes at all, and I'm not sure he will want to spend any of his time fishing vs. partying & drinking.  I'm not necessarily looking to spend $500+ on an inshore/offshore boat for the day, so was hoping for something fairly easily accessible.  We are staying on the Pacific Coast side, the place is called Jaco Beach.  I also will not have a car, so that even further limits my options.  But all of that said, does anyone have any experience or advice for a shoestring budget or DIY adventure?  I only really have 1 day to fish, so trying to make it count.  I did see Brad's post from a few years ago - would love to chase sails but the money and time are two commodities I don't have this time around. So any and all input is welcome!  

Thanks in advance - stay fly!

-Kevin

[Yambag Nelson]

I recently was looking casually at fishing in Costa Rica as flights are dirt cheap.  I know nothing about the location you mentioned, but you could find out if there are roosterfish in that area.  If so you might be able to fish for them from the beach.   Otherwise probably better of drinking and partying.  Although chucking a clouser into the surf might be a good way to spend a couple hours. 

[Nedak]

My buddy just got back from Jaco.  They could not find a panga to fish from but used a captain-information to be PM'd once I find out who and where.  he said they cruised along next to shrimp boats and threw dead bait on spinning rods and crushed enormous jacks.  the jacks would only eat dead bait. 

If you have never been, the water is big there, not like  US east coast.  the waves are thick and it can be kinda dicey.

we fished down in Dominical off a panga and wet waded  some throwing spinning gear.

In looking at the map of Jaco, looks like there are 3 rivers that flow into the ocean.  rumor has it that snook will hangout and eat the bait fish being flushed out of the freshwater streams.

I would look in those river/ocean spots for jacks, macs, and snook.

from experience, bring everything you think you need plus a backup.  There are no places to buy gear down there. 

more to follow.

On Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 2:15:11 PM UTC-5, Kevin Huntington wrote:

[DaveSurfs]

I second the sentiment regarding rivermouths. Check the tides, find the outflow and look for snook lining up to catch baitfish washed out w/ the outgoing tide.
If you are wading rivermouths keep an eye out for caiman (alligator like reptiles)

Re: pangas, you may or may not find one willling to take you out, but if you do, a pfd and handheld wareproof gps are a must. Safety is not a consideration and Ticos may opt to put the panga in situations they woukdnt otherwise if a Gringo wasnt paying them.

I caught 35lb mahi and a 65lb Rooster down there(Nosara- a few hour south of Jaco). There are plenty if fish, but make sure you live to tell the tale,

Tight lines!

Dave

[Shadfan]

I've fished a couple of times in Panama and Costa Rica, always with guides, though have made some inshore/small fish excursions when other stuff has been slow. Also have picked up some second hand tips on how to do a brief DIY like you describe. First of all, believe the advice others have offered is solid, and would add a couple of things. If you really are only going to have one day or less, then a big piece of the enjoyment will be just getting out and catching ... something. Snook would be awesome, but small jacks (especially horse eyes), and fish like blue runners and small barracuda are often much more plentiful, willing, and they are strong ( the jacks in particular). On some stretches of beach, even near populated spots, the small jacks can be found chasing bait right in the surf early/late. The outflows others have mentioned would be even better spots. Those are probably your best bets if shore-bound and on foot. Boat is better option for size and variety of fish, but to get someone who knows how to put a light tackle fisherman, not to mention a fly fisherman, on fish can cost. Hiring a panga man means, as others have said, you must be responsible for assuring your safety. Look for rips, rock piles, or follow a shrimp boat as suggested. Gear at least an 8 wt, probably floating or intermediate/slow sink tip. Believe which one matters a lot less than your ability to cast a ways, especially if beach bound. Leader either a level piece of 20 lb flouro with about 2 feet of 40 or 50 lb flouro bite tippet, or if you want to be fancier, 4 feet of 40, 3 feet of 20, then 18 inches of bite tippet. Flies small 2-4 inch sardine patterns and sardine looking clousers. However, for jacks and snook and roosters (boat) you'll want the hooks to have a fairly deep bite. Easterners often tie them on hooks that are a bit small. I'm all for fly fishing but if you're open to spin fishing then a 3 piece 8-17 lb class spinning rod with 30 lb braid, 50 lb flouro leader, and small 3-5 inch saltwater poppers and swimmers will give a lot more reach and flexibility from shore. Heresy, I know. If you are boat fishing I would go up a notch in gear weights. Note when you fly out of Costa Rica all the loaded reels, sharps, tools, and rolls of line/leader must be in your checked luggage. They WILL NOT let you carry them on and it's a big hassle for the uninitiated at security. (Sharps is normal, but Costa Rica seems weird about the reels/line/leader, and small non-sharp tools like hemostats). Tight lines and Pura Vida. - Paul

[Brad]

OK, since my name was taken in vain above, I have to respond.

Good basic advice here. Walk the beach and look for structure and/or bait. Seemingly featureless beaches that have bait have yielded great rooster/mackerel/jack action up and down the Pacific Coast for me. Erratic and fast seems to be the only thing that works and most of the hits come right behind the face of the wave in front of you. 

If you want to find a boat, head over to the Los Suenos marina, which is 15 -20 minutes out of Jaco on 34 north up the coast. I took all my trips out of that marina. There are a lot of condo owners that keep captains and crews for their boats that sit idle. I have a feeling you might be able to grab a budget trip if you call over there or drive over there. You might not have wheels, but cabs/for-hire cars run between the two towns. There is also a fantastic seafood joint on the beach just off the Los Suenos property to the south - La Baracuda. Best food I found down there. I found the beach fishing to not be very good around Los Suenos. Had a few jacks terrorize my poppers (I don't fly fish in the surf) but no hook ups.

I also found that once I had my fill of hookers and blow, I didn't like Jaco very much. But it should be perfect for a bachelor party. If you head south on 34 down the coast there is a little surfer village called Estero Oeste. There used to be a couple great beach bars there, one is the Lowtide Lounge http://lowtidelounge.com/home.html. No affiliation/no advertisement but I had one of my most pleasant days drinking in that bar. Highlight of my Costa Rica trip frankly. I heard they closed, but their website is still up. There is a really great beach break there for surfing, but the reef that creates the break joins the beach to the north and you can walk out on it. There is some sort of statue on it or something. You can only walk out there at low tide. I did not fish there but the locals say the fishing off those rocks is good and the bar was plastered with pics of roosters and big toros. As someone said above, the Pacific swells are no joke. Be careful wading and never turn your back on the water. 

But seriously, be careful what you buy from the vendors on the Jaco beaches. They have EVERYTHING for sale.