My family has decided to rent a villa in Costa Rica next Thanksgiving and I’m in charge of finding it. One of the things on my bucket list is to catch a rooster fish.
Where in Costa Rica should I look for the villa to give me the best chance of catching a rooster fish?
Always go to the pacific side. Lots of good fishing for everything that time of year and it just gets better through February and march as that’s their summer/dry season. I’d recommend looking at villas around guanacaste or coco beach. Playa hermosa is a really good one to get you started in your search.
Look at Nosara as well. Small fishing community, great capts, & they will put you on fish. Offshore or inshore
Bow Movement
268 Key West Bluewater
Twin 150 Yammys
A great place to take family is to stay in Manuel Antonio. The fishing town at bottom of hill is Quepos. We went in May which is just between the rainy and the dry season. Not sure if Thanksgiving is rainy or dry. I would also check to make sure roosters are in then. Did catch rooster fish in May (did catch them in February in Cabo San Lucas, another good place that for whole family)
Spartanburg/Edisto
Sea Hunt 27 “Saltwater Gospel”
Bomb Island 16 “Hookin’ Heels”
x2 on Nosara. There are some nice rental homes right behind the surf shop that have pools. San Juanillo (small fishing village) is up the coast and you can rent 4-wheelers to get there next door to the Blue Iguana restaurant. Some of the roads are not passable due to the lack of bridges so you have to take the 4-wheeler to get through. You can do some great spearfishing, or just snorkeling in San Juanillo and catch lobster. If you go to San Juanillo there is a great little local bar on the right as you enter the town. There is also Miss Sky Canopy Tours zip line that is well worth the money right there in Nosara. Didn’t get a chance to chase rooster fish but lots of offshore opportunities there.
Mal Pais/Santa Teresa is a really cool area. The “marina” is just Panga’s on the beach, but it is a neat fishing village. I had a couple of shots at roosters out of a kayak, but couldn’t hook up. Lots of Pacific snook around the beaches, too. I have a few contacts down there if you decide on the area.
DD
Annoy a Liberal, Work Hard and Be Happy!
Skip CR and go to Panama. I stay and fish with Shane Jarvis, fishpanamatoday.com We did a trip Nov 14 and slayed the roosters. Check out his FB page. I have fished CR and enjoyed it but then I found Panama.
Another issue with CR that I have found and some fishing buddies really encountered is that there is a more “relaxed attitude” there which is great for vacation but the boats seem to leave the marina much later than other places and there doesn’t seem to be that urgency to get customers onto fish. My Guatemala and Cabo experience is that they try to get you onto fish as if their livelihood depends on it. CR is what I would imagine the experience would be like if you took a Carnival Cruise and signed up for a “6 hour fishing excursion.” However, CR is an incredible place with great people and I would love to go back.
Spartanburg/Edisto
Sea Hunt 27 “Saltwater Gospel”
Bomb Island 16 “Hookin’ Heels”
Mike Alligood on Epic is a Rooster Master. They fish out of Los Suenos.
http://www.epicfishingcostarica.com/about/crew.htm
https://www.facebook.com/EPICCR/
DON’T charter a panga if you are really serious about catching a Rooster. Most of those guys will say you are “Rooster fishing”, but are really only interesting in hand-lining Pargos that they can sell.
I have never fished out of Quepos, but the Manuel Antoino Area is the beautiful with great beaches and awesome views (eat at La Mariposa for lunch. Killer view of the Pacific)
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations,neither are you here to live up to mine” Peter Tosh - I Am That I Am
Contact Debbie Bishop 506-884-8070. She is from Houston. Her husband is from CR. They have a catamaran they charter out of Garza,(just south of Nosara). He is a fisherman, not a joy rider. He will take care of you. She could also help with travel details.
I have a boat at los Suenos and its very nice as a family atmosphere and there are lots of things to do in the area. Roosters are very easy to catch out of there and close. The key is targeting the right area and if you want to really go chase a big one or if you just want to knock it off your bucket list. We spent a half a day just playing around a few months ago and caught 5 and didn’t spend a lot of time to get them. The big ones you have to put your time in typically but they are there. If you go at the end of November and want to go offshore the bite has not typically picked up yet but you can still catch some sails and the stripes are much more common to catch in close in Nov/Dec/Jan. I have a friend there that runs a boat that’s perfect for offshore if you only have 4 people or less that want to fish. If you want some suggestion on people to contact shoot me a PM on exactly what you want to do and I’ll get you some good contacts to speak with. All boats leave the dock around 7 AM and its actually nice to not kill yourself leaving out at 4 AM like we do here. The runs are short unless your going to the FADS. You will have a blast there no matter where you go. You can rent a house in Playa Hermosa or Jaco beach. If you want a condo or townhouse Los suenos is the best place and I can also get you in touch with a friend that has 2 condos outside the gates of Los suenos that you can rent cheaper than being in los suenos.
26 Regulator FS “Ella Pearl”
Thanks all - after spending 5 days researching villas, contacting owners, getting prices, and selecting a place, my brother in law decided he didn’t want to go to Costa Rica.
I hate family.
My bucket remains empty.
Rooster fish on your bucket list, CR is on mine. One day. Take pics and post.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
Tell the brother in law exact feeding times for the pets while the rest of y’all are gone.
No matter how many variables I have control over, I never expect a bite. I only hope.