June Fishing Report
It took a couple weeks for the fishing and the water to get back to almost normal after tropical Storm Alma pounded Costa Rica at the end of May.
We had more than 2 feet of rain that week and it turned the ocean a muddy brown. Sometimes when we get heavy rains followed by hot sunshine we are prone to getting an algae bloom in the water that's called 'Red Tide'.
The Red Tide started down by Dominical and within a week had moved into the Jaco area. The Red Tide is never good for fisherman'but the impact has been less than expected. Boats are still going out and guys were still catching fish.
RJ Lilley had an interesting day on the beach. He caught a 10 pound snook on a crappie jig fishing in the river mouth in Jaco. Moments later RJ had a save a drunk lady that tried to cross the river mouth not realizing it had been washed out by the rain and in now 8 feet deep with strong currents. Way to go Reggie'karma points.
Captain Kevin on the 'Hoo's your Daddy' has been banging around the inshore rocks all week and picking up good numbers. The highlight of the week was probably the 125 plus pound goliath grouper they caught on a butterfly jig. Yesterday Captain Kevin caught a nice cubera, a mackerel, a couple roosterfish and a half a dozen big jack crevelle. Today they caught a 50 plus pound Cubera and 4 Roosterfish with one of them being in the 70 pound range.
Captain Jerry on the Estrella del Mar took a group offshore because they wanted Tuna. Jerry fished out by the craters and caught 2 big Mahi Mahi in the 45 pound range, a sailfish, a striped marlin and a 50 pound yellowfin tuna. That group ate well for a few days.
Captain RJ has had a good week'on Monday he took a family out that had never fished'they ended the day with 2 big wahoo, 5 nice yellowfin tuna and a 700 plus pound black marlin'once again the area around the '26″ produces a big marlin. RJ followed that up the next day with 7 roosterfish, 6 nice tuna and a 40 pound wahoo.
The guys on the 'R&J' did a 1/2 day inshore trip with some friends and caught a half dozen roosterfish not far from the marina.
Captain Brandon on the Fish Whistle has been fishing up in the gulf and having good luck on the inshore and bottom fishing. Brandon has been using butterfly jigs in 60 - 80 feet of water and has been catching some big sea bass, roosterfish, snapper and groupers.
Captain RJ on the Predator has been at the rock almost everyday the past week. They have been averaging 5 or 6 fish a day including some 35 pound wahoo, some 25 pound tuna, some 20 pound mahi mahi and a 400 plus pound black marlin. The big marlin hit a ballyhoo while trolling for wahoo. As most marlin will do he put on a good air show with some great leaps. One of the leaps was too close for comfort when mr marlin almost landed in the boat. The big fish slammed into the boat tower just a couple feet from the captain and clients. RJ said it was like being hit by another boat and they were lucky no one was hurt.
Captain Dave on the Missbehavin took a group out to the rock and caught 6 nice wahoo and several 25 pound yellowfin tuna.
July Fish Forecast --
Look for July to be similar to the end of June. Hopefully the Red Tide will clear out so things can get back to normal.
Expect the 26 rock and inshore rocks to be fished hard as guys try and put clients on some fish.
When boats go offshore the tuna bite will be good if the foreign fishing fleet will stop fishing inside the legal boundary. The big foreign owned tuna boats seem to be more aggressive than ever and I predict more 'run ins' with sport fisherman in the near future.
The mahi mahi fishing should also be good around the trash/current lines and the sailfish and marlin bite should be average for this time of year.
They boats may need to run farther until the chocolate brown water disappears'look for the bite to past 30 miles.
July Fish of the Month ' Yellowfin Tuna
Over the next few months there should be good numbers of Yellowfin Tuna caught on the Pacific coast. Tuna are one of the oceans most prized fish. Fishing boats from all over the come to Costa Rican waters to fish tuna'sometimes legally and sometimes illegally.
Yellowfin Tuna are caught throughout the year on the Central Pacific coast. It's not uncommon to pick up a 100 plus pound Yellowfin when fishing for Sailfish. The big Tuna come and go all year long but June through September are normally the best months for 200 pounders.
Tuna are generally caught 10-30 miles out. Yellowfin will bite on the same lures and ballyhoo rigs that are used to catch Sailfish. Tuna are usually found feeding with Dolphins especially Spinner Dolphins. If you can find feeding dolphins you can target tuna with cedar plugs and deeper running trolling lures like the green machine. Live bait is best for the big Tuna'get in front of the feeding pack and drop your live bait down and hold on.
If you are targeting Tuna make sure you bring some wasabi paste and soy sauce with you on the boat. Few things can compare with eating fresh sashimi caught an hour ago. A couple cold beers and you're set.
Send me your reports and photos today!!!
Good Luck and Good Fishing,
Bubba
1-800-9SAILFISH
8841-5109
2778-7217
help@costaricafishingreport.com
www.costaricafishingreport.com
