Fresh Water Fishing Report – March April 2020

By Alberto Gutierrez • Pura Pesca Costa Rica

Fishing in Rio TerrabaRio Terraba is one of the largest rivers in Costa Rica. It is in the area from Pérez Zeledón to Palmar Norte, two well-known towns in the southern area. This river is characterized by having a lot of stones on its banks and strong currents, making it a perfect place to look for the biggest roncadores in the country. This river has very large and deep pools where large snook weighing more than 45 pounds can be found. Also found here are large machacas. Machacas are in the piranha family and live in free-flowing, low elevation jungle rivers. These fish are primarily vegetarian. They eat baitfish, insects, flowers, leaves, and the local fruit known as chilamate that falls from the trees into the river. Most machacas weigh around the 3-6 pound range but don’t let their size fool you. They are known for their fighting skills. They hit hard, pull like crazy, and jump like baby tarpon. If you are going to fish with an artificial lure, I recommend using sinking minnows of 7-10cm with dark and silver colors, crankbaits of different depths and colors. If you want to set out for a trophy fish I recommend fishing at night with the moonlight and looking for places where the current is moving and through the rocks, using large lures such as 15-17cm minnows or 14cm glide baits (bone color).