Quepos Inshore and Offshore Fishing Reports – March/April 2020

Fishing Reports Brought to you by Coastal Angler Costa Rica Edition

By Benn Gilmour • Jackpot Sport Fishing

Offshore Fishing in Quepos: After a steady start to the year, the sailfish bite really started to crank up during February with double digit sailfish bites and releases recorded by many boats in the fleet. The chance at a double digit billfish day is what has anglers flocking here to experience at this time of year. In addition to good numbers of big Pacific sailfish in the 70-100lb plus range, blue, black and striped marlin have been getting caught and should continue to do so throughout March and April. And the tuna fishing has been nothing short of spectacular this past couple of months!

Capt. Franklin on the Big Eye caught a 164lb tuna during January and many other boats in the fleet have been catching 100lb plus tuna also. Livebaits, jigs, poppers and all manner of small artificials have accounted for solid tuna catches. Catch a 50lb plus tuna on a spinning rod and you are in for the battle of your lifetime! Hook a 100 pounder on a spinning rod and after a while, you probably wish you had not hooked it, as Rob Millard from Ireland found out after his 2.5 hour battle on light gear!

There are still a few nice sized dorado out there, which are always a welcome addition to any billfish charter, and there have been a few super sized wahoo caught also. Fish Tale II caught a 60lb wahoo, GOOD DAY caught a 40lb wahoo and there were several other nice sized wahoo landed by Quepos boats.

Inshore Fishing: The Inshore fishery around Quepos constantly provides some world class catches, Capt. Jerry on Cowboy caught a stunning 37lb snook from the Parrita Rivermouth and there have been lots of other nice sized snook also. Capt. Rudy on the Chloe Frijole, certainly one of the top inshore boats in the Quepos fleet, has been making some dreams come true for his anglers with some incredible roosterfish and snapper catches in recent weeks. There has been some great roosterfishing at the rocks and river mouths close to Quepos this season. I am excited to see what March and April brings in terms of fish quality for the inshore fleet.

Some of the biggest snook of the year are typically caught over the next couple of months and every year we see some real trophy roosterfish in the 80-90lb class. You will not catch those fish sitting at home guys, time to book your charter and see if you could be the next lucky angler! We have the next round of tournaments happening in Quepos this March & April which are open to all and it is still not too late to get involved.

We start with the Roosterfish Rodeo, a one day shootout on March 7th before it is time for the Quepos Billfish Cup on March 20-21. In April we have the Marina Pez Vela Open followed by the grand finale, the Offshore World Championships where teams will descend upon Quepos from all over the world to battle it out on Costa Rica’s best charter boats to see who will become, Offshore World Champions! TOURNAMENT DATES: March 7, 2020

Roosterfish Rodeo (NEW!) March 20-21, 2020 Quepos Billfish CupApril 17-18, 2020 Marina Pez Vela OpenApril 20-23, 2020 Offshore World ChampionshipsMay 23-24, 2010 Pelagic Pura Vida Inshore Classic & Kids tournament!

Full details at: www.marinapezvelatournaments.com Check out the Charter directory in this publication for some of the great boats available here at the Marina Pez Vela waiting to take you on your most epic Fishing Adventure yet! Tight lines & hope to see you out there!

Benn Gilmour runs Jackpot Sport Fishing out of the beautiful Marina Pez Vela in Quepos. His boat Good Day is a Costa Rican custom built 31-foot Sport Fisher. Jackpot Sport Fishing specializes in offshore, inshore & fly fishing. They cater to serious anglers who come to fish with them for a week, as well as families and honeymooners looking for a day on the water during their vacation in Quepos/Manuel Antonio. Look for the British guy! Contact Benn at info@jackpotsportfishing.com or visit www.jackpotsportfishing.com