By Captain Daniel Espinosa • Maverick Sport Fishing
Well, here we go. The “high season” is on again, and we look forward to another great year of fishing off shore Los Suenos.
Unbelievable fishing, world class resort. It never gets old. How could it? We live to fish. The problem with calling December through mid-April the “High Season” is that means the rest of the year is the “low season”. This year during the low season was an epic display of marlin fishing and not just on the seamounts.
Day trip marlin were frequent with several Grand Slams and even double-digit day trips. Spanish Fly recorded a one single day trip releasing over 30 Blue Marlin.
With this kind of fishing, it is not surprising that the big fishing publications are drawn to our neck of the woods. Check out the October/November edition of “In The Bite” for a great rundown, and “Anglers Journal” Magazine editor-in-chief Bill Sisson and AJTV host John Brownlee reported its authors best fishing day ever. They fished the Sea Fly. Check out the story in the September 2018 issue. Add to that a “Marlin Magazine” on the new Maverick 36’ Walk Around, and you get the idea of what is available in Los Suenos.
As we predicted here, the past few months have seen lots of not only marlin, but also tuna and mahi. The number of tuna available to our anglers has increased since the Costa Rican government moved the tuna purse seine boats further off shore a couple of years ago. In addition, we are seeing increased numbers of mahi on the docks.
It is always good to bring home a some eating fish. Lots of local places including those in the Los Suenos Resort will cook your catch. Those of us who fish are the lucky ones. We get to eat really fresh fish which is an experience not readily available to land lubbers.
Coming up? It looks like conditions are favorable for a great sailfish bite with marlin, tuna and mahi in the mix over the next few months. Of course, there are always the more shallow areas like the “26” reef where you have a great shot at good size wahoo.
As the water clears of the rainy season runoff which always causes the water to be a little more green with more debris, the baitfish should move closer to shore which will bring the game fish with them. Runs have been longer over the past couple of years, and we all hope this year will bring those run times down saving a lot of time and fuel.
Improvements in facilities and upgrades to several of the charter boats calling Los Suenos home will add to the experience. Same with some of the newly introduced electronics incorporated on more and more boats.
Another note. The weather and the sea state are both the best in the early months of the year on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. No one can remember losing a day of fishing to the weather during this season of the year here at Los Suenos. Not one. At Maverick for instance, we did suffer ONE weather day in the past 3 years, but that was during the “off season”.
Calm water is most appreciated by those doing bottom and in-shore fishing. With the bait moving closer to shore, these opportunities should be very good as well.
Predicting the future for fishing is always a risky thing, but it is a lot easier when the fishing experience is as consistent as it is in our local waters.
Captain Daniel Espinosa has been fishing these waters for almost 30 years, starting at the age of 14. Born in Quepos, Daniel first fished as a Captain at age 17, and has not finished yet. Currently General Manager of Maverick Sportfishing Yachts, Daniel is owner of the Spanish Fly which he ran full time for 12 years, releasing a documented count of over 10,000 bill fish releases. His lifetime total exceeds 22,000. A pioneer in sportfishing in Costa Rica, Daniel has captained tournament winning boats in several Central American countries. His wins include the Los Suenos series and the WBS World Championship. He lives with his wife and family in the Los Suenos area.