By Benn Gilmour • Jackpot Sport Fishing
November & December are our transition months from wet to dry season and are perhaps my favorite months of the year for fishing out of the Marina Pez Vela, here in Quepos. After a wet few months, our afternoon rains start to subside, water temperatures steadily warm back up again and the volume of baitfish in the area increases with Pelagic predators not far behind them.
We have had an awesome dorado/mahi mahi bite for the past few months which should peak during November, just in time for our first ever Dorado Derby here at the Marina Pez Vela which takes places on November 17th. Good Luck to all those fishing the tournament!
There have been some HUGE dorado caught these past few months with several Quepos boats catching 70lb plus dorado, not a million miles away from the longstanding 87lb IGFA World record which was also caught here in Costa Rica!
We get some great dorado fishing 8-15 miles out on the huge weed/current lines that form during the rainy season as trees, branches and other debris wash out of the rivers and November often brings the peak of this style of fishing. Further Offshore in the 25-40 mile range Captains will be searching for megapods of spinner dolphins that yellowfin tuna accompany. Bucktail jigs, tuna bullets, bass works and similar artificial lures typically produce tuna in the 20-60lb range while livebaits are the preferred method for the larger fish with 80-100lb fish common and the occasional WICKED TUNA sized fish landed!
There should be good numbers of sailfish during Offshore trips and double-digit releases can be possible if your captain finds a good concentration of fish. If you want to target marlin, November and December are perhaps the best months of the year to catch a marlin during day trips out of Quepos. Blue marlin in the 150-300lb range are the most common at this time of year, however, there will be some striped marlin mixed in, and black marlin can be targeted over the Offshore Reefs.
Our Inshore fishing was a little slow during the past couple of months due to the seasonal rains, but as water visibility increases over the next month or two, you can expect some excellent Inshore fishing. Roosterfish, snook, mackerel, jacks, corvina, cubera snapper, plus lots of other species, can all be caught during Inshore trips out of Quepos. A slow trolled livebait using medium weight spinning tackle is the preferred method for Inshore fishing here, or you can try your hand at casting poppers and top water lures, which can provide some epic visual fishing which our visiting bass and musky anglers especially enjoy!
Check out this issue’s Charter Directory for some of the great boats available here at the Marina Pez Vela, with options to suit all tastes and budgets.
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. Benn says hello to you if you are down at the Marina Pez Vela. Look for the British guy! Contact Benn at info@jackpotsportfishing.com or visit www.jackpotsportfishing.com