Fishing the Central Pacific

The short answer

If you want sailfish, the Central Pacific is the coast to fish. From December to April the water off Herradura, Jacó and Quepos holds more of them than anywhere else in Costa Rica, and good boats release several in a day. The rest of the year the same crews switch to blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, wahoo and dorado, while the rocky points and river mouths give roosterfish and snapper in every month.

It's also the easiest fishing coast to reach. Herradura is about 2 hours from San José by road, so you can land in the morning and fish the next day. Nearly every boat leaves from one of 2 marinas: Los Sueños on Herradura Bay, which also serves Jacó, and Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, which serves Manuel Antonio. Both run big winter tournaments, and both have enough boats that you can pick by size, style and the fish you want.

What this guide covers: the towns and where the boats leave from, the marinas, the outfitters we'd start with, places to stay, a month-by-month calendar, the named fishing grounds, the rules (Manuel Antonio is off limits), tackle shops, getting there, the weather, the tournaments, and a full table of every fishing business we found in the zone. For the country as a whole, see our seasons guide and trip planning guide.

Loading the map…

Towns and where the boats leave from

The Central Pacific runs from the mouth of the Gulf of Nicoya, near Caldera, south past Jacó to Quepos and Manuel Antonio. It's a short stretch of coast, about an hour's drive from end to end, but it splits neatly into 2 fishing hubs with a few quieter spots around them.

Herradura and Los Sueños

Playa Herradura is a curved bay a few minutes north of Jacó, and the Los Sueños resort and marina fills its northern end. This is the bigger-boat side of the zone: rows of 40- to 60-foot sportfishers with tuna towers, many of them fishing the Triple Crown every winter. The beach next to the marina is a second departure point. Smaller center consoles anchor off the sand, and the captain or a water taxi ferries you out from the shoreline. Many of the independent captains you'll find on booking sites work this way.

Jacó

Jacó is the surf and nightlife town just south of Herradura, and it's where many anglers sleep. The fishing doesn't happen from Jacó's beach, though, apart from a couple of kayak guides. Most Jacó tour offices book boats at Los Sueños or off Herradura beach and arrange the short ride north. Our guide to fishing from Jacó has more on the town. Two booking offices we list are Jaco Tour Sportfishing, in central Jacó, and Fishing Charters Costa Rica, which lines up boats at Los Sueños, Jacó and Quepos side by side.

Tárcoles, Caldera and the inner gulf

North of Herradura, the coast turns into the mouth of the Gulf of Nicoya. The Tárcoles River, famous for the huge crocodiles under its highway bridge, meets the sea here, and so does the Mata de Limón estuary beside Puerto Caldera. This is local fishing rather than charter country: families cast from the banks at the river mouth on weekends, and small boats work the brown water for snook, jacks and ladyfish. It's the closest saltwater fishing to San José, but you'll mostly be on your own.

Quepos

Quepos is a working port town about an hour south of Jacó, and it has one of the biggest sportfishing fleets in Costa Rica. Almost every boat ties up at Marina Pez Vela, on the waterfront, and the town's restaurants, tackle stores and hotels sit within walking distance. Quepos boats reach blue water quickly, which is a big part of why the town has become a tournament hub. See our Quepos fishing guide for the town itself.

Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio is the hillside hotel area above the national park, 10 to 15 minutes from Quepos. It has no dock of its own for fishing. Charters for Manuel Antonio guests leave from Marina Pez Vela, and many crews collect you at your hotel. The park and its sea are closed to fishing, as our Manuel Antonio fishing page explains.

Marinas, docks and boat ramps

Two full-service marinas handle almost all of the zone's sportfishing. Between them they hold several hundred boats, fuel docks, crews and the shops that keep the fleets running.

Los Sueños Resort and Marina

The marina at Los Sueños is now run by Safe Harbor, while the resort around it keeps the Los Sueños name. It has 200 wet slips for boats from 30 to 180 feet, dry storage with valet launch for smaller boats, and a gas and diesel fuel dock. The Marina Village behind the docks has restaurants, bars and shops, so you can eat breakfast, board, and come back for dinner without leaving the property. Most of the big Herradura boats keep their berths here.

Marina Pez Vela

Marina Pez Vela sits behind a stone breakwater on the Quepos waterfront. It has about 250 slips for boats up to 200 feet, a fuel dock, a boatyard and a charter desk that books inshore, offshore and fly fishing trips. A plaza of restaurants and stores lines the shore side. If you book any boat in Quepos or Manuel Antonio, this is almost certainly where you'll meet it, usually around 7 in the morning.

Beach departures and small docks

Herradura Bay is the zone's main beach launch. Smaller boats sit on moorings off the sand, and you wade or take a water taxi out. Ask your captain where to meet, since some use the marina and others the beach a few hundred meters away. Jacó's kayak guides launch straight through the surf. Around Tárcoles and the Mata de Limón estuary, local fishermen keep small boats on the banks, but there's no public marina. Anyone towing their own boat should talk to the marinas first, because neither area has a simple public ramp we could confirm.

The best outfitters on the Central Pacific

How we chose: only on evidence we could check in November 2026. Each one has a working website or booking page, recent dated reviews or reports from 2025 or 2026, named boats and crew, and a clear way to book. Nobody pays to be listed or ranked here. There are many other good crews; the full table further down lists every business we found.

Gone Fishing Quepos

A family-run fleet at Marina Pez Vela whose founder, Carlos Rojas, has worked in Quepos sportfishing since 1999. The 4 boats range from a 28-foot custom center console for inshore days to a 40-foot Luhrs with an air-conditioned cabin, with a 36-foot Cabo and a 30-foot Bertram in between. That spread makes it easy to match a boat to your group. Book through its own website.

Pez Loco Sportfishing

Pez Loco runs one of the larger boats in the Quepos fleet, a 60-foot Viking refurbished in December 2025, from slip E-15 at Marina Pez Vela, plus a 43-foot Viking Express and a 26-foot center console based at Herradura. Its site says plainly that every billfish is released alive at the side of the boat, and that keepers like dorado and tuna are filleted for you. See pezloco.com.

Top Notch Fishing Costa Rica

A single 45-foot Viking at Marina Pez Vela, run by Captain Rolando Gonzales Cruz, who has fished these waters for more than 35 years. The owners bought the boat and its slip in 2022, and the boat can be chartered for the marina's tournaments. It suits groups who want one well-run big boat for a full offshore day. Details on topnotchfishingcr.com.

Quepos Fish Adventure

Quepos Fish Adventure owns its whole fleet rather than booking other people's boats, which means you deal with the people who run the boat. Its boats range from a 28-foot inshore boat to a 40-foot air-conditioned sportfisher, and it's one of the Quepos outfits that runs overnight trips to the FADs far offshore.

Quepos Fishing

Quepos Fishing is a small company with 3 boats at Marina Pez Vela: a 28-foot Rampage for roosterfish days, a 33-foot Dawson, and a 38-foot Bertram Express with an enclosed, air-conditioned bridge deck. Each boat has its own Costa Rican captain, and it was already fishing Quepos when we first wrote about it in 2013.

Adventure Tours Costa Rica

A Jacó tour office (in Barrio Copey, at the north end of town) with a large fleet at Los Sueños, from a 36-foot Hatteras up to a 52-foot Hatteras and several Mavericks. It publishes a Los Sueños and Jacó fishing report twice a month; the latest we read was dated November 1, 2026. It also sells packages that combine lodging and fishing. See adventuretourscostarica.com.

Jaco Tour Sportfishing

Jaco Tour Sportfishing is a booking office in Plaza Coral, in central Jacó, that matches you with boats from Los Sueños and Herradura beach. It's been trading under the same name and phone number for more than a decade, and it's a handy single contact if you're staying in Jacó and want help choosing between a small inshore boat and a big offshore one.

Snook Sportfishing (Herradura)

Captain Jorge Fernandez was born in the area and has fished it for close to 20 years. He runs a 28-foot Game Fisher center console with twin outboards off Playa Herradura, for up to 4 guests, and his FishingBooker calendar was still taking trips in mid-November 2026. A good pick for half-day inshore trips. Book on FishingBooker.

Fishing Herradura

Captain Randy Delgado has run charters off Playa Herradura for close to a decade, with a center console for inshore and nearshore days. Reviews from mid-2026 mention careful handling of released fish, and the listing notes that billfish and roosterfish are always let go. Expect to board by water taxi from the beach. Book on FishingBooker.

Mangrove Fishing Tours (Quepos)

For something different, this Quepos outfit takes a 25-foot bay boat into the mangrove channels around Isla Damas for snook, snappers and other estuary fish. It's calm water, so it suits families and anyone who gets seasick. It's been on FishingBooker since 2019, with reviews into July 2026. Book on FishingBooker.

Fishing lodges, resorts and good bases to stay

The Central Pacific is a day-trip coast. Unlike the far south, where lodges are built around the fishing, here you stay in a hotel or rental and drive or ride to the marina each morning. We didn't find a lodge in this zone that's run by fishermen in the way that places on the Osa or in Golfito are. Our fishing lodges guide covers those.

Good bases instead:

• Los Sueños itself. The resort has a hotel, golf course, condos and homes, all a short walk or cart ride from the docks. Nothing beats it for early departures and tournament weeks.
• Jacó. Lots of hotels and rentals at every level, 10 minutes from the marina, with plenty to do for non-fishing family members. Some Jacó tour offices sell lodging and fishing together.
• Marina Pez Vela. There are hotel rooms and condos at the marina, the easiest possible walk to the boat.
• Quepos town. Small, practical hotels close to the marina and the restaurants.
• Manuel Antonio. The hillside hotels have the views and the park on the doorstep, 10 to 15 minutes from the marina. Some of them help guests book boats; Tulemar, for one, keeps a page of local sportfishing boats it books for guests.

What's biting on the Central Pacific, month by month

This calendar follows our site-wide season chart, built from MarViva's catch data, FECOP's billfish guide and local charter calendars. Every fish here can turn up outside its best months; weather, water temperature and bait shift things from year to year.

A few local notes: Los Sueños crews say sailfish are caught there in every month, with February the peak. Striped marlin turn up year-round in small numbers. Snapper are at their best inshore from July to December, and roosterfish from November to March. For more on each fish, see our pages on sailfish, marlin, dorado, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, roosterfish, snapper and snook, or the full species guide.

Inshore, offshore and the named fishing grounds

Inshore: rocky points and river mouths

Inshore means within a couple of miles of the coast, and most half-day trips stay here. The targets are roosterfish, cubera and other snappers, jacks, Sierra mackerel and the odd grouper, caught on live bait slow-trolled along rocky points and the edges of river mouths, where muddy runoff meets clear water. Herradura Bay and the points either side of it are the busiest inshore water near Los Sueños. In spring 2026 reports, Herradura crews were finding roosterfish, snapper and jacks on those points.

Off Quepos, the inshore boats work the coast north of town and the river mouths along it. The rocky islands off Manuel Antonio look tempting, but they're inside the national park, so boats fish outside its boundary.

Inshore trips are shorter and calmer, which makes them the usual choice for families, first-timers and anyone short on time. Many crews keep a light spinning rod aboard for casting poppers at roosterfish when they're up on the surface, mostly in the dry season.

The offshore sailfish grounds

The famous Central Pacific billfish water starts where the continental shelf drops away. FECOP's billfish guide puts the grounds at roughly 20 to 40 miles off Los Sueños, a run of 1 to 2 hours, and 15 to 40 miles off Quepos, about an hour's run. Crews troll a spread of hookless teasers and dredges, then pitch a live or dead bait to a sailfish when it rises behind the boat. On a strong day in season, boats raise fish after fish. In the second leg of the 2016 Triple Crown, 43 boats released 1,103 sailfish in a single day.

The same water holds blue marlin, mostly in the green season and again in November and December, and black and striped marlin in smaller numbers. Dorado gather under floating logs and weed lines, especially after rain flushes debris out of the rivers. Yellowfin tuna travel with dolphin pods and under flocks of feeding birds, and wahoo show up around anything floating.

The FADs and seamounts

The longest trips on this coast go to fish aggregating devices, or FADs: floating buoys anchored in very deep water far offshore, where small fish gather in their shade and draw marlin, tuna and dorado. Quepos operators place these trips anywhere from about 60 to 150 miles out, near underwater mountains (seamounts) where the depth changes sharply and bait collects. FECOP's guide notes that a 2014 decree pushed tuna purse seiners 45 miles offshore to protect those seamounts.

FAD trips are overnight, usually 2 or 3 nights on a bigger boat with a cabin: you leave in the evening, fish from first light, and run back through the night. They're aimed at marlin, with big yellowfin a real chance. Several Quepos crews run them, including Quepos Fish Adventure, and some Los Sueños crews offer seamount trips too. They need settled weather, so ask early and stay flexible.

Isla Damas and the Quepos estuaries

Just north of Quepos, the Isla Damas estuary is a maze of mangrove channels, a quiet world of tannin-brown water, roots and crabs. Small boats fish it for snook, snappers (mangrove, red and cubera), small grouper and jacks, usually with live bait or simple hand lines because the cover is so tight. Trips run 4 to 6 hours, and the water is flat, so it's an easy morning for children or anyone nervous about the open sea. You'll often see herons, kingfishers and mangrove crabs, and now and then a tiny silky anteater in the branches.

Tárcoles and the mouth of the gulf

The Tárcoles River drains much of the Central Valley, so its water is murky by the time it reaches the sea. Even so, the brackish mouth draws snook, jacks and ladyfish on the high tides, and local families fish it from the sandy banks and small boats, mostly on weekends. If you try it, remember what lives there: the river has one of the largest populations of American crocodiles in the country, and some are well over 4 meters long. Fish from open banks, keep well back from the water's edge, and never clean fish at the shoreline.

A little farther north, the Mata de Limón estuary beside Puerto Caldera is a calmer mangrove lagoon used by local fishermen. Neither spot is charter fishing, but both are an easy stop for a few hours with a rod if you're driving between San José and the coast. Our freshwater and estuary guide has more on fishing this kind of water.

Protected areas and the rules here

The national rules apply here just as everywhere in Costa Rica; our fishing rules guide covers them in full. The parts that matter most on this coast:

• Manuel Antonio National Park is closed to fishing. Costa Rica's fishing law (Law 8436, article 9) bans both commercial and sport fishing in national parks, and Manuel Antonio's protected area takes in the sea and the islands off its beaches. Boats fish outside the boundary.
• Playa Hermosa-Punta Mala Wildlife Refuge, on the coast south of Jacó, has a marine area with its own management plan, mainly to protect nesting sea turtles. Fishing there is limited, and the rules have been in flux, so check with the refuge office before casting from its beaches.
• The Tárcoles responsible fishing area. INCOPESCA set up a responsible fishing area off Tárcoles in 2011 (AJDIP/193-2011), run with the local fishing cooperative, with zones where some fishing methods are limited. Hook-and-line visitors should ask locally what applies.
• Billfish are always released. Sailfish and marlin may not be kept by sport anglers. INCOPESCA's rules require circle hooks when fishing with natural bait for billfish, and the fish must stay in the water during the release, not be hauled aboard for photos.
• Everyone fishing from a boat needs an INCOPESCA licence. Many crews arrange it; otherwise it can be bought online before your trip. Ask when you book.
• Most crews release roosterfish too, and many limit how many dorado, tuna or snapper you keep. Ask the captain before the trip so there are no surprises at the dock.

For why these rules matter, and how to release a fish well, see our conservation and catch-and-release guide.

Bait, tackle and ice nearby

On a normal charter you don't need to bring or buy anything: the crew supplies rods, reels, lures, bait and ice, and most catch live bait on the way out. If you're bringing your own gear, fishing from shore, or just need line, these are the shops to know.

Herradura and Jacó

• CR Primo Tackle, Playa Herradura: a full inshore and offshore tackle shop and a national distributor, the best stocked near Los Sueños. Updates on its Instagram.
• CR Marine Supply, at Los Sueños and Marina Pez Vela: a marine supply chain with fishing items, cleaning and boat gear. See crmarinesupply.com.
• White Shore Marine, Jacó: marine supplies. See whiteshoremarine.com.

Puntarenas, Caldera and Orotina

• Barracuda Fishing, Orotina: a good range of fishing gear on the road to the coast.
• Ciclo Cabécar, Puntarenas city: bikes plus fishing tackle.
• Coope Brujas del Mar, Puntarenas: a cooperative making handmade wooden sportfishing lures, sold through the marina shops at Los Sueños, Herradura and Pez Vela.

Quepos and Manuel Antonio

• The Pelagic store at Marina Pez Vela: fishing clothing and gear.
• Asoproquepos, Quepos: the local fishermen's association store, with supplies for working fishermen.
• Quepoa, Manuel Antonio: spearfishing gear and a tour desk. See quepoaspearfishing.com.

For the rest of the country, and what to bring from home, see our bait and tackle guide.

Getting there

By air. Most visitors fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) near San José, the closest international airport to this coast. Liberia (LIR), in Guanacaste, is the other option, but it's a longer drive. For Quepos, SANSA and other small carriers fly from San José to the Quepos airstrip (XQP) in about 30 minutes.

By road. From San José, Route 27 runs west past Orotina and then Route 34 heads south along the coast, the same road for every town in this guide. Average drive times:

Traffic out of San José is heaviest on weekday mornings and evenings and on holiday weekends, so leave early. Shuttles and public buses run daily from San José to Jacó and Quepos, and many hotels and charters arrange transfers. For a day trip from the capital, Herradura is the realistic choice. See our trip planning guide for licences, packing and timing.

Where to eat your catch

Having the day's fish cooked for dinner is a long tradition on this coast. We couldn't confirm with 2025 or 2026 evidence which restaurants still do it, so we're not naming any. Here's how it usually works:

• The crew fillets your keepers at the dock (usually dorado, tuna or snapper; never billfish or roosterfish) and bags them on ice.
• Ask your captain which restaurant near the marina is cooking for anglers that season. Restaurants around both marinas have offered this over the years, and the crews know who's doing it now.
• Bring a cleaned fillet, not a whole fish, and call ahead in busy months. Ask how they charge for cooking, and order sides and drinks as normal.
• If you're renting a place with a kitchen, ceviche needs only fresh fish, lime, onion, cilantro and salt.

Weather and sea conditions

The Central Pacific has 2 seasons. The dry season, roughly December to April, brings sunny days, calm mornings and the best of the sailfish. The rainy or green season runs from about May to November, with sunny mornings and afternoon storms. The national weather service (IMN) puts the start of the rains in late April or early May, and September and October are usually the wettest months of the year. The rains usually ease off by late November.

For fishing, that means:

• Morning starts are the rule. Seas are usually calmest early, and in the green season you'll want to be heading home before the afternoon storms.
• Rain brings dorado. Logs and weed washed out of the rivers make floating cover that holds dorado and tuna, so the green season can be very good offshore.
• Rivers run brown in the rains. Inshore water near river mouths gets murky after heavy rain, and inshore fishing can be slower until it clears.
• Swells matter most for beach departures. Big south swells in the rainy months make the surf at Jacó and the beach at Herradura harder to launch from; the marinas are sheltered.

Our weather page has more on the country's climate.

Tournaments in the zone

Between them, the 2 marinas run one of the busiest billfish tournament calendars in Costa Rica, almost all fished on a release-only basis. Even if you don't fish them, they matter for planning: tournament weeks fill the marinas, the hotels and the best boats.

The Pelagic Rockstar drew 117 boats in 2026, and Bisbee's held its first Costa Rica event at Pez Vela the same year. The Offshore World Championship brings teams from around the world each April, each one qualified through a tournament back home. Dates come from the organizers' and marina's 2026 to 2027 calendars and can change, so check before you book. Our tournaments guide covers past winners and how entry works.

Every fishing business in the Central Pacific

This is every fishing business we found operating in the zone in 2025 and 2026, grouped by where the boats leave from. Many small captains work mainly through booking sites, so we've linked the page they use. Businesses we already profile link to our own page. Inclusion isn't a recommendation; check the boat, crew and reviews yourself. Know one we missed? Use our contact page.

Los Sueños Marina and Playa Herradura

Jacó booking offices and beach guides

Marina Pez Vela, Quepos

Estuaries, hotels and agencies around Quepos