Skip to content
Sportfishing Costa RicaN 9°56′ · W 84°05′

9.4° N · 84.2° W

Central Pacific

Jacó and Los Sueños, Quepos and Marina Pez Vela, Manuel Antonio and Dominical, where the sailfish run thickest from December to April.

Start here: the complete guideFishing the Central Pacific: the complete guideThe Central Pacific is Costa Rica's busiest sailfish coast and the closest Pacific fishing to San José, with almost every boat leaving from Los Sueños in Herradura or Marina Pez Vela in Quepos. Sailfish peak from December to April, marlin, tuna and dorado fill the green season, and the rocky points and river mouths give roosterfish and snapper all year.

Charters, lodges and marinas

A blue-hulled sportfisher with a tall tuna tower running fast across calm water past green forested hills near Los Sueños
Jacó · charterAdventure Tours Costa RicaAdventure Tours Costa Rica is a licensed travel agency and tour company with an office in Jacó, and its fishing desk books a list…
Quepos · charterFishing Charters Costa RicaFishing Charters Costa Rica is now a booking service rather than a single charter: it lists about 31 private sportfishing boats…
A white center console fishing boat with a canvas T-top, outriggers and twin outboards, moored in calm green water off Playa Herradura with forested hills and the Los Sueños hotel behind
Playa Herradura · charterFishing HerraduraFishing Herradura is a small charter run by Capt. Randy Delgado, who grew up fishing the waters off Playa Herradura and has taken…
Nauti Ventures, a white 40-foot Luhrs sportfisher with a flybridge and tower, tied stern-in at a floating dock in Marina Pez Vela
Quepos · charterGone Fishing QueposGone Fishing Quepos is a sportfishing company at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, founded by Carlos Rojas, who has worked in the town's…
Crush Em, a white 48-foot sportfishing yacht with a flybridge, motoring past a rock breakwater with anglers and crew on the stern deck
Jacó · charterJaco Tour SportfishingJaco Tour Sportfishing is a booking office in Plaza Coral, central Jacó, that puts anglers on boats leaving from Los Sueños…
Aerial view at sunset of Los Sueños Marina in Herradura Bay, with long rows of white sportfishing boats at the docks and resort buildings on the forested shore
Playa Herradura · marinaLos Sueños Resort and MarinaLos Sueños is a resort community and marina on Herradura Bay, just north of Jacó on Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast. Its…
Anglers with spinning rods on a covered turquoise and white boat in a wide brown estuary channel lined with mangrove forest
Isla Damas · charterMangrove Fishing ToursMangrove Fishing Tours is a Quepos guide service that fishes the mangrove channels and river of the Isla Damas estuary, just…
The waterfront plaza at Marina Pez Vela at sunset, with steps down to a lawn and rows of sportfishing boats in the basin beyond
Quepos · marinaMarina Pez VelaMarina Pez Vela is the big marina on the Quepos waterfront, on Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast, and the dock most Quepos and…
The Pez Loco, a large white Viking sportfisher with a tuna tower and outriggers, tied up at Marina Pez Vela with green hills and a hotel behind
Quepos · charterPez Loco SportfishingPez Loco Sportfishing is a Quepos charter built around one of the biggest boats in the Marina Pez Vela fleet, a 60-foot Viking…
Three Brothers, a white 34-foot custom express sportfishing boat with a tuna tower, leaving its slip in a marina with anglers in the cockpit
Quepos · charterQuepos Fish AdventureQuepos Fish Adventure is a Quepos charter company that owns all six of its boats, from a 28-foot inshore boat to a 40-foot…
Isabella, a white 28-foot Rampage sportfishing boat with a blue canopy and tall outriggers, tied up at a marina dock under a cloudy sky
Quepos · charterQuepos FishingQuepos Fishing is a small charter company at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, on Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast. It runs three…
Snook, a white 28-foot center console with a canvas T-top, outriggers and twin outboards, at anchor in calm Herradura Bay with green islands behind
Playa Herradura · charterSnook SportfishingSnook Sportfishing is a one-boat charter run by Capt. Jorge Fernandez, who was born near Herradura and has fished these waters…
Top Notch, a white Viking sportfisher with a flybridge, tuna tower and outriggers, tied up at Marina Pez Vela under a sky of small white clouds
Quepos · charterTop Notch Fishing Costa RicaTop Notch Fishing Costa Rica is a one-boat charter at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, built around a custom 45-foot Viking with twin…

Guides

Jacó Bay's long curving beach and blue water seen from a forested hillside
Central PacificFishing from Jacó: Los Sueños, Herradura and the sailfish groundsJacó is the closest Pacific fishing town to San José, about 2 hours by road, and its charters leave from Los Sueños Marina or the…
A white sportfishing boat with tall outriggers tied up at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, with green hills and other boats behind
Central PacificSailfish season on the Central Pacific: when, where and howSailfish season on the Central Pacific runs from about December to April, building through late November and usually peaking in…
Dark-sand Dominical beach lined with jungle and palms under a blue sky
Central PacificFishing from Dominical and Uvita: local boats, Quepos charters and the rulesDominical has no harbor, so anglers staying there either drive under an hour north to Marina Pez Vela in Quepos or fish with the…
Local anglers standing with rods on the wide sandy banks of the Tárcoles River near its mouth under a blue sky
Central PacificFishing near San José: the closest places for a day tripThe best day trip for real fishing from San José is a charter out of Herradura or Los Sueños, about 2 hours away on Route 27. For…
Pale-sand beach in Manuel Antonio National Park with a tree-topped rock islet and clear blue water
Central PacificFishing from Manuel Antonio: the park rules and the boats next doorManuel Antonio National Park, its beaches and the sea around its islands are closed to all fishing, so anglers staying in Manuel…
Sportfishing boats docked at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos under a bright blue sky
Central PacificFishing from Quepos: Marina Pez Vela, sailfish and the FADsQuepos has one of the biggest sportfishing fleets in Costa Rica, almost all of it at Marina Pez Vela on the town's waterfront…
Sportfishing boats tied up along the floating docks of Marina Pez Vela in Quepos under a clear blue sky
Central PacificFishing the Central Pacific: the complete guideThe Central Pacific is Costa Rica's busiest sailfish coast and the closest Pacific fishing to San José, with almost every boat…
Angler leaning over the side of a boat to release a sailfish caught in Costa Rica
Fishing chartersSportfishing in Costa Rica: Where and When to Fish, Licences and RulesCosta Rica has two very different fisheries: the Pacific, with sailfish, marlin, dorado, tuna and roosterfish, and the Caribbean…