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Sportfishing Costa RicaN 9°56′ · W 84°05′

Fish species

The game fish of Costa Rica's Pacific and Caribbean coasts: where each one lives, when it runs, and how crews fish for it.

Start here: the complete guideCosta Rica Fish Species: The Complete GuideCosta Rica's sport fish fall into a dozen families, from billfish and tuna offshore to roosterfish, snapper and grouper on the Pacific rocks, tarpon and snook on the Caribbean, and guapote and trout in fresh water. Sailfish and marlin are released by law and crews release roosterfish and tarpon too, hammerhead sharks are protected, and most other fish can be kept within a limit of 5 per trip.

Guides

An almaco jack swimming over a reef in blue water, showing its deep body and dark band through the eye
Fish speciesAmberjack (almaco jack, medregal) in Costa Rica: where, when and howThe amberjack Costa Rican crews catch on the Pacific is the almaco jack, or medregal, a deep-bodied, hard-pulling fish of rocky…
A blue marlin lit up with pale blue bars, hunting through a scattered school of small silver baitfish in deep blue water
Fish speciesBlue marlin in Costa Rica: where, when and how they're caughtBlue marlin are caught off the whole Pacific coast of Costa Rica, best from about May to September and again in November and…
Calm blue water in the bay at Playas del Coco in January, with sportfishing boats at anchor and dry golden hills on the headland
Fish speciesFishing in Costa Rica in January: what's biting on every coastJanuary is the start of sailfish high season on the central and southern Pacific and one of the best roosterfish months on the…
A humpback whale leaping almost clear of the deep blue Pacific off southern Costa Rica, one long white flipper raised
Fish speciesFishing in Costa Rica in July: what's biting on every coastJuly is one of the best months of the year on the northern Pacific, with sailfish, blue marlin, dorado, tuna and wahoo all in…
A spotted cabrilla grouper covered in dark spots with faint dark bands, resting under a rocky ledge
Fish speciesGrouper (cabrilla and mero) in Costa Rica: species, rules and releasing a goliathMost groupers caught in Costa Rica are spotted cabrilla and broomtail grouper on the Pacific's rocky reefs, fished all year by…
A hooked striped marlin with purple-blue fins lit up at the surface beside the boat off Playa Carrillo, Guanacaste, the line still in its mouth
Fish speciesHow a billfish is released properly: circle hooks, the leader, revival and taggingA billfish in Costa Rica is released at the side of the boat without ever leaving the water: the crew grabs the leader and the…
A blue marlin alongside a sportfishing boat in deep blue Pacific water, ready to be released
Fish speciesMarlin in Costa Rica: Blue, Black and StripedCosta Rica's Pacific holds 3 marlins: the blue (by far the most common), the black and the striped. Blues are best from about May…
Late afternoon light on the Golfo Dulce at Golfito, with rainforest running down to the water and boats moored along the shore
Fish speciesPacific cubera snapper (pargo dientón) in Costa RicaThe Pacific cubera snapper, pargo dientón to Costa Rican crews, is the biggest snapper on the Pacific coast and lives on rocky…
Turquoise water of the Golfo Dulce meeting a long dark-sand beach and rainforest on Costa Rica's southern Pacific coast, seen from the air
Fish speciesRoosterfish (pez gallo) in Costa Rica: where, when and howThe roosterfish, pez gallo to Costa Rican crews, lives along the whole Pacific coast all year and is at its best from about…
The sun setting through orange cloud over the Gulf of Nicoya, seen from the forested hills of Monteverde, with the gulf's islands and the Nicoya Peninsula in the distance
Fish speciesSea bass and corvina in Costa Rica: the corvinas, the true basses and the rulesIn Costa Rica, the 'sea bass' on menus and at fish markets is nearly always corvina, a croaker caught in the Gulf of Nicoya and…
A scalloped hammerhead shark swimming in open blue water off Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Fish speciesSharks in Costa Rica: what's protected and what's allowedAll 3 hammerheads and every sawfish are fully protected in Costa Rica, shark finning is banned, and a shark can only be landed…
A yellow snapper swimming in green-blue Pacific water, with yellow fins and tail
Fish speciesSnapper (pargo) in Costa Rica: every species on both coastsCosta Rica has two separate sets of snappers: on the Pacific, the giant cubera (pargo dientón), yellow, spotted rose, colorado…
A freshly caught common snook laid on a pale surface, showing the black lateral line and yellowish fins
Fish speciesSnook (róbalo) in Costa Rica: every species, both coasts, two world recordsCosta Rica has snook on both coasts: common snook and fat snook (calba) on the Caribbean, black and white snook on the Pacific…
A broadbill swordfish lying on the wooden deck of a boat, showing its long flat sword and large eye
Fish speciesSwordfish in Costa Rica: A Rare Catch for Sport AnglersSwordfish live far offshore and deep off Costa Rica's Pacific coast, but most are caught by commercial longliners and a…
A large silver tarpon swimming, its big mirror-like scales and upturned mouth clearly visible
Fish speciesTarpon (sábalo) in Costa Rica: where, when, how and the release rulesTarpon, sábalo to Costa Rican guides, are the Caribbean's giant: fish of 75 to 150 lb and more that live in the river mouths…
An angler on a boat holds up a large bull dorado with its blue and gold colours still bright
Fish speciesDorado (Mahi-Mahi) in Costa RicaDorado, also called mahi-mahi or dolphinfish, are caught offshore along Costa Rica's whole Pacific coast, best from about July to…
A Pacific sailfish kept in the water beside a sportfishing boat off Jacó while the anglers get ready to release it
Fish speciesThe Pacific Sailfish: Costa Rica's Signature Game FishThe sailfish is Costa Rica's best-known game fish, caught offshore along the whole Pacific coast. The Central and Southern…
A wahoo swimming in open blue water, showing its long slim body and dark vertical bars
Fish speciesWahoo in Costa Rica: Speed, Teeth and Great EatingWahoo are long, fast, razor-toothed relatives of the mackerels, caught offshore around islands, pinnacles, seamounts and floating…
Side view of a yellowfin tuna showing its dark blue back, gold side stripe and bright yellow finlets
Fish speciesYellowfin Tuna in Costa RicaYellowfin tuna are caught offshore along Costa Rica's whole Pacific coast all year, and they're the most common tuna in Costa…
A bright green and yellow dorado (mahi-mahi) leaping out of deep blue water on the line off Costa Rica's Pacific coast
Fish speciesCosta Rica Fish Species: The Complete GuideCosta Rica's sport fish fall into a dozen families, from billfish and tuna offshore to roosterfish, snapper and grouper on the…
A humpback whale's tail lifting out of the sea in Marino Ballena National Park, Costa Rica
Fish speciesConservation and Catch and Release in Costa RicaCosta Rica releases its sailfish, marlin and roosterfish because a live fish is worth far more to coastal towns than a dead one…
An angler leans over the side of a boat in Costa Rica to grab the bill of a sailfish beside the hull before releasing it
Fish speciesCosta Rica Fishing Seasons, Month by MonthThere's good fishing somewhere in Costa Rica every month. The central and southern Pacific peak for sailfish from about December…

When they're running

Best months for each fish
FishJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
Sailfish Central and South PacificJanuary bestFebruary bestMarch bestApril bestMay goodJune goodJuly goodAugust goodSeptember goodOctober goodNovember goodDecember best
Sailfish GuanacasteJanuary goodFebruary goodMarch goodApril goodMay bestJune bestJuly bestAugust bestSeptember goodOctober goodNovember goodDecember good
Blue marlin Pacific, offshoreJanuary goodFebruary goodMarch goodApril goodMay bestJune bestJuly bestAugust bestSeptember bestOctober goodNovember bestDecember best
Roosterfish Pacific, inshoreJanuary bestFebruary bestMarch bestApril bestMay goodJune goodJuly goodAugust goodSeptember goodOctober goodNovember goodDecember good
Dorado (mahi-mahi) Pacific, offshoreJanuary goodFebruary goodMarch goodApril goodMay goodJune goodJuly bestAugust bestSeptember bestOctober bestNovember bestDecember best
Yellowfin tuna Pacific, offshoreJanuary goodFebruary goodMarch goodApril goodMay bestJune bestJuly bestAugust bestSeptember goodOctober goodNovember goodDecember good
Wahoo Pacific, offshoreJanuary goodFebruary goodMarch goodApril goodMay bestJune bestJuly bestAugust bestSeptember goodOctober goodNovember goodDecember good
Tarpon CaribbeanJanuary goodFebruary bestMarch bestApril bestMay goodJune goodJuly slowAugust slowSeptember bestOctober bestNovember goodDecember slow
Snook CaribbeanJanuary bestFebruary goodMarch goodApril goodMay goodJune goodJuly goodAugust goodSeptember bestOctober bestNovember bestDecember best
BestGoodSlow