Crocodile Bay Sport Fishing Fleet
Our fleet is comprised of 33 and 35 foot Strike Tower boats. We also have 24 and 25 foot Boston Whaler Outrages.
All of boats have the ability to fish either offshore or inshore because of our generally calm sea conditions.
Fishing Tackle
Our boats are outfitted with Penn International 50’s and 30’s as well as both Penn spinning and conventional gear in 20 and 30 pound outfits. We use Temple Fork Fly Fishing gear on-site but we welcome anglers to bring their own gear if they prefer.
Our Sport Fishing Crews
Most of our crewmembers grew up in the area and know the waters well. Our crews will give you as much or as little help as you want. We want this to be a great experience and communication with your crew enhances your visit here. You will be pleasantly surprised to find an English speaking crew member on your boat as that is not always the case in other fishing operations.
Offshore Fishing
Fishing at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica is world-class with catch and release Bill Fishing in the Pacific Ocean for Sailfish, Striped, Blue and Black Marlin, Dorado, Tuna and Wahoo. We provide a variety of Costa Rica fishing options such as; live bait, trolling, casting, and fly-fishing inshore and offshore.
Crocodile Bay Resort fishing includes all fishing licenses, lunch, drinks (beer and soft drinks), PENN and other high-end gear, live bait, and bilingual crew who have a vast knowledge of the area.
Offshore Fishing Species
Marlin
The “lady in the blue dress” or blue marlin is the most common of our marlin and cruise our cobalt waters all year. They peak in November and December as well as March and April. Black Marlin are most abundant in July and August and few Striped Marlin are around at the same time.
Sailfish
Again year round when a half dozen are common any day of the year. From November to May the numbers increase.
Dorado
Any day of the year, common January through May and very abundant November and December.
Tuna
Yellowfin is the main species. The big boys, those 100 to 300 pounds can test your back any day of the year if you are lucky enough to come across a school of porpoises offshore. The big Tuna swim with them and the feed on the same baitfish. “football size tunas hang around floating debris or peak in schools in July and August and November and December. No wonder the Marlin peak at the same time.
Wahoo
A Wahoo can surprise you any day of the year but are not common in this area.
Inshore Fishing
Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula is one of the most exciting destinations in the world for inshore fishing. After a short 45 minute trip to the mouth of this picturesque golf, you will be ready to chase an amazing variety of inshore species in the comfort of a Boston Whaler or Strike Yacht.
Crocodile Bay Resort fishing includes all fishing licenses, lunch, drinks (beer and soft drinks), PENN and other high-end gear, live bait, and bilingual crew who have a vast knowledge of the area.
Inshore Fishing Species
Roosterfish
The species most sought after is the Roosterfish. Twenty-five to fifty pound fish are very common and we catch a couple over 50 each week. The Resort record for this fish is 106 lbs.
Snapper
We have a dozen different kinds of snapper with the cubera being top dog. They average about 15 to 20 lbs with the biggest to date here 63 lbs. Other bottom fish is the Broomtail Grouper as well as other groupers and the Goliath Grouper. These are pretty tasty.
And many more!
Other species caught inshore include but are not limited to Barracuda, several types of Jacks, Snook, Bonito, Mackerel, African Pompano, Bluefin Trevally, Rainbow Runners, Shark, etc.
Fly Fishing
In offshore fly fishing we use 12-14 wt rods with fast taper and fighting butt. Fly fishing for Billfish does not require long casts, emphasis should be more on the rods as a fighting tool, than casting. We offer quality large arbor fly reels with good line capacity and cork or ceramic drag. Billfish reels are all about the drag, they should hold plenty of line, and have a big enough arbor to allow you to reel line in a hurry. We use Sci-anglers Billfish line, heavy weight forward floating line, or heavy shooting head. For flies we offer Cam Sigler or Rainy’s tandem rigged tube flies and flashy profile flies or similar variation, with popper head. We offer a variety of colors, including pink, blue/white, green/yellow, and black/red.
Leader: 100lb shock tippet, 20lb class tippet; fly line backing, 65-80lb braid.
Kayak Fishing
If you’re eager to claim your catch from a different vantage point, cast your line from a kayak or the shore. From your kayak, you’ll be guided through calm waters to find the perfect destination to cast the shoreline or estuaries for roosterfish, snapper, snook and a variety of other inshore species. Shore fishing places you within reach of your catch as you cast from the shore of the beautiful beaches and long for the eagerly anticipated tug on your line.
Sportfishing Calendar
| January | Tuna, marlin and dorado taper off. Number of sailfish begins to increase. |
| February | Prime time for sailfish. Occassional marlin, tuna or dorado. |
| March | Prime time for sailfish. |
| April | Sailfish numbers drop mid-April and some marlin begin to appear. |
| May | Slower for billfish. Typically we start seeing schools of spinner dolphins with yellowfin tuna. |
| June | Slower for billfish. Spinner dolphins with yellowfin tuna. |
| July | Marlin begin to appear. A chance for black marlin as well as blues and striped marlin. A chance for tuna. |
| August | Marlin and tuna. |
| September | Slower for billfish. A chance for tuna and dorado. |
| October | Dorado begin to appear in numbers with marlin close behind. |
| November | A mixed bag of dorado, marlin and some big tuna. |
| December | Marlin, dorado, tuna and sailfish are all possibilities. |
Monthly Fishing Reports
May 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
Fishing has been full of surprises lately. Some good, some not so good. I always prefer to get the not so good news out of the way first. Sailfish numbers are down. El Nina has peaked and we are on the downside of it, but the result is cooler water temperatures and sails prefer...
May 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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April 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
Strange weather really affected offshore fishing in March 2021. I have seen more rain in this “dry season”, dropping surface temperature and causing a big wad of sailfish to move north early this year. There were a few really good days but the sails just were not consistent. The tuna on the other hand...
April 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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March 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
We finished giving our pier a new look just in time for the crowd that came fishing in February. It was really nice to see that kind of movement again after being held back by restrictions for so long. El Niña played with us a bit during this last month as it is usually clear...
March 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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February 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
January 2021 ended with a beautiful full “Wolf Moon”, and although you would be hard-pressed to find a Wolf in Costa Rica, the friendly neighborhood howler monkeys let anglers know when it was time to rise and shine and head to the boats every morning.
February 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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January 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
December was a tune-up for the season. It was great to see the movement around the resort again and to see some returning friends and meet some new ones. The captains have been itching to get on the water for months.
January 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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March 2020 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
The month started off with a bang, especially inshore when some boats were catching as many as 20 roosterfish a day, above the average of a good day of fishing. Mark Davis was here the first week of the month to film yet another episode of Bigwater Adventures and came out of the gate...
March 2020 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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February 2020 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
January starts and ends with a Bang! New Year's Eve is the only day of the year you will find a traffic jam in Puerto Jimenez. Yet, thanks to a generous neighbor, this small beach town has one of the largest, most spectacular NYE fireworks display in all of Costa Rica. Local people come...
February 2020 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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January 2020 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
The month of December, and especially our Christmas week, is family time here at Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica and our staff, along with the fishing crews, always look forward to this time of the year. Many repeat guests have become more like friends than clients over the years as they bring their...
January 2020 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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