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
October 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
This September carried some amazing weather where our anglers took pleasure in fishing calm waters with beautiful tropical skies. September is usually known as a great month for anglers to target the larger roosterfish and cubera snapper. We had anglers who were able to catch their “trophy fish” after years of fishing for those 60-plus-pound...
October 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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September 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
Inshore, everyone is catching fish. Close to the beach, there are lots of light tackle roosters in the 8 to 15-pound range, as well as jack crevalle. If you work areas like Matapalo, some bigger roosters up to 50-pounds have taken baits. Plenty of snapper and other bottom fish action. Some grouper have been taken...
September 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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August 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
Last month I reported that the marlín were starting to move into our area. If you ask my wife she might not agree, but I sometimes get it right. It is all a part of better marine management here in Costa Rica. For the last 6 years, the tuna purse seiners have been moved off...
August 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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July 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
Fishing has improved offshore marlín have started moving into the area in recent weeks. As we move further into July and August we should see it get even better. This is the time of year that some black marlin, as well as the blue, move through our waters. Two scientists from Stanford University spent a...
July 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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June 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
Have had a little flurry of sailfish lately as well as marlín offshore. As we move closer to July and August we will get our “summer” marlin season. Most of the year we see blue marlin, but this time of year some black and striped marlin will be cruising the local waters. Dorado won’t be...
June 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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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 a...
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 were...
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 skies,...
March 2021 - Costa Rica Fishing Report
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