Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica – A Great Family Fishing Destination
Costa Rica Family Fishing Destinations: Crocodile Bay Resort by Todd Staley
The little Cessna rolled to a stop on the airstrip at Barra del Colorado. Out stepped a man and a young boy around 10 years old. “Welcome to Rio Colorado Bob”, I said. With a stern look he replied, “I prefer to be referred to as Dr. So and So.” I fed them breakfast and sent them out fishing. Later I saw the boat headed back in early and thought the poor kid probably got sea-sick.
We got the hook removed without too many tears, but the kid had no desire to head back out on the water to chase tarpon with dad. I told dad he would be ok here at the lodge and thought to myself, I wouldn’t want to spend all day in a boat with that guy either. A while later I grabbed a couple of small spinning rods and the two of us spent the afternoon catching little snook, roncadors, and machacas off the dock. The kid was in heaven.
Twenty-five years later and I have entertained hundreds of families with kids fishing. The last 18 years at Crocodile Bay. Costa Rica is God’s place on earth to spend family time. Jungles, waterfalls, beaches and volcanos are all close to each other. Fishing should never be overlooked as family activity. Crocodile Bay is the perfect place to introduce your kids to the sport or just enjoy the hobby together. With the world moving fast-forward with fast food, single parenting, and electronic babysitting, family time seems to get scarcer and scarcer.
Mike Pizzi began fishing with us fifteen years ago and has since become a good friend. I have fished him as a single guy, while he courted his wife and again just recently as a family man. As a single guy he always had me in stiches but was not the luckiest of anglers. Although over time he caught many good fish, the grand prize of offshore fishing, the marlin had eluded him. We were sitting one night at happy hour when an elated customer who had never fished before began telling me all about his 500 lb marlin. Pizzi told him how much money he has spent to date chasing a marlin and directed the man to a fiery place where believers say is somewhere below the surface of the earth and people who live unsaintly lives go when they die. The first time Pizzi brought his wife Ann, who was then his girlfriend, she caught two marlins.
Today the Pizzi’s have been married 10 years and travel here once or twice annually with their daughter Eloise 8, and son Finn who is six. The kids each started fishing before their 4th birthday and refer to me as “Tio Fish”, Uncle Fish. They both have become quite the little anglers. Dad introduced then to fishing the correct way.
Rule #1. When you take a youngster fishing it is their day not yours. It is all about them, not you. If you take them out in the hot Costa Rican sun to watch dad or mom catch a big fish, you really haven’t accomplished much. As we know children have a short attention span, and need to be kept busy. In fishing they need action and fish small enough to entertain them, not scare them. Pizzi started his kids out catching bait. They could only handle a few hours on the water when they were small and by catching sardines and goggle-eyes, Pizzi accomplished two things. He showed them fishing was fun and had plenty of bait to use the next day while mom took them to look at monkeys.
By her Eloise’s 6th birthday, the kids had enough experience to tackle a full day on the water soaked in sunscreen and were ready for bigger quarry. Bottom fish like small snapper and triggerfish are in great abundance and it kept them busy while also teaching them about catch and release.
Then they were ready for something more challenging that took a little more patience. They started to chase small roosterfish and little yellowfin tuna. By now they were beginning to learn how to play a fish, not fight them and mom and dad were having more fun watching Eloise and Finn than if they were catching fish themselves. This year it was time for the big leagues.
I often have people call me before they come and ask if their 12 or 13-year-old child can catch a sailfish. I tell them they are a few years behind schedule. Sailfish are the perfect fish for a youngster, with close supervision and just a tad bit of help of course. First it is a giant of a fish compared to the size of a small angler and it cooperates very well. Sailfish make one powerful and amazing run putting with an acrobatic show not soon forgotten. Then they kind of just settle in near the surface. With a little support on the rod and the backing down with the boat of a capable captain, a relatively small child can catch a big fish.
Show and Tell will be a little more exciting for Eloise and Finn this year as they both caught their first sailfish. With all the crazy other stuff they did like chasing lizards, monkeys and crocodiles they had a great vacation. The tears in their eyes as they did not want it to end when the left made it all worth it. Mission accomplished mom and dad. Mission accomplished Tio Fish, and mission accomplished, Crocodile Bay.
Book the Family Fishing and Adventure Vacation of a Lifetime at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica
Costa Rica Fishing Report – January 2018 by Captain Allan Smith – December is a fun time of the year at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica. The kids are on vacation and we get a lot of families down for a fishing holiday in the tropics. As someone who grew up fishing with my dad and my uncle, I have always appreciated the way fishing brings families together. Fishing is a great way to spend time with your kids and is well away from the distractions of the television, the cellphone and video games. It creates a shared experiences in a natural environment and is universal between generations. It is not simply about the fish on the end of your line but about the people you are with, the places you go, the new friends you meet, and of course the chase of an illusive prize. 
December was a good month. The fishing was just like it is described in the 
Currently, there is a young man here named Joe Dalsey, who has been coming to Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica with his mom for the holidays the past two years. Joe reminds me of myself at his age. He fishes all day on the water, then gets off the boat and starts fishing at the pier. Joe has caught a lot of fish at the pier since he first started coming here. He has landed multiple snappers, jacks, a 30″ snook and a 45+ pound roosterfish. It is wonderful to see a young man so enthusiastic about fishing. The other day Joe was out fishing with his mom when they hooked into a 120lb tuna on light gear. It was a big fight and though the mate suggested Joe use a fighting harness, Joe wanted to fight the fish “mano a mano”. This was a fish that would have put a lot of seasoned anglers in tears, but it was no match for Joe. After a grueling two hour fight, the yellowfin tuna was finally landed. 
We also had the pleasure of fishing with the Faulkner family of Vic, William and Sherry from the UK. They had a couple of excellent days of inshore fishing, including one day when they released thirty three fish, including ten roosterfish, eleven Jacks, and ten African pompano. They got into dorado as well, but found them inshore, swimming around Matapalo rock, at the entrance to the gulf. Matapalo rock, is one of those amazing spots where you can literally catch almost any species available in the region. Besides holding roosterfish, jacks, pompano, trevally, amberjack, grouper and a variety of snappers- Matapalo sometimes holds pelagic fish like dorado and yellowfin tuna and even the occasional sailfish. It is one of those rare spots that when you hook a fish you don’t really know what it is until you see it.
There have been a few big roosterfish coming in as well. Richard and Mallory White were recently here celebrating their honeymoon. They were mostly here to relax and do some tours, but decided to fish a day as well. Mallory was first up and when she got the bite, it was a hard fighting roosterfish that was estimated at over forty pounds. A little while later, Richard got his chance and it was an even bigger roosterfish. Richard was using lighter tackle making for a challenging battle. When the fish finally came to the side of the boat, it was estimated at well over fifty pounds.
November is one of my favorite months at Crocodile Bay Resort. Historically the dorado are running around like rats and of course marlin are behind them looking to munch down a few. Schools of football size tuna appear and are also a favorite snack of marlin. If the spinners or spotted dolphins pass by bigger yellowfin and bigeye tuna will be traveling below them. In short, November is a good month to knock a marlin off the bucket list. Sailfish will start moving into the area in larger numbers but it is still a month to six weeks before the big numbers are cruising the local waters.
Set up the rod so that it is ready to pick up and cast. I like the rod to be suspended in a horizontal position off the deck. The easiest way I have found is to have a 5 gallon bucket with about 2 inches of water in it placed far enough forward from the stern and as close to the rail as possible, to allow passage while waiting for the fish to attack the teaser. Let the rod rest with the reel suspended over the bucket and with the rod tip on the transom protruding no more than 2 feet astern.
