Costa Rica Fishing Report, May 2018
Crocodile Bay Resort Fishing Report May 2018 – by Allan Smith, Fishing Director Greetings from the Tropics, It has been an interesting couple of weeks with some very noteworthy catches. Rick Miller and his adult son Rick Jr. were down last week. They won the trip at an IGFA auction. They spent their first few days inshore chasing Roosters, then decided to make a change and see what was happening offshore. After a couple hours trolling, they were surprised by a very large Black Marlin. Rick Jr. fought the fish on stand up gear for two and a half hours before finally landing the brute. It was an unusual catch in that we don’t see many Black Marlin, and the ones we do see are usually caught in July or August . Congratulations to Rick on a hard fought battle and a great catch.
More Video Fishing Highlights From This Past Month at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica!
Tara Whitehead is another angler who was surprised this week. Tara and her husband Jason are here fishing on their honeymoon. It was their last day fishing and they were hoping to finish up with a few more Roosters, when Tara hooked 100lb +Tarpon on a live sardine. It was a grueling, almost two hour fight, but finally the mate was able to grab the leader and release the fish. Though Tarpon are commonly caught on the Atlantic side of Costa Rica, they are rare in the Pacific. We catch just a few every year that have crossed from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal. Congratulations to Tara, she is now part of a small group of anglers that have landed Atlantic Tarpon in the Pacific.
Great slow motion video of Tara’s 100lb +Tarpon – Will somebody check this tarpon’s passport?
Pictured above Jason Whitehead with a hefty roosterfish
Christine Basset, is another angler who brought her lady luck down and landed a beautiful 65lb + Dorado. Though we catch many quality Dorado, Christine landed a real trophy.
May 1st marks the one year anniversary of my running the fishing department at Crocodile Bay Resort. I would like to thank the captains, mates and mechanics for all of their hard work. We have a great team at Crocodile Bay and when firing on all cylinders, they make my job easy. I would like to also thank all of our great guests this year. Meeting with you and hearing about your experiences on the water is the best part of my job. My responsibilities do not allow me to fish very often, but I do live vicariously through you and your wonderful stories. Thank you all for a great year.
Tight Lines,
Captain Allan Smith
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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. 
flies to the dorado swimming around the flotsam. It is not uncommon to have two or three fish hooked up at once.
The yellowfin tuna action has continued and though we don’t see them every day, when we do, the sushi bar has been well stocked. We are starting to raise more Sailfish now and our captains have to stay on their toes, “Is that a sailfish or a marlin behind that lure.”
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.
Marlin: The majority of marlin taken here are Pacific blue marlin, though occasionally a black or a striped marlin are taken as well. Blues peak from November to January when the big Dorado run is on. There is also a small peak in April as sailfish numbers drop. July through September there is a better chance at a black or striped marlin mixed in with the blues.
Costa Rica Sailfish: Again there is a year round opportunity for 
Dorado: Dolphinfish, Dorado, Mahi Mahi (Mahi translates to “Strong” in Hawaiian) – whatever you prefer to call them run really thick from November through January and occasionally in February – averaging 20 to 40 lbs. We take Dorado year round but not in the same numbers as the months listed above.
Tuna: Yellowfin and Big Eye tuna can pass through any day of the year especially if the spinner or spotted dolphins are present. Football size tuna schools seem to appear every December. A new decree in Costa Rica has protected 44% of territorial waters from tuna purse seine activity.
Wahoo: They can surprise you any day of the year and are even sometimes taken inshore when the water is clear. Wahoo is not a prevalent species, but anglers are very happy when they are caught as they are a great fighting fish and make excellent table fare.
