Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica Fishing Report
August 2015 by Todd Staley

Todd Staley, Fishing Director Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica

The inshore fishing has really been something to crow about. While offshore has been for the patient angler, inshore has been pretty much wide open. Roosters are crowing all day long and some nice snapper and other inshore smorgasbord has kept anglers busy.

The pictures will tell most of the story as our ace Will Briegel lays this report out in the magical way that he has, but here is a short recap.

Lorrie Potts with a nice roosterfish at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica

Lorrie Potts gave the boys a fishing lesson in the Travis West group as she took 8 roosters out of the 21 they landed in a day fishing the coastline. Conner Scherer made a fantastic recovery from a queasy day on the water to catch a hen house full of roosters fishing with his grandparents Lewis and Mari Ann.

Elizabeth Bigley won her trip on the Wheel of Fortune and had some great inshore fishing

Elizabeth Bigley who won her trip here on Wheel of Fortune didn’t have to buy a vowel to catch a mixed bag of inshore species on a half day trip with her friend Kristen Mattern. They spent most of the week doing a variety of eco tours but they weren’t going to escape me by not doing a day of fishing.

“Quite the Neighbor,” Bob Shaw, a friend I hadn’t seen in a quarter century was down with his wife Pauline and caught some of the biggest “pargo seda” I have seen as well as a bunch of roosters. He knew his day would be good when he took an 8 lb grouper on a tiny gold hook on a bait rig before he started fishing for bigger fish.

Matt Gorup shows off a fat snapper

Joe Lencewicz III caught this 50lb yellowfin on a popper

Matt Gorup is down again with his wife Susan and a group of friends from Peterbilt. The just started a five day trip and we will probably hear more next month but I wanted to show off his monster snapper from a previous day.

The Lencewicz men, Joe III, and son Joe IV have been hanging tough offshore every day. They have had a couple shots at marlin that didn’t connect as well as sailfish, but this nice tuna pictured was not escaping when the tossed a popper in front of his nose.

Most anglers are getting a treat of seeing the humpback whales that are now in the Gulf with their calves.

New Drone Video of Humpback Whale and Her Calf Shot This Past Week at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica

Joe Lencewicz III with a nice yellowfin tuna he caught on a popper this past week

More guest photos from August at Crocodile Bay Resort

Bob Shaw with a nice pargo seda (wax snapper)

 Bob Shaw’s surprise grouper on a bait hook

Ryan Downey with a nice cubera snapper

Peter Mazzoni holds on to a feisty roosterfish before release

Reserve Your Dream Fishing Trip at Crocodile Bay Resort Today!

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The Direct Line Fishing Report by Todd Staley

School is getting out this month and we will start to see lots of families around here. Speaking of school, the first big school of spinner dolphins came through yesterday so the yellowfin tuna bite should be good. Now that 44% of Costa Rica territorial waters are protected from purse sein boats when they arrive they won’t be snatched up or chased off quickly.

We just finished filming an episode of a new reality show here for the last 8 days. I can’t say which one it is but there is lots of fishing involved and they got great pictures of some Orcas offshore. The photos will show how much fun it was and I managed to stick a sail with the fly and land it.
Offshore has been a little tough lately with warm water moving in but some sails are popping up and marlin have been found around floating logs. Inshore has been the best bet with plenty of snapper and roosters around. Lots of small roosters but several in the 40 pound range are being caught.

Photos of the film set from this past week at Crocodile Bay Resort

Francine and Robert Schreiber came in the day the film crew left and had the whole resort to themselves receiving house Olimpias’ (the house mom) special king and queen treatment. They also got a boat load of snapper, both cubera, and Pacific yellowtail. Francine took a 40 plus size roosterfish and a sail offshore and still have a couple of days left to fish.

Inshore has been producing a nice variety – Just ask the Schreibers who have released roosterfish, caught a variety of snapper, and sailfish offshore.

Give Dad the Gift of a Lifetime this Father’s Day – A Costa Rica Family Fishing Adventure

Treat Dad to an amazing fishing and eco adventure vacation with family or friends – July through August are historically good months to target marlin and other exotic inshore species like roosterfish and snapper. Check availability here

Summer Vacations at Crocodile Bay – Marlin Fishing

Summer Family Eco Adventures at Crocodile Bay ( we can create eco & fishing combo packages for the whole family)

For non-anglers we offer 30 unique eco expeditions  and a luxury spa making Crocodile Bay a complete vacation destination. Check out our new videos for a sample of what you can expect during your trip to Crocodile Bay Resort including our new kayak fishing and paddle boarding.

Spouse on the House
Back by popular demand, we’re offering our classic “Spouse on the House” Spa Package  this summer season. For every day you fish, your spouse gets a free spa treatment (up to $125/credit per day in the spa)! This special is only available for a short time so call and mention “spouse on the house” to take advantage of this great offer.

Jeri Heiser, owner of Tan Express in Bismarck North Dakota will be joining us at Crocodile Bay Resort for a four night vacation including all meals, three full days fishing on a VIP Strike Tower boat, and an eco adventure tour in Costa Rica’s most biologically intense region. We will be running a new contest for 2015/2016 soon, check www.crocodilebay.com for details.

Links to Crocodile Fishing Report Archives 2001 to 2011

Crocodile Bay Fishing Report – June 2012
By Will Briegel (filling in for Todd Staley, Fishing Director)

Summer Sizzles Inshore this June at Crocodile Bay Resort Costa Rica!

June  has literally been on fire inshore this year with the fireballs in the shape of bright orange cubera snapper plucking poppers from the water like a bunch of kids snatching candy from a plummeting Piñata.

The sailfish have been sticking around in small but consistent numbers this first week in June as witnessed by several of our boats releasing at LEAST one this past week. Two days ago the White family went 4/8 on sailfish and then were rewarded inshore with a large roosterfish and other species.

The Week in Fishing at CROCODILE BAY, COSTA RICA
“The real story has been the sheer variety of fish being released inshore. Amberjack, African Pompano, Cubera snapper to 30lbs, roosterfish to 70lbs, snook to 30lbs,  sierra mackerel, and of course one of my favorite fighters, the misunderstood  and highly underrated Jack! Offshore has seen  just about everything this week including sailfish, dorado and yellowfin tuna 30 to 50lbs. We’re pretty sure that list will include some marlin as we near July and August.”

Joe Vicic and Brian Verba. I had the pleasure of meeting these guys on the 45 minute flight down from Costa Rica’s Capital city San Jose to Crocodile Bay. Some people you just get along with right off the bat and have a feeling they’re going to do well. Verba was vision rambling about sailfish and marlin while Vicic kept his expectations in check and said he would just be happy to get out on the boat and catch some snapper. YEAH RIGHT! The pair turned out to be to be an uncle and nephew duo from Ohio and California celebrating a double birthday with a world class fishing trip.

Their first day inshore fishing must have been like watching an episode of American Pickers as they plucked various undersea species like snapper from their holes on the volcanic basalt bottom of the coast.

Rooster wrangling was next as they hooked a variety of large gallos(roosterfish) from the current lines while live bait trolling. The next few days was more of the same with one offshore day where they raised and released sailfish and caught huge Amberjack and Dorado.

Rock snapper taken shore casting off playa preciosa!

To our delight, we learned that Joe Vicic owns his own custom fly rod shop King Fisher Pacific Co. and puts out one of the strongest and  lightest fly rods on the market.

Check out his site www.kingfisherflyrods.com for more info. These light rods are excellent for travel given weight restrictions on small flights!

Time to plan your summer fishing or adventure vacation!
June through September are excellent months to visit Crocodile Bay  for a variety of reasons. On the sport fishing front, July ushers in the beginning of the mighty Black Marlin season (based on historically  good opportunities in July and August). Black marlin can give anglers the fight of their lives and can make a showing any day in July through Sept.

August and September almost always offer guests a  chance to view  humpback whales on their annual migratory run from the southern hemisphere. They utilize the deep, protected waters of Crocodile Bay’s home, the Golfo Dulce (sweet gulf) to teach their young to hunt and dive.

Great  inshore fishing is just the beginning!
A lot of folks just don’t seem to realize that sport fishing is just the tip of the sailfish at Crocodile Bay, Costa Rica. Our unique geographical location on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula allows your non fishing friends or spouses to enjoy exciting or relaxing eco tours in the surrounding area which is the most ecologically diverse place in ALL of Costa Rica. Enjoy exciting zip-line tours through Costa Rica’s rainforest canopy, walk to or rappel from giant waterfalls, take our mountain bikes or kayaks out for a spin, and enjoy Costa Rica’s best surfing – and whatever you do, don’t miss a visit to our 5,000 square foot luxury Spa rated as one of the best in the country – with over 25 treatments you won’t regret it (including one massage especially for anglers after a long day fighting with a BIG fish!)

Visit our FaceBook page here to see new photos daily and weekly as well as updates about the resort and staff!

Special Note: Welcome aboard to our newest fishing specialist in our California Sales office Brian Wong. Brian specializes in all kinds of salt water fishing techniques and is happy to field fishing questions and help you plan your dream Costa Rica fishing vacation.
See you this summer at Crocodile Bay Resort!

Will Briegel filling in for Todd Staley
Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica
www.crocodilebay.com

Crocodile Bay 2001 Fishing Reports:

Crocodile Bay Costa Rica Fishing Report Archives

December 11, 2001

Something to crow about:
Probably our most popular inshore Costa Rica fishing species is the roosterfish. Its seven combed dorsal fins and iridescent hue, along with its shear power make a combination that has 95% of our anglers spending at least one day of their trip on the calm waters of the Golfo Dulce.

Historically in Costa Rica they have been fished along the beaches and rock formations in the Pacific. We have found they also roam deep into the gulf and hang around the inside reefs and river mouths. Our fleet of “flats” boats allows us to cast for snook in the mangroves on a high falling tide and then fish roosters a few hundred yards away at the drop-off.

We also find them on top of the Tiger reef where sometimes the water is less than 3 feet deep and a larger boat can’t enter this area. While filming with O’Neill Williams, Dave Burkhardt took a fifty pound Roosterfish over this skinny water.

I must repeat last week’s report of Graig Zoly taking 30 roosters in a day. Our average roosterfish is about 15 lbs. Most everyone takes a few over 35 lbs. Dave Vedder from Southwest Flyfishing magazine fished a few hours yesterday after a late arrival. He found a giant school of roosters working within a half mile of Crocodile Bay Resort and bagged a couple over 40 lbs. “In all my years of traveling and fishing, I have never seen a concentration of roosterfish like I’ve found here.”

Offshore it is more of the same with more sails showing up and dorado and tuna stretching lines.

A few marlin are coming up to the teasers but only a couple around 300 lbs. have been landed. The Vernon Sanders family from Missouri had a good outing landing seven sailfish!

Todd Staley
Fishing Director
Crocodile Bay Resort
Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica