October, 2017 – Costa Rica Fishing Report

12 Oct 2017

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Costa Rica Fishing Report out of Crocodile Bay Resort – October 12, 2017 . This past month we were joined by Mike Haunton and Andrew Majury from Canada. They fished with us for five days. The bite was a little up and down but they ended up releasing fifteen roosterfish one day and another day they landed thirteen snappers. Mike and Andrew really enjoyed having fresh fish for dinner every night. Even on the slower days they managed to bring something back for the table, including grouper, African pompano, margaritas and snapper. They ended up landing sixty seven fish in five days.

In case you have been following our Gray Fish-Tag Project in cooperation with FECOP – Here is a video update on the first electronic roosterfish tagging project of it’s kind anywhere in the world out of Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica.

We are not very busy with guests right now as it is our off-season, but this gives us a chance to do some much needed maintenance on the boats. It takes a lot to keep this “fishing machine” running, and now is the time of year when we can catch up on all the “to do list” items. We are working very hard to be ready for another great year. We have already started seeing dorado which is a good signal that the marlin are not far behind. The Inshore fishing continues to be very good. There is plenty of bait around and hungry roosterfish and snappers have been in good supply with a Pompano here and there. Most days you will not see another boat on the water. It is always nice when you have all the spots to yourself.

Our most recent guests the Hubers enjoyed a little of everything catching and releasing lots of roosterfish, dorado and tuna. Here are some photos from this past week courtesy of the Huber family including some great humpback whale footage.

If you’re planning a trip to Crocodile Bay Resort over the Holidays, now is the best times to book your flights and reserve your trip with us. Airfare only goes up as time passes. We are currently also running a special for a one day complimentary VIP tower boat upgrade if you book during Christmas week (our gift to you Dec. 20th through 31st, 2017) must book a minimum three day fishing package (upgrade can be booked on any of those three days). Call 1.800.733.1115 for details and mention this fishing report.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Allan Smith

Book Your Crocodile Bay Resort Fishing Trip Today

September 2017 – Costa Rica Fishing Report

14 Sep 2017

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Lights, Camera, Action! – Check out the September “Video Fishing Report” from our guests this past month at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica!

Crocodile Bay Fishing Report September 2017 by Captain Allan Smith – August and September have been good months for roosterfish. If you are in search of a trophy roosterfish, the “Green Season” (April 15 through December 15th) offers some of the best inshore fishing of the year. We have not been seeing as many of the smaller school fish, but the big boys have been around and if you are patient you will be rewarded. Typically, this time of the year is slower for tropical fishing vacations. People are busy with Labor Day weekend and the kids are going back to school. But for those that do come to fish, it is a good time to catch a quality roosterfish. With less people fishing there are less boats on the water and the fish are less pressured. Fishing spots that get a lot of daily attention during the high season may not be fished for days or even weeks at a time. With less fishing pressure, the big fish are less wary and feed more aggressively increasing your chances for that trophy roosterfish.

Inshore fishing has been yielding some nice snapper action as well. We have released several good Cubera snapper and have been catching a lot of yellowtail snappers. A good day on the water is always made better when you bring home a snapper or two for dinner. Jacks and African pompano have been around as well and help keep the rod bent when the roosterfish action slows.

From Dock to Plate: Whole fried yellowtail snapper “Costa Rica” style

Offshore has been a little spotty, but we have had some great days with lots of tuna. It is always interesting to see what the tuna are feeding on. Several days we found their stomachs full of shrimp and another day they were full of deep water crabs. The crabs must swim all the way up from the bottom to the surface to spawn which is quite a distance considering the depths we fish in are between one and four thousand feet. We usually find tuna eating flying fish, goggle eyes or squid, but clearly they will eat almost anything that is available in quantity.

Tight Lines
Captain Allan Smith,
Crocodile Bay Resort
Puerto Jimenez, Osa Peninsula
Costa Rica

Now It’s Your Turn, Book Your Fishing Trip at Crocodile Bay Resort Today

Last Minute Specials – Enjoy vacationing at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica for only $139 per person, per night including ALL meals and accommodations! Vacation must be taken between now and November 6th, 2017 See you in Costa Rica !

Terms and Conditions – special is for new reservations only and includes ALL meals and accommodations. Special does not include applicable tax, International and local flights, or transportation package. Vacation must be taken between now and November 6th, 2017 and offer is not valid in combination with any offers.

February 2017 – Costa Rica Fishing Report

02 Feb 2017

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Crocodile Bay Resort Costa Rica Fishing Report – February 3rd, 2017 – By Fishing Director Todd Staley – True to form after the color change on the trees on the mainland side of the Golf Dulce, the sails appeared in big numbers. Days are offering multiple shots to anglers and have had as many as 19 in the spread in a day. Roosters are staying true to form with a steady bite and dinner size snapper keep the chef busy. The “a picture says a thousand words” is really appropriate as we feature the stunning photos of Pat Ford. Over the years Pat has had more cover-shots than probably any other fishing photographer. He was down with the legendary Stu Apte who at 87 years old is still cranking in multiple sails a day on a fly rod.

Crocodile Bay is proud that Stu Apte and Pat Ford chose our resort to field test Stu’s new line of Signature Fly Fishing Rods – “The Stu Apte Signature Collection”. He was also kind enough to leave us a signed copy of his new book “My Life in Fishing” for information on getting your hands on both the fly rod and the book visit www.stuapte.com. As we mentioned, we were equally honored and excited to learn legendary fishing and wildlife photographer Pat Ford was accompanying Stu to take photos during their stay. For more about Pat Ford visit www.patfordphotos.com

We hope you enjoy the following fishing video featuring Stu Apte and Pat Ford accompanied by Crocodile Bay Resort crew Captain German Bustos and First Mate Anthony Santos.

This February we also had a couple youngsters release their first sailfish which is always exciting. Jay Neely was just down last week with his son 13 year-old John Neely who released his first sailfish. We also had an 8 year old release his first sailfish the week before. Long time guest and good friend Mike Pizzi joined us with his wife Ann and their two kids Finn and Eloise. He has been adamant about getting them involved in the sport of angling at a young age and it has paid off. You may be looking at two future IGFA Hall of Fame members here – This is what it is all about (see photo below).

Crocodile Bay Captain Will Kitsos fished with long time friend Brad Tylman, one of the world’s foremost experts in exotic reptiles from “Brad’s World of Reptiles” – if you haven’t heard of him, check out his website here www.bradsworldreptiles.com. One of the highlights from Brad’s trip down was this hefty Roosterfish.

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

Fishing Legends Descend on Crocodile Bay Resort
Stue Apte has been “aptly” referred to as a fishing legend since the 1964 when he landed the first (recorded) sailfish on a fly weighing in at 134lbs on a 12 tippet pound tippet. But even off the water his life has been the stuff of legends as he was a fighter pilot in the Navy during the Korean conflict. He then spent the next 34 years flying for Pan Am, while pursuing his “Reel Passion of Fishing”. He began fly fishing in the mid 1940s and began guiding anglers in the mid 1950s, in the Florida Keys. Through the years, Stu has held more than 44 saltwater light tackle and fly rod World Records, including the two longest standing saltwater fly rod records. A 58 pound dolphin caught in 1964 and a 136 pound Pacific Sailfish caught in 1965, both on 12 pound tippet. The Stu Apte Tarpon Fly and Stu Apte Improved Blood Knot are standard items. The Stu Apte Tarpon Fly has also had the distinction of being featured on a United States postage stamp in 1991. In 1969 Stu was inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame. In 2003 Stu was the recipient of the prestigious Ted Williams Award and in 2004 for the fifth-year in a row, was the Pro Celebrity Grand Champion of the Backbone Tournament. Stu had the distinction of joining Ted Williams, Curt Gowdy, Ernest Hemingway, Izaak Walton and Zane Grey to name just a few, when he was inducted into the International Game Fish Association [IGFA] Hall of Fame December 11th, 2005.

I was lucky enough to sit with Stu and Pat during their last day at breakfast, talk about their adventures, and get a few of Pat’s amazing photos. Thank you to you both, we hope to see you again soon at Crocodile Bay Resort.

About Pat Ford – www.patfordphotos.com

Pat Ford was born and raised in northern New Jersey, fishing in most every body of water that was available to him. He entered the University of Notre Dame in 1961 where as a communications arts major, he added sports photography to his passions. After graduating in 1965, he entered Columbia Law School in New York City. After being admitted to the New York Bar in 1968, he joined the Navy JAG Corps and was stationed in Pensacola where he began writing for Salt Water Sportsman magazine and several others. When he was transferred from Pensacola to Key West, it became very clear that he was going to spend the rest of his life in Florida. After discharge from the Navy in December, 1972 he moved to Miami and began his law practice, specializing in civil litigation. He has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1983., but for over 35 years now, Pat has continued to fish, take photos and write about his experiences on the water. He has traveled extensively and has held over a dozen IGFA Fly Rod World Records ranging from a 196lb tiger shark caught in Florida Bay to a 14.5 lb tigerfish caught in Zambia, Africa. His first book on his fishing travels was published by STACKPOLE BOOKS in summer 2006. His articles and photos appear regularly in Fly Fishing in Salt Waters, Fly Tyer, Fly Rod & Reel, Sportfishing, Marlin, Florida Sportsman, Destination Fish, Florida Sportfishing, and most every other magazine that covers fishing in either fresh or salt water. Pat presently has an exhibit of his photos on display at the IGFA in Dania Beach, Fl.

Photos by Pat Ford for more visit www.patfordphotos.com

Photo by Pat Ford

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Photo by Pat Ford

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January 2017 – Costa Rica Fishing Report

17 Jan 2017

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January 16th Fishing Report – Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica by Todd Staley, Fishing Director – I think for a time the hair can stop falling out of my head. Across the Golfo Dulce each year I look for the forest to explode in a bloom of florescent yellow from a tree I don’t even know the name of. All I know is when it happens the sailfish are here in good numbers. Usually this happens in early December. It finally happened last week and just like I have been seeing for the last 18 years, the population of billfish increased within days.

Photo courtesy Janina Schan Green Life Volunteers. Make a difference

The fish are not here in giant numbers yet but most everyone is getting multiple fish in the teasers and a few marlin are cruising around the current lines. Top fish this week went at around 500 lbs.

Here is a great sequence of Lydia and Mike Baker with 1st Mate Mao Alvarado and Captain Melvin Sanchez showing an exciting marlin catch and release. Thanks for the photos Mike!

The Release

Pictured above Capt. Melvin and Guest Lydia savoring the marlin moment

You’ve seen the photos, now watch the action in HD – New Video – Marlin Release
New Marlin Release Video at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica

Inshore continues to be a sure bet with lots of snapper over the reefs, roosterfish running the beaches and African pompano, jacks, amberjacks and Bluefin trevally in the mix. Several boats have logged numbers of a dozen to over 20 roosters a day.

As a highlight the humpback whales from the North are starting to appear in our backyard with their calves.

Photo by Bryce Johnson

Paul Steven’s group traveled across the pond from the UK to visit us and experienced a good sailfish bite offshore and plenty of ravaging roosterfish inshore. Thanks for making the trip down guys! We hope to see you again next year

Image may contain: ocean, sky, outdoor, water and nature

Image may contain: one or more people, ocean, sky, outdoor, water and nature

Crocodile Bay was featured this past weekend on The Outdoor Channel’s Big Water Adventures with Mark Davis, and this trailer gives a great overview of the exciting offshore fishing action at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica. For show times and schedules check out www.bigwateradventures.com

Sashimi Time! – Alison B. with a nice yellowfin tuna this week. These fighters will deep dive and test your lower back; but not to worry, we have a 5,000 square foot luxury spa waiting for you when you return from your exciting day on the water.

More Fishing Action from the New Year

Crocodile Bay Resort – Costa Rica fishing report – December 31st by Todd Staley, Fishing Director – Seems like reading the same chapter over in a book except it is getting a little more exciting with every page turn.

Offshore is still a hunting game with little return except a sailfish here and there and a marlin here and there. The most consistence action is when coming across a pod of dolphin offshore, the tuna will be below.

The yellowfin tuna that cooperate as of late are 50 and 60 pounders with much bigger fish hooked and lost.

Inshore is still producing roosters, snappers, jacks, African pompano and bluefin trevally. Deep droppers are getting smaller grouper along with some tilefish. The first of the humpbacks from the north have appeared a little early giving anglers and eco adventure folks a bonus to their time on the water.

Many of our guests become good friends over the years and the Gorup family is no exception. Sadly I say the big fisherman in the sky took Daryl Gorup home after a two year battle with cancer. Daryl you will be sorely missed here but always remembered.

Baby Blue Year: Tom Boswell and his daughters had an amazing experience at Crocodile Bay Resort New Year’s Eve day with daughter Meghan releasing a marlin with dad and Rachel rounding up the roosterfish inshore! See photos including an awesome marlin release below.

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

Costa Rica Fishing Report – September 2016

08 Sep 2016

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Who do you love? Jordan is not shy about her love for this cute little snapper(pargo)

By Todd Staley, Fishing Director – Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica September 2016 – Inshore has been the saving grace lately as the regular menu of roosterfish, snapper, jacks, African pompano, mackerel, and needlefish as long as your leg have been entertaining guests.

There are at least a dozen pair of mama and baby Humpback whales in the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) right now and inshore anglers as well as those headed offshore are pausing from fishing to witness this “Discovery Channel” type event.

New Humpback Whale Video

A Humpback whale and her calf greet Bob George and his wife Debbie for their 31st Wedding Anniversary at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica.

You might witness nursing babies which is always a maternal wonder that leaves people awestruck. The fun part is to watch breaching school. Mom stays close by while the babies practice jumping. Even the little guys move a lot of water when this happens. When mom decides to do a demo and nearly 60 feet of animal clears the surface – the whitewater return can be seen for miles.

Bob George VP from world famous Buck Knives is down with his wife Debbie. After catching 13 roosterfish, 3 jacks, an African pompano, and a huge needlefish in one day she decided this was fun enough to go back out and do it again.

Jeff and Jordan Cohen had a great run inshore catching and releasing a variety of inshore fish species including roosterfish, snapper and more.

Offshore, tuna ranging from 20 to 80 pounds have been doing the majority of the string stretching and supplying fresh sushi, sashimi, and tuna steaks. It is really good but this ole redneck has never mastered eating with sticks. Never been graceful. A few sails and a marlin here and there pop up in the spread but for now it is yellowfin tuna.

Guest Testimonial of the Month

Joe, We Had THE BEST TIME OF OUR LIVES!
Glad it was low season. We pretty much had the resort to ourselves…My husband had a good time talking and swapping stories with Todd and Allan. We didn’t want to leave… Todd and Allan made it a point to sit and chat with us every time they saw us. Everyone became our best friend. Now, I want to quit this desk job and move to the Osa. It ruined me. The place was magical. We will be returning again soon.
Thanks so much, Marie

Thank you for the kind words Marie, we hope to see you back at Crocodile Bay Resort soon!

Todd Staley,
Fishing Director
Crocodile Bay Resort
Puerto Jiménez
Osa Peninsula – Costa Rica

Book Your Costa Rica Sport Fishing Vacation and Eco Expeditions Today!

Costa Rica Fishing Report – October 2015

21 Oct 2015

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Costa Rica Fishing Report, October 2015 by Todd Staley Fishing Director

Todd Staley, Fishing Director

“Your patience shall be rewarded”. Don’t know how many times I have said that lately when it comes to offshore fishing. Everyone who ventured offshore lately has managed to add a marlin to their bucket list. Not really big fish, 200 to 300 lbs but a lot of drag burning energy none the less. Trent Schloneger and fishing buddies John Kerzan and Craig Bast scored a feisty 250 lb fish. They and everyone else here opted to stay inshore where if you listened closely you could hear the band “Deep Purple” because as of late it has really been “Smoke on the Water.”

Rick Sands down by himself from Canada boated 30 fish on a day inside including a dozen roosterfish one going 60 lbs, snapper and jacks. Norm and Karen Hart fished nearby waters and every picture tells a story as to how things went for them.

We have seen a few dorado coming to the baits and Sands even took a nice one jigging inshore. Hopefully that’s an indicator of the normal pattern for this time of year and things will only pick up from here. Todd Staley has been writing “The Direct Line” Costa Rica fishing reports for Crocodile Bay since 1999.

Read this Month’s New Fishing Feature by Todd Staley
“”It’s Not Always About The Fish”

One of the most exciting days of fishing I ever had was in a lagoon in Nicaragua accessible only by passing through myriad rivers and creeks on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. That day, Mike Holliday and I hooked more than 60 tarpon on casting plugs. We tired of tarpon and went to the beach to cast for snook. The tarpon wouldn’t leave us alone. We were hooking them from shore. I watched as Holliday played and eventually landed a respectable tarpon from the beach with a fly rod. That was nearly 20 years ago. Read the Full Fishing Feature Here