TARPON FISHING IN COSTA RICA TORTUGUERO

Reaching 8 feet and 350 pounds (most go 60-100 pounds), this extraordinary fighting fish is at the top of many fishermens’ lists.

For many years, fishermen from around the world have come to the northern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica for some of the best Silver King fishing in the world.

These beauties are caught year-round in the inshore Caribbean waters off Costa Rica, sometimes in saltwater and sometimes in its rivers.

Costa Rica tarpon commonly travel up the Rio Colorado River that borders Nicaragua and swim all the way to Lake Nicaragua.

Barra del Colorado, Parismina, and Tortuguero are world famous and have many wonderful fishing lodges, great boats, and some of the best guides in the business.

King and Spanish Mackerel, Snook, Tripletail, Cubera Snapper, Jack Crevelle, and Barracuda are commonly caught in the inshore areas while offshore you’ll have great fishing for Atlantic Sailfish, Dorado, Wahoo, and three kinds of tuna.

Prefer surf fishing? Just go to one of the many beaches along the river mouths and estuaries. You’ll find great snook fishing and sometimes wonderful fishing for the Silver King.

Like to troll? A very popular tarpon fishing tactic in Costa Rica is slow trolling plugs and sight casting jigs along the Tortuguero Canals.

Tortuguero is one of the very special places in the world, world-famous for huge sea turtle nesting areas and one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica. By all means, visit it during your trip to Costa Rica.

Never heard of it? Click to check out Tortuguero National Park

Are you a river fisherman?

Though fishermen typically associate them with the salt-water, these magnificent fish travel inland along the northern Costa Rica rivers.

Indeed, for some of the world’s best river-fishing, fish the Cano Negro and San Juan river which runs from Nicaragua through Costa Rica and empties into the Caribbean.

They're pretty remote but the fishing is extraordinary. And there are lots of varieties of fish to catch including 200 pound (or more) Silver Kings and huge Gar.

River fishing like nowhere else! Click here and go to the Cano Negro.

When to Fish Tortuguero Tarpon

Some say that the best tarpon fishing in Costa Rica is March through June and October through November but they’re caught every month. There aren’t any roads to Tortuguero or Barra Corcovado.

You can drive or take a bus (the express buses are very cheap, comfortable, and quick as driving yourself) to Limon (on the Caribbean) and catch a boat.

You can also fly to little airports close-by.

And, of course, most of the lodges will provide transportation or make arrangements for you.

So, whatever your passion, ocean-fishing, surf casting, fly fishing, trolling, there's no place like Costa Rica's north Caribbean coast. Spectacular, unspoiled, remote, great fishing.

Great fishing? Yep. The one-day Silver King record for a single boat stands at 60 (doesn't seem fair does it?).

Oh, this is mostly catch-and-release country.

Pura Vida!

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