Great Low Season Fishing off Los Suenos
Capt. Michael Alligood
June 22, 2018
Los Suenos - Saltwater Fishing Report
Even though we are in June, which is traditionally our "low Season" here in Los Suenos, Costa Rica, we have been having some great fishing over the past few weeks.
Sailfish have been unusually abundant for this time of year. Their usual peak season is January - April which was a little off this year, but over past few weeks we have been getting 8-15 bites a day consistently, about 16-20 miles out along the drop-off at the tip of the bank which sticks out there, which we call the "corner".
More bites are easily possible some days, if you just stay focus on billfish, and don't get distracted in to some of the other fishing opportunities nearby. The sails have stayed in pretty much the same area for a couple week so far, with lots of spotted dolphins balling bait and flock of seabirds chasing them and diving into bait balls.
There has been some occasional marlin getting caught in same area, but not daily for every boat. The marlin numbers are a little off so far, for this time of year, at least in day trip range. May & June is usually very good for marlin here and less constant for sails but it seems that everything has been running a month or so behind this year so maybe they show up soon.
For those up for a multi-day overnight trip offshore. The FADS have been excellent fishing for blue marlin over past month. We have multiple options for fishing these FADS 65-200 miles offshore to experience some of the best marlin fishing in the world.
An unexpected highlight this year is the abundance of mahi-mahi, locally known as dorado. They have been extremely plentiful this past 8 months. It really has been one of the best seasons I have seen for them in at least 5 or 7 years.
Most years we get a peak run in October - December but this year they never really left and we got a big influx of small bailer mahi-mahi almost everywhere over past couple months. They are mixed in with the sailfish on the edge of corner and almost daily there is a trash line or piece of flotsam (floating debris) found somewhere loaded with bailer mahi (2-15 pounds) proving plenty of opportunity for light impact action and bags of meat to take home. There are a few larger ones still around as well.
Yellowfin tuna still remain very consistent further out. Its just a matter of finding the spinner dolphins they travel with, but most day the majority of fleet seems content to stay around the corner and load up on sailfish and mahi.
It's a little easier to find the spinner dolphins and tunas with a few boats looking to cover some area in the search, but is also a tradeoff as it's better to fish on them without too many boats driving over them. But for those that do venture out in each of some tunas , they are often rewarded with plenty of meat for steaks and sushi.
Live bait like small bonitos is often the best trick for larger tunas. But we have recently discovered large schools of cigar minnows out on the corner where the sails have been - which are easy to catch and much easier to keep alive and take to the schools of tuna and work very well.
The inshore fishing has been very good as well. There are lots of bait (blue runners) around in Herradura Bay where Los Suenos marina sits - the most blue runners I've seen in years. All the bait makes the insure fishing a lot easier.
Rooster fish and jacks have been very plentiful on the rocky points at either side of Herradura Bay, or on far side of Jaco. And lots of days the mahi-mahi can be found a few miles out from there on a current edge or trash line.
A little further out in the 200-500 ft. range has been very good for meat fishing for various types of snapper, grouper, rosefish, and some other edible species.
May - October is considered the "low season" or "green season" because it does get rain unlike the extremely dry high season Jan.- April. But we have only got in rain while a few short times over past 2 months. Most days start sunny and get progressively cloudier as days goes on and most clouds build up over land, leading to a couple hours of rain in the evening and a nice sunny morning the next day.
The days that do start off ugly usually turn into a beautiful afternoon. It's actually nice to have some cloud cover and slightly cooler temps. And if you are visiting here there is way less crowd and better deals on lodging this time of year.
Please check out our Instagram and Facebook pages for more pics and up to date reports. Give me a call to answer any questions or help plan your next trip.
Until next time, Tight lines!
Captain Michael MJ Alligood
www.EpicFishingCostaRica.com
[email protected]
US call 561-459-5355 (with voicemail)
CR cell and text 011-506-8718-2357
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