Another summer is in the books, as is yet another productive green season of fishing in Costa Rica. Because the months of December through April are considered the peak fishing season in Costa Rica, many assume (incorrectly) that by default the months of May to October must therefore be the offseason. Year after year we try to explain that the fishing in the green season is every bit as good as the peak season, sometimes even better, but we know it still takes some convincing. Below is our Costa Rica Fishing Report – Summer 2021 with daily reports and monthly overviews from up and down the Pacific Coast.
May picked up where April left off with a steady, if not fantastic, sailfish bite the first half of the month. Similar to last year’s epic green season bite, the currents had pinned baitfish along the coast of the Nicoya Peninsula. Boats leaving from the Los Suenos Marina that were willing to make a longer run north were able to enjoy some great fishing for a couple of weeks. A few of the Maverick Yachts even hit 20+ releases a few days. Unlike last year however when the borders were closed and few boats fished that biomass, this year it was hit hard and it broke up after just a few weeks. The second half of May offered much lower sailfish numbers in reaction to the bait spreading out. The big dorado action from April cooled off, and while many were still caught they tended to be the smaller schoolies that are common in the green season. Fortunately the yellowfin tuna bite was as consistent as ever so most anglers went home with at least something to eat.
May 1 – Good Day – 1 Blue Marlin + 5 Tuna
May 2 – Satis Fly – 5 sails & 2 mahi
May 3 – Bucket List – 8 for 16 on sails
May 4 – Good Day Too – 5 sails & 8 dorado
May 5 – Satis Fly – 8 sailfish
May 6 – Geaux Fly – 8 sails released
May 7 – Top Fly – 15 sails in 1/2 a day!
May 8 – Good Day – 8 sails + 12 tuna
May 8 – Open Fly – 27 sails + 1 dorado
May 10 – 5 sailfish & tuna
May 11 – Geaux Fly – 9 sailfish
May 12 – Open Fly – 20 sailfish released
May 14 – Good Day – 1 blue marlin, 2 sails, 1 mahi
May 16 – Captain Tom – 6 yellowfin tuna
May 14 – Super Fly – 4 sails and 2 tuna
May 21 – Open Fly – 1 blue marlin, 1 sailfish, 1 dorado, 2 tuna
May 23 – Good Day Too – 1/3 on sails and 7 tuna
May 24 – Gamefisher II – 4/8 on sails, 1/2 on marlin, plus tuna
May 26 – Open Fly – 1 sailfish, 5 tuna, 2 dorado
May 30 – Geaux Fly – 5 tunas
Once we got into June, the green season settled in and the fishing started behaving how we are accustomed to seeing it this time of year. A handful of sails each day usually with yellowfin tuna or small dorado is par for the course. It’s also the best time of year for bottom fishing for species like snapper, grouper, congrio, and amberjacks, so anglers rarely went home without something to eat. We unfortunately did not see quite as many blue marlin in June 2021 as we did in past years, although our buddy Captain Maikel out of Tamarindo did enjoy an incredible five marlin day on June 17! While the boats fishing out of Los Suenos and Quepos had a great start to the month, in June it was easy to see how the best sailfish numbers crept north as the fishing in Guanacaste really turned on.
June 1 – Captain Tom – 8 sailfish
June 2 – Go Fish – 10 for 14 on sails, 1 mahi, and missed a marlin
June 4 – Geaux Fly – 4 sailfish, 3 big tuna, 3 red snappers, 3 grouper
June 5 – Top Fly – 25 sailfish and a wahoo
June 6 – Go Fish – 7 for 9 on sails + 6 yellowfin tuna
June 8 – Geaux Fly – Released 6 sailfish
June 9 – Gamefisher II – 4 for 7 on sails plus a dorado
June 13 – Bucket List – 6/8 on sails plus grouper
June 14 – Bushwacker – 8 sailfish and a mahi
June 15 – Top Fly – 9 Sailfish released today
June 17 – Rhino Charger – 5 blue marlin released
June 19 – El Jefe – 7 sailfish
June 21 – Tiger Fly – 10 sails + 4 dorado
June 22 – Good Day – 6 for 9 on sailfish (sailfish 30 miles out)
June 23 – Gamefisher II – 2 for 2 on marlin + 4 for 7 on sails
June 24 – El Jefe – 13 sails released + 1 mahi
June 25 – Big Eye II – 5 for 10 on sails + 1 mahi
June 26 – Satis Fly – 10 sailfish and 1 mahi
June 27 – Gamefisher II – 10 for 15 on sails, 1 blue marlin plus grouper
June 28 – Good Day Too – 1 blue marlin + 14 tuna
June 30 – Go Fish – 1/2 on blue marlin, 4/6 on sails
July has always been one of our favorite months to fish in Costa Rica, and is arguably the most underrated. The green season bit is well established and in full swing, so everything from inshore to offshore to bottom fishing is going off at the same time. On top of that, every July in Costa Rica there is a nice 2-3 week stretch of gorgeous weather called the Veranillo de San Juan, or ‘the little summer of San Juan.’ This annual phenomenon isn’t exclusive to Costa Rica, it actually happens throughout much of Central & South America. A combination of changes in the Antarctic cold fronts and the Trade Winds makes for an atypical dry season patch in the middle of our green season, hence it’s name “veranillo“. If you can time it right, you’ll get dry season weather and a peak season billfish bite, all while enjoying low season rates and less crowds. You can see in the month of July the day-by-day Costa Rica Fishing Report – Summer 2021 the marlin bite picked up significantly in July, and there were still plenty of sailfish around most days for the Los Sueños fishing charter fleet, but the bite was especially good up in Guanacaste.
July 1 – Captain Tom – 2 sailfish and 3 tuna
July 2 – Gamefisher II – 10 for 14 on sailfish
July 2 – Gamefisher II – 10 for 14 on sailfish
July 3 – Tiger Fly – 10 sailfish, 1 dorado, and some tunas
July 4 – Captain Tom – 21 tuna!
July 4 – Go Fish – 14 for 28 on sailfish, 3 snapper, 3 grouper
July 5 – Gamefisher II – 5 for 6 on sailfish and 2 dorado
July 6 – Bushwacker – 3/3 on marlin and 2/2 on sailfish
July 7 – Gamefisher II – 3 for 5 on sailfish and tuna
July 9 – Sea Fly – 1 blue marlin, 1 sail, 1 mahi, and 3 tuna
July 10 – Gamefisher II – 2/2 on marlin, 2/2 on sailfish, and 2 tuna
July 12 – Gamefisher II – 1/2 marlin, 1/2 sailfish, 5 tunas
July 13 – Go Fish – 20 for 22 on sailfish
July 14 – Wet Ass II – 10 for 14 on sails plus a marlin
July 15 – Satis Fly – 4 blue marlin
July 16 – Sea Fly – 4 blue marlin and 1 sailfish
July 17 – Tiger Fly – 2 marlin and 3 yellowfin tuna
July 17 – Sea Fly – 6 sailfish and 2 tuna
July 17 – Good Day Too – 1 blue marlin, 4 sails, 4 tuna, 2 wahoo
July 19 – Pelagic Pursuits – 4 for 6 on blue marlin and 1/3 on sails
July 20 – Tiger Fly – 4 blue marlin, 1 sail and 1 tuna
July 22 – Gamefisher II – 2/3 on marlin and 3/4 on sailfish
July 23 – Good Day Too – 5 sailfish released and 7 tuna
July 24 – Bushwacker – 7 for 10 on sailfish
July 25 – Captain Tom – blue marlin and 4 sails released
July 28 – Sea Fly – 9 sailfish released
July 30 – Good Day Too – 11 yellowfin tuna
July 31 – Sea Fly – 2 blue marlin, 1 sailfish, 11 tuna
– COSTA RICA – 
– PANAMA – 
– BELIZE – 
– GUATEMALA –