Southern Pacific

Golfito, Drake Bay, Cano Island

This region is best known for its wahoo, cubera and roosterfish, but there are also tuna, dorado, sails and some marlin. You will enjoy at the same time the beauty of the virgin rainforest.

Expect to raise a dozen or more sails and likely a marlin or two outside Matapalo Cape during peak season, and plenty of jacks, runners, mackerel, amberjack, roosterfish and big snapper inshore.

There are two modern marinas in Golfito, both offering facilities for transient yachts. Light tackle fishing inside Dulce Gulf, with its profusion of small coves and rocky islets and shoreline, is also good for small barracuda and snapper, corvina and occasional snook to over 40 pounds. Fishing the drop-off outside Matapalo Cape get sails, marlin tuna and other blue water species, and inshore there are roosters that average over 30 pounds, grouper, jacks, barracuda, trophy size Pacific cubera snapper and more. There is also excellent snook fishing inside the Zancudo Peninsula, and further north, at the mouth of the Esquinas River.

SEASONS

Marlin: August through December is the peak season, but an occasional striped, blues and rare blacks may be taken most any month if the water temperature is up.

Sailfish: A few taken off and on year round with the best fishing from December through March. It often slows from April into early June, then picks up again and peaks in August and September.

Tuna: Best fishing for the100 pound and up yellowfin corresponds with marlin and sailfish season, but the schools of up to 30 pound tuna can nearly always be found outside range are taken every year.

Wahoo: Not abundant in this area but occasional fish may be taken most any time of the year while trolling offshore for billfish or around the structure off Matapalo Cape.

Dorado: Best runs are traditional from late May through October, when the rivers are running full.

Roosterfish: The region is famous for its big roosters and they can be caught virtually any month of the year.

Snook: All year, but best from mid or late May through July and in January and February.