Costa Rica - Pura Vida - MANY PICS!

[Webmaster Jeff]

Just got back from a 2 week vacation in Costa Rica. The first week was mostly business, but the 2nd week was all fun and fishing! Here's the report:


Our first 2 days were spent at the Arenal Lodge which I highly recommend for the scenery and closeness to the lake. The lodge is next to an active volcano but I was unable to see any lava flow because it was too cloudy most of the time. This is the best view I got:

They say you hvae to see it at night time, thats when the lava is visible.

The other thing I wanted to do here was catch a guapote, a sportfish that the lake is famous for. Well I did end up catching a little one but it was tough fishing for those.


The next stop was Flamingo Beach. We got a nice little hotel right next to the playa (beach). After checking in and unpacking, I decided to do a little surf fishing to see if there was anything. I tied on some mini-ripperz and was hooked up on the first cast and almost every cast there-after! There was tons of surfperch and corbina type fish right in the surf.






Then all of a sudden the water erupted in a huge boil! All of the perch and corbinas started jumping out of the water and running into my legs. I knew something big was chasing them so I ran and got my bigger rod and threw out a swimbait. After a few casts - wham! I am hooked up :P




After about a 10min fight that took me all up and down the beach I was finally able to land a 10-pound roosterfish or "gallo".

They are a protected fish here so he went back into the water to fight another day.

The next day we chartered a boat for 5 hours of fishing but it ended up being a 5-hour boat ride with no fish. These people seemed very inexperienced and I would not recommend http://www.senuelo.com


After that, I tried a few more times from the surf for roosters but they just were not around like they were the first day. Later we drove up the coast to Playa Hermosa which is a beautiful beach that made Flamingo look like Long Beach in comparison. We talked to a guy there who said he would take us out and almost guarantee we will catch something.

The next day we woke up early and drove out to Hermosa. The guy had live baits ready and we started fishing after a short 10 minute ride. Things were a little slow at first, but after trying a few spots we finally get a good run...

The fish faught hard and deep like a yellowtail. It turned out to be a 15-pound amberjack!


Next was my G/F daughter Natasha's turn and it wasn't long before we were hooked again.

This was her first big fish and it faught hard but she was able to land a nice spanish mackeral that is supposed to be excellent eating.


Cool underwater shot:

That thing by the mouth is the mackeral-type bait we were using.

The next hookup was supposed to be my girlfriends but the rod was ripping out line and she didn't think she could handle it. I took the rod and after an awesome fight we pulled in a nice 35 pound wahoo :P :shock: :P


I have never caught a wahoo or an amberjack before so the trip was totally cool. They captains name is Maikol and he knows the area and fishing well. If you are ever near Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste I would highly recommend looking him up. ( sealife.maikol@yahoo.com )

We took some fish to a local restaurant and they cooked up an awesome meal for us:


That's about it for the fishing. We did lots of other things too like exploring the jungle and shopping. The best part of the entire trip though was spending time with the woman I love more than anything in the world


A few more photos for your enjoyment:

[sansou]

Awesome Jeff!

Is that a Lip Ripperz you were using on the guapote????? Ha ha!!!

Very nice job on the roosterfish too!!!

[Fisherman57]

WOW.

Trip of a lifetime Jeff!


That "Roosterfish" is beautiful!........ ... I am TOTALLY envious!..... and a nice Wahoo as well. Looks like you guys had a great time!

Flamingo Beach........ what a great looking place to fish the surf!

Im there!........&#46 ;..... someday :cry:

Thanks for taking "Team 57" to Costa Rica too! :wink:


Dana

[ThemBastards]

That Roosterfish just goes to show you that you dont need to land a 50lber. to get a beautiful fish. Great job.

[halijedi]

Thanks for the awesome vacation report Jeff. I've literally traveled around the world while in the Navy for 8 years, but one country I have never been to is Costa Rica, the "Rich Coast!"

If I get married one of these days, Costa Rica it will be for our honeymoon.

Thanks again for sharing.

[BBL2Baja]

Awesome report! :thumb: Great job on the pez gallo and the wahoo! That's livin'! 8)

Later,
Scott

[one_leg]

Jeff, that was a cool report!

Too bad about you experience on the first boat.
But it looks like you more than made up for it on the second one though!

One_Leg

[bsp]

I am really jealous of that rooster fish. Good job on the pompano, bonefish, giant trevally and the rest.

[Beeracuda211]

Nice Report Jeff! :thumb: Sounds like a blast... thanks for sharing!

B/C :beer:

[PONTOON]

Jeff,

Thanks for sharing the story and pics of your trip. I'm sure it will be one that is long remembered.