What I learned fishing in Costa Rica

It is not often that I am able to travel and be in the role of guest on a fishing boat, but in early January, that was what I was able to do.  We took a family vacation while my daughter was home from college and Costa Rica is a location that has been on our family travel list for some time, so we made it happen this year.  We spent two weeks exploring the country from the volcanic area of La Fortuna to the coast along the Pacific Ocean in Quepos.

This is the second time I have fished in Costa Rica, but the first time out of the Quepos area.  The last time was in 2020 for four days with some buddies from the resort known as Los Suenos.  This trip was more of a family vacation, so I only fished one day this time.  It was fun to play guest for a day on someone’s boat versus leading a charter.  I asked a lot of questions of the mate who was on the boat and his English was very good. I used Quepos Fish Adventures who is also part of the BluefinUSA Prostaff team.

So, what did I learn from this trip that can help me with our fishing charter business here on Cape Cod? Well let me share!

• I learned a new way to rig ballyhoo for trolling.  We use ballyhoo here when we troll for recreational size bluefin tuna.  I have always used copper wire to rig my ballyhoo bait, but this mate used a waxed line and he rigs it in such a way that it holds the hook on too.  I will give this method a try this season and share a photo when we do. 
• Fish don’t know what kind of gear you are using.  Here in the states, we have access to a huge variety of amazing fishing gear.  Fish don’t care what you use.  As a charter business, your gear needs to be in very good working condition, but you don’t need the latest and greatest all the time.  What’s more important is presentation of the right bait for the species you are targeting to convince them to bite.  Your lures need to match what they fish are eating at that time. This boat had top of the line Alutecnos reels that we used on our trip.
• Having a trusted network is critical.  We drove an hour from the harbor to our fishing spot but when we arrived, there were not any signs of life like what I am used to targeting here around Cape Cod.  They didn’t have birds or whales to help guide us which we use as key indicators for us when we fish around Cape Cod.  They knew from being on the water every day where to go and from their network within the fishing fleet.  We caught 3 fish in the first hour and lost another one in an area I am not sure I would have stopped in.  When things slowed, we moved based on the captains network of people and we got into the fish again.  We need to continue to refine our network here too and spend as much time on the water as possible.
• Fishing is fun!  This may seem like a weird observation, but when you can sit back and just fish, it is really fun. So often as the captain, I am focused on various things on our trips like the weather, the sea conditions, presentation of our lines, fish finder, etc.  I shared the charter with two women who had never been offshore fishing before.  They had a blast and said they were hooked!  It was fun for me too.  Fun to help share what was happening with these two novices and fun to catch different types of fish. It was a nice reminder to not take for granted our time on the water with our guests.

I have returned to the cold, blustery weather of the Northeast.  It was a great break from winter to be in the amazing weather of Costa Rica.  I am ready to complete our offseason work on our gear with a new appreciation for what we have.  I am excited to fill our calendar for the 2024 season and share the waters of the Cape with our guests again.  I look forward to my next trip to Costa Rica.  I will be working to find a way to take some of our regular charter guests with me next time so they too can experience the amazing people, the beautiful scenery and world class fishing that Costa Rica has to offer.