Keith, Beth, Steve & Hunter from Alabama joined us today for a Full Day Inshore trip aboard GOOD DAY fishing in Quepos Costa Rica.
It was high on Beth’s bucket list to catch a Roosterfish and it was fantastic to see this happen in the final half hour of the day, just when she thought it would never happen, to say she was delighted is an understatement!
The story of the day, however, was a surprise Tarpon that Keith caught on a free-lined Sardine in about 50’ of water close to some rocks. After a 30 minute battle which almost emptied his reel on one occasion we got the fish close enough to identify properly and our suspicions were confirmed, it was indeed a Tarpon. We estimated the fish at around 60lbs and 60-66” in length and it was released after a quick photo.
It has been well documented here in Costa Rica that Tarpon have likely moved from the Atlantic/Caribbean through the Panama Canal and are now successfully breeding in the Pacific in places in southern Costa Rica such as the Sierpe River/Mangrove system and the Golfo Dulce, plus some places in Panama I believe.
In 30+ years of Fishing these waters our Capt. Manuel Gabuardi has never caught a Tarpon before, which evidences the magnitude of this catch. In my 4 years in Costa Rica i am fairly confident I have seen Tarpon rolling/gulping on the surface on two occasions about 8 miles south of Quepos. A couple of other Quepos boats have caught Tarpon in recent years also.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Tarpon in the Pacific, my guess is that numbers will increase and catches will become more frequent in the coming 3-5 years.
Our catch report for the day ended:
1 Tarpon est. 60lbs
1 Roosterfish
1 Blue Fin Trevally
2 Jacks
2 Yellow Tail Snappers
2 Needlefish
A shout out to young Hunter who worked tirelessly on Topwater lures all day and had 3 chases from Roosters including one solid fish in the 30-40lb range plus various Snappers & Jacks. Great to see a Freshwater Bass fishermen convert his skills to Saltwater!
Another GREAT DAY Fishing in Costa Rica, Now off to buy a Lottery Ticket!!