Spectacular Guanacaste sailfishing
Guanacaste offers beautiful, uncrowded beaches and a great climate. The scenic highlights are many and include central highland cloud forests, tropical lowland rain forests, active volcanoes coffee plantations, hot springs, and the Lankester Orchid Gardens (Costa Rica is home to some 1,500 species of orchids). Plus, while you're touring the area, you'll have the chance to observe a variety of Central American wildlife, such as monkeys, birds and butterflies.

Punta Guiones to Jaco Beach
Fishing is reasonably good throughout the year along the Pacific coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, but action really picks up in late December when many of the operators out of northern Guanacaste move south to dodge the Papagayo winds that begin about that time. From December to March or April many base out of Playa Carrillo which has a good anchorage and is protected from the northerly winds by Punta Guiones, but depending on fishing may also move south to Quepos for part of the time. The shelter of Guiones is also an easy run for the Nosara boats just north of the point.

Tropical freshwater flyfishing
Even though fishermen have been hauling marlin, sailfish, tarpon, snook and other species out of these rivers, lakes and streams that wind through the country for thousands of years, these fresh waters have been left practically untouched, offering the same exhilarating experience and landscape

Fishing Cano Negro
The region is an angler's paradise throughout the year, the waters of the lagoon and rivers abounding with the biggest tarpon you're likely to find anyplace, along with snook, drum, machaca, rainbow bass and gar.

Fishing in the fresh waters of Lake Arenal
A scenic three hour drive from San Jose, Lake Arenal is the main fishing lake in Costa Rica, filled by a multitude of rivers and loaded with rainbow bass. Originally little more than a swampy lagoon, the lake doubled in size after construction of a dam that was completed in 1978 and at high water is now more than 20 miles long, surrounded by verdant forest.

The North Pacific: Tamarindo, Flamingo, Guanamar/Carrillo
Tamarindo and Flamingo are the major sport fishing centers in the North Pacific. Boats with lesser-known captains also charter out of nearby Coco Beach, Ocotal, Potrero, Brasilito and elsewhere. The area further south, Nosara, Garza, Guanamar and Carillo, gets more protection from the winds that normally blow late December though March and April. Many boats from Flamingo will fish out of Guanamar/Carrillo from mid-December to the end of March/mid April. For anglers fishing out of the Four Seasons Papagayo and other Papagayo hotels, there are excellent boats and captains who will come north from Flamingo.

Central Pacific: Los Sueños Marina and Quepos
Los Suenos Marina, the finest marina on the Pacific coast south of Acapulco and Quepos are the two fishing centers on the Central Pacific coast. Most anglers target billfish, and they are seldom disappointed. From December through March/April this area hosts one of the world's great sail bites, although sails and marlin will linger throughout the year. From both fishing centers, it's no more than a 12 to 20 mile run out to blue water where most of the billfish action is found. Closer inshore there are tuna, roosters, wahoo, dorado, jack,mackerel, small cubera snapper and even snook that can be taken trolling just outside the breaker line of the river mouths.

Some boats out of Quepos will go down on multi-day trips to the Drake Bay and Cano Island area, overnighting at one of the several lodges at Drake Bay. This southern region is best known for its wahoo, big cubera snapper and roosterfish, but there are also tuna, dorado, sails and marlin further offshore.