Costa Rica BillFishing... In decline?

[No Promises]

I am going with an off year - I was in Quepos during the last week in January - we didn't raise a sail in 3 days!! The GIFT tournament was taking place during that time and over the 4 day tournament span they released less fish in 4 days than they were averaging per day in 2009.

What bothers me is booking agents posting on other forums about "billfish everywhere in Quepos" when the fact is the fish just are not there.

[Reel-Tite]

Originally Posted by thums up

It is an off year because of el nino/ la nina may cause the same next year. It has been Slow from Cabo San Lucas to Panama!

Long lining is an issue but the govt now has finally address it.

Last year we had more sails out of Golfito (20-35 a day plus a marlin each day average, a friends best day was 71)than in Guat.. That should say something.

I don't know about that. We fished the NO Sanchocho Sailfish Shootout last month and caught and released 90 sailfish in 4 days. We came out third.

[Reel-Tite]

Originally Posted by Reel-Tite

I don't know about that. We fished the NO Sanchocho Sailfish Shootout last month and caught and released 90 sailfish in 4 days. We came out third.

In Guatemala by the way.

[NC-State07]

Originally Posted by sanchoco

I an never amazed that sports-fishermen always blame it on the commercial guys and never the fact that the amount of sport-fishing boats doubles about every 10 years.

Agreed. Here in NC, most rec fishermen are adamantly against commercial gill nets...of this group of rec fishermen, a large amount of people are against gill netting mainly because it limits the amount of fish they can catch (and keep) in a day. You'll hear this group of people cry about the destruction of gill nets...then go out the next night and gig their limit of flounder without blinking. But more to the subject...while longliners are playing the major role in billfish decline throughout the world, I personally think all anglers should keep their billfish in the water to reduce release mortality %'s. I don't see how some people blame the commercial pressure on a fishery's decline, then turn around and neglect the very thing they're "fighting" for.

Wow, what a rant...sorry everyone haha.

[Venture1]

I just got back from Quepos. I fished three days for one sailfish, one small yellowfin, and one bonita. How pathetic. The captain blamed it on El Nino and the long liners. Everyday the commercial boats were out there setting their lines. We fished for hours without a touch. We started at around 28 miles offshore and went to 38 miles offshore. I was completely disappointed.

The last time I fished there was 18 years ago in 1992. Every day we would raise at least 20-25 fish. On the second day we switched to the fly rod, and got at least 8 fish on fly every day to follow.

As stated in this thread, the Costa Rican fishing is much different than it was in the past. Along with the long lining, the sport fishery has grown tremendously over the years putting much pressure on the resource.

I know it is time to discover new frontiers. I will not return to Quepos. On the flip side, I did have a great time in Costa Rica. At least I got to spend some time with my wife at a great hotel....The Parador. We spent some quality time there and enjoyed their facilities, especially the spa.

[justhookit2]

Venture -

Give Golfito a try next time you are in CR. They've been in the double digits all season long.

We talked on another thread about your Quepos trip . . . sorry it didn't work out.

[hag4155]

Interesting discussion. I been fishing out of the Quepos/Los Suenos area for about 12 years. Initially we fished charters with a captain that grew up in Quepos and we evolved into having our own CC and finally a 35' express which resides in Los Suenos. Danielle the charter boat captain and lifelong resident says that the fishing is still remarkable compared to other billfish destinations but it has gotten more challenging over the years. All due to more sportfishing pressure and longlining activity as was stated above.I fished the fla keys with my grandfather when i was a 8yrs,through high school and college and the fishing was wonderful but as the years went by it became more difficult because of sportfishing and commercial pressure and you can add a bit of pollution and overpopulation to the cause.At this point i don't think overpopulation plays much of a roll in C.R at least not yet! In 12 years i've seen quite a bit of on/off cycles but i don't think the fishing is in decline. This april 1st we delivered a newer boat to the marina. We fished 3 days, released 24 sails,3 dorado and a yellowfin.Came back 10 days later. fished 3 days and released 1 sailfish.2 dorado,1 wahoo and had 2 marlin take a look. the tournament last year was epic on marlin and sails and this year slow. Unbelievable stripe marlin bite out of Cabo the last 2-3 years.Nada this year. We fished Lizard island austrailia in 08 released 22 black marlin,1 grander.Freaked out and schelduled a repeat trip in 09. saw 3 marlin in a week, releasing 2.I never got in the chair. I guess my point is all these destinations are extremely cyclic.When you plan a trip for a certain date theirs lots of variables that can affect the fishing. Costa Rica is a beautiful place,the sealife is amazing as is the fishing.Hopefully the next 10-15yrs will be as good as the last

[slper]

Last year we released 19 in 3 days missed 5 and released 1 Blue Marlin. My buddy, who owns a boat and place in Los Suenos goes down about every 6 weeks says the fishing is way off this year. I would suspect the weather is to blame but I don't agree with what the longliners are doing either!