Fishing in the Beautiful and Remote Drake Bay

AUTHOR: Captain Willy Atencio

I want to share some great news about protecting marine life in Costa Rica. In a unanimous 52-0 vote, Costa Rica passed the Tuna Reform Bill requiring commercial Tuna boats to be at least 80 miles offshore. This is excellent news as Tuna nets catch everything, including Marlin, Sailfish, Mahi-Mahi and Wahoo, Shark, Manta Rays, Turtles, and dolphins. This new law will ensure we will remain a bucket list destination for anglers worldwide. 

It doesn’t feel like we are in the green season as we typically slow down quite a bit, but thankfully we have been very busy. Offshore the Tuna bite is still hot. It is an amazing sight if you have never seen an enormous school of Tuna, birds, and bait. The birds are diving down, the Tuna is shooting up at lightning speed, and the poor bait fish are stuck right in the middle.

Once I find the Tuna, that’s only the beginning. The next decision is what they are eating. Tuna can get spooky, and they can become picky! One day they will only hit topwater baits, then the next day, small red-haired jigs, and the next day only live bait. For every Tuna trip, we need to figure out what their preferred food of the day is; once we figure this out, it’s game on.

In the next few months, we expect the Mahis to move in and follow the weedlines. Once the water clears, the big Pacific Sailfish and Marlin will be in our offshore waters. These are big Pacific Sails, typically between 100-150 lbs. The “average” Marlin around Drake Bay is 250 lb. Blue Marlin, however, we have caught Blacks over 500 lbs. On a rare occasion, a Striped Marlin is caught and released.

The nearshore bite around Cano Island remains solid for Grouper, Snapper, Amberjack, and Pompano. Closer to shore, we have many anglers that love to fish for Roosterfish around the river mouths and endless rocky outcroppings. One of the greatest things about Drake Bay is our remoteness and lack of fishing pressure. Sometimes we may see only a handful of boats all day.

Drake Bay has lots of great outdoor activities, several great restaurants, and accommodations for all budgets. Our calendar is getting full, but we have several prime fishing days left, so I highly encourage you to reserve as soon as possible by contacting us at info@fishdrakebay.com. We remain the #1 rated tour on TripAdvisor in Drake Bay.

Until next time, tight lines,

Captain Willy Atencio