http://www.toursjacobeach.com/news/archive/ en gordon@adventuretourscostarica.com Copyright 2012 2012-01-26T00:16:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_january_21st/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_january_21st/#When:00:16:00Z The full moon had slowed down Los Suenos fishing last week – bright moonlight means feeding at night and less action during the day.  The bite has gotten significantly better, and we are back to solid Costa Rica fishing.  Prior to the full moon, the best bite was about 20 miles offshore where we were raising between fifteen to twenty sails per day and getting shots at ten to fifteen.  The marlins were scarce though, and we were lucky to get a shot a day at one. Since we’re off the full moon, the bite has moved about five miles farther out from Los Suenos.  The average number of sailfish we are seeing is in the five to ten range.  The marlin fishing in Costa Rica has gotten more consistent, giving one to two shots a day at them. The dorados have been in the 20 – 50-pound range, but less consistent than a few weeks ago.  Wahoo has been caught around the 26 rock.  Inshore fishing has been good with rooster fish and cubbera snappers plentiful. Generally speaking the Los Suenos fishing has been excellent and the seas have been calm with blue sunny skies making for a quick and easy run to great Costa Rica fishing. Tight lines – MJ Aligood – 32’ Contender 2012-01-26T00:16:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_january_3_2012/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_january_3_2012/#When:00:32:00Z After an atypical Costa Rica hot sailfish bite in the beginning of October, the Los Suenos fishing bite tapered off a bit going in to November. Most of November, as well as beginning of December was quite slow for Costa Rica fishing with a lot of dirty green water keeping the clear blue waters 30 to 40 miles out for several weeks. Most boats fishing from Los Suenos were only seeing two to five billfish per day.  However there was a steady marlin bite through it all, usually getting a shot or two per day.  During the Los Suenos Fishing Marlin Invitational (November 30- Dec 3rd) there were a few strong numbers posted, but it was far from consistent, and most of the good bites were 40 to 50 miles out.  A few of the top boats fishing Los Suenos caught up to three marlin per day, and a few boats reported getting shots at six to eight in a day. The sailfish numbers were pretty low, most boats only seeing about 2 -6 a day, unless pulling dredges which seemed to double the number of sails you would see in a day. The WBS World Championship Los Suenos fishing in early December ( 8th-11th ) had even lower numbers.  Most of the fish that were being raised at the time were quite shy or finicky.  They were only coming up on a teaser and leaving, often not switching off, or fading back to a rigger bait. The good news is that we are getting in to what is traditionally peak sailfish season here (Jan-April) and in the past few weeks the numbers have been improving.  The fish are feeding much more aggressively. The blue water has moved in much closer and can be found about 20-30 miles from the Los Suenos Marina.  Sea conditions have mostly been the flat calm seas Costa Rica is known for, making it an easy run to the grounds. Fishing boats for the Los Suenos are now seeing five to ten sails per day, and still usually getting a shot per day at a marlin.  In the past week we have caught five sails each day we fished offshore as well as a few dorados. There are a number of dorado around this season typically around 18-40lbs, but we often catch some monster ones here that weigh in over 60 pounds. Peak tuna season from Los Suenos is May-october, but there have been a few hanging around the spinner dolphins offshore where the birds are diving. The larger yellowfins move in and out during the dry season.  They travel the currents with the spinners, so you never know when you may be able to fill your coolers with some fresh sashimi. If you have some good spinning gear with poppers ready you have a good shot at them - this is one of my favorite things to do.  If you have never cast poppers on spin gear to yellowfins, then you are really missing out on some of the funnest fishing possible.  We consistently catch 60-100lbs tunas fishing with poppers from Los Suenos. For fishing the biggest tuna from Los Suenos ( they can get around 300lbs here), try a bridled up live skipjack or bonito in from of the spinners. There are almost always some smaller yellowfins around the 26 rock, mixed in with bonito, and lots of other prey.  The 26 is very productive year-round, and what is there changes all the time. A mix of inshore species- several types of snappers, AJ’s, Jacks, and pelagic- dorado, sails, and sometimes even black marlin are possible there during dry season (January - May), and lots of smaller wahoo’s join the mix during green season. It is a great spot to live bait, jig, and/ or popper fish for anglers who like to actually do something other than watch baits trolled behind the boat. Los Suenos inshore also had a slow spell in November, but has really picked up early this month.  The bait is showing up in large numbers, and the rooster fish bite is good.  There have been lots of nice-sized cubera snappers moving into the Gulf of Nicoya. While inshore fishing from Los Suenos you will often catch lots of other species, such as amber jacks, trevallies, cravelle jacks, houndfish, mackerels, and grouper. The bottom fishing out in 250-400ft range from Los Suenos has been good throughout the past month.  There have been lots of conejo’s (tilefish) cabrillia’s(grouper), and a few Congrios (conger eel). I only did one day of bottom fishing Los Suenos this month, and we caught around 30 tiles, 5 grouper, 11 snapper, and then moved to the 26 and caught 1 AJ, 1 Mullet snapper, and a couple small yellowfins. Fish On - CAPTAIN MICHAEL “MJ” ALLIGOOD 32’ CONTENDER IN THE LOS SUENOS MARINA 2012-01-04T00:32:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_december_17_2011/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_december_17_2011/#When:16:02:00Z Hello from Costa Rica Fishing Capital Los Suenos! The seas have been calm, and the skies have been sunny for the Los Suenos fishing offshore this week.  The sailfish bite has been a little slow considering the season.  Most boats have been seeing four to eight sailfish per day. The marlin bite has been steady and good - boats have been getting a shot or two at a marlin every day.  In some cases they’re seeing as many as six in a day. To help fill the day of fishing in Costa Rica, there has been a steady dorado/ mahi mahi bite. Most boats catch a mahi or two to take home for dinner.  There have been a few yellowfin tunas caught this week which also make for a great dinner. The billfish should be showing up in higher numbers in the next week or two, and bite should continue to improve over the next few months.  Normally we will see Los Suenos peak billfish numbers in February through April. The inshore fishing which had been slow as well the past couple weeks has turned on this week.  We have been seeing lots of roosters - up to 80lbs.  Cubera snappers in the 30-40lb range have also been moving in to rocks and reefs along the coast. Until Next Week – Tight Lines! Thanks, CAPTAIN MICHAEL “MJ” ALLIGOOD 32’ Contender - Los Suenos Marina 2011-12-17T16:02:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_special_marlin_invitational/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_special_marlin_invitational/#When:18:11:00Z Warm Greetings from Costa Rica and Los Suenos This past week Los Suenos sportfishing had its Annual Invitational Marlin Tournament. The marlin fishing has been picking up in the past few weeks - a steady number of Marlin are being caught. The sailfish numbers have also been on the rise with many boats seeing two to four sails per day, while getting at least one shot a day at a marlin.  A few boats have reported exceptional days this week, seeing up to six marlin and ten sails in a single day.  The sailfish typically begin to show up in greater number towards the end of December. For the past week most of the best bite has been scattered around 40 miles out of the Los Suenos Marina. Seas early last week were a little choppy, but the past few days have provided some incredibly beautiful weather.  There has been no wind and perfectly flat seas making a 30 to 40-mile run to the bite fast and comfortable.  It looks like wepre finally exiting green season. Bottom fishing has been real good this week with tons of tile fish - groupers in 300-400ft range. The roosterfish bite has also been good over the past week, with a similar snapper and amberjack bite. Until next week… Tight Lines – Michael Alligood 32’ Contender – Los Suenos Marina – Costa Rica 2011-12-08T18:11:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_november_29th_2011/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_november_29th_2011/#When:23:16:00Z Heading in to Los Suenos fishing tournament time, we are starting to transition into prime billfish season offshore. About 25 to 40 miles out there has been a steady marlin bite - most boats are getting one to three shots at marlin per day.  Most of the marlins are blues and stripies in the 200-300lb range.  The marlin bite should improve over the next few weeks.  December is often a great month for marlin, we sometimes see up to 10 per day. The sailfish bite has been slow and steady.  Boats are seeing two to six sails per day using the same trolling spread we use for the marlin.  The numbers should be improving over the next month as we move into prime sailfish season when you can expect to see 10-20 per day on average. The offshore meat - tunas and dorado - have been getting caught in consistent numbers, giving anglers bonus fresh fish to take home for dinner.  Most boats are catching a couple dorados (mahi-mahi) per day while trolling for billfish (sailfish and Marlin). Larger dorados (over 50lbs) have been caught, but the average size has been a respectable 20-40lbs. Yellowfin tunas in the 30 – 60lbs. range have been around as well.  I heard of a couple yellowfins over 100lbs caught in the past couple weeks. Inshore, the fishing has been good - steady roosterfish bite on both sides of the gulf of Nicoya, and lots of snappers getting caught. Until Next Week – Tight Lines! Los Suenos Fishing with the 32’ 2005 Contender FA 2011-11-29T23:16:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_november_16th_2011/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_fishing_report_november_16th_2011/#When:20:23:00Z Hello from Los Suenos Costa Rica! The weather has been beautiful this week - lots of sun, and lots of boats starting to go fishing from Los Suenos every day.  It looks like the beginning of a great season. Offshore, the water has really cleared up from a couple weeks ago. Beautiful, clear blue ocean water has pushed in under 20 miles from the beach and so have the game fish.  Lots of dorado are being caught, many while trolling open water.  If you can find some good floating debri - a big tree or stump - you can catch a bunch. You may also be able to catch a nice tripletail in the same areas. The sailfish and marlin have moved in closer.  Most of the action has been centered around the edge of the bank on the corner which is about 20-25 miles from Los Suenos. This is right around where your depth drops from 400ft in to the abyss. Boats from the Los Suenos fleet have been seeing 5 to 15 sails per day on average. There were a couple days around the full moon when the fish seemed a bit finicky.  Many of them came up on teasers and went away without wanting to take the bait, but there are plenty around that will be getting hungry real soon. Also, almost every boat going out the full distance is seeing at least one marlin per day which means they are starting to show up in force.  Late November can be red hot marlin fishing here. It is not uncommon for the marlin fishing to get so good that an experienced boat and crew may catch 8 to 15 striped, blue, or black marlin in a single day The Los Suenos Invitational Marlin Tournament is held here November 30 - Dececmber 3rd, and the World Billfish Series World Championships is held here Dec. 8th -11th.  Top anglers from around the world will migrate here to compete for the WBS world champion ring. Inshore, the roosterfish action has been good across the gulf of Nicoya.  Isla Negritas and Tortuga Island is your best bet for catching a trophy fish. Tight Lines - CAPTAIN MICHAEL ALLIGOOD 32’ Contender Los Suenos Marina 2011-11-16T20:23:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/mahi_day_los_suenos_fishing_with_mike_alligood/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/mahi_day_los_suenos_fishing_with_mike_alligood/#When:18:35:00Z Hello from Costa Rica! October is finally over, and the weather is returning to the typical dry-season weather that makes us all love Los Suenos Fishing.  For the past week it has been sunny and warm with flat seas, and barely any rain – great Costa Rica fishing! The water is turning clear and blue again offshore, and not far off the beach the sailfish bite is picking up.  Boats are seeing 8 to 12 sails, and catching 4 to 8 in a day.  The main bite has been about 30 miles out from Los Suenos Marina.  A few marlin have been caught in the past week not too far from the sailfish action. Tunas have been scarce, but are sure to return soon as there were plenty of big ones around just the week before. There have been a good number of dorados (mahi-mahi) getting caught.  The dorado bite looks like it’s going to be good this season after a less-than-stellar year last year. Inshore the roosterfish action remains consistent.  I know of one huge cubera snapper caught in the past few days. I had The Contender out of the water last week to get ready for season.  However, I did get a chance to run a trip on it yesterday. The people said they were interested in catching something to eat, like tuna or dorado (Mahi-Mahi). I love chasing tunas and throwing poppers and live bait to catch big ones. Mahi are not usually something I pursue because I catch plenty of them while trolling for sails and marlin.  This time of year if you are looking specifically for mahi mahi around here, your best chance is staying a little inshore (under 20 miles) and trolling the current/ trash lines coming out of the gulf of Nicoya. We can often find lots of small 5 to 20 lbs mahi hanging around floating debris. However, this area is too close in for the main sail bite, or to have a good chance at catching a marlin. You might catch a billfish or two while trolling the trash lines occasionally, but you won’t be in the main concentration of fish. As I was saying, the clients wanted dorado (mahi-mahi).  We started trolling around a trash line about 18 miles out where there were lots of branches, logs, some trash, and even some trees being clumped together by the current.  I saw a few mahi- mahi swimming under some debris.  I trolled by them, and they rushed out and attacked the baits.  We had two on, but jumped one off and caught one about 25 lbs.  My mate quickly cleaned the fish as i headed offshore in pursuit of bigger game.  When my mate cut the dorados stomach open to see what he had been eating - he was surprised to find two baby sea turtles and a plastic comb in the fish’s stomach! I started trolling again a little after 10am and within an hour we had raised 4 sailfish, caught 3, and jumped one off.  Two of the sailfish were a doubleheader which is when you have two fish hooked at the same time.  By 11:30am the clients said we could start heading in, that they didn’t want to catch any more sailfish ( I think they were a little hungover from the fiesta the night before). On the way back we came across a large floating tree so I stopped to take a look.  It was a tangled mess with a bunch of old long line gear wrapped around it, and a few sea turtles tangled up in the mess. Underneath the mess I could see the neon green of some mahi swimming, and one of them looked pretty big. Casting poppers and ballyhoo to them we quickly hooked a 20 pounder on a popper.  The large mahi I saw followed the hooked fish as the clients reeled him in.  We cast a ballyhoo to the big one following, and he quickly took the bait. once he jumped, we could see that he looked to be about 6 ft long!  The clients fought him for about 30 minutes on a spin rod before getting him to the boat.  He was definitely a big one - Almost 70 lbs! After the excitement we freed the two sea turtles of the mess they were tangled up in before heading back in. Awesome day! Until next time, Tight Lines! CAPTAIN MICHAEL ALLIGOOD The Contender 32’ 2011-11-10T18:35:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/green_season_fishing_los_suenos_costa_rica_mike_alligood/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/green_season_fishing_los_suenos_costa_rica_mike_alligood/#When:18:00:00Z The rain finally came to a stop this week and gave us some truly beautiful sunny days, and flat and calm seas to get offshore and see what was biting. It did not seem like the middle of rainy season Los Suenos Fishing at all. All the rain from the tropical storm in the Caribbean over the past few weeks really pushed a lot of debris out in to the ocean - logs, branches and even some big trees were scattered everywhere. The rain washing through the mountains also means dirty water. The clean blue water was pushed about 45 miles offshore for most of the week. The incredible off-season sailfish bite we were experiencing before the rain has seems to have dissipated, but there were still a few around.  Some boats were seeing one to three a day throughout the week, but that is down from the 8-15 we were seeing a couple weeks ago. Two marlins were caught this week, but only about three charters of Los Suenos were fishing per day, so I am sure there were more out there. October and November are typically good months to catch Black Marlin here. Early in the week the dorados (mahi-mahi) were thick, boats were catching a lot of 30 to 50-pounders while trolling around all the scattered logs that these fish like to hang under. The tunas were also thick early in the week.  Several boats were catching 10-12 yellowfins, but by Thursday things had slowed down a bit. I fished offshore with four guys aboard the Contender on Friday.  We started fishing about 25 miles out.  The water was a dirty green-brown.  We ran through miles of floating wood on the way out, and continued to troll through it for about 20 more miles offshore to the west looking for tunas. We passed through an area with tons of bonita, so many that we had to pull the baits out and just troll teasers until we were out of them. They were not out target species - we wanted some yellowfin.  We did raise one sailfish in the area, but he didn’t want to bite. The water got a bit better in a few spots, but was still greenish 45 miles offshore.  In that same area we finally found a small pod of spinner dolphins. After we made about 100 casts with the poppers, we only saw a few small yellowfins.  At that point it did not look too promising.  About that time my friend Capt. Dean radioed to let me know he had caught a couple tunas from another pod of dolphins about 10 miles away.  I got up and ran the distance to find two boats working a slightly bigger pod. I noticed that the porpoises were on the move, so I pulled alongside them.  We did about 15kts with them, my mate cast a popper out front, and we were on in an instant!  When he handed the rod off and cast again he landed- double header!  We pulled one off and boated one that was about 40lbs. We ran up alongside again, and another double!  This time we boated both of them.  On our next run, the clients made the cast. The popper landed right in the middle of the porpoises, and on its first “pop,” it disappeared in a huge hole in the water.  An hour and 15 minutes later, we got this one in the boat (pictured) - about 150 lbs – a real nice catch on spin gear and popper with the client casting and hooking his own fish.  He made my day!  Until next week -Tight Lines! Captain Michael “MJ” Alligood 32’ Contender in Los Suenos - 2011-11-01T18:00:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/fishing_report_from_los_suenos_with_capt_alligood1/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/fishing_report_from_los_suenos_with_capt_alligood1/#When:22:10:00Z The rain let up a bit this week and several boats managed to get out of the Los Suenos Marina.  Costa Rica fishing offshore continued to be good.  The best bite right now is about 40 miles from Los Suenos - a bit to southwest of the craters.  There was still a steady number of sailfish being caught, with most boats averaging 3 to 6 sailfish per day.  In that same area, there were also a couple marlins caught during the week.  The tunas were out and several large yellow fin tunas between 150 & 200 lbs were caught this week. Fishing around the corner area has been improving in the past few days.  About 30 miles to the southwest of Los Suenos boats were seeing 4 to 5 sails, and a few dorado (mahi-mahi) in the 30 lbs range.  Apparently the tunas have not been seen there in the past few days. Inshore fishing has been above average.  One boat caught five roosters off the point between Jaco Beach and Hermosa Beach on a full-day fishing charter during the week. Half-day trips were averaging two roosters per trip.  On this side of the Gulf of Nicoya, most rooster fish have been averaging about 15-30lbs. This week not many boats have been running across the Gulf of Nicoya due to the weather.  Roosters on the other side of the Gulf average 40-50lbs. Until next week - Tight Lines CAPTAIN MICHAEL ALLIGOOD - Contender 32’ 2011-10-24T22:10:00-06:00 http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_sport_fishing_report_with_capt_alligood_32_contender/ http://www.adventuretourscostarica.com/news/archive/los_suenos_sport_fishing_report_with_capt_alligood_32_contender/#When:13:52:00Z Unfortunately due to a tropical weather system to the north of us, it has been pretty steady rain for the past week in Los Suenos, and in Costa Rica in general.  There are not many boats going out to reflect what is out there right now. Offshore, the sail bite has dropped off a little, but continues to be fair. Most boats report getting two to five bites per day about 30 miles out. Tunas are still around and biting when you can find them,.  They have been between 30 to 40 miles from Los Suenos.  Many of the tunas are between 20 and 40 pounds. There have been no reports of marlin this past week, but I am sure there are some around.  This time of year there just aren’t many boat fishing for them. Inshore fishing has remained good especially around Tortuga Island and Negritas.  You will find roosterfish averaging 30-60 pounds. Boats are normally catching three or four roosterfish per day. There are lots of jack crevalles and horse-eyed jacks to fill the fishing day with activity. Casting a two or three-inch popper along the rocks and current rips can land you roosterfish, snapper, jacks,or mackerels. I snuck out in the bay Sunday after the rain and caught about 12 nice rosy snapper for dinner within a couple miles of the Los Suenos marina. The end of October is the slowest time of year for the tourism in Costa Rica (and Los Suenos charter fishing), so it is often hard to know just how good it can be since not many boats are fishing. Only a few more weeks till green season starts to taper off!  By November most of the rain should die down.  With that, sunny skies and flat seas are here again. November often is a steady sail bite and improves throughout the month, and by January it is in full swing. Marlin fishing can be quite good to excellent in November. Los Suenos holds its invitational only marlin tournament toward the end of the month. I have witnessed phenomenal marlin bites here in November, with boats getting over 10 marlin bites in a day.  Hopefully this year will be the same. Tight lines CAPTAIN MICHAEL ALLIGOOD – 32’ Contender 2011-10-19T13:52:00-06:00