It brings me great pleasure to share with you the latest fishing report from Crocodile Bay in Costa Rica. The fishing action here on the Osa Peninsula is still sizzling hot, and according to some of our experienced captains, the fishery in the peninsula is currently thriving like never before. The new commercial tuna fishing reforms, combined with strict measures to crack down on illegal fishing, has resulted in a healthier and more abundant fishery for the area, both inshore and offshore.

It was a wonderful start to the 2023 season for us at Crocodile Bay with awesome weather, very calm seas and, of course, great fishing off the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. The fishing at Crocodile Bay has been on fire recently, with multiple hook- ups on blue marlin and huge yellow fin tuna offshore, along with trophy rooster fish and monster cubera snappers inshore. Our guests are catching multiple Dorado (Mahi Mahi) offshore and even a few inshore. It’s been crazy good fishing with double digit catch-and- releases on dorado every day for our anglers. There hasn’t been a boring moment this past month on the water with our guests reeling in fish after fish.

Greetings friends… December is the month of joy and love, and a great month to fish off the Osa Peninsula here in Costa Rica. The seas are mostly calm, and the fish are biting. It’s the end of the wet season which means swells are down and we are trolling in glass-flat water with warm temperatures. The best news: December is the beginning of the sailfish season at Crocodile Bay. Sailfish are some of the fastest swimmers in the ocean and our anglers were able to catch and release numerous sails. It’s also the tail-end of the dorado season (mahi-mahi) and our anglers have being kept busy reeling in lots of dorado ranging between 15lbs to 70lbs.

Greetings from the most intense fishery and biologically diverse areas in the world – the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. Home to the amazing angling at Crocodile Bay and the unmatched beauty of the rainforest where we are located. The month of November was an amazing month for fishing for our guests. There aren’t many places in the world where you can catch dorado, sailfish, tuna, and blue marlin all in one day, but that was the case for a few fortunate guests who experienced Crocodile Bay’s magic this past month.

Imagine you’re on a boat in the Pacific Ocean off the Southern coast of Costa Rica. You are amazed by the beauty of the tropical views. You are enjoying the pristine and relaxing waters. Suddenly one of the reels starts screaming. “Fish on!” yells the mate. He hands the rod to you and your heart starts pounding as you try to guess what fish you might have on the end of line. Is it a giant black marlin, a blue marlin, a sailfish, or a large yellowfin tuna?

There are only a few places in the world where you can target roosterfish and blue marlin consistently, and the Osa Peninsula is on the top of that list! During our peak of the green season the bite gets better and better, and the inshore and offshore fishing during this time of the year is amazingly good. There aren’t a lot of places you can catch 15 to 25 roosterfish in one day or raise 2 to 7 marlin in one day, and we can say with pride that Crocodile Bay has held up to those expectations during the last 22 years.

August is the peak of the tuna season and this past month delivered for our guests, as our anglers landed coolers full of tuna- even a few at 100+lbs. Right now is the best time for hooking gigantic yellowfin tuna, which are drawn to live bait, poppers and top water lures. These big boys are made of pure muscle, so have your own muscles ready for a tug of war. The tuna fishing is only going to get better in Costa Rica with the recent news the government finally passed legislation moving the commercial tuna boats out to 80 miles offshore. Coastal fishing will substantially improve even more in the future as tuna boats were taking many sport fishing species as by-catch.

This July, our fishing guests at Crocodile Bay were greeted with pleasant weather featuring mostly sunny and calm days and experienced adventures both on and off the water. July was another fantastic month for tuna fishing here at Croc. Bay with a few 100+ lbs yellow tails brought to the boat and the dinner table. The month closed out with a big bang featuring a few more huge tunas and a collection 50+lbs dorados caught in the blue waters offshore. The billfish bite has been a little slow, but the tuna and dorado action made up for the elusive billfish keeping our anglers busy reeling in some of the hardest fighting (and tasty) fish out there.

Walking down the pier at Crocodile Bay just after dawn to meet your captain and mate for the 1st time is a thrill you’ll never forget. Our guests travel to Crocodile Bay from all over the world because we provide them a fishing experience like no one else can. Our experienced staff have been fishing these Costa Rican waters for most of their lives. We take our guests on a fishing adventure they can’t get at their local fishing spot and guide them to the species they have always wanted to catch.

May was an exciting month at Crocodile Bay, both on and off the water. The big news in May is that Botánika Osa Peninsula, Curio Collection by Hilton has opened it’s doors on our property. Botánika is the new accommodation offering for Crocodile Bay’s fishing guests.

Sportfishing Calendar

January

Tuna, marlin and dorado taper off. Number of sailfish begins to increase.

February

Prime time for sailfish. Occassional marlin, tuna or dorado.

March

Prime time for sailfish.

April

Sailfish numbers drop mid-April and some marlin begin to appear.

May

Slower for billfish. Typically we start seeing schools of spinner dolphins with yellowfin tuna.

June

Slower for billfish. Spinner dolphins with yellowfin tuna.

July

Marlin begin to appear. A chance for black marlin as well as blues and striped marlin. A chance for tuna.

August

Marlin and tuna.

September

Slower for billfish. A chance for tuna and dorado.

October

Dorado begin to appear in numbers with marlin close behind.

November

A mixed bag of dorado, marlin and some big tuna.

December

Marlin, dorado, tuna and sailfish are all possibilities.