Costa Rica Fly Fishing Trips

Fly Fishing Costa Rica offers authentic travel experiences for fishermen and non- fishermen. Discover an endless variety of fly-fishing waters and untouched wilderness as you immerse yourself in the exuberant nature, culture, and hospitality of Costa Rica.

We always adapt each of the trips that we offer to the season of the year, the fishermen skill level, fishing conditions, fish, activity and, above all, to the expectations of our guests.

Charlie is the coordinator of this entire project who at only 30 years-old has been guiding in Costa Rica for over 15 years. This young yet experienced guide oversees Fly Fishing Costa Rica. He oversees guests’ services, designing the fishing trips, he’s the main guide of Fly Fishing Costa Rica and at the same time, the coordinator for the rest of the guides.

Steps to organize a fishing trip to Costa Rica:

• Get in touch with Fly Fishing Costa Rica.
• We’ll provide our pricing.
• We’ll tailor the trip to the season of year, number of days, budget, and analyze in detail the possible side activities for non- fishermen.
• We’ll be at your total disposition to resolve any type of doubt via email or by phone. Answering your queries within a maximum timeframe of 24 hours.
• Finally, we’ll close the trip.
• We’ll strive to provide a comprehensive service and go out of our way to make sure you have the trip of a lifetime.

Leave the crowds behind with Fly Fishing Costa Rica and fish in places that are within the reach of a few and finally, discover hidden-private places to observe the fascinating nature of Costa Rica.

Trust your trip to a company of local guides that will offer you a tailor-made private trip at an unbeatable price!

Freshwater tarpon fishing is one of Costa Rica’s best kept secrets. An experience in which you will fish in a paradise where you will be surrounded by toucans, alligators, howler monkeys, and even pumas and jaguars.

Tarpon fishing trips in the jungle of Costa Rica are a unique experience in one of the best places in the world to fish for this species of fish.

This trip is designed for fly-fishermen who love action and fishing for explosive and feisty fish. A minimum of 3 days of fishing is recommended to fish this destination.

The fishing zones are on the border with Nicaragua. Costa Rica is considered one of the best places in the world to fish for tarpon due to its size and the existing density of fish.

We offer 2 different types of tarpon fishing trips in Costa Rica:

• Jungle Tarpon Reserve Lodge: just 4 hours from San Jose is our Jungle Tarpon Reserve lodge, from which we coordinate a trip to enjoy fishing for large tarpon in a jungle area full of lagoons and small rivers.
• Colorado Tarpon River Lodge: just 35 minutes by plane or 6 hours by car from the city of San Jose, this is the destination for excellence for record tarpon fishing in Costa Rica. Fish can reach the 200-pound range.

Main features of tarpon fishing trips in Costa Rica:

• The trips take place from our Caño Negro lodge.
• The trip begins when Charlie will pick you up at the airport in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.
• We recommend a minimum of 3 days of fishing.
• The trip can be combined with 1 to 3 days of trout fishing and other number of days of machaca fishing.
• Pricing is designed for 2 people per boat and guide.
• The guided day includes food and drinks.
• We recommend using floating lines and rods from #10 to #12.

This trip is the perfect complement for a tarpon fishing trip. From our Caño Negro Lodge, we offer both tarpon fishing and machaca fishing, we also offer machaca fishing from our Cañas lodge in Guanacaste. We assure you that the experience will not disappoint you!

The machaca is a type of piranha that is fished from rafting boats and that feeds in the dry season on ripe fruits that fall from the trees. When the fruit falls into the water and the fish hears the plop, they rush to catch the fruit on the surface.

Fly-fishermen from all over the world come to fish with imitation fruit flies that hit the water or using small poppers on the surface; a spectacular and different fishing experience from anything you have experienced before!

The main characteristics of the machaca fishing trips in Costa Rica are the following:

• The trips take place in:
  • Our Caño Negro Lodge located in the heart of the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge.
  • Our Cañas Lodge in Guanacaste.
• This trip is the perfect complement to a tarpon fishing trip or for those novice fishermen who want to start fly-fishing.
• Pricing is designed for 2 people per boat and guide.
• The guided trip includes a meal and drink as well as flies and fishing gear.
• The guided fishing days last 8 hours.

Just 2 hours from the airport of the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, there’s a grid of rivers located in the mountains with generous populations of rainbow trout. These salmonids were introduced in the middle of the last century by American military lovers of fly-fishing.

This trip is the perfect addition to start or end a tarpon and machaca fishing trip or for those tourists who want to fish a day prior to their beach vacations. It’s also the right place for fishermen to enjoy trout fishing and non- fishermen to take advantage of guided activities such as bird-watching or hiking.

The main characteristics of trout fishing trips in Costa Rica are the following:

• Trips take place from our Cloud Forest Trout Lodge or from the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. The lodge next to the river is used for trips greater than one guided fishing day.
• This fishing trip is indicated for those tourists who want to say farewell to the country with one or two fishing trips. In addition, the non-fishing companions will be able to enjoy guided activities such as excursions, bird-watching, etc.
• It’s also the perfect complement to a tarpon and machaca fishing trip.
• It’s a very suitable for novice fly-fishers.
• Pricing is designed for 2 people per guide.
• The guided day includes a meal and drink as well as flies and fishing gear.
• The guided fishing day lasts 8 hours.

Guanacaste is a northwestern province of Costa Rica that’s highly visited by tourists for its beaches, resorts, national parks, wildlife, golf courses, diving, and culture and history. In addition, it has an airport in the city of Liberia.

Fly Fishing Costa Rica offers small guided fishing trips from 1 to 3 days in this province in which you can fish for a wide variety of species such as the rainbow bass in the Tempisque River, machaca in the Corobici River and other kinds of fish like jaguar bass, other mojarras, tilapia and snooks too.

These trips are designed for those tourists who want to combine a few days of family fishing or while the rest of the non- fishermen enjoy other activities in tourist areas.

At Fly Fishing Costa Rica we want both fishermen and non- fishermen to enjoy the trip of their dreams in our country.

For this reason, we offer private and tailored tours for non- fishermen suchlike:

• Visits to the city of San Jose.
• Bird-watching.
• Cultural visits.
• National Parks excursions.
• Rafting, kayaking and other adventure sports.
• Sightings of turtles, crocodiles and other animals.
• Snorkeling and diving.

“Rivers will not be protected until this protection has an impact on local economies.” If you entrust your fishing trip directly to a company of local guides, the local community appreciates how fishing generates wealth. Therefore, the local population will look after protecting the fish related resources.

For this reason, as fishermen we recommend that you entrust your trip directly to a company of local guides like ours.

Likewise, living in Costa Rica year-round means we have many local contacts that make our fishing vacations truly special.

We’re truly passionate about our country and we love to show people the best sights and activities; you’ll be able to feel and see our enthusiasm for the culture, nature, landscape, and fishing in Costa Rica.

Trust our team of fishing guides in Costa Rica for your fishing trip! We’re sure that you’ll fall in love with Costa Rica just like we did!

1. WHAT’S THE WEATHER LIKE IN THE DIFFERENT FISHING AREAS?

Costa Rica is a tropical country with a wide variety of microclimates. The diversity of animal and fish life is also a reflection of the variety of climates found in this beautiful Central American country.

• Weather in the tarpon and machaca fishing areas: The weather in the tarpon and machaca fishing areas is equatorial. You will find sunny days, yet it can rain year-round. The temperatures may range between 32º and 25º C (89º to 77º F).

You must prepare for hot and humid days with occasional rain and nights when you’ll need air conditioning sometimes (our lodges have rooms with air conditioning).

We recommend each guest brings their own sunscreen for daytime activities and insect repellent for nighttime.

• Weather in the trout fishing areas: When fishermen decide to go trout fishing in the mountains, we tell them to get ready to cool-off due to temperatures in the trout fishing areas which are very pleasant during the day. If you stay within the area for more than one day and you’re staying in our hotel, we advise you bring a light coat because temperatures drop and cools down quite a bit at night.

2. IS IT GUARANTEED TO CATCH FISH ON MY FISHING TRIP?

As you may already know, fishing is not an exact science. Fishing can never be guaranteed anywhere in the world, since you never know what a guided day will bring.

Under normal conditions, trout fishing is 100% guaranteed even for the most novice fishermen. If you have somewhat practiced your machaca fishing casting, getting over one catch is very likely. Lastly, tarpon fishing will depend on your skills and the conditions of the day. The catch of tarpon fish can never be guaranteed since this fish is highly affected from variations in weather and water-level.

3. WHAT’S INCLUDED IN MY FLY-FISHING TRIP IN COSTA RICA?

At Fly Fishing Costa Rica we offer everything from tailor-made one day trips to multi-day fishing packages:

• One-day guided fishing days: We usually adapt the one-day guided fishing days to the guest’s location. We’re perfectly familiar all fishing options in Costa Rica, hence always offering a great fishing experience. The trip doesn’t include transportation to the fishing destination, yet we can offer transportation from your hotel for an additional cost (by assessing the extra fuel cost and distance).

The guided days for machaca and trout fishing last 8 hours of actual fishing. The tarpon fishing guided day can be extended by a few hours.

It includes: refreshments, snacks, flies, fishing gear, a guide, an expert boat captain, and a fishing license.

Doesn’t include: Meals (some fishermen who spend all day with the snacks we offer while others want to stop somewhere to have a meal). Depending on the fishing area, there’s the possibility of stopping for lunch in a local restaurant at the tour’s halfway point. Alcoholic beverages and tips are also not included.

• All-Inclusive fly-fishing trips: These trips include all transportation services from your arrival in the country. We take care of the transfers, accommodations, fishing guide, and driver, side activities for non- fishermen, meals, fishing licenses… everything is included except alcoholic beverages and tips for the guides.
• Multi-day fishing trips without transfers: These trips include the same services as the prior except for transfers to the fishing areas and airport. These trips are designed for those tourists who want to stop along the way at their own pace to enjoy several days of fishing and want to rent their own vehicle.

4. HOW DO I GET TO THE FISHING AREAS OR TO OUR OPERATIONS CENTER?

Fly Fishing Costa Rica has four lodges from where we conduct most of our activities and guided fishing trips. On other occasions, we tailor and adapt our service to the specific area of ​​Costa Rica where you will enjoy your vacations.

There are 3 ways to access the fishing areas:

• If you select an all-inclusive package, our guides will take care of all transfers to airports, lodging, and fishing areas.

• If you have or rent your own vehicle, you will have to arrive at our operation center and follow the guide’s vehicle to the fishing areas.
• If the guided day takes place in another province of the country, the guide will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the fishing area for an additional cost which will vary depending on the distance and fuel cost. There’s also the possibility of meeting the guide in a previously arranged place near the river.

5. WHAT CLOTHES SHOULD I BRING TO THE GUIDED FISHING DAY?

For trout fishing, it’s recommended to bring a variety of clothing including a raincoat and a jacket. On the contrary, for tarpon and machaca fishing, it’s recommended to bring lighter clothing. Also, making sure you bring a cap and /or hat, sunglasses, and sunblock for your protection.

In addition to the above, you must always bring: long pants, long-sleeved shirts, a light waterproof jacket, sandals, and shoes suitable for walking in the mountains.

7. CAN NON-FISHERMEN COME WITH US?

Fly Fishing Costa Rica offers side guided activities for non-fishing companions. If the non-fishing companions wish they may come along and join the fishermen and guide in the boat. It’s a very unique and pleasant experience that they’ll surely enjoy.

8. ARE THERE A LOT OF INSECTS THAT BITE?

Insects mostly appear during nighttime, and rarely during the day. You should have no issues using a good insect repellent and long-sleeved shirts and pants.

9. DO THE GUIDES SPEAK ENGLISH?

All our guides speak English.

10. IS COSTA RICA A SAFE COUNTRY?

Security is not a problem in our lodges and in general, Costa Rica is a very safe country. While it’s true that sometimes it’s necessary to limit and control material possessions that are carried around with you as there are small thefts especially in cities (as it does in almost any country).

If you select one of our packages for your trip, you’ll be with the guide always. Everything is safer since they’re there to guide you through every place and situation.

19. WILL I HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET?

Internet in Costa Rica is not very reliable, and it usually varies in effectiveness in each fishing area. In other words, it usually doesn’t work in these areas.

However, we do offer this service in all our lodges except Cloudforest Trout Lodge.

23. IS CATCH AND RELEASE PRACTICED ON YOUR TRIPS?

Catch and release fishing is part of the company’s policy being 100% mandatory in all cases.