Captain
Jose Hidalgo

Member since January 2023 Quepos, Costa Rica
Background
Hidalgo Sportfishing began with a simple goal: to share our passion for fishing and create unforgettable experiences on the water. Thanks to the support of our amazing clients and dedication to improving every trip, that dream has become a reality. We started with our first boat and built a strong reputation—backed by great reviews, happy memories, and countless photos of successful catches. Today, we’re proud to offer an upgraded and fully customized boat designed for your comfort and enjoyment. (Our profile photo shows the newly modified vessel.) With over 10 years of experience fishing these rich tropical waters. Whether it’s live bait fishing, trolling, or bottom fishing, we excel on curating trips for anglers of all levels of experience. We also offer recreational trips, snorkeling, and even spearfishing adventures—so there’s something for everyone.
Techniques
My favorite types of fishing are with live bait, although on many occasions we use different methods and different techniques for the different species we have in our waters. We fish for mahi mahi by trolling, with lurs and baliju, which is a bait that is very popular with sailfish and mahi mahi. Normally, when we are fishing off shore we are attentive to the communication radius and the other fishing companions. In the area this gives us a better result to find good spots, for example, yellowfin tuna always live at 20 miles which is a good distance to catch different large species. If we fish in-shore we use the live bait and casting technique, we often use rapalas and enjoy trolling on the islands and near the national park. If we fish in the mouths of the rivers or near the rocks we can find roosterfish, red snapper, snook, among others. The important thing for us is that our clients have the best bites.

Hey, I'm Captain Jose Hidalgo

Quepos, Costa Rica
Background
Hidalgo Sportfishing began with a simple goal: to share our passion for fishing and create unforgettable experiences on the water. Thanks to the support of our amazing clients and dedication to improving every trip, that dream has become a reality. We started with our first boat and built a strong reputation—backed by great reviews, happy memories, and countless photos of successful catches. Today, we’re proud to offer an upgraded and fully customized boat designed for your comfort and enjoyment. (Our profile photo shows the newly modified vessel.) With over 10 years of experience fishing these rich tropical waters. Whether it’s live bait fishing, trolling, or bottom fishing, we excel on curating trips for anglers of all levels of experience. We also offer recreational trips, snorkeling, and even spearfishing adventures—so there’s something for everyone.
Techniques
My favorite types of fishing are with live bait, although on many occasions we use different methods and different techniques for the different species we have in our waters. We fish for mahi mahi by trolling, with lurs and baliju, which is a bait that is very popular with sailfish and mahi mahi. Normally, when we are fishing off shore we are attentive to the communication radius and the other fishing companions. In the area this gives us a better result to find good spots, for example, yellowfin tuna always live at 20 miles which is a good distance to catch different large species. If we fish in-shore we use the live bait and casting technique, we often use rapalas and enjoy trolling on the islands and near the national park. If we fish in the mouths of the rivers or near the rocks we can find roosterfish, red snapper, snook, among others. The important thing for us is that our clients have the best bites.
Anglers Choice
Verified

My Charter Listing

Excellent
4.8 / 5
(162 reviews)
Angler's choice
Quepos
 Last booking: 14 hours ago
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $500

Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
4.8 / 5
out of 5 stars from 162 reviews
Boat
Excellent
4.7 / 5
Crew
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Experience
Excellent
4.8 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (256)
Great guys! Highly recommend
Great guys! Highly recommend
Great guys! Highly recommend
+253
Angler rating
136
18
5
1
0
Anglers claimed
Good experience
92%
Friendly captain
99%
Recommend this charter
94%
Appropriate for children
93%
Satisfied with the boat
99%
Caught fish
87%
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Showing:
5 of 162 reviews
Bryan R.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great day out

VERIFIED   (7AM) Inshore Fishing on July 4, 2025
The guys did a wonderful job making the trip memorable. They were very friendly, had no problems teaching and explaining things,...
Bryan R. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Bryan R. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Jonathan C.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great day!!

VERIFIED   5hr OFFSHORE FISHING (AM) on April 8, 2025
Caught some big eye crevalle, ended up losing a few snapper, one was huuuuge. Then went and trolled a bit, had around 30-40...
Jonathan C. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Jonathan C. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Olivier M.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

What a Day !!

VERIFIED   (7AM) Inshore Fishing on March 2, 2025
Such a nice Day with Jose and Mike We we 2 adults and 2 teenagers The captain found a bunch of fish We could...
Olivier M. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Olivier M. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Kazutomo Y.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great family fishing trip!

VERIFIED   Half Day Inshore PM ? 5hrs on February 15, 2025
Our afternoon fishing trip exceeded all expectations! We caught more than enough fish, and my kids were thrilled by the challenge...
Kazutomo Y. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Kazutomo Y. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Jared R.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great captain and boat

VERIFIED   Full day trip โ€“ Offshore on September 19, 2024
Jose was an amazing captain who accommodated our every need. Unfortunately we had one snapper on but he got off due to some...
Jared R. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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Jared R. recommends Hidalgo Sportfishing
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