What would you recommend to anglers fishing in Tamarindo, Guanacaste for the first time?

If you are only going for a half-day, try and decide if you would rather have faster action with maybe less-desirable fish or try for the desirable yellowfin or larger mahi mahi but may not get many bites. The fishing grounds for each are far apart and the boating time between each area drastically cuts into your fishing time.

Fish the bite. Be at ease. Have fun, its not a contest. I stayed at Hotel Mar Ray. Clean safe and location, location. Just a short walk to the beach and ferry boat. Great places to eat within the block and across the street on beachside. I used DayTrip service from the airport and when changing locations in country. One of the best decisions I made. I never felt uneasy in Tamarindo. But then I was never out after midnight.

This was a great trip for fisherman who like active fishing with rod in hand. Fishing was slow and I had hoped to get into Rooster fish on top water but that’s fishing! We went in high wind and swell so expectations weren’t that high

Be careful of walking the beach booking trips. They are just looking to make money, have small uncomfortable boats, lack equipment, didn't show up prepared with bait. Our trip with Coyote through Fishing Booker was exactly what they advertised as, and worth the money compared to our previous experiences.

So am comparing one day at one to the other but I saw and caught way more fish on my trip out of playa flamingo. It was also just a better experience due to the better infrastructure of playa flamingo. 100% would do either again but playa flamingo would be my preference.

Expectation vs. reality are two different fishing perspectives. We did catch fish, just not anything to keep, so if you want to keep fish, I would suggest inland, if you want a true fishing experience looking for the big stuff, definitly give offshore a try, we had a blast!

Captain Daniel with Maryola Tours is a very knowledgeable and experienced Captain! Would definitely recommend and rebook! First Mate Johnny took care of everything and expertly cleaned our catch! Louis with Walters Restaurant took care of our reservation for dinner and had the chef expertly and creatively prepare a 4 course meal that was FANTASTIC!!!!

If you're renting a vehicle, don't trust Google Maps to get you there easily if coming from the Northwest. Some of the roads I drove to get there were rather dicey. Steep, narrow and rough dirt roads with wash outs were encountered on several parts on my trip, making it difficult for anything less to get there safely other than a SUV. Get local advice and go the long way to stay on the paved roads instead. Having said that, the fishing was worth it!

Have a good understanding of what species are realistically available at the time of your trip. If you just want to catch numerous yellow fin tuna and a few mahi, you will have a great trip. For other more difficult species, do your research and pay the money for an expert with documented results for those particular fish.

No need to bring rain gear or jackets. Even with rain it was well into the high 80’s and the wind while trolling was refreshing. If you keep fish, make sure your hotel will cook it. JW Marriott Guanacaste will not, but the staff will appreciate the fresh fish.

Enjoy fishing in this beautiful area with a local guide and keep an open mind. Conditions and opportunities change but the fish are here! The local captains know the waters and will do their best to put you on fish!

It seems to rain in the afternoon so the best time to book is morning. A half day trip should be enough to catch plenty depending on the time of year; I think mahi-mahi is best in October but check with your local guide For details.

This fishing trip was amazing! The crew was very professional and friendly. What they advertised on YouTube is definitely accurate. You will have a great time on the water and the captain knows exactly where to go to get the big ones. I didn’t catch a marlin or sail but once I caught a 50lb yellow fin tuna! I was blown away what a fight! I definitely would fish again with them if I come back to Costa Rica. And yes I do recommended that any one wants to have an excellent experience on the deep sea go with Capullo Sportfishing/Rainbow Runner!

We went fishing 3 times and caught only Mahi and albacore. Captains mentioned that it is better fishing for bills end of January and early February. If you want to catch some big Mahi and tuna the best is mid September to mid October.

Be ready for anything with the ocean. It started with choppy waters, went calm for half the trip and stirred up to bigger swells the closer to noon it got. I’d strongly suggest morning as it was predicted rain every afternoon.

Sun screen. Hydrate. Patience. Enjoy every second being on the ocean. Watch for leatherback turtles. We saw two giant ones mating! You might get a pelican to join you. If you are at risk of motion sickness, get the patch or whatever you need to stay healthy on the water.

Captain and crew were most accommodating and accomplished. Charter ended up running longer in attempt to satisfy a gentleman's bet and did not disappoint. Highly reccomended from a FL based resident with plenty of fishing experience.

Be sure to ask your captain what is biting before booking. Don’t try to go after a full day fish with only a half day trip. I think if you fish the reef on a half day trip you will be extremely satisfied.

Bring good protection from the sun if you aren't used to it. If you haven't fished in trophy ocean waters, be prepared to fight bigger (and stronger) fish than you. You never really know when you'll hook into the big one!

Captain Frank and the crew were amazing and very accommodating. Especially pulling in 100+ pound yellowfin tuna. Epic trip.

Research. The coat drops depth quickly, but no reefs to fish. No spots on gps with sunken habitat to gravitate to. Very different from the Gulf of Mexico.

Got to go into the trip expecting not to catch a fish every single cast and you’ll end the day very happy

Had lots of fish in the area, not all were getting hooked up so many missed opportunities but still very good fishing for what was caught.

Find out what fish are running (and when) and go then for a better experience. FishingBooker is cumbersome to use. Call a captain directly if possible.

Let the captain put you on the species that he feels that it’s going to be out there so you can catch as many fish and have a great experience as you can

I believe this is typically a great time to fish, but this year has been strange weather with a lot of rain later in December.

Book ahead of time to get a quality boat. The Brisa Mar at Tamarindo Diriá cooked our tuna and red snapper very well.

I think with a good captain, you can have a fantastic time. Other boats were catching fish and had very happy customers. Just not our boat.

Show up early it’s hard to find your boat and crew, the app doesn’t work very well for communication.

Great weather during trip. Unfortunately heavy trains the previous weeks had the fish unsettled but still a great trip and experience