We (party of 5) chartered an eight 8 hr trip with Capt. Mendez. We caught 1 dorado (mahi mahi) and 1 very large rooster fish. We also hooked 1 sailfish that gave an acrobatic show for 30 seconds before spitting the hook. Two other dorado bit short but were not hooked. Capt Mendez is a great host and fishing guide. We discussed a mutually agreeable fishing plan at the beginning of the trip, relying on the Capt’s experience of what worked and was appropriate. Beverages and pineapple snacks were provided. We booked the larger boat as it had a bathroom and we felt that was necessary for the 8 hour trip.
It rained the first 6 hours so a raincoat is a good idea, though seating is covered by a canvas top the sides are open.
The technique was trolling live bait and the boat did not appear to be set up for casting or jigging techniques. Keep that in mind if you prefer other modes of fishing.
You embark the boat from the beach and you will take perhaps 3 or 4 steps in water up to mid calf to reach the boat. Be prepared to get your feet wet.

We had a fun day out fishing.  It was a tough fishing day as the fish weren’t biting really great.  However, Capitan Mendez worked hard to target and get on some fish.  We caught a black tuna that was really fun.  We lost a couple of those tuna and I lost a barracuda I suspect.  We saw dolphins swimming around us that was fun.  The sashimi that Capitan Mendez made out of the tuna was fantastic.  My son enjoyed this trip the best in Costa Rica.  We enjoyed our trip and have no regrets.  The fun conversation with Capitan Mendez was good.  We learned a lot about the area and fishing there.

Met first mate David on the beach in the afternoon while captain was prepping the bigger boat for our group of six. The small crew was very accommodating and seemed genuinely excited to be out on the water even though they go every day. As we went out to sea we got an overview of all the islands and resorts around the area as gulls and dolphins flew and swam around the boat.

We got to the “hot spot” and lines must have been in the water less than 5 minutes before we hooked a nice mahi. We continued to slam tuna and mahi until all 6 of us had caught fish. Kept consistently catching fish and a few hours later we hooked into 4 fish at the same time!! Once we were done reeling them all in captain gave us some beers and sandwiches while the first mate filleted our fish.

No one had been sea fishing before and everyone had a great time. Highly recommend, kind of lost track on number of fish but we ended up with 2 very full gallon bags of fillets and the “vibe” was very good the entire time.

None of us will forget this trip anytime soon, Pura Vida!