Headed there july/August just passing through Arenal for a day then to the Tamarindo to fish for Roosters.

Any do's or donts?

Lonestar-aught-six said:

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We're at the end of our trip and got to see a good bit of wildlife.
In La Fortuga at the base of the Arenal volcano. It's been an amazing trip, and just wanted to share.

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Jaguar cichlids??

we just got back from a week there and had a lovely time too. we didn't get to see any of the volcano due to clouds.

We did zip lining, fishing with Osprey Fishing Tours ( Brian was great! I had experience so he let me fish with a little guidance), a cooking class (same on the experience thing). Lots of local food. I've heard the hanging bridges are top notch. The locals really help with spotting wildlife

Jaguar bass and we are having the restaurant prepare them tonight and I'm really excited to try it.

The came out really clear ten minutes after we got here the fairy clear once after that but it's been a cloud for the most part.

I love Costa Rica! One of the most incredible places I've been. You'd never know that at one point in recent history over 75%of that country had been logged off.

Ah very cool fish ... jaguar cichlid and jaguar bass are synonyms. They are in the cichlid family like peacock "bass" and rainbow "bass" aka guapote.

Interestingly our largemouth/smallmouth/florida/guadalupe "bass" are all in the sunfish family (what we texans call perch/bluegill)

"True bass" are stripers/white bass/yellow bass and their hybrids.

But common names don't matter. Cool fish are cool fish and jaguar bass/cichlids are known for hitting hard and fighting above their weight class.

Guapote is what they called them at the local fishing supply stores in San Jose. I never got a chance to fish for them.

Yeah I lost my first two on first and second cast. Once they see the boat it's on!

marcel ledbetter said:

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Guapote is what they called them at the local fishing supply stores in San Jose. I never got a chance to fish for them.

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I've never gotten the chance to fish down there but from what I understand there are two very closely related species of cichlid people fish for down there that the locals call guapote and guiding services generally refer to as jaguar bass and rainbow bass respectively. The one in the pics is definitely a jaguar bass/cichlid. The rainbow bass have more of a bluish color and longer fins and brighter colors on the big adult males.

Rainbow bass is the word I was looking for. I'm definitely not up to speed on all the variants down there.

FirefightAg said:

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Headed there july/August just passing through Arenal for a day then to the Tamarindo to fish for Roosters.

Any do's or donts?

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Find one of the roadside cafes they call "sodas" where locals are lined up and stop for a bite to eat and a beer.

Tamarindo is a cool little town. Just be mindful of the crocs in the lagoon and they do get into the surf. El Chirinquito is a great little beachside bar & restaurant. They'll cook your catch. And Palapa is great for a sunset dinner on the beach- get the whole fried snapper.

Also, if you're taking your own fishing gear you can wade the surf for snook around sunup. Only problem is the best spot is right at the mouth of the river and that's where the crocs frequent.

The fish was delicious, we had one garlic butter basted and one fried as whole fish. If we come back definitely doing again.

Also, last time near Arenal we stayed at Tabacon Hot Springs resort but drove to the other side of the volcano to a little town called La Fortuna to eat a couple times. Totally worth it.

We went here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y2MqqM6RAH5DFsoi9?g_st=ic

And here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RbYQfqJSgtyweyRd7?g_st=ic

Soda La Hormiga closes at 4 we were planning to eat there and didn't make it.

We each caught a little rainbow. I was soaked at this point.

Cool, we'll be staying in La Fortuna in a couple weeks. Good to know.

We just got back from Tamarindo/La Fortuna for a week.

Favorite restaurants in Tamarindo:
Dragonfly
Patagonia
Noguis

Favorite restaurants in La Fortuna
Travesia
Restaurant Fortuneno
Don Rufino

Also went fishing in Tamarindo and they recommended taking our catch and eating at Chiringuito, but we didn't quite make it. Beautiful country though. Splurged a little bit and stayed at Nayara. If you can swing it, it's worth every penny.