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....I was thinking 100-150 for the fishing part of the day trip

Thx Mikey-B, goin to the airport in a couple of hours. I will be looking for some shipmates soon,settin sail on the ss chica

...I will be dragging some business associates down in mid- to late August for some gulch activities as well as some pacific fishing. I was thinking about heading over to Los Suenos, or Quepos. We also discussed doing 2 half days of fishing instead of full days (for relaxation purposes).

...I look forward to hearing from Mikey-B as well....

Hey buddy,
These are good questions.
1st of all, because of my condominiums in Playa del Coco and Playa Ocotal (in the Golfo de Papagayo), I've spent most of my time in North/West Guanacaste, and I've always fished out of the Flamingo Marina in Playa Flamingo, or out of Playa del Coco. We've fished the entire West Coast to the North (almost to Nicaragua), all the way down to the South (towards the bottom of the Nicoya Peninsula, around MalPais and Cabo Blanco) and everything in between. But I've never gone further South than that.

The billfish are usually the most sought after species (Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, Striped Marlin, Sailfish), and they migrate from the South (the Golfo Dulce area - Zancudo / Golfito) to the Central part of the country (Dominical, Los Sueños, Manuel Antonio,Quepos, Jaco), then up to the North part of the country (Playa Carillo, Tamarindo, Flamingo, Playa del Coco).

Although they are caught year-round along the entire Pacific Coast, they're primarily located in the Southern region from November thru February. Then the bigger concentration of fish migrate to the Central region from February thru May or June. Then, they'll travel to the Northern part of the region from June through October.

As far as "meat" fish for the dinner table, they're around throughout the entire year. The only factor is, depending on the season, they might be closer to shore or farther out, based on water temperature. Dorado (mahi) can be caught anywhere, anytime. Same thing with Tuna and Wahoo. All 3 species are great eating fish, and they'll all yank your arms off! You will always pick up Dorado and/or Wahoo while trolling for billfish. For tuna, all you need to do is find a school of porpoise's. There'll always be tuna in the mix. They usually range in the 20-30 lb range, but they are great for tuna steaks, or sushi!

Some of the inshore species are very strong also. Roosterfish, Cubera Snapper, Barracuda, Needlefish, Bonita, Jack Crevalle, grouper, etc... They're all fun to catch, and most of them fight like a freight train, but you can't keep the Roosterfish, as it is a sportfish, and most (if not all) captains will let you take a picture, then you must release the fish. Cubera Snapper and Grouper are great table fare, and you can keep those, but they're not as plentiful. Needlefish, Barracuda, Jack's, and Bonita are shit fish. Good fight, but the meat sucks.

Cost ? Naturally it varies, but the biggest factor is the size of the boat. Most of the boats (25' - 31') will average around $600 - $800 for a full day, but keep in mind, these boats will usually take a maximum of 4 anglers. Any more than that, it's too crowded. The bigger boats (35' - 50') will accomodate up to 6 or 7 anglers, but their price is higher. I've seen prices (for the bigger boats) range from $800 per day, all the way up to $1,500 per day. Granted, the bigger boats are nice, with air conditioned cabins, and more room, but that doesn't make them any more successful when it comes to catching fish.

If you want to fish out of Flamingo, there's a couple different guys that I would recommend, but from SJO, you're probably better off going over to Jaco, Quepos or Los Sueños. Out of those 3 locations, I'd recommend Quepos. It's a little less expensive than Jaco, and a lot less expensive than Los Sueños.

The key is to let the captain know exactly what you'd like. As I said, most people want to go after billfish, and 99 percent of the time, the boats are set up and rigged for Marlin and Sailfish. But if you want "meat" for dinner and the freezer, you must let them know this in advance. It makes a big difference in where they'll take you, and what type of lures / bait they'll use, and what type of trolling spread they'll put out, and what type of speed they'll run.

Either way, I'm sure that you'll have a good time. The boats usually provide beer, soda and water, along with cut fruit, snacks and lunch for everyone on the boat. But don't, under any circumstances, forget your sunblock. The sun will reflect off the water and burn the shit out of you. You'll even get a sunburn on a cloudy day! Personally, I don't wear that crap, as my Sicilian skin can take it, but many friends of mine have been fried without sunblock.

Hope this helps. Take care