The Quepos fishing calendar in one line, then the detail. December through April is billfish peak, May through September is the dorado and tuna run, roosterfish bite inshore every month of the year, and the cheapest good fishing lives in the shoulder months.
Every angler planning a Costa Rica trip asks the same question, so here is the honest calendar for Quepos, without the brochure gloss.
The one paragraph version
December through April is the dry season and the billfish peak: sailfish in numbers, marlin for the ambitious, settled seas, and the busiest, priciest months in town. May through September is green season: dorado, yellowfin tuna and wahoo offshore, clear mornings before afternoon rain, open boats and better prices. Roosterfish bite inshore every month of the year, which makes a half day trip the safest bet on any calendar page. October and November are the quietest transition months, and the value hunters know it.
Month by month
December to April. The dry season. Sailfish arrive in real numbers, blue and black marlin run from November, and the sea state is at its friendliest. This is when the tournaments come to Marina Pez Vela and when the full day offshore charter does its most famous work. Book weeks or months ahead; the boat fills, and so does the town. If you can only pick one stretch for billfish, January through March is it.
May and June. The underrated pick. The dorado and tuna run starts, the crowds thin out, the hills turn green, and prices drop across hotels and charters. The fishing stays genuinely good while the logistics get easy. June is our honest answer to "when should I come if I care about value?"
July and August. Mid green season. Dorado and yellowfin remain the offshore story, mornings fish well ahead of afternoon showers, and the southern humpback migration is in full swing, so whale sightings on the ride out are common. The current monthly fishing report has the on-the-water picture.
September and October. The wettest stretch and the quietest. The offshore bite holds better than the weather's reputation suggests, boats are easiest to book, and prices bottom out. Come with flexible mornings and you will have the water largely to yourself.
November. The turn. Rain tapers, marlin numbers pick up, and the town starts waking up for the season. A good month to beat the December rush by a few weeks.
What never changes
The roosterfish. Snapper, snook and grouper keep them company on the inshore rock all year, which is why the half day trip works in any month, in almost any weather window, for any mix of kids and grown-ups. If your dates are fixed and they land outside billfish peak, inshore is the guarantee while offshore is the adventure.
For what each species actually is and how it fights, the top five fish off Quepos covers them one by one.
Booking by season
December to April: book early, weeks ahead minimum. May to September: days ahead is usually fine. Either way, tell us your dates and we will tell you what those weeks actually look like on the water, including whether we would move a day for weather or whales.
Ready to get out there?
Every charter runs from Marina Pez Vela in Quepos aboard a 45-foot Viking with a local crew. Have a look at what we run, or ask us a question contact.
