A Costa Rica Trout & Jungle Panfish Sampler

We’ve just returned from a 6-day trip with client Chris, of California. Chris, a fly-fishing guide himself, had contacted us

to help arrange a custom trip and to guide him to some of Costa Rica’s more unusual, and more remote, fisheries. He wanted to catch trout in the cloud forests, then try for snook and tropical panfish in the lowland rainforests.

Our trip began high in the mountains above San Jose, near 9,000 feet, where we fished our favorite cloudforest river for trout. The fish were abundant, and hungry — and our two days fishing there were highlighted with great looks at one of the rarest, and most beautiful, of Costa Rican bird species, the resplendant quetzal. These birds — rarely seen even by the most avid of birdwatchers, are  often easily spotted on our fly fishing adventures.

After getting our fill of trout fishing, we changed gears — and lightened our clothing — and spent the remainder of the trip fishing in a roadless, remote jungle area along the northwestern Caribbean slope. Temperatures here average 30-40 degrees warmer than in the mountains where the trout live, and the species diversity reflects the much hotter, more humid maritime climate. We fished uninhabitated lagoons and

rivers under the playful gaze of monkeys and toucans, watched dolphins swim and caught many different species of fish, including snook, while throwing poppers into pinpoint pockets of rainforest lianas and trees draped in bromeliads and orchids. Chris’ outstanding casting and fishing skills greatly improved his success.