Drake Bay is well known for it’s biodiversity on land. Cano Island is well known for it’s marine biodiversity, but only a few people know that there are other oceanic activities available here. The unique location of Drake Bay allows for easy access to many excellent fishing spots and charter fishing tours here are just as amazingly biodiverse as anything that Drake Bay has to offer.
Offshore fishing, Bottom Fishing and Inshore fishing methods require an experienced fishing captain, and a seaworthy, well maintained fishing boat with the proper fishing tools. Because Drake Bay is home to just 500 residents and receives a relatively small number of visitors that usually only stay for 3 days, few people have the time to experience charter fishing tours. thus, there are only 2 boat captains who are licensed to conduct such trips. This is truly diamond in the rough opportunity.
The Inshore Fishing trips traverse the bountiful coastlines searching for signs of feeding grounds. The coastline leading from the Sierpe River towards Corcovado National Park contains many river mouths and lots of rock structures. The river mouths provide a constant amount of freshwater life that encourages huge fish to enter the shallower waters. The seemingly infinite number of shoreline rock structures also provide a safe haven for smaller bait fish. Just beyond, the fishing captain’s hungry targets await.
Inshore Fishing potential catches include:
Snapper, Sea Bass, Spanish Mackerel, Pacific Black Snook, and Rooster fish.
Bottom Fishing requires a captain with lots of experience. This is because one needs to have intimate knowledge of the rock structures and the sea floor of the area. Drake Bay is the upper rim of an ancient volcano, with Cano Island being the other side of the rim peaking above water. The volcano’s rim stretches 15 miles across and because of the ancient volcanic activity that existed millions of years ago, the ocean bottom has many rock structures that are located in rather random places.
Any of the significantly sized rock structures found around Drake Bay contain giant feeding fish. The types of fish caught when bottom fishing travel from place to place to feed.
Bottom Fishing species include:
Gigantic Amberjack, Red Snapper, Grouper, and Pompano.
Offshore Fishing from Drake Bay is where some of the biggest fish in the world can be caught, such as the Black Marlin, an enormous beast that can reach a weight of 1,560 lbs. These charter fishing trips travel 30 miles offshore to the Furuno Bank, where the ocean floor plummets from 30 feet to more than 3000. There is a major current that follows this bank and it is used as a superhighway for creatures migrating south. The fish that are caught on offshore trips are generally policing the waters as the current brings past their potential prey.
All fishing in Drake Bay is exceptional- but nature is nature. Not every journey will produce 300lbs of fish. However, from the information I have gathered over the years, Drake Bay is simply the best option for maximizing your opportunities.
Some of the more popular types of fish caught offshore include:
Marlin (Black Blue, and Striped), Sailfish, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Wahoo.
