Are you an avid angler but tired of being confined to local lakes and rivers? Have you ever wanted to try something more exotic, like deep-sea angling? Costa Rica fishing is for you then!

Sure, fishing in your little lake is fun because you know that the worst day of fishing is better than the best day of working. But, dont you deserve a vacation of a lifetime in one of the worlds great fisheries?

On Costa Rica’s North Pacific coast, the favored fishing centers are Flamingo and Tamarindo. Sailfish are available here year round but the peak season is May through August. From August to October, you can easily find large schools of tuna from 40 to 400 pounds. If roosterfish are your interest, visit the Bay of Papagayo around November to March, staying near the shorelines. Depending on the time of year, you also have a chance to hook wahoo, marlin, or the shimmering dorado.

Billfish are a popular quarry for those angling in Costa Rica and the Central Pacific coast offers them in abundance. Visit the waters off Quepos or the Los Suenos Marina from December to April to catch sails or marlin. From May though October you can often catch a vibrant dorado while trolling offshore. Tuna, wahoo, snapper, roosters, and snook are also available in this region and are found closer in. You will not be disappointed fishing here!

Along the South Pacific coast, you will find the the angling paradises of Puerto Jiminez, Golfo Dulce, and Drake Bay. In the months when the water is warm, big marlin and sailfish are abundant. Inshore, you will likely run into roosters, large snapper, wahoo, and amberjack. Golfo Ducle is said by many to offer the finest inland fishing in Costa Rica. This is mostly due to the fact that it contains many small coves and is very rocky, giving fish a great place to hide. Hook a barracuda, grouper, or sea bass here as well as other inland species. Sometimes, you will have thousands of porpoises around your boat.

In the Caribbean waters of Costa Rica, the prominent centers are Barra del Colorado and Tortuguero, a world famous sea turtle sanctuary. These waters can often be extremely turbulent and for the best results should be generally avoided during rainy season. This lasts from January to March. However, on flat days, this region can offer some of the best angling around. This is where you can find the large and spectacular tarpon fish easily from May to November. These waters are also one of the very few places a lucky fisherman might catch the rare Atlantic sail. Snook (some really big) are abundant here. You could also bring in a Jack Crevalle, tripletail, giant grouper, or guapote.

If you want to get out of the office and see some incredible species of fish, a Costa Rica fishing trip may be just what you need! There are several vacation packages available online for sportfishing. Costa Rica is said to be the best deep sea fishing in the world so go put that reputation to the test!

For a person who’s finally decided to see one of the last unspoiled wilderness regions in the United States, and maybe partake in all the wondrous fishing activities up there, hiring an Alaska fishing guide will be a necessary action to take. For some really fantastic fishing, almost every angler believes the Kenai River and the Kenai Peninsula area is the best, and there are many guides who work that region.

But, what are the things to look for when it’s time to find a good Alaska fishing guide, whether for Kenai or anywhere else in the state? At the current time, just about anyone can become what’s called a “sport fishing guide” in Alaska, so there are no hard-and-fast laws or regulations which oversee the profession. For purposes of having a minimum base of skills from which a consumer can gauge, it’s recommended that every guide have a few tangible things.

It would be a mistake to assume that everybody acting as a guide up in Alaska has liability or hazard insurances, because some don’t. In fact, acting as a guide can be something somebody does in between deep-sea fishing jobs or some other seasonal activity, so check to see if guiding is a full-time job. Also, there can be a lot of miles in between a fishing camp and a doctor, so find out if the guide has first aid and CPR training and a good first aid kit.

Since guides themselves aren’t going to be doing the fishing, they’re not required to have any of the several kinds of licenses to fish somebody might need, depending on the type of fishing being done. But all the good guides take the time to stay licensed, and it could be a good indicator of the guide’s seriousness about his profession.

Most guides in Alaska fall into two camps; those who specialize in a certain region or type of fishing and those who are more generalized. Which one is best depends upon the individual circumstance. Take a moment to ask him or her how long they’ve been in business and what sort of fishing activities they specialize in. Hiring on an Alaska fishing guide isn’t a very difficult process, but a person should take a few minutes to check one out before anything else.