You don’t have to be a sportfishing fanatic to get genuine pleasure from a day or two of fishing. Many of the men and women who contact Americana Sportfishing to enjoy Costa Rica’s world-class saltwater sportfishing are first- and second-time anglers who want to combine a long-awaited vacation in a tropical paradise with a day or two out on the ocean, seeking more excitement and involvement than simply taking a nice boat ride.

Several factors make Costa Rica one of the world’s premier sportfishing destinations. Here are just two. First, of course, is the year-round abundance of prized gamefish: Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado (Mahi-Mahi), Roosterfish, Snapper, Yellowfin Tuna all along the Pacific coast; and Tarpon, Snook, Guapote (known to many as Rainbow Bass), Needlefish on the Caribbean coast near the Nicaraguan border to the north.

Second, and equally important, are the fantastic guys who make their living as saltwater sportfishing charter captains. Costa Rica is home to some of the world’s finest and most-respected captains. One who comes instantly to mind is Bobby McGuinness. Bobby has been fishing for 35 years, most of that time out of his hometown in Golfito, nestled on the western side of Golfo Dulce in the south of the country.

Bobby has twice – 2006 and 2010 – been named world’s top captain by the International Game Fish Association, the arbiter of all world saltwater and freshwater fishing records. Saltwater Sportsman magazine recently named him one of the world’s 50 top saltwater captains. If you want to catch a Marlin, Bobby McGuinness is your man!

Joining him on the magazine’s top 50 list is Bubba Carter, who fishes out of Los Sueños Marina in the Central Pacific, 90 minutes from San José. Another Los Sueños captain who has carved out a name for himself is MJ Alligood. MJ was top captain at the prestigious 2013 Offshore World Championship in Quepos, coming ahead of 67 other captains from around the world.

Then there is Randy Wilson up north in Tamarindo. Randy has been fishing the area since 1974/5; he was one of the first captains in Costa Rica to practice – and vociferously advocate among his fellow captains – catch-and-release, now the norm here and world-wide for billfish and other prize gamefish species.

Not only are these guys, and a host of others, far too many to mention, wonderful captains/guides; they are also, as should be the case, wise and patient teachers. They derive equal pleasure from working with both the experienced angler and the total novice alike, wanting and hopefully being able to infuse the first- or second-time angler – without discrimination as to sex or age – with not only the rudiments of, but also a love and respect for saltwater sportfishing.

So even if you haven’t done any saltwater sportfishing before, don’t hesitate to try your hand in Costa Rica. There is nothing to be scared of! All you have to bring to the boat first thing in the morning, besides yourself of course, is a hat, good rubber-soled shoes, sun block, and the spirit of adventure. The fish are here, the facilities are here – excellent marinas, fine hotels – and the marvelous American and local captains will look after the rest, making your Costa Rica fishing charter an exciting experience you will never forget. Hopefully you will want to repeat it over and over again.

This exclusive article comes courtesy of Americana Sportfishing which has been arranging sportfishing charters and complete sportfishing vacations in Costa Rica for the past 20 years.