Lake Arenal Fishing

                  Fishing Lake Arenal

  Your complete one stop reference fishing guide for fishing Lake Arenal Costa Rica. We tell you where to launch your b

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oat, what tackle to use, where and when to fish and we even some local fishing guides to help make your vacation trip
a complete success.

                                             Rainbow Bass Information

      Guapote (also known as rainbow bass) is one of the primary target fish on Lake Arenal.  Highly desirable for eating and catching.  The Guapote is a great fighting fish and requires great skill to stop the initial run.  Guapote fight like saltwater fish.  They have been caught up to 15 lbs, however the average fish will weigh upward of 2-5 lbs.  Fishing action can be slow at times and may require a lot of casting with your favorite lure, but its worth it when ones strikes!!  Stay with it and you'll hook up with a Big Guapote.  See our lure recommendations. 

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                Visit The Most Current Lake Arenal Fishing Guide website.

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                                          How To Catch Rainbow Bass

     Guapote fishing on Lake Arenal can be successful by walking the shoreline and casting parallel to the shore in early morning or late afternoon.  Since Lake Arenal is located on the equator, the days and night are almost equal in length.  There is 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark.  It gets daylight around 5am and very dark by 5-5:30pm in the evening.  Guapote fishing is best at or just after daylight.  The fishing is good up until mid morning to noon, and then action slows as they move to deeper water.  We recommend a trolling technique and try lures that will run 18 to 25 feet. Catching big Guapote requires a lot of dedication and a lot of casting.  It is much more difficult to catch a Guapote during mid day from the shore or from a boat. However, one local Guapote Fishing Guide reported catching the unofficial IGFA World Record Guapote Rainbow Bass weighing 6.5 Kilos at 2 PM last November. So you never know when a big Guapote will strike. 

                                          Lake Arenal Fishing Guides

     Book your Lake Arenal Lodging with us and we'll help you book your Guided Rainbow fishing trip. Many fisherman want to rent a canoe or Kayak and try their own luck fishing the lake. Many tourist travel to the Lake Arenal area for the climate and other activities such as horseback riding to remote jungle waterfalls, white water rafting, zip lining over the rainforest canopy, windsurfing or just boating on the lake.  Whether fishing for the Guapote Rainbow Bass or taking a boat tour on the lake, we highly recommended spending some time on the lake during your visit to Lake Arenal.  

         Guided Fishing On Lake Arenal    

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                                     Best Lures For Rainbow Bass Fishing

     Some of the local guides swear by white or red spinner baits.  Others swear by dark red floating/diving plugs.  The lures you use will depend on the type of Rainbow Bass fishing you are doing.  In the morning try jointed minnow imitations in red, green, orange and yellow. Also try some top water plugs in silver, red and gold.  Rainbow Bass will hit almost anything a large mouth bass will.  Later in the day use lures that will dive from 5 to 8 feet as the sun rises.  Its difficult to fish deep diving plugs from shore as they will get hung up in the sunken trees or the rocks as you retrieve them to shore.  During the middle of the day when the sun is warmest try trolling 18 to 25 feet deep a hundred yards off the shore. Many local swear by red deep diving crank baits or white spinner baits to catch big Guapote Rainbow Bass in Lake Arenal Costa Rica. The locals use a live minnow or a palmetto bug buzzing on the surface to entice the big Guapote to bite. Whatever the lure or color you use it will also require some casting to locate a big one. The big Rainbow Bass are not as common as they used to be. Illegal spear fishing by locals have hurt the Rainbow Bass population.

                               Fish Lake Arenal Form A Boat or From Shore

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                                                 Lake Arenal Boat Ramps

  You can fish Lake Arenal from the shore in many areas, from a boat as there are several free boat ramps with access to the lake.  We offer guided fishing on Lake Arenal to our guests for FREE.  Kayak Fishing.   We provide the latest in lures, graphite fishing rods and reels. Tackle will be similar to bass fishing tackle, except the Guapote will make a much harder run, more like the Florida Saltwater Snook. Fishing licenses are required by law, but the process of securing one is complicated and take time.  Most people fishing Lake Arenal do not have fishing licenses and I have never seen anyone checking for one on or around the lake.  You will be able to spend the entire day on the lake and will probably not even see another boat..  Also, marinas and houses on the water are not allowed, so the lake is very beautiful.  The rainforest growth goes all the way down to the lake front in most areas.  The lake is approximately 33  miles long and up to 200 ft deep in areas.  The water temperature is a constant 76 degrees year round.  This is some of the cleanest lakes in the world.

   There are a couple of public ramps with free access to Lake Arenal.  One of the most popular ramps is located in the Arenal Public Park located just outside the small town of Nuevo Arenal and the other ramp is located at the dam itself.  The ramp at the dam would probably require a 4X4 vehicle, but the Arenal park ramp is paved and very easy to access.

                                        Kayak Fishing On Lake Arenal

   Guapote fishing on Lake Arenal can be exhilarating and the initial Guapote run can be very exciting. Guided Guapote Fishing Trips start at 5:30am and go until 10:30am.  Guapote Bass head for deep waters in the lake after the sun rises and they are more difficult to catch. The lake is very beautiful and sightseeing can also be exciting with many varieties of birds, sloths and monkeys. The rainforest comes down to the water shores in many places as developments on the shore are prohibited.  When you paddle around the lake it looks like a virgin lake and you probably won't see another boat on the water.

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     Everything You Need To Know To Catch Fish On Lake Arenal Costa Rica

 "Fishing is in full gear on Lake Arenal now that the lake is completely full of water and starting to fall again.  Areas of Lake Arenal are accessible now that you cannot fish in low water seasons. Make your way to where the rivers flow into lake Arenal. These areas will be productive in the early morning hours just after daylight. Use a white 1/4 ounce spinner bait with gold blades. Work the lure around the stumps and grass near the shoreline with  slow retrieve, letting the spinner bait bounce off the stumps. Fishing on Lake Arenal can be slow.  One reason the fishing can be challenging is because of local spear fishing. Although illegal, many people dive the lake and the rivers feeding the lake to spear the Guapote.  We spoke with one local in 2010 that reported spearing over 60 large (5 to 8 lb Guapote) in less than 2 hours during the early morning hours of daylight. Unless the Government takes action the Guapote may soon disappear from Lake Arenal.

   The lake however is very beautiful and clean. I highly recommend a boat tour / fishing trip to view the lake up close.  On our last boat tour in April 2009 we saw Toucans, Howler Monkeys and many other species of local animals. We also got some great footage of Arenal Volcano from the lake. Kayaking on the lake is also becoming very popular."

                                                      Lake Arenal Fishing Tips:   

    The best fishing for Guapote is when the lake starts rising (mid June through July) and when it's starts dropping in level (Feb-April).

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