Crocodile
Bay Lodge opened it's doors in September of 1999,
and the 750 foot private pier was completed in April of
2000. A new 5000 square foot luxury SPA is currently under
construction and will be available in December or January
of 2006. Other facilities include a conference
and meeting center that seats up to 80 people, two butterfly
farms, a crocodile lagoon, pool with raised jacuzzi, game
and television room, restaurant and bar with outdoor grill
and buffet, and countless walking and hiking trails.
Built of concrete and local native hardwoods,
the 34 rooms are spacious with queen sized beds and private jacuzzis
(available in deluxe rooms) and air 
conditioning.
Williams had a vision of the project more than a decade ago. He
began assembling his team by bringing Hardy Corea aboard as company
president and manager of the lodge. I joined the team as director
of Fishing and am in charge of the fleet. Corea and I both trained
under the wing of the late Archie Fields, founder of the Rio Colorado
tarpon and snook lodge on the Caribbean coast and pioneer of early
Costa Rica tourism. In all, Crocodile Bay Lodge created more than
80 new jobs in Puerto Jimenez.
CLICK HERE FOR TRIP PACKAGES
Fantastic Fishing!
It is the dance of the sailfish and the lightning speed of the marlin
that that attract most anglers to the Osa Peninsula. It
is not uncommon to raise more than 20 billfish in a days fishing.
Most dorado coming to the dock have been over 30 lbs with Tuna always
plentiful. You can likely catch a billfish any day of the year,with
January through April the top months for marlin and sailfish along
this region of the southern coast. there is also a good showing
of marlin in August and November, while months during and just after
the rains produce more dorado, as the debris washed out of the rivers
forms the inshore trash lines they feed under. Football-size tuna
are almost always present and sometimes those that top out at 300
pounds.
Anglers trolling in the bluewater are often treated to pleasant surprises.
Humpback and pilot whales blow geysers high in the air. Sea turtles sun
on the surface. Manta rays free-jump and belly-flop with a loud slap on
the water. The most awesome sight, though, is the sighed sight of a pod
of killer whales migrating s along the coast.
Inshore fishing is consistent all year. Roosterfish and cubera snapper
are the main attraction, but the waters along the beaches and
the Golfo Dulce add to the menu. Snook roam the beaches as well
as the rivers. A dozen other types of snapper, grouper, amberjack,
bluefin trevally, sharks and barracuda cruise the reefs.
Giant schools of bonito bust bait in the gulf, great game for a fly rodder.
What makes the fishing unique in this area is the Golfo Dulce itself.
On the mainland side of the gulf, the mountains seem to melt into the
emerald water. The volcanic structure continues underwater creating habitat
and feeding grounds for the finned residents.
The Rio Esquinas enters the northwest corner of the gulf in a massive
estuary system of creeks and mangroves. The dropoff at the revermouth
quickly falls to more than 200 feet in depth, creating an ambush point
for roosterfish, jack crevalle, snook and snapper. A local fisherman took
a 63 pound black snook on a handline several years back that would have
crushed the current world record for conventional tackle.
Rio Coto at Zancudo is also famous for its snook. Large schools of herring
congregate on the flats in front of the river and with it schools of sierra
mackerel, jacks and other game fish. The Zancudo beach has an inshore
corbina population and gets rocky again as it turns the corner to Pavones,
where roosterfish and surfers share the famous left break.
Two volcanic reefs lay in the shallows offshore. One is nearly a mile
long. Small cubera snappers in the 5 to 10 pound range jump all over a
topwater plug worked over the rocks. Roosterfish to fifty pounds patrol
these same mirrored waters, though they prefer a frisky live bait.
Crocodile
Bay's Fleet
The
33-vessel fleet includes
five 33 foot
Strikefishers,
and one 35 foot owners Strike. The rest of the fleet is
composed of 27' Boston Whalers, Pathfinders, Champions, Bulldogs,
and 17-foot backcountry flat boats to work the estuaries and
rivers inshore. Several major rivers wind through the mangroves
and dump rich nutrients into the gulf.
We offer both Inshore and Offshore Fishing Packages
