Some friends and I just returned from the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge.

It borders Nicaragua on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.

The Refuge is a broad flood plain.

It is listed as a wetland of international importance and is one of the wettest parts of Costa Rica.



The entry airport at San Jose is modern and easy to get through.




Barra (mouth) del Colorado (of the Colorado) is where the Colorado river empties into the Caribbean.

One can enjoy fishing for fresh and salt water species from the same camp.



Wildlife in the surrounding jungle includes large numbers of white-faced capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys and mantled howler monkeys.

Also found are Baird’s tapir, jaguar, ocelot and otters.

Some of the birds we saw were the threatened great green macaw, anhinga and great egret.

The jungle contains 60 known varieties of frogs including the tiny poison dart frog.



In the fresh water there are whale sharks, manatees, spectacled caiman, American crocodile and approximately 30 species of fish.

One of the fresh water fish we enjoyed catching was the huge bluegill.

This is a small one but we caught some twice this size.



We also caught crevalle jack, tarpon, machacha, snook, tiger fish, guapote and catfish.



We went in late January and frankly the fishing was tough due to the wind and to the flooded river.

The flood spread the fish out over a large area of jungle.

We did catch all the varieties of fish we went for but not in the numbers that are possible if one goes in September or October.



The lodge we used was Silver King Lodge and the accommodations were great.

The food was excellent, guides professional, rooms clean and the boats were well suited to the waters fished.

Including air fare from central US, tips, misc. souvenirs etc. I spent about $3,500 on this trip.



The only thing I did not like was that there was fuel surcharge of 50 cents per gallon of gas that one used in the boat.

This was not explained in advance but added nearly $175 per person.


High seas and the strong current from the Rio del Colorado met at the mouth and the conditions proved too much for our small boats on all but one day of the four we fished.

On that day I caught a tarpon that my guide estimated to weigh between 120 and 125 lbs. I would have hated to catch a bigger one.

This one fought me to the bitter end.



On the day that we got out to the ocean we fished about a mile or two off shore.



All other days we spent fishing in the flooded jungle.

The bad side of this was that the fish were spread throughout the jungle.

The good news was that we had access to a lot of area that could not normally be boated through.

On return to San Jose we took a side trip to the Poas Volcano national park only an hours drive from town.

The volcano currently has gas and steam coming from the fumaroles in the inner cone of the main crater.

A most interesting feature of this area is the cloud forest where many species of butterflies, hummingbirds and orchids are found.



Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a high literacy rate and friendly people.

They nearly all speak English and Spanish and the prices are affordable.

I look forward to going back with the family.

My first outdoor love. Fishing. Great report and outstanding pictures-I am jealous-Ben

Beautiful pics, beautiful country. Thanks for sharing.