Fishing License

Home Forums Costa Rica Living Forum Fishing License

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #163217
    cheryl4313
    Member

    If I wanted to do some trout fishing in the mountain streams/rivers during my visit, where would I get a fishing license and what would the cost be? Are there daily bag limits, etc? Thanks for any info anyone may have.

    #163218
    Andrew
    Keymaster

    I do NOT know how up to date it is but, you can see:

    COSTA RICA FISHING LAW – Informative and opinion space to promote the creation of specific laws for Costa Rica’s Sport Fishing in continental waters at:

    [ http://www.freewebs.com/leypescacostarica/english.htm ]

    You can see the 2007 permit requirements at:

    [ http://www.freewebs.com/leypescacostarica/permisosdepesca.htm ]

    But I doubt anybody bothers with that really…

    If you Google “Fishing in Lake Arenal” or “Pesca en el Lago de Arenal” you should find a ton of information about fishing in Lake Arenal.

    Scott

    #163219
    cheryl4313
    Member

    Thanks for the info, Scott, I’ll check out the sites you mention. I was thinking of taking some time during my visit to do a little fly fishing in the mountains on the road between Cartago and San Isidro El General.

    #163220
    Andrew
    Keymaster

    Sounds like fun…

    I have no idea whether you are “supposed to” ask permission to fish in these areas.. And, please also bear in mind that A: There are plenty of dairy farms in that area – don’t want to get your articles about being chased along the riverside by a furious bull – and B: I have come across a few snakes walking in that region…

    Scott

    #163221
    alexander69
    Member

    [quote=”cheryl4313″]Thanks for the info, Scott, I’ll check out the sites you mention. I was thinking of taking some time during my visit to do a little fly fishing in the mountains on the road between Cartago and San Isidro El General.[/quote]
    Hey Cheryl, if you fly fish in a stream and catch a fish please let me know. I love to fly fish and do it here in the mountains of NC. It will be informative to let each other know our results. I’ll be fishing near Puriscal in a week or two. Good luck! Alexander

    #163222
    ticopaz
    Member

    Hi Everyone,
    Well… LOL you do not realllly need a license… however, I was up to San Gerardo de Dota this time last year after having fished there for years. When I got riverside there was a sign by MINAE (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energia) saying fishing was not allowed! Well I ask the locals and they say sure go ahead! If you see any MINAE folks just hide! Well of course we went fishing and had a great time… small trout and lots of them, it is so beautiful there and fun. Later we go to another area and first stop at the MINAE station to chat them up. After a cold welcome they warmed up to us and we became good buds. They told us where else we could fish. Even gave one ranger a ride back to San Jose later in the day. He wasn’t sure about all that fishing gear in the back LOL. Anyway, you don’t need a license… you will not be asked. There are many fresh water rivers to fish for native species like Bobo, Machaca and Guapote (don’t have time to check spellings) Your go to lure is the basic spinner, gold or silver. I also have caught on Prince Nymph bead heads and Hare’s Ear among other bugs from the box. Funny you have this post today as I was going to call my attorney tomorrow to verify the law on what distance from river is public access when rivers run through private land. I will be sure to post this back. My Tico friend says 10 meters is public but I want to make sure. Access is the most difficult thing… so you usually have to find a bridge and then go up or down from there or a pull out. Be sure no belongings are left in view in your vehicle. That’s it for now!

    Tight lines to you all!
    Ticopaz

    #163223
    cheryl4313
    Member

    [quote=”Scott”]Sounds like fun…

    I have no idea whether you are “supposed to” ask permission to fish in these areas.. And, please also bear in mind that A: There are plenty of dairy farms in that area – don’t want to get your articles about being chased along the riverside by a furious bull – and B: I have come across a few snakes walking in that region…

    Scott[/quote]
    Thanks for the advice about both the bulls and the snakes, Scott. Me running across a pasture with a bull right behind is not a good visual! Maybe I’ll check around for a guide in the area.

    #163224
    cheryl4313
    Member

    [quote=”alexander69″][quote=”cheryl4313″]Thanks for the info, Scott, I’ll check out the sites you mention. I was thinking of taking some time during my visit to do a little fly fishing in the mountains on the road between Cartago and San Isidro El General.[/quote]
    Hey Cheryl, if you fly fish in a stream and catch a fish please let me know. I love to fly fish and do it here in the mountains of NC. It will be informative to let each other know our results. I’ll be fishing near Puriscal in a week or two. Good luck! Alexander[/quote]

    Hey Alexander, where are you fishing in Puriscal? That is the area I’m using for home base while in CR. I’ll be there in a couple of weeks myself. Have you done any fly fishing there before? We have some pretty good fly fishing for trout and landlocked salmon here in Maine.

    #163225
    cheryl4313
    Member

    [quote=”ticopaz”]Hi Everyone,
    Well… LOL you do not realllly need a license… however, I was up to San Gerardo de Dota this time last year after having fished there for years. When I got riverside there was a sign by MINAE (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energia) saying fishing was not allowed! Well I ask the locals and they say sure go ahead! If you see any MINAE folks just hide! Well of course we went fishing and had a great time… small trout and lots of them, it is so beautiful there and fun. Later we go to another area and first stop at the MINAE station to chat them up. After a cold welcome they warmed up to us and we became good buds. They told us where else we could fish. Even gave one ranger a ride back to San Jose later in the day. He wasn’t sure about all that fishing gear in the back LOL. Anyway, you don’t need a license… you will not be asked. There are many fresh water rivers to fish for native species like Bobo, Machaca and Guapote (don’t have time to check spellings) Your go to lure is the basic spinner, gold or silver. I also have caught on Prince Nymph bead heads and Hare’s Ear among other bugs from the box. Funny you have this post today as I was going to call my attorney tomorrow to verify the law on what distance from river is public access when rivers run through private land. I will be sure to post this back. My Tico friend says 10 meters is public but I want to make sure. Access is the most difficult thing… so you usually have to find a bridge and then go up or down from there or a pull out. Be sure no belongings are left in view in your vehicle. That’s it for now!

    Tight lines to you all!
    Ticopaz[/quote]

    Thanks, Ticopaz, for your input. I’ll be anxious to hear what you find out about the public access.

    #163226
    ticopaz
    Member

    Ok, here is the law translated by babel fish from Spanish to English:

    “The zones of protection of the shore of the rivers belong to the STATE, and are of free transit, thus this tax in Forest Law 7575. No private proprietor has the right to prevail to us of our rights.”

    And Spanish:

    “Las zonas de protección de la ribera de los ríos pertenecen al ESTADO, y son de libre transito, asi esta impuesto en la Ley Forestal 7575. Ningún propietario privado tiene el derecho de privarnos de nuestros derechos.”

    It does not say what the distance of the shore is. But it is clear that there is an area of “land” ,the shore, that is free transit.

    I am going to try and get more specific to this distance of “shore” but for today this is what I have.

    However, You would not be able to cross private property to get to this “shore” so, what I have always done as I mentioned before is look for a public road area or bridge to enter the river and then walk the shore. I would caution also, to be careful of tall brush and log piles. There are snakes in Costa Rica. I never let that stop me from enjoying these beautiful areas, but I do enjoy with open eyes and awareness.

    Keep it tight!

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.