North Pacific Techniques
If you are bringing your own fishing gear, here are some basic rules to go sportsfishing. Make sure your rods and reels are in the best working order. The hard-running fishes in Costa Rica North Pacific will push the limits of your tackle.
Make sure you have fresh main line on your reels, and fresh leader line on your lures.
Take care not to confuse 100# mono leader with 100# mono line. Many manufacturers use a harder, more abrasion-resistant mono for their leader material.
Most manufacturers also tend to under-rate their mono leader by 25% or more (300# actually breaks at 400#). Hard, under-rated 100# leader like Momoi is fine for striped marlin, but a piece of a nice soft 100# line like Berkeley Big Game may get sawed off fairly quickly.
Blue Marlin
In general, 500 yards of 80# line with drag set properly will slow down and catch a marlin. Or you can have a 700 yard reel with 50# line. Most blue marlin caught in north pacific region are males in the 250-350 lb class. Those above that weight are usually female. Rods are five-and-a-half to six feet, usually E-Glass, with a minimum of tip and stripper roller guides. The rod butt must have a trolling gimbal, otherwise it will not set in the boat trolling slots properly (the reel will turn over).
There are several different ways to rig large live bait. Skippers simply attach a 9/0 chrome stainless mustad hook, with a 250 to 400# 8-12' leader. They then run the hook through the Bonito tuna's nose. Other techniques include wire threading and attaching the live bait hook to the bait's forehead.
Striped Marlin
Leader length for lure fishing: 12-15' of 200-300# for striped marlin. 12-15' of 100-150# for live bait for striped marlin and sailfish. The leader is usually tied to the main line with an albright.
Yellowfin Tuna
Leader length of 8' of 80# for live bait or chunking for tuna over 100 lbs. A swivel is optional for live bait, but mandatory for chunking. 5' of 50-60# for trolling or bait for tuna over 40 lbs; 20-30# for smaller fish (usually no leader).
Dorado
Leader length is usually 6-8' with 50-80# line. Live bait is the same with 60# line.
Wahoo
Leader length of 2-3'of 60-100# single strand wire for live bait and trolled lures, 40-60# cable for iron (Hopkins, Tady, Salas, UFO, etc.) and 250# cable for Marauders, Bonitas, etc. Sierra: Leader length of 5-7' with a swivel clipped to a CD4 Rapala.
Roosters & Pargo
Leader length of 3' of 30-40# (green mono may work better than other colors) with a rubber core sinker for Pargo.
