Golfito: Costa Rica’s Up and Coming Fishing Utopia

Meet Captain Bobby McGuinness: Golfito’s Record-Breaking Legend

Captain Bobby McGuinness is one of the catchingest sportfishing captains on the planet. Cases in point: McGuinness has 300-plus IGFA-approved world records, he has won the World’s Top Captain award from the IGFA twice, in 2006 and 2010, and was named Top Tagging Captain for Pacific blue marlin in The Billfish Foundation’s 2016 International Tag & Release Competition. So, where’s his hot spot? Golfito, Costa Rica. Bobby is a born-and-raised, second-generation charter captain who has fished out of Golfito for billfish and gamefish for over 40 years. Today, he helms his 37-foot Merritt, Cazador, for day trips, and his 54-foot Riviera, Iron II, for two- to four-night trips to offshore FADs.

A Day of Diverse Catches: The Golfito Experience

“One of my favorite stories gives you a good idea of the fishery here in Golfito,” says McGuinness. “In July of 2017, there were two gentlemen who spent three days on the east coast. On the last day, they caught tarpon in the morning and then flew to Golfito. I picked them up at noon from the airport and we jumped on the boat. They wanted to catch a roosterfish on our way out to the FADS. We stopped off the Matapalo Rock and caught a roosterfish and snapper. Then we went offshore and hit a double-header marlin and sailfish at the same time and some dorado after that. So, in one day, they caught tarpon in the east, then roosterfish, snapper, marlin, sailfish, and dorado in a half day with us. That’s what makes Golfito special. It’s not about catching a lot of one species, but catching lots of species in a day.”

Marina Bahia Golfito: A Hub for Sport-Fishers and Superyachts

Both of Bobby’s boats are based at Marina Bahia Golfito. The marina and its upland are undergoing a well-planned and sustainable expansion to its footprint. The Marina Village commercial center opened in November. Ground breaking on the Marina Bahia Golfito, Autograph Collection hotel will happen in 2024. Ultimately, the property will cater to a unique combination of superyachts and sport-fishers.

Golfito, with a population of about 12,000, is the southernmost port town on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. It’s located on the Golfo Dulce, across from the Osa Peninsula, about 20 miles from the Panamanian border to the south. Golfito is the embarkation and debarkation port for yacht transport companies like Sevenstar and Dockwise, enroute north to Mexico and British Columbia, or through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean, Gulf, and Atlantic. By plane, the Golfito Airport is five minutes from Marina Bahia Golfito and is less than an hour’s flight time from the capitol of Costa Rica, San Jose, where there are many daily flights to the U.S. This makes the town remote, yet accessible. While Golfito may not be as famous – yet – as the country’s other fishing destinations like Quepos, Los Sueños and Flamingo to the north, it is the sheer number of fish species and their size, plus accessibility to the fishing grounds that is making it a must-fish star on the map.

The Enchanting Waters of Golfito: A Biodiversity Hotspot

“There is inshore and offshore fishing, and on the way out you can catch all the live bait you need,” says Pedro Abdalla, Marina Director at Marina Bahia Golfito. “Inshore means about 10 to 15 miles out, although you can start trolling immediately. Offshore is 40 to 60 miles out, and there are over a dozen FADs. There are 15 to 17 species or more. This includes three types of marlin – blue, black, and striped, plus sailfish, tuna, and dorado and other species like roosterfish, snapper and snook. The benefit is really good fishing and it’s close enough to come back to the marina each night and everything is here. Also, the fish are here year-round.

“Golfito, and specifically the Golfo Dulce, and the ‘gulf within a gulf’ that is Golfito Bay, where the marina is located, is an incredible green area,” Abdalla adds. “The Golfo Dulce is one of the most biodiverse marine areas in the world and home to one of only four tropical fjords on the planet, one reason why live bait is so abundant.” In the past, yellowfin tuna had been overfished. Today, thanks to local and national efforts and legislation, a 40-nautical mile offshore protection zone has been established with plans for an additional 40-mile extension.

The Evolution of Golfito: From Bananas to Billfish

Bananas, not billfish, were why the Port of Golfito was developed in the 1930s. The United Fruit Company established a major growing and exporting operation here until it pulled out in 1985, leaving an economic void. But it was in the 1980s and into the 90s that sportfishermen started to discover Costa Rica’s Pacific shore and its potential. Tourism grew in tandem. Abdalla, who is also an architect, began drawing plans for an eco-friendly marina and resort in Golfito in 2018 with previous owners. Since 2020, the Enjoy Group, a half-century-established Costa Rican hospitality company, and IGY marinas have assumed ownership and worked to bring Marina Bahia Golfito to reality, and now expand with new hotel and residential buildings.

The marina currently has 45 slips total, with 41 for sportfishers from 40 feet to 80 feet LOA, with a draft of 12 feet. There are an additional 13 slips for superyachts up to 350 feet LOA, with a draft of 29feet. Total slips will increase to 122 when the expansion is completed. There is slip-side water, power (30 and 50 amps), and 400 amps, 480 volts on the superyacht berths, with cable TV, and dedicated hard-wired Internet, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the marina. The fuel dock boasts fast pumping of up to 210 gallons per minute with 75,000-gallon fuel storage tanks. There is a wastewater pump-out at the fuel dock and waste disposal services. Ice is for sale here too.

The Marina Village’s newly opened commercial center includes La Playa, a long-established and celebrated sit-down restaurant located on the waterfront that serves Latin American-style fresh seafood, including ceviche appetizers and catch-of-the-day entrees, and wood-fired oven pizza. This area, located on the beach, doubles as an event venue. There’s also Customs & Immigrations on-site, a crew lounge (outfitted with a bar, pool table, dart board, and large-screen TV), full concierge service, a 10-room boutique hotel called the Amaka Ocean Living Lodge, and Origen Escapes tour office that can book excursions, including fishing charters.

Non-fishing family and friends can also take dolphin, whale watching and mangrove boat tours; tours to the Golfito Wildlife Refuge and Piedras Blancas National Park; and horseback riding trips to the El Chorro Waterfall. Other businesses in the landscaped and illuminated Marina Village include a coffee shop, Jade Jewelry store, men’s and women’s hair salons, a pharmacy and clinic, a day spa (massage, manicure/pedicure, skin treatments) POPS Ice Cream, a summer shop, and Vespa and car rentals. Upcoming, a grocery for provisioning and fishing supply store will be added.

In December, Marriott International announced it teamed up with the Enjoy Group to launch two additional Autograph Collection hotels in Costa Rica. One is the Marina Bahia Golfito, Autograph Collection. Ground-breaking will happen in 2024, with the opening of 35 hotel rooms and 72 branded residences expected in the last quarter of 2025. The accommodation will also offer a wide range of amenities, including meeting spaces, a restaurant, spa, fitness center, outdoor pool, and more. Environmental mitigation for the development includes carbon footprint offsetting, planting and regeneration of coral reefs, and monitoring of biodiversity, according to Abdalla.

The Premier Destination for Year-Round Fishing

There’s something to catch off Golfito year-round, although November to May is the best time as it’s the dry season. “On a typical charter, we leave around 6 a.m.,” said McGuinness. “It takes us about 40 minutes to catch the live bait like blue runners, little herring sardines, and bonito if we want to catch yellowfin tuna or a big snapper. Then, it’s another 30 minutes to get to the grounds. If you have a fast boat, you can get out 40 miles to the first FADs. There are three FADs out there and you can get marlin there.” McGuiness prefers pitch baiting. “My brother put the first FAD for marlin out on the seamounts in 2007,” he said. “He got the idea from fishing in the Dominican Republic. We kept it quiet and had a blast catching marlin. Nobody knew about the FADs until about 2011. Today, we’ll go on two-to-four-day overnight trips to the FADs that are 60 and 80 miles out.”

Capt. Jose Moya has worked on the privately-owned 61’ Tribute, Typhoon, for 14 years, five of them at the helm. The typhoon is also based at Marina Bahia Golfito. “I always go out for four days before my boss arrives to do a scouting trip,” says Moya, a Golfito native who got his start as a teen, as his 13-year-old son does now with his father. “I cover about 150 miles from the South at Punta Burica then north to the sea mounts and up outside Caño Island and then back. The last time, I took the 2 a.m. watch. At 5:30 a.m., just as the sun came up, I saw birds on the radar and headed that way. Everyone was still sleeping, but they were happy when I woke them up. We ran into tuna, a lot of tunas, it was simply crazy. That’s how good this fishery is.”

In 2022, Marina Bahia Golfito held its Tuna Cup in April and a Thanksgiving tournament in the fall. Its next tournament, the Marina Bahia Golfito Billfish Tournament, will be sometime between April 10 to 20, 2024. “Since we are the only port in Costa Rica where the yacht transport boats come in, we can have 30 or 40 yachts here waiting for a few days before they load,” says Oscar Alfaro, the Enjoy Group’s director of marketing. “We want to take advantage of that by hosting a tournament. Boats will fish on the first day from Los Sueños and Puntarenas to Golfito. Then, the next two days will be fishing out of Marina Bahia Golfito. We’d like to do the same thing in the fall. That way, Golfito is the first sportfishing tournament when they arrive and the last to fish before they leave.”

Navigating Golfito: Essentials for Anglers

To learn the latest, Marina Bahia Golfito has a website (www.marinabahiagolfito.com), Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram social media sites.

A Fishing License is required for every person who fishes recreationally in Costa Rica. Licenses are issued by the Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Agriculture. The cost is $15 for one-to-eight days, $30 for 30 days, and $50 annually. Fishermen can get their license in Costa Rica or online at:  www.incopesca.go.cr/carnets/tramites/SolicitudTraducido.aspx. For conservation, only five fish per fishing trip are allowed to be landed, regardless of the number of fishermen onboard a boat.

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