Also below: Rio San Juan

San Juan del Sur

San Juan del Sur lies in the extreme south on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua near the border of Costa Rica. The fishery here offers unpressured fishing offshore for billfish, tuna and dorado, as well as inshore fishing for a variety of species. The fishing starts picking up in late March / early April when the winds start to die down. The peak season in San Juan del Sur is June through September.

The inshore Pacific waters off the Nicaraguan coast are teeming with a wide variety of fish such as rooster fish, sierra mackerel, jack crevalle, bonito, hound fish, snapper, grouper, snook. The rooster fish average 30lbs with the occasional monster. If you choose not to run offshore you can try for sailfish close to shore along currents. We have caught sailfish in 50 feet of water! Occasionally you will run into dorado, yellowfin and wahoo, although not nearly as abundant as offshore.

Offshore you will encounter black blue, and striped marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, and dorado. The prime months out of San Juan del Sur are from May through October. The fishing season is longer out of the Marina Puesta del Sol Resort, in the north. Our fast boats will quickly get you offshore and back. Offshore fishing consists of running 30 plus miles to get to the humps and the drop. We are billfish and game fish friendly, so we practice catch and release with all billfish and roosterfish!

Accomodations

San Juan del Sur is a picturesque town located in a horseshoe bay on the southern Pacific coast, two hours south from the capital of Managua. Once just a small fishing town, San Juan del Sur has transformed into one of Nicaragua's hottest destinations.

As word of this small pacific jewel spreads, many hotels, restaurants and bars have opened up in San Juan del Sur and its neighboring beaches. You can choose to stay at the Piedras y Olas Resort, located right in town, or Morgan's Rock Eco Lodge, which is located just twenty minutes north of San Juan del Sur with it's own private bay. After your day of fishing you can relax in the infinity pools which have great views of the Pacific Ocean. For dinner you can eat at the hotels restaurant, La Cascada, or take your pick from the many restaurants located right on the beach to enjoy the breathtaking Pacific sunset.

Piedras y Olas Hotel & Resort

Piedras y Olas Hotel & Resort offers spacious and distinctive accommodations featuring environmentally friendly strawbale construction, soaring cane ceilings, exposed natural woods, handcrafted furniture, unique regional artwork, ocean views, and tranquil garden tableaus. Relax and refresh yourself amidst the peaceful beauty and natural harmony.

All rooms include queen size beds (or larger); satellite television; wireless internet service; air conditioning; an in-room hospitality center featuring microwave, refrigerator, and purified water; private patio or terrace; large private bathroom with hot water; and a full breakfast served daily.

Morgan's Rock Eco Lodge

Morgan's Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge is more than just a hotel or luxury resort. It is a unique and natural haven for the true traveler who is looking for a touch of luxury while enjoying the adventure and excitement of an exotic and tropical destination. But most importantly, it is a project of nature conservation, community development and reforestation offering Agro and Ecotourism at its best.

Enjoy the solitary companionship of one of Nicaragua's most beautiful beaches while slipping back into your spacious private bungalow overlooking Pacific sunsets and tropical wildlife. After a day's angling, enjoy a refreshing dip in the infinity pool or delight on a freshly caught Red Snapper. From the highest point of the hacienda you can actually see where the proposed Nicaraguan Canal would have met the Pacific Ocean . Today the actual canal crosses through Panama and hence the name, "the canal that never was".

And, if you enjoy working with nature, there are plenty of opportunities to feel the abundance of nature and most importantly help preserve this living spectacle for many generations to come. You are invited to be active and learn about the local ecosystems, the animals living in the tropical dry forest, Morgan's Rock's inspiring reforestation and tree farming projects and agriculture typical for this region.

The Bungalows

Almendro, caoba, cedro, eucalipto, guapinol, laurel y nogal... beautiful sounding Spanish names that have been worked into the structure of the Morgan's Rock's bungalows. The latter are all tropical woods that were used to build the fifteen bungalows at Morgan's Rock Hacienda and Ecolodge. All proceed from responsibly managed logging sources or tree farming projects in Nicaragua, ensuring artistic yet ecologically responsible built bungalows.

The fifteen bungalows face west; most of them letting you revere the dramatic sunsets as they disappear into the Pacific Ocean. The surrounding forest adds indispensable privacy and peace to each unit. Most bungalows sit on a cliff overlooking the private bay and estuary. While they have been soundly designed to offer shelter from rain, sun or wind, each bungalow breathes nature. Some even have a tree growing out through the roof and all enjoy an indoor beach garden hosting your own private outdoor shower.

All hotel bungalows feature one king size bed, a comfortable sofa bed and a private deck. The architect has carefully used mainly local materials and the wooden furniture was custom made by local artisans. Even the quaint lamps have been made out of recycled wood from a former cattle ranch at Morgan's Rock Eco Lodge! The bungalows are connected to the main lodge by an awesome 110-meter suspension bridge crossing a forested canyon.

Dining

We invite you to explore the diverse cuisine at Morgan's Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge creating a distinct dining experience in a remote tropical location working with employees from the local community offering mostly local products. Young men and women from the area have been trained by our management staff to offer you a taste of fusion between Nicaraguan, Central and South American, French and Asian cuisines.

Fishing Fleet

All boats are equipped with a variety of top quality tackle allowing the angler many different fishing options. The spinning, casting, and conventional rods are made up of G-Loomis and Penn. Shimano and Penn International make up the large reel selection. On the reels you will find lines ranging from 15 to 80 lb test. The fly tackle consists of Sage and G-Loomis rods ranging from 8 to 15 weights. These rods are rigged with Bauer and Tibor reels packed with Cortland lines. Our fly lines consist of floating, intermediate and sinking lines ready to be cast to find where the bite is best. Feel free to bring your favorite tackle along with you. Our techniques include casting to rock structures, bottom fishing, and trolling live, dead, and artificial baits.

Also above: San Juan del Sur

Rio San Juan & Lake Nicaragua

On the San Juan River you can fish for tarpon from 80 to 250 + lbs, snook in the 10 to 45 lb range, guapote (rainbow bass), machacas, and mojarras year round! The waters of the San Juan River are owned by Nicaragua. It forms a large part of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. These are virtually virgin waters to the traveling anglers. Once you are on the river you can customize your fishing adventure to chase after certain species.

We will move aboard our boats to go where the best fishing is in the days you are there. Local hotels and lodges are used which all offer the necessary accommodations for anglers. No five star lodging (Except in Managua and Granada). The layouts are simple on the grounds, but are always very clean! Which ever hotel or lodge you stay at, you need not to worry about rooms having private full bathrooms.

Most of the tarpon we report are migrating ones (silver color) but apparently many of the tarpon coming to Nicaragua Lake do not go back to sea but stay around San Juan River and Lake where they found abundant feeding and almost constant water temperature. With years these fish become huge, we also observe a change in color, these are black on the back, almost Golden on side.

The fishing will take place on the Rio San Juan, Medio Quesso, and Lake Nicaragua. In Costa Rica you will fish the Rio Frio and Cano Negro. You also have the option of fishing the Solentiname Archipelago in Lake Nicaragua , or Saballo Lodge and El Castillo further down river for an extra $60 per guest due to extra gas expenses.

What to Bring: Nicaragua climate is wet or dry depending on the time of year, with an average daytime temperature of 88 degrees. Bring appropriate clothing for the time of year in which you travel. The green season usually runs from May through October. When traveling during the green season you should bring rain gear and fast drying clothes. Other items to be considered are hats, sunscreen, bug repellent, favorite rods and reels, sunglasses, camera, flies, extra fly lines, medication if needed, motion sickness pills, and passport. As for all foreign destinations, it is recommended that you purchase travel insurance.

Enjoy the wild and exotic atmosphere of the Nicaraguan Pacific Coast.