These remote and beautiful waters have always held big, tough gamefish. Now there's a guide service that will take you to them.

NEAR THE MOUTH OF NICARAGUA'S SAN Juan River, against a backdrop of lush tropical rainforest, stands a giant, rusting dredge from the 1920's. It is a souvenir of a lost opportunity-a failed attempt to establish a cross-isthmus shipping route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Today, it's a landmark for a remarkable fishing destination.

		The southeast corner of Nicaragua is remote and beautiful; the mouth of the San Juan holds snook and tarpon in abundance, and the numerous upriver creeks yield tropical freshwater exotics, such as the guapote (a.k.a. rainbow bass),a relative of the peacock bass that can grow to 10-pounds; the machaca, which looks like a big-toothed, silvery bluefish and jumps like mad; and the colorful mojarra, a pan fish that grows to 2 pounds and fights like a bull. And snook-at least two species.

Until just two years ago there was no practical way to fish this unique and map by CLARKE BARRE extremely dense jungle so interlaced with rivers, creeks, lakes, and miles of dark volcanic beaches. With no land-based accommodations available and the nearest fishing camp almost 3 hours away in Costa Rica, a houseboat seemed the best answer. And with that in mind, Dr. Alfredo Lopez of San Jose, Costa Rica, went to Lake View Yachts in Kentucky to have one built to his specifications. The result is the 65-foot Rain Goddess, three decks tall and powered by a pair of 135 hp. I/Os. Remarkably the boat draws less than 3 feet of water (such shallow draft is an absolute must for maneuvering in a wide range of locations and situations).

Dr. Alfredo Lopez (left), owner of the Rain Goddess, and guide Olemar Clark release a nice San Juan tarpon, which was caught in the surf and played from shore.

The Rain Goddess lacks little in creature comforts. Two generators produce enough electricity for air conditioning, lights, hot water for the three bathrooms, and an excellent fan in each of the six staterooms. A bona fide chef prepares meals that are superior to those you'd find in many of Central America's better hotels. And from the comfort of the mother ship, the fishing is unique.

THE FISHING
The biggest snook consistently hold near the river mouths from April through June, and from August through October. Some are available all year, but these are the peak months. As to which period is best, opinions are divided, but if you want to mix fishing the surf for big snook with some tarpon fishing in the near shore Caribbean, go in the fall, simply because there are more calm days. The snook here can run as large as 40 pounds, but anything over 30 is a trophy, and you can handle them with conventional casting or spinning tackle, using 12- to 20-pound test line. If it's windy, surf fishing for snook remains good, but you can forget boat fishing for tarpon outside the river mouth.

We learned quickly, however, that the tarpon are attracted to the rough surf, probably for the same reasons as the snook.

		Buck Bucholz of Omaha, Nebraska caught this healthy snook near the mouth of the San Juan.

But if you decide to go for the big tarpon in the surf, which range from 50 to just over 100 pounds, you'd better put the lighter tackle away.

When you hook one of these fish you are instantly rewarded with a rocketing leap that explodes through breaking waves. If the tarpon stays hooked, it then goes ballistic, and makes its next skyward appearance 50 yards farther out, followed by another leap at 100 yards the 150, and finally 200, now a tiny silver icon flashing in the sun with crashing breakers on a dark-green backdrop.

Or, if you didn't tie the line to the reel arbor properly, you'll just be staring at an empty spool.

One afternoon four of us hooked almost forty of these big silver rockets in the surf. Not one was landed. Most just delighted us with a sensational leap or two before tossing the lure.

When you hook a big tarpon in the surf, it goes ballistic, running hard and exploding through breaking waves.

But if you really want to wrestle one of these heavyweights all the way to the beach (as one angler did the next morning), you should use a stiff 8-foot rod, 20- to 30-pound-test line, and a reel that holds at least 400 yards of line. If your knots are good and everything hangs together, you're in for one of the wildest rides of your life, and it will probably last upwards of an hour.

		PATIENCE PAYS Big snook in the surf call for a lot of casting.... and patience. Long casts are not necessary. Most of our fish were hooked within 20 yards of the beach where they cruised a drop off looking for something to eat. Unless schooled for spawning or ganged up around a major underwater structure, snook are wanderers and these fish are no exception. You pay your dues, and sooner or later you're rewarded with a robalo that will typically range between 15 and 25 pounds. On a good day you can hook two to six, maybe more. GETTING THERE You take a commercial flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, where you are met by a Rain Goddess representative. After a night in a quality hotel, you depart right after sunrise via twin-engine charter plane for the point where you'll be picked up by boats from the Rain Goddess. This article courtesy. FIELD AND STREAM

If faster action is your game, A smaller species of snook locally called calba storms into the rivers and upstream lakes by the hundreds from November through March. Most likely this is actually the fat snook (Centropomus Paralelus), which rarely exceeds 10 pounds. But you can catch a dozen or more that average around 5 pounds on most days. Calba are found in waters ideal for some wonderful fly fishing, which just isn't really practical for the bigger surf snook. No trip should be made to this area without sampling some upstream fishing for guapote, mochaca, and mojarra.

One morning, guide Jimmy Nix took Duncan Barnes and me up the Rio Indio into Fish Creek where we had a morning of fast action, throwing small rattling plugs and flies against stumps and under overhanging jungle vines. After lunch we ran further up the Rio Indio to Black Creek, where our angling techniques were sharply critiqued by a troop of nearby howler monkeys. In spite of their noisy attention, we caught a lot of fish, especially big machaca. This kept us busy until almost dusk.

That night we ate dinner while listening to the sounds of the nearby jungle, hoping to hear the plaintive call of a jaguar in search of a mate. Many species of birds were evident, but no big cats this time. The next morning we went way up Black Creek and caught many machacas and mojarra, as well as several husky guapote and two snook (the largest around 15 pounds).

After lunch aboard the Rain Goddess as it cruised down river, we spent our last afternoon back at the mouth of the San Juan with good snook and tarpon action to keep us entertained. Had things gone a little differently seventy years ago, the place where we stood would be busy with ships and seamen, carrying goods from all over the world. But things didn't go differently, and the place where we stood was serene and beautiful and the water was full of fish. And we had no complaint about that long-ago lost opportunity.

Sportsmen's Travel Service
Col. Jerry Samuels Editor
October 1996 issue

"In May I took a small group down to Costa Rica for some exotic jungle and also salt water fishing aboard the very comfortable houseboat: the Rain Goddess.

This is a relatively new operation, and I was eager to check it. I did, and the capsule report is: I'm going back!.

I've been going down to Costa Rica for tarpon fishing for more than 20 years. Those early years established Costa Rica as the world's premier tarpon fishing grounds. Great numbers of fish were taken, almost daily. But let's face it: "Them days is gone" It's all catch-and -release now, but I believe the area still offers the world's best tarpon fishing. The two hot spots for this fishing have been, and continue to be the Parismina and Colorado Rivers...about 40 miles apart on the Atlantic coast.

The fishing pattern continues: one week one area fishes somewhat better; next week it's vice-versa.

The houseboat idea, of course, is to provide mobility. The RAIN GODDESS is based at Rio Colorado. We fished that area and then the boat moved and we fished the San Juan River in Nicaragua. This is an advantage the boat has over the permanent fishing lodges in the area. The RAIN GODDESS is a first-class operation, with comfortable accommodations, good meals, experienced crew and guides, and excellent fishing boats and equipment. We didn't do much with the exotic river fishing, but we got into tarpon every day we fished for them. We also had a couple days of good snook fishing. We've reserved the whole boat for a week in April, 1997. Call or write for details if you'd like to join us.

 

Orange County Sports

Wednesday April 3,1996
The two small groups accompanying Lopez and his cast of characters on a trip in March, when the tarpon migrate upriver to spawn and mate, did so with the hopes of doing battle against this region's most challenging and elusive game fish. They departed bustling San Jose by van, traveled over misty mountains and through dripping forests before reaching Puerto Viejo, a small town that through history has served as a port for goods shipped to and from the Caribbean.

From there they floated down the Rio Sarapiqui, a narrow waterway, into total wilderness. Green Iguanas were perched on almost every branch. Crocodiles and caimans, their larger relative sunned themselves on the banks. Strange birds with fluffy heads and twig-like legs walked like robots through the shallows. Eventually, the river spilled into the San Juan, an impressively wide, fast river.

The Rain Goddess, white with pastel purples and blues, provided a stark contrast to the jungle surroundings. Clifford Palmer, the vessel's chef, greeted the passengers with a huge smile, and they responded in kind after walking through the sliding glass door and discovering a dining room befitting a mansion, with a table covered with white linen and fine china. Each of the six staterooms had a sink with running water and a window with a view of the jungle...

...Life is simple and peaceful on the San Juan River, where locals use long canoes dug from native trees as a means of transportation, and live off such bounty as massive freshwater shrimp. Beyond the river, though is a wild jungle ruled by jaguars and crocodiles.

This is only a portion of the full article published by the "Los Angeles Times" the full article can be downloaded from their website for a nominal fee at www.latimes.com

"Sports Illustrated" Article by E.M. Swift
February 1995 Swimsuit Issue

		...It was magical living on the river. As dusk descended, a white fog seemed to roll across the surface of the water. A pair of rare green macaws flew overhead. We could hear wild animal noises from the jungle. Two sloths cried to each other. Crested Ghan squawked back and forth.

Howler monkeys screamed bloody murder about a nearby puma or ocelot.... ....as advertised, our visit to Costa Rica qualified as an adventure.... ....We saw an electric blue butterfly fluttering in the rain forest. We saw toucans, We saw tapir tracks....

DECEMBER 7, 1994
LUXURY HOUSEBOAT PIONEERS REMOTE FISHING AREAS

Anglers looking to explore new waters just across the border in Nicaragua or fish Costa Rica's tarpon, snook, rainbow bass and blue water species outside the river mouths of the Caribbean this season will be able to do so in luxury that is almost decadent. After three years of exploring rivers and a series of lakes off the San Juan that have seldom, if ever been fished before, Dr. Alfredo Lopez has started operation of the "Rain Goddess," a 65-foot houseboat that he says "will move to where the fishing is best. "Based at Lopez' private 6 1/2-acre island wildlife refuge in upper Rio Colorado, the "Rain Goddess" will offer five- to seven-day fishing packages or three-day nature tours for six to 12 passengers, fishing with guides on 16- to 20-foot boats that are towed alongside while utilizing the opulent houseboat in a unique mother ship operation. On a trip in October we worked a couple of small rivers that had probably never seen a fisherman before.

  On the first afternoon, taking several rainbow bass (guapote) to five pounds. The next morning we headed into Nicaragua via the San Juan and checked in at Greytown, then moved through a stream scarcely wide enough to admit our pangas that would suddenly widen into magnificently beautiful lagoons that just begged to be fished.

This is only a portion of the full article published by the "Costa Rica Outdoors".

 

 Fly fishing trips are usually supervised by Peter Gorinsky, who is one of Costa Rica's most knowledgeable anglers. Peter is truly addicted to fly fishing and for years tied his own flies, made custom fly rods, etc. He is, of course, fluent in English.

The Rain Goddess is powered by twin 135 engines, and has a three-ton air-conditioner, welcome relief when the temp soars at midday or on hot, steamy nights. The staff and guides have been carefully selected to insure personal service and expertise. The chef, one of the best in Costa Rica if not in Central America, will provide delicious, well balanced meals. Most anglers are very familiar with the tarpon and snook fishing along the Caribbean at Parismina, Tortuguero and Rio Colorado. True, today it is important to have access to the Caribbean for top-notch tarpon fishing. The Rain Goddess has procured larger custom boats (23-foot) with 75-hp motors that can maneuver in the Caribbean in comfort and safety. These boats are ideal for fishing the lagoons. But one of the great experiences for the fly rodder is to fish some of Nicaragua's clear water lagoons or the rivers for guapote, machaca, and mojarra (similar to our large mouth bass, small mouth and bluegill). They often like to smash a fly-rod popper.

World Wide Fishing.com

Caribbean Fishing Lodge

On the San Juan River on the Costa Rica / Nicaragua Border

The Rio Indio Adventure Lodge, located on the banks of the San Juan River, is a gateway to the wild and virtually unexplored Rio Indio-Maiz Biological Reserve in southeastern Nicaragua. The magical wilderness reserve, which spans 640,000 acres, is the largest lowland tropical rainforest north of the Amazon.

Tropical lowland forest, mangrove estuaries, mile upon mile of jungle waterways, lagoons and pristine Caribbean beaches make exploring the reserve a truly unique and remarkable experience. With more than 600 species of birds and 200 species of mammals, the area is the ultimate destination for eco-tourists seeking adventure at its bests.

Historically, the economic importance of the San Juan during the California Gold Rush captured the interest of Cornelius Vanderbilt, whose oceanic steamship service used the route to transport thousands of men and tons of gold on the 42-day journey between New York and San Francisco, via Nicaragua. Vanderbilt constructed gigantic dredges in the lagoon to place much needed sand for railroad beds in low-lying areas. One dredge is still visible from the Rio Indio lodge, in the shallows of the bay.

After hundreds of frenetic years, the San Juan is again quiet, peaceful and serene. The jungle trains are silent; the dredges have melted slowly into the water and the forest has reclaimed the clearings. The old railway beds now serve as hiking trails for intrepid tourists and forest beasts. The only thing missing is you.

Fishing Boats

A flotilla of fully outfitted 15-foot boats navigated by expert bilingual guides is at your service for sport fishing in inland fresh water areas (lagoons, channels, rivers, estuaries) or in the ocean, weather permitting. Pargo and robalo are species easy to catch in these waters.

Eco Tours

You have landed in a heavenly place. A vast 2600 eq. km (991 sq. mi) emerald of Caribbean tropical rainforest teeming with wildlife, the Great Río Indio-Maiz Nature Reserve and hidden away at the heart of it is Río Indio Adventure Lodge, where nature created an exotic universe of biodiversity to which we added comfort, hospitality and adventure!

Our Fishing Lodge

The lodge was built in keeping with the surrounding environment. Designers took advantage of the directional trade winds, arc of the sun and shade of the surrounding giant tropical hardwood trees to give visitors the maximum comfort available in the lowland rain forest.

The rustic elegance of the lodge is simply striking. The main dining room, lounge bar and reception are done in solid oak. Cable television, satellite telephones and e-mail service are available to our guests, nevertheless, our hope is that you will leave that world behind and discover everything that makes Rio Indio naturally magical.

Thatched-roof walkways between the lodge and the spacious guest bungalows traverse above the jungle floor. Walking to your room can be a wonderful experience as numerous butterflies, tanagers, hummingbirds, honeycreepers, toucans, and other strange and interesting creatures fly, hop and crawl amidst the surrounding vegetation.

Our private property and the huge reserve which surround it is home to jaguars, tapirs, ocelots, three species of monkeys, the Great Green Macaw, dart frogs of bright and unusual colors and much more. The majestic monkey-eating Harpy Eagle still inhibits the area. Your nature and fishing guides are native Rama Indians who are deeply familiar with the reserve in which they live.

When fishing near the lodge for snook, Silver King tarpon, "guapote"or rainbow bass, mojara and machaca, you might be privileged to see a manatee. You almost certainly will see crocodile and perhaps it's smaller cousin, the caiman.

The many tours at Rio Indio Lodge can be personalized to suit your interests. Choose from among activities such as birding, walks, natural history hikes, kayaking, horseback riding, sport fishing, river and beach exploration and more. Of course, you're always welcome to grab a book and just relax - but with so much going on we doubt you'll want to read for long!