Quepos Anglers Score Sailfish, Tuna and Dorado in Sizzling March Bite

Captain Jerry's Cowboy Fishing Boat came off a tournament weekend and a red-hot stretch of offshore fishing with numbers that made the Pacific look almost unfair. "These days have been on fire," the March 13 report read. "The sailfish are hungry, releasing 5 to 12 sailfish per day."

That release count has been the calling card for Quepos in early 2026. Cowboy logged 10 sailfish on February 2 and, back in January 2025, put up a morning session with 17 sailfish hooked and 12 released before pivoting to an afternoon tuna bite that produced four yellowfin for the dinner table. Benn Gilmour of Jackpot Sport Fishing confirmed the fleet-wide trend: "After a steady start to the year, the sailfish bite really started to crank up during February with double digit sailfish bites and releases recorded by many boats in the fleet." Those are Pacific sailfish running in the 70-to-100-plus-pound range, and according to Gilmour, the marlin are mixed in too, with blue, black and striped marlin expected to keep showing through March and April.

Beyond billfish, the tuna fishing has been the other headline. On February 20, Cowboy posted a brief but emphatic update: "The tuna fishing has been incredible — over 100 pounds with live bait. We're fully booked." Fleet-wide, that kind of weight has become almost routine. Capt. Franklin on the Big Eye landed a 164-pound tuna in January, and Gilmour noted that many other Quepos boats have been regularly boating 100-plus-pound fish. Livebaits have been the go-to, but jigs, poppers and small artificials have also produced. Anyone tempted to go light: Rob Millard from Ireland hooked a 100-pounder on spinning tackle and spent two and a half hours finding out exactly what that means.

The March 13 report from Cowboy also flagged a standout dorado: "Good luck catching a dorado 70 inches long, approximately 60 pounds." For context, the wahoo bite has been producing its own trophy fish, with Fish Tale II landing a 60-pound wahoo and GOOD DAY boating a 40-pounder, plus several other oversized ono caught by Quepos boats in recent weeks.

Cowboy also competed in the Sailfish Slam tournament over the weekend of March 13, placing third in the 30-foot category. The charter holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating across 51 reviews on FishingBooker, where Captain Jerry's operation is listed as specializing in bottom fishing, trolling, jigging and spinning. With marlin still ramping up and the tuna bite described as nothing short of spectacular, the Quepos grounds show no sign of cooling heading into late March.