For many years these pristine fishing waters could not be reached because they are far too from the many lodges that dot the Caribbean coast. The crew of the Rain Goddess have solved this problem. The Rain Goddess is a 65 foot long custom designed shallow draft houseboat that is fully air-conditioned. The Rain Goddess has six staterooms that luxuriously accommodate as many as 12 passengers. Using the Rain Goddess, anglers will be able to access some of the most remote Central American fishing waters, all the while having the lodge follow them and the movements of fish at the same time. Amenities: The Rain Goddess is staffed by a professional crew including native, English speaking fishing guides, a gourmet chef and friendly cabin personnel. The fleet of fully outfitted 16 foot long jon boats allow anglers to work the rivers and backwaters, while their 20 foot boats safely venture out into the Caribbean for tarpon, snapper, king mackerel and other species. 2000 Rates & Itineraries: Fishing tours: 5 days, 3 nights with 3 days of fishing OR 7 days, 5 nights with 5 days of fishing - Day 1: Arrive at San Jose, transfer to a first class hotel.
- Day 2: Early transfer to airport for 30 minute flight to Barra del Colorado to meet the Rain Goddess. Full day of fishing.
- Day 3 & 4: Full days of fishing
- Day 5: Flight back to International Airport to make connection for trip home.
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- 5 days, 3 nights with 3 days of fishing - $1750.00 pp, $850.00 Non-anglers
- 7 days, 5 nights with 5 days of fishing - $2250.00 pp, $1,070.00 Non-anglers
Nature Tour 3 days, 2 nights Day 1: Early morning departure from San José for scenic drive across Braulio Carrillo National Park to Sarapiquí, Puerto Viejo where we board a river boat to travel on the Sarapiquí River to meet the San Juan River. A naturalist guide will show wild life and birds of the area. The boat ride will take 3 hours, you will reach the House Boat, Rain Goddess, at the mouth of the San Juan River. You will have lunch on board and then do a nature walk to the ruins of the old town and cemetery. San Juan del Norte was the starting point from where miners from Europe, Germany and U.S. crossed Central América to go to California and Alaska during the 1849 Gold Rush. Over night on the House Boat. Day 2: Full day of nature tours to explore the Indian River and Si a Paz National Park. This is the boarder between Costa Rica and Nicaragua and the largest rain forest north of the Amazon. Over night on House Boat. All meals are included, beer and soft drinks. Day 3: Visit the Ranger Station and explore the nature trails at Jalova Lagoon, then on to meet the van at Matina for the trip back to San Jose with stops in route at a banana plantation and the Braulino Carrillo National Park. - Cost: $475.00 pp
Inclusive:
All ground transportation in Costa Rica.
Air travel to Barra del Colorado or trip to Puerto Viejo and river tour to House Boat.
All meals on House Boat. Open bar: rum, vodka and whiskey (local brands).
Complementary wine with dinners.
Not included:
Tips to guides and crew.
Borrowed rods and tackle that are lost, damaged or accidentally broken..
$5 visa into Nicaragua.
Phone calls made from House Boat and articles of personal nature.
Outbound overnight in San José
Licenses and park permits in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Conditions of payment: A $500 nonrefundable deposit per person is required to confirm the reservation. Reservations will be held for 15 days pending deposits. Balance of trip payment is due 60 days prior to departure date. If an angler cancels more than 60 days prior to departure, only the deposits submitted will be forfeited. If cancellations is received less than 60 days prior to departure, but more than 30 days prior to departure, 50% of the total price of the trip is forfeited unless a replacement angler can be found for the same dates. If cancellation is received 30 days or less prior to departure, the complete balance is forfeited unless a replacement angler can be found for the same dates. Exclusive use of the House Boat: a minimum of 8 pax are required to have exclusive use of Rain Goddess, boats and crew. And it has to be requested at the time of making the reservation.
WHAT TO BRING
Note: Moderate cargo space is available aboard the in-country charter aircraft and the water taxi therefore please limit your personal belonging to 25 lbs./person, a maximum of two rod tubes and one tackle box. Extra baggage can be stored in San José.
Passport: Although Costa Rica requires only a birth certificate, driver's license or other means of official identification; it is very wise to carry a valid passport with you.
Clothing: Lightweight trousers, shorts, long sleeve shirts for extra sun protection. Tennis shoes, hats, rain gear and sun screen.
Gratuities: The staff is here to serve you and make your trip more interesting and pleasant. Recommended tip to guides are $10 per day/ per person, and $10 per day/ per person to cover chef, captain, first mate. The above is a recommendation and gratuities are left to your discretion and personal experience.
FISHING TACKLE
Tarpon tackle: 6 to 7 foot heavy action rod with reel capable of holding 200 to 250 yards of 20 to 25 pounds test line. Extra terminal leader material (80 lb. minimum recommended).
Lures: Coast hawks, 2 oz. multi-color. Buck tail jigs 1 ½ to 2 oz multi color with jelly tails in red-yellow-orange-white. Rapalas #11 and 14, sinking and floating in red-white/blue and green mackerel. Mirror lures, M65 in Fire Tiger, Blue, White, Silver combination, Red, Yellow and Gold combination.
Fly fishing tackle for tarpon: 9 foot #11 or #12 fly rods for 12 weight line. Sinking fly lines of 600 grain density compensated sinking and depth charge or straight lead core lines and shooting heads work well fishing at the mouth of the rivers or out in the deeper saltwater. In the rivers a medium or intermediate sinking fly line works best. There are times when a floating WF fly line would work, especially if the fish are taking poppers or surface feeding. Fly Reels must have sturdy drags with direct or anti-reverse drivers, be saltwater resistant and have a backing capacity of more than 250 yds. Bring sufficient leader material for building your choice of leaders. The minimum recommendation is a 20 lb. tippet utilizing an 80 lb. shock.
Fly fishing lures for tarpon: Whistler or Clouser tied streamers in colors White/Silver, Orange/Black, White/Yellow, Blue/White or Cockroach patterns with bucktail/feather, bucktail/rabbit fur are good producers of positive strikes. Most streamer flies should be weighted. Flashabou is optional and utilize a 3/0 saltwater hook. Large poppers are good if you can find the fish feeding on the surface.
Tackle for snook: Medium action rod and reel with capacity to hold 150 yards of 15 to 17 pounds test line.
Lures for snook: Red and white in Mirror Lures. Rapalas and Rattle Traps in Fire Tiger, Blue/Silver and Orange colors work well. Small to medium (3/4 to 1 ounce) buck tail jigs with jelly tails. Surface plugs such as Creek Chub Darters in red and white, Sosin Jumpin Minnow in red and yellow and Zara Spooks in blue and white are also good.
Fly tackle for snook: 9 foot #8 or #9 fly rods for 8 or 9 weight density compensated sinking or Hi-D line or when fishing from the beach it would be best to use Hi-D or Floating Shooting Heads. Reels capable of handling 150 yards of 20 lb. backing with 12 to 15 lb tippet and 40 lb. shock rigged according to angler's desire.
Guapote Bass-Mojarra and Machaca: Light to ultra light bass tackle, 6 to 12 pound line.
Lures: Poppers, small rapalas and crayfish, crank baits; spinner baits in multicolor. General Bass tackle works well.
Fly fishing tackle: 7 to 9 foot #4 to #8 fly rods for 4-8 weight WF floating fly lines. When using large popping bugs or on windy days, a bug taper would be advised. Multicolored, natural cork and foam bodied poppers sized 4, 6, 8 with rubber legs are popular. Pencil, Slider and hair bodied poppers are sometimes very productive in color of Black/Yellow, Orange/Red, Yellow/Black and Chartreuse. Machaca fishing would require using a short piece of light wire shock leader because of its teeth. Poppers with long shank hooks are also preferred.
Wet flies are also used and are very productive when the mojarra and machaca fail to strike the poppers. Small streamers in yellow, red and tinsel color combinations are effective. Shrimp flies in beige, brown and gray produce when the fish are feeding deep. Yellow nymphs, small Clousers in size 8 hooks are also effective.
Rods and reels are available on a loan basis, but a replacement fee will be charged if damaged, lost or broken. All lost or severely damaged lures are charged at replacement cost.
These recommendations are made by your hosts and fly fishing experts based on our experience and it is intended to aid you in your tackle selection. We welcome any additional inquires in regards to tackle. |
EVALUATION REPORT... We learned about the Rain Goddess from several of our at-large network members. All gave it high marks on every point. One of our network members caught more than 35 different species of fish on an October trip up Nicaragua's Indio River. He says: "...it was the finest jungle river fishing he had ever experienced anywhere." Dr. Alfredo Lopez, one of the owner/operators of the Rain Goddess, is a Costa Rican national who was educated in the United States. After obtaining his medical degree Alfredo returned to Costa Rica to establish a medical practice. After a number of years Alfredo a physician colleague decided to find a means to access the virgin waters of Costa Rica and Nicaragua's jungle rivers. During their initial research Alfredo's team studied Landsat satellite images of the areas they hoped to fish. The satellite images uncovered numerous lagoons in the interior, previously unknown and unfished, even by the natives. By selectively opening several of these locations each year the Rain Goddess staff will continue to provide "virgin" fishing opportunities for many years to come. The diversity of wildlife living along these jungle rivers is unmatched anywhere on earth. Thousands of species of butterflies, and birds, as well as a plethora of exotic mammals and reptiles will delight and enchant even the most jaded naturalist/angler between slashing strikes of equally exotic jungle fishes. Best months for fishing on the Rain Goddess are August and September and October for big snook and tarpon. November / December for fat snook or calba snook, January, February, March, April, May are our dry months and the crew fishes for tarpon, snook and back jungle species. In March, April and May are excellent months for fly fishing and fishing for Rainbow bass or whapote. |
