Two oceans, beautiful lakes and hundreds of rivers all add up to some of the best fishing for more species at any time of the year than you're likely to find in such a small and easily accessible area anywhere else in the world.

From the capital city of San José, fishermen are only 30 to 40 minutes flying time from the prime fishing regions on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, with two national airlines providing daily service. There is hardly anyplace in the country you can't reach within three to six hours driving time.

Costa Rica's reputation for incredible fishing is well-justified, but like anyplace in the world, there are never any guarantees. Action will vary with the seasons and prevailing wind, weather, currents and other natural conditions at any given time, and the following breakdown should be considered only as a general guide.

The sportfishing centers of the Northern Pacific Coast extends from Cabo Blanco to the Gulf of Papagayo and includes Flamingo Beach, with its full-service marina, and nearby Tamarindo, Nosara, Samara and Playa Carrillo.  Fishing will vary with prevailing conditions, but here's how it generally runs for the more popular species. Look for winds north of Cabo Vela from about December into mid-May.

Marlin: Caught every month of the year, with mid-November to early March exceptional, then slowing a bit from April into early June when it picks up again, peaking in August and September.

Sailfish: Caught throughout the year, with May through August normally the top season. They may begin to thin out in September, with the slowest months running through November.

Tuna: Peak months are usually August through October, but when all else fails, there are always tuna, anytime of the year.

Dorado: More properly known as dolphin, these colorful gamesters are most abundant from late May through October when the seasonal rains flood the rivers that carry out debris, forming trash lines close inshore they like to lie under.

Wahoo: Caught in limited numbers throughout the year, the best showing begins about the time the rains start in May, peaking in July and August.

Roosterfish: Available all year, but more are caught in the Papagayo Bay area and around the islands from October through March.

The Central Pacific Region is the area from Cabo Blanco to Drake Bay.  Quepos is the center of fishing on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast, with 50 or more professionally equipped boats in the 27-feet-and-up range, and smaller boats well-suited to the excellent inshore angling in the area. Some sails are taken throughout the entire year. It's seldom more than a 12- to 20-mile run to the blue water where most of the billfish action is found. Boats out of Quepos also offer multi-day trips to the Drake Bay and Caños Island area, over-nighting at one of the several lodges centered around Drake Bay and there are a few boats based at Drake Bay, also a top diving area. This region is best known for its wahoo, big cubera and roosterfish, but there are also tuna, dorado, sails and marlin.

Marlin: October is normally the top month for marlin in this area, but action is also good in September and November.

Sailfish: Mid-December to the end of April is rated the best season, but the big schools often move in about October and stay longer.

Tuna: Mostly 8 to 12 pounders, they are found throughout the year as they are all along the Pacific coast, but most abundant from about June through September.

Wahoo: Pretty rare in the area around Quepos, but more abundant in the late summer farther south, especially the Drake Bay and Caños Island area from late June to early August.

Dorado: Best action begins with the winter rains that start in late May and wash debris from the river mouths, creating the inshore trash lines that the dolphin like to lie under.

Roosterfish: Fishing for this hard-hitting inshore species is best fishing during the summer months, from June through early September.

Snook: The best months seem to be from July through November during the heavy rainy season.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC REGION

Golfito and Playa Zancudo are considered the Southern Pacific Region.  Golfito is the center of activity on Costa Rica's southern coast. It's a rare day during peak season that boats don't raise a dozen sails and a marlin or two, along with plenty of jacks, runners, mackerel and perhaps an amberjack, roosterfish or big snapper inshore. Light-tackle fishing inside the bay off Golfito, with its profusion of small coves and rocky islets, as well as off the shoreline, is good for small barracuda and snapper, corbina and occasional snook to more than 40 pounds.

Across the bay there are lodges on Playa Zancudo, a narrow peninsula with miles of beach on the ocean side and the confluence of three rivers on the other side. Operators offer day charters and three- to five-day packages with all meals, lodging and an open bar. One of the lodges there has posted more than 40 IGFA records on various species. Fishing the drop-off outside Matapalo produces sails, marlin, tuna and other blue-water species, and inshore there are roosters that average more than 30 pounds (a couple up to 100 pounds), grouper, jacks, barracuda, trophy-size Pacific cubera snapper and more.

Zancudo operators also offer snook trips that have become increasingly popular during the past couple of years, working the river mouths and estuary at Zancudo, while some of the boats out of Golfito fish snook north of there, at the mouth of the Río Esquinas.

Marlin: August through December is peak season, but an occasional blue or black may be taken most any month if the water temperature is up.

Sailfish: A few taken off and on year-round with the exceptional fishing from December through March. Often slows from April into early June, then picks up again and begins to peak in August or September.

Tuna: Best fishing for the bigger ones corresponds with marlin and sailfish season, but the schools of footballs can nearly always be found outside.

Dorado: Best runs are traditionally from late May through October

Roosterfish: Region is famous for its big roosters and they can be caught virtually any month of the year, some to nearly 100 pounds.

Snook: All year, but best from middle or late May through July and January and February.

Fishing along Costa Rica's Caribbean coast can vary more from one day to another than from month to month. Historically, tarpon fishing is promoted by lodges on Costa Rica's east coast from about December through mid-May, while snook peak from about September through November. But the fish are there year-round, and it's mostly a matter of weather, which can change overnight. Rainy season starts about mid-May, and action slows for awhile as the dirty water sweeps out of the rivers.

Facilities catering to anglers are located at Samay Lagoon, Parismina and Tortuguero, and there are three quality fishing lodges around the Río Colorado. The Rain Goddess luxury houseboat serves as a floating lodge based near the mouth of the San Juan River, in Nicaragua, and provides access to miles of jungle rivers and small hidden lakes that others rarely fish.

Lodges offer full service, including transportation from San José, comfortable accommodations, meals, boats and guides. There are no roads to this area, and access is via the in-country airlines or charter flights, or by boat through the Tortuguero Canal system from Limón.

Most operators on the Caribbean have 23-foot center consoles that are able to get out the river mouths more frequently for tarpon when the surf is up and often connect on barracuda, jacks, kingfish, sierra, tripletail, cubera, grouper, jewfish, wahoo, tuna to over 100 pounds and the occasional Atlantic sailfish and blue marlin.

Light-tackle fishing up river in the backwaters and lagoons is unsurpassed, especially when the calba, or fat snook (Centropomus parallelus) are running. These are the small snook that swarm the Río Colorado area from about September through November, sometimes overlapping as much as a month either way. They average about five pounds, with eight and nine pounders fairly common. Rainbow bass (guapote), mojarra, vieja, machaca, catfish, drum, alligator gar and other light-tackle species also abound, so bring along that bass rod or a light spinning outfit.