Fly Fishing Costa Rica

JUNGLE TARPON LODGE - The Tackle and Gear List

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The following is a list of gear that we recommend. There isn't a whole lot you'll need!! Your biggest concern should be protecting yourself from the sun especially while fishing. Good polarized sunglasses are easier on the eyes and may help you spot fish, Bring as much easy to dry stuff as possible. 2-3 changes of clothes with regular washing will do the trick. The flights to and from the coasts can be fairly strict on weight if the plane is full. The limit is supposed to be 25 pounds so bring light stuff. I have trouble bringing less than 25 pounds of fly rods and reels! So the word is pack light!

Sunscreens SPF 15, 30, 45, Zinc Oxide Sunblock for lips and nose
Hat with brim and neck guard (or sunhat for non anglers)
Long sleeve shirt and pants for fishing, white socks ( tops of feet get burned in the boats)
Sunglasses (polarized of course)
Bathing suit
T-shirts
Shorts
Underwear
Sandals
Boat shoes (optional)
Hiking/Jungle trek boots
Rain jacket (This is the rain forest!)
Bug repellent (always needed on jungle tours, sometimes at dinner)
Camera & film
Reading & writing materials
Some cash to tip guides (Costa Rican Colones or American dollars)
fishing tackle and equipment
extra eyeglasses
Passport
rod repair kit with tip top and ferrule cement

Tackle:

We have a excellent supply of high quality conventional tackle, but you are welcome to bring your own. The lodge doesn't provide fly tackle since it is much more fragile, so you definitively need to bring your own fly gear.

Fly Tackle:

6-8 weight for small tarpon, snook
- excellent disc drag reel
- floating tarpon line ( stiffer tropical type line to turn over heavy flys)
- 9 foot leaders 12 pound class tippet with 50 pound shock tippet ( for tarpon,snook)
- 9 foot "big game" tapered leaders 10-15 pound class

8-10 weight for small - medium tarpon, large snook in rivers
- excellent disc drag reel, 300 yards of 30 pound backing
- floating tarpon line ( stiffer tropical type line to turn over heavy flys)
- type 6 fast sinking line, or sinking shooting heads, The heavier the better. overline the rod with a 300- 500 grain shooting head. Rio makes a great changeable tip line called the Leviathan Versa-tip which comes with an assortment of nice fast sinking tips.
- 9 foot leaders 16 pound class tippet with 50-80 pound shock tippet (for tarpon,snook)
12 weight for tarpon in the ocean, big rivers.
- excellent disc drag reel, 400 yards of 30 pound backing
- floating tarpon line ( stiffer tropical type line to turn over heavy flys)
- type 6 fast sinking line, or sinking shooting heads, The heavier the better. overline the rod with a 300- 700 grain shooting head. Rio makes a great changeable tip line called the Leviathan Versa-tip which comes with an assortment of nice fast sinking tips.
- 9 foot leaders 20 pound class tippet with 80 pound shock tippet (for tarpon,snook)

crrods.jpg (17665 bytes) Misc:

Extra fly lines
wire cutters and crimps, extra tippet and shock material

reel lubricant
line cleaner
backup rod

The Fly Box

Keep in mind that you will not use all 84 flys on any given trip but you may very well need all 6 cock roaches or all 12 deceivers. You will probably come back with 74 flys!! You need to be well supplied because there are no fly shops. In the darker water of the rivers the bigger bulkier flies seem to do better as they push a lot of water and the fish are able to sense that before they see it.

Type	Colors	Size	Qty
Cockroach	&n bsp;standard	1/0-4/0	6
Tarpon Bunny	Olive,white	1/0-4/0	6
Rouf Lay up	Chatreuse, brown	2/0	6
Whistler	red/white , red/blk	2/0-4/0	12
Deceivers	olive,blue,white	1-4/0	12
Poppers,small	white,blue,black	1-2	12
Poppers, large	white,blue,black	1/0, 2-0	6
Dahlberg diver	white ,black,purple	2/0-2-6	6
Clouser minnow< /font>	chatr/white	2/0-2-6	12

Equipment and Gear Buying Guide

Rods:

Always buy 4 or 5 piece rods - they are so much easier to pack and the technology in making ferrules means you cant' feel the joints anymore. Whether it is the latest and greatest evolution of graphite or technology that is 5- 10 years old, modern rods are a pleasure to cast.

REELS:

I use large arbor reels for saltwater and fresh water. The retrieval rate is awesome and it helps the drag maintain a consistent pressure while a fish is running. ( The diameter doesn't change much as you lose line as it does on a standard arbor) There are some wonderful reels out there but the Mach Large Arbor is a great value, it is light, it is pretty, it is smooth and it doesn't cost a fortune!

FLY LINES:

Fly lines should be specific to the conditions - Broad categories include: Warm Water or Cold Water?, SaltWater or Fresh water? Lines can be full floating, full sinking, or partial sinking (sink tip). The tapers can vary infinite ways to help you throw different kinds of flies in different situations, or one taper may help you mend line easier than another. Almost every manufacture of high quality lines will offer a line for the specific species and purpose you are looking for.

LEADERS:

I prefer to use flouro carbon leaders for most of my fly fishing needs (salt or freshwater) as they have more abrasion resistance than standard monofilament.

I also always use flouro carbon tippets for fresh and saltwater applications for it's invisible nature. Most of our destinations have pretty stupid fish but it still makes sense to use the most invisible tippet.

FLIES :

If you need flies for one of our trips we can provide you with a selection specific for the time of year and destination you are traveling to. This is a courtesy to our clients and we do not sell flies to anglers who have not booked a trip through us! ( We are not snobs we just are not set up to provide tons of flies!) The selections usually come in $100, $150, $200 selections.

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