Fishing at dawn
told by Chantelle
Fishing for dinner at sunset is one of the most enjoyable afternoon activities in our beautiful spot of the world. Golfo Dulce, the hidden gem of Costa Rica, is not only stunning, it is also a very generous sea and we never come back empty handed.
Small barracudas, or picudas as the locals call them, bonitos, jacks and mackerels, are what we fish the most. No fancy equipment needed here, just a string wound up around a wooden reel.
The sea at Golfo Dulce is full of life and there are times at high tide when it is brimming with sardines: that's when they come so close to the shore, they get washed up by the surf. We're no experts yet, but let us tell you, no picuda can resist a live sardine!
Freshly caught fish makes an amazing meal regardless of how it's cooked but we have our family favourites. We like to keep it simple though, not to hide the awesome flavours: mackerel fried in garlic and butter; jack quickly seared and sprinkled with some good olive oil, a squirt of lime and a good grinding of black pepper; we have learnt that bonitos make delicious fish cakes whilst picudas, with their white flesh, are delicious in a traditional English batter and even more so in a coconut curry.
We love it when our friends and guests join us and get to share our astonishment and delight at the abundance and variety of life in the warm waters of Golfo Dulce.
This is slow, gentle, low-impact fishing at its most rewarding and sustainable level.
