rainbow bass

Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

We're heading to Lake Arenal, Cost Rica to test several popular fishing lures to see which ones will catch Rainbow Bass. This fish catching event is being sponsored by www.LuresThatCatchFish.com Event RESULTS

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How To Fish For Rainbow Bass In Lake Arenal Costa Rica

Spinnerbait Fishing Techniques For Lake Arenal

Lake Arenal can be a difficult lake to fish. In some places the shoreline has grass with roots and other places hidden trees and stumps. When the water level is low some of these hidden tree stumps are visible. During high water levels many of these stumps will be just below the water level. Many places on the lake are only accessible during high water seasons. This is where an experienced guide pays off. He will know where these just below water stumps are located and can put you right on them. The Guapote make beds in the wall of the lake during high water seasons and during low water levels you can actually see the big holes in the banks along the lake. An experienced guide will also know where some of these Guapote spawning beds are located during the correct seasons. The Guapote move into deeper water as soon as the sun starts getting high which is around 10:00 am. They are hard to catch on spinner baits until again in the late evenings. However some local guides have reported catching them on spinners and diving plugs all day long.

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Rainbow Bass

What Is The Best Lures For Fishing Lake Arenal Costa Rica

Effective Lures For Fishing Lake Arenal

Spinnerbaits

There are several artificial baits (lures) that will also catch Guapote Rainbow Bass at times. Guapote Rainbow Bass will be close to the shoreline in the mornings and evenings and you have a great shot at them by fishing the grass and weeds close to shore. White spinnerbaits with tandem gold blades, semi-weed less top water plugs, and shallow diving plugs will do the job from safe daylight up until around 10 am. You may also catch rainbow bass during the middle of the day during overcast, cloudy conditions or in light rain. Usually a medium to medium fast retrieve will work on both spinner baits and shallow diving plugs. The rainbow bass will be up in the grass and weeds though and you really need a weed less lure and presentation. You will need to cast right into or beyond grass and retrieve the lure through the weeds and grass. Shallow diving plugs will do better around structure such as logs, tree trunks, and submerged branches. Spinner baits will also do the job in theses situations also. I prefer red shallow diving plugs or something in silver that simulates the existing live bait fish present. Smaller plugs seem to do better as the rainbow bass have a smaller mouth than the Peacock bass or largemouth bass. However I have used large top water, shallow divers and

one ounce spinnerbaits to catch the bigger rainbow bass. I have also caught 6 inch rainbow bass on 3/4 to 1 ounce spinnerbaits, so you will occasionally catch smaller rainbow bass on large lures as well. One local lake Arenal fishing guide reported catching the IGFA World Record Rainbow Bass during the middle of the day so I can only suggest high percentage methods and times for catching rainbow bass. This does not mean you cannot catch rainbow bass at any given time of the year or time of day. Rainbow Bass, like large mouth bass are somewhat unpredictable in their biting habits. My biggest largemouth bass (16 lbs caught in Florida) was caught during the hottest time of the day and month of the year, so you never know for sure. You just have to go fishing enjoy your time on the water and see if they are biting. Rising barometric pressure or lowering pressure will also stimulate rainbow bass to bite. Usually right before and during a rain storm moves in you can count on some great rainbow bass fishing.

Crank Baits

Fishing with shallow diving crank baits about twenty feet off the shoreline can be effective for rainbow bass. The ridges and points extend out into the lake for some distance and you can troll shallow crank baits along these points for some great rainbow action. I like to use crank baits that dive 8 to 10 feet for tight shoreline trolling. I troll larger deeper diving crank baits that dive to 20 feet or more approximately 50 to 100 feet off the shore line. Pay attention to the degree of the points as they enter the water because they will maintain the same slope right into and below the water. This way you will have an idea when you are entering more shallow areas. It's a good idea to slow the boat trolling speed and/or raise your rod tip high into the air over your head in these point areas. This will make your lure rise off the bottom more and avoid getting snagged on submerged branches. It's a good idea to have a lure retriever on board incase your plugs get fowled on the underwater structure. A 5 to 8 ounce lead weight with a couple wire loops attached that will slip around your fishing line and glide down to the fowled lure bumping it free will save a costly investment in lost lures. Deep diving plugs can cost upwards of $15 in Costa Rica, when you can find them at all. You can troll crank baits anytime of the day, but this is an effective way to catch rainbow bass during the hotter times of the day when the fish move offshore into deeper waters and it's difficult to catch them on spinnerbaits or top water lures.

Rainbow Bass Information

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The word Guapote comes from Guapo which means hansom. Rainbow bass are found mostly from Costa Rica to with the bigger fish coming from Lake Niagara. Niagara Rainbow bass appear to go through their mating season around December and January. The big trophy fish can be seen thumping around and splashing in the water like a drowning animal. It's a very exciting experience to see the rainbow bass mating. They will usually go into their nests shortly after this. The rainbow bass burrow out large holes in the banks of the shoreline. These nests will be just under the surface of the water. It normally occurs during the higher water level stages of the lake. During November and December the lake is usually at it's fullest levels. Local fishing guides report that fishing for them can be slow at this time. During February the female rainbow bass will be full or row (eggs) and it will take around 28 to 30 days for the eggs to hatch.

I suspect that just prior to the mating and shortly after mating the rainbow bass become active feeders similar to the habits of the Largemouth bass. The water in Lake Arenal remains a constant 76 degrees year around, so you don't have the seasons driving the nesting habits of the rainbow bass like you do with the largemouth bass in the USA. Rainbow bass mating and nesting habits are most likely initiated by the lake water levels. The lake is used as the primary source of fresh water and electricity for most of Costa Rica. The water level is maintained by the abundant rain fall in the rainforest. Lake Arenal area doesn't have hot and dry seasons like the central valley areas of Costa Rica. Lake Arenal has rain year around, although more rainfall in certain months that others. Once the rainbow bass start nesting, the biting will slow down and you may experience a problem catching them. So the best fishing times should be right before they go on the nest when they are storing up food and energy for the nesting and hatching period. After the eggs hatch in March the females will start feeding again.

There are several varieties of Guapote Rainbow Bass in Lake Arenal as well as a few other varieties of fish that you can catch on lures. Rainbow Bass is considered by all locals as the best tasting fish of all the lake Arenal species. For this reason they are over fished and even spear fished by the locals. Guapote Rainbow Bass are illegal to spearfish or to sell in restaurants so the only way to legally have them is by catching them on hook and line. However there are no legal size limits or number of rainbow bass you can catch and keep. This contributes to the difficulty of catching rainbow bass of any size. The record Guapote Rainbow Bass is currently around 13 lbs on lake Arenal, and fish are still taken in the 8 to 10 lb range occasionally. The average fish will be from 3 to 5 lbs. When you do get a strike they will fight much harder than a largemouth bass. Most big ones will break off during the battle. The rainbow bass is not an aggressive feeder though and you have to make a

Live Bait

Fishing lake Arenal Costa Rica can be one the most difficult lakes you will ever fish. Rainbow Bass knows as Guapote are not aggressive fish when it comes to biting, however they are extremely aggressive fish when you mange to hook one. I would compare the Rainbow Bass to saltwater species such as Redfish or even Grouper on the fighting side. You will definitely know it if you hook into a trophy Rainbow Bass. Guapote (Rainbow Bass) seem to bite better on live baits such as Sardines or small minnows about 3 inches long. These can be caught on small hooks and wigglers or tiny worms along the shoreline of Lake Arenal. Another effective bait is live palmetto bugs fluttering on the surface at daylight.

The Spinnerbait Testing Grounds

We're testing lures from some of the top spinner bait manufacturers to find the best spinner baits to use for a fishing trip to world famous Lake Arenal, Costa Rica for Guapote Rainbow Bass. Our plan is to spend three weeks fishing Lake Arenal in a variety of conditions with a fishing guide, a kayak and walking the shore to find the best performing spinner baits for catching Guapote Rainbow Bass.

Rainbow Bass

Our Fishing Strategy On Lake Arenal

On Lake Arenal the mornings and the evenings are about the only time you can catch fish along the shore line with spinner baits. The mornings come very early on Lake Arenal. Daylight will start around 5:30 to 6 am because of the equator. Darkness in the evening will occur around 5:30 to 6 pm. Our strategy is to fish the grass lines and tree stumps early in the morning up until about 10am and again in the evenings from about 3:30 to dark. During the heat of the day the Guapote move out to deeper locations in the lake are more difficult to catch.

Rainbow Bass

Fishing Tackle

We will be using three identical new Bass Pro Shops spinning reels with composite graphite 7 ft rods spooled with 15 lb Andes mono line. We will have spinnerbaits from three different manufacturers on the fishing outfits at all times and will be fishing 10 minutes with one, then 10 minutes with another, etc. I like the spinning reel for fishing spinner baits because it is easier to pitch lures with spinning reels as opposed to bait casters. I also like bait casters for certain fishing situations. The high winds often occurring on the lake lends itself better to open spinner reels also.

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Spinnerbaits Selected For The Evaluation

We visited the local Bass Pro Shops, Wal Mart, Target, Sports Authority and several local tackle supply shops looking specifically for white spinner baits with Gold Blades in 1/4 oz size. As you can see from the collection of spinner baits we obtained, it's very difficult to get white 1/4 once spinner baits with white skirts. We finally special ordered our lures below including the PERSUADER, TERMINATOR, MANN'S CLASSIC, BOOYAH, STANLEY WEDGE and LAZER EYE spinnerbaits in gold blades. We also ordered some white skirts extra so we can change the skirts if necessary. We were looking for these particular baits as we wanted a level playing field for all lures and because of the unique waters we will be fishing. We felt the gold blades would work best because of the overcast conditions often prevalent on the lake.

NOTE - We were not able to locate any 1/4 ounce White Spinnerbait with Gold Blades locally or by ordering online.

* All the lures below are 1/2 ounce and above.

Our first Fishing Catching evaluation of 2010 will start on Feb 22nd and the Guapote Rainbow Bass we are targeting requires a smaller bait as the local fish do not have bucket mouths like the largemouth bass. This is why we wanted 1/4 ounce lures. Also the water can be murky so we want gold blades. We will need Willow blades because of all the grass and roots along the shoreline that we have to cast in to. The white skirts are what seems to work locally as reported by the local fishing guides.

We will take along extra skirts and blades to modify the lures accordingly

Lures Used For Fishing Lake Arenal

During Our Lures That Catch Fish 2010 Rainbow Bass Event

Lake Arenal Fishing Tours

Spinnerbaits

Rainbow Bass Can Be Very Aggressive

PERSUADER TERMINATOR

MANN'S CLASSIC BOOYAH

STANLEY WEDGE BOOYAH LAZER EYE

NOTE: Stanley Wedge Spinnerbaits was the overall 2010 Costa Rica Rainbow Bass Lure Winner

Crank Baits

Rainbow Bass

Which Lures Caught Fish??

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NOTE: Strike King, Bomber and Norman Crank Baits Won the Crank Bait Category

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2010 Spinnerbait Review

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Information On Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

Lake Arenal Costa Rica is a very unusual lake. it's approximately 33 square miles and up to 200 feet deep in places. It's located on the equator and the lake temperature stays a constant 76 degree year around due to the excellent tropical climate and the nearby active volcano Arenal. The levels of the lake water rises and falls during the year and makes for excellent opportunities to fish for the famous Guapote Rainbow Bass. The Guapote Bass grow to 15 lbs but the average fish will be in the 3 to 5 lb range. A Local Fishing Guide reported catching the unofficial IGFA World Record Guapote Rainbow Bass last November. The Guapote is a hard running fish and can break weak lines, knots and other tackle. The Guapote is a distant cousin of the Peacock Bass. Fishing on the lake can be very slow at times especially when the water level is not rising or falling. The lake does not see much fishing pressure so the lake is not over fished, but there is a lot of local illegal spear fishing for Guapote.

Lake Arenal Fishing Tours

Lake Arenal Fishing Tours

Our Lake Arenal Local Fishing Guide Host For The Event

Glenn's Enchanted Fishing Tours

Rainbow Bass

9.5 lb Rainbow Bass on Stanley Lures

Glenn McBride with Enchanted Fishing Tours has been selected as the local Fishing Guide for some of the Lures That Catch Fish Lake Arenal's catching evaluations. Glenn has fished this lake for 20 years and knows when and where the fish are biting. He was one of the first guides offering guided fishing on Lake Arenal. Glenn will receive a write up on his guided fishing business from Lures That Catch Fish (below) for helping us with our local guided fishing section of our Lake Arenal spinnerbaits lure evaluations. All spinnerbaits that catch a Guapote Rainbow Bass will also receive a write up with close up photos and a link to the site where our reader's can purchase the lure. The lure photos and links will be on this Guapote Rainbow Bass site and Lures That Catch Fish home page.

Thanks Glenn for donating your time and experience for this event!

Glenn's Lake Arenal Fishing Report For February & March 2010

Glenn says the lake is starting to fall now and that can lead to some good Guapote Rainbow Bass fishing. Pictured above is his biggest Guapote Rainbow Bass weighing in at 9.5 lbs. Glenn says it's the biggest fish he's landed in his boat so far. The fish was caught by one of his recent customers. They are hitting smaller white or translucent spinnerbaits with gold wedge blades right now. I expect the fishing to become better as the water continues to fall. The females are full of row now and will be hatching their eggs soon. Now's also a great time for trolling deep diving plugs while sitting under the bimini and having a cool one. So give us a call and we'll see if we can get a nice Guapote in the boat.

If you're interested in a Guided Fishing Tour on Lake Arenal Costa Rica give Glenn a call at:

(506) 8334-2506 Cell

Guided Fishing On Lake Arenal For Guapote Rainbow Bass

Guapote Rainbow Bass

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Nice Guapote Caught By The Author Kayak Fishing in 2010

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Lures That Catch Fish is considering a Kayak Fishing Event on Lake Arenal in September 2010. Let us know if you would be interested in fishing or hosting this event. Contact Us.

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Roy John Fuller is a Fisherman,and Free Lance Writer