“Costa Rica’s jungles have been hiding one of the best freshwater sport fish to target on fly, the machaca! At my guiding company 506 Outdoors we are doing everything we can to shed light on this amazing fish and its beautiful jungle habitat! ” – Jesse Males
Costa Rica has long been a hot destination for anglers of all types. Its world class offshore fishing seems to keep getting better and better and the countries stance on reducing carbon emissions and single use plastics is outstanding. However, despite such a focus on conservation and the overall environment there have been a number of fantastic gems hidden in the jungle that have been overlooked. The machaca and its pristine jungle habitat is one of those gems!
As you can see in this video these fish live in fantastic lowland rivers throughout the country and although the areas are often difficult to access, the fishing can be exceptionally rewarding. We have been guiding machaca for the past two years through our guiding company 506 Outdoors and are happy to be on the forefront of showcasing this wonderful sport fish to the world.
While the machaca has always been here its fame and appreciation has be mostly been overshadowed by the countries tarpon fisheries. Now, we hope to change that.
On a local level promoting fishing in a sustainable way is extremely important to the future of this fishery. With things like netting and spearfishing in rivers still very much engrained into the culture we are hoping to help educate and inspire local communities to better understand the value of a healthy river and fishery. Keeping places clean and free of trash is another large issue that needs to be addressed. Despite these issues we believe that media and local education as well as international spotlighting of this fishery is the way to progress and maintain these fisheries for the future generations to come.
If you would like to learn more about fly fishing machaca be sure to visit our guiding website www.506outdoors.com.
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Tight lines!
Backwater Fly Fishing / Jesse Males 