My husband and I went for our first deep sea fishing charter a couple weeks ago with Jackpot Fishing. Based on the many high reviews, my expectations were high and yet still, it was the most money we have ever spent on a vacation activity so felt a bit worried after booking that it wouldn’t feel worth it. After a near perfect day aboard Good Day I can easily say this trip exceeded all high expectations and was one of the best and most worthwhile excursions we’ve ever done!
While lucking out on the weather and having a beautiful day surely contributed to our amazing time, there are several reasons I would absolutely recommend booking Jackpot Fishing to anyone considering:
1. Captain Benn’s friendliness and hard work - Before booking, I don’t know that I thought much about how much the captain on such a small boat would influence what kind of time and how successful of a trip we might have. But now I see that the captain is the key and, guys, you want Captain Benn. You’re going to spend hours and hours on a little boat at sea and you spent a good chunk of hard earned money to catch some fish so you want someone who’s down-to-earth and easy to talk to but who also is going to do everything in their power to catch as many fish as possible (which is easier said than done). Captain Benn is your guy. Literally from start to finish, his priorities were ensuring we have a great time and catching fish. And that’s what we did. We told him at the beginning we were looking to catch fish to eat for dinner that night and Captain Benn and first mate Manuel seemed to know just where to go looking for these fish and explained their logic and process along the way.  My husband and I reeled in a Mahi Mahi each (and had some others on the line), as well as a few triple tail, and LOTS of bonitos. Each time, from spotting the fish in the water, to hooking them, coaching us on the reel in, getting it in the boat, off the hook, and either in the cold storage or back in the ocean, and all while taking pictures and videos along the way, it was just constant effort on their part and constant excitement for us! Thinking about the alternative, hours of just floating out at sea, which we know is a possibility as we ran into another fishing tour who only caught one small triple tail, I’m so glad we chose Captain Benn and Jackpot Fishing. Bonus was Benn was super friendly and had lots of great recommendations for us around Manuel Antonio and our next stop La Fortuna/Arenal after having lived in CR for almost a decade.
2. The experience and the FISH - like I said, I was a bit apprehensive after booking that I wouldn’t feel like I got my money’s worth but wow was I wrong. We got a ride on the front of a boat along the beautiful Pacific coast of Costa Rica, all the beers, drinks, snacks and fresh fruit we could ask for, learnings about deep sea fishing, a once in a lifetime experience reeling in beautiful and BIG fish, amazing photos holding our fresh catches, and probably the most delicious fresh fish we’ve ever had as our appetizers and dinners the following two nights.
3. The boat and accommodations - looking around at different charters before booking, there was definitely a wide variety in the boats used. Some seemed small or older, didn’t have a bathroom on board, or for one reason or another, just didn’t look like something I wanted to spend hours at sea on. Good Day was a good size with a bathroom and was really well kept. Captain Benn really ensured the boat was kept in pristine condition, and was cleaning the boat with a hose consistently throughout the trip to keep it that way. The fishing equipment the boat had was amazing too, with a large outrig setup and fish finder, which I’m sure helped get us our catches and probably isn’t something all charters have. And there were plenty of places to be on the boat, whether riding on the beanbag chairs up front, fishing in the back of the boat, or relaxing and getting some shade on the benches in the cabin.

If you’re on the fence about doing a deep sea fishing trip cause you’re not sure it would be worth the money or fun, trust me it’s more than worth it and was a blast - just choose Jackpot Fishing. If you’re set on a deep sea fishing trip but choosing between the different charters, go with Jackpot fishing for your best chance at catching fish and having a truly memorable and worthwhile experience.

Couldn’t have asked for a better time aboard the Good Day with Ben (boat owner). He really loves what he does and it shows when he takes you fishing and you learn all he has to share. We went offshore and hooked up to more than a few sails and even got to tag and name them for research. If that wasn’t enough when we headed in we did a quick inshore troll around a few rocks after giant rooster and hooked up to an even more rare catch, a giant cubera snapper! It’s no wonder he is known world wide and from what I can tell the most popular captain in Quepos maybe Costa Rica!

If you want to catch fish, these guys are the best. Very professional and great with families. We had an unforgettable time and couldn’t have asked for anything more!

An awesome day fishing on the “Great Day”. Crew really knew the waters and put us on the fish we wanted.

Me my daughter n her boyfriend had great day .caught bunch of sailfish and we saw so many spinner dolphin was unbelievable. Butch n Roy were friendly and helpful and went out of there way to give us a great day on the ocean.will definitely be back again!!!