Peacock Bass and Tarpon Tours
Peacock Bass and Tarpon Tours
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San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Peacock Bass and Tarpon Tours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
358 reviews
Excellent
347
Very good
6
Average
1
Poor
1
Terrible
3
Dylan Gulla
Charlotte, NC6 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
Paco is the real deal. If I could give him 100 stars I would.
My cruise ship itinerary changed the night before a stop and I found out we were making a stop in San Juan. Immediately got to looking and Paco’s operation had incredible reviews so I gave him a call. He informed me that it would most likely be raining at the time I wanted to fish and asked if I was okay with that. I absolutely was of course. Right away I knew he wasn’t just looking to take my money, he wanted me to have a good time. I took a 15 minute Uber from Old San Juan to the meeting place and he greeted me. Boat was ready and we got right to it. The boat was excellent. Very clean and plenty of room to move about.
He’s not kidding when he says this place is Tarpon alley. They were surfacing by the dozens all day. Slow start couldn’t get a hookset on 5 or 6 bites for the first hour (I booked the 2 hour trip). Then, after a period of about 30 minutes with no action, hooked into a MONSTER 200lb + Silver King. Paco was electric and coached me through the whole fight. Unfortunately, I lost him about 20 minutes in. Nothing to do with his equipment or the technique he showed me, just a bad hookset we think. I had so much fun talking with him and learning about the area and the fishing that I extended the trip another 2 hours. We both knew it would be steady rain but I was having such a great time I had to keep fishing with him and he didn’t mind braving the rain the me.
Immediately after losing the 200lb’er, we had all 6 lines back in the water in 5 minutes. He knew I was bummed out and did a great job trying to keep me positive. Some more time went by with a few bites but no hookups. He was constantly checking baits and trying different techniques. Paco knows his stuff, trust me on that. With 30 minutes left in my (now) 4 hour trip, we hooked up to small Tarpon and he coached me through it and got him to the boat. I was stoked.
I have done a fair amount of fishing charters and this was the most fun I have ever had. He will put you on fish and do everything he can to make your experience great. I had such a great time that I am considering coming back to San Juan to fish with him for a few days. Truly a fantastic experience. If you want to catch Peacock Bass/Tarpon/Snook, book with Paco NOW!!!
My cruise ship itinerary changed the night before a stop and I found out we were making a stop in San Juan. Immediately got to looking and Paco’s operation had incredible reviews so I gave him a call. He informed me that it would most likely be raining at the time I wanted to fish and asked if I was okay with that. I absolutely was of course. Right away I knew he wasn’t just looking to take my money, he wanted me to have a good time. I took a 15 minute Uber from Old San Juan to the meeting place and he greeted me. Boat was ready and we got right to it. The boat was excellent. Very clean and plenty of room to move about.
He’s not kidding when he says this place is Tarpon alley. They were surfacing by the dozens all day. Slow start couldn’t get a hookset on 5 or 6 bites for the first hour (I booked the 2 hour trip). Then, after a period of about 30 minutes with no action, hooked into a MONSTER 200lb + Silver King. Paco was electric and coached me through the whole fight. Unfortunately, I lost him about 20 minutes in. Nothing to do with his equipment or the technique he showed me, just a bad hookset we think. I had so much fun talking with him and learning about the area and the fishing that I extended the trip another 2 hours. We both knew it would be steady rain but I was having such a great time I had to keep fishing with him and he didn’t mind braving the rain the me.
Immediately after losing the 200lb’er, we had all 6 lines back in the water in 5 minutes. He knew I was bummed out and did a great job trying to keep me positive. Some more time went by with a few bites but no hookups. He was constantly checking baits and trying different techniques. Paco knows his stuff, trust me on that. With 30 minutes left in my (now) 4 hour trip, we hooked up to small Tarpon and he coached me through it and got him to the boat. I was stoked.
I have done a fair amount of fishing charters and this was the most fun I have ever had. He will put you on fish and do everything he can to make your experience great. I had such a great time that I am considering coming back to San Juan to fish with him for a few days. Truly a fantastic experience. If you want to catch Peacock Bass/Tarpon/Snook, book with Paco NOW!!!
Written 9 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Scott K
1 contribution
Sept 2023 • Couples
Captain Poco was awesome, my wife and I enjoyed the trip very much. I fish everywhere and every time I get too, my wife doesn’t fish much and Captain Poco made it enjoyable for her and that meant a lot to me. I’m looking forward to fishing with him again next year
Written 30 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
brian b
1 contribution
Sept 2023 • Friends
First time to PR and fishing for Tarpon. It was an awesome experience. Capt Paco was an fantastic guide and put us on fish very quickly. He was very patient with this rookie and taught me the necessary techniques to catch Tarpon. He was also very entertaining and we had great conversation about PR, fishing, and even pirates. I will certainly be back to fish with him again.
Written 14 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Crgreen78
2 contributions
Jun 2023 • Business
Paco was amazing and I got to fulfill my boyfriends life long dream of catching his first tarpon and several of them! Paco was very knowledgeable and we became friends with him and will definitely be using him again!
Written 11 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Devin Z
3 contributions
May 2023 • Family
Fantastic time, caught tarpon and ladyfish. Guide was insightful, friendly, experienced, and fun to talk to, learned a lot and caught 8 fish just myself. Highly recommend this companies charters, they are very fun
Written 23 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Caroline H
North Attleboro, MA48 contributions
Feb 2023
Great communication, easy booking, great boat, very knowledgeable guide, happy to answer questions our son asked. We quickly got a bite but it was lost before it could be caught, but he considered it caught referring to Florida's release regs. We were surrounded by tarpon all day. Unfortunately he released the last minute fish we finally caught rather than brining it into the boat for the 1 glory shot. I suspect a limit may have been reached with the morning charter that caught a monster and others and they had photos already posted on his facebook page. This charter was a let down to our boys and we felt perplexed by the decision to not truly catch the fish and allow us to get one pic for the experience. Had we not caught any, we would have understood, it's fishing. Just let him know up front you'd like the opportunity to get the fish on board for a photo and perhaps that will work for you.
Written 9 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bill
1 contribution
Jan 2023 • Family
Definitely a great experience! Captain Paco was on time, professional, and proficient in English and Spanish. Very close to San Juan PR airport. We fished conventional rods for tarpon but he will fish flies as well. We were guided on a very clean modern flats boat with a snag free deck in very calm water. I was really impressed how hard Captain Paco worked to ensure we landed a larger tarpon. There was a wide spread in the size of tarpon I could see rolling, probably 10 to 30 lbs consistently with the occasional bigger fish mixed in. I would go back and fish with Capn Paco again for sure! I would book 2 separate days with him, spread out over my trip to make sure I got a good weather/ bite day.
Written 20 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gessica M
Franklin, NC2 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
We had a terrific day fishing and tore up the tarpon. Our 16 year old son was in heaven. Capt. Paco was extremely gregarious and helpful.
Written 31 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rob S.
Missouri1 contribution
Nov 2022
Paco was amazing from start to end. We had our heart set on peacock bass, but because of weather and water conditions, he recommended tarpon fishing. This was a first for us, and so thankful he pointed us in that direction. Paco had us on fish all day. Very knowledgeable, entertaining and eager to make our experience the best it could be! He even took his own pics and videos to compliment what we had. Strongly recommend and will do again when we are in PR!!
Written 21 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brian G
2 contributions
Aug 2022
What a trip! Paco took my 12yo son and I out during two days in the estuaries to catch giant tarpon. It was more amazing than either of us could have imagined. We caught a bunch of very large tarpon; larger than anything we'd ever caught before. They gave us the fight of a lifetime.. My son started the trip lacking the confidence that he'd be able to land such a giant. Paco helped my son learn to land these monsters and he walked away feeling extremely proud. As a dad, I was thrilled, but I ALSO got to catch some giant tarpon as well, so I had a blast too! It was one for the books. Thank you Paco for working hard to give us what were were looking for and more!
Written 24 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Justin S
8 contributions
Thinking of going down to Puerto Rico end of December into beginning of January and wanted to know if its a good time of year for tarpon snook and peacock bass and largemouth etc
Robert B
Amarillo, TX11 contributions
Don’t waste your money!! You’ll catch better peacocks in Miami than you will there. If you’re looking for trophy peacocks you’ll have to go to Colombia or Brazil. But seriously don’t waste your money in Puerto Rico. You won’t be happy; I can promise you that..
Eric L
Tampa, Florida, United States16 contributions
I visit Humacao every June, and was thinking about doing some fishing this year for something different. Would the peacock or rainbow bass be something good to do with my 9 year old son? My wife or other kids may want to come as well, the price would be $350 for the half day for 2 to how many people?
Francisco M
San Juan, Puerto Rico430 contributions
Yes you and your son will love to catch peacock bass,tiger bass,rainbow bass and African cichlids. The $350.00 rate is good up to 3 people to the boat and captain. Regards
Lisa R
Charlotte, NC116 contributions
How many people can you accommodate for the $350. Can you hook us up with another couple for 1/2 day? We're very interested in going!
Lisa
Francisco M
San Juan, Puerto Rico430 contributions
Yes Lisa call me at 787-364-6000! Thank you
We would like to fish while in PR but need a charter that can fit five because we are bring the kids any ideas.
steve b
Byron Center, MI8 contributions
know how many can fit (it was just two of us). Call Cap'n Paco. He'll fill you in. He's a great guy.
Melodie D
Elizabethtown4 contributions
how much is the night fishing
Denis L
Riva, MD3 contributions
Full day is $500 to $550/day depending on the service. Paco supplies all live bait and equipment. If you fly fish better to bring your tarpon flies and fly gear. None of the guide services provide night tarpon fishing like is don in the Keys..
charles b
Fairfield, TX10 contributions
is there a tarpon season ? what month is a good month to fish for tarpon ?
Francisco M
San Juan, Puerto Rico430 contributions
We are pretty lucky to have lots of tarpon in the backcountry lagoons yearound. The Torrecillas and San Jose lagoons also knownas (Tarpon Alley)are amongst the best tarpon fishing spots in the world and the best in the Caribbean. These inland saltwater lagoons provide very calm waters so there is not a chance of getting seasick.They are located just 5 minutes from the San Juan International airport and 10 minutes from the major hotel areas. Tight lines from Capt. Paco Mendez
Jackie B
Williamsburg, Virginia, United States
How much does this 4hr fishing trip cost?
Francisco M
San Juan, Puerto Rico430 contributions
Yes Jackie thank you for inquiring! The rate for the half day 4hrs fishing trip is $350.00. You can choose between Tarpon or peacock bass,raimbow bass fishing.
Regards from Capt. Paco Mendez