Los Suenos Triple Crown: Schedule, History, and How to Fish Tournament Week
The Los Suenos Triple Crown (officially the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown) is a three-leg catch-and-release billfish tournament series held every January, February, and March out of Safe Harbor Los Suenos in Playa Herradura, Costa Rica. The series began in 2004 and is widely called one of the hardest billfish tournaments to fish and the most prestigious to win. Each leg runs three days, draws roughly 44 to 46 boats, and is preceded by a one-day Ladies Only Tournament.
We're a Los Suenos charter operator, not a tournament team, so this page answers the question the official tournament site doesn't: what tournament season means if you're an angler planning a trip to fish these same waters. Short version, January through March is the hottest billfish window of the year, and you don't need to be in the tournament to fish it.
Why Los Suenos Is One of the Best Places to Catch Dorado
The 2026 season ran across three legs from January through March. Dates shift slightly each year, so always confirm against the official tournament site before booking travel.
Los Suenos Triple Crown Schedule
The pattern holds most years: Leg 1 in late January, Leg 2 in late February, Leg 3 in mid-to-late March, with the Ladies Only shootout on the Tuesday before each leg.
What the Triple Crown Actually Is
The Triple Crown is a series, not a single event. To win the Series Championship, a team has to perform across all three legs, which is part of why it's considered so hard to take. Strong teams can win one leg and still miss the overall title.
Two events run side by side:
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Signature Triple Crown. The main three-day event, fished by professional and amateur teams on boats that often run 50 to 70+ feet. Teams travel from the U.S., Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, and beyond.
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Ladies Only Tournament. A one-day shootout fished the day before each leg, where anglers are required to hook and fight their own fish unassisted. The first Ladies Only event was held in 2019.
How Scoring Works
Everything is release-only. Boats radio in each billfish release, and independent observers verify the catches. Points favor marlin over sailfish because marlin are harder to raise and release, so a single blue marlin can swing a leg. In a typical leg, the fleet releases hundreds of billfish over three days. In 2016, 43 teams released 2,754 billfish across three days during Leg 2 alone.
History and the Numbers Since 2004
The Triple Crown turned the Los Suenos fishery into the reference point for Pacific billfishing. The cumulative release totals are the clearest evidence of the fishery's depth. Since the marina began hosting tournaments in 2004, Signature Triple Crown teams (not counting the Ladies Only series) have released 58,313 sailfish and 3,016 marlin.
The most recent confirmed Series Champion is Billfisher, which won the 2025 Signature Triple Crown after releasing 204 sailfish and six marlin across the three legs. Danny Dough aboard Billfisher was named 2025 top angler with 47 sailfish and three marlin.
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Can You Fish Los Suenos During Tournament Week?
Yes. You don't have to be entered in the Triple Crown to fish out of Los Suenos in January, February, or March. Charter boats run private trips on the same grounds throughout the season, and the recreational sailfish and marlin bite is excellent for one simple reason: the tournament is scheduled for these months because this is when the fishing peaks, not the other way around.
A few honest things to know if you're planning a charter during a tournament leg:
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Book early. The marina and nearby lodging fill up around tournament dates. The closer your trip is to a leg, the sooner you should lock in a boat.
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We're a private charter, not a tournament team. Our boat, the Dream II, a 32' Luhrs Open Express, carries up to five passengers and runs the same offshore grounds the tournament fleet fishes. We're built for a great day of fishing for you and your group, not for competing against 60-foot sportfishers for a trophy.
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You can soak up the atmosphere. The docks are busy, the weigh-ins and live scoreboard run all week, and the energy around the marina is at its highest point of the year.
If your dates are flexible, fishing the week before or after a leg gets you the same peak bite with more boat availability. Either way, our half-day, full-day, and multi-day rates and our booking page are the place to start.
The Wider Costa Rica Tournament Calendar (2026)
The Triple Crown is the headline event on Costa Rica's Central Pacific, but it's part of a packed January-through-April tournament season. Most of the other major events run out of Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, about an hour's drive south of Los Suenos. Here's how the full 2026 calendar lines up, with the Triple Crown legs in context.
Why January Through March Is the Best Billfish Window
The Triple Crown sits in the heart of Costa Rica's prime billfish season, which is exactly why a visiting angler should care about it even if they never enter.
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Sailfish peak January through March. Peak-season Los Suenos boats regularly post 15 to 20 sailfish release days in these months. More on timing in our month-by-month Los Suenos fishing calendar.
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Marlin show through the winter. Blue and black marlin run strong January through March, and striped marlin peak November through January. See the full breakdown on our Los Suenos marlin fishing page.
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The bite is why the tournament exists here. No marina schedules its flagship series during a slow stretch. The Jan-Mar window is the single best argument for timing a Costa Rica fishing trip around these months. The same applies to the Los Suenos sailfish run.
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Conservation and Release Rules
The Triple Crown is release-only, and that's not a tournament gimmick. Costa Rica requires catch-and-release for all billfish, marlin and sailfish alike, and circle hooks are mandatory to reduce injury. Independent observers ride along during the tournament to verify every release, and that data feeds wider billfish conservation tracking.
We follow the same rules on every private charter, tournament season or not. If you want the details before you book, our Costa Rica fishing license and regulations guide lays out the license cost, the circle-hook requirement, and which species are release-only.
How to Plan a Trip Around the Tournament
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Pick your window. Decide whether you want to be there during a leg for the atmosphere, or inside the same Jan-Mar season for the fishing with more availability.
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Confirm the dates. Check the schedule above and the official tournament site before booking flights.
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Book the boat first. Charter availability tightens fastest. Reserve your Los Suenos fishing charter before you finalize lodging.
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Know the run. Our offshore grounds sit 22 to 28 miles out, a 45 to 60 minute run from the marina, with FADs and seamounts 70 to 140 miles out for multi-day trips.
The marina is inside Herradura Bay, about a 90-minute drive from San Jose (SJO).
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Triple Crown runs three legs across January, February, and March each year. In 2026, the legs were January 21-24, February 25-28, and March 18-21, with the Ladies Only Tournament on the Tuesday before each. Dates shift slightly year to year, so confirm against the official tournament site.
Yes. Private charters run throughout tournament season on the same offshore grounds the fleet fishes. You don't need to be entered to book a boat. Availability tightens near tournament dates, so reserve early, or fish the week before or after a leg for the same peak bite.
Yes, the Triple Crown is release-only for all billfish, and releases are verified by independent observers. This matches Costa Rican law, which requires catch-and-release for all marlin and sailfish, plus mandatory circle hooks to reduce injury to the fish.
The Ladies Only Tournament is a one-day billfish event fished by women anglers the day before each Triple Crown leg. Anglers must hook and fight their own fish unassisted. It first ran in 2019 and now serves as the season kickoff before each of the three Signature legs.
Each leg typically draws around 44 to 46 boats, ranging from professional teams to amateur crews. Many run 50 to 70+ foot sportfishers and travel from the U.S., Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, and other countries to compete in what's called the Billfish Capital of the World.
Beyond the Triple Crown, most major 2026 events run from Marina Pez Vela in Quepos: the Rock Star Offshore (January), Rooster Rodeo and Pescadora Billfish Championship (February), Sailfish Slam and IGFA Open (March), and Bisbee's Costa Rica Offshore plus the Offshore World Championship (April).
Quepos sits about an hour's drive south of Los Suenos and is home to Marina Pez Vela, a separate marina that hosts most of the country's other big tournaments. Dream Boats CR runs out of Los Suenos in Herradura, so our trips fish the Central Pacific grounds off that marina.
Yes, January through March is the peak billfish window. Sailfish releases of 15 to 20 fish a day are common in this stretch, and marlin run strong through the winter. The tournament is scheduled for these months precisely because the fishing is at its best.
The marina hosts daily weigh-ins and dock activity during each leg, and the tournament runs a live online scoreboard and radio broadcast. You can follow the action from the marina or online. Charter guests fishing the same week often catch the dock atmosphere before or after their trip.