March 20 was Matty and Jack’s turn on the Wanderer, and a special day for Captain Jack. He was the main man on the Wanderer Construction yet this day marked his first time back on the boat he built.

Satisfied with the boat’s health after a year in the water, we stayed inshore in the morning to load up on more Yellowfin than we knew what to do with.


At noon they were joined by Craig and William Kidd of North Carolina for some offshore trolling. Mr. Kidd reeled in this magnificant Dorado estimated to weigh 50 lbs. The strike came just before 5 pm…Long day, but well worth the wait.

Jack and Matty along with clients Jim and Bryan were out on the Explorer getting geared up for the Ship of Fools Tournament this weekend. With a scoring system that rewards big billfish and multiple inshore species in a weighted fashion, this local tourneo is THE bragging rights event of the season.

To prepare, we are tightening up our Cuberra Snapper tactics in a way that also permits for solid Yellowfin action. This way we can fill up the scorecard in multiple ways. Matty nailed this one late in the day on a 2.5 hour evening trip.


Captain Jack and Matty, the FishingNosara Building Dream Team, took some time off from dialing-in the new Safari Carts long enough to join Captain David for a quick 2 hr. evening trip. In this short time Jack ripped in a nice 40lbs. Cuberra Snapper.



With dinner in the box, Matty ordered the appetizer in the form of a football-sized Yellowfin tuna. They are heading out again tomorrow with more meals in mind. Nice trip to the fish market!


The same team of expert superstars from The Explorer Story and The Wanderer Story took a break from boat building to fabricate a trailer rack for FishingNosara’s 13′ Ocean Kayaks. Granted, as car guys this is right in Jack, Craig, and Matty’s comfort zone.

Take a look at the progress from a stock 8 foot trailer to a spiny, menacing, Road Warrior-esque battle wagon. This beast should be in Nosara sometime next week and be in full time service shortly thereafter.

Craig got in on the action and brought his old-school approach to bear on the cross-members. Even though we have power saws, he cut them all with a hacksaw and achieved perfectly equal lengths and nice flat corners. Can’t teach Experience kids!

Of course Jack has been welding for many years and this project was no challenge to his mammoth skills with the metal whip. From race cars to boat trailers, Jack has many successful welds under his belt.



By adding crossmember support to the stock trailer we estimate that the carrying capacity is double the stock load. Also the superstructure can be removed in a few minutes to allow for more utility from the trailer.
Despite the modifications and extreme attention to detail, this whole project took only one day of fabrication with a second day allocated for painting. Great work from the Dream Building Team!
Rough weather and slow fishing today, plus the Wanderer is on the hill for her monthly maintenance. Look for the great fishing to continue this week once the rain clears out.

Back in our Jacksonville shops Matty and Jack have put the final touches on the fleet of modded-out golf carts for use in Nosara. These vehicles are a ton of fun to drive and provide a great way for our guests to get out and enjoy the Nosara community.


Look for these vehicles to make their debut in early-March.
Captain Craig Sutton, US Representative of FishingNosara, invited Matty and longtime Nosara client David Leibowitz for a day-long Wahoo hunt off the Atlantic Ledge east of Jacksonville, FL.
Without trusty First Mate Carl Schmidt, Craig took care of the gaff while calling on David to reel up the monsters and Matty to handle the boat. Though not the most seasoned crew the Fishtastic has ever seen, they got the job done to the tune of four big Wahoos.



We used our specialty Wahoo spread that includes skirted bonita strips, planer/spoon combo, and the infamous Cedar plug.

Rest assured that when we are not fishing in Costa Rica, the FishingNosara team is constantly engaging in this kind of “corporate field research”. Pura Vida!
LATE ADDITION: Jack wanted to get his bit in, so check out this awesome King Mackeral from August 2010. Captain Jack and his boat Drifter II are legendary in Northeast Florida much like his babies the Wanderer and Explorer are in Garza.
