Spread the word to the local billfish popluation…the Adventurer has struck again! Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that a 23 foot panga with tiller steering would stand up to the mighty Pacific Sailfish that populate our stretch of water, but the fearless Captain Carlos proved that last month’s sailfish release with Josh Walker was no fluke.
What a beast! Hats off to Captain Carlos for coordinating the strike, fight, and most importantly safe release of this majestic marine monster.
The angler for this release was from Marta Baez’ family and you can see from these excellent photos that this legendary Sailfish release was only part of their unforgettable Costa Rican vacation.
The absolutely wore it out in Nosara: ziplines, kayaks, horses, and of course one of the most memorable Sailfish releases of the season.
After two weeks of weather delays we are primed for the weekend at the Kingbuster 400 Kingfish Tournament held in St. Augustine, FL. Lots of great prizes are on the line for all levels of anglers, so come out and join FishingNosara at this tourney.
Tournament Recap
Following a spirited Captain’s Meeting at the St. Augustine Bridge of Lions Marina, 50+ crews braved the 100+ degree heat and went kingfishing. The bite was a bit slow and the scales were absent the 50lbs. we’ve seen in the past.
Still it was exciting to see first place go to a good old friend:
Congrats to Captain Jerry Carter on winning the KingBuster 400…his prize? A week at Nosara Paradise Rentals with fishing trips from FishingNosara!
PS Nice hats gentlemen…FSU and FishingNosara is a lethal combination!
Click here for the full article from the St. Augustine Record by Jim Sutton
Dennis Paul took his final swipe of the week at the marine population on the Wanderer and they had a quartet of sailfish visit the spread throughout the trip.
Of the four potential strikes Dennis and the boys on the big blue beauty caught three. As always Captain William kept the fights short and First Mate Alex coordinated all three safe releases.
The best thing about Dennis Paul is, even though he sits atop the FishingNosara Hall of Fame with three separate enshrinements he still approaches every trip with the enthusiasm of a first timer.
Compare the big smiles on these Sailfish releases against his catches from years past and he is clearly just as pumped up now as ever.
Excellent action on the Explorer today for client William. Captain David caught up with a school of Dorados and in the afternoon they caught over two dozen of the tasty greenies. They ranged from 10lbs. – 15 lbs., but add it up and that’s a lot of fish filets.
Later William caught a beautiful 15lbs. Mullet Snapper. These reef dwellers yield a tasty, almost lobster-like meat and annual catches for this species are usually single digits.
Excellent production from Captain David and the Explorer!
The Wanderer pulled double-duty today with a pair of trips on the schedule. The morning trip featured our new friend Todd Lupton who is in Nosara after purchasing a prize package at a Coastal Conservation Association auction. FishingNosara is proud to be associated with this charitable organization dedicated to marine conservationism and even more excited when we can welcome guests like the Luptons.
These Naples, FL based anglers showed once again that Sunshine State fisherman are truly the class of the world as the party released and unheard-of FOUR ROOSTER FISH on just a 5 hour trip.
To think we were losing our minds with excitement over the triple Rooster release that Wayne Estes pulled off a week ago, and now we’ve had our first ever quad-Rooster release. Great work by the Lupton family and the mighty Wanderer on this landmark accomplishment!
On the afternoon trip, Dennis Paul and the boys hauled in a few dinners in the form of four 20 lbs. Dorados. Not his best trip of the week, but Dennis sets the bar for himself pretty high.
After two steller days of fishing earlier in the week, John Baumgart returned to the Wanderer for a final day victory lap around the blue water. This magnificent Pacific Sailfish showed up to send off Mr. and Mrs. Baumgart.
This is nearly as big as his Sailfish earlier in the week on the 22nd and combined with his gigantic Cubera with Captain David on the Explorer it is fair to say that John Baumgart put a beating on these fish. Great way to end a great week of fishing in Costa Rica!
Javier Hernandez (President of Fupperno) notes that his club has united to stop overfishing and irresponsible practices that affect fish resources and the balance of marine ecosystems.
By making this tournament catch and release, they hope to improve and change the management of marine resources and raise awareness. You can read the full story in the June 12 issue of the Voice of Nosara.
The first weekend was slow with high winds and uncooperative Snook leaving the anglers wanting. However things fired up on June 23 with several Snook releases on the scoreboard.
The winner was Senor Luis Rodriguez with a 24lbs. Snook released. Regular readers of this report recognized Mr. Rodriguez from his 38 lbs. Snook that was posted here on April 28, 2012. His winning snook weighed 24lbs. and earned Luis the first prize of $200. Here is video of the release:
Second place went to Mr. Carl Wells with this 7 lbs. Snook and $150 to go with it.
Third place was taken by local legend Luis Siler with this little 2lbs. Snook. His prize was $100 which he generously split with three other anglers who caught similarly small fish.
Regardless of fish sizes, this tournament was about far more than money and poundage…The swell of activity on the Fupperno Facebook page has proved that Nosara has a viable, thriving, and enthusiastic scene of land-based Snook anglers.
As this community of anglers grows and flourishes, they are lucky to have a person like Javier in a position of leadership…Mr. Hernandez sincerely cares about the future of this fishery and dreams of a day when catch-and-release will become the norm with Snook tournaments much as it has with offshore billfish.
Finally and most importantly, this tournament provides a beacon for the next generation of anglers and provides them with a moral compass heading that points to a future of sustainable, humane interaction between man and the sea.
“These are those of tomorrow,” said Javier. “We are very proud of participants like these at a young age, and they are great for the sport of fishing. Congratulations and best wishes!”
Dennis Paul has a habit of catching gigantic fish down in here in Nosara and on his third trip of the week he added a new species to his scorecard: BIG Yellowfin Tunas.
Captain William set the Wanderer far offshore (15 miles) to find the blue water and once the big blue beauty found the blue water the bite was on. Dennis caught a total of five Yella Fellas ranging in weight from 25lbs. – 40 lbs. All Yellowfin fight the same way no matter their size and these lunkers skyrocketed and zigzagged with the same velocity as their smaller brethren.
Only with the right combination of boat, tackle, and angler could these monsters find their way to the fishbox.
Excellent work once again from Dennis Paul and the flagship Wanderer.
Fresh sushi today for client Matt Lukof and his group on the Adventurer. Captain Carlos has the little 23-foot straight razor sharpened to a finely honed edge and on this trip sliced and diced his way to a full fishbox.
Amanda got thing rolling with this excellent Jack Crevelle, and if you notice in the background Matt a fish on the line as well. By trip’s end they had caught two Yellowfin Tunas, a Barbero Snapper and 7 Bonitos. That is fantastic action for just a 5 hour trip.
Great work Captain Carlos and the devastatingly diminutive Adventurer.
John Baumgart had a monster day on the Explorer with Captain David. They set up shop on top of the reef at Pincha Padre and the action was productively fruitful.
They piled the ice box high with two Dorados, six Bonitas, and a tasty Barbero Snapper. They unquestioned highlight of the trip with this meaty 60lbs. Cubera Snapper.
Looks like John has his filets covered for the rest of the week…in fact he may have a little extra to go around!
