June 11, 2012

You ever wish you had the kind of boss who would send you and the boys on a fishing trip to Costa Rica? Tim Peeler of St. Augustine Toyota is that kind of boss.

He set up a 4 day mid-week vacation with 3 days of fishing as an incentive for the sales staff, and after a fantastic month of action on the showroom the trip to Costa Rica was won by Ian Barnett, Jeff Shearer, Jeff Blanchard and Robert Nolan.

Things got off to a fast start on their first day fishing on the Wanderer with Captain William. They started fishing at noon and by 12:45 this high-flying Sailfish had taken the bait

What a great way to start the day! Excellent fight and release as usual, but this would be the first of three Sailfish that would meet their match on this trip. The second came calling a few hours later at 3pm and once again the game was on.

The final Sailfish of the day came just on the heels of the second. Once again, the Wanderer would not be denied as these Florida anglers showed how we get down in the Sunshine State.

After 4 full hours of Sailfish battles, these ‘Sails’-men switched over the spread to target tasty Yellowfin Tunas and put a pair of plump Yella Fellas on ice.

Great start to the week for the St. Augustine Toyota posse!

June 8, 2012

Our good buddy Jeff Grosshandler of Namaste Oasis brought his friend Matt to FishingNosara to get a taste of top notch blue water billfish hunting. After riding out a heck of a storm earlier in the week on the Explorer, Jeff opted for the luxurious confines of the flagship Wanderer for this 3/4 day trip.

The weather was picture perfect as the Wanderer discovered the blue water break about 14 miles offshore. First Mate Alex deployed the spread and it was an immediate hit with several 15 – 20lbs. Dorados. With five greenies on ice they switched over to lures to coax in a big billfish.

This beautiful Sailfish hit the spread around 3:30pm and put up an aggressive 25 minute fight. Matt took care of business on the reel and with Captain William outmaneuvering the fish at every turn, it was only a matter of time until she was alongside for the release.

First Mate Alex handled the fish with great care and released her safe as always. Great day of fishing offshore for the FishingNosara flagship Wanderer!

“I had a great time fishing down in Nosara on the Adventurer, Wanderer and Explorer,” Matt wrote us in an email. “The Captains were all great and very friendly, also know how to fish which is the most important. I will be back, hopefully in February. Thank you.”

June 7, 2012

A pair of nice articles came out today relating to our little slice of paradise.

First up, check out page 42 of this month’s Coastal Angler Magazine for coverage of the First Annual JaxKayak FishingNosara Family Cup winners:

Coastal Angler Magazine Online (Page 42)

Also, here’s a nice recommendation of Nosara by the BBC. It’s a good read, especially if you cop a British accent:

BBC Travel Section

June 3, 2012

Our new friends Asif and Sebastian joined our old buddy Jeff Grosshandler for what was supposed to beย  a 5 hour half-day on the Explorer with Captain David and First Mate Alex on loan from the Wanderer.

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and they had to shorten the trip due to big waves.

That didn’t stop the legendary Explorer from catching a nice Yellowfin Tuna, though. This 40lbs. monster came in the first 30 minutes of the trip. You can tell from the background in these pictures that the storms were just about to fire off.

Great work by the dynamic duo to keep the Explorer in one piece and to make sure all the clients made it back to shore safely. It’s days like this that we are so proud to have a boatman of David’s caliber on this vessel. Here’s what Jeff had to say:

“Wow, crazy storm! Alex and David handled everything amazingly well, Alex especially impressed me. We are going back out later this week, maybe Wednesday. There are huge Tuna there right now.”


June 1, 2012

Client Alex Richter brought his wife Nicole and their kids for an epic fishing adventure on the mighty Wanderer. Captain William and First Mate Alex are always up for a Rooster fish hunt, but their performance today sets a new high point.

They released this GIGANTIC Rooster fish at 7:15am and released a second Rooster less than 15 minutes later. That is a heck of a lot of action in the first 30 minutes of the trip.

Check out the luminescent Rooster fish reflecting the blue hull of the Wanderer…what an amazing creature!

After a fast start like this, it is only fitting that the flagship followed up with one of the nicest Blue Marlin of the season in the late afternoon. This bombshell blasted throught the spread around 11am and the fight was on!

Alex got a little coaching from First Mate Alex and after a 30 minute slugfest brought her alongside for a safe release.

Outstanding work by Alex Richter and the mighty Wanderer to release three fish-of-a-lifetime on a single 5 hour trip!

Give a listen to Craig on the radio talking some trash on Saturday morning:

May 30, 2012

Bob Hartin and his posse followed their fantastic day on the Wanderer with an equally thrilling day of kayaking on the Rio Nosara. A full floatilla of eight kayaks with ten total participants set off from the highlands and drifted about 3 miles to the mouth of the river.

At this junction our guides broke out the rods and started hunting for the crafty little mangrove snappers that live along the banks and the super snook that patrol the mouth. The group had some nibbles and some mysteries but no amazing fish this time.

All in all it was a great day of fresh air and beautiful nature on a fully loaded Kayak Safari Tour.

May 30, 2012

After setting the world on fire with Carlos on the Adventurer, client Josh Walker stepped up to the super panga Explorer. Carlos was along in his usual post as First Mate as Captain David set the barroom brawler on a huge pot of fish

This pair of 30lbs. Yellowfins were the highlight of the day, however the boys kept the rods bent throughout with 10 small Doardos reported in the fishbox. Though these little schoolies only weighed 15lbs. each, when you catch 10 it does add up.ย 

Great work by the Explorer crew and our new pal Josh Walker.

May 28, 2012

Client Bob Hartin and his group brought a great energy to the Wanderer today and on cue the mighty blue beauty delivered the goods for these fellas. Captain William headed offshore for deep water and the boys got off to a fast start.

This awesome Pacific Sailfish came roaring in just after 10am and with Bob on the reel and First Mate Alex coordinating the fight, this billfish release was smooth as silk.

With the trophy fish secure on the metaphorical mantle, the Wanderer switched to the deadly skipping ballyhoo rig and deployed a smaller hookset. The target species for this rig: Dorado!

Look at all the activity in the top of the water column. Captain William has a way of finding spots like this Marine Metropolis.

A trio of 35lbs. monsters were the highlights, but they had two more in the fishbox that weighed at least 25lbs.

Great fun fishing with this group of fired-up hombres…enjoy the filets fellas, but why not let Alex cut them off of the fish first?!