Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

November 9, 2012

Bill Harris and the boys rejoined the Wanderer and followed up their Dorado haul from Wednesday with an equally fruitful Yellowfin Tuna harvest. Captain William guided the flagship about 6 miles offshore to the deep water break and started knocking out Yella Fellas on a high speed troll.

They ended up with six tasty Yellowfin Tunas in the box plus added a pair of Dorado for good measure.

This is our first big Yellowfin harvest of the season and you know that First Mate Alex was itching to get the sushi tray out. Fresh sushi on the boat is one of the FishingNosara traditions, and it always makes for some big smiles.

Bill and the boys are pumped up and have added one more fishing day on November 10. Let’s see if they have some luck with the billfish on their final day in Nosara.

November 7, 2012

The legendary Bill Harris has returned to Nosara along with his buddies from west central Florida. Once again he has signed up the Wanderer for two full days of offshore marine harvesting, and we are happy to report that his first trip went splendidly.

The Dorado bite has been fully-on this season yet no one could predict that these fellas would haul in ten green monsters in the course of the 8 hour trip. The biggest tipped the scales at 45lbs. with several respectable fish also ending up in the box.

What an amazing performance from these Florida anglers. Now that dinner is taken care of for the week we expect Bill Harris to go billfish hunting tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates as they are available.

November 5, 2012

The unstoppable Explorer is back on the water and that spells trouble for all the fish on our inshore reefs. Captain David and Mate Carlos welcomed Scott’s group for a great day inshore with a wide variety of filets showing up in the fishbox.

They started with a few hard-fightin’ Jack Crevalles, then buried the hook into this tasty White Tuna:

There are few fish in this area that can rival the White Tuna when it comes to great sushi, but the Cierro Mackerel is one of those rare delicacies.

Scott’s group finished off the day with a fantastic Cierro, charmed aboard no doubt by Mate Carlos donning the newly-discovered lucky fishing wig. Great addition to the tackle arsenal, Scott!

November 5, 2012

It was a great honor for the FishingNosara crew to welcome Angela Garman and her family for a week of relaxation and fishing in Costa Rica.

In her time as head of the Nosara Paradise Rentals US Office, Mrs. Garman presided over the creation of FishingNosara.com, the Wanderer, and even this fishing report.

Without her effort and spirit in those early days, none of our team’s success could be possible.

Check out Angela overseeing the Wanderer ‘s first paint job back in 2009:

Still, this is her first trip to Nosara and the first time she has set foot on the Wanderer since it left Florida in August 2009.

Captain William and First Mate Alex have delivered strong action on Dorados all week, and Angela’s trip was no exception.

Angela’s son Bailey got into the action, along with husband Tony. This is one fish-fightin’ family!

They ended up with four mammoth Dorados in the fishbox and lots of fresh filets in their future.

“It was crazy.” Angela commented on this last Dorado. “The fish kept changing colors as I was reeling it in. At first it was purple and red, then it was blue.. It changed to green just as Alex pulled him in.”

November 4, 2012

Another great trip for Scott and his group today on the Wanderer. They added to their tasty Dorado haul with two more monsters.

They also added the first big Yellowfin Tuna of the season with this excellent catch estimated at 25lbs.

Later in the day Scott released a nice Pacific Sailfish. Estimated to weigh around 115lbs., this is the first billfish release of the season for the flagship.

Nice wig…I guess the Halloween spirit stuck around a few extra days for this posse. As always this billfish was safely released and we look forward to catching him again.

November 2, 2012

We’re back baby!

After a grueling off-season of repairs and maintainance, the mighty Wanderer was back on the water for a fruitful half day trip with the Scott Pennty group.

Great conditions and clear water meant that the Dorados were on the feed; check out these tasty green monsters.

Captain William and First Mate Alex delivered another fun, safe, and productive fishing outing for their clients and this is surely a sign of things to come for the flagship.

Great start for the big blue beauty, but stay tuned because we have lots of trips booked this week…should only get better!

November 1, 2012 – Launch Day

Time to see if all the hard work pays off! The entire FishingNosara team was on hand to re-launch the refitted and repainted Wanderer.

As usual we waited for the high tide to peak at the western end of Garza, then David backed the mighty Wanderer into position on the shoreline.

Here is her last view of the shore without the water in the way for the next 9 months.

All hands were required to push her in, so we don’t have photos of that endevor, but you can always check out the Explorer Beach Launch Video to get the idea.

Our flagship vessel should now be ready for another 600+ great trips and she looks better than ever.

The refinished wood cabin, fighting chair, and teak covering boards are the eye-catchers, but those who have followed the Wanderer refit know how many essential non-cosmetic repairs went into the refit.

It was a grisly couple of months, but the sight of the blue beauty in the water and ready to fish makes it all worth the effort.

October 30, 2012 – Wanderer Refit Update

Thanks everyone for the great response to the Wanderer refit thread. Here are some fresh photos of the flagship as we get ready for our fishing season to kick off next week.

We addressed the Morse code-esque holes along the rear lip of the hull where a few generations of trim tabs used to be:

Next up was installing the rub rail and the thru-hull fittings on the outer hull. Lots of 5200 now means less troubles later!

The boys also tightened up the transom deck and painted over the fiberglass repairs from the trim tabs. The end result is a new-looking transom that should provide years of good service.

While Captain William and First Mate Alex tidy up the flagship and get her rigged with fresh line and new tackle, Captain David and Captain Carlos painted the bottoms of the Explorer and Adventurer to match the bad black on the Wanderer. This look helps tie the fleet together and should last much longer than the chip-prone blue paint we’ve used in the past.

It’s been a whirlwind eight weeks but I am proud to report that all three FishingNosara boats are ready to rock and roll! Keep a sharp eye the FishingNosara blog for catch reports, photos, and videos from the Best Sportfishing team in Costa Rica!

Discoverer Update – October 29, 2012

Another great week of fiberglassing for the Discover has come to a close and we are pleased to report that we are in the home stretch. Charlie got down to the finishing touches by finishing off the corners of the aft deck opening and securing the permanent cover to the floor. We use a flexible fiberglass woven tape for the edges of the openings and standard 4 oz. mat to encapsulate the deck covers.

Charlie will remove these screws once the fiberglass sets up and then fill the holes with epoxy. The screws are in place to ensure that the whole deck is under pressure so no air bubbles get trapped within.

Here is a finished corner after a full day of setting:

This cover is now a permanent part of the floor, but beneath the surface it holds a powerful secret; Charlie finished glassing in the fighting chair support arch and this trick installation will mate the chair directly to the stringers for maximum fish-fighting strength.

The next step is to prepare the removable floor sections. The fuel tank covers have already been encapsulated with fiberglass mat:

Lastly, check out the underside of the in-floor fishbox lid. Once fiberglassed this section will help with the rigidity of the hull and the boat as a whole. This piece should be pretty cool when it is completed.

We just returned from an excellent weekend at the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show and are primed to get back to work on The Discoverer Project.

October 19, 2012 – Wanderer Refit Update

Craig and Captain Jack have completed their first day of finalizing the Wanderer repairs. Here are the highlights:

First up was to fix the constellation of screw holes in the transom where the trim tabs have broken off multiple times (Thanks snorkelers!) and water had begun to intrude. Here’s what we were looking at back in September:

The water dripping down the rail tells the tale. We overdrilled these rotted holes until we found good wood and then left these holes under heat lamps for the last month. Confident in their dryness, the boys filled all the holes with fresh fiberglass.

We removed the trim tab piston (see the three hole pattern at the top of the photo) and snatched the pump out too…Captain William doesn’t even use trim tabs! He is able to trim the Wanderer with the motor tilt alone, so this will clean up the transom a bit.

We had a small intrusion spot on the port gunnel, so Jack and Craig cut out and replace a large precautionary section. Jack has gotten a crash course in this kind of work recently on The Discoverer Project.

A fresh layer of glass and it should be ready to go.

Lastly we have installed some of First Mate Alex’s master carpentry into the Wanderer. Here’s the bathroom door:

The fighting chair is an amazing redesign. Behold:

Here’s the big surprise. Polynesian Teak covering boards for the cockpit:

Once the glue dries and we get the batteries off, this is gonna be a beauty.