Mark and Melody Mukon finished their week of strong fishing with “His and Hers” Sailfish releases. Mark was first up, and his monster Sailfish put on a tailwalking show on his way to the mighty Wanderer.
Melody Mukon was next up on the reel when at 1pm the second Sailfish came barreling through the spread. The hypnotic power of her Pink FishingNosara hat worked on this billfish as First Mate Alex coaxed him alongside for another safe release.
Great work by this Connecticut couple of bill collectors to cap off an outstanding week of fishing in Costa Rica.
Jacksonville angler and Florida Sportsman calendar model Janae had a great morning on the 26-foot Super Panga Explorer. She is in Nosara celebrating her birthday and thankfully the fish decided to attend the party.
She got into town from Florida late last night and then hit the water first thing in the morning…that’s how we fish in Duval, folks.
Captain David reports that she caught a pair of 40lbs. Mahi-Mahi and that she was super-stoked to have some fish for the fridge.
Janae will be fishing again on Monday and we’ll see how things go offshore; the way this week has gone it’s fair to say that things should be poppin’.
The Wanderer lit it up today with a pair of great trips featuring a big Sailfish release and lots of fresh fish filets for our friends.
Mark and Melody Mukon booked a full 8 hour day on the big blue battlewagon and these Connecticut anglers were looking for billfish and meat for the cooler; frankly they got all they could handle!
The day got off to a slow start but the 1pm Sailfish bite has been on like clockwork this week and sure enough this mighty Pacific Sailfish challenged Mr. Mukon and the Wanderer to a fight.
Captain William spun the Wanderer into a position of power while Mark put a swift 15 minute beating on this billfish. First Mate Alex executed a perfect bill and release, and this monster swam away free and will be ready for another scrap soon.
That awesome fish turned out to be the plug in the dam because once it was released the Wanderer was beset on all sides by hungry Dorados. Perhaps they were lured in by Melody’s freshly-purchased Pink FishingNosara hat…hmmmmm that particular color of hat always seems to bring good luck to a boat.
The feeding frenzy that followed brought in four nice Mahi-Mahis ranging from 25lbs. to the 60lbs. whopper pictured with Captain William.
Melody and Mark Mukon added this feisty little Wahoo to the shopping cart just as they checked out from the fish market. They have two more full days of fishing planned this week…look out fish, the Mukon’s are just getting started!
Charles Barend and his family took a lovely 2.5 hour sunset cruise on the Explorer and had some nice results fishing with Captain David and Mate Carlos. They started with a Bonita on the planer/spoon to use for bait, and sure enough the better-tasting fish were hungry.
The filled the fishbox with three big Jack Crevalles and a tasty White tuna. Looks like the kids had a great time and this family fishing frenzy fed the fridge with fresh fish filets for all!
Wonderful sunset family fishing trip today on the Wanderer. Patrick Dollard and his family caught three Jack Crevalles and four Bonitos on a very relaxing three hour cruise.
Mix the tranquil conditions with some rod-bendin’ action and you have the recipe for a perfect Costa Rican evening. The big smile on her face says it all:
Respect to this young man who can handle his own fish for the picture. Another satisfied family from FishingNosara!
Another great client-submitted report from John Maysak:
Here are the pictures of my trip with my friend Barth on Nice n’ Tight with Captain Eduardo.
I was lucky enough to be on the rod and bring this big girl to the side of the boat for a clean release after an hour and fifteen minute epic hard-fought battle with lots of boat maneuvering help from Eduardo.
This fish measured 13 feet tip to tip with a girth somewhere north of 80 inches and we estimated her at 500 pounds!
Don’t let the diminutive Nice n’ Tight fool you! She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing whose bite is much worse than her bark.
How would John Harbord, Jon Ronloff, and Bruce Sabine fare after a seven billfish day yesterday? Would they have anything left in the tank after three excellent days of fishing both offshore and the inshore reefs? Would the billfish finally evade their crafty capture?
Striped Marlin, Black Marlin, and Sailfish released!
This is the classic Grand Slam and is by far the rarest feat in billfishing. Less than a dozen Grand Slams are reported worldwide in a given year and this performance will serve as the high water mark for years to come for Costa Rican sportfishing.
The Stripey was the first one to get snared by the mighty Wanderer‘s spread and John did great work to make this fight quick and efficient. Captain William kept the boat in perfect position for the contest and the angler kept tension like a pro.
Fantastic work by First Mate Alex who is always pumped up when big billfish come calling.
Next up was a very nice Pacific Sailfish which would be a highlight on any other day with any other anglers; for these hombres this Sailfish release was as routine as a free throw.
The final piece of the Grand Slam came in the form of this MASSIVE Black Marlin that came calling later in the day. This monster was huge and the look on Alex’s face tells the tale.
What a fantastic release photo…magazine cover anyone?
Once back in Garza Bay the Tampa-based fishing team was elated, and added this 145lbs. Brown Marlin release:
You know it’s a good trip when it starts with a Striped Marlin release. This was the second Stripey of the season and is a Hall of Fame fish all by itself.
Then the boys added six Sailfish releases to the scorecard including the unheard-of TRIPLE HEADER SAILFISH RELEASE!
Maybe it was the blue water moving close to shore. Maybe it was the years of fishing experience that John and Bruce bring to the water. Maybe it was First Mate Alex’ lucky white sunglasses. Whatever happened out there today, all the tumblers fell into place and unlocked the perfect day of fishing for these clients.
Of course all 7 billfish were released alive and well and ready to be caught again. Excellent teamwork by Captain William and First Mate Alex to maintain the safety of the billfish, anglers, and equipement.
Great work gentlemen…you have earned your enshrinement to the Hall of Fame!
The Tampa boys stayed inshore once again on January 15 and if you think that means they settled for small fish, then you have no clue about the kind of monsters that live on the reefs in Costa Rica.
This Broomtail Grouper appears to weigh over 50lbs. which would make it the largest Cabrilla caught since Matty’s monster back in November 2010. Sheesh, the lips on this fish probably weigh five pounds:
Joe followed up the largest Grouper we’ve seen this year with the smallest grouper we’ve ever seen. Ya might be able to get half a sandwich out of this little fella, but instead we threw this one back…maybe in another ten years he will resemble his departed big brother.
The blue water is beckoning these boys and they are planning to head offshore early tomorrow. Let’s keep an eye on these world-class anglers as they head out to challenge some top-notch billfish.
Bruce Sabine, Joe Ronnlof, and John Harbord are back! These excellent Tampa anglers narrowly missed getting inducted into the FishingNosara Hall of Fame back in November 2010 when they destroyed about 500lbs. of Yellowfin tuna on a single day.
On January 14 they kicked off their fishing trips with Captain William for an inshore fridge-filling fishing frenzy.
They caught a Yella fella and a white tuna, plus this nice Amberjack.
