On July 20th clients Doug, Ken, and Gina booked the Wanderer for a day of fishing and fun. Doug writes, “On the first trip, we had a nice Marlin hookup but after an hour, lost the battle. ย Later that day, I landed a nice sailfish estimated at 125lbs.”
Doug was so stoked that on July 29th he enlisted his buddies Earl and Kevin to head out for another trip. Once again, They were on the hunt for Marlin. Doug writes, “On the second trip, we had six Marlin strikes but unfortunately no hook-ups. We did find a nice barrel floating and holding bait fish. We ended up landing four huge Dorado – 50lb-70lb range.”
He was all smiles back on shore. “Captain William, David andย Alex were a ton of fun to fish with. I would recommend Captain William, the Wanderer, and it’s crew to anyone. These were two of the best days I spent during my month in the Nosara.”
The world record Cuberra Snapper was caught in Freeport, Texas and weighed over 150lbs. This catch was a rare accomplishment though as most them weigh between 20lbs. and 90lbs. They are burnt orange in color with flecks of brown along the dorsal fin. They are close relatives to the Dog Snapper with the only obvious difference being that the Cuberra lacks the canine-looking fangs of the Dog Snapper.
Catching huge Cuberra Snappers is a feat worthy of the most dedicated angler. Using relatively standard equipment and this unusual fishing tactic, you too can enjoy success on these hard-fightin’ monsters.
First, we rig our live Bonita (also called Black Tuna) to a Penn International 50W off both long outriggers. Each of the tunas are trolled with a J hook in the head of the fish and a circle hook in the fish’s back. The speed is set at a brisk 2.5 knots to keep up with the Bonitas. Be patient for about forty-five minutes. Though the surface seems calm, eighty feet under the deck those two feisty Bonitas are making a big fuss.
The big Cuberra Snappers will start poking their heads out of their deep hidden holes in the reef to investigate what the fuss is about. Realize that a fully-grown Cuberra Snapper is not stupid; A 40lbs. Cuberra is 25 years old, a 60lbs. over 40 years old and over their long lives their instincts are honed to avoid being caught. On the rare occasion they hit a a hook, they are typically close to their hole in the reef and can cut the line on a coral chunk. However, if you can create a big enough believe it is safe to eat and will come up to feed.
Now reel up the baitfish and reverse the hooks in the black tuna, inserting the circle hook just below the fish’s rear to force the baitfish to swim straight to the bottom. With the Cuberra out of the reef, he can’t resist a tasty meal swimming right towards him.
HOLD ON! Usually the cuberras will be within 40ft. of the surface and they are STRONG! You will need at least 25lbs. of drag, and perhaps an extra crewman to keep you in the boat. Be prepared for a tough quarter-hour duel; these fish are not the most mobile once hooked but they are strong as ox. Catching these great tasting trophies are truly a high point in any fisherman’s career.
37.70lbs. King Mackeral caught by Craig Sutton on Fishtastic.
Captain Craig Sutton and the Fishtastic came in second place in this year’s tournament. First Mate Carl, Andrew, and Paula were on the crew for the catch, which was in first for the whole first day and most of the final day, but that’s fishing.
We were honored to give away a week in Nosara to the lucky winner of the raffle. Great work by the crew, the staff, and Capitan Craig!
July 6th was a family day of fishing on the Wanderer when client Andrew Egbert and brought the whole gang along for a great half-day fishing.
The lines were popping and the rods bending to the tune of four 15lbs. Yellowfin tunas, three White tunas, a ponpano and a 12lbs. rainbow runner. The kids had a great time and the weather was perfect. Great work by the crew and the Egbert family. See you again soon!
I forgot to mention that last month I got the chance to fish with my good friend and Lifetime Achievement Hall of Famer Richmond Phipps and her daughter Brooke Shields. She was there for the awesome Rooster fish (pictured above) that we caught with a live bonita. Richmond is a legendary angler and in her life has had immeasurable impact in the lives and well-beings of our Captains, crew and staff. We love you Richmond!
July 3th brought Yorhany Zuรฑiga on board for an afternoon of fishing with his brother First Mate Alex and he caught this nice Cuberra Snapper, estimated to weigh around 35-40lbs. Yorhany is a local and close friend to FishingNosara and certainly knows how to catch nice fish.
Captain Eduardo’s performance has been outstanding the last month, but you must look past the catch count and poundage to really understand what make Captain Eduardo special. Check out this email we received at FishingNosara last week…it is unedited by our staff and represents a true testimonial:
WOW, what a thrill the fishing trips with Captain Eduardo were during our Nosara Costa Rica vacation this past week. Yes I said “trips”, we had so much fun our first half-day we went back the next week for a second half-day on the Nice n’ Tight.
I have to start with the whole group in the office of Fishing Nosara from Craig and the reservation I made a few months ago to Manuel in the Nosara office. He made me and my family feel so welcome and was so helpful. This is such a top notch outfit!
What can I say about Captain Eduardo, not just a great Captain, but an equally fantastic human being. He represents everyone in Costa Rica so well. We didn’t feel like we just went fishing, we made a friend. My boys are 10, 12, and 16 and he really made this fishing easy for them to do.
As far as the fishing, we got off to a slow start on the first trip, but hit some Mahi Mahi about 2 hours in, and we landed two and lost one big one. Then we caught a really nice sized Yellowfin tuna. We caught and released a big Needle Fish. In our five hours we saw hundreds of porpoises, manta rays jump out of the water, a marlin fly in the air, and a few sea turtles.
On our second trip it was just me and the two older boys. Twenty minutes out of port we hit tuna by using popper lures on the top water and in three hours landed 7 tuna, 2 Bonitas and a Rainbow Runner. We were beat and don’t think we could have reeled any more in so we headed in early.
Man, were the tuna fillets awesome and a local cook made Ceviche for us with the Mahi Mahi. It was out of this world.
I don’t know I can say “thanks” enough to cover how much fun we had and how much we look forward to visiting again.
On June 23rd client TJ Boulware and his party were on the Wanderer for a 2.5 hour sunset cruise and caught three decent-sized Yellowfin tunas.
These sunset cruises are a great chance for novice anglers to get a feel for fishing without the expense of a full day trip. Our crews are excellent teachers of the craft of fishing and they speak very good English.
Even if you have little or no experience on the water FishingNosara’s Captains can deliver for you the fishing trip of a lifetime. Clearly from these pictures these ladies got the fishing bug and will no doubt find themselves on the water really soon.
Regular readers of the FishingNosara Costa Rica Fishing Report will remember that last month client Buddy Cherry caught four 20lbs. Yellowfin Tunas on June 15th. Well turns out that on June 16th Captain William put this client on a school of MASSIVE Yellowfin Tuna. The whopper was over 150lbs!
Seriously, I can not understate how big this fish is…Buddy Cherry is a big North Florida boy and notice that the fish is almost his size.
Forget about mates Alex and David…This fish is way bigger than they are! This achievement capped off a great week in Costa Rica for Mr. Cherry and has earned him a spot in the newly created FishingNosara Hall of Fame.
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