April 13, 2017

Gene and Betty Baker scored the fish-of-a-lifetime on the 13th with Captain Alex and Mate Kevin.

This big bad Black Marlin put on a show as she came into the boat, but Captain Alex’ boat handling skill kept the fight short and safe.

Excellent fish handling by Mate Kevin means that we’ll see this monster again in the future.

Later in the morning Betty brought home dinner with this excellent Yellowfin Tuna.

April 2, 2017

Captain Carlos welcomed Texas angler Shane Buck to the Discoverer on April 2 and delivered one of the nicest Marlin releases of the season.

This Black Marlin is a true Pacific monster!

Shane followed it up with a nice Sailfish:

Here’s what he posted on Facebook: “Top notch group. Crew worked their asses off even on a slow day we caught fish! They made it happen!”

March 24, 2017

FishingNosara Hall of Famer Derrell McCrary returned to the Wanderer for a full day of legendary blue water action.

His posse of Tampa-based anglers has been fishing on the big blue beauty since 2011, but nothing could prepare them for this Marlin assault.

This feisty Striped Marlin came calling early in the trip, and was well-handled by Mate Johnson.

Less than an hour later the real monster came calling…this MASSIVE Black Marlin is one for the ages!

 

She put on a show but Captain William stayed one step ahead of this Marlin to keep the fight as short as possible.

The final piece of the Grand Slam puzzle fell into place at the end of the trip. This Sailfish release puts the finishing touch on the most difficult feat in fishing: Billfish Grand Slam!

January 29, 2017

Ken Smith Jr. celebrated his dad Ken Smith Sr.’s birthday with a sweet fishing trip to Costa Rica. The whole family was in on the birthday surprise:

We are stoked to report that they caught a true fish-of-a-lifetime on board the Explorer.

“At this very moment, I knew this fish wasn’t very happy.” wrote Kenny on his Facebook page.

This Black Marlin is easily over 300lbs. and put up a fight like a bulldog.

Great release by Captain Fico and Mate Elias was the perfect way to close out this awesome experience.

No great week of fishing is complete without a end-of-trip dinner, and this late day Yellowfin Tuna fit the bill:

“It was real Costa Rica, until next time!”

 

December 14, 2016

Our old pal Doc Hatton brought his crew down for a Merry “Fish”mas party and found excellent blue water action in their stockings. Dennis Shanahan, Fred Lewis and Rick Downing joined in on the celebration.

Their highlight from their trip on the Wanderer was this superb Black Marlin release

 

Then the Master Captain William tracked down a pack of feeding porpoises and swung the flagship alongside to share in the feeding frenzy:

Check out this Yellowfin Tuna on the surface…looks like the birds and dolphins will get him before we do:

Fortunately a fat Dorado escaped the feeding frenzy by chomping down on a rigged ballyhoo, and the Wanderer fought hard to bring it home.