Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara
Costa Rica Fishing Report Archive | FishingNosara
Craig Sutton returned to the offshore bite on August 17 as Captain William guided the flagship to the scene of yesterday’s Grand Slam.
Once again the billfish were in the house as Craig released two Marlins: one Blue and one big Black!
August has been an action-packed month for the last few years, but this billfish bite is unheard-of!
Charlie and the boys couldn’t resist adding one more full day on the mighty Wanderer before returning to the States, and Capt. Phillips finally got his chance at the fish of a lifetime.
Charlie Phillips: Today was an epic end to a fantasy week for me. I battled the most noble of the billfish, the majestic Blue Marlin, and was rewarded with a photo, the hook removed and in my pocket then a successful release. One of the best days I have ever experienced on the water. And better yet we ended up two!
The second Marlin (below) came at 11am for Charlie fresh on the heels of his first (above).
Jason followed up with his own excellent Marlin release.
Charlie Phillips: “This was by far the most enjoyable vacation that myself or anyone in my group has ever experienced. Your staff is wonderful and took care of us as though we were family the entire time, something that is greatly appreciated. And your captains and crews are true masters of their craft. As a working captain myself, it is a true joy watching them work to make our trips a great success.”
Guess who’s back!
Dave Simunek and his posse roped up a MASSIVE Blue Marlin on a full day trip with the flagship Wanderer. This beast is estimated at 300+lbs. and is the blue beauty’s fifth Marlin release of the month.
Great release by First Mate Alex and excellent hunting by Captain William, proving once again the the Wanderer is the best boat in Garza Bay.
The Wanderer has hit her stride when it comes to top-notch billfishing this season, as exemplified by client Randy Powell’s recent trip where he released a nice Sailfish in the morning then followed up with a monster Marlin in the afternoon.
The Sailfish came crusing through the spread just before 10am and Mr. Powell put the heat on him to keep the fight under 15 minutes. A great start to to what would become a fantastic trip.
After three hours of quiet trolling, the long outrigger line sang the high-pitched song that could only mean on thing: Marlin!
This beast put on a heck of a show on her way but Captain William stayed two steps ahead of the bucking Marlin leading to a safe clean release by First Mate Alex.
Dave Wenzel was back in action on the Wanderer hoping to follow up his Sailfish release from earlier in the week with the crown jewel of offshore billfishing: a big bad Marlin! Captain William took the blue beauty 10 miles offshore and the monster came calling at 1:28pm.
Dave showed his Northeast Florida angling mettle as he strapped in to fight the furious beast.
Young son: “Why is Alex shaking the fish so violently?”
Dad: “Son, that’s the fish shaking the man!”
After a harrowing 25 minute battle Mr. Wenzel brought the beast alongside the Wanderer for a wonderful release.
Another amazing release by First Mate Alex, complete with his signature romantic sendoff
From Dave’s Facebook page: “I enjoyed the Wanderer 4 days and and only switched from David on the Explorer the last day (after they slammed the yellowfin I may add) to chase that Marlin dream.”
“I saw her, I hooked her, I fought her, she jumped a lot, Alex the mate and I landed her, then I jumped up and down like a 12 year old!!!!!”
“I did it, I won, 400 lb Blue Marlin. Now a bottle of Advil and an Imperial!
“Thanks to Alex for all the coaching and talk of techniques and information of the entire fishery. We enjoyed our entire visit. Well done NPR!”
It’s a family affair when our buddy Wade Boyken comes to visit, as this time he was joined by two youngsters eager to show the world how it’s done in the hard-fishing community of Merritt Island, FL. Wade and his boys had a triple sailfish release on their last trip to Nosara, and on their 2013 excursion the first fish of the day was a true fish of a lifetime:
This Blue Marlin weighs well over 400lbs. and is the kind of monster that would challenge a full-grown man; goes to show that these Florida kids can fish!
Even Captain William wanted to get a picture taken with this monster; regular readers of this report know that the Master Captain usually stays behind the camera, so the fact that he wanted this fish for his scrapbook really speaks to the might of this Marlin.
Later a nice Sailfish hit the spread and the boys worked together to bring her in. No fighting chair necessary when you have excellent teamwork like this:
What a fantastic family trip for Wade Boyken and the boys; we can’t wait to see them around Nosara again in the future.
Chuck and the Good Doctors topped all of their great performances to-date with a fanstastic pair of Marlin releases backed up by a big Sailfish release. Most anglers spend their whole lives trying to best a big Pacific Marlin, so to see these fellas capture two on a single trip is truly and accomplishment.
The first Marlin came in just before noon and was a deep-water brawler; not a lot of jumps and surface action but a lot of brute strength about 40 feet under the water.
Great capture and release by the fearless First Mate Alex!
The second Marlin wasn’t far behind, with a safe release reported just after 1pm. Another amazing fish!
For the victory lap the fellas hooked up a wonderful Sailfish and before too long the third trophy fish of the day was released.
Wanna hear about the best boat in Garza? How about two Marlin releases on the Wanderer for two different charters on the same day?
May 25 will now be remembered as the day of the ultimate Marlin Doubler Header with client Janet Storey releasing a 300lbs. Blue Marlin at 10:11am and then client John Baumgart releasing a 400lbs. Blue Marlin at 5:29pm!
Janet’s Marlin was a real thing of beauty; big, strong, and tough as a bear. But even this monster wasn’t prepared to do battle with an angler from the hard-fishin’ Glades region of Florida surrounding Lake Okeechobee!
Janet set everyone straight later on Facebook: “I caught the 300# Blue Marlin. William and Alex are a great on the Wanderer. Can’t say enough good things about Craig and his staff. We enjoyed it all.”
After a safe release by First Mate Alex, Captain William brought the Wanderer home to Garza to let off the Storey group and pick-up FishingNosara Hall of Famer John Baumgart for his afternoon half-day charter.
The headed out to troll the same lane of water and put in a full 4 hours of hunting until the reel sang out the song of a Marlin strike! Remember that this is a game of time investment and a slow start makes a nice prologue to a great fishing story.
Amazing fish by John Baumgart and great fishing handling as always by the incomparable First Mate Alex.
Days like this one are rare for sure, but when you have the right boat, tackle, and crew for the job there is always a chance for great action like this on the best boat in Garza, the mighty Wanderer!
Tom Shipley and his family’s trip to Nosara is a classic fishing tale of patient triumph.
Tom, his son Tom Jr., and daughters Alyssa and Sara scheduled long days on the super panga and showed off their unbreakable South Florida fishing meddle.
On the first two trips they had some light action but nothing to get excited about: a few Bonitas and Jack Crevelles along with some mystery nibbles.
These South Florida anglers aren’t new to the game and understand that billfishing is as much an exercise in time investment than anything else.
There was a nice Sailfish release and a tasty Rainbow runner on the second trip, but these folks had their sights set on our most powerful species: BIG Marlin!
Their patience paid off on the third day when the dam broke loose and rained billfish on Team Shipley.
This bad Blue Marlin tore off a few baits before Mate Kevin found the sweet spot on the strike lever, and Tom Sr. was all set to bring in the fish of a lifetime.
The Explorer outmaneuvered this beast and they grabbed the leader five times…clearly a release no matter where you are fishing.
The action was just beginning as Tom Jr. stepped into the fray versus a high-flying sailfish.
These South Florida anglers really showed some grit on their three-day pursuit…still a small amount of time to invest for the fish of a lifetime!
Captain David of the Explorer delivered a true fish of a lifetime to client Eileen and Timothy Opthof on February 23.
This 250+lbs. Blue Marlin put up a tremendous fight but as always the Super panga and Mate Carlos took care of business and saw to the safe release of this monster.
They also cleaned up inshore with a 12lbs. Mullet snapper, a 10lbs. white tuna, and a few other assorted fish all on ice. Incredible day both inshore and offshore for the unbeatable Explorer and the indomitable Captain David.