Blue Marlin | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

December 30, 2013

Kirk Sandifer and his group enlisted the flagship Wanderer for a morning half day, and they had a brilliant day of blue water fishing. The action started early with a nice trio of Sailfish releases early in the day.

The action intensified when a mammoth Blue Marlin flew through the spread and was expertly hooked by First Mate Alex.

This fight was on, but this monster was no match for Art and the boys.

First Mate Alex turned this Marlin loose, but the Sailfish bite stayed hot yielding another pair of excellent releases.

The walk off shot was the release of ANOTHER big Blue Marlin!

This beast is by far the largest Marlin of the season so far and is truly the fish of a lifetime.

Masterful work by the legendary duo of Captain William and First Mate Alex of the famous Wanderer.

Two Marlins and four Sails on a 5hr. trip? That is the stuff of legend!

“We had a great trip in Nosara, I only wished we could have fished more. The one day with Captain William and Alex, we released 5 sails and 1 blue Marlin.”

“As I was hoping for, my son who just celebrated his nineteenth birthday caught his first bill fish; 1 sail at 9:30 AM and a blue at 11AM.”

“Great day with your team Alex is a beast and William landed us on the bills. They work so good together we just decided to stay out of their way.”

“Our hook up ratio was strong, something like 6 for 9 strikes.”

“Awesome day in Costa Rica. Pura Vida baby!!!”

Kirk Sandifer

December 21, 2013

Matt and Kim Lowe brought their family down to Nosara and enjoyed some excellent fishing action on the Wanderer. You know it’s going to be a nice trip when it starts off with a double Sailfish hookup.

Next up was a meaty Dorado snared by Matt Lowe. It’s awesome to see the kids get involved in the action…check out this beast!

The highlight of the trip was Mrs. Lowe releasing this awesome Blue Marlin.

This high-flyer was a real fighter but the combination of Captain William on the wheel and First Mate Alex on the billshot, it never had a chance.

Matt finished off the day with another great Sailfish release…this Alaska-based fishing family has got the billfish game all figured out.

“I wanted to let you know that we had an amazing time fishing on Saturday,” Kim wrote in an email. “The crew was amazing and the fishing was out of this world.”

October 3, 2013

Shannon and Pat Emery joined the Wanderer for three memorable days of fishing. They braved the rainy season to get to Nosara, then waited for a break in the weather to go hunt big billfish.

Thought the tourists are scarce this time of year the big fish are still in the neighborhood…check out this high flying Blue Marlin that was waiting on the Wanderer.

After the Marlin release this dynamic fishing duo took on a swarm of Sailfish.

Shannon put the finishing touch on this great fishing performance by putting a big Yellowfin Tuna in the fishbox. Certainly these two have some excellent dining in their immediate future.

Shannon Emery met us at the St. Pete Boat Show last year and began planning his trip on the only time off he had from work: smack dab in the middle of the rainy season!

Normally we try to persuade clients to avoid September and October, but Shannon’s job is not normal: He is serving the US in Afganistan and this week in the only chance he and Pat could get away.

Here’s a few words from Shannon:

“Just wanted to drop you a note as we are getting ready to depart CR tomorrow morning. First the crew you have here are great. Jenny made sure the house was taken care of and our huge loads of laundry were cleaned and also made sure we had some great chow on the boat.”

“Also the fishing was great. I expected that with it not being the best time for billfishing that we may be lucky getting a sail or two. For day one we passed that with 2 sails. one blue marlin and a very tasty yellowfin. The crew of the Wanderer was awesome and I look forward to fishing again with them. I gave the guys copies of our videos and pics so you guys have them.”

“All in all we had a great stay and some great fishing. Now I just have to figure out how soon we can make it back to this little spot of paradise.”

August 26, 2013

While most of the staff celebrated the end of the season on the Wanderer, the mighty tandem of Alejandro and Grevan of Nosara Paradise Rentals put on a billfish catching display on the Explorer that will not soon be forgotten.

They started out with a pair of nice Sailfish releases, then Alejandro closed out the season with an awesome Blue Marlin release:

With two months of maintenance looming on the horizon, it’s nice to make sure that the billfish don’t get lonely while our boats are on the hill. We’ll be back soon!

August 21, 2013

The Marlin Magic of August returned again this year and the last month of the season was also the most productive.

Craig Sutton was joined by Arturo and Alejandro of Nosara Paradise Rentals for a day offshore on the mighty Wanderer and they posted the second Grand Slam of the Week: 2 Blue Marlin, 1 Black Marlin, and a Pacific Sailfish!

The Sailfish was first in the boat as Alejandro flexed his fishing muscles.

Around 11am two lines popped off and the Wanderer strapped in for a double Marlin battle.

Craig took hold of the Black Marlin while Arturo, Alejandro, and Alex combined to fight the Blue Marlin.

Both fish were released safely and the Grand Slam was completed! As a curtain call Craig brought in another Blue Marlin later in the day.

To quote Alejandro: “Un Increíble Día de Pesca!!!!!”

August 17, 2013

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!

August 3, 2013

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.”

July 9, 2013

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.

July 5, 2013

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.

June 30, 2013

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!”