Broomtail Grouper | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

February 18, 2013

David Lukof and his family come from the hills of Pennsylvania and are the most recent in a long line of Northeast anglers who have experienced amazing success on our stretch of ocean. Things got started quickly with lots of early Bonita catches.

The highlight of the trip was certainly this monster Broomtail Grouper conservatively estimated to weigh a 45lbs. Look at the girth on this fella:

First Mate Alex is one of the strongest men I know when it comes to fish-handling (see Double Sailfish releases) and Mr. Lukof ain’t no little guy either; clearly this fish was more than a handful!

David Lukof has more trips planned on the Wanderer and will also try his hand at extreme panga fishing with the Explorer and Adventurer later this month and in early March. Stay tuned!

February 18, 2013

Mark Manson brought his family to the Wanderer for a relaxing sunset cruise, but the fish were biting with such frequency and variety that relaxation fell by the wayside.

They started off by catching a and bunch of Bonitas which are not very tasty for humans to eat; however the bottom fish can’t resist them!

Mark’s family pulled in a 15lbs. Ponpano (above) and 25lbs. Grouper which should provide more than enough filets for the rest of their trip. Another excellent sunset trip from the famous Wanderer!

August 13, 2012

Jacksonville Beach’s own Tony Blanco scored huge today with one of the biggest Broomtail Groupers of the season. These grey lunkers feel like a cinder block when it comes to reeling them in, and most anglers run out of strength long before seeing the beast.

Not Tony though! He pushed the Penn 760 Slammer reel to its limit and held fast against this tasty monster.

Once again the Wanderer delivers the goods for a Northeast Florida angler and with about 35lbs. of Grouper filets, Mr. Blanco is bound to be a popular fella around town.

March 4, 2012

John Winter Preiss returned to the Explorer for a full day of fishing and proved that with 8 hours to work with (and such close proximity to the blue water) it is possible to nab billfish and bottom fish on the same day.

Captain David set up on the reefs at Pincha Padre around 11 am and gathered the required bait for offshore hunting; meanwhile John and his group plucked a meaty pair of Groupers off of the reef.

In an abnormal development, the Red Grouper has been more prevalent than the Broomtail Grouper recently. Nice to see a true Broomtail again!

As the 1pm Sailfish bite neared, Captain William and Mate Carlos took the unbreakable Explorer out the blue water and put the billfish spread on display. A high-flying Sailfish came calling and charged one of the outrigger lures. The hook found its home and the fight was on with this acrobatic Sailfish.

Great bill and release by Mate Carlos to ensure the safety of boat, fish, and angler. Carlos is a local legend in Garza and his fishing prowess is unmatched; he has been a wonderful addition to the Explorer and has cemented her reputation as the best mid-sized boat in the bay.

The Explorer proves what can be done in this fertile fishery with the right combination of boat size, motor power, and tackle; this boat has no equal!

February 7, 2012

Our new friend Nora Nolan booked the Wanderer for a brief 2.5 hour morning session and the action was incredibly intense, even by the flagship’s standards. With time too short to head offshore, Captain William anchored up to Pincha Padre and found abundant marine life.

After some small Bonita and Guardias found their way to the hooks, this party got going in the form of two Broomtail Groupers (25lbs. and 35lbs.) plus they added two of the rare and tasty Congrios.

The Congrio is a half-fish / half-eel that yields a tasty white meat and is sought after around the world for use in sushi rolls; of course the amazing taste of the Grouper goes without saying.

Check out the other area boats in the background trying to get in on this pot of fish…the Wanderer is never greedy, she just leads the way for the rest of pack!

December 19, 2011

Captain Eduardo took some time out of his schedule to take fishing the most important clients of all…his kids! They spent some time drifting over the reefs and each pulled in a nice Cabrilla (Broomtail Grouper).

Let’s remember our loved ones this Christmas and keep our eyes on what is really important: family, family, family. Way to go Captain Eduardo doing his part to Hook the Future.

July 5, 2011

Huber and his group were back on the Wanderer and spent the day in the reef beating the heck out of the big bottom fish. They started out by trolling to for Bonitas to use as live bait and were quickly successful; in no time at all they were fully armed with eight juicy black bonitas, plus got a nice Amberjack.

As always Captain William and First Mate Alex sent the bait swimming to the bottom and the frenzy commenced. Hunter and the boys finally let up on the monsters but only after boating a 30lbs. Cubera, a 35lbs. Broomtail Grouper and a 20lbs Amberjack.

Wonderful day for the Huber group to follow up their great billfish performance. Let’s see what they have in store for their next encounter with the big bills in the coming days.

January 9, 2011

Client Allen Collen and Captain David stayed inshore and pulled off the double-whammy of bottom fishing: Grouper and Cuberra Snapper on the same trip!

These monsters have been known to exhaust the most seasoned anglers…managing to fight both of these fish in one day is a real feat.

December 19, 2010

There is an old saying in fishing that “Great catches start with a lot of problems.” Well on December 20 the Wanderer spent most of the day offshore looking for more billfish, but by days end were staring at the humbling reality of striking out.

As a last ditch effort, Captain William took the wedding party trolling over the inshore reefs looking for the giant lunkers that dwell in the sandy coral bottoms. With only minutes left on the full-day trip, the line screamed as it was nailed by this 70lbs. Broomtail Grouper.

From strikeout to sandwiches, these kind of catches are what make fishing so much darned fun. I think that John’s face (Right, blue visor) says it all.

November 14, 2010

November 14 was a big day for the Wanderer. In the morning, Matty and client Eduardo Barrios caught two little White Tunas, then deep jigged for a nice 25lbs. White Tuna. Then Matty hooked up this massive 50lbs. Cabrilla (Broomtail Grouper).

The fight was short but violent, and about three minutes after this picture was taken, Matty took a 45 minute nap in the cabin.

After picking up Craig at Garza, they went 25 miles offshore seeking the blue water.

After boating several 20-30lbs. Yellowfin Tunas, Eduardo hooked up a beautiful Striped Marlin. He put on a show, but managed to cut the line off on a stray piece of driftwood less than 100 feet from the boat. Eduardo did everything right, but the Stripey got away.

All told they caught eight Yellowfins with the big one weighing 40lbs. Great trip!