Tag: Craig Sutton

July 23, 2011

Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament – July 17-23, 2011

FishingNosara and Nosara Paradise Rentals were super-stoked to be a sponsor and exhibitor of the 2011 Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament once again. This tournament is the mother of all Kingfish Tournaments and FishingNosara has pulled out all the stops for this great week of fishing.

A free trip to Costa Rica was raffled to one lucky winner. Also we were running a complementary shuttle service in our brand-new 6 Passenger Safari Cart from the parking lots to the main tournament entrance.

Of course there we were loading people down with coasters, coozies, hats, shirts and tons more promo items. But the biggest moment of the weekend was this cover shot from the Florida Times Union:

Nice shirt and hat fellas!

What an great weekend for all the Jacksonville-based friends and family of FishingNosara! Both our sponsored boats made it to the leaderboard and the big winner was one of our favorite clients from the 2011 season.

Captain Jack on the Drifter II made his first run in the tournament and weighing in a nice 15lbs. Kingfish. With over 250 boats in the event and only 50 reporting to the scales, Captain Jack effectively is in the upper fifth of Jacksonville anglers in the tournament.

Over on the Fishtastic Craig Sutton, Mate Andrew Herbenick and Paula Price had rough luck the first day, but saved the weekend with a 28.75lbs. Kingfish that put them in the top 20. Great performance from a boat that always catches fish.

The big winner was none other than Eddie McGowan on the Tail Chaser. You remember Eddie, right?

Just a few short months ago Mr. McGowan had a fantastic week of fishing with Captain David on the Explorer. Clearly the time with a world-class angler like Captain David had an effect on Eddie and helped him win his first major Kingfish title.

Captain David sends along his best wishes and is very happy to hear of Eddie’s great tournament winning catch. Great work by Eddie McGowan and the rest of the FishingNosara team!

June 23, 2011

Craig Sutton, US Representative for FishingNosara is in Nosara this week to wrap up the acquisition of two new Nosara Paradise Rentals’ properties. If you think that means the billfish are safe this week, you are wrong.

Craig was on the FishingNosara flagship Wanderer for a short afternoon billfish hunt. In the course of three hours they raised four sailfish and released one.

They also had a curious Dorado come through the spread knocking at the teaser and a few other mystery nibbles.

The rain is settling in for the weekend, but don’t be surprised if Craig sneaks offshore to dance with the lady in the blue dress sometime in the next few days.

May 20, 2011

On May 20 Craig, Paula, and local Dan Rey took the Wanderer offshore again looking for the blue water break. After 8 miles and only a few jumping Sailfish, they thought better of the offshore action and returned inshore where most of that week’s good catches had been made. On cue they nailed a pair of Yellowfin tunas for the fishbox.

With billfish hunting you must be prepared to put in long hours trolling while waiting for that one big strike. Despite the zero releases, the late-day tuna scores really proves Captain William’s mettle and never-give-up spirit…even on a bad day the Wanderer catches fish.

Did you know that Jim Morrison is still alive and fishing with us in Nosara?

Just kidding, that’s our good buddy Dan Rey with a pair of Yellowfins, but the resemblance is striking!

May 16, 2011

Craig and Paula have been hunting offshore for billfish the last few days with slow action, so on May 16 they kept the Wanderer inshore over the legendary reef Pincha Padre.

They had a field day on Jack Crevalles and Bonita using a simple knocker rig with black tuna chunks for bait. Simple approach, but deadly effective. When the full moon came up later in the afternoon so did the big Cubera Snappers…unfortunately they mugged the bait so hard they forgot to eat the hooks.

Great rod-bending action from the Wanderer!

May 15, 2011

May 15 was a double duty day for Alex and Captain William. In the morning they welcome client Marc from New York for a 3 hr. Yellowfin tuna hunt.

Craig, Paula and Javier went offshore for a billfish hunt that afternoon; unfortunately they only raised one sail.

Two days later they stayed inshore and worked over a school of Jack Crevelle and Bonita, then finished off the day by parking over a mancha (school) of Yellowfin Tuna; several double hook-ups led to some nice fish in the box: five Yellowfin tunas, eight Jack Crevelle, five Bonita, and a HUGE Needlefish

May 13, 2011

On May 13 the lovely Georgia Peach Ms. Paula joined Craig and Captain David on the Explorer for a trip to inshore fish market known as Picha Padre. They had just arrived to Nosara and Bianca (the official mascota of Nosara Paradise Rentals) was very hungry; it was imperative that they pack the fishbox with some good eatin’ fish.

Mission Accomplished as once again Paula brings home the bacon! All our clients know that if you have fresh filets in your house, little Bianca will be around for a snack.

Jacksonville Fishing Update

To prepare for his upcoming trip to Nosara, US Representative for FishingNosara Craig Sutton took his 31′ Fishtastic offshore in Jacksonville, FL for a full-on Dorado harvest. Along for the ride were First Mate Carl Schmidt, Mates Andrew Herbanick and Matty Jorn, and of course the lovely Georgia peach Ms. Paula.

First off the boat ramp at 5:15am, lines in the water at 7:00am, and fish in the boat by 8:30am…things were off to a fast start.


This picture was taken at 10:45am with the Dorado count around 25. By days end the Fishtastic had 51 fish in the box! Commented Andrew, “This is why I love Florida!”


We will post the pictures from the marathon filet session later…for now just know that we Florida boys (and Georgia gals) know how to fish!

March 23, 2011

What better way to prepare for the Ship of Fools Tournament than a little intersquad scrimmage between the Wanderer and the Explorer.

On the Super Panga was Captain David, Craig, Matty, and Jack who had their sights set on Sailfish. Sure enough after the daily mopping of stray tunas on the ride out Captain David set the TLDs out in a classic Bait-and-switch high speed spread.


Around 10 am the first bill started shopping the baits, first the short line, then the long outrigger, and finally settling on a bonefish rigged on the shotgun line. The line screamed off and Jack locked in for the fight. In shockingly efficent fight, Jack brought the Sailfish home in 8 minutes. Great work by boat, angler, and Captain.



Meanwhile, the Wanderer was not about to let the litte brother eat all the food. They came roaring up behind the Explorer and immediately put a nice Sailfish on the hook. A short fight and a quick release later and the score was nearly tied with the Explorer holding a slim lead in the form of a Bluefin tuna and a White tuna.

Sailfish

When Alex returned the teasers to the water he noticed that a curious Marlin had popped up about 50 yards behind the boat. He immediately pitched a rigged ballyhoo to the blue monster and set the hook with expert ease.


So the Wanderer won the scrimmage, but the ability to share spots and tactics will no doubt help FishingNosara find its way to the top of the leaderboard this weekend.

March 20, 2011

March 20 was Matty and Jack’s turn on the Wanderer, and a special day for Captain Jack. He was the main man on the  Wanderer Construction yet this day marked his first time back on the boat he built.


Satisfied with the boat’s health after a year in the water, we stayed inshore in the morning to load up on more Yellowfin than we knew what to do with.

Yellowfin Tuna Costa Rica 

At noon they were joined by Craig and William Kidd of North Carolina for some offshore trolling. Mr. Kidd reeled in this magnificant Dorado estimated to weigh 50 lbs. The strike came just before 5 pm…Long day, but well worth the wait.

Fighting Fish in Costa Rica