Doc Hatton | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

December 15, 2016

Doc Hatton, Dennis Shanahan, Fred Lewis and Rick Downing had a great day with huge results on the mega panga Harvester. The day started with a true fish-of-a-lifetime…take a gander at this awesome Blue Marlin:

Great fish handling by Mate Kevin to ensure the safety of both fish and anglers. After the safe release, Captain Alex criss-crossed the area hoping to find more fired-up billfish.

After an hour of trolling a second bad Blue Marlin took the hook.

Another great release by the Mega Panga!

Captain Alex kept his foot on the gas as Team Hatton knocked-out a pair of high-flying Sailfish releases to end the day.

This one broke off the leader right next to the boat, but what an amazing display of above-the-water combat.

This release brought to a close a crazy day of action the the mighty Harvester.

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.

December 12, 2016

The Harvester welcomed our good buddy Doc Hatton and his posse for a three-day blue water battle. The first day got off to a great start with Captain Alex reporting a monstrous Sailfish releases.

After the safe release, the Mega Panga moved inshore and pried up a wonderful Rooster fish:

January 14, 2016

Our great friend Doc Hatton performed wonderfully on back to back fishing days in mid-January.

The first day they were offshore and released several nice Sailfish.

The next day they stayed inshore and scored one of the biggest Cubera Snappers of the year.

With nothing left to prove inshore, Captain William headed offshore following a pod of feeding Dolphins. Not surprisingly, they found more sweet Sailfish.

January 15, 2015

Doc Hatton and the boys stayed inshore today to hunt for the elusive Rooster Fish, and Captain William found the little cluckers and set the hooks to them.

The Penn Slammer drag creates an unfair advantage for the anglers against this kind of fish, and First Mate Alex had no trouble live releasing these Roosters.

Another day, another couple of bucket-list fish for the mighty Wanderer.

January 11, 2015

Doc Hatton and the boys put a whipping on some fat Dorados with Captain William on the Wanderer.

This brightly-colored fishing team from New Jersey got on the fish early and stayed strong all day long.

Later in the trip they discovered a school of nice Yellowfin Tuna between 25lbs.-40lbs.

Another day, another full filet bag from the mighty Wanderer.

January 9, 2014

Doc Hatton and the posse are back on the Wanderer and were welcomed with improved weather and a gaggle of hungry fish.

The battleground was less than a mile from Garza point and the Wanderer defended her home turf by building up a classic feeding frenzy. The first catch was a juvinile Yellowtail Snapper, followed up by a medium-sized Nurse Shark.

An inauspicious start indeed, however this is the first phase of stirring up a bottom fish bite. Sure enough the action coaxed some big fish up from their seafloor hiding spots.

This Broomtail Grouper is a real monster! Right behind it was another nice-sized bottom dweller:

The bite stayed strong and a group of Jack Crevelle swung by to investigate the fishy waters.

The final jewel in the Wanderer‘s bottom fishing crown was this nice Rooster fish.

We release this species, but with the massive Snapper and Grouper catches from earlier it is safe to say that Doc Hatton and his group will be well-stocked with filets this week.

January 7, 2014

Some tough seas offshore today for Doc Hatton and his posse on the Wanderer, but these New Jersey anglers ain’t scared of a little swell…compared to the Montauk Canyons this is child’s play.