Dorado | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

August 10, 2011

It has been ‘Sailfish City’ ever since the rain cleared up two weeks ago, and August 10 will go down in history has one of the best days in FishingNosara history. Both the Wanderer and Explorer released big sails today, plus Captain William delivered some of the best fish-fighting photos this report has ever seen.

Martin Epstein from Florida has four trips scheduled this week and his first day on the Wanderer got his acclimated to the fantastic fishing we have in Nosara. Things got started quickly with a nice 35lbs. Dorado in the fishbox and sushi on the plate.

Later Captain William expertly found the blue water / green water break and First Mate Alex switched over to brightly colored lures to take advantage of the clear water. The Sailfish were thick and came swarming through the spread in waves.

After the first five releases and with First Mate Alex’ arms about to fall off, Captain William masterfully billed and released the final Sailfish. The Wanderer’s scorecard shows 6 Sailfish, all released.

Marty and his posse have two more days on the Wanderer and a trip with Captain David on the Explorer booked for this week, so look out for Mr. Epstein to continue his assault on the blue water.

Speaking of the Explorer, client Tyler Malmstrom from New Jersey caught the fish of a lifetime with Captain David very close to when the Wanderer was fishing. So close that Captain William snapped this amazing sequence of the entire fight all the way from the hook to the capture/photo to the safe release. Amazing photos of an amazing fish!

Here is the email we got from Manuel:
I have to tell you man. Tyler had one of the best trip he ever had in his life. He released 4 sails and lost 2. He never caught big fish before.

When he booked with me he said, “Manuel, I want to catch big fish.” I said, “Let’s do it man”. This guy was totally crazy this afternoon.

Regular readers of this blog always inquire as to the authorship of this thing…basically “Who writes the blog?” The fact is that it is a communal effort between Craig and Matty in the US office, the Captains/crew taking the photographs, and Concierge #1 Manuel passing the information between these two elements separated by 1500 miles and a language barrier.

Great work by the Captains, Clients, and crews…and especially great work by Manuel #1. Pura Vida!

July 14, 2011

Captain David and the Explorer have made their reputation by disproving assumed notions about what a 26-foot Super Panga can do. Today with client Christopher Granda from South Tampa aboard, Captain David once again gave notice to doubters that the Explorer is a true world-class sportfishing vessel.

They started inshore to pick up some Bonitas for bait and Christopher brought in this excellent Ponpano. An excellent tasting fish, this particular Ponpano is one of the biggest we’ve caught this season.

Things got serious as Captain David pushed offshore away from the torrential rains bearing down the mountain. He put out a modified high-speed lure setup and almost immediately this beefy Dorado gulped down a bonita strip with a 9/0 hook on the side. A quick fight and this 40lbs. Dorado was headed for the dinner table.

Captain David got the spread back out and after a little more trolling a curious Sailfish came along whacking at the teaser. On the way back to rob the long baits, this Sailfish fell for a pitched ballyhoo with Captain David on the other end expertly setting the circle hook. The fight was on but this fish was no match for Chris Granda on the reel. Twenty minutes after hook-up this Sailfish was safely released.

Great end to a fine day of fishing by Captain David and Chris Granda!

July 8, 2011

Robert and Geoff Birtalan delivered a Hall of Fame performance on a fantastic 5 hrs fishing trip on the Wanderer. They had 8 Sailfish come tearing through the spread throughout the day and successfully caught and released five of these beautiful behemoths.

The highlight was this awesome Double Release; excellent work by First Mate Alex to ensure the safety of the fish, crew, boat and anglers.

All of this billfish releasing will work up an appetite, so Mr. Birtalan also brought home this tasty 15lbs. Dorado.

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!

May 5, 2011

Captain Eduardo took the nimble Nice n’ Tight out to deep water to take a crack at some billfish. He has a knack for getting big results from his little boat and on this day in particular Captain Eduardo released an excellent Marlin.

Also this month client Greg Donoghue and his friends were on the Nice n’ Tight and had great action on Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado.

Another month of fantastic fishing by the legendary Captain Eduardo Carrillo.

April 25, 2011

The Devil in the Blue Dress is back!

Michael booked the Wanderer for a great day of fishing with the family today. Captain William kept them on the fish and First Mate Alex along with Captain David on loan from the Explorer brought the big boys home with quickness and skill.

First up was a nice 35lbs. Dorado, but the monsters came up to feed later in the day.

Of course this beauty was safely released.

Michael and his posse added two more great billfish releases to the Wanderer‘s scorecard: a 100lbs. Sailfish and a MASSIVE 300lbs. Blue Marlin. Great work by anglers and crew on this fantastic day!

April 23, 2011

On April 19, Dan Enki was with Captain Eduardo on the legendary Nice n’ Tight and had some great action inshore. He caught a sweet Dorado and a 10lbs. Ponpano as well. Great fishing on a half-day trip.

Since then clients Richard, Stephen, and Shelbi had a magnificent day fishing on the Nice n’ Tight. First they got a nice Wahoo and a beautiful Yellowfin tuna.

Then they capped off the trip with this fantastic Sailfish release. Great work by Captain Eduardo and the Nice n’ Tight.

April 4, 2011

The Wanderer has built a reputation as the gold standard billfish hunter in the area, and client Mike Baker joined Captain William and First Mate Alex for a fantastic afternoon on the water on April 4.

The midday billfish bite turned on in a big way with baits popping off left and right. Despite missing a handful of mystery nibbles, the boys still released 3 Sailfish and caught a nice 35lbs. Dorado for the dinner table.

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.

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.

March 19, 2011

The Explorer was on the hill getting its monthly upkeep today (and getting some slick new rod holders on the transom), so it fell the Wanderer to pick up the slack…and boy did they ever!

First up, Captain William found an awesome Dorado bite around 2 pm and stayed on it until the box was stuffed with three nice greenies. Alex pulled some incredible gaff shots on these monsters.

With the meat on ice the blue beauty tried to add a trophy fish to the trip to make it perfect. Around 5 pm the moon came up and right behind it was this massive Sailfish. Great work on the billshot and release as always.

With all the excitement surrounding the Explorer, the Safari Carts, the new shop, and all the other projects around here it is possible to forget that the big dog in this yard is the big blue billfish battlewagon….Wanderer!