On the morning of November 28 we received a report of five White Tunas and and some Bonitas from client Jeff Sampson from Colorado. Jeff has fished in a couple of times in Nosara before, but this was his first trip with Captain William on the famous Wanderer.
After the inshore harvest, they decided to go offshore and hunt billfish.
They had a few nice Sailfish in the spread throughout the day and released 3 of the beautiful behemoths before returning to Garza.
Great work by Mr. Sampson in displaying the patience and perseverance required for great billfish success…third trip is a charm!
Captain Josh Eldridge and his wife Jennifer are in Nosara celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary, so obviously the perfect way for the IGFA-certified charter captain from Nantucket to celebrate was with some high-powered billfish hunting on the Wanderer.
Captain Josh and his wife had a super nice day with five Sailfish releases (including a Double header) backed up by a 30 lbs. Dorado for the dinner table.
“Wea great time with William and Alex!” -Captain Josh Eldridge via email
Jeff and Brian Bickel had such a good time on the Wanderer that they signed up for an additional day of fishing with Captain William and First Mate Alex. After going 4 out of 6 on Sailfish a few days ago, the Brothers Bickel were looking to improve upon an already legendary performance.
The Wanderer went back out to Sailfish Alley and started pulling the high-speed lures over the blue water break. Around 10am the first strike came in the form this big Yellowfin Tuna on a C +ย H Black/Orange lure.
The bill collectors came calling in the early afternoon as several hungry Sailfish started tearing through the spread.
Sailfish hunt in pairs and First Mate Alex has perfected the art of the double header hook-up. Alex quickly sets the hook when the first one hits and Captain William angles the fish so that the backside of the spread can remain deployed.
With an angler keeping the first fish honest, Alex then drops back a pitch bait to the other Sailfish and the double header is on! Many clients have achieved this feat in the already-history-making 2011 season, but very few managed to pull the feat off twice on one trip!
Make room in the Hall of Fame for the Bickels! Excellent job by Captain William, First Mate Alex, and the famous Wanderer.
After a nice warm-up trip on the Explorer on August 1, Rick Egan booked the most famous Wanderer for a run offshore after the big sailfish. Captain David signed on to assist First Mate Alex on the big blue beauty and Captain William took her out to the same spot the Explorer worked over with the Jake Davies group.
Clearly this combination of world class anglers, crew, equipment and advance recon of the bite spelled disaster for the hungry Sailfish as the Wanderer and Rick Egan released 5 Sailfish, including the legendary Double Header Release.
Alex and David worked hard all day to ensure safe releases for the fishes and fun times for the clients.
Great work by Captain William, First Mate Alex, David, and the whole Egan group to guarantee the safety of these majestic creatures. All 5 fish were released alive and healthy…and ready to be caught again!
Traditional wisdom says that this time of year the fishing is all but finished in Costa Rica, the Captains and crew of FishingNosara are pioneering a new school of thought. For instance the Explorer had an excellent trip today with Captain David reportingย three Yellowfin Tunas, a Macarela and a nice Yellowtail snapper in the fishbox.
Captain William and the Wanderer had a fantastic day of offshore billfish scores and inshore Yella fella catches for client Gerald Wyles and his group.
They released four Sailfish including a Double header plus added ten nice Yellowfin Tunas for the dinner table.
Great work by both boats…proving that the fishing in Costa Rica doesn’t cool off until the rains come in early September.
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.
Make sure to grab the June 2011 issue of IntheBite Magazine and check out the InTheShot section to see FishingNosara’s own First Mate Alex and Catherine Chase’s Hall of Fame Double Sailfish Release. Thanks to Amy for the pub!
Make some room in the Hall of Fame for Tyson Wegman! After an excellent day with Captain David on the Explorer, Mr. Wegman and his squeeze took to the Wanderer with the sole intention of catching billfish…what happened is a day of big Marlin and multiple Sailfish releases by the big blue beauty.
They got on the water early and at around 8am the first bills came calling. First Mate Alex set the hook in the first Sailfish and handed off to Tyson when immediately the long outrigger popped out of the clip…another Sailfish was on the hook!
The combination ofย top-notch tackle, consistent angling,ย Captain William’s stellar boat handling brought home this amazing Double Sailfish Release.
This kind of catch is enough to earn Tyson enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, but the fish that came calling an hour later at 9:30am was truly the fish of a lifetime:
Estimated weight: 500+lbs. Released: You betcha. First Mate Alex: He may look exhausted, but you try wrangling a half-ton of billfish in less than an hour and we’ll see how you feel. This capped off two excellent days of fishing for Tyson Wegman and we can’t wait to see him back in Nosara soon…the billfish may not feel this way!
Let’s check out her pictures from this exact moment in time:
Fantastic work by Captain William, Alex, and the Wegman group! You sir, are now officially a legend.
FishingNosara made a great splash at the Ship of Fools Tournament held in our home port of Garza, CR. This tournament focuses on Marlins and Sailfish and features some of the best captains in the area plus attracts big money fishing teams from around the world.
With bragging rights on the line, we decided to up the ante by enlisting Captain David and the Explorer which put us on the smallest boat in the field. The more conventional choice would have been Captain William and the 32′ Wanderer, but the blue beauty was already booked by clients Kenny, Woods, Morgan, and Dave.
The Explorer roared out of Garza with authority on the morning of March 26 with fresh lines, new baits, and AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” blasting from the newly-installed stereo system.
The awkward glances from the other boats turned into admiration as the 26′ Super Panga lit up the scorecard with this Sailfish release, the first of the tournament.
By midday several other boats were reporting billfish releases and the Explorer slipped down the standings a bit. However, the boat reporting the most billfish releases was not one of the other tournament boats…it was the Wanderer!
We took this shot from the Explorer while Alex, William, and the boys on the Wanderer were reeling in a Marlin fresh after releasing a sailfish. By the end of the first day, the Explorer was in the middle of the pack and the Wanderer would have been winning (if they had been entered in the tournament, that is).
The second day was similar to the first. We had a nice Sailfish release early in the morning, then missed on a few nice fish. The Explorer caught a nice Roosterfish but unfortunately this tournament did not offer any points for that species.
In the end, the Explorer finished in fourth place with 200 points. The Wanderer would have unofficially come in second with 825 points over the two days.
Most importantly was that all the boats and crews came to respect a 26′ Super Panga capable of catching monster fish over 20 miles offshore. We have been saying that this boat has the capabilities of a 40+ foot craft since the beginning, and the Ship of Fools Tournament wasย our chance to prove it.
Great work by Captain David and the whole FishingNosara family.
We were predicting a good day and sure enough the big Sailfish came calling. Our on the Wanderer Catherine Chase had a magnificent day on the blue water. They raised several Marlin and Sailfish, with four successful releases added to the scorecard.
March 5 brought one of our favorite clients Catherine Chase out on the Wanderer. Last year she worked over the Dorados, but nothing could prepare her for this magnificent day on the blue water.
Why bother explaining how Catherine and the boys pulled off the now-legendary Double Double Sailfish…just let the pictures do the talking:
All Four Fish Live Released
Please note that our crews have decades of combined experience handling these fish. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PHOTOGRAPH!!! While exciting, the double billshot can be very hazardous to fish, boat, and humans alike. Unless you also have a lifetime of experience on the water, don’t even think about it!
Meanwhile on the Explorer, Captain David and client David Mederos got a nice sailfish of their own.
As always, this billfish was safely released to fight another day.
After the Sailfish release, they experimented with fly fishing for Yellowfin tuna over the reefs…we are actively looking for fly fishing experts who want to try their hand on the Roosterfish, Cuberras, and even Billfish.
