Explorer | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

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.

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 18, 2011

Jack and Matty along with clients Jim and Bryan were out on the Explorer getting geared up for the Ship of Fools Tournament this weekend. With a scoring system that rewards big billfish and multiple inshore species in a weighted fashion, this local tourneo is THE bragging rights event of the season.

To prepare, we are tightening up our Cuberra Snapper tactics in a way that also permits for solid Yellowfin action. This way we can fill up the scorecard in multiple ways. Matty nailed this one late in the day on a 2.5 hour evening trip.

March 17, 2011

Captain Jack and Matty, the FishingNosara Building Dream Team, took some time off from dialing-in the new Safari Carts long enough to join Captain David for a quick 2 hr. evening trip. In this short time Jack ripped in a nice 40lbs. Cuberra Snapper.

With dinner in the box, Matty ordered the appetizer in the form of a football-sized Yellowfin tuna. They are heading out again tomorrow with more meals in mind. Nice trip to the fish market!

March 13, 2011

The big score came on March 13 with client Dewey Gile who packed the fishbox with four nice Yellowfin Tunas. Adding a Marlin release to that day would be the trip of a lifetime right? How about TWO Blue marlins?

That’s right! Performing like a boat twice her size, the Explorer captured the flag this weekend. Lots of Yellowfins and a double Blue Marlin day…doesn’t get much better than that!

March 9, 2011

Jay is out on the Explorer right now but phoned in a morning report before heading offshore for trolling action. Right now he’s got a 20lbs. Cuberra in the box and three Congrios each weighing 15lbs.

The Congrio is a member of the eel family that yields a tasty white meat.

March 5, 2011

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.

February 27, 2011

Fantastic weekend of fishing for client Elliot and his posse. On Saturday they kicked off the morning on the Wanderer and caught a MASSIVE Cuberra Snapper. In the afternoon they went offshore and raised a few billfish.

Then on Sunday they accompanied Captain David on the Explorer for an inshore tuna hunt up and down the reefline. They action was intense with many multiple hook-ups and lots of surface activity.

First they caught and released this excellent Sailfish …

then moved inshore where the fishing was on fire! The Yellowfin bite would not let up until the fishbox was literaly stuffed. Thank goodness we are so close to shore because there was no way to close the cooler.

They packed the fishbox of the Super Panga with 22 Yellowfin tunas by days end. Great work Elliot and crew!

February 26, 2011

The whole team was out on the water today, and though the big billfish were elusive today all of the boats got on some fish. There was a pair of sailfish strikes on the Wanderer but no releases; they spent the afternoon working over the inshore reefs and caught two Yellowfin tunas and a sweet Amberjack.

On the Explorer client Jess Lockmon took a 2.5 hour sunset fishing trip with Captain David, and they caught a fat Dorado on a slow troll. Great ending to a very long day for Captain David who mated on the Wanderer all day before this trip.

If there’s fish to be caught, you know that Captain Eduardo and the Nice n’ Tight will be right on top of them. With clients Steven and Liam on board, the biggest little boat in Garza had a field day on some football sized Yella fellas.

Great day for the whole FishingNosara family.

February 25, 2011

Captain David and mate Johnny were pictured in this month’s Voz de Nosara (Voice of Nosara), the local newspaper in Nosara. They assisted Renae Herberger, aka Mermaid from Germany in her awareness-raising swim from Playa Garza to Playa Ostional. You can read the whole story in English or en Espanol by following the links.

photo courtesy Voz de Nosara

February 25, 2011

Great action on the Explorer! Peter Perakos from Costa Del Mar sunglasses hooked up two nice Sailfish and released one.

On the way back to shore they parked inshore for a little while and top-water casted the reefs. They nailed a couple of Yellowfin tunas for the table to cap off a great day of fishing.

Mr. Perakos and his posse have several more fishing trips planned this week, so keep an eye right here for all the updates.