Marlin | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

June 30, 2013

Dave Wenzel was back in action on the Wanderer hoping to follow up his Sailfish release from earlier in the week with the crown jewel of offshore billfishing: a big bad Marlin! Captain William took the blue beauty 10 miles offshore and the monster came calling at 1:28pm.

Dave showed his Northeast Florida angling mettle as he strapped in to fight the furious beast.

Young son: “Why is Alex shaking the fish so violently?”

Dad: “Son, that’s the fish shaking the man!”

After a harrowing 25 minute battle Mr. Wenzel brought the beast alongside the Wanderer for a wonderful release.

Another amazing release by First Mate Alex, complete with his signature romantic sendoff

From Dave’s Facebook page: “I enjoyed the Wanderer 4 days and and only switched from David on the Explorer the last day (after they slammed the yellowfin I may add) to chase that Marlin dream.”

“I saw her, I hooked her, I fought her, she jumped a lot, Alex the mate and I landed her, then I jumped up and down like a 12 year old!!!!!”

“I did it, I won, 400 lb Blue Marlin. Now a bottle of Advil and an Imperial!

“Thanks to Alex for all the coaching and talk of techniques and information of the entire fishery. We enjoyed our entire visit. Well done NPR!”

June 28, 2013

It’s a family affair when our buddy Wade Boyken comes to visit, as this time he was joined by two youngsters eager to show the world how it’s done in the hard-fishing community of Merritt Island, FL. Wade and his boys had a triple sailfish release on their last trip to Nosara, and on their 2013 excursion the first fish of the day was a true fish of a lifetime:

This Blue Marlin weighs well over 400lbs. and is the kind of monster that would challenge a full-grown man; goes to show that these Florida kids can fish!

Even Captain William wanted to get a picture taken with this monster; regular readers of this report know that the Master Captain usually stays behind the camera, so the fact that he wanted this fish for his scrapbook really speaks to the might of this Marlin.

Later a nice Sailfish hit the spread and the boys worked together to bring her in. No fighting chair necessary when you have excellent teamwork like this:

What a fantastic family trip for Wade Boyken and the boys; we can’t wait to see them around Nosara again in the future.

June 26, 2013

Chuck Elzer, Vicki, Elizabeth and Chuck IV returned to the Wanderer for a final pass at the blue water behemoths, and the amazing flagship delivered a dream trip for these Florida anglers. How about TWO Marlin releases backed-up by two mammoth Bull Dorados.

If this were their scorecard for the whole week it would be impressive; to do it in just 5 hours is truly FishingNosara Hall of Fame worthy!

The first Marlin came in at 2:15pm and was a mammoth fish. Looks at the shoulders on this monster; it looks like it’s been bench-pressing since elementary school.

Here’s what Chuck wrote in his email:

“This day of fishing was beyond my wildest expectations! I was hoping for a sail but didn’t really expect an opportunity for marlin. The marlin has always been one of those “must” experiences for me.”

“Not only did I get to experience it, my family did too! No photo or video can come close to the experience of seeing and feeling the power and majesty of that fish. I look forward to recommending Nosara to everyone I know.”

After a safe release by First Mate Alex, the Wanderer continued to troll for about 30 minutes when the outrigger line reported a strong strike. Once this big Bull Dorado reared it’s head, the word ‘strong’ seems like an understatement…this greenie looks like the Incredible Hulk!

With all these filets it’s clear that the Elzers are either A.) Going to have a huge dinner tonight, B.) Make lots of friends around town by giving away filets, or C.) Need to buy several FishingNosara soft coolers to bring these filets back to Florida.

Time was running out on the Elzer’s fishing adventure when the ‘Never Surrender’ attitude of Captain William and the Wanderer shone brightly. At 4:20pm a second massive Marlin took the hook and the posse strapped in for the final battle of the week.

What a perfect send-off for the Elzer’s…their four day adventure on the Wanderer is over for now, but the memories (and photos) will last a lifetime!

June 18, 2013

Chuck and the Good Doctors topped all of their great performances to-date with a fanstastic pair of Marlin releases backed up by a big Sailfish release. Most anglers spend their whole lives trying to best a big Pacific Marlin, so to see these fellas capture two on a single trip is truly and accomplishment.

The first Marlin came in just before noon and was a deep-water brawler; not a lot of jumps and surface action but a lot of brute strength about 40 feet under the water.

Great capture and release by the fearless First Mate Alex!

The second Marlin wasn’t far behind, with a safe release reported just after 1pm. Another amazing fish!

For the victory lap the fellas hooked up a wonderful Sailfish and before too long the third trophy fish of the day was released.

June 4, 2013

Dennis Paul and the Wanderer turned in a legendary performance on June 4: A Double Sailfish release backed up by a 250lbs. Striped Marlin release!

That’s big even for this three-time Hall of Famer, who for this first time on this trip was joined by his girlfriend Barbara Dayhoff. These Clearwater, FL based anglers got of to a blazing start when the pair of Sailfish hunters hit the ballyhoos.

This fight was intense and after a 20 minute battle they had overcome both Sails and brought them alongside for picture-perfect double release just after 1pm.

The Wanderer continued to troll for a few hours when the brutal 250lbs. Striped Marlin came calling just before 4pm and Dennis was up to the task to bring her in.

Another outstanding performance by Captain William, First Mate Alex and the mighty Wanderer as once again Dennis Paul etches his name into the Hall of Fame.

May 25, 2013

Wanna hear about the best boat in Garza? How about two Marlin releases on the Wanderer for two different charters on the same day?

May 25 will now be remembered as the day of the ultimate Marlin Doubler Header with client Janet Storey releasing a 300lbs. Blue Marlin at 10:11am and then client John Baumgart releasing a 400lbs. Blue Marlin at 5:29pm!

Janet’s Marlin was a real thing of beauty; big, strong, and tough as a bear. But even this monster wasn’t prepared to do battle with an angler from the hard-fishin’ Glades region of Florida surrounding Lake Okeechobee!

Janet set everyone straight later on Facebook: “I caught the 300# Blue Marlin. William and Alex are a great on the Wanderer. Can’t say enough good things about Craig and his staff. We enjoyed it all.”

After a safe release by First Mate Alex, Captain William brought the Wanderer home to Garza to let off the Storey group and pick-up FishingNosara Hall of Famer John Baumgart for his afternoon half-day charter.

The headed out to troll the same lane of water and put in a full 4 hours of hunting until the reel sang out the song of a Marlin strike! Remember that this is a game of time investment and a slow start makes a nice prologue to a great fishing story.

Amazing fish by John Baumgart and great fishing handling as always by the incomparable First Mate Alex.

Days like this one are rare for sure, but when you have the right boat, tackle, and crew for the job there is always a chance for great action like this on the best boat in Garza, the mighty Wanderer!

May 13, 2013

Tom Shipley and his family’s trip to Nosara is a classic fishing tale of patient triumph.

Tom, his son Tom Jr., and daughters Alyssa and Sara scheduled long days on the super panga and showed off their unbreakable South Florida fishing meddle.

On the first two trips they had some light action but nothing to get excited about: a few Bonitas and Jack Crevelles along with some mystery nibbles.

These South Florida anglers aren’t new to the game and understand that billfishing is as much an exercise in time investment than anything else.

There was a nice Sailfish release and a tasty Rainbow runner on the second trip, but these folks had their sights set on our most powerful species: BIG Marlin!

Their patience paid off on the third day when the dam broke loose and rained billfish on Team Shipley.

This bad Blue Marlin tore off a few baits before Mate Kevin found the sweet spot on the strike lever, and Tom Sr. was all set to bring in the fish of a lifetime.

The Explorer outmaneuvered this beast and they grabbed the leader five times…clearly a release no matter where you are fishing.

The action was just beginning as Tom Jr. stepped into the fray versus a high-flying sailfish.

These South Florida anglers really showed some grit on their three-day pursuit…still a small amount of time to invest for the fish of a lifetime!

March 8, 2013

So lots of attention is getting paid to some poor boat-handling fool down in Panama. Yes Marlin are strong, and yes they swim fast. It is a true fish-of-a-lifetime but only an amateur sinks his own boat and puts his clients in the drink trying to catch one.

Here’s how real professionals catch and release Marlin.

Captain William of the Wanderer keeps this fight short (under 25 minutes) with superb boat handling, angler Craig Sutton keep tension on the fish for the duration, and First Mate Alex executes a perfect revival and release.

All while keeping the boat on top of the water 🙂

Proper tackle + strong boat and crew = safe releases and good times

See more at blog.fishingnosara.com

Febraury 27, 2013

Dave Devine and his family turned in one of the best performances in recent memory by releasing two Sailfish and two Striped Marlin on just a 5 hour trip! That is incredible production for a half-day of fishing.

Both Stripeys weighed about 225lbs. which is typical size for this species. They fight just as ferociously as their bigger cousins and getting two releases on a single trip is certainly a noteworthy feat.

Nice to see that Dave’s son got in on the action and caught one of the Sails. Great fish handling as always by First Mate Alex to make sure the fish and the kid got away from this photo safely.

February 25, 2013

David Lukof locked into a battle with a super 300+lbs. Marlin on the unbeatable Explorer. Take a look at this monster:

According to our buddy Jeff (who was filming): “Dude had heat stroke after this. He’s been chasing a marlin for 30 years. He said ‘I’d fight it till I died’ he might have actually been close!”

Amazing catch and release by the superstar Captain David and Mate Carlos!