Marlin | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

August 1, 2013

Charlie Phillips, Joe Timm, and Jason Kintner blew the fish out of the water on August 1, posting their best performance to date. How about two Marlin (300lbs. and 500lbs.) and a Sailfish for the trophy case and a nice 25lbs. Mahi for the dinner table?

Jason Kintner: “SIX Pacific Sail Fish on the Explorer with Capt David and First Mate Kevin in one day, followed by TWO Pacific Blue Marlin releases with Capt William and First Mate Alex the next day out!!! OUTSTANDING!!! We WILL BE BACK!! Amazing fishery, amazing people!! William, Alex, David and Kevin were profesional in every way. See y’all again soon!!!“

Laura McLean Phillips: “The crew of the Wanderer is AMAZING! These guys know how to make some memories.”

Things I learned in Costa Rica
Catching Bonita on light tackle is FUN!!!!
Catching Mahi is A LOT of FUN!!
Catching Pacific Sailfish on Catfish gear is GREAT Fun!!!
Catching 400# Pacific Blue Marlin on 30# test after fighting it for 1 1/2 hours is BRUTAL!! MUCHO respect for the Blue Marlin…Now where did I put that IcyHot…..

-Jason Kintner

July 28, 2013

David Schwertner and his posse had a magnificent day on the super panga on July 28.

The bill collectors swarmed the legendary Explorer as Captain David on the helm and Captain Carlos in the cockpit bringing their substantial experience to bear on these brutal billfish:

July 26, 2013

Glenn Wootton and his family had a lights-out performance on the mighty Wanderer on July 26. These South Florida anglers started out with a fantastic Marlin release:

Here are some pictures that Glenn sent along with the following message:

“The first picture is me after 10 minutes; the last one is a half hour
later. He kicked my ass “

The Wanderer boated a trio of nice Sailfish to follow up on their earlier Marlin score.

For their final trick, Glenn’s posse nabbed some tasty Wahoo for the dinner table. Excellent work ladies!

Great work by the incomparable Captain William and First Mate Alex on a day with safe billfish releases and dinner in the fishbox.

July 25, 2013

The Explorer is absoulutely on fire this month! On July 25 she relased a Marlin and a Sailfish, plus mopped up on Yellowfin Tuna and the suddenly-abundant Wahoo!

The billfish were released early in the trip, leaving the rest of the day open for fridge-filling.

That’s some incredibly well-rounded fishing from the most powerful panga in the bay. Great work by Captain David and Mate Kevin on this excellent day!

July 17, 2013

Travis Picariello is a good old boy from New Jersey who we had the pleasure of meeting at a fishing show in Suffern, NY. With a lot of pleading and begging his parents allowed him and his cousin to visit us in Nosara, and clearly these fellas had some aces up their sleeves from the word ‘go’

Captain David took the Explorer to the blue water and they released a fantastic Marlin followed up by a big Sailfish.

Travis went ahead and picked up dinner in the form of this tasty 15lbs. Tuna and a big Dorado. Great start to the week for the Picariello boys.

July 9, 2013

Guess who’s back!

Dave Simunek and his posse roped up a MASSIVE Blue Marlin on a full day trip with the flagship Wanderer. This beast is estimated at 300+lbs. and is the blue beauty’s fifth Marlin release of the month.

Great release by First Mate Alex and excellent hunting by Captain William, proving once again the the Wanderer is the best boat in Garza Bay.

July 5, 2013

The Wanderer has hit her stride when it comes to top-notch billfishing this season, as exemplified by client Randy Powell’s recent trip where he released a nice Sailfish in the morning then followed up with a monster Marlin in the afternoon.

The Sailfish came crusing through the spread just before 10am and Mr. Powell put the heat on him to keep the fight under 15 minutes. A great start to to what would become a fantastic trip.

After three hours of quiet trolling, the long outrigger line sang the high-pitched song that could only mean on thing: Marlin!

This beast put on a heck of a show on her way but Captain William stayed two steps ahead of the bucking Marlin leading to a safe clean release by First Mate Alex.

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!