Marlin | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

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!

February 23, 2013

Captain David of the Explorer delivered a true fish of a lifetime to client Eileen and Timothy Opthof on February 23.

This 250+lbs. Blue Marlin put up a tremendous fight but as always the Super panga and Mate Carlos took care of business and saw to the safe release of this monster.

They also cleaned up inshore with a 12lbs. Mullet snapper, a 10lbs. white tuna, and a few other assorted fish all on ice. Incredible day both inshore and offshore for the unbeatable Explorer and the indomitable Captain David.

January 23, 2013

The Billfish are Back! Client Carey Rumba and his group had a pair of highly-memorable releases on the mighty Wanderer today: a 100+ lbs. Sailfish and a magnificent 200+lbs. Striped Marlin.

Check out this high flying action:

Another great day from the undisputed king of Garza Bay, the Wanderer!

December 18, 2012

Becky Hogan is famous in Jacksonville for running the legendary charter vessel The Mayport Princess, but her performance on the Wanderer stands out as one of the great fishing feats our team has ever witnessed. Along with her family and the crew, Ms. Hogan laid the smack down on a whole mess of Pacific billfish.

Topping the scorecard is two massive Marlin releases, both Stripeys and both bad to the bone.

Between Marlin bouts Becky also suplexed four Pacific Sailfish including a awe-inspiring Double Sailfish Release.

Amazing work by First Mate Alex to safely handle and release all of these wonderful billfish.

Now don’t go thinking that these anglers went away hungry…Becky and the boys backed up the trophy releases with seven Dorados ranging between 20lbs. – 30lbs.

That’s a legendary performance from a legendary Jacksonville angler!

December 11, 2012

Dr. Michelle Sanor had a full day trip on the Wanderer that stands out as the best single trip of the season so far. Her group of Oklahoma anglers released a Marlin and a Sailfish, plus added 30lbs. Dorado for the dinner table.

The Sailfish was the first hit of the day, coming around 10:30am. This beauty came alongside after a 20 minute fight and First Mate Alex safe released her as always.

The billfish bite tend to turn off between noon and 1:30pm, so the wise Captain William switched up the baits to target the medium-sized Dorado that have stacking up in our stretch of ocean. Sure enough they got dinner squared away with this 30lbs. Dorado in the boat around 1:15pm.

There is an old saying: ” The longer you fish, the more you will catch.” This seemingly simple axiom was proven in the second half of the Sanor group’s day on the water, when just after 3pm something MASSIVE hit a ballyhoo and gulped the hook.

After a brief but breathtaking battle this behemoth bellied up to the boat. Estimated by Alex to weigh 300+lbs., this Blue Marlin is a devastating hunter and a true fish of a lifetime.

Alex executed a safe revival and release and we are proud to report that this monster swam away unharmed and will be back for more someday soon.

Once again the mighty Wanderer with Captain William and First Mate Alex proves why she is the best boat in the bay, and maybe in all of Costa Rica.

November 30, 2012

Duncan Evans hails from merry old England and brought his group to Nosara for a full day fishing excursion on the Wanderer. The mighty flagship build upon her wonderful performance earlier in the week by adding another massive Marlin release to the scorecard.

We’ve always said that if you want the fish of a lifetime, you have to put in the time. Duncan made a wise decision by opting for the full day trip rather than a half or 3/4 day trip. Big game offshore fishing is like any other investment: the more your put in the more you get back.

The illuminated tiger stripes means that this fish was reeled in posthaste and has lots of energy left in her tank. First Mate Alex showed extreme care in the handling of this “still-green” Marlin to ensure the safety of the boat, crew, anglers and of course the fish.

This fish swam away clean and we look forward to battling her again really soon. Excellent catch by Duncan Evans and truly the fish of a lifetime!

November 29, 2012

Hall of Famer Chuck Darner was sitting in church between his two grown sons a few weeks ago and had a vision. He wrote the vision down on the corner of the weekly bulletin and handed it to his sons. It read, “Let’s go fishing in Costa.”

While Chuck has visited us several times, his sons had not yet taken the adventure. Tickets bought and trips booked, but then a change of plans! One of the boys is a freelance insurance adjuster and his special skills were placed in high demand in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

He couldn’t get away for this trip, but the Darner posse found a worthy pinch hitter in the form of Chuck’s 14 year-old grandson.

Chuck told me that he was hoping to get the youngster on a nice Sailfish, but unfortunately the mighty Wanderer could not find a sail on this trip.

The season’s first Black Marlin release will have to suffice!

This magnificent fish is the culmination of Captain William and the Wanderer‘s prowess and Chuck Darner’s indomitable fishing spirit.

For the dinner table they whacked this 50lbs. Wahoo which is reminiscent of the monsters Chuck catches off the ledge in Jacksonville in his Powercat High Roller.

The Darner Boys have several more trips on the books and we anticipate some more inspired from these North Florida anglers.

August 24, 2012

It is risky to keep fishing down here with the monsoon rains looming just a few days away, but the fearless Wanderer had to tend to some unfinished business on August 24.

Our great friend and neighbor Jeff Grosshandler of Namaste Oasis brought a very special VIP for this trip. Bruce Northam is the mind behind the blog American Detour and his books, essays, speeches and articles have been published in just about every major magazine imaginable. He is a seasoned world traveler and we were stoked to welcome him and his crew to our little slice of paradise.

More importantly, this fireballing Marlin attacked the Wanderer‘s spread and the legendary Captain William put the moves on this monster. First Mate Alex exhibited the calm professionalism that has made FishingNosara famous in the safe billing and release of this majestic marine creature.

According to Jeff, “the footage the camera guys took is incredible. That trip couldn’t have gone any better, when the marlin hit – Bruce literally jumped out of his seat and screamed “look at the f*ckin size of that thing!!!!!!” and it just got better from there.”

This is a great accomplishment for Jeff as this is his first Marlin release. I think that this monster just couldn’t resist his FishingNosara throwback jersey! Once everyone got their photos, this fish was safely release like all billfish caught by our team.

The Wanderer is due for a complete refit and repaint which will get underway in about a week, and it should come as no surprise to our regular readers that the flagship cemented her place at the head of the class with this epic late-season Marlin release.

July 25, 2012

Guess who’s back???

This long cool woman in a black dress danced with the Wanderer and client John grabbed the reel and changed up the tune.

While she isn’t the biggest Black Marlin we’ve seen by a long shot, this 200+lbs. lady is a welcome sight for our eyes; the Marlin have been scarce since May and we weren’t sure how long until we’d dance again.

Great release by First Mate Alex and the unbeatable Captain William fresh off his injured foot; let’s hope this is a sign of Marlin resurgence as we approach the end of the season.