We got some great news from the Explorer on April 4. The Super Panga with the supersized heart was booked by client Kieran Charles Fleming from Michigan for a full day of offshore billfish hunting. Captain David enlisted First Mate Alex from the Wanderer for the trip, and the boys did an excellent job of putting the clients on the fish of their dreams.
First up was a nice Sailfish release estimated over 100lbs. While that may satisfy most panga boats, the Explorer is not your daddy’s panga…it is a billfish hunter to the bone!
Just ask this 300lbs. Blue Marlin that Captain David and Kieran released late in the day!
The moral of this story? The fish don’t care how big the boat is. The right tackle, the right captain, and a good angler are all that is required to catch the fish of a lifetime on the 26′ foot giant killer…Explorer!
Brian Ware is part of a proud tradition of Northeast Florida anglers who have bested massive Marlins on the Wanderer. It seems that the blue beauty can sense that her anglers are from her former port of call, and she delivers the goods when a Jacksonville residents are on board.
In addition to this great Marlin catch, Brian and his party also took to the river on our Kayak Safari. They still have some fishing days planned so look out for more domination from the Jacksonville locals.
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.
As the Ship of Fools Tournament neared, the scrimmage match with the Explorer came at a perfect time. Basically the Wanderer was not about to let the litte brother eat all the food.
After Jack’s first sailfish catch on the Super Panga, Captain William came roaring up from behind 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.
So the Wanderer won the scrimmage, but the ability to share spots and tactics certainly helped FishingNosara find its way to the leaderboard come tournament time.
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.
On March 22 Rick Solomon and his family were on the Wanderer and caught the fish of a lifetime. This beauty was good enough to land them a spot in the FishingNosara Hall of Fame. Check out this Blue Marlin!
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What a fighter! It is not often that First Mate Alex almost gets pulled in by a fish…good thing David had his back. Despite the strength of this fish, it was live released to battle another day.
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!
Great news from the Explorer! Client George Shipley had a banner day on the 26′ Super Panga with the boat’s first ever Double Billfish day. Captain David pointed the Explorer just a little more offshore than usual, and just like that this 200lbs.+ Striped Marlin came tearing through the spread.
A quick fight and a photograph later, then it was time to get the lines back out and go for number two. Before long they had nabbed this 100lbs. Sailfish to complete the day.
These are outstanding results for just a 5 hr. trip, and Captain David has shown that the Explorer can deliver great fishing action usually thought possible on boats twice her size.
We knew it was only a matter of time until the lady in the blue dress came calling! Client Dennis Paul booked the Wanderer for an offshore billfish hunt.
With the rain swirling in the distance, this big girl came tearing through the spread right at 2:30pm. The fight was on as this Marlin bucked, bobbed and weaved all over the place.
After 45 minutes of combat, the Marlin was defeated and Dennis Paul had added one more safe marlin release to the Wanderer‘s scorecard.
The bite is starting to catch fire and we are spending this weekend prowling for pelagics. Look out for some great weekend action!
The Cox family have been tearing the water up this week, but they truly saved the best for last.
After some great action on the Wanderer followed by more fish on the Explorer, the First Coast couple were back on the blue beauty for some big-time Marlin Hunting.
Fishin’ Accomplished! Great work by the Roy and Cathy Cox and the entire FishingNosara team.
