2015 Ship of Fools Tournament

The Ship of Fools Tournament is the annual throw-down between the local boats based out of our home port of Garza, CR.

Twelve boats entered the hotly contested tournament this year and the fish cooperated with a record number of release over the two day affair.

FishingNosara was represented by returning Three-time Hall of Famer Bob Pease and his hard-fishin’ crew from Northeast Georgia.

These guys are sharp anglers and more importantly brought a fun attitude to the competition.

April 16, 2015 – Pre-Fishing

The boys hit town just in time to get a day of pre-fishing in to get reacclimated to the fishery.

They tried to ask this Sailfish where the rest of his friends hang out.

They made it back to shore just in time to catch the Captain’s Meeting at Marlin Bill’s.

April 17, 2015 – Day 1

The Wanderer was fueled, iced, and primed for battle when Bob and the boys came aboard at 6:15am.

Late night rains swept through the area on the night of the 16th, and Captain William knows that this pushes the nutrient-rich blue water offshore. The Master Captain slammed down the throttles and wasted no time getting to the fishing grounds.

First Mate Alex was on his “A” game as the FishingNosara flagship scored 11 Sailfish releases on the first day, bringing the Wanderer‘s total to 1100 points.

April 18, 2015 – Day 2

The pressure to perform was on as the final day of the tournament found the Wanderer in a dead heat for First Place with the Mojito.

Right behind the leaders were Garza stalwarts Sportsmanย and High Roller.

The blue beauty kept lighting the lamp with five releases in the morning, starting bright and early at 7:45am.

The afternoon brought more good action as the Wanderer pushed the total to 20 Sailfish released.

Bob and the boys were all smiles back on the beach.

Once the scores were tabulated and the photographs verified, the results of the 2015 Ship of Fools Tournament were posted:

Mojito first place. 21 Sailfish

Wanderer second place. 20 Sailfish

High Roller third place.11 Sailfish

 

Sportsman fourth place. 14 ย Sailfish

 

April 19, 2015 – Fiesta

This year’s tournament was the best in recent memory with a dozen paid entrants making the trip.

Playa Garza was lit up for the Sunday night fiesta featuring food, live music, and the awards ceremony.

Great work by the mighty Wanderer to bring home the hardware, and special thanks to the ladies of Fish N Chicks to put on this excellent tournament.

We’ll be back for the 2016 Ship of Fools Tournament!

April 11, 2015

The flagship Wanderer was up to her old tricks on April 11 with client James Bagwell.

This fun-loving group scored a Rooster fish to start off the trip, then scored the first of two Sailfish releases:

The second Sailfish was the highlight of the trip; a big fish with a lot of fight in her.

Great job by Captain William and First Mate Alex to ensure the safe release of all three of these trophy fish.

March 31, 2015

Alabama’s own Andrew Nichols brought his kids along for an inshore hunt, and First Mate Alex was well prepared with lots of Mullets in the livewell.

This little Cierro Mackeral was the ice-breaker, and was a sign of a great day to come.

How’s a gargantuan Cubera Snapper sound to get the ball rolling?

You know its a memorable fish with Captain William gets a picture for his scrapbook!

The Wanderer headed a few miles offshore in the afternoon and snared a nice Sailfish release.

March 31, 2015

The Explorer closed out the month on a strong run of Sailfish releases.

The more trips that Captain Carlos and Mate Kevin run, the more they mark-up the scorecard with Sailfish releases.

Clearly these guys are sharpening their skills to a razor’s edge.

There was also lots of other species to brag about on the Super Panga. Check out these beastly Rooster fish releases:

Captain Carlos also reports a good array of Dorado and Amberjack.

March 30, 2015

Our old pal Hubble Keller brought the whole family down for a few days of fishing fun in Costa Rica. Three generations of Kellers were onboard for a combination inshore/offshore trip on the Wanderer.ย 

After this nice Sailfish release, the flagship retreated inshore to ply the 80-foot waters over Pincha Padre.

The big boys were a little sleepy, but the group still had action on some Bonitas and Jack Crevelles…nothing for the dinner table but a bunch of fun nonetheless.

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March 26, 2015

It’s unusual for us to get an email from a client mere minutes after they get back to shore, but Roy Jackson hit us up with the email titled: Awesome Day!

“4 sails and one 400 lb marlin. Got some great HD video of the marlin on the gopro. That was a long 45 minutes to land it.

Now let’s enjoy some photos from this fight:

 

The rest of the day had strong action for Roy and the whole family.

The kids really put on a show with a Double Sailfish release, expertly coordinated by First Mate Alex.

It’s always great to see youngsters posting such great results. Fantastic fishing day by the Jackson family and the mighty Wanderer!