Sailfish | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

December 21, 2013

Matt and Kim Lowe brought their family down to Nosara and enjoyed some excellent fishing action on the Wanderer. You know it’s going to be a nice trip when it starts off with a double Sailfish hookup.

Next up was a meaty Dorado snared by Matt Lowe. It’s awesome to see the kids get involved in the action…check out this beast!

The highlight of the trip was Mrs. Lowe releasing this awesome Blue Marlin.

This high-flyer was a real fighter but the combination of Captain William on the wheel and First Mate Alex on the billshot, it never had a chance.

Matt finished off the day with another great Sailfish release…this Alaska-based fishing family has got the billfish game all figured out.

“I wanted to let you know that we had an amazing time fishing on Saturday,” Kim wrote in an email. “The crew was amazing and the fishing was out of this world.”

December 19, 2013

Roger Bowgen brought his family to Nosara from the bitter cold of Connecticut and not only did they get treated to a week of tropical sunshine, but also had a mammoth day of Sailfish releases on the flagship Wanderer.

The note attached to the fishing booking sheet read: “Son’s Birthday…target billfish”

Captain William took this family to Sailfish City. As usual the furious action kicked off early and didn’t relent until the end of the day.

Happy Birthday! Young Mr. Bowgen broke the ice with this excellent Sailfish at 9:30am, then it was sis’ turn to battle a blue water behemoth.

With a little help from the birthday boy she released this thick Sailfish around 11am.

Another sneaky Sailfish came calling and met the same fate as his brethren…a safe release by the super First Mate Alex.

After lunch the adults got their turn when a pair of skywalking Sailfish took the bait.

These two sails were nearly simultaneous released, however this beast on the port side was too fired up to hold on to for long.

As a final curtain call, Team Bowgen executed the very challenging Double Sailfish release late in the day.

No help required for this pair of seasoned Sailfish scrappers…Under First Mate Alex’ supervision they pulled off the double release like old pros.

The Bowgen’s got more than just great release photos from this trip: Check out the big Dorado and tasty Yellowfin put on ice by these Northeastern anglers:

Excellent work by the flagship under the command of Captain William!

Here’s and email we received from Roger:

Good morning Craig!

Before 2013 disappears completely over the horizon, I just wanted to drop you a note and say thank you to you and your crew in Nosara. You have a first class, professional,operation in Costa Rica and as you know from the photographs/blog we had an amazing trip.

Both Captains and Mates are to be congratulated. For my son, his 21st birthday will never be forgotten

Best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!

Roger Bowgen

December 7, 2013

Mark Boyer and his family are from the hard-fishin’ town of Orange Park, FL just 10 miles south of our shops in Jacksonville. This hardy angler won his trip to Nosara at the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament last July, and they scored big fish in Costa Rica like many of our Northeast Florida guests.

The Boyer family got off to a fast start with a trio of excellent Sailfish release.

After Mom scored the first release, it was time for the kids to flex their fishing muscles on a subsequent pair of Sails.

This one really lit up the sky with some above the water fireworks!

After the safe releasesm by First Mate Alex, Mark Boyer stepped up to the plate and bested the first Marlin of the young season on the mighty Wanderer.

It wasn’t just big billfish on the menu for the Boyers…check out these beautiful Dorados they put on ice!

Another great performance by the flagship with this great Florida family!

November 21, 2013

Tom Kerl had such fun on his first two days with FishingNosara that he signed up the Wanderer for a victory lap to the blue water. The action kicked off with three meaty Dorados on ice with a beautiful Sailfish release for the finale.

These thick Dorado are a great sign…regular readers of the report may have noticed that so far this season the Mahi have not been huge, but this influx of 20+ lbs. Dorados means that the predatory billfish are not far behind.

This Sailfish was no match for Tom Kerl and the Wanderer and the flagship executed a picture-perfect catch and release of this pelagic.

Great work from the big blue beauty and our new friend Tom Kerl.

November 17, 2013

Tom Kerl and his group had a blast on the Wanderer today with a total of four Sailfish releases!

Tom got things started with this fireballing Sailfish that put on a show about 20 feet from the back of the boat.

After the safe release of the Sailfish, the Wanderer‘s spread was attacked by a hunting pair of swift Sails.

First Mate Alex supervised this veteran anglers while Captain William put on a boat-maneuvering clinic; keeping two Sailfish on the line and separated from each other is no small feat, but for Captain William this is a walk in the park.

These Sailfish are a little big for the famous Double Sailfish release, so First Mate Alex cautiously released each fish separately.

Later in the day it was time for the Miss’ to step up to a mighty Sailfish and she had no problem executing this release. Notice from the photo that Alex is impressed that she is fighting the Sailfish standing-up, foregoing the Wanderer’s fighting chair.

After four trophy fish releases, the only thing left to worry about was dinner, which Tom brought home in the form of this 20lbs. Dorado.

Great memories, great photos, and great dinner…that’s a perfect day on the mighty Wanderer.

November 15, 2013

Derrell and the boys were back on the Wanderer for more Sailfish action on November 15, including one that put on an above-the-water display that will certainly get your heart pumping. Check out this high-flyer:

Can’t help but smile after that show!

Safe released by First Mate Alex as always and more big smiles from this big angler!

Derrell took on the second Sailfish of the day and once again a safe release was imminent for this West Central Florida angling legend.

Another great trip for our good friend Derrell McCrary!

November 14, 2013

Derrell McCrary has spent lots of time on the mighty Wanderer over the last three years, and this St. Petersburg, FL angler brought some buddies along this time for a two day blue water campaign.

They started out their adventure by boating a few nice Dorado:

These mahi-mahi represented more than just tasty filets for the dinner table…they were a sign that bigger fish were lurking in this stretch of water.

Sure enough a bad-to-the-bone Sailfish hit the hooks in the early afternoon and the ensuing battle put the anglers to the test. Check out this feisty action right next to the boat:

First Mate Alex got this fish under control and executed a perfect safe release as always. Derrell and the boys will be back tomorrow and we expect even more great action for them on the famous Wanderer.

October 4, 2013

Shannon and Pat followed up their Marlin and Sailfish releases with more excitement. Two Sailfish released and a trio of big Dorados on ice for the dinner table.

“The second day was as good as the first with two sails and three Mahi Mahi which made great ceviche.”

Mrs. Emery was all over these Sailfish today as she released this 150lbs. monster, clearly the largest of the week.

Let’s see that picture:

Perfect! Shannon capped off the off-shore Sailfish round-up with this handshake late in the day:

October 3, 2013

Shannon and Pat Emery joined the Wanderer for three memorable days of fishing. They braved the rainy season to get to Nosara, then waited for a break in the weather to go hunt big billfish.

Thought the tourists are scarce this time of year the big fish are still in the neighborhood…check out this high flying Blue Marlin that was waiting on the Wanderer.

After the Marlin release this dynamic fishing duo took on a swarm of Sailfish.

Shannon put the finishing touch on this great fishing performance by putting a big Yellowfin Tuna in the fishbox. Certainly these two have some excellent dining in their immediate future.

Shannon Emery met us at the St. Pete Boat Show last year and began planning his trip on the only time off he had from work: smack dab in the middle of the rainy season!

Normally we try to persuade clients to avoid September and October, but Shannon’s job is not normal: He is serving the US in Afganistan and this week in the only chance he and Pat could get away.

Here’s a few words from Shannon:

“Just wanted to drop you a note as we are getting ready to depart CR tomorrow morning. First the crew you have here are great. Jenny made sure the house was taken care of and our huge loads of laundry were cleaned and also made sure we had some great chow on the boat.”

“Also the fishing was great. I expected that with it not being the best time for billfishing that we may be lucky getting a sail or two. For day one we passed that with 2 sails. one blue marlin and a very tasty yellowfin. The crew of the Wanderer was awesome and I look forward to fishing again with them. I gave the guys copies of our videos and pics so you guys have them.”

“All in all we had a great stay and some great fishing. Now I just have to figure out how soon we can make it back to this little spot of paradise.”

August 26, 2013

While most of the staff celebrated the end of the season on the Wanderer, the mighty tandem of Alejandro and Grevan of Nosara Paradise Rentals put on a billfish catching display on the Explorer that will not soon be forgotten.

They started out with a pair of nice Sailfish releases, then Alejandro closed out the season with an awesome Blue Marlin release:

With two months of maintenance looming on the horizon, it’s nice to make sure that the billfish don’t get lonely while our boats are on the hill. We’ll be back soon!