The Explorer was back on duty the morning of March 25 with client Luke and early half day. They got off to a quick start, catching a 20lbs. Dorado and a football-sized Yellowfin Tuna.
Around 11am the billfish woke up and began assaulting the Explorer‘s spread. In less than an hour they raised three Sailfish and released two. Excellent action no matter how you slice it!
For a victory lap, Luke and David visited the inshore reef for a quick casting session and once again put the hooks into an incredible fish… a 60lbs. Rooster Fish!
After the Ship of Fools, we knew there would be no post tournament letdown for the Explorer. Captain David on the barroom brawler called the Explorer caught a white tuna, a 25lbs. Yellowfin tuna, and a 45lbs. Dorado. Excellent trip!
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!
The Wanderer has built a reputation as the gold standard billfish hunter in the area, and client Mike Baker joined Captain William and First Mate Alex for a fantastic afternoon on the water on April 4.
The midday billfish bite turned on in a big way with baits popping off left and right. Despite missing a handful of mystery nibbles, the boys still released 3 Sailfish and caught a nice 35lbs. Dorado for the dinner table.
The Wanderer is still rocking after a great week of billfishing. With Alex decked out as the ‘hombre malo con manga corta’ (The Bad Man with the Long Sleeves), this pair of sailfish couldn’t resist the spread.
As usual Captain William masterfully manipulated boat and fish to draw these fights to safe and quick ends. They couldn’t of been more pleased with his trip and their two sailfish releases.
No post tournament letdown for FishingNosara! After a grueling weekend of tournament fishing and multi-charter days, our Captains and crews have kept their collective foot on the metaphorical pedal.
Captain David on the barroom brawler called the Explorer caught a white tuna, a 25lbs. Yellowfin tuna, and a 45lbs. Dorado. Excellent trip to the fish market!
Meanwhile on the blue beauty Wanderer the billfish were popping all day long. Captain William kept a steady hand on the tiller while First Mate Alex ran the cockpit like a champion. By days end the boys had released three beautiful Sailfish.
Seems like the bite is really turning on both inshore and out deep. Looks like this season is about to really get cooking.
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.
Captain Jack continued to put a dent in the Sailfish population on March 25 aboard the Wanderer. Around noon this massive beast screamed off about 300 yards of line in two seconds. Jack kept him taught while Captain William backed down to the bucking Sailfish.
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.
The Explorer was on the hill getting its monthly upkeep today (and getting some slick new rod holders on the transom), so it fell the Wanderer to pick up the slack…and boy did they ever!
First up, Captain William found an awesome Dorado bite around 2 pm and stayed on it until the box was stuffed with three nice greenies. Alex pulled some incredible gaff shots on these monsters.
With the meat on ice the blue beauty tried to add a trophy fish to the trip to make it perfect. Around 5 pm the moon came up and right behind it was this massive Sailfish. Great work on the billshot and release as always.
With all the excitement surrounding the Explorer, the Safari Carts, the new shop, and all the other projects around here it is possible to forget that the big dog in this yard is the big blue billfish battlewagon….Wanderer!
