Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara
Costa Rica Fishing Report Archive | FishingNosara
What a great trip for Colorado angler John Betz! He and the wife put in the hours necessary for bill fishing success and their temporal investments paid huge dividends.
The highlight of the trip with this incredible Striped Marlin (safe released as always), but Mrs. Betz backed up that monster with a beastie of her own: this beautiful Pacific Sailfish.
Another fantastic trip from Captain William and the world-famous Wanderer!
FishingNosara has been working for years to dispel certain myths about fishing in Costa Rica, namely that the fishery is world-class yet the boats and tackle are the exact opposite. Our reputation for top-notch tackle and aggressive fishing proceeded us when we received a call from Derrell McCrary.
Mr. McCrary was fishing on another boat in the area back in December when he noticed that FishingNosara was catching monsters while he was catching minnows. He booked a full day on the Wanderer and this time we vowed that his fishing experience would be world class.
Captain William pointed the mighty Wanderer south and found the blue water break just 6 miles offshore. The spread was working early in the day, snaring a pair of nice Dorados (Mahi-Mahi) that weighed 30lbs. each. Here is one of the tasty green morsels:
After a brief spell of nothing biting, the 1pm Sailfish bite lit up and two hungry Pacific Sailfish came tearing through the spread. First Mate Alex coordinated the fights and the releases, notching the Wanderer‘s scorecard with three more excellent billfish releases including a double header Sailfish release.
This performance certainly exorcised the Costa Rica fishing demons for Derrell McCrary, but FishingNosara’s reputation wasn’t built on meeting expectations but on exceeding them. That is why after 7 great hours of fishing the mighty Wanderer still had a trick up her sleeve.
This 180lbs. Striped Marlin releases is the third of the month for Captain William and proves that the FishingNosara flagship Wanderer is indeed the top boat in the area; she is a vessel that flourishes where other fail.
Captain David and the 26-foot Explorer welcomed Jay Johnston and his group for an afternoon half-day fishing trip. The California anglers wanted to target Yellowfin Tuna primarily, but the 1pm Sailfish bite proved too alluring so Captain David took it offshore early in the trip.
This excellent Sailfish was released unharmed after a brief but vigorous 10 minute fight. Captain David knows what to do when these big fish come calling and he brought this fight to a quick, safe and satisfying conclusion.
Jay’s posse kept their collective foot on the gas once the Explorer returned inshore and anchored up to Pincha Padre. They finished the evening with 10 Yellowfin Tunas weighing between 12lbs. and 20lbs. in the box.
Check out the Wasabi/Soy sauce tray in the right foreground…No one’s going hungry in the Johnston group tonight!
Brian Bickel and his boys from South Georgia lit it up today with nice Sailfish and Dorados. The spinning porpoises led the famous Wanderer out to a full-on feeding frenzy.
They had three Sailfish in the spread throughout the day with two successful catch and releases.
This hungry posse also put three big Dorados in the box which should keep them pleasantly plump for the rest of the week.
Great start for these fellas who still have more fishing planned this week.
Janae finished her fishing vacation in with FishingNosara with another outing on the 26-foot Super Panga Explorer with Captain David and Mate Pipio. She added to her previous billfish releases with another excellent Sailfish at around 1:30pm.
Later on she had a nice Wahoo and but it shot like a missle and broke the line; shades of fishing stories from the Ledge back home in Jacksonville. They moved inshore to end the day and caught a few nice Black Tunas.
Here is the email she sent us once she got home:
“What an awesome time we had in Nosara! The fishing was so fun and Nosara is a great little place!! We are already talking about when we can come back! I just wanted to thank you again for answering my millions of questions and helping me prepare!! Can’t wait to come back again!!! Pura Vida!!!”
Amazing day on the Explorer for client Janae visiting from Florida. She represented the Sunshine State well on her first day by scoring some meaty Dorados, but today she had one thing on her mind: Offshore Billfish Hunting!
Captain David and Mate Carlos took the 26-foot brawler about 6 miles out the blue water when a flock of diving birds led the way for the Explorer into a feeding frenzy.
The first Sailfish came up and annihilated a long shotgun bait and Janae took him on a quick ride to the boat for this excellent release shot.
No sooner than Carlos could get the baits back in the water than the Sailfish’s hunting buddy came calling. Captain David had to back this fish down quickly because of the amount of line it peeled off with the initial strike; still the team of Captain David on the wheel and Janae on the reel wrapped up this fight in 20 minutes.
Great releases by Mate Carlos to ensure the safety of fish, boat and angler. Let’s see what Janae has in store for them later this week as she wraps up her birthday getaway in Nosara, Costa Rica.
Mark and Melody Mukon finished their week of strong fishing with “His and Hers” Sailfish releases. Mark was first up, and his monster Sailfish put on a tailwalking show on his way to the mighty Wanderer.
Melody Mukon was next up on the reel when at 1pm the second Sailfish came barreling through the spread. The hypnotic power of her Pink FishingNosara hat worked on this billfish as First Mate Alex coaxed him alongside for another safe release.
Great work by this Connecticut couple of bill collectors to cap off an outstanding week of fishing in Costa Rica.
The Wanderer lit it up today with a pair of great trips featuring a big Sailfish release and lots of fresh fish filets for our friends.
Mark and Melody Mukon booked a full 8 hour day on the big blue battlewagon and these Connecticut anglers were looking for billfish and meat for the cooler; frankly they got all they could handle!
The day got off to a slow start but the 1pm Sailfish bite has been on like clockwork this week and sure enough this mighty Pacific Sailfish challenged Mr. Mukon and the Wanderer to a fight.
Captain William spun the Wanderer into a position of power while Mark put a swift 15 minute beating on this billfish. First Mate Alex executed a perfect bill and release, and this monster swam away free and will be ready for another scrap soon.
That awesome fish turned out to be the plug in the dam because once it was released the Wanderer was beset on all sides by hungry Dorados. Perhaps they were lured in by Melody’s freshly-purchased Pink FishingNosara hat…hmmmmm that particular color of hat always seems to bring good luck to a boat.
The feeding frenzy that followed brought in four nice Mahi-Mahis ranging from 25lbs. to the 60lbs. whopper pictured with Captain William.
Melody and Mark Mukon added this feisty little Wahoo to the shopping cart just as they checked out from the fish market. They have two more full days of fishing planned this week…look out fish, the Mukon’s are just getting started!
Another great client-submitted report from John Maysak:
Here are the pictures of my trip with my friend Barth on Nice n’ Tight with Captain Eduardo.
I was lucky enough to be on the rod and bring this big girl to the side of the boat for a clean release after an hour and fifteen minute epic hard-fought battle with lots of boat maneuvering help from Eduardo.
This fish measured 13 feet tip to tip with a girth somewhere north of 80 inches and we estimated her at 500 pounds!
Don’t let the diminutive Nice n’ Tight fool you! She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing whose bite is much worse than her bark.
Pura Vida,
John Maysak
How would John Harbord, Jon Ronloff, and Bruce Sabine fare after a seven billfish day yesterday? Would they have anything left in the tank after three excellent days of fishing both offshore and the inshore reefs? Would the billfish finally evade their crafty capture?
Striped Marlin, Black Marlin, and Sailfish released!
This is the classic Grand Slam and is by far the rarest feat in billfishing. Less than a dozen Grand Slams are reported worldwide in a given year and this performance will serve as the high water mark for years to come for Costa Rican sportfishing.
The Stripey was the first one to get snared by the mighty Wanderer‘s spread and John did great work to make this fight quick and efficient. Captain William kept the boat in perfect position for the contest and the angler kept tension like a pro.
Fantastic work by First Mate Alex who is always pumped up when big billfish come calling.
Next up was a very nice Pacific Sailfish which would be a highlight on any other day with any other anglers; for these hombres this Sailfish release was as routine as a free throw.
The final piece of the Grand Slam came in the form of this MASSIVE Black Marlin that came calling later in the day. This monster was huge and the look on Alex’s face tells the tale.
What a fantastic release photo…magazine cover anyone?
Once back in Garza Bay the Tampa-based fishing team was elated, and added this 145lbs. Brown Marlin release:
Legendary fishing by these FishingNosara Hall of Famers!
