Striped Marlin | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

February 14, 2012

Our great friend Wayne Estes from Jacksonville has made multiple runs offshore with us over the years, but today’s “Valentine’s Day Massacre” will live on forever in FishingNosara history as the most productive day of Marlin fishing to date. Mr. Estes caught and released an unheard-of number of Striped Marlin.

The good-looking blue water was far away by our standards (30 miles) but Captain William’s gambit to go this far out paid dividends early and often. Things started off well with an early Sailfish release by Mr. Estes.

After the Sail was safely released the Wanderer was ambushed by wave after wave of Striped Marlin. The first one hit around 8:30 am and the Estes’ released one an hour for the next four hours.

That’s right, FOUR Striped Marlin release on a five-hour trip. Throw the early Sailfish in the mix and you have a exemplary day of Hall of Fame-caliber fishing.

Most importantly, all five billfish were safely and quickly released. We look forward to catching them another day.

What an amazing trip for the crew and clients! Great job by Captain William and First Mate Alex to deliver the trip of a lifetime to old friend Wayne Estes.

February 5, 2012

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!

February 2, 2012

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.

February 1, 2012

Legendary day for the mighty Wanderer and the Zach Condon group. This New Hampshire-based angler has seen the results put up by Captain William and First Mate Alex for other New Englanders (most recently the Mukon family) and he immediately booked a full day on the on the flagship.

Zach said they wanted billfish…Fishin’ Accomplished!

As usual the big blue beast delivered the goods for these clients who released a MASSIVE 300+lbs. Blue Marlin and backed that up with a 180lbs. Striped Marlin. They also had a Sailfish but lost it right next to the boat, literally inches from the second Grand Slam of the young season for the Wanderer.

First up was the bad Blue Marlin…this guy is a monster even by Costa Rican standards! Amazing teamwork to safely land this monster and set up a safe Marlin release.

Looks like we need to get a wide angle lens for the camera!

We talk a lot about successful billfish being the result of combining the right boat, angler, and tackle for the job. This dedication to teamwork and precision was on display an hour later when another bodacious billfish beckoned.

Look at this picture from the Striped Marlin battle, and take careful note of everyone’s eyes:

The angler’s eyes are on locked on the fish and she is focused on maintaining tension and winning back line from the Marlin.

Her assistant is baling the line back on to the spool properly, thus freeing the angler from worrying about the tackle.

First Mate Alex is watching the tip of the rod for clues on the Marlin’s next move. He can tell by the faintest jerk or vibration of the rod tip if the fish is about to take off running, dive deep, or charge the boat…by transmitting this info to Captain William at the tiller he provides the Wanderer with a split-second advantage over the Marlin.

Focused Angler + Proper Tackle + Captain/Crew teamwork = Great Marlin Releases!

What an outstanding trip for Zach Condon! This was certainly a trip for the ages and another Hall of Fame performance for the mighty Wanderer.

January 17, 2012

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!

January 16, 2012

Bruce Sabine, John Harbord, Joe Ronnlof…Welcome to the FishingNosara Hall of Fame!

You know it’s a good trip when it starts with a Striped Marlin release. This was the second Stripey of the season and is a Hall of Fame fish all by itself.

Then the boys added six Sailfish releases to the scorecard including the unheard-of TRIPLE HEADER SAILFISH RELEASE!

Maybe it was the blue water moving close to shore. Maybe it was the years of fishing experience that John and Bruce bring to the water. Maybe it was First Mate Alex’ lucky white sunglasses. Whatever happened out there today, all the tumblers fell into place and unlocked the perfect day of fishing for these clients.

Of course all 7 billfish were released alive and well and ready to be caught again. Excellent teamwork by Captain William and First Mate Alex to maintain the safety of the billfish, anglers, and equipement.

Great work gentlemen…you have earned your enshrinement to the Hall of Fame!

January 3, 2012

John Fitzgerald from Connecticut caught the first Striped Marlin of the season today on the 26-foot fish-fightin’ Explorer. This rarest of all Marlin species weighed and estimated 200lbs. and was released alive and unstressed as always.

Excellent work by First Mate Carlos on the safe handling of this majestic fish.

It’s amazing how fast the fishing can turn down here…just yesterday Captain William of the Wanderer filed this unfortunate report: “Well, really slow today. We only had a sail on the teaser, but nothing. It’s too windy offshore and the water is green.” Now, Captain William can catch fish in a crock pot so if he says they ain’t bitin’ trust me they ain’t bitin’

Just a day later and Mr. Fitzgerald potentially fished himself right into the Hall of Fame. He backed up the Marlin release with this nice Jack on a topwater plug.

Check out this email we got from Mr. Fitzgerald: “Hey Craig just wanted to let you know that Cap David and Carlos are a great team! They put me on a bunch of fish today including a 200 plus Striped Marlin!!! Pura Vida! Many thanks John Fitz”

Great work by Captain David, First Mate Carlos, John Fitzgerald and the unconquerable Explorer on the first Striped Marlin of the season.

May 28, 2011

A day that will live forever in the annals of FishingNosara history! First off, Master Captain Vibert on the Cabo welcomed back Ivan DeLuca, a longtime friend and repeat client for a day of offshore billfish hunting. They had some good early action on the troll, then nailed a sweet 150lbs. Striped Marlin.

Meanwhile over on the famous Wanderer client Jesse Feldman and his posse had a counter to Vibert’s great catch. How about a 300lbs. Blue Marlin release?

As icing on the cake they boated a pair of nice yella fellas for the table. It used to be said that the Marlin bite turns off after Easter…Great work by the Wanderer and the Cabo to prove that the Marlin bite down here does in fact stay on well into September.

Ship of Fools Tournament Recap – March 27, 2011

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 was our chance to prove it.

Great work by Captain David and the whole FishingNosara family.

February 13, 2011

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.