FishingNosara participated in the 5th Annual Dreamstarter Billfish Invitational from December 7-10. This tournament is run by Mr. Brian Neal and our friends at Wanderlust Reality, and was a wonderful experience for all involved.
This is our first time entering this tournament, and it is with great pride that we announce that we brought home the hardware!
From the tournament website: “Dreamstarter Billfish Invitational Tournament would like to congratulate the Wanderer and Discoverer for finishing tied for 1st place in our tournament. Both boats fish under the flagship of FishingNosara and both teams agreed to stick with a tie. Congratulations to both teams!”
FishingNosara Hall of Famer Bob Pease joined Captain William on the Wanderer and scored two Sailfish and a Marlin over the two days of tournament fishing:
Meanwhile, the Discoverer welcomed Hall of Famer Eric Dixon and they also nabbed a Marlin backed-up with two Sailfish:
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 Sportsman 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 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!
It’s no secret that Nosara enjoys the closest proximity to the blue water in all of Costa Rica.
It may surprise you to learn that our specific stretch of ocean is so fertile and untouched that (when the money is on the line) million-dollar sportfishing teams make the trek from Los Suenos to try to score in our backyard.
So it turns out that this week is the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown and look what turned up:
In just this one picture there are 13 other boats:
Think that all this competition would mean tough times for the flagship Wanderer?
Think again!
The Hogan Family scored like they were the only boat on the water, boasting multiple Sailfish releases backed up by big Dorados.
Got to admit it’s pretty cool watching Captain William and First Mate Alex fish circles around these so-called pros…just cause you got a big boat and money to burn doesn’t mean your a master!
After two weeks of weather delays we are primed for the weekend at the Kingbuster 400 Kingfish Tournament held in St. Augustine, FL. Lots of great prizes are on the line for all levels of anglers, so come out and join FishingNosara at this tourney.
Tournament Recap
Following a spirited Captain’s Meeting at the St. Augustine Bridge of Lions Marina, 50+ crews braved the 100+ degree heat and went kingfishing. The bite was a bit slow and the scales were absent the 50lbs. we’ve seen in the past.
Still it was exciting to see first place go to a good old friend:
Congrats to Captain Jerry Carter on winning the KingBuster 400…his prize? A week at Nosara Paradise Rentals with fishing trips from FishingNosara!
PS Nice hats gentlemen…FSU and FishingNosara is a lethal combination!
Click here for the full article from the St. Augustine Record by Jim Sutton
Javier Hernandez (President of Fupperno) notes that his club has united to stop overfishing and irresponsible practices that affect fish resources and the balance of marine ecosystems.
By making this tournament catch and release, they hope to improve and change the management of marine resources and raise awareness. You can read the full story in the June 12 issue of the Voice of Nosara.
The first weekend was slow with high winds and uncooperative Snook leaving the anglers wanting. However things fired up on June 23 with several Snook releases on the scoreboard.
The winner was Senor Luis Rodriguez with a 24lbs. Snook released. Regular readers of this report recognized Mr. Rodriguez from his 38 lbs. Snook that was posted here on April 28, 2012. His winning snook weighed 24lbs. and earned Luis the first prize of $200. Here is video of the release:
Second place went to Mr. Carl Wells with this 7 lbs. Snook and $150 to go with it.
Third place was taken by local legend Luis Siler with this little 2lbs. Snook. His prize was $100 which he generously split with three other anglers who caught similarly small fish.
Regardless of fish sizes, this tournament was about far more than money and poundage…The swell of activity on the Fupperno Facebook page has proved that Nosara has a viable, thriving, and enthusiastic scene of land-based Snook anglers.
As this community of anglers grows and flourishes, they are lucky to have a person like Javier in a position of leadership…Mr. Hernandez sincerely cares about the future of this fishery and dreams of a day when catch-and-release will become the norm with Snook tournaments much as it has with offshore billfish.
Finally and most importantly, this tournament provides a beacon for the next generation of anglers and provides them with a moral compass heading that points to a future of sustainable, humane interaction between man and the sea.
“These are those of tomorrow,” said Javier. “We are very proud of participants like these at a young age, and they are great for the sport of fishing. Congratulations and best wishes!”
