Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara
Costa Rica Fishing Report Archive | FishingNosara
Dominic Licari brought his hard-fishin’ crew down from West Palm Beach, FL and they logged three solid days of fishing on the mighty Wanderer.
The highlight of their trips came on June 24:
This Blue Marlin is estimated at 400lbs. and she put up everyone ounce of fight she could muster.
This South Florida team also notched a pair of Sailfish releases, backed up by a few nice Yellowfin Tunas.
Great work by Captain William and First Mate Alex on the famous flagship!
Our friend John Garris had a blast on the Explorer with the dynamic brother duo of Captain Carlos and Mate Kevin. Joined by Jeff Grosshandler, they scored a pair of Sailfish releases backed up by a nice Dorado.
They also captured this excellent footage of Dolphins flanking the Super Panga:
Captain David of the legendary Explorer turned in a memorable trip for Nick Nichols with a trio of Sailfish released and a big Dorado that jumped right into the boat!
Nice releases by Mate Kevin and great camera work by Terry Williams.
Jim Benvenga release SIX Marlin on the Explorer today plus a Sailfish to complete the legendary Billfish Grand Slam!
Charlie Phillips, Joe Timm, and Jason Kintner blew the fish out of the water on August 1, posting their best performance to date. How about two Marlin (300lbs. and 500lbs.) and a Sailfish for the trophy case and a nice 25lbs. Mahi for the dinner table?
Jason Kintner: “SIX Pacific Sail Fish on the Explorer with Capt David and First Mate Kevin in one day, followed by TWO Pacific Blue Marlin releases with Capt William and First Mate Alex the next day out!!! OUTSTANDING!!! We WILL BE BACK!! Amazing fishery, amazing people!! William, Alex, David and Kevin were profesional in every way. See y’all again soon!!!“
Laura McLean Phillips: “The crew of the Wanderer is AMAZING! These guys know how to make some memories.”
Things I learned in Costa Rica
Catching Bonita on light tackle is FUN!!!!
Catching Mahi is A LOT of FUN!!
Catching Pacific Sailfish on Catfish gear is GREAT Fun!!!
Catching 400# Pacific Blue Marlin on 30# test after fighting it for 1 1/2 hours is BRUTAL!! MUCHO respect for the Blue Marlin…Now where did I put that IcyHot…..
-Jason Kintner
Charlie Phillips, Jason Kintner, and Joseph Timm had a huge day on the Explorer with lots of billfish action backed up with good eatin’ fish.
Jason Kitner: “SIX Pacific Sail Fish on the Explorer with Capt David and First Mate Kevin in one day! OUTSTANDING!!!”
After releasing the trophy fish this posse set up shop over the reef about 2 miles out and piled the fishbox high with tasty Yellowfins.
Here’s a video shot from the Adventurer about 200 yards away; sorry for the quality, but this is a long way to zoom!
Hall of Famer Dennis Paul returned to the Explorer for action, only this time they headed offshore about 10 miles to see what was happening in the blue water.
Early on in the trip they found a small school of Yellowfin Tuna and Dennis Paul added sushi to his menu in the form of two excellent 25lbs. Yellas.
Look at the girth on this fella:
The billfish weren’t biting as aggressively as usual in the afternoon, and I think Dennis managed to bury a hook in the reason why:
This 6-8 foot long Shark was skulking the area which most likely pushed the billfish a little more offshore. It’s neat to see a shark so close, but as we have no interst in eating it this fish was released unharmed.
The Wanderer welcomed Craig Sutton and Matty on May 16 for one of the rare occasion of the US Office fishing without any other guests. First Mate Alex and Captain William were joined by Junior Mate Hernan for a trip to the blue water that yield a trio of nice Sailfish releases, plus a bit of dinner for the fishbox.
First Mate Alex stayed busy with all these Sailfish releases, plus it was a great learning opportunity for Junior Mate Hernan to see how the pros do it.
After the Sailfish bite the Wanderer hooked-up a pair of Dorados; Craig boated the smaller one (25lbs.) quickly and easily:
With the cow in the box, Matty fought the Bull Dorado for about 10 more minutes until the fish reared it’s head just enough for Alex to get a gaff shot:
Three great Sailfish releases and filets on ice…just another outstanding day on the flagship Wanderer.
So lots of attention is getting paid to some poor boat-handling fool down in Panama. Yes Marlin are strong, and yes they swim fast. It is a true fish-of-a-lifetime but only an amateur sinks his own boat and puts his clients in the drink trying to catch one.
Here’s how real professionals catch and release Marlin.
Captain William of the Wanderer keeps this fight short (under 25 minutes) with superb boat handling, angler Craig Sutton keep tension on the fish for the duration, and First Mate Alex executes a perfect revival and release.
All while keeping the boat on top of the water 🙂
Proper tackle + strong boat and crew = safe releases and good times
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