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
David Lukof locked into a battle with a super 300+lbs. Marlin on the unbeatable Explorer. Take a look at this monster:
According to our buddy Jeff (who was filming): “Dude had heat stroke after this. He’s been chasing a marlin for 30 years. He said ‘I’d fight it till I died’ he might have actually been close!”
Amazing catch and release by the superstar Captain David and Mate Carlos!
It is risky to keep fishing down here with the monsoon rains looming just a few days away, but the fearless Wanderer had to tend to some unfinished business on August 24.
Our great friend and neighbor Jeff Grosshandler of Namaste Oasis brought a very special VIP for this trip. Bruce Northam is the mind behind the blog American Detour and his books, essays, speeches and articles have been published in just about every major magazine imaginable. He is a seasoned world traveler and we were stoked to welcome him and his crew to our little slice of paradise.
More importantly, this fireballing Marlin attacked the Wanderer‘s spread and the legendary Captain William put the moves on this monster. First Mate Alex exhibited the calm professionalism that has made FishingNosara famous in the safe billing and release of this majestic marine creature.
According to Jeff, “the footage the camera guys took is incredible. That trip couldn’t have gone any better, when the marlin hit – Bruce literally jumped out of his seat and screamed “look at the f*ckin size of that thing!!!!!!” and it just got better from there.”
This is a great accomplishment for Jeff as this is his first Marlin release. I think that this monster just couldn’t resist his FishingNosara throwback jersey! Once everyone got their photos, this fish was safely release like all billfish caught by our team.
The Wanderer is due for a complete refit and repaint which will get underway in about a week, and it should come as no surprise to our regular readers that the flagship cemented her place at the head of the class with this epic late-season Marlin release.
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!”
