Tag: video

August 24, 2012

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.

Nosara Snook Tournament Recap

The 1st Annual Nosara Snook Tournament was held over the consecutive weekends of June 16-17 and June 23-24 at the Nosara River.

Organized by the local fishing club Fundacion Pescadores Nosara Fupperno, this tournament is unique because it is 100% catch and 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!”

April 18, 2012

Mike Grosshandler and the Explorer fight a wonderful Sailfish. Check it out:

This fish put on quite a show, but was not the only monster to invade the Explorer‘s spread. Three seperate Marlins came shopping but the Grosshandler boys couldn’t bring the hooks home.

The next day Uncle Art released this very nice Sailfish, estimated to weigh between 110lbs. and 140lbs.

April 15, 2012

It is a true delight to welcome back Captain Don Dingman and his crew from Hook the Future for a week of fishing and fun. He has some great kids lined up for educational fishing excursions later in the week, but on Don’s first day he and the crew got themselves re-acquainted with the big Pacific Sailfish.

The first big Sailfish came early, just before 9am. Captain Don brought her home for a quick release and set her free.

With the ice broken, the Hook the Future team broke out the cool camera toys and shot some extremely awesome footage. When the second Sailfish came it at 11am, Captain Don strapped up the GoPro HD Headmounted camera and got up close and personal with this beauty.

As 1pm approached the bite intensified, and this time is was Rebecca’s turn to land a marine monster. She was apt on the reel and brought this big girl home in no time flat. Excellent fishing by this Jacksonville angler!

Around 4pm yet another big beast ripped up the spread and this time Conrad the cameraman got to step out from behind the lens and boat a beautiful beast. Rebecca subbed as camera operator and Captain Don coordinated the release of this fourth Sailfish of the day.

The fifth and final Sailfish of the trip came just before lines out at 5:20pm. This was the biggest fish of the day by far and gave Conrad the chance to break-in his new waterproof pole camera.

The fish obliged the camera by putting on a heck of a show on it’s way to a safe release.

Check out more videos from Captain Don and his personal account of this trip at the Official Salt Life Blog. Pura Vida!

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.