Tag: Wanderer

November 30, 2012

Duncan Evans hails from merry old England and brought his group to Nosara for a full day fishing excursion on the Wanderer. The mighty flagship build upon her wonderful performance earlier in the week by adding another massive Marlin release to the scorecard.

We’ve always said that if you want the fish of a lifetime, you have to put in the time. Duncan made a wise decision by opting for the full day trip rather than a half or 3/4 day trip. Big game offshore fishing is like any other investment: the more your put in the more you get back.

The illuminated tiger stripes means that this fish was reeled in posthaste and has lots of energy left in her tank. First Mate Alex showed extreme care in the handling of this “still-green” Marlin to ensure the safety of the boat, crew, anglers and of course the fish.

This fish swam away clean and we look forward to battling her again really soon. Excellent catch by Duncan Evans and truly the fish of a lifetime!

November 29, 2012

Hall of Famer Chuck Darner was sitting in church between his two grown sons a few weeks ago and had a vision. He wrote the vision down on the corner of the weekly bulletin and handed it to his sons. It read, “Let’s go fishing in Costa.”

While Chuck has visited us several times, his sons had not yet taken the adventure. Tickets bought and trips booked, but then a change of plans! One of the boys is a freelance insurance adjuster and his special skills were placed in high demand in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

He couldn’t get away for this trip, but the Darner posse found a worthy pinch hitter in the form of Chuck’s 14 year-old grandson.

Chuck told me that he was hoping to get the youngster on a nice Sailfish, but unfortunately the mighty Wanderer could not find a sail on this trip.

The season’s first Black Marlin release will have to suffice!

This magnificent fish is the culmination of Captain William and the Wanderer‘s prowess and Chuck Darner’s indomitable fishing spirit.

For the dinner table they whacked this 50lbs. Wahoo which is reminiscent of the monsters Chuck catches off the ledge in Jacksonville in his Powercat High Roller.

The Darner Boys have several more trips on the books and we anticipate some more inspired from these North Florida anglers.

November 27, 2012

The Wanderer was pleased to welcome Brooklyn’s own Timothy Matusch for an fun-filled day of action on November 27. They stayed with what has been working recently, namely targeting the tasty green gold called Dorado.

The blue beauty performed admirably with four fantastic Dorados on ice by trip’s end. These tasty filets should provide many magnificent meals of Mahi-Mahi.

November 24, 2012

Hulsey Bray signed up the mighty Wanderer for a full day excursion on November 24 and once again the blue beauty delivered the goods. Captain William used the time-honored hunting tactic of following schools of spinning dolphin to the target zone.

As the smartest creature in the sea and man’s closest genetic marine equivalent, dolphins are a fisherman’s ally because they corral smaller baitfish into spherical pods.

These pods are feeding beacons to larger pelagics (Yellowfin Tuna, Sailfish, Marlin, etc.) so it’s no suprise that Hulsey pulled this monster Pacific Sailfish right out from under the feeding frenzy.

This beast is estimated to weigh 100lbs. and is a sign of good fishing to come in the next few weeks. Another great release by the famous Wanderer.

November 22, 2012

Last year we welcomed some amazing anglers from the state of South Carolina highlighted by Katherine Fanning and Hall of Famers the Thames Family. This year we were stoked to welcome Rick Morgan and his family from the Palmetto State to continue this fine angling tradition.

Rick and his ladies didn’t let their fellow South Carolinians down; in fact they turned in the best Dorado performance so far in this young season. They boated four tasty Mahis with the big fish tipping the scales at 45lbs. In total they caught over 100lbs. of fish…that’s a lot of yummy vittles!

Once again the flagship Wanderer proves that she is fit for battle with all manner of Pacific marine life. No matter what’s biting, the mighty Wanderer is catching!

November 21, 2012

Buck Davis has a spirit and energy as big as Georgia, and despite his excellent performance on the Explorer (November 19) we weren’t surprised that he upgraded to the 31-foot Wanderer for his second excursion to the blue water.

The Davis group continued their Dorado devastation, this time boating three of the tasty green monsters. The first Dorado (above) was typical-sized and weighed about 25lbs. The next two were giant-sized, weighing in between 35lbs.-45lbs.

What a great performance by this South Georgia-based fishing group! They tested their mettle against some of the baddest fish in the Pacific and kept the fishbox full of fresh filets. Even First Mate Alex couldn’t help but stike a pose with this beauty:

November 18, 2012

Brad and Annette Negaard are visting Nosara from good ole’ Jacksonville, FL and they are just the most recent in a long line of First Coast anglers who’ve successfully invaded Sailfish City. The Wanderer headed offshore at 7am armed for battle and as usual the mighty flagship delivered the goods.

The Negaard’s are proud alums of Jacksonville University (mascot: Dolphins) so it is fitting that Annette and Brad bested two of the baddest fish in the ocean. Even in Costa Rica, Dolphins are smarter than Sailfish.

They had a double hook-up leading to a pair of safe releases, plus had a third Sailfish escape just a few yards from the boat. Great performance from these Northeast Florida anglers! Here’s the second release:

 The Negaards have another trip on the schedule for the 20th so stay tuned!

November 15, 2012

Our new buddy TJ Conrads brought his family down from Boise, ID to take aim at some big game. TJ is an interesting adventurer who wrote the book on traditional longbow hunting (hunting with a wooden bow and arrows that he literally makes).

For 30 years he has published Tradtional Bowhunter Magazine which is the leading voice in the field.

Mr. Conrads is also the author of the “Traditional Bowhunter’s Handbook” (left). 

He has hunted with bow and arrow all over the world, in every different place you can imagine. An outdoorsman’s outdoorsman, TJ was also thrilled with the idea of offshore Costa Rican fishing.

Fortunately the Wanderer never leaves port without a full quiver and Captain William set his aim offshore at the blue water beasties.

Things got off to a fast start with this bright green Dorado finding its way to the ice chest in the first hour of the half day trip.

This respectable Dorado clocks in around 25lbs. and will certainly keep the family fed for the week.

Captain William guided the Wanderer a little further offshore into billfish territory and on cue a mean pair of Sailfish took off with baits just after 10am.

TJ and the posse reeled ’em in while the crew coordinated the daring and difficult Double Sailfish Release.

Great safe fish-handling like always by the incomparable First Mate Alex, and truly a fishing feat for the ages by TJ Conrads and his family.

We look forward to seeing Mr. Conrads again down the road…can’t say the same for these fellas:

November 9, 2012

Bill Harris and the boys rejoined the Wanderer and followed up their Dorado haul from Wednesday with an equally fruitful Yellowfin Tuna harvest. Captain William guided the flagship about 6 miles offshore to the deep water break and started knocking out Yella Fellas on a high speed troll.

They ended up with six tasty Yellowfin Tunas in the box plus added a pair of Dorado for good measure.

This is our first big Yellowfin harvest of the season and you know that First Mate Alex was itching to get the sushi tray out. Fresh sushi on the boat is one of the FishingNosara traditions, and it always makes for some big smiles.

Bill and the boys are pumped up and have added one more fishing day on November 10. Let’s see if they have some luck with the billfish on their final day in Nosara. 

November 7, 2012

The legendary Bill Harris has returned to Nosara along with his buddies from west central Florida. Once again he has signed up the Wanderer for two full days of offshore marine harvesting, and we are happy to report that his first trip went splendidly.

The Dorado bite has been fully-on this season yet no one could predict that these fellas would haul in ten green monsters in the course of the 8 hour trip. The biggest tipped the scales at 45lbs. with several respectable fish also ending up in the box.

What an amazing performance from these Florida anglers. Now that dinner is taken care of for the week we expect Bill Harris to go billfish hunting tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates as they are available.