Wanderer | Costa Rica Fishing Report from FishingNosara

March 23, 2011

What better way to prepare for the Ship of Fools Tournament than a little intersquad scrimmage between the Wanderer and the Explorer.

On the Super Panga was Captain David, Craig, Matty, and Jack who had their sights set on Sailfish. Sure enough after the daily mopping of stray tunas on the ride out Captain David set the TLDs out in a classic Bait-and-switch high speed spread.

Around 10 am the first bill started shopping the baits, first the short line, then the long outrigger, and finally settling on a bonefish rigged on the shotgun line. The line screamed off and Jack locked in for the fight. In shockingly efficent fight, Jack brought the Sailfish home in 8 minutes. Great work by boat, angler, and Captain.

Meanwhile, the Wanderer was not about to let the litte brother eat all the food. They came roaring up behind the Explorer and immediately put a nice Sailfish on the hook. A short fight and a quick release later and the score was nearly tied with the Explorer holding a slim lead in the form of a Bluefin tuna and a White tuna.

When Alex returned the teasers to the water he noticed that a curious Marlin had popped up about 50 yards behind the boat. He immediately pitched a rigged ballyhoo to the blue monster and set the hook with expert ease.

So the Wanderer won the scrimmage, but the ability to share spots and tactics will no doubt help FishingNosara find its way to the top of the leaderboard this weekend.

March 22, 2011

On March 22 Rick Solomon and his family were on the Wanderer and caught the fish of a lifetime. This beauty was good enough to land them a spot in the FishingNosara Hall of Fame. Check out this Blue Marlin!

What a fighter! It is not often that First Mate Alex almost gets pulled in by a fish…good thing David had his back. Despite the strength of this fish, it was live released to battle another day.

March 20, 2011

March 20 was Matty and Jack’s turn on the Wanderer, and a special day for Captain Jack. He was the main man on the Wanderer Construction yet this day marked his first time back on the boat he built.

Satisfied with the boat’s health after a year in the water, we stayed inshore in the morning to load up on more Yellowfin than we knew what to do with.

At noon they were joined by Craig and William Kidd of North Carolina for some offshore trolling. Mr. Kidd reeled in this magnificant Dorado estimated to weigh 50 lbs. The strike came just before 5 pm…Long day, but well worth the wait.

March 19, 2011

The Explorer was on the hill getting its monthly upkeep today (and getting some slick new rod holders on the transom), so it fell the Wanderer to pick up the slack…and boy did they ever!

First up, Captain William found an awesome Dorado bite around 2 pm and stayed on it until the box was stuffed with three nice greenies. Alex pulled some incredible gaff shots on these monsters.

With the meat on ice the blue beauty tried to add a trophy fish to the trip to make it perfect. Around 5 pm the moon came up and right behind it was this massive Sailfish. Great work on the billshot and release as always.

With all the excitement surrounding the Explorer, the Safari Carts, the new shop, and all the other projects around here it is possible to forget that the big dog in this yard is the big blue billfish battlewagon….Wanderer!

March 17, 2011

There were three trips booked on the Wanderer on March 17 and all of the clients caught fish and had a great time. First up this little dude turned out to be a Yellowfin Tuna’s worst nightmare:

Later in the afternoon the Yellowfin bite intensified and the catches kept getting bigger:

Finally in the evening, the big red monster came calling and the boys on the Wanderer knew how to handle the beast. This is clearly one of the bigger Cuberra Snappers of the season so far. What a great day from Captain William and First Mate Alex!

March 16, 2011

There was a great report on March 16 from the Wanderer of wonderful action on the inshore reefs. They brought in a nice Yellowfin Tuna, a Rainbow Runner, and the smallest Dorado imaginable (we threw that one back obviously).

March 14, 2011

Nice catches by the Wanderer today. Jim, Bryan, Katrina, and the rest of their posse were treated to a wide variety of smaller inshore fish.

Later on, they buried the hook in Mr. Sailfish. He was no match for us this time…Another great catch and release for the Wanderer.

Hook The Future

The first of two episodes of Hook the Future featuring FishingNosara. This episode is a day offshore aboard the Wanderer.

March 5, 2011

We were predicting a good day and sure enough the big Sailfish came calling. Our on the Wanderer Catherine Chase had a magnificent day on the blue water. They raised several Marlin and Sailfish, with four successful releases added to the scorecard.

March 5 brought one of our favorite clients Catherine Chase out on the Wanderer. Last year she worked over the Dorados, but nothing could prepare her for this magnificent day on the blue water.

Why bother explaining how Catherine and the boys pulled off the now-legendary Double Double Sailfish…just let the pictures do the talking:

All Four Fish Live Released

Please note that our crews have decades of combined experience handling these fish. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PHOTOGRAPH!!! While exciting, the double billshot can be very hazardous to fish, boat, and humans alike. Unless you also have a lifetime of experience on the water, don’t even think about it!

Meanwhile on the Explorer, Captain David and client David Mederos got a nice sailfish of their own.

As always, this billfish was safely released to fight another day.

After the Sailfish release, they experimented with fly fishing for Yellowfin tuna over the reefs…we are actively looking for fly fishing experts who want to try their hand on the Roosterfish, Cuberras, and even Billfish.

March 4, 2011

The blue water is bubbling with action this weekend and our boats and Captains are ready to pull some fish out of the boil. Yesterday, client Chris Graves on the Wanderer hooked up a big sailfish but lost it after 40 seconds of jumping and tailwalking. He finished his day inshore and caught a pair of nice Yellowfin tunas.

This morning our great friend Katherine Chase is out on the Wanderer seeking Sails, Marlin and Tunas. Also, Robert Mederos is out on the Explorer already scouring the reefs for Roosterfish and Tunas. Should be a great day!