I write this last report of my 2009-10 Costa Rica 5 month fishing adventure as I wait in the airport for the flight to take me back to Long Island and a new Striped Bass season.
As I look forward to getting back out on the Black Rock I recount all the great trips and adventures I had this year in Costa Rica. December produced a classic Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) run, with Gregg and I filling the chill bag to the top with 15-20 fish each timeout. George from Yo-Zuri with the help of Frank, or maybe it was the other way around, landed a 120.7 lb Yellowfin and busted a few more bigger ones off.
A special treat, my friends and fellow charter boat captains from CT, Jay Bird and Preston topped off a great year with their first visit this past week. The recount of the trip may sound like I dreamed it, but it went like this: we pulled out of the Lodge before the sun had made it over the mountains four sabiki bait rods rigged and a boat load of charter captains aboard, the wise cracks were already starting and we hadn’t even made it to the river mouth.
Luckily Jay brought Leanne, his sweat heart girlfriend. Luck in that she went on to catch most of the live bait three and four at a time and then rand the bell hard, finessing 6 Roosterfish, 4 Jack Crevalle (corel in Spanish), an African Pompano, Spanish Mackerel and a super tasty 10 lb Rainbow Runner. This was all in the morning. The guys had decided to make a day of the inshore fishing and it was a great choice. The water color turquoise green and a great surfer’s swell made for the ultimate inshore conditions and by 11 am we left the fish biting, which was hard to do as we were hooking up every time we passed the big rock. Leanne, affectionately called Lee, which reminds this captain of old sweet memories of years past, was flawless as our hook up and land/release rate was 100%. Not a single fish lost.
But having a perfect morning we left the shoreline’s palm trees and misty surf to drop on some Grouper and Snapper with dropper rigs, New England style, tied up by my fellow caps. The only phrase that comes to mind is hammer job. When the smoke cleared the cooler was full. Jay named them ”Red Heads”, the Margarita Snappers for their bright red heads and we accompanied them with Grouper, Corvina (white sea bass), Canejos (tilefish) and Mancho Red Snapper. Hitting the tide perfectly, we caught double headers, rarely reeling in with out a fish. Now telling the story a bit out of sequence I must share with you how later the chef Shirley grilled one of each of these sweet fish and laid them out on the table for the Captain’s Feast.
Once again, leaving the bottom fish biting we took one more shot at a monster Cubera Snapper. Live Blue Runners, bridled behind the boat passing them over the volcanic humps seemed to be fruitless as we had no bites. Just as we were to head for the Lodge, Jay-Bird’s reel now in free spool started dumping line. As the circle hook found its way to the corner of the mouth and Jay put the wood to him, a fifteen minute battle brought our best Rooster of the day a 30 lber alongside the boat.
As I headed for the dock with my friends I reflected on how great a season it had been, both on and off the water. Should I always be so lucky.
See you in Orient Point
And enjoy the photos
Capt Sloan
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The Awesome Adventure
On 7 Feb, the 9 of us arrived for 4 full days of All Out Fishing. For tow of us, this was our third trip to The Zancudo Lodge and we were really happy to be back. Gregg met us at the dock and we exchanged greetings and asked about the bite!
Like the weather everywhere, the weather around southern Costa Rica is a bit odd this year and the bit has been off. Usually this time of year, the sailfish are almost jumping in the boat, but it was to be a bit tougher. A group of fishermen at the lodge were 2 days into a 4 day trip and were having pretty good success.
Morning came early and the excitement was running high. We launched 4 boats and headed out in front of the lodge to make bait. After a short time, we had enough bait and headed to the mouth of the Gulf Duce. It was a beautiful day, we were with our favorite captain (Rafael), the engines were running strong and all 4 boats raced to the fishing grounds. We got to the mouth and headed south west. At about 3 miles out, we saw a lot of Bonita feeding and stopped and caught a couple for Marlin bait. Fired back up and headed out to about 18 miles. We had trolled about 20 minutes and got a hard strike .. my fishing buddy Marty grabbed the rod and began fighting a huge sailfish. After what seemed forever he landed a large female.. probably 140+ #’s. We trolled a bit more and raised another.. this one was mine! The fish seemed to be larger and fight harder than in previous years.
On day two, we didn’t do as well, but Marty landed a large Rooster and I landed one about 30# while fishing inshore. Also got a couple of nice snapper and some smaller rooster.
Day 3.. OH MY GOD.. we thought we had broken the code! We were about 21 miles straight out from the rocks and found a massive school of feeding dolphin/porpoise and birds. We began to troll and immediately picked up the first sail. Kept trolling and landed 5 more, + lost a tuna.
The other boats add did well, everyone caught fish and most everyone got at least one sail. We did get a number of dorado, and rooster fish.
Day 4.. headed back out to where we left the feeding dolphins. On the way out, saw some sails, a killer whale and some pilot whales at about 18 miles out. Trolled for awhile and raised a dorado. Decided to see if we could find the dolphins again.. at about 21 miles – there they were.. not as many but feeding like crazy. This time we saw a lot of tuna in with them. Fished all day and could not entice one to bite! We did land 2 more sails to wrap up a truly awesome adventure.
Overall.. any day at The Zancudo Lodge is a GREAT day! Can’t wait to go back next year.
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February 10, 2010
It was five o’clock, the sunset was touching down on the Osa Peninsula, the surf crashing on the beach and I was zipping along Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica on my ATV. The hum of the motor, wind in my hair, the soft ride on the sand and not a person in sight always puts me into a relaxing daze. So when I saw him, it was as if I awakened. Water up to his shorts in the surf, his ten foot rod bent over, not naturally part of the scenery, he stood out among the scattered coconuts on the beach.
His name is Pierce and as his wife tells it he thought to go play horseshoes but decided to fish instead (not a really hard decision when you think about it). Using a Yo-Zuri popper that looked like a Boston Mackerel, you’d think he was fishing Striped Bass in Orient Point. The rod was all of ten feet and the reel top of the line Shimano Stella spooled with 50# braid. It was the perfect setup to try and land this trophy fish.
When I pulled up behind him on my ATV I saw right away it was a big Rooster, its crest sliced through the front side of the first wave about forty feet out. As the fish darted down the beach Pierce ran through the wash keeping his angle and not loosing line. At the time I didn’t know him, but I saw he was a seasoned angler and made all the right moves. As a captain I spend my days watching people fish and while I watched this guy battle what I knew was a fish of a lifetime I quickly realized he knew it too.
Each time he pulled the fish from that first wave the undertow would grab the fish back and peel off the little he gained. In the Jack family, Roosters are tremendous fighters and with their tall body and mighty fins the current was not in Piers’ favor. But bending his back, running from side to side and at times pointing his rod parallel to the shore to keep the 90 degree angle on the fish, he pulled it into the shallow eight inch water. Once there the Rooster had no water to work on and the battle was won.
As was the fish, Pierce was exhausted, mostly from adrenaline rush of his excitement and joy. He held the fish in the water as I pulled the trebles from the side of its mouth and his wife took some quick photos. I quickly suggested that they release this great fish, but as I found out, he is an accomplished fly fisherman from England and releases all he catches.
Crouched over, he rushed the Rooster back out into the surf, wiggling it as he went. The fish surprisingly docile seemed dead and I thought that maybe due to the longer than normal battle of surf fishing with its heavy backwash versus that on a boat it may have died, when suddenly it pulled away from his grasp and shot back out into the waves with a big splash.
Only then I got to shake his hand and ask his wife to email the photos so I could share them with you.
Enjoy,
Capt Sloan
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January 25,2010
Tuna, Sailfish and Blue Marlin on the Fly
Dr. Craig Stemmer came to the lodge carrying his medicine bag full of the tools of the trade, that is for a fly fisherman. Filled with all the best fly fishing gear, he and Capt Javier had plans to head out the Gulfo Dulce on his first day of his 4 day fishing vacation. Having met the good Doc last year, I had looked forward to his return and now enjoyed our conversations at the bar which were filled with his excited anticipation.
His travel bag consisted of a 12 wt, 2-14 wts, and a 16 wt. For those not in the know yet, these are fly rods with the 16 wt being the strongest of the set. At the bar he went over and over the possible scenarios; “what if a big sail comes up, which rod should I use?”, “what if a Dorado comes up, What should I use?”, and of course the ultimate day dream: “what if a Blue Marlin comes up?”. The answer to the latter would be easy, the toughest setup you have and then expect the Blue Marlin to blow it up, snap it in two, or watch the fish take all the line you have.
Leaving the dock at 6 am I was right behind Javier both boats pulling out of our private river marina, up on plane making 25 knots. Not needing live bait as they were on the fly, Javier headed out the gulf, 3 miles from the beach, to where the big bait balls were, while we stopped at the river mouth to catch a tank full of live bait. Making bait came easy and we charged out to the grounds now only 20 minutes behind Javier and the Doc. As we came up on them, their boat was stopped drifting in the current, and we saw it, Doc’s rod bent over all the way. The hook up of a lifetime, sought after by many but accomplished by few, a Blue Marlin on the fly.
Two and a half hours later the whole fleet watched Javier’s boat step up on plane and head for the Lodge. The 250 lb Blue Marlin had been brought alongside the boat and released clean and healthy. It was only later in the afternoon at the bar with the sun setting that the doc told me how it went. Even after all his years of dreaming, “what if” planning, and mental preparation, when his Old Man and the Sea Blue Marlin first came up behind the boat it all turned out for naught as he grabbed the lightest rod in the rack, the 12 wt. Well, all the more to relish in as he landed this great trophy on super light tackle, his dream and by his account it was the angling challenge of his life with much pain and muscle cramping during the battle.
Congratulations to the good Doc, well deserved. Check out the photos.
With an act like that hard to follow, John Reeves came down from Long Island and he and I had a good bite as he landed/released two nice Sailfish and two more big bull Dorados. Jody and his band of brothers, it’s a band for sure with a group of eight, put a beating on the Yellow Fin Tuna. Jody’s weighed in at 110 lbs and the total count was ten, none under 50 lbs. What a day! Honorable mention goes to Seth for his Yellow Fin which luckily didn’t top Jody’s as we would have never heard the end of it.
Enjoy the Photos
Capt Sloan
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January 10, 2010
I got back last Friday from the Zancudo lodge in Costa Rica. This was my third trip down to Zancudo Lodge in the last 18 months; the first was a inshore bonanza, the second was a sailfish slam and this was a Dorado catching clinic. I went down with three of my friends and we had an absolutely great time (two of the guys had never caught Dorado before).
As usual we made all connections and arrived on time to the lodge to greet a hot breakfast with my favorite food... bacon. I don't know what it is about their pork product but it is the best I've ever had (we had chops as well a couple of nights for dinner). We ate Dorado and Tuna just about every night as well. Greg and the staff really took care of us as usual and the other guests at the lodge were great to be around as well.
I could keep talking about the food, service and poolside cocktails and the 88 degrees but the fishing was the real story... it was spectacular. I fished five days; four offshore and one inshore. I lost count of the Dorado we caught every day as we released most but we kept a few to eat. We raised and hooked several Sailfish but I couldn't keep them on the line. My friends had the same success and raised several Marlin as well but couldn't get them to buckle up. We did have some good success with the Tuna. One of my friends caught one about 80 lbs and the other close to 100 lbs. My buddy and I got into them pretty good hooking three to four at a pop as we chased around the dophins. Most were football size and like albacore it was a bloody frenzy. It was an absolute blast. I also learned a good lesson as on the first day I didn't wear a belt/rod holder when fighting fish and had about 19 circular purple bruises on my waste and legs (maybe that is how I could have counted my catch). That fighting belt sure felt good the next morning with my first hook up.
I spent my last day inshore fishing hooking many species; snapper, roosterfish, mackeral, Jack's (too many species to name) and my rooster was around 30 lbs. I ended up heading in a bit early after some quality catching to get some pool time and cocktails in (I didn't fall out of the hammock this trip which was a major victory for me).
I had a late flight out of San Jose the next day and I managed to get a surf session in the morning of my departure, which was a bonus for me sitting in water that was 87 degrees.
I celebrated my 46th birthday while I was there and was surprised with a big chocolate cake and candle by Greg. I would have likely never found the Zancudo Lodge if it were not for the Coastside crew... thank you for the introduction. Quality people here and there!
I count my blessings that I have a job, supporting wife and great friends that allow me to make these trips.
Tight lines to all of you,
Wes
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Sport fishing report 01/05/2010
Ken & I flew down to Zancudo Lodge, with our prize voucher from the Yellowtail Shootout 2009 victory! What an awesome place to spend the Christmas/New Years week. Lets get down to business-
Day 1- Went with Javier at 6am. Left the Lodge after breakfast for a quick bait making session, then off to a reef about 2 miles from the lodge. Within a hour, I had a 60+lb Roosterfish on the deck of Javiers sweet CC. After a few more roosters & cubera snappers in the 15 to 20lb class, we told Javier that we have always wanted to catch some Amberjack. He says "I know just the spot we should go try." We shoot down to the border of Panama, 22 miles at about 30 knots. I'm tellin ya its a sweet Center console. 1st bait down yields a 30+lb Amberjack. All I can think is "Wow, this Javier guy delivers".
Spent the rest of the day reef hopping, pulling on inshore snapper, roosterfish, amberjack & jack crevalle all the way back to the lodge.
Day 2- Went offshore trying for marlin, sailfish, dorado & tuna. Didn't see any size able tuna so we focused on the others. Landed 1 sailfish (Raised 2 or 3), hooked a marlin that ripped line off for a couple of min before coming unbuttoned & gaffed 4 dorado in the 15 to 25lb class. Ken & I got the urge for some more roosters & made the call to head back inshore. Finished the day pulling on more of the same inshore roosters, amberjack, etc.
Day 3- Took our ladies with us on one of Zancudos 36' Twin Vee cruisers. Headed offshore at 6am, caught & gaffed 4 nice dorado offshore. Raised 2 sailfish, no solid hook-ups on the bills. At 10 am, Ken looked at me and we both said "Lets go after the inshore species for our last round!" Off we went to the rock off the southern point of the Oso Penninsula. That's when it happened for my buddy Ken. 9th inning, 2 outs, & homey hits it out of the park (as he always does). He lands a 80+lb roosterfish. The fish of a life time with pictures to prove it! (Ken is a big dude at 6'-8", so keep that in mind)
I wanna send a huge shout-out to Ali, Jason, The BD Team for putting on the Yellowtail Shootout & a HUGE thanks to Gregg, Javier & The Zancudo Lodge Staff for making this a trip we will never forget.
Check out "The Zancudo Lodge" on the web. Gregg makes sure that the transfers are seamless from air to ground travel. Excellent accommodations & plenty of stuff to keep the wives happy while you go have fun! This place is a world class fishery, you gotta check it out.
-Chud
-Team Hula Girl
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