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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