Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

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fishinbug
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Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by fishinbug »

I was fortunate enough to take another trip to Costa Rica with the same group of guys as last year. We flew into Liberia and made the rough ride into Playa Guiones. There were 10 of us on the trip this year and we rented two houses close to the beach. Our house was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_WnkIc2KNQ and there was a path to the beach that proved impassable after a large Pacific storm swell hit the coast.

I was scheduled for four full day trips in a row so once it hit half past dark this old guy hit the bed. It gets light early on the Pacific coast, just before 5A. Our transport picked us up at 6:45A and we made the 20 min. ride to Playa Garza where the fishing boats are moored. More later
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by BackCast »

It's good to see that you weren't roughing it too much! Looking forward to the fishing report.
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by fishinbug »

The roads down there more than made up for the cushy crib we had.

The first day went well for both boats. All of us went on a meat fishing trip the first day to stock the refrigerators for the week. We ended up with a mixed bag of fish on board the Wanderer. We caught white tuna and mullet snapper for eating.

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For bragging rights there was a roosterfish brought on board.
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My contributions for the day were 2 bonitos for bait. :cry: There would have been no rooster without my bait. :20 So much for day one. For dinner feasted on a dorado and groupers caught on the other boat.

Image
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by WannaDoDat »

Hooray!!! :A1 Another Fishinbug adventure to Costa Rica!!! Looking forward to the future chapters, Nicholas.


Jean
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

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Day 2

So we loaded up on board the Discoverer to fish offshore. This would be my first trip on her and my hopes were high. We motored out to 10,000' depths and set our trolling spread. As the newbie on board I had the first position in the fishing rotation. Within the first hour of trolling we had a sailfish hit the shotgun line. The shotgun line is the longest bait trailing the boat. It was about 150 yards out and the sail that launched itself from the purple waves of the Pacific was huge. I took the rod and felt the gut bucket strapped around my waist and the fight was on. Briefly. :evil: The sailfish went crazy in the distance with multiple jumps and thrashing runs. I felt it run towards the boat and I cranked furiously to keep tension on the line. The line went sickeningly slack. I wound it in to find a broken leader. Aw damn! Time to take a seat and see what comes up next. One hour two hours three hours four...trolling and trolling. I watched the teasers and ballyhoos skipping and bubbling along. We tried all sorts of things to change our luck. We sang we danced we put on our rally hats and we trolled and trolled.
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We called on Capt. David to change it up and head inshore to the reefs for some bottom fishing. We pulled up on the reef and commenced deep jigging with butterfly jigs. I never knew how tiring a jig could be until I took my turn. 120' - 140' drop and then crank and wind furiously to the surface all the while trying to maintain balance in the boat as it rides up and down on the swell rolling in from Australia. 4 or 5 drops and I was spent. We passed the rods back and forth and took breaks in between. The catch of the day was one bonito. We trolled it along the reefs until it croaked, and then it transformed into great big chunks of cut bait. Nothing. Time to go home. I have never been more exhausted after a fishing trip as I was that afternoon. I was so bummed I made a short video describing the day. I deleted it the next morning. I wasn't about to start Day 3 on a sour note.
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by WannaDoDat »

Whew! What a day!!
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by fishinbug »

WannaDoDat wrote:Whew! What a day!!
It was a day to forget.

Day 3 dawned and I was aboard the Wanderer. We were slated to have four on board but one of our group was suffering gastro-intestinal distress and opted to ride the porcelain bus at home and the other was certain we would not be able to get through the monstrous swell that was predicted to hit the beach Sunday morning so he stayed behind. The other half of the group on board the Discoverer had hammered the rum and beer hard the night before so 3 out of 4 of them opted for a half day. :lol: We picked up Blades who wanted to fish all day and we headed out offshore. Blades, Burn and I decided to pay our dues to the fishing gods so we each tossed a 100 Colones coin into the ocean as we cleared the harbor. It was an investment that paid great returns. 8)

I pulled the #1 slot again and it wasn't long before the right outrigger popped and the reel began to sound off. I caught a bull Dorado about 25-30 lbs. I don't have a picture of it on my camera but I have a picture of another Dorado for comparison. I felt good about the fish I caught. It was finally a fish that was more than just a handful. The day started well. We received a radio call from one of the other boats about a tuna bite so we cranked in the trolling spread and ran about 15 minutes west.

The air was thick with birds and the seas were alive with white belly porpoises. Birds dove and porpoises launched themselves 15 - 20 feet into the air. The mate broke out the spinning reels and poppers and we tried to tease a yellow fin into biting.
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There were no takers. Back to the trolling spread with teasers and ballyhoos. Burn was next up in the rotation and he brought in a fat football of a yellow fin tuna. We had a few slices sashimi style and it was Oh so buttery good!
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Blades' turn came and he hooked up with a cow Dorado. It was a beautiful sight to watch its colors flash in the clear blue Pacific. My bull was bigger than his cow.:wink: I'll get photos to prove it. :lol:
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Well what do you know? Once through the rotation and I'm up again! Shotgun line started screeching and I took the rod and felt the gut bucket being strapped on my waist. It was another Dorado. A big Dorado... a really big Dorado and I felt like the fish was mine. He was a good 150 yards behind the boat when he struck and came leaping out of the water. I didn't get excited and I kept my mouth shut and the fish came closer and closer to the boat. His big old flat head was enormous and the colors he flashed were astoundingly beautiful. Alex gaffed him and Oh what a fish!
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We finished the day with a sailfish. My video is shaky but if you watch closely there is some cool stuff going on under water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdmGmuZqc5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLZ2rhIG588

Whew! What a day!
It was one to remember.
:mrgreen:
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by WannaDoDat »

fishinbug wrote:
WannaDoDat wrote:Whew! What a day!!
It was a day to forget.

Whew! What a day!
It was one to remember.
:mrgreen:
Wow Wheeeeee!!!
Way to stick with it, Nicholas!! I bet you're glad you paced yourself and didn't sit that trip out! Congratulations on that amazing catch! Unbelievable pictures and video footage.
That offshore stuff makes me nauseous just thinking about it.
Gotta have strong fortitude and stomach for it!

Jean
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by BackCast »

Feast or famine! That's a heck of a PE. Thanks for taking the effort to share it.
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by fishinbug »

WannaDoDat wrote: Wow Wheeeeee!!!
Way to stick with it, Nicholas!! I bet you're glad you paced yourself and didn't sit that trip out! Congratulations on that amazing catch! Unbelievable pictures and video footage.
That offshore stuff makes me nauseous just thinking about it.
Gotta have strong fortitude and stomach for it!

Jean
There was no way I wasn't going to go out again, Jean. I firmly believe that if I didn't go fishing I wouldn't catch any fish. Especially because I paid up front for 4 days. :lol: The seas were not bad at all offshore. The swells were large but there was an 18 sec. period between them. As long as I didn't drink too much I was fine. I'll put up my last day report and then switch to the other stuff we did.
BackCast wrote:Feast or famine! That's a heck of a PE. Thanks for taking the effort to share it.
Thanks for following along. The feasting is a lot better than the famine parts. :23 What's a PE :?:

Day 4 started with a four man crew. We were on board Discoverer and there were another four of our group on Wanderer. Our goal was offshore and billfish were our targets. We paid our 100 Colones each and powered out for a 15 mile ride. We were settling in for the ride when Capt. David throttled down and told the mate Elias to rig up a shotgun line and then set up a trolling spread. David fed line out from the tuna tower and came about in a long arc. Elias had barely set out a ballyhoo on the left flatline when the sailfish hit. Everyone else on board had caught a sailfish in Costa Rica before so I was handed the rod and strapped into the gut bucket. It was a short fight and I won. The fish lit up its sail boat side in the most intense shades of electric purple and patterns of blue glowing dots. Capt. David estimated 110-120 lbs. To me it was another fish of a lifetime.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLh_Qvzvn1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Tb4LQk4Hk

That happened early in the day so I was along for the ride and was as happy as could be. My face hurt from grinning. We spent a long day trolling with a couple of strikes but no hookups. It was getting later in the day probably around 3P when we finally had our second sail hooked up. One of our rookie members of the group stepped up and landed a sail about the same size as the one we caught in the morning. I missed the fish in the air but caught a couple of splashes.
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We trolled for another hour and then ran in through a tropical deluge without lightning fortunately. It cooled everybody and made a nice end to a good day. Our buddies on the other boat hooked up 8 sails and released 6. It was Pura Vida all over again. Zip line tomorrow. :mrgreen:
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by BackCast »

PE = Photo Essay. This a is very good one.
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by fishinbug »

BackCast wrote:PE = Photo Essay. This a is very good one.
Thanks.
"It's not as easy as I make it look."
---thus sayeth the suber
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by bigboots »

Looks like and awesome fishing trip.great photos too
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by WannaDoDat »

Fishinbug, P.E.E.
Photo Esssayist Extraordinaire!!

Loving this report! Congrats on your fishes of a lifetime!
Hooooo wheeeeeee!
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Re: Costa Rica Apr 30 - May 8, 2015

Post by fishinbug »

Ya'll keep encouraging me like this means I'll keep PE'n.
:D

How about a monkey or two this morning?

These guys are howler monkeys walking the wires in front of our house. Usually every morning there would be a troop of them cruising through. These three were Mom and little Baby and then Junior was bringing up the rear. Junior would lag behind checking things out on his own and then he would scamper along to catch up with Mom.
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There was a male howler in a large mango tree at the corner of our house one afternoon doing a little vocal cords warmup. I only caught a small clip of his serenade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6b7czpkhYE

SIng along!
:D
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