June Fishing Reports from Costa Rican Fishermen
LOTS OF FISH, BUT FEWER ANGLERS HERE IN COSTA RICA SO FAR THIS YEAR
Last year’s Costa Rica fishing story line was lots of anglers but not very many fish – this year’s story is lots of fish, but not many anglers…
Whether it’s disappointment at not catching much last year and not risking a repeat experience, or having qualms about spending money on ‘non-essential’ items (although intrepid anglers would shudder at the thought) such as fishing given the shaky U.S. economy, the bare facts are that so far in 2008, fewer people are fishing in Costa Rica than at any time over the past five years.
However, those that do come down are enjoying some excellent days on both coasts. John Ralph and buddies Casey Flack and Bob Walker flew here from Kansas City to fish three days out of Los Sueños Marina on the Central Pacific and two out of Tortuguero on the Caribbean side in mid-May.
Fishing on the 38-foot sister boats Tres Amigos and the Macushla, with Captains RJ Lillie, Timmy Blair and Johnny Cerpas, the guys landed ten good-sized sails in their three days out on the Pacific, lost about the same number, and generally had a blast.
Over on the Caribbean side, in Tortuguero, the tarpon bite was on. John, Casey and Bob brought 16 to the boat, the 22-foot Bull Shark, in their two days, including a 150lb monster that they all took turns fighting in an epic two-hour battle. Captain Eddie Brown oversaw the fight, with the final decision going the anglers’ way.
Take advantage of the good fishing – if you have a few days free this year and can spare a bit of your hard-earned cash, fly down to Costa Rica. We’ll hook you up with one or more of the many world-class captains fishing here, on the Pacific, the Caribbean, or both. Call me toll-free from the U.S. and Canada: 1-800-634-0012, 1-800-399-8532 and 1-866-978-5198, or e-mail me, and we’ll set something up. There’s fine offshore fishing 365 days a year on the Pacific side for sails, marlin, tuna and dorado, and inshore as well for roosters, big dog-tooth snapper and mackerel.
Also, if you’re thinking about 2009, call me soon. Just received calendars from Macushla and Tres Amigos owners Jack and Jamie Casey. Even now, they only have five open days between February 1 and 20 next year on the Macushla. Many of the other top captains in Quepos and Los Sueños are beginning to get bookings for the January-March period from their repeats and referrals, as anglers look forward to the big sail bite off the Central Pacific coast. Get the dates you want now – don’t leave it too late.
THE BITE IS FABULOUS, AND OUR CLIENTS ARE CATCHING FISH!
Before I talk about fishing — and it’s been a great year so far — let me remind you that the top boats in the Central Pacific (Jacó/Los Sueños and Quepos/Manuel Antonio) are already getting lots of bookings for the peak January/February/March billfish season. Calendars are filling up quickly. So if you are contemplating a Costa Rica fishing trip during that period, book now to ensure the boat and the days you want.
Call me toll free — 1-800-634-0012, 1-800-399-8532, 1-866-978-5198 — or e-mail me, and I’ll make sure you will fish next year’s Central Pacific billfish season with one of Costa Rica’s many international-class tournament captains.
Let’s move on to what our clients have been up to. Alan Clark and his son Alex fished with Captain Bobby McGuiness out of Golfito in the South Pacific in January. Bobby is one of Costa Rica’s best known fishing captains, winner of the International Game Fish Association’s ‘world’s top captain of 2006’ award, and among its top ten world-record setters of 2008. He has set more world records than any other captain currently fishing in Costa Rica.
It took a while for Alan to send us photos, but when he did, it was a literal deluge. The very satisfied Clark senior (left) and Clark junior caught a whole slew of billfish, roosters and jack.
Bobby, on his 37-foot Cazador, has been called a ‘fish magnet’. Jim Tyson, one of our repeat Americana Sportfishing clients (and now a friend) who has had great success fishing with Bobby before, invited an old (sorry, ‘long-time’) buddy, Steve Huzar, and two Costa Rican business associates, Tomás Dueñas (right with this splendid jack) — who had just returned from a prestigious posting as Costa Rica’s ambassador to the United States — and Gerardo Ramírez (right, below), to fish with Bobby in May.
Jim and Steve fished three full days, mainly inshore, Tomás and Gerardo just one because of work commitments. As Jim wrote, ‘Great friends and great fishing!!!’ They also caught a whole bunch of everything — roosters, jack, snapper, etc. — and Steve (below, left) was able to proudly boast his very first sail.
They’re all planning to be back in October to fish for tarpon on the Caribbean side with Costa Rica’s ‘tarpon king’, Captain Eddie Brown. Marcel LeHouillier from London, Ontario and his buddy Don Roussy spent three days in Tortuguero fishing with Eddie a couple of weeks ago and had a ball.
They caught lots of tarpon on the 22-foot Bull Shark, and Marcel even gave me sh*t in jest for making a phone call to him (via Eddie’s cell phone) on the afternoon of their last day, momentarily interrupting his concentration. Seems he and Don had a bet on as to who would catch the most fish, and they were tied at the time I called. Marcel said that if he lost a fish because of that call, I’d have to pay off the bet for him.
There’s still lots of time for a Costa Rica fishing trip this year. It’s been a great bite on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, one of the best in years, and there is no sign of it slackening off. There are world-class captains and boats in every fishing destination. Call me toll-free — 1-800-634-0012, 1-800-399-8532, 1-866-978-5198 — or e-mail me, and I’ll hook you up with the best guys available, captains like Bobby, Eddie, José Asdrubal and Gerald who know how to catch fish and treat their clients right.
