Marlin, Sails, and More Marlin – A Fish out of Water, November 23rd

A Fish out of Water

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

A somewhat unexpected early marlin bite all along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast highlighted the sportfishing week that was. Captain Bobby McGuinness, fishing out of Golfito in the South Pacific, went 2-4 on Blues on his 37ft Cazador.

Americana Sportfishing client Fred Koberline and two buddies, who spent a full day with Captain Esteban Marcos on the 36ft Good Day Too out of Los Sueños Marina in the Central Pacific, released a big Blue Marlin along with three Sails. They also kept three Dorado (Mahi-Mahi), which I’m certain provided a wonderful dinner or two.

Up north, out of Flamingo, Captain Skeet Warren on the 42ft Bushwacker, released a 325lb Blue Marlin caught not on conventional tackle, but on a fly rod. There are many captains we can recommend who revel in taking fly fishing enthusiasts out for billfish on the fly; anglers will have to bring their own fly fishing gear, but it offers an unmatched sportfishing adventure.

[nggallery id=6]

And to round out the Marlin tales, Captain Maikel Rodriquez on the 27ft Salsa out of Tamarindo released two Blue Marlin not far offshore. One big plus of Tamarindo, aside from the excellent boats and captains up there, is that the local bay is sheltered, and it is only 11-12 miles out to blue water – the 100-fathom depth – for billfish when the bite is on.

Switching species for the moment, Captain Alex Holden and mate Russ Nixdorf on the 32ft Miss-Behav’in out of Los Sueños Marina released this Sail (photo).

Those of you considering coming to Costa Rica to fish in the next three/four months should start serious decision-making now. The top captains’ calendars are filling up quickly. Bobby McGuinness, for example, only has 10 open days in January, and six in February. March is pretty wide open, with the added bonus that March, April and May are usually good months for Black Marlin in the South Pacific.

P.S.: Hope you’ve all recovered from yesterday’s overdose of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and the other cholesterol-stuffed goodies. Have an enjoyable and safe Thanksgiving weekend.

Richard Krug is the owner of Americana Sportfishing.  If you have any questions, want to book a charter or a sportfishing vacation, or have anything else on your mind related to Costa Rica fishing,  Richard can be reached at 1-800-407-9438 from the US or +506 2282-7215 or +506 8394-3629 in Costa Rica.  You can also email him at [email protected].   And, don’t miss A Fish out of Water in next Friday’s edition of Inside Costa Rica.