The Costa Rican summer has just started, 85 and sunny, and the fish seem to love it. Its impossible to write this weeks report and not think of George. George is on the trip of a lifetime, down from California for six days of fishing. Every morning he's all pumped and in the evening he's all smiles. And he should be, he's had nothing but insane fishing and bloody decks.
We had three boats out Saturday, George, the boys from Clevland, and Mike and Ron (the man with a new notch in his belt). It was just after 10 in the morning when the other two boats got the call from George's boat with Capt Ebilio. He was on a floating tree seven miles out, and it was loaded! To get to the point: when it was over, all three boats had hooked up an estimated 60 (that's right Sixty) Dorado, most 20-50 lbs. The guys were having a ball throwing everything they had at them, lures, light tackle, live bait, everything was working, it didn't matter. It was a slugfest. Capt. Javier screamed "no more Dorado there are Marlin here", but he may have had a mutiny if he pushed it as his crew just kept bailing the big bull Dorado. Ron would have to wait some more, the notch he had been waiting a lifetime for.
Sunday it was George and Capt Ebilio on their boat and I was on the filming mission with the help of Capt Javier, Ron, and "The Diving Fisherman" Mike Laptew, famous for his shots of fish in the wild. Finding a school of about thirty Pilot Whales, I knew it was going to happen….Soon enough we hooked up three Sailfish and a Dorado. Mike jumped over the side with his camera as the Sailfish approached the boat. The Sailfish with its giant bill was going crazy, jumping madly in the air and zigging and zagging; Mike was in the water filming. Better him than me! Those fish are out of control! Ron ended up with three Sails and a Dorado.
But………
all along George was having the second greatest day of his life with more Dorado, Yellow Fin Tuna, and jumping Sailfish. (Check out the photo I got with him at the dock).
Today if you can believe was even better. We left the lodge a bit late with only one goal in mind, the notch of all notches for Ron all to be captured on camera by The Underwater Fisherman. There they were, the birds, not really working only cruising around but we laid out our lines; 2 short teasers, 2 long plugs in the out riggers and a shotgun down the middle a boat lengths past the long rigger. We worked the current lines both up current and down current. Ron had the fighting belt ready, but not on as many believe that's bad luck like bananas. I don't know if any of these superstitions are for real, but there are no bananas on my boat and no fighting belts on in advance either.
The right long popped out of the rigger clip, the line went tight and the clicker could be heard for miles. We had a Marlin on!!! Now hurrying to get his belt on, the line screaming out, Ron had no idea what he was in for. Ron started his battle in the back of the boat, the fish was greyhounding to left, jumping like crazy, Mike fired up the cameras and Javier and I wound the other lines in. We moved Ron to the bow and the Blue Marlin started pulling the boat as it pleased, much to Ron's chagrin the fish kept taking line. 45 minutes later, 2 bottles of cold water over Ron's head, a lot of grunting and a very determined angler who had been waiting his whole life(his own words), the pelagic beast came to the boat. A 200 lber, Javier grabbed the bill, I tagged him pulled the hook, the fish thrashed like mad, all the while Mike paddled in the water capturing it on film. Ron claiming the ultimate notch all captured by "The Diving Fisherman" . We released the Marlin, got Mike back in the boat and if all that wasn't enough, the vhf radio screamed in spanish "Hay Atun! Hay Atun!". It was our sister boat of Capt Ebilio and George, only ten miles away. George was on a Big Tuna.
Javier's new boat with the big twin Suzukis was cranked up to 30 knots, I turned my hat around backwards. Of course we only hoped they would still be chewing when we got there.
The giant school of white bellied Porpoises, a good sign of Tuna, had to be one hundred strong, leaping into the air, some 15 feet high. Anticipating their approach I rigged a live blue runner and flipped him over the side, peeled off 50 feet and waited, but not long. My first Yellow Fin Tuna of the season, spiraled up to the boat, found the gaff and a 40 lber was on its way back to the kitchen where my favorite chef at the lodge, Shirley, turned it into a platter of sushi rolls.
At the dock, George, "The Happy Fisherman" told of his own 2 Yellow Fins and 9 Sails he raised. I fish again tomorrow. If I am lucky George will leave some for me.
Capt Sloan
enjoy the photos
