Barra Sensational; Word from Down South

AS of late lastMonday it wasaround 90 degreeswith blue skies, flatseas and tarponjumping in the riverright in front of RíoColorado Lodge atBarra Colorado, onthe northernCaribbean coast,but no fishermenwere out to takeadvantage of the perfect conditions.Phil Hoover from Naples, Florida,wrapped up his 30th repeat trip to thelodge Friday, and in seven days fishingalone jumped 64 tarpon and caught 29,along with 35 jacks, two barracuda and acatfish. His guide, Luis Pérez, said one ofthe released tarpon would have beenbetween 225-250 pounds, the largest hehad seen in a lifetime at Barra.Also at the lodge, brothers Normanand Keith Tattersall of Vida, Oregon, andWest Valley, Utah, boated 20 tarpon andjumped more than 80 in four days of fishinglast week.Costa Rica Outdoors clients Marvinand Mary Skinner and their boys Blair andMatt, from Opelika, Alabama, the familywe mentioned last week, went from Barrato Lake Arenal, where they caught andreleased 10 rainbow bass in a single day.From Arenal, the Skinner family tookthe shuttle bus to Tamarindo and fishedtwo days on the Permit III, scoring fivesailfish, a tuna, a dorado and a dozengrouper to 30 pounds. This was their firsttrip to Costa Rica, and I suspect they willbe back.The National Fishing Club had a tournamentat Lake Arenal last weekend,which Lionel Jiménez won with an eight pounder,closely trailed by FranciscoRodríguez with a 7.7-pound rainbow bass.Finally got word on fishing farthersouth on the Pacific coast, with CostaRica Dreams, at Los Sueños Marina, listing75 sailfish, 14 tuna, 16 dorado, threewahoo and six roosterfish in four daysMay 12-15, with three to 10 boats on thewater each of those days.Also received an unsigned e-mailfrom some firemen fishing all the waysouth, at Puerto Jiménez on the OsaPeninsula. City of Miami FirefightersFrank Klimkowski, Robert Hevia and GusPerez fished at Parrot Bay Village theweek before with Capt. Harold and mateJavier. They went one for six on sails andcaught two dorado, three snapper andthree blue trevally.That’s not all that great for Costa Rica,but pretty good for almost any place elsethey might have fished during the off-season,and the firefighters went home happy.Got another message from that area(no boat name) that said two flyfishermenfishing with Capt. Antonio (no last name)raised four sails, got two to bite andreleased one the first day. On day two,they had 11 up, with seven hooked andfour released, wrapping up the third daywith five releases and a couple of tuna to25 pounds.For more info on fishing or assistancein planning a trip to Costa Rica, contactJerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.comor visit www.costaricaoutdoors.com.Skippers, operators and anglers areinvited to contact Jerry with fishing reportsby Sunday of each week. Call or fax 282-6743 within Costa Rica or write to the emailaddress above.