ACTION is wideopen all along thePacific and on theCaribbean, with themajor bite on thenorthern Pacificcoast. Last Saturday,Steve Curtis said hewent 10 sailfishreleases for 12 raisedand also caught awahoo, amberjack,tuna, dorado and acubera snapper the same day on his 36-footTopaz out of Tamarindo.“It has been like that every day for thepast three weeks, running just 10 minutesoff Tamarindo,” Curtis said.Anglers are finding the amberjack,cubera and other structure fish in the rockpiles off Tamarindo in about 150 feet ofwater.A report from Ken Harthausen, fromSunrise, Fla., said he and MichaelWoloshin fished on The Wetass II for twodays and raised 15 sails with eight to theboat, along with two dorado in the two-poundrange, while his buddies DavidJanek and Mike Klawson fished the God’sWill the same days with 16 sails up and alsoeight to the boat, adding a 45- and 25-pounddorado.The biggest fish in a mighty long timewas caught further south where BillKieldsen, who skippers the boat Sailfishout of Los Sueños Marina, said ScottKrontilik, with his mother and sister tooktheir first-ever trip for billfish.According to Kieldsen, they brought sixsails to the boat for release, with a 130-pounder taking top honors.They weren’t through yet. Just before itwas time to bring in the lines and head back,the skipper said a huge black marlin with abill the size of a baseball bat swiped the leftteaser and he frantically grabbed the rod outof its holder to reel in the light 20-poundsailfish outfit to keep the bait away from thegiant, while mate Randall Garcia droppedback a bonito rigged with 50-pound string.“When the marlin saw the bonito, itstuck its whole head out of the water to eatit. Scott set the hook and the fight was on,”Kieldsen said.The first 10 minutes were greyhoundingjumps, rolling in and out of the wateralong the surface behind the boat – then thefish went deep for nearly an hour. Krontilikdid an excellent job of working the bigmarlin back to the surface.“An hour and 10 minutes into the fish,the immense black marlin surfaced,Randall grabbed the leader and the fishjumped straight up,” Kieldsen added. “Itsfull 12-foot length and 650 pounds made aphoto opportunity to die for – the largestmarlin I have seen since moving here 20months ago. That last jump will be burnedin my brain forever.”It was, of course, released to fightagain another day and I hope I’m aroundwhen that big black comes back. I’ve neverstuck a marlin that big.Also from Los Sueños came a reportfrom Costa Rica Dreams, which said thatlast Thursday and Friday, three of the boatsthey operate had 11 sailfish releases, alongwith nine tuna and four dorado.Further south on the Pacific coast, DarRandall reports from Quepos that SweetDreams captain Bobby McGuiness putFort Meyers, Fla. anglers Dana Lundgrenand Kathy Sue Perry on the sails and aftera late start each released their first sail ever.They then headed inshore and caught a bigamberjack for dinner that night along witha pair of jack crevalle.On the Caribbean coast, Dan Wisereports that anglers out of the Río ColoradoLodge were blessed with a flat ocean, blueskies and only light rain at night, which iskeeping the river low for this time of year.Joe Werner, my friend and fishingbuddy of 30 years, was here on his annualpilgrimage and hooked more than 30 tarponin four days at the lodge, including a150 pounder – his largest ever.Even I was able to jump three or fourwhen I joined Werner for one day early lastweek and the ocean outside the river mouthwas like a mill pond. On his last day at thelodge, my old friend had three to the boat.Wise said that Margaret King, fromManchester, N.H., and 11-year-old sonSpencer decided to fish a half-day as anafterthought. In three hours, Spencer boateda 150- and a 60- pound tarpon, and a 40-pound jack crevalle.“Ronnie Calvo, a charter boat captainon a busman’s from Zancudo, brought in a40-pound pompano, a first at the lodge,and the first pompano ever seen by hisguide Luis Pérez, who has fished there allof his life,” Wise said. Although AfricanPompano are found around the world,there are very few caught in Costa Rica.Wise added that the summer special isnow on, with a $100 per day discount untilAug. 15.For more info on fishing or assistance inplanning a trip to Costa Rica, contact Jerryat jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com orvisit www.costaricaoutdoors.comSkippers, operators and anglers areinvited to e-mail or call Jerry with fishingreports by Wednesday of each week. Call orfax: 282-6743 if calling from Costa Rica, orthrough the e-mail address above.
Today in Costa Rica
