Caribbean Shut Down by Rains, Pacific Still Hot

THEY were gettinga few tarpon onthe Caribbean overlast weekend, butheavy rains hit onSunday, raising thewater level, andthings were prettywell shut down byearly this week.It’s another storyon the Pacific, however,with torrid action from northernGuanacaste all the way to Golfito.White Magic skipper Forrest Zielkesaid the wind laid down in the north, andhe fished with Pavel Filibnov and family,from Russia; they caught and released twostriped marlin and four sails the first day,then fished a half-day inshore, boatinganother sail, some jacks and a grouper.Forrest also commented on our tirade acouple of weeks ago on the need for fisheryregulations in the country: “Just lastweek we saved three turtles that werecaught up in trash with longline hooks intheir mouths, and if this is what we see injust a short time, one can only imaginewhat really goes on out there with allspecies of sea life.”EVEN shore fishing has been good,with Dave Shear reporting that ShepDruiry, from North Carolina, caught a23.5-pound snook and a lot of jacks in theopen surf at Playa Langosta, south ofTamarindo, throwing a pink MissouriMinnow.At Playa Carrillo, Kitty Kat skipperRob Gordon reports that Mike Reade, anangler who came all the way fromEngland, celebrated his birthday on Jan. 5by nailing a 425-pound black marlin, a200-pound striped marlin and a couple ofsails, qualifying for a Grand Slam. All heneeded was blue marlin to qualify for thatelusive Super Slam, with all four species ofbillfish on the same day.Kingfisher captain Rick Ruhlow confirmsthe action in that region, reportingthat boats are raising marlin and sailfishevery day, but not seeing a lot of tuna ordorado.FARTHER south, Costa Rica Dreamsran 25 full-day trips out of Los SueñosMarina between Dec. 6 and 13, reporting105 sailfish and marlin released, alongwith 32 dorado. Haven’t had any morerecent reports from there, but likely prettymuch the same last week.Boats in the Golfito area have beenreleasing sails in the double digits and seeinga marlin or two or three in the air everyday, along with all the dorado and tunaanyone could want.Typical of the action in that area is areport from Sweet Dreams captain BobbyMcGuiness, whose anglers on Jan. 2released a blue marlin and 17 sails, followingthat by going two marlin releases forfour hooked and a bunch of sails the nextday.All the 12- to 30-pound dorado andtuna to 40 pounds that anyone could wantare coming in, and Gottawanna skipperAndy Moyes reportedly raised 34 sails andreleased 17 on one day the first week inJanuary.For more information on fishing orassistance in planning a trip to Costa Rica,contact Jerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com or visit www.costaricaoutdoors.com and click PLANNING A TRIPon the home page, fill in the brief form thatpops up and click SEND. Will be backimmediately with a suggested itinerary andtotal cost; no obligation.You can also call toll-free from the U.S.and Canada at our Costa Rica office: 1-800308-3394. Skippers, operators and anglersare invited to contact Jerry with fishingreports by Sunday of each week. Call or fax282-6743 within Costa Rica or write to thee-mail address above.