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FEBRUARY 2004
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1. Crocodile Bay's Hottest new eco tour |
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1. Crocodile Bay Lodge has just extended its ability to show its clients the beauty of the Costa Rican wilderness by adding a new branch of activities to its already extensive line of Eco Tours. This new branch is ATVs! These new vehicles are 2003 Yamaha 250cc BearTrackers with the environmentally friendly 4 stoke engines. They are quiet and easy to maneuver, yet they are nearly unstoppable when it comes to mud or other difficult terrain. |
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2. Beau Williams' Monthly Eco Report With the inflow of clients during the new season came some extremely positive events that have polarized the eco society in this area. As in our previous article we illustrated the new reality that Harpy Eagles are certifiably habiting the Osa Peninsula, now we have good news in regards not to winged species, but four legged ones. On one of our half-day rain forest tours yesterday we had an official adult jaguar sighting! While it has been believed that there are a few jaguars still living in the Osa Peninsula, due to the reclusive nature of the species actual sightings are extremely rare and always reason for celebration. The jaguar is the largest cat of the Americas, and the only living representative of the genus Panthera found on the continent. They can be found in forested regions in Central and South America, with a small group reaching as far north as the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The jaguar's pattern differs from that of the leopard by having larger, broken-edged rosettes around small black spots. It has a large head and stocky build, with relatively shorter limbs than others of its genus (Gonyea 1976). Forest jaguars are not only more frequently darker, but are also considerably smaller in size than animals that inhabit more open areas. More than 85 different species have been found to be on the jaguar's diet including such large prey as peccaries, tapirs, deer and crocodiles. While larger prey may be preferred, a jaguar will eat almost anything it can catch, and in the rainforest will take mammal prey species in proportion to their occurrence. In many areas, cattle are raised on what is essentially prime jaguar habitat, and cattle have been the most frequent prey species documented in several analyses of jaguar diet in Brazil and Venezuela (Hoogesteijn and Mondolfi 1992). Jaguars are the only big cats that regularly kill prey by piercing the skull with their canines. Some suggest that the massive head and stout canines of the jaguar are an adaptation to "cracking open" well-armored reptilian prey, such as land tortoises and river turtles. Although the jaguar has been characterized as primarily nocturnal, studies have shown that they are often active during the daytime, with activity peaks around dawn and dusk. Jaguars have been found to be active for 50-60% of each 24-hour period (Crawshaw and Quigley 1991). The principal threat to the survival of the proud creature is the deforestation and fragmentation of the forest habitat, which isolates jaguar populations so that they are more vulnerable to the predations of man. People compete with jaguars for prey in the form of cattle, which is usually disastrous for the jaguar because they are frequently shot on site despite protective legislation. So as you can guess, the most urgent conservation issue is the current intolerance of ranchers for jaguars. Many different forms of jaguar related conservation efforts are in place. Some which attempt to attach serious fines or even at times incarceration for the slaughter of these fine animals. Some plans not yet in place actually advocate the controlled hunting of the jaguar in order to allow the cattle farmers to profit from the existence of the animals and not see them as strictly a financial burden when they prey on the farmer's cattle. Only time will tell which conservation plan will be the most successful but we at Crocodile Bay Lodge believe that the survival of the species will undoubtedly be intertwined with education. Only through education can we bring people to the understanding that with proper planning and conservation we can ensure that our children will have the ability to view these majestic animals in their natural environment |
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3. The History of Trolling by Todd Staley When the blade of a billfish breaks the surface chasing a teaser and its shoulders are all lit up in a purple hue a lump as big as a watermelon forms in your throat. Fish!, Fish!, you try to gasp but the words blurt out in some unfamiliar language. You toss a bait and switch and it eats. Line screams off the reel and the fish starts dancing across the azule dance floor. This happened nearly 2000 times last month here at Crocodile Bay. But who figured out the best way to fish for these was to troll? There are many theories as to where and when the art of trolling for billfish was started. One night, many years back, my good friend Jon West and I were consuming a few frosty beverages when Jon shared his theory with me. According to Jon, the first marlin caught by this method was taken in Atlantic waters. "Large Nordic men with barrel chests and arms like steel pipes rowed big wooden boats across the Atlantic, long before the conquistadors showed up in their wimpy blow boats," he began. One such boat was the Nilram, a giant deep-V walk-around powered by 40 Norsemen. On its many crossings it was always captained by Dahs Evol Noprat, an angry red-headed Viking with buck teeth and bad breath. Needless to say, Dahs was quite an angler. After pillaging villages and devouring raw meat, he would comb local rivers and piers for record catches. He lived to fish and fished to live. Being his fishing buddy was akin to golfing with Attila the Hun (who Jon claims was a third cousin of Dahs). In fact, fishing with Dahs could be deadly. He once had a man beheaded for goofing a net job and enabling a trophy salmon to escape. Dahs had heard stories of giant tuna and marlin eating men that had fallen overboard during Trans-Atlantic crossings, but like most fishing stories told by large bearded carnivores, he believed none of them. Only to see it was to believe it. Prior to his next journey across the Atlantic, Dahs ordered the town's tackle master LeHork Giba-Leaux, to build him a giant rod and reel capable of whipping any beast in the sea. Including, he joked, his wife. The Nilram's crew waited at the dock as Dahs picked up his new rod in town. As he was walking out the door, LeHork stopped him. "Wait," he said, reaching out to hand Dahs a package holding a pair of lures about 12 inches long, each consisting of small rounded heads trailed by dyed swatches of horse hair that looked like shrunken Crystal Gayle skulls. An excited Dahs returned to the Nilram and ordered an immediate castoff. Within 12 hours the boat had crossed three color changes and was cruising a healthy eight knots over the cobalt seas. He began rigging his new rod as the crew rowed in sweltering heat. He carefully tied a Bimini, attaching a 12 foot shock leader, 12/0 Mustard hook and, finally, the miniature Crystal Gayle head. A shrill cry broke his concentration. "She's taking water on the port stern!" Dahs rushed to the back of the boat to find a river of water gushing in and a large marlin bill stuck through the boat's hull. He grabbed the ship's handy man-galley guy, Filly, a midget troll from Lutzemburg, and tossed him overboard. Dahs tied an 11 foot rope around the midget's waist and fastened it to a stern cleat. With hammer and nails in hand, the midget was to remove the spear (it was too big to be pulled from the inside) and patch the boat with a large board. "Keep the boat moving," Dahs shouted to his crew as he hurried to get the rod ready. "We're going to catch this beast." Dahs Climbed halfway up the flying bridge and scanned the water for the rogue fish. Screams came from below. "Help me! Help me! This fish is trying to eat me alive!" Dahs turned to see the bill-less marlin slashing his stub at Filly the troll. The giant fish lit up a deep purple with fins erect. "Keep rowing! Faster! Faster! Dahs screamed at the crew. "The fish thinks the dumb troll is bait. Keep it going! Faster!" The faster the Norseman rowed, the angrier the fish got. It tried in vain to slash the poor troll, but there just wasn't any bill there to do it. "Now someone pull Filly from the water!" ordered Dahs. He dropped his lure over the side where the plump troll was moments earlier, floundering for his life. The fish immediately inhaled the lure and began stripping line from the large reel. It was a display of piscatorial power unlike any Dahs had ever seen. He ordered his crew to reverse their paddling as line disappeared faster than he could gain it. Dahs pumped and pumped. The fish began tiring. Soon it was boatside, all 1,243 pounds and seven ounces of it. Several flying gaffs were sunk in to the monster fish and it was hoisted aboard. Emotionless, the proud Dahs admired the giant dead fish. A fearful Filly huddled in a small ball in the stern. "Back in the water Filly. We're trolling all the way to America," said Dahs. |
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5. Crocodile Bay Trade show schedule through July, 2004 |
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| February 19 - 22 ISE Show Phoenix, AZ February 25 - 29 O'Louglin Monroe, WA February 26 - 29 ISE Pleasanton, CA March 3 - 7 Fred Hall Long Beach, CA March 4 - 7 Sportshow Suffern, NY March 11 - 14 ISE Salt Lake, UT |
March 13 - 14 Sportshow Wilmington, MA March 17 - 21 Fred Hall Del Mar, CA May 10 - 11 Ronnie Lott Pebble Beach, CA May 24 - 28 Expotur San Jose, Costa Rica July 14 - 16 ICAST Las Vegas, NV |
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Travel Insurance Whether you are traveling to visit us or another location, we at Crocodile Bay have always highly recommended travel insurance and invite you to visit a new page we've added to our website. You will find the answers to all the above questions about Travel Insurance and more. Look Who's Talking Contact Us |
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Phone: (415) 209-9976 Toll Free: (800) 733-1115 Crocodile Bay Lodge is Costa Rica’s newest and most unique sport fishing and ecotour resort. The Lodge is situated on 44 acres in a tropical paradise on the Osa Peninsula, home of the famous Corcovado National Park, and offers many different ecotours in addition to world-class fishing.
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