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CROCODILE ROCK
Trophy Costa Rican Sailfish Tactics
Bob Newman
Among saltwater angling's most thrilling challenges is hunting
and catching large Pacific sailfish (the Pacific sail is much
larger than its Atlantic cousin) on fly-fishing or light tackle.
If you haven't done this yet, you are missing out on more
fun and excitement than most folks deserve. Here's how you
can hunt, find, fight and beat one of the Pacific's most beautiful
and impressive game fish.
Billfish
Bonanza
As you might expect, the glory species of Crocodile Bay Lodge
is the Pacific sailfish. Given this, you might think that
Crocodile Bay Lodge is pretty serious about getting after
these billfish, and you would be right. That's why the lodge
has a herd of gorgeous Strike 33s and wave-cutting 27-foot
Rambo center consoles to chase billfish all over hell and
creation, although you seldom if ever have to go that far
to find a marlin or sailfish in these parts.
How good can the sailfishing be out of Crocodile Bay Lodge?
Good question. Here's an example: The eight anglers in Scott
Paciello's group in late January of 2001 spent five days offshore
and raised (are you ready?) 277 sails, of which they caught
and released 77, including several on the fly. That works
out to almost 35 raised sails each in only five days. That's
great sailfish action.
I have loved chasing billfish, especially with a fly rod,
since I caught my first sailfish in these very waters years
ago, before Crocodile Bay Lodge was even an idea. But when
it comes to billfish on the fly, one of the things I like
most is listening to other fly fishers describe their first
hunt for them. This was the case when Allan Smith of Manhattan
and his dad arrived at Crocodile Bay Lodge in April of 2000.
I met Allan one morning on the deck of the building we were
staying in. I was throwing rocks at the noisy parrots in the
trees near the deck and noticed the batch of high-quality
fly rods propped against the railing in front of the next
room.
"Hmmm. Someone means business," I muttered to myself.
Just then Allan walked out and saw me. We introduced ourselves
and he said he was from Manhattan.
"Yes, Mr. Newman, I know who you are. I've read your
books and articles," Allan said. His calling me "Mr.
Newman" made me feel old, but I let it go and asked him
to call me Bob.
Allan was after his first sailfish on the fly and he was full
of questions and requests for advice. I gave him my best:
"When you see the sail in the wake, throw the fly at
him. When he eats it, set the hook and hang on." "Jeez,
Mr. Newman, don't you have any more detailed advice than that?"
my new student queried annoyingly. "Hey, kid, just be
glad I gave you any advice at all. I don't normally give out
anything for free, so consider yourself fortunate." I
then grabbed my rods and headed for the dock. As I walked
by him, I heard him mumble something about a "gas mole,"
or something like that. I thought nothing of it, knowing that
Manhattanites were an unsteady bunch, with my cohort, Field
& Stream's executive editor David E. Petzal, being the
most obvious evidence of this.
I was in the bar for happy hour late that afternoon when Allan
and his dad came in. Allan didn't look all that happy. I waved
him over.
"How'd you do, kid?" I asked.
"Terrible. I blew every sailfish that came to the boat.
I don't know what I am doing wrong, Mr. Newman," he said
dejectedly.
"Call me Bob or I will kill you. I'll kill you slow,
skin you, and build a kayak out of your ribcage and a streamer
box out of your shinbone," I promised.
"Hey, I work with movie stars and I know 'Ah-nuld,'"
he said through clenched teeth. "I'll get him to crush
your bald head like a rotten melon if you don't tell me how
to catch these damn sailfish." (Allan has some sort of
important job on the sets of many shows and movies.)
Impressed that he pronounced Ah-nuld's name correctly, I decided
to cut my protege some slack and proceeded to bestow upon
him everything I knew about catching sailfish on the fly.
A few minutes later we were done and I felt better for having
enlightened the lad.
Well, the rest of the week went the same way, with Allan stalking
into the bar at the day's end with an irritated and frustrated
look on his face. It didn't help any that his dad was catching
sails on conventional tackle. Then the last day of his trip
came.
I just happened to be in the bar again when Allan came in,
a huge smile spread across his mug from ear to ear.
"Ha! You did it!" I exclaimed as I shook his hand.
"Yeah, I did it," he smiled broadly.
"So tell me about it," I coaxed.
"Well, when I saw the sailfish in the wake, I threw the
fly at him. He ate it and I set the hook and held on,"
he grinned.
"See? I told you! Now you owe me everything," I
nodded.
You want my best advice on sailfish and marlin on the fly?
Do what your captain and mate say to do, and when you see
the fish in the wake . . .
Oh, when I next visited Crocodile Bay Lodge, who was there
but Allan Smith, only this time not as a guest. He was so
hooked on the place and the fishing that he took an extended
leave of absence in 2001 and signed on as a captain to be
trained by Todd Staley and the other skippers. With many years
fishing the chill waters of New England for stripers and bluefish,
I expected good things from Allan and, naturally, I had to
fish with him to see how he was progressing.
The day before I was scheduled to fish with Allan and first
mate Duggie, I had witnessed and documented Barb McCarthy's
battle with a large sailfish on a light spinning rig loaded
with 15-pound-test line. Barb is hitched to Jim McCarthy,
who owns Jim McCarthy Adventures & Travel, a well-known
and respected fishing, hunting and photographic booking agency.
I was fishing on another boat nearby when I saw Barb and Jim's
boat stopped and people standing around the transom, which
meant someone was hooked up, in this case, Barb. I was quite
impressed with how Barb fought and beat her 120-pound sail
on such light line, and it was that fight that caused me to
first pick up my St. Croix Tidemaster spinning rod and Shimano
Baitrunner 4500 reel loaded with 17-pound Stren Hi-Vis Gold
(a new line for me, which was recommended by noted light-tackle
angler and multiple IGFA world-record holder Raleigh Werking)
before I picked up my fly rod for the first sail of the day.
The first sail into the teaser spread came in hot. I had a
goggle-eye rigged on a bridle and tossed it to the sailfish
as Duggie jerked the teaser away. The sail pounced on it and
very promptly and deftly removed the bait from the hook with
out so much as a 'thank you.' Then it left.OK, Plan B was
brought into action, which was a ballyhoo. The next sail in
was equally hot and gobbled the 'hoo the moment it saw the
bait. I had the Baitrunner in controlled free spool and let
the sail run for only a second before engaging the reel. As
expected, the sail went blasting away and then made two bounding
leaps, the second of which sent my hook flying back at me.
OK, now I was getting mad. Quickly setting the teasers again
and rigging another 'hoo, it took only 15 minutes or so for
the next sail to come calling, which grabbed the 'hoo with
gusto and then fled north at ludicrous speed with numerous
flailing jumps.
The battle joined, I watched in first concern and then horror
as the sailfish depleted the line at an alarming rate. A few
seconds later and I knew that if this fish didn't stop right
soon, we would have to chase it before it spooled me. Fortunately,
with maybe 35 or 40 yards of line remaining, I turned the
fish and began getting some line back.
The Tidmaster slightly loaded. |
Pointing the rod
("bowing to the fish")
during a jump. |
Blast-off. |
A wild leap requiring
instant reaction by
the angler. |
That was how the game went on for about half an hour before
Duggie was finally able to grab the leader and guide the fish
to the gunnel, where the bill was grabbed and the 120-pound
sailfish pronounced temporarily captured. The fight had required
me to anticipate and instantly react to each move the sail made,
which are two key factors when fighting so big and powerful
a game fish on such like line and with so light a rod. When
the sailfish ran, which was often, I pointed the rod at the
fish and just barely lifted the tip to put slight pressure on
the sail. When it jumped, I pointed the rod directly at it,
like in tarpon fishing. This reduces tension on the light line
but keeps enough pressure on the fish to prevent the sail from
throwing the hook. And every time the sailfish stopped to rest,
I used a soft yet insistent short-pump technique to gain line
and not allow the sail to rest too much. And when the fish wanted
to turn in one direction, I would try to force it in the other
direction by dropping the rod tip that way. This also forces
the sail to use more energy.
This wonderful sail was beaten with a St. Croix Tidemaster
rod and Shimano Baitrunner 4500 loaded with 17-pound Stren
Hi-Vis Gold.
Fly-fishing tactics for sails are built upon the fly fisher
exploiting the sailfish's anger, instinct and hunger. Teasers
(hookless plastic baits that are trolled in the wake and which
make noise and splash a lot, thus attracting the attention of
nearby sails) are used to entice the aggressive sailfish close
enough to the stern for the fly fisher to make a short cast
to the fish, which is quite visible as it slashes at the teasers.
When the teaser the sail is on is pulled out of the water by
the mate, the fly fisher makes his cast so that the fly lands
where the sail can see it. Now, at this point the sail is angry
because it has been whacking what it thinks is a fish or squid
that won't die, so when it sees the fly, it often attacks it
immediately.
Most hook sets on the fly are made with multiple back-to-back
strip strikes, with the rod being loaded on the strike only
if the sail comes forward with the fly too quickly for an effective
strip strike. Generally, one of two things happen when the fish
is hooked: The sail goes screaming off either straight away
and below the surface or with jumps along the way, or the sailfish
just stops and shakes its head vigorously, with the latter often
happening with the fish's head above water. Regardless, the
same fighting skills apply when the battle is joined. Anticipate
the sail's moves and never let it rest and regain strength.
Is there more to it than this? Well, sure, which explains the
section below.
School's In
Events like these are one of the reasons why I decided to get
with Crocodile Bay's Capt. Ed Hughes, fishing manager Todd Staley
and lodge owner Robin Williams to develop the Crocodile Bay
Lodge/Fishbelly International Offshore Fly-Fishing & Light-Tackle
School. I figured that if fly fishers and light-tackle anglers
were given proper instruction in tackle, knots, strategy, tactics,
fighting techniques, boat handling and other important factors,
and if that instruction were immediately followed by a week
of intense sailfish action under the supervision of a certified
(fly and light tackle) captain and mate, we could really turn
out some serious offshore sailfish kooks, not to mention get
more anglers away from needlessly heavy "conventional"
tackle, which prevents anglers from experiencing the true power
and fury of these amazing game fish.
Crocodile
Bay Captains: Secrets of the Pros
Crocodile Rock - Trophy Costa
Rican Sailfish Tactics
Boaters.com: Raving Roosterfish
in Costa Rica
Boaters.com Magazine: Dueling
with Dorado
Boaters.com Magazine:
Coo-Coo for Crevalle Jacks
Boaters.com Magazine: Working
surface structure to find more fish
Sport Fishing Magazine: Costa Rica
Sport Fishing Magazine:
Costa Rica Revisited
Sport Fishing Magazine: Outstanding
Osa
Orvis Travel: Costa Rica's Crocodile
Bay Lodge
 
If
you are interested in record setting Costa Rican sport fishing
contact us directly: Office (800) 733-1115 • Fax: (415)
209-6177 • or RESERVE
ONLINE
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