The little Cessna rolled to a stop on the airstrip at Barra del Colorado. Out stepped a man and a young boy around 10 years old.
By Todd Staley Fishing Director – October 2016 – Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica – November will mark the beginning of our 18th season and this is the time of year when the place is zooming with excitement and craziness. Excitement because the ocean is coming into its annual run of dorado and marlin. Craziness, getting ready with crews returning, equipment preparation and such.
This week we saw a few dorado, caught a nice striped marlin and after relatively slow offshore fishing it is a good sign things are changing.
Inshore has been my saving grace. Lots of stuff is biting. Roosterfish are fulfilling lots of bucket lists and some nice cubera and other types of snapper as well. Brian McCarthy got into a bevy of horse eye jack on light tackle which would not excite some but is great action for someone new to saltwater action. If you want to see a neat little boca grip type product that floats check out “fish grip.”
From The Video Department – If you ever wanted to take a peek below the surface during an inshore fishing trip, check out this quick video taking you inshore and underwater.
There are still a few humpbacks with youngins’ in the gulf but many have already started their long voyage back home. Deep jiggers and those willing to bottom fish in 300 or more feet of water have taken some grouper, tilefish, and congria.
Yep things are getting interesting……. I like this time of year.
Todd Staley
Fishing Director
Crocodile Bay Resort
www.crocodilebay.com
Featured Guest Video – Check out this YouTube video from last year which shows some happy anglers catching just about everything. If you have YouTube videos from your fishing experience at Crocodile Bay Resort, please let us know and we’ll post it.
Costa Rica Fishing at Crocodile Bay Resort – Beneath the Surface
Enjoy this new short video that begins beneath the surface of our 750 foot private pier and then takes you along some of Southern Costa Rica’s best inshore fishing spots and finally to the cobalt blue offshore waters of Costa Rica for sailfish, marlin and more. Enjoy the Costa Rica fishing action and check back for more editions of “Beneath the Surface” at Crocodile Bay Resort, Costa Rica.
To book your Costa Rica fishing vacation or charter fishing trip click below
www.crocodilebay.com
Photo courtesy of Zach Frazee
Did intervention have anything to do with the success of the 73rd International Light Tackle Association Sailfish Tournament hosted this year by Costa Rica at Crocodile Bay Resort and Marina in Puerto Jiménez? I think so.
The recent demise of nearly 300 sea turtles in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica has been of officially declared a result of illegal fishing methods. The problem stemmed from the illegal catching of live bait in the protected Golfo Dulce, and then using the bait on long lines in areas where live bait is not allowed.
The result was a massive kill of not only sea turtles but sailfish as well, and complaints were filed with various agencies including the new Vice Minister of Oceans José Lino Chaves. Within a week, he was personally in the area and heading a patrol that captured 14 boats from the Golfito and Quepos areas. The boats were fishing bait inside the gulf, and Chaves filed suits against all of them.
Within days, many of the boats fishing illegally headed out of the area. INCOPESCA also declared a ban on all commercial longline activity within the boundaries of the tournament during fishing days. The result was some boats getting more than 30 bites a day.
Teams from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the United States competed in the four-day catch-and-release event. The results showed that if fishing regulations are followed and enforced, Costa Rica has a chance of reclaiming its former spot as “Sailfish Capital of the World.” The tournament was dedicated to Tia Nora Schofield, who broke down the gender barrier, earning women the right to compete in fishing tournaments nearly 50 years ago.
Fifteen boats competed in the event, and the leader board was constantly changing amongst anglers, boats and teams. The format of teammates fishing on separate boats each date but accumulating points for their respective teams eliminated the need for observers. The opportunity for participants to fish with so many different anglers allowed old friendships to be renewed.
More than 800 fish were raised, and 406 were caught and released during the four days of fishing. The final results are as follows.
| TEAMS | TOT PTS | |
| 1ST | ASOC. NACIONAL de PESCA de GUATEMALA – #1 | 3700 |
| 2ND | ASOC. NACIONAL de PESCA de GUATEMALA – #3 | 3400 |
| 3RD | PORT ARANSAS ROD & REEL CLUB – USA | 3400 |
| 4 | CLUB AMATEUR de PESCA #1 – COSTA RICA | 3200 |
| 5 | CLUB AMATEUR de PESCA #2 – COSTA RICA | 3100 |
| 6 | CLUB AMATEUR de PESCA #3 – COSTA RICA | 3100 |
| 7 | CLUB NAUTICO de STE. DOM. – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 2600 |
| 8 | OCEAN CITY LIGHT TACKLS CLUB – USA | 2600 |
| 9 | ARRECHO FISHING TEAM – PUERTO RICO | 2500 |
| 10 | ASOC. NACIONAL de PESCA de GUATEMALA – #2 | 2500 |
| 11 | SAILFISH & TARPON CLUB OF MEXICO | 2500 |
| 12 | PUERTO RICO LIGHT TACKLE ANGLERS | 2400 |
| 13 | SADSAA – SOUTH AFRICA | 1900 |
| 14 | PLAYA GRANDE YACHTING CLUB – VENEZUELA | 1700 |
| 15 | CLUB AMATEUR de PESCA #4 – COSTA RICA | 1600 |
| PLACE | ANGLERS | DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | TOTAL | |
| 1ST | JULIO | MANSYLLA | 300 | 100 | 400 | 900 | 1700 |
| 2ND | MATTHEW | BARRAZOTTO | 100 | 200 | 200 | 1100 | 1600 |
| 3RD | JAVIER | MONTEALEGRE | 300 | 300 | 300 | 600 | 1500 |
| 4 | LUIS PEDRO | FORTUNY | 400 | 0 | 700 | 300 | 1400 |
| 5 | RICARDO | SEEVERS | 200 | 200 | 600 | 300 | 1300 |
| 6 | RICKY | JAEN | 300 | 200 | 200 | 600 | 1300 |
| 7 | DR. CARLOS | FORTUNY | 300 | 200 | 400 | 400 | 1300 |
| 8 | JUAN MANUEL | COBAR | 400 | 100 | 200 | 600 | 1300 |
| 9 | LUIS LEOPOLDO | GONZALEZ | 300 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 1300 |
| 10 | ALVARO | DE LA HOZ | 100 | 200 | 500 | 500 | 1300 |
| 11 | ALBERTO | LAURENCICH | 0 | 100 | 700 | 400 | 1200 |
| 12 | JORGE N. | GUTIERREZ | 300 | 200 | 600 | 100 | 1200 |
| 13 | CHARLES | DONATO | 100 | 0 | 700 | 300 | 1100 |
| 14 | ALVARO | FORTUNY | 300 | 100 | 400 | 300 | 1100 |
| 15 | ORLANDO | SOTO | 200 | 100 | 300 | 500 | 1100 |
| 16 | JOHN | PRICE | 100 | 100 | 500 | 400 | 1100 |
| 17 | CARLOS | FORTUNY, JR. | 200 | 100 | 500 | 200 | 1000 |
| 18 | ANTON | LINGENFELDER | 100 | 0 | 500 | 400 | 1000 |
| 19 | FERNANDO | MERCK | 200 | 0 | 500 | 300 | 1000 |
| 20 | DOMINGO | DOMINGUEZ | 100 | 200 | 300 | 300 | 900 |
| 21 | JOSE | SCHIFTER | 100 | 100 | 400 | 300 | 900 |
| 22 | JAVIER | PADILLA | 200 | 100 | 200 | 400 | 900 |
| 23 | CARLOS | PADILLA | 200 | 0 | 300 | 300 | 800 |
| 24 | ROGER | GALINDO | 300 | 100 | 300 | 100 | 800 |
| 25 | RODRIGO | GUZMAN | 300 | 300 | 200 | 0 | 800 |
| 26 | EVELIO | MEDEROS | 100 | 200 | 300 | 200 | 800 |
| 27 | GABRIEL B. | RIVAS | 100 | 200 | 200 | 300 | 800 |
| 28 | HUMBERTO | DONATO | 100 | 0 | 200 | 400 | 700 |
| 29 | TIM | CHOATE | 100 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 700 |
| 30 | CARLOS | BARNES | 100 | 200 | 100 | 300 | 700 |
| 31 | FERNANDO | PINTO | 0 | 100 | 100 | 500 | 700 |
| 31 | MANOLO | MATIENZO | 200 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 700 |
| 33 | MICHAEL | KELLY | 100 | 100 | 200 | 200 | 600 |
| 34 | DIEGO | CABRERA | 100 | 0 | 300 | 200 | 600 |
| 35 | JOHN | CARBONE | 0 | 0 | 400 | 200 | 600 |
| 36 | MANUEL | COBAR | 100 | 100 | 200 | 200 | 600 |
| 37 | NILS | GUTIERREZ | 100 | 100 | 0 | 400 | 600 |
| 38 | WALLY | HEINSEN | 0 | 300 | 200 | 0 | 500 |
| 39 | PAUL | BORCHERDS | 0 | 0 | 200 | 300 | 500 |
| 40 | CARLOS ENRIQUE | MONTEROS | 100 | 0 | 200 | 100 | 400 |
| 41 | BRUNO | RODRIGUEZ | 100 | 0 | 100 | 200 | 400 |
| 42 | WYNAND | WIERING | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 400 |
| 43 | NORA | SCHOFIELD | 100 | 0 | 100 | 200 | 400 |
| 44 | BRUNO | DI BENEDETTO | 100 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 300 |
| 45 | STEPHANIE | CHOATE | 100 | 100 | 100 | 300 | |
| ALTERNATE | 400 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 7000 | 4600 | 13500 | 15500 | 40200 | ||
| PLACE | BOATS | DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | TOTAL |
| 1ST | GERMAN | 600 | 500 | 1500 | 1800 | 4400 |
| 2ND | MCGUINNESS | 700 | 600 | 1200 | 1500 | 4000 |
| 3RD | FRANCISCO | 700 | 500 | 1400 | 1000 | 3600 |
| 4 | CHEPE | 600 | 500 | 1600 | 900 | 3600 |
| 5 | BOOLO | 800 | 300 | 800 | 1400 | 3300 |
| 6 | SAMBA | 600 | 300 | 800 | 1200 | 2900 |
| 7 | XIPHIAS | 300 | 300 | 900 | 1300 | 2800 |
| 8 | OLDEMAR | 300 | 300 | 800 | 1000 | 2400 |
| 9 | MELVIN | 200 | 500 | 800 | 800 | 2300 |
| 10 | WILL | 400 | 100 | 800 | 800 | 2100 |
| 11 | FREDDY | 500 | 200 | 600 | 800 | 2100 |
| 12 | GEOVANNY | 100 | 300 | 700 | 900 | 2000 |
| 13 | EDWIN | 400 | 100 | 600 | 700 | 1800 |
| 14 | ALPHA MIKE | 500 | 0 | 400 | 800 | 1700 |
| 15 | MAURICIO | 300 | 100 | 600 | 600 | 1600
|
Image Source: Angleradventures.com
Billfish are some of the ocean’s most beautiful strong fish and sailfish with their vibrant blue fins stand out. Sailfish are magnificent creatures of the sea that combine both strength and elegance in their form. Times are changing, and it is evident in the boats that pull into the marina now with their color tag and release flags flying off, showing off their catches for the day. Long gone are the days of billfish hanging proudly from the boats. There is a campaign underway to make Sailfish the national fish of Costa Rica. Continue Reading
Taken from a Crocodile Bay fishing expedition, this photos demonstrate the proper way to catch and release a Sailfish so it is not harmed but you still get the rush of catching one of these big game fish.
Image Source: Crocodilebay.com
Sailfish spotted in ocean.
Two anglers enjoy a day of fly fishing off the Osa Peninsula courtesy of Crocodile Bay. They were in for quite the adventure reeling in this dancing sailfish.
Image Source: Crocodile Bay
March Sails
