We have our tenth report in from Roy over at Costa Rica, it looks like the Sailfish are still hanging round in the waters! If you missed day 9’s blog, you can catch up here. I’ll now hand it over to Admiral Marlow –
It is day 10 of our Big Adventure at Crocodile Bay. Crocodile Bay is a fantastic resort and I must mention another person who makes everything go so smoothly. Her name is Silena and she is the fishing administrator, every day she is on hand to make sure your day goes to plan. Silena coordinates everything and again nothing is too much trouble.
I bet some of the Shipmates back home are getting bored with my daily fishing reports because all we seem to do is catch fish and have a great time in fabulous weather. Let me tell you it is not easy and is very hard work in the hot dry weather just like it is back home. Today we were on the dock just after 6 am that’s when most of you were still in bed, everything was organised again thanks to Selina.
Today we were on a strike boat with Manuel and Saul our Captains Mate. The plan was to go offshore and target the Sailfish, and if that failed option 2 would be the Tuna. By 7.30 am after catching dozens of nice Sardines for bait we were some 6 miles out in 2000’ of water. The rods were all out and in position, 5 rods with Ballyhoo and two sets of teasers, a Marlin Rod on standby along with our jigging and pitching outfits plus two Popper just in case we came across some Tuna. I tied new leaders where required on the way out, nothing was left to chance. I was watching Saul prepare the baits and was looking at how he was preparing some Goggle Eyes.
I watched him take out the backbone without slicing the body, something I hadn’t seen before. I asked a few questions and it turns out he is the only mate in the fleet who does it this way and it’s his secret. Not any more, I am the only white man who also knows and I would have to kill you if I told you how it was done. When trolled these baits look more alive than a live fish simply amazing They look so good I could eat them myself and in fact did!
With all this great bait how could we fail? At 7.32 am with my eyes glued on the near teaser and my bait alongside it I saw a massive Sailfish tracking the teaser. It was now a team effort, Manuel who was in the tower had a better view and shouted down the fishes position. Saul pulled in the teaser which left my bait where it was and the fish tracked my bait. I can tell you the thrill is in the take and I dropped my bait back straight to a 9’ monster Sailfish that was already lit up. My outfit was my light spinning one that as already caught some very big fish, I felt the hit and did the mandatory 5 count and closed the bail. The fish dropped the bait so I fed more line back and felt the hit again, another count of 5.
The same thing happened again, in fact it was the 5th drop back and a count of 6 before the Sail finally ate the bait. That first few seconds is the adrenaline rush as the reel screams off line and within a few seconds, the fish is tail-walking some 150yards away from you. At that point everyone has to work as team, all of the other lines have to be got in plus the teasers before the boat can back up. Whilst this is happening the boat is still going forward at 7 knots. That’s why you are glad of a lot of line on your reel because with light line and light rod the fish could easily be 200 yards away from you. For me that’s the best part of the whole fight, the thrill is in the take and the hookup and the next couple of minutes when all hell as broken loose. After that, almost anyone who can fish with a bit of luck should get the fish to the boat, that’s why I often hand over the rod and get on camera duty.
I must have already taken 500 pictures of leaping Sailfish and not yet got a good one when the fish is still hot and along way away. Well today I succeeded and this is a 120lb Sail Fish heading towards the horizon. With the rod in the hands of Chris who now has had a lot of Jedi training the boat is backed down towards the fish who was going ballistic. The game is not to panic and I am sure that is why so many fish get lost, this one tried all the injun tricks and ran towards the boat.
What a great start to the day. Cutting to the chase, we had three more big Sailfish on Sauls secretly prepared baits. The story is the same and the photos all look the same so I wont bore you with the details. We had a couple of bite offs which were caused by Wahoo, boy those fish have got sharp teeth. Around mid day I hooked a Mahi ( Dolphin Fish ) that lit up in the water, these are great fish to fight on light tackle. We have loads of Mahi to eat at the lodge so I released it.
We finished up 8 for 4 with the Sails all on our light tackle, like I said quality is often better than quantity. The other bonus was I have taken the best Sail Fish photo to date!
I am tired out and going to bed. Tomorrow is another day and Rooster Fish are on the agenda.
Signing off
Admiral Marlow
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Crocodile Bay Resort really is a one-of-a-kind destination, catering to both anglers and holiday-makers. If the sound of Roy’s trip interests you, take a look at our Crocodile Bay Resort page for even more info, Alternatively, you can request a free brochure or simply call us today on 01603 407596 with any questions you may have.
