Captain David and the Super Panga Explorer have redefined perceptions about the required boat size for great Costa Rican Sportfishing. This 26 foot craft is expertly rigged and 100% laid out with fishing in mind. The incomparable Captain David squeezes every inch of performance out of the Explorer and she has satisfied many clients this season.
We have heard from Blue Water Towers that several of our readers have inquired about getting their own Explorer-style radar arch. Often imatated, never duplicated...for the complete construction history and video of the maiden voyage of the Explorer, check out the Explorer Story.
On April 24 John Sheldon was on board the Explorer with big fish on the brain. They tried offshore in the morning and it was slow, so then they returned inshore and caught a nice Yellowfin tuna and a suegra.
Michael Zwilling booked the Explorer and had a fantastic day on April 28. They stayed inside and absolutely pummeled the inshore reef fish.
At the end of the day they had caught a Rainbow Runner (aka Rainbow Tunney), six nice Yellowfin Tunas and a 30lbs. Cuberra Snapper. Great day of rod-bendin' action from Captain David!
April 30 was another solid day for the Explorer. Captain David showed client Sally some great offshore action (a nice Dorado) and some big-game inshore fishing as well in the form of a 50+lbs. Amberjack.
The silver bullets were back in Garza for client Sam Dobson and his girlfriend; on May 3 they brought in Captain David's first big Wahoo of the season. They stayed inshore and got the decks bloody early with a nice Rainbow Runner and a Yellowfin Tuna.
Then they caught this nice Wahoo! This catch follows Captain Eduardo's Wahoo strike, so it is safe to say that the coming months will bring more silver bullets this way.
The Wahoo is a powerful fighter who pound-for-pound is just as formidable a foe as a billfish. Check out the backround of the picture for the indomitable catch-all rig: Planer/Spoon.
You don't know about Craig's Secret Weapon? Hustle your bustle over to the Fishing Tactics page to learn all about FishingNosara's most battle-tested rig.
Captain David welcomed Josh to the Explorer for a Saturday fishing trip that yielded an amazing catch in early May. Check out this HUGE Roosterfish! As with our billfish catches, all Roosterfish are released.
Great work by Josh and the Explorer!
Newly-inducted Hall of Famer Dennis Paul was back in Nosara on May 4, and once again he had the fishies running scared. He earned his enshrinement by releasing a gigantic Blue Marlin back in February on the Wanderer and this time is on the Explorer mercilessly beating down the inshore species.
Captain David took the Explorer out to his secret spot and they packed the fishbox with haste and reckless abandon. Their scorecard shows two Jacks, a Rock Snapper, and seven nice Yellowfin Tunas.
Four days later Mr. Paul was back on the Explorer and caught eight nice Yellowfin Tunas and a Rainbow Runner, then capped it off with a MASSIVE 65lbs. Cuberra Snapper. This catch is certainly Hall of Fame-worthy and gives Mr. Paul the distinction of being the only double-enshrined member.
Fred Schramm and Eddie McGowan were kicking some fish butt all over the reef on May 5 with Captain David on the Explorer. Lots of Tunas in all varieties: White, Black, Yellowfin...the action was so hot we thought they might catch a can of Albacore!
Freddy and Eddie fished the next day with slow action, then on May 7 it picked up in a remarkable way. Captain David put them on the fish and they kept the decks bloody from start to finish. They hit shore with ten Yellowfin Tunas and ten Jacks in the fishbox. All the fish weighed over 15lbs., with a few of the Yella Fellas in the twenties.
Fantastic fourth day of fishing on May 9 with Captain David; as if their previous assault on Yellowfin tunas wasn't enough, they boated twelve more of the meaty Yellow footballs on this trip. This 45lbs. Cuberra was the perfect finish to another great trip.
Fred Schramm and Eddie McGowan would not give these fish a break! On their fifth day of fishing on the Explorer they caught five more Yellowfin Tunas and another nice Cuberra Snapper; the big red Buick was estimated around 35lbs.
On May 13 the lovely Georgia Peach Ms. Paula joined Craig and Captain David on the
Explorer for a trip to inshore fish market known as Picha Padre. They had just arrived to Nosara and Bianca (the official mascot of Nosara Paradise Rentals) was very hungry; it was imperative that they pack the fishbox with some good eatin' fish.
Mission Accomplished as once again Paula brings home the bacon! All our clients know that if you have fresh filets in your house, little Bianca will be around for a snack.
Freddy and Eddie came back on May 17 for a victory lap on the Explorer. They did their typical awesome work on the reefs and nailed another nice Cuberra Snapper and one of the largest Rainbow Runners we have seen this season.
Regular readers of this report know that Captain David has a great affection for loudly-colored boardshorts, so you know he was a fan of these Dorado shorts. Great catches by Fred Schramm and Eddie McGowan on a long week of excellent action.
May has been a great month for Captain David and the Explorer and we expect that the action will stay strong well into August.