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Captain William on the
Wanderer has set the bar high this season for billfish releases.
The big blue beauty also well equipped for inshore reef attacks, monster-sized bottom fishing, and exciting topwater strikes.
With First Mate Alex rigging the spread and the Captain William's wisdom and steady hand on the equipment, the Wanderer is the gold standard for fishing in the whole area.
Now in her second season as the FishingNosara flagship, the 31' Wanderer had several outstanding trips in the month of August with lots of Sailfish releases.
On July 20 Captain William and the Wanderer welcomed a group from the local hotel Tierra Magnifica for a morning trip to the inshore reefs. They had some excellent action highlighted by a 40lbs. Cubera Snapper.
They also put four Bonitas and a football sized Yellowfin Tuna in the fishbox before calling it an early day and heading in.
Offshore or inshore, the Wanderer always catches fish and keeps clients satisfied. Two days later our good buddy and Guiones Beach neighbor Ron LaGro was back on the Wanderer for his fifth trip of the season, and once again Captain William and First Mate Alex had the big blue beauty on the fish with rods bent.
The action was fierce early in the day with eight Bonitas in the boat. Ron also caught a big green Dorado for the dinner table and lost a massive Yellowfin Tuna right at the boat. They also saw lots of whales and finally headed back in with dinner in the bag and another great day of fishing behind them.
The rain cleared up after a few days on July 30 and we were amped to have the Wanderer back in the water. With the real rainy season looming in September, we are primed to squeeze every drop of fishing out of the record year of 2011.
Hall of Famer Morgan Tribble of Virgina and his buddy Micah from South Carolina were in Nosara for a long weekend and they had their sights set on action-packed fishing. Joined by their friends Arianna and Alexandra, this quartet had an absolute blast on top of the reefs today.
Utilizing a slow troll with occasional drifting, the Wanderer stayed right on a swarm of football-sized Yellowfin tunas. In total, this posse of anglers boated fourteen of these tasty Yella Fellas.
Morgan looks pretty comfy on his Thone of Yella Fellas. Great action as always from the boat that doesn't know the meaning of the phrase "off-season".
They say everything is bigger in Texas, so when the Wanderer welcomed Lone Star gal Debbie and her posse from Cypress on July 31 it was clear that only the BIG fish would have to be worried. Captain William hunted down a large school of feeding porpoises and put the Wanderer right alongside the feeding frenzy as First Mate Alex and the boys threw Williamson "El Poppers" to the surface-striking Yellowfin Tunas.
They caught two monster Yellowfin Tunas over 60lbs using this top water casting tactic. Later in the day they drew the attention of a big Sailfish but couldn't quite bury the hooks. Still, all is well with over 120lbs. of Tuna in the fishbox...enough to feed an appetite the size of Texas.
You can tell from the pictures that these are some Heavy Yella Fellas!
We had a great nature tour on the morning of August 2. The Wanderer was happy to welcome the Portel family for a morning nature tour where they saw dolphins, birds, whales and some particularly amorous turtles. 
This is a common site in our area since we are just a few kilometers south of the Ostinal National Refuge which host one of the largest sea turtle spawnings in the world. Rick Egan booked the most famous Wanderer on August 3 for a run offshore after the big sailfish. Captain David signed on to assist First Mate Alex on the big blue beauty and Captain William took her out to the same spot the Explorer worked over with the Jake Davies group. Clearly this combination of world class anglers, crew, equipment and advance recon of the bite spelled disaster for the hungry Sailfish as the Wanderer and Rick Egan released five Sailfish, including this legendary Double Header Release. 
Alex and David worked hard all day to ensure safe releases for the fishes and fun times for the clients. 
Great work by Captain William, First Mate Alex, David, and the whole Egan group to guarantee the safety of these majestic creatures. All 5 fish were released alive and healthy...and ready to be caught again! 
On August 4 The Wanderer stayed inshore in the afternoon with client Rick Dykema and produced a nice haul of fish. After a few quick Bonitas to get started, Mr. Dykema followed up with a meaty Yellowfin Tuna and 25lbs. Amberjack for the dinner table. The Bickel Brothers (Jeff and Brian) had a huge day on the Wanderer on August 8 with Captain William keeping them on the fish and Alex maintaining an irresistible spread. They went offshore a few miles and pulled our high speed lure rig with excellent results. 
The Sailfish action has been hot and heavy this month and this day was no exception. The Bickels released four of the mighty fish and missed out on two additional Sails. They also added two nice Dorados for the dinner table that tipped the scales at over 25lbs. 
Great late-season action by the Brothers Bickel and the famous Wanderer. Robert Barrett and his boys from Orlando, FL had a nice trip on the morning of August 9 on the Wanderer. They started on the bottom fishing with our Cuberra Snapper Tactic and guess what? They caught a 35lbs. Cubera Snapper along with three Yella fellas. The good fishing continued offshore as they topped off the trip by releasing two nice Sailfish. The first one came in on the long shotgun line and David (on loan from the Explorer) billed and captured this beauty. Nice work by the young Mr. Barrett to keep this fish healthy for its release...even First Mate Alex was impressed by the boy's strength in keeping the fish off of the gunwale: The next Sailfish was business as usual for First Mate Alex:
  Great performance, no? This super-productive day shows what is possible even this late into the season. Great work by the Wanderer and Roberto Barrett!
August 10 will go down in history has one of the best days in FishingNosara history. Both the Wanderer and Explorer released big Sails today, plus Captain William delivered some of the best fish-fighting photos this report has ever seen (see David's report above). Martin Epstein from Florida got things started quickly with a nice 35lbs. Dorado in the fishbox and sushi on the plate. 
Later Captain William expertly found the blue water / green water break and First Mate Alex switched over to brightly colored lures to take advantage of the clear water. The Sailfish were thick and came swarming through the spread in waves. 
After the first five releases and with First Mate Alex' arms about to fall off, Captain William masterfully billed and released the final Sailfish. The Wanderer's scorecard shows 6 Sailfish, all released. 
More great Sailfish on August 11! While on the way out to the blue water, Captain William spotted the telltale splash of a spinning porpoise school and we all know what that means...Yellowfin Tuna Frenzy! 
The boys deployed our arsenal of Williamson Jet Poppers into the mass of bubbling water and started pulling Yella Fellas in at a rapid-fire pace. They knocked out fourteen Yellowfin Tunas before moving on to the deep water. 
The offshore Sailfish boulevard is still thick with pelagics as evidenced by Robert Barrett's two monstrous releases. Great trip by Dr. Roberto and the posse...tons of good-eatin' Yellas and a pair of world class billfish as well! 
Jeff and Brian Bickel had such a good time on the Wanderer that they signed up for an additional day of fishing with Captain William and First Mate Alex on August 12. After going 4 out of 6 on Sailfish a few days ago, the Brothers Bickel were looking to improve upon an already legendary performance. The Wanderer went back out to Sailfish Alley and started pulling the high-speed lures over the blue water break. Around 10am the first strike came in the form this big Yellowfin Tuna on a C + H Black/Orange lure. 
The bill collectors came calling in the early afternoon as several hungry Sailfish started tearing through the spread. Sailfish hunt in pairs and First Mate Alex has perfected the art of the double header hook-up. Alex quickly sets the hook when the first one hits and Captain William angles the fish so that the backside of the spread can remain deployed. With an angler keeping the first fish honest, Alex then drops back a pitch bait to the other Sailfish and the double header is on! Many clients have achieved this feat in the already-history-making 2011 season, but very few managed to pull the feat off twice on one trip! 
Make room in the Hall of Fame for the Bickels! Excellent job by Captain William, First Mate Alex, and the famous Wanderer. | 
This is Craig Sutton with the 
