Captain David has established the 26-foot Explorer as the predominant mid-sized sportfishing vessel in the whole area. This Super Panga is incredibly swift while packing the wallop of a boat twice her size. At the close of 2011 the Explorer continued to reign as the undisputed pound-for-pound champion of Costa Rican sportfishing!
On December 15 Mark Shaw enlisted Captain David and the Explorer for a fishing trip that took them all around the Garza area and caught some great fish for the table and the trophy room.
They stayed inshore early and around 9:30 Mark caught this tasty White Tuna.
With dinner in the box, Captain David headed offshore to blue water where hungry fish couldn't leave the baits alone.
Around noon they lost a big Dorado and soon after a Sailfish. A hour of near-misses passed, then the fish of a lifetime came barrel-rolling through the spread.
Mate Pipio saw him first and alertly pitched a rigged ballyhoo down the exhaust alley. The Black Marlin showed his bill as he snatched the bait, and Mark buckled in for a wild ride.
After 20 minutes of combat this 250lbs. Black Marlin gave up the fight; Perfect bill and release by Pipio to ensure the safety of the fish and angler.
The Explorer proves once again that big billfish don't care how big the boat is, so long as the right Captain, angler, and tackle are on the scene to take care of the job. Great fish, great release, great trip for Mark Shaw!
Sadie Wright from Alaska and her group caught a 25lbs. Dorado, a nice Yella fella, a White fella and fifteen Jack Crevalles on the morning of December 16.
Mark Shaw had such a blast catching that Marlin that he signed up Captain David for an extra day of action on December 17.
The green water made the decision to stay inshore a no-brainer, and Mr. Shaw filled the fishbox of the Explorer with fish filets.
Highlighted by a 20lbs. Cubera snapper and more than a dozen Jack Crevalles, Mark also picked up this Yellowtail snapper to round out his trip to the fish market.
FishingNosara is famous for our 2.5hr. Sunset fishing trips. These short excursions are a perfect way to acclimate novice anglers to the craft of Costa Rica sportfishing and also delivers a breathtaking view of the golden Pacific sunsets.
Claire and Chris Lehto joined Captain David for a sunset trip on December 23 and made the most of their 2.5 hours on the water.
They caught three nice Yellowtail snappers and a meaty Cubera Snapper estimated to weigh 25lbs.
Fantastic work in no time at all...another great sunset fishing trip for the Explorer.
On December 28 client Rey Riis joined Captain David on the Explorer and reported an excellent bite of Yellowfin tuna.
The Yellas were still around on December 29 when client Jay Johnston from California booked with Captain David.
A half day of Yellowfin Tuna hunting commenced and we are stoked to report that he bulls-eyed his target species.
This is just one of the many feasty morsels they put in the fishbox over a course of 5 hours. Excellent dining for Mr. Johnston!
Captain David was pleased to close out the year with a great trip on December 29 with the Berrios family.
Senior Eduardo Berrios has become a great friend to FishingNosara over the last year since his first trip in early January 2011.
As a resident of San Jose, Eduardo has taken more than one long weekend to test the blue waters of Garza Bay.
He's posted some excellent trips and also endured some strikeouts, but Mr. Berrios' enthusiastic attitude and general cheerful nature always makes for a great day on the water even if the fishbox stays clean.
To celebrate the New Year he brought three generations of the Berrios family to the Explorer and they had a magical trip.
Captain David and Mate Carlos were honored to welcome Eduardo's father and daughter and showed them a great day of inshore action.
Throughout the half day trip they caught three White Tunas, a Cierro Mackeral, a 20lbs. Blue Jack, a Barber Snapper and eight Bonitos.
The highlight of the day was a 30lbs. Dorado, unusually large for such shallow depth.
Seems like it wandered inshore right into the Explorer's spread and Abullo Berrios knew exactly how to bring the big fish home.
Great catches by all three generations of Berrios!
Check out the video that Eduardo posted to our Facebook page from the boat! This 21st century stuff is getting out of hand folks.
Surrounded by family and with excellent fish in the box; Great way to end a fantastic year for Mr. Berrios and FishingNosara!
Captain David and the Explorer got an early start on January 3 with client John Wellborn fishing at first light.
They had lines in the water at 6:30am and got a few early-rising Bonita for bait.
The first good eatin' fish was a White tuna weighing about 15lbs. After a few mystery nibbles, the Penn spinning rod screamed off its report and Mr. Wellborn roped in a 40lbs.+ Macarella!
The early bird may get the worm, but on the Explorer the early fish get the hook!
Later that day client John Fitzgerald from Connecticut caught the first Striped Marlin of the season for the whole area on the 26-foot fish-fightin' Explorer.
This rarest of all Marlin species weighed and estimated 200lbs. and was released alive and unstressed as always.
Excellent work by First Mate Carlos on the safe handling of this majestic fish.
It's amazing how fast the fishing can turn down here...just yesterday Captain William of the Wanderer filed this unfortunate report: "Well, really slow today. We only had a sail on the teaser, but nothing. It's too windy offshore and the water is green."
Now, Captain William can catch fish in a Crock-pot so if he says they ain't bitin'... trust me they ain't bitin'!
Just 24 hours later and Mr. Fitzgerald fished himself into the Hall of Fame. He backed up the Marlin release with this nice Jack on a topwater plug.
Check out this email we got from Mr. Fitzgerald: "Hey Craig just wanted to let you know that Captain David and Carlos are a great team! They put me on a bunch of fish today including a 200 plus Striped Marlin!!! Pura Vida! Many thanks John Fitz"
Great work by Captain David, First Mate Carlos, John Fitzgerald and the unconquerable Explorer on the first Striped Marlin of the season.
After boating 15 nice fish to finish 2011, Sr. Eduardo Berrios and his padre set out to make their first trip of 2012 just as fruitful on January 7. They put several Bonita in the bait bucket to get started then put the teasers out for billfish.
Captian David keep changing up the Explorer's spread to try to coax the big billfish up to the surface.
Unfortunately the Sails and Marlin were scarce and the Berrios boys only had a few small nibbles on the trip.
Eduardo uploaded this photo from the boat along with this caption:
"Heading home after spending the entire day on the water. No billfish but we still had a great time."
January 8 was a very productive day of fishing on the Explorer for Colorado-based client Adrian Archuleta with lots of good inshore action.
Captain David kept this group parked on top of the legendary reef at Pincha Padre and the Jack Crevalles showed up with big appetites.
By the end of the half-day trip they had put eight lovely Jacks in the fishbox.
Excellent work as always by Captain David, Mate Carlos and the unstoppable Explorer.
After taking a day off for maintenance the Explorer played host to a company outing starring El Jefe Javier Hernandez on January 11. Looking sharp in his dress whites, the GM of Nosara Paradise Rentals showed his mastery of marine marksmanship.
Javier nailed this nice Jack Crevelle in the late afternoon and piled the fishbox with several other nice catches. Nice evening of "work" for Javier!
Unfortunately water and wind conditions made offshore billfishing a fruitless venture in mid-January, but the Captains and crews of FishingNosara are not ones to throw in the towel when the going gets tough.
The boys stayed inshore and satisfied their clients with big Jack Crevalles and other reef dwellers. John Wellborn booked the Explorer on January 12 and in addition to some Jacks, he found himself on the business end of a monster Cubera Snapper.
This meaty bulldog weighed about 30lbs. and should keep John Wellborn and his group full of fish for several days.
Excellent job by Captain David of adapting to the difficult offshore conditions and delivering the goods for his clients.
This is the email we received from John:
"Big props to you and your staff! We had a blast and everyone we encountered with your company was fantastic."
"You've got something special going on down there.Security Chief Eduardo and Concierge Manuel were especially great. Thanks again and we hope to see you soon."
The Explorer is set to continue on this strong pace for the rest of January and on into the spring. Captain David's calendar is filling up so don't delay...book today!
There are several top gun anglers in town now and on the schedule for later in the month. These guys have a "Take No Prisoners" attitude and they know what to do when to big boys arrive behind the boat hungry. 
You can use your mouse wheel to zoom in and zoom out on this report. 
In other action around Garza, Kevin Killerman enlisted Captain Vibert and the 32-foot Aimee Marie for a half-day of inshore fishing and he piled the fishbox high with 7 Jack Crevalles. 
