Catch and Release
By Joshua Stewart
The best policy, keeps the best fish alive.
That is what anglers around the world understand about good sport fishing. Preserve the most beautiful species flipping out of the ocean has been the main goal for old and young through the last years. That is why Sailfish, Marlin, Roosterfish and some others are released every day. Captains and mates take care of every game fish during the process of boating. They exactly know what to do in order to keep them alive and calculate the time out of water. “Catch and Release” has made an important change since it has been practiced.
Luna Tours boats released 10 Roosters, 4 Marlin and 123 Sailfish on February. First week and a half in March before Costa Rica Classic 2011, Ojaran II released 24 Sails and 5 Roosters. Ojaran III released 29 Sails and Reel Deal released 7 sailfish and 1 rooster. This gives us a total of 12 Marlin, 32 Roosters and 248 Sailfish released in 2011 only in our boats by March the 9th. This helps to conserve the species and keep the game alive.
The next time you visit a restaurant for sea food give a chance to the delicious Mahi-Mahi or Tuna. Some restaurants still serve Sail. If you were lucky and got some eatable fish on your catch of the day, try the finest restaurants in town. Our favorite and most recommended, El Gran Escape.
The Costa Rican fishing “agüizotes”
Walking around the slips at the marina and enjoying the sunsets at the dock while waiting for the boats to come, you can realize about fishing “agüizotes”. “Agüizote” means superstition for ticos. Those are the things that Captains and mates believe about the boats, customers and charters.
The top believed “agüizote” stands that boats fail and break off because of the customer and that the replacement boat will fail too. It happened when “Ojaran II” broke head gaskets and “No Limit” couldn’t even get to the place they were because of another engine problem. Customers waited for more than an hour when “Swordfish” picked them up at 12 miles and on the way back on the afternoon ran out of fuel at more than 20 miles. They came back at 9:30 pm when Ojaran III went to rescue with fuel. So, these customers broke 3 boats.
A second “agüizote” stands that when the customer talks about the tip, no fish will be boated. Some people use to joke about better tips if they get many fish. For some crews, that messes the day up. Believe it or not!
Contact Luna Tours Sportfishing at Hotel Best Western Kamuk lobby, downtown Quepos central. Book now Ojaran II, Ojaran III, Magic Moon and the Reel Deal (27 ft to 33ft) on full days or half day charters. We also arrange other boats for charter up to 46 ft. Contact us at 2777-0725 (office), 8869-4808 (24 hour cell) and visit our web site www.lunatours.net.
And remember…
“Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl.” – Ernest Hemingway.