Imagine yourself receiving an email from a friend, and when you read it, it’s an invitation to fish the Bisbee’s tournaments in Cabo San Lucas Mexico with Team Tranquilo. You are immediately floored because this is the biggest paying tournament in the world and an invitation to fish with one of the best teams in the world. You throw caution to the wind, and say sure to the $80,000 entry fee. Months later, you head out from your home marina, Marina Pez Vela, for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to the SUPERBOWL of fishing—The Bisbees Black and Blue Tourament™. You take shelter from a hurricane on the way there, and just as luck would have it an earthquake triggers a tsunami warning in the marina you took shelter in. Fortunately, things work out and you arrive in Cabo San Lucas. Your team decides that if you’ve come all this way, you may as well enter another tournament before the two Bisbees tournaments you came for.
Can you feel it? It’s coming. Not winter. The Fish. Actually, thanks to El Niño, the waters have stayed unseasonably warm and the bite has been good year round. Not the world=record-breaking kind of bite that we have during dry season, but there are plenty of fish out there right now.
I went out with friends at Gran Gallo Sportfishing this past month on a bottom hunting trip for snapper, grouper, runners, and amberjack. Lucky for us, we had some awesome co-ordinates from our Captain, Merlin, and we struck fish gold most of the day. Well, Merlin, Jim and Gerrardo did. I can’t remember when I lost so many fish off the bottom. The guys can’t remember laughing so hard at my attitude when I lost fish. It was very, very, hard seeing lines bite and fish brought in all around me and, well, I was just feeding the fish. It’s funny how sometimes your luck can change when you talk to the Fish Gods. I got to the point where I knew that I had done something to upset them, so I poured my beer into the ocean to give them a drink as I made my apologies and prayers to them. The mate grabbed me some fresh hunks of meat for my hook and down down down went my line to the bottom of the ocean. (Not too deep, we were mostly at 2-300 feet.) I felt it hit the bottom, I flicked it up and found my tension and lo and behold!!! The Fish Gods had listened! Right away I knew that this was a big one and I was in for a fight. He ran, straight for some rocks and my friends were yelling ‘keep him up Sarah, he’s running for the rocks. You don’t keep him up he’s gonna break that line’. Of course, there is a fine line here in fishing. If you put too much tension and reeling in at the same time, you will pull the hook right out of the fishes mouth or snap the line. Keep it loose and the fish runs or spits the hook. Lucky again for me this was a big fish. I put my all into it and pulled up and worked that reel hard on the way down. Sweat was pouring down my face, my knees braced on the back of the boat, back and hips working the fish to the surface. The Fish Gods had answered, but I needed to show my worth and bring this fish in. This fish was tough and smart, but on this day I was smarter. He fought hard, taking the line out more than once, but I managed to boat a 25lb Amberjack in under 10 minutes with no help from the boat—other than the good advice—which is indeed priceless now as I will always remember that fight, that conversation with the Fish Gods, that day of fishing.
It’s some kinda wonderful out there, and it’s waiting for you… You’ve managed to land yourself in one of the most epic fishing hot spots EVER. If you need any convincing, how about considering that The Offshore World Championships are held here at Marina Pez Vela yearly, and the catch for the past three years has broken world records each time. That’s just point one.
It’s quite unbelievable actually. Any time of year you can come and catch fish. While the sailfish bite has tapered off right now, they are still here, and the 100+ mile mark is teeming with marlin right now. Check out local Captain, Pete Rae, who just shattered 1000 catch and release marlin this year. Hat’s off to Pete. And it’s only August. Just think, those marlin are out there waiting for you. Point two.
This is my favorite time of year here. The rains have come back, essentially cooling things off a bit and making everything super green again. Plants are flowering and fruiting, and we should soon see an overabundance of baby animals. In the ocean, whales are returning on their migratory paths, and we shall soon see them playing right out front of Manuel Antonio.
Costa Rica is exceptional. Manuel Antonio has no rival. The diversity of flora and fauna here are unlike any other in the world. National Geographic rates our beach as one of the 10 most beautiful in the world.
You can feel the energy before you get there. You can smell it. You can taste it. And when you arrive at Marina Pez Vela, you can experience it. ‘IT’ is The Offshore World Championship.
Wonder why there’s energy? Why you can taste the competition and the fish in the air? It’s because each of the qualifying 67 international teams had to WIN a qualifying tournament the previous year. Then, they had to get sponsors and get here–with all their gear.
I’m insane kind of stoked you know. The Offshore World Championship happened HERE April 11-17. Of course, that was just after the deadline for my article, so you’re going to have to check back in July to find out what happened. The past month has been VERY exciting, and the next one looks to be even more so!
We are in the thick of Tournament Season, and the fish have been co-operating very nicely. When I say very nicely I mean WORLD RECORD CATCH! Leg III of the Los Sueños Triple Crown finished up March 28, with a fight to the very end. The average catch was 2 fish per minute, and the fight for 2nd and 3rd was amazing, it went down to the last 2 minutes of fishing. The Signature Champion, Tarheel finished all three legs with 27,300 points and a big fat cheque for $100,000.00. Ok, so to put that 27,300 points into perspective, each sailfish is worth 100 points. That’s 273 fish for one boat in one tournament. That’s A LOT OF FISH, no matter which way you look at it. If you’re not familiar with tournament fishing, you might be thinking that we’re all a bunch of killers. Alas, not true. All billfish are identified by an observer on the boat, and then released again into the ocean. Sport-fishing is just that, a sport, and we respect our opponent.
Welcome to the Quepos/Manuel Antonio area. Did you know that this is bar-none one of the richest fishing grounds in the WORLD? And you’re here during the HOTTEST, SEXIEST, MOST TALKED ABOUT TIME OF YEAR!!!
My gosh, I bet you’re thinking what is this girl saying? HOT and SEXY used to describe fishing in the same sentence? Yup I mean it, totally. Let’s just get right into it.
First up, Sexy Patti Wilson of Fort Myers, Florida and her Whopper of a Roosterfish. She out fished the boys that day, brought that big ass fish in all by herself and managed to swill a beer while doing it. Now you tell me, what’s not HOT and SEXY about THAT??!!! What a fish girl! This fish was caught inshore, within 5km south of Marina Pez Vela, with Captain Roy of Aguas Azules Watersports. (See their ad in Quepolandia for contact information; tell them Sarah sent you).
Welcome to the Promised Land. Well, more correctly, the promised sea. The fishing here off of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica is bar none, some of the best in the world. It attracts anglers of all types. Professionals, rookies, and bucket-list-crosser-off-ers. Consider me all of the above. Also consider me extremely lucky, for this past month, I’ve had some of the best fishing experiences of my life.
Firstly, if you’ve read my previous articles, you know about the boat Tranquilo. If you haven’t, Tranquilo is a 57’ Spencer Yacht, now registered for Sport Fishing Tours that has only previously been here as a competition tournament boat. So, lucky me being lucky me, I got to go out twice this month on Tranquilo, the first as a Photographer/Videographer during the first leg of the Los Suenos Triple Crown Tournament Series, and the second as a fun-day, breaking ‘billfish cherries’ per say.
I am definitely one of the luckiest women in the world. This article celebrates the last year of fishing here in Quepolandia. Off of the pier, the mangroves, Marina Pez Vela. You are in the Shangri-La of fishing. So……….when are you going?
Month after month is special here. As are the people. It’s what makes a great community, a great experience – a bucket list line crossed off. And remember, if you don’t see Costa Rica from the Sea, well, then you don’t really see it.
Fishing here in the waters off of Quepos is amazing. Year round you can go out and catch something. I can honestly say I have never been on a boat here that went out and didn’t catch a fish. And if you’re here, right now, in December, reading this article, know that you’re here during one of the best fishing months in the year. I went out in November for a half day, and we boated 12 mahi-mahi in 4 hours. Even better for me, I had never caught a mahi mahi before.
The phone rings. I look at the display. It’s one of my best fishing buddies here in Costa Rica. He says he’s got our fall trip all hooked up. I grin. My heart starts beating faster, I struggle to listen closer. The trip is 3 days, with one of my favorite Captains and Crew. Oh, and the owner is coming along too. They’d love to see the two of you come (meaning my husband and I). Only cost is fuel. This is a fishing mojo trip between friends. Sweet, I think to myself, I’ve already got the cash stashed, it’s gonna be rockin. I thank my friend and let him know that I’ll get back to him right away.
Welcome to Quepolandia, where the fish outnumber the people. It doesn’t get better anywhere else. Maybe that’s why Costa Rica translated means Rich Coast. Either way, you are here, with access to some of the best fishing grounds on the planet.
This year the Offshore World Championships were hosted here for the second year in a row – and with a New World Record Catch!
Got a bucket list? More or less, we all do. For those of us that fish, Quepos is the promised land.
I remember when I hadn’t had the opportunity yet to charter a boat and go offshore fishing, for years I looked through brochures on vacation, never hitting the right circumstances. Nothing shouted out at me. And then, the miraculous happened, and my fishing dreams came true. I moved here, to the promised land.
I will NEVER forget my first trip offshore here in Quepos. Every trip is that way. And if you’ve got any question in your mind on whether you should charter a boat and go out, well, the answer my friend is BOOK NOW.
Team Trinidad with The Seahawk Day 4 Heaviest Meat Fish
By Sarah Munro
There is no way I can explain it but I will try. The Offshore World Championship is one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I didn’t even fish the competition. I lived vicariously through my friends and other anglers who qualified to fish this tournament.
A-Mazing. That’s one of the words you could use to describe the fishing here, and aren’t you lucky to be here, in the middle of one of our hottest fishing seasons EVER.
It’s insane really, new Tournament World Records, boats calling in on average 30 sailfish daily. Numbers as high as 50, continue to shatter the season. Recreational boats are doing fantastic as well, with numbers averaging 10 Sailfish per day. Marlin are heating up a bit, and the inshore action is spot on friends. Spot on.
