Report of October 28th 2004
By
Jerry Ruhlow
Mike O´Hara, at Casamar Lodge, had an unusual catch for the Caribbean coast last week when he caught a 50-pound Atlantic sailfish just outside Barra Colorado while trolling a rubber squid for tuna (he also caught five tuna to 40 pounds).
Casa Mar had 18 fly fishermen at the lodge last week, with more than 400 tarpon in the air and at nearby Rio Colorado Lodge, Dan Wise reports that as of last Sunday the weather still holding, with blue skies and tarpon still on the out side. On Saturday the bite slowed down from the frenzy of the last days but is still respectable fishing, he added, and as of noon last Sunday his anglers had two 100 pounders to the boat.
The previous day, Bud Baldwin and five buddies from Tennessee jumped 13 and boated a huge tarpon, estimated at over 160 pounds along with several large jacks and a 19 pound triple tail.
The annual run of calba (Fat Snook) are already plentiful up the San Juan River, and moving into the backwaters at Barra and be the time this appears showing well at Barra Colorado, peaking there by early or mid-November and continuing in December.
Calba (Centropomus parallelus) are smaller than the more sought after Commmon Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) that are targeted on our Caribbean coast, with the all-tackle International Game Fish Association calba (Fat Snook) world record of 9 lb. 5 oz. caught at Brazil's Barra Una in 1999.
I have caught them here to five or six pounds, and they provide a great opportunity to get your name in the record book as a line-test record if you care to submit data to the IGFA, including the line-test it was caught on, and certification of the weight and measurements.
A few are already being caught at Barra Colorado, and the run should continue to build from now through November and into December. They are a lot of fun on light tackle.
The Rio Colorado Lodge is sponsoring a special calba tournament Nov. 20-22 for Costa Rica residents and nationals, which is when the time the run is normally at its peak.
Lodge owner Dan Wise said the cost is $570.00 per person, and includes a charter flight from San Jose to Barra at 1 p.m. Nov. 20, fishing from 2 to 5 p.m. that day with boat, guide and tackle, a full day of fishing the following day, two nights lodging, fishing license, all meals and an open bar (beer, soft drinks and domestic liquor) and your choice of air or boat transport back to San Jose on Nov. 22.
That's nearly $300 less than the normal price for the same trip. Bring your Costa Rica cedula. Not included are lures and tips. For reservations, call the Rio Colorado Lodge San Jose office at 232-4063; Dan Wise at the lodge, 710-6879 or Costa Rica Outdoors at 282-6743. Lures are not included, so bring your own or purchase them there.
The outrageous tarpon run we've had their in recent weeks should be slowing by that time, but still a chance of hanging one of the silver rockets in the river, and be sure to bring a cooler to take your catch home. Snook are great eating.
We're pleased to see an operator here bringing the cost down a bit for Costa Rica fishermen, and also for local residents who are often on a short retirement budget.
Last fishing report from the central Pacific coast was from Costa Rica Dreams in mid-October, when the Dream Maker nailed two sailfish, the Dream II, seven sails, a tuna and dorado, and the boat Sail Fish, caught five roosterfish inshore. I suspect that is more likely because we don't have a lot of fishermen here in October than a slow down in the action as reported here last week.
Not much news from the northern coast, which was pretty well shut-down by heavy rains Friday and Saturday of last week, and a lot of the skippers out of the country.
Richard Chellemi is in the U.S., but his wife Melissa reports from that area that his mate fished Richard´s Gamefisher II a couple of days prior to the deluge, and got a 250 pound tuna, three sails and a few dorado.
Melissa also reported the Shannon, former Flamingo Marina operator Jim McKee´s sailboat, and a couple of smaller boats sank in the heavy rains, and the marina is still out of service.
For more information on fishing or assistance in planning a trip to Costa Rica, contact Jerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com or visit www.costaricaoutdoors.com and click PLANNING A TRIP on the home page, fill in the brief form that pops up and click SEND. Will be back immediately with a suggested itinerary and total cost; no obligation. You can also call him toll free from the U.S. and Canada at their Costa Rica office, 1-800 308-3394. Skippers, lodge operators and individual anglers are invited contact Jerry with fishing reports by Sunday of each week. Call or fax: 282-6743 if calling from Costa Rica, or through the email address above
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