By Capt. Sergio Atanes:
You would think a charter captain who spends more than 220 days a year fishing would vacation on land. Not this sea lover. The last two years we have traveled to Costa Rica to fish and film for our TV show.
We picked Nosara, a small town ideal for fishing, surfing and its nature preserves, located in the northwest of the country just minutes from the Pacific Ocean. Nosara is rich with archeological history. It is not uncommon for landowners to find vestiges of ancient cultures buried in the soil while building or planting crops.
Most vacation spots in Costa Rica are a four- to five-hour drive from airport in the capital city, San Jose. We wanted to find a fishing location that incorporated fishing and family adventure with the true flavor of Costa Rica. We settled on Nosara Paradise rentals, just minutes from shopping, fishing and Guiones Beach, which is known for its surfing.
Our trip this year consisted of 18 anglers, mostly couples who love adventure. We spent eight days and seven nights exploring and fishing. Nightlife in Nosara is mostly local restaurants that have music, and most resorts and bars observe a 10 p.m. curfew. Fishing out of Nosara made things simple. A short 30-minute run led us to sailfish and marlin. We’d fish offshore in the morning and on the way home we would do some bottom fishing on one of the many reefs that lie within a mile of the shoreline.
The captains were some of the best I have fished with outside of the country. They are hard workers, polite and knowledgeable. The boats are nothing fancy. Offshore they use 32-foot cuddy cabin boats with twin Yamaha outboards. Inshore captains use 27-foot and 23-foot island center console outboard boats.
The marine geology of this area features an offshore ledge that brings deep-water fish close to the shore, so you spend more time fishing and less time traveling. The usual fish caught offshore were sailfish with an average weight more than 100 pounds, blue and black marlin, yellowfin tuna and dorado. Nearshore, we caught cubera snapper, bonita, seabass, and roosterfish, and we fished less than a quarter mile from shore. From shore, some of the biggest snook are caught just a few minutes away from the resort in the local river, with some fish going over 50 pounds.
We spent 3 days fishing and 2 days touring the area and a few just enjoying the beach and the nature preserve. Our group caught and released 49 Sailfish, two Marlin, 12 yellowfin tuna, four roosterfish, and two cubera snapper.
Other activities included horseback riding, kayaking, eco tours and snorkeling the inshore reefs just a few yards from the shoreline. We all had a great time and look forward to another visit next year. Next time we plan to zipline in the jungle and make the trip to the volcano.
Capt. Sergio Atanes is a native of Tampa and has been fishing Tampa Bay and Boca Grande for over 40 years. He is owner and operator of S & I charters and can be reached at (813) 973-7132 or www.reelfishy.com.