Fishing on Warm Pacific Waters
The Crew
Fishing…. typically not my favorite pass time, but when the opportunity comes up to head out on the big blue a few miles off shore and hunt down some fish, how could I pass it up? Fishing out on warm Pacific waters had never felt so good. Four of us in total hired a small charter for half a day. Lyndsay (#1) Andy (#2), Myself (#3), and David(#4).
David and I were comfortable sitting on a cooler in the back of the boat, while Andy and Lyndsay sat up front enjoying the sites and the cool morning sea breeze. We’re just chugging along over rolling waves in the boat. We pass some turtles which was cool, but in case anybody missed them, Lyndsay screamed SUPER loud for assurance. Thanks Lynz. Another 10-15 minutes go by and we see some whales pretty close, and we’re graced with another scream, just to be sure everything on or in the ocean that day knew we were there.
After about an hour boat ride, we drop the lines and start trolling for wahoo’s, sailfish, mahi mahi, or whatever was biting that day. Number #1 hooked two Wahoo’s right off the start, but we lost them both before we could reel them in. Then out of nowhere, our captain decides to let us know there are beers for everyone on board. Score! This day immediately got more interesting. 8:30AM and we start crushing Imperials.
The heat of the day starts to sink in, and we decide it’s time for a swim. We reel in our lines, stop the boat, and everybody hops in the water. It was at this moment that I had one of the greatest experiences of my time in Costa Rica.
We jumped in the crystal blue water and submerged ourselves. As soon and we went under, we could hear whale songs. We didn’t realize they were with us, but it was obvious that they were close by from the clarity of the echo’s. We never did see these particular whales, but hearing them was such a remarkable experience. It’s hard to describe how incredible this moment was, but we all just began to float on our backs in the sea, and listen to the miraculous echoing sounds of whale song. I don’t think I will ever forget that moment.
We give it one more shot with the rods while slowly making our way back to Playa Herradura. #2 reels in a baby fish, it was pretty lame. It was my turn (#3), sure enough the line drops. El Dorado is hooked, and I’m reeling her in. It’s a solid size, certainly big enough for lunch. The captain filet’s it up for us, and when we get back to the beach, we bring it to a nearby restaurant. They fried half and grilled the other half, and served it to us with rice and vegetables.
Fresh fish for lunch, and a morning well spent.
