Sunday, July 31, 2016  

Capt. Jake Jordan Dragin Fly Fly Fishing Seamount Report

Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School Report

Log Book, July 26 through August 1, 2016

Greetings from Los Suenos Costa Rica:

            July 26, 2016: Mark Ronald from northern Canada arrived here at Los Suenos, this afternoon to join me for another Blue Marlin fly fishing school session. We had an early dinner at Bamboo (Asian Sushi restaurant) and retired early.

            July 27, 2016: Woke up, had some awesome coffee, took a swim in my pool, then we had brunch at ”The Hook-up” restaurant before rigging tackle and packing out equipment for the trip offshore. At 4:30 PM we met up with Captain James Smith along with is mates Berto and Roberto, as we boarded the sport fishing vessel “Dragin Fly” to begin our adventure. We ran for an hour and then slowed to trolling speed, deployed our teasers, and set up the fly rods. We fished until dark as we headed out toward an old spot where we used to fish several years ago; we raised no fish this afternoon. After dark Roberto prepared our dinner, fresh homemade lasagna, with a fresh green salad, “excellent”! At 8:00 we retired after a great meal and dreamt about Blue Marlin on a fly.

            July 28, 2016: We woke up at 5:00 AM to the awesome smell of fresh brewed Costa Rican coffee along with bacon and eggs cooking, we deployed the teasers as light rain began. At 5:50 we raised a striped marlin which did not tease, no bite, then the rain and choppy seas moved in and the weather got worse at Blue Marlin, Destination – X – 14 (BMD-X 14). T 6:00 we began to head out toward another location, and at 7:28 we raised a Blue marlin, in the rain, that fish did not bite the fly. At 9:02 we raised a Blue, it crashed the long teaser hard, however that marlin did not eat the pink and white popper tube fly which Mark Ronald presented to it. At 9:30 the rain was heavy with 15 knot wind, so we decided to head further off shore, we ran at 24 knots until 11:01 when we arrived at BMD-X-6, still raining hard with 18 knot wind and choppy seas at 11:15 AM. No fish after an hour rough seas and lots of hard rain, so James headed out toward BMD-X-3 which is 148 miles from shore.  We arrived at 2:15 PM still raining but wind has lain down and seas are 2 to 4 and lying down. We raised a Blue Marlin at 2:27 PM that came toward the boat hot, Mark Ronald cast a pink and white tube fly with my TFO BW-HD fly rod and that big marlin inhaled the fly. Line melted off of my Mako #9700 B Fly Reel, as Mark held on watching that 250 pound Blue Marlin put on an awesome jumping show, then after 17 minutes Mark wound the leader into the fly rod tip top, and he caught his first ever Blue Marlin on a fly rod, he was using 20 pound IGFA class tippet. Congratulations are in order as mark had been sea sick just 30 minutes earlier; he did a great job defeating that fish. Another Blue marlin came up to the left long teaser at 3:03, did not tease in for a bite then at 3:31 Mark hooked a big, red hot, blue marlin, he made a mistake when getting ready to cast, got the line wrapped around the rod, between the reel and the stripper guide. As that fish took off in high gear, the extra pressure caused the 20 pound class tippet to break and that fish was gone. At 405 Mark cast to another blue marlin, that fish tried to eat the fly but got the hook stuck on its bill, after the first jump the fly fell off and that marlin was gone. At 4:21 Mark hooked a hot Blue marlin of about 120 pounds, it fought and jumped a lot and then at 4:44 PM Mark Ronald released his second Blue Marlin of the day and of his life on fly. Seas are 2foot and rain has stopped, we can see the sun on the horizon from here, marlin are biting, no other boats around us. 5:08 PM we raised a Blue Marlin which looked big, Mark made a good cast and that big fish ate  the CS tube fly, at 5:31, that 270 + pound Blue marlin was photographed and released to fight another day. My friend / client Mark Ronald has now caught and released 3 Blue Marlin from 9 raised and five bites, all on 20 pound class tippet on the fly in his first day at my Costa Rica Blue Marlin fly fishing school. At 6:15 we stopped fishing, set out our sea anchor, and filled our fuel and water tanks, dinner is cooking and we will take a hot shower before going to sleep at eight PM tonight.

            July 29, 2016: Woke up late at 5:00 AM, calm seas, with a beautiful sun rise, coffee, sausage and eggs, deployed teasers at 5:30. We raised a doubleheader of Blue marlin, both over 300 pounds at 6:14 AM, Mark hooked a fish well over 350 on his second cast which headed down and out for several hundred yards in 10 seconds, when that fish jumped at full speed the 20 pound tippet broke and that magnificent marlin was gone. Sunny, calm, awesome morning, then at 7:00 I hooked a Blue between 3 and 4 hundred pounds, it went straight down for 300 yards at high speed, then the tippet broke. At 7:31, Mark hooked a nice 200 pound Blue Marlin, the hook fell out of the fishes mouth on the second jump. At 7:59 AM we raised a double of blue marlin, Mark hooked the first one and I cast to the second fish , while I was trying to get the fish to eat my fly, Mark made the mistake of palming the reel to add drag, POW the tippet broke! Beautiful morning, marlin are biting, time to catch some, we made enough mistakes for the day, now we plan to catch some Blue Marlin on fly. At 9:41 we raised a 1:20 pound Blue, Mark made short work of that fish, releasing it after a 13 minute battle. Next, I hooked a 400 + pound Blue Marlin which stayed deep for 10 minutes, then it came to the surface and broke the tippet on the third jump. At 10:45 Mark hooked a hot 200 pound fish, he got within6 foot of catching it, then that marlin went down deep for a few minutes and broke the tippet when it jumped 200 yards away from the boat. We are getting lots of bites however they are pretty big average and we have made a few mistakes, 11:00 calm and sunny, awesome day to be fly fishing for blue marlin. We raised a couple more fish which I did not record which makes 12 marlin raised, 7 bites, and one Blue Marlin caught on fly, at 11:00 AM!!!  11:02 Mark jumped another big blue which spit the hook right away. We raised a small Blue at 12:25 which came in toward the boat but would not eat any fly that we cast. Sunny and hot, pretty calm, beautiful day, at  2:00 PM we raised a blue which did not tease, then another one at 2:06, finicky marlin, mostly big fish today. We fished until dark, (6:30 PM) and never saw another marlin. Mark is one hard core fisherman, he has been sea sick for two days and sill caught four Blue Marlin on fly. Pork chops for dinner, with pasta and salad, then off to bed at 8:00 PM, I am hoping for smaller marlin tomorrow, our score today was 16 Blue Marlin raised, eight bites, while Mark caught and released one, on the fly.

            July 30, 2016: Woke up a 5:15 AM to the smell of freshly brewed CR coffee with Eggs and bacon cooking. Put out teasers at 5:35, and began trolling the 7 miles back to BMD-X- 3, raised our first Blue Marlin at 6:47 AM. Mark Ronald made a good cast and that big marlin climbed all over that pink and white tube fly, after just 23 minutes of battling that awesome fish, Mark caught and released that 270 estimated Blue Marlin. This was his first today, also his fifth of this trip also his fifth blue marlin on fly of his lifetime .At 8:05 we raised another marlin, it refused to eat the fly. At about 9:00 PM I watched my buddy Nick Smith fight and release his first Blue on fly of the day aboard his awesome vessel “Old Reliable” with captain Chip Shafer doing a great job, these guys are the best team of fly  fishing for Blue Marlin that I have ever seen. At 10:00 AM, all six boats had raised less than a dozen Marlin total so James decided to head off to BMD-X-14 to see what was happening there, we arrived at 11:30, one other boat fishing here. We raised 2 fish between 12:00 and 12:05, neither would bite, then James pulled in the teasers and we moved to another spot. At 2:00 PM we arrived at BMD-X-8 and began fishing, five minutes later Mark cast to a 200 pound lit up Blue Marlin, which ate the fly and proceeded to put on an aerobatics show with some incredible jumps. Then at 2:29 Berto removed the fly and released Mark’s sixth Blue Marlin on fly of the trip. We raised another marlin at 2:35 but it would not eat the fly, the next fish we raised was at 3:30, no bite. At 4:15 James took off to another spot where we will finish our last hour before heading back to Los Suenos. We arrived at BMD-X-14 at 5:48 PM, as we watched the sunset we raised a small marlin which would not bite, then at 6:04 PM Mark cast to a 300 pound beauty, it ate the fly ran off a couple yards, jumped some more into the sunset, then let go of the fly and was gone. We deployed a small jug on a plainer just as it got dark, and instantly caught a 5 pound yellow fin tuna, so we could have a little sashimi on the ride back to Los Suenos.

    Our score today was 9 Blue Marlin raised, 3 bites, and 2 Blue Marlin caught and released on fly. Our total score for this Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School, aboard the vessel “Dragin Fly” was 36 Blue Marlin raised, 17 bites, and 6 Blue Marlin caught and released on 20 pound IGFA class tippet, on the fly. Did I tell you that Mark Ronald had caught Pacific Sailfish but never had he caught a Blue Marlin on fly until this trip? We had hot showers, ate an awesome home cooked meal, then off to sleep. By the way, I really love my job, wish you were here, back in my condo in Los Suenos tomorrow morning, Stay tuned for the next awesome fly fishing report from “The Cost Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School”!

Regards:

Jake

Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures
PO Box 309
Havelock NC. 28532
Cell- 305-872-6060
Home/office 252-444-3308
www.jakejordan.com
keysjake@aol.com

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 12:09 PM


   Tuesday, July 26, 2016  

Day tripping out of Los Suenos

we raised 12 sailfish catch 4  sails and one mahi mahi .   Also  two for two on blue marlin. 

 captain berto will take it over tomorrow  

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 8:41 AM


   Sunday, July 24, 2016  

Very angry blue marlin with flies in their face and the man who put them there

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 11:46 AM


   Tuesday, July 19, 2016  

today's report

No roosters, but good bottom fishing. 

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 8:48 PM  

Check this out and day report from Los Suenos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0efnpnPTbU

Day fishing out of Los Suenos has been pretty good.   We've got a super nice family today and yesterday.   Yesterday they got the tunas and 6 sails, also an odd catch, a thresher shark!

 

Today they are trying for a rooster and maybe some bottom fishing on the Dragin Fly.   Report on today to follow.   Tomorrow we are heading back out for 4 nights and 3 days of fly fishing for blue marlin.  The numbers may be a little more impressive on this trip because our anglers are less concerned about IGFA rules and more interested in staying connected, using heavier tippet and longer leaders.   It's kind of like dragging fly.

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 11:39 AM


   Sunday, July 17, 2016  

Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School Report

 Log Book, July 12 through 17, 2016

Greetings from Los Suenos Costa Rica:
July 12, 2016: My old friend Hugh Chatham arrived last night as he likes to take a casual full day of rest before heading out to catch Blue Marlin on fly. This morning we had coffee, caught up on latest information and had brunch at the “Hook-up” restaurant. I got to work on my computer, and hang out at the pool, then we watched the all star baseball game on TV and had dinner delivered from the “Lanterna” Italian restaurant here in the Los Suenos resort. Very relaxing day rigging flies and fly reels, building leaders, and doing maintenance on my fly tackle.
July 13, 2016: Woke up, took a swim, drank a couple cups of awesome CR coffee, checked out e-mail and social media, then we met George Beckwith at the Hook-up for a late breakfast. At 2:00 PM we headed down to Jimmy T’s provisions to get final snacks for our 92 hours at sea, and then we met up with Captain James Smith along with mates Berto and Roberto at the vessel “Dragin Fly” in the los Suenos marina. Hugh Chatham and I boarded Dragin Fly, at 3:00 and we headed out to sea, to begin another “Costa Rica, Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School”. Looks like the I-Cast show is busy, I checked in with my TFO peeps at the show before losing communication with the outside world. At 7:30 we had dinner and went to bed.
July 14, 2016: Woke up at 5:00 on location at Blue Marlin Destination-X #9, (BMD-X #9), and deployed our teasers while eating breakfast and drinking coffee. Seas are 1 to 2 foot with partly cloudy skies, we went through some rain on the way out, and the wind is less than 10 knots. At 6:50 AM a thunder storm moved in on us, so we picked up our teasers and moved 26 miles to BMD-X #7, arrived there at 8:14 AM and deployed our teasers. At 8:17 AM Hugh Chatham cast a pink and white “Big Tube Fly” to a red hot Blue Marlin, that fish gobbled the fly and took off at high speed, jumping all the way. Hugh did a great job fighting that 180 pound marlin, while using my TFO Blue Water Heavy Duty fly rod and Mako #9700 big game fly reel. Finally at 8:46, after a 29 minute battle, Hugh wound the leader into the tip top of the fly rod, Berto grabbed the leader, removed the fly from that tired Blue Marlin, and released Hugh Chatham’s first Blue Marlin, caught on 20 pound test IGFA class tippet on fly. Hugh has now caught 6 species of billfish on fly, (Atlantic Sailfish, Pacific Sailfish, Striped Marlin, White Marlin, Black Marlin, and Pacific Blue Marlin), only the Atlantic Blue Marlin, Spearfish, and Swordfish, left to catch for the royal slam on fly! We raised our next fish at 9:16 AM, it was a 250 pound Blue Marlin, I made the cast, classic bite and 19 minutes later Berto removed the fly from that beautiful fish’s mouth, and released my 48th Blue marlin on fly lifetime. At 11:09 AM Hugh Chatham cast to a big Blue Marlin, the marlin ate the CS pink and white tube fly, and put on a awesome display of jumping. Hugh did a great job and at 11:50 AM we released our third Blue Marlin from 3 bites of the day. This Blue Marlin was conservatively estimated at 270 pounds, and was Hugh Chatham’s second of the day, and the second of his life. After lunch at 12:28 PM we raised a 50 pound sailfish, I made the cast, hooked, fought, and released that fish all within 4 minutes. Arrived back over at BMD-X-#9 at 3:01 PM and raised a Blue Marlin at 3:07 PM that fish came in but would not bite the fly. Just before 4:00 PM we raised a double of marlin, one small and one big, neither one wanted to eat the fly that Hugh cast to them, last couple of marlin were finicky. No more fish were raised today, and then at 5:00 we began chugging over to BMD-X-#13 which is 46 miles away. Today we raised 6 Blue Marlin and one Sailfish, got three Blue Marlin and one Sailfish bite, we caught and released 3 Blue Marlin and a Sailfish on day one. Dinner tonight was pork chops, rice, and broccoli, followed by ice cream and 25 year old Flor de Cana rum to celebrate Hugh’s first and second Blue Marlin on fly.

July 15, 2016: Woke up at 4:30, hot shower, hot coffee, eggs and sausage, with toast, butter, and strawberry preserves, all over 140 miles out into the Pacific Ocean. We deployed our teasers at 5:15 AM and at 5:42 we raised our first fish, I made the cast and this small fish ate the fly, looked like a Sailfish to me so I tightened the drag to set the hook. Out of the water jumps an 80 pound Striped Marlin, as I reached to back off on the drag, that fish jumped and broke the 20 pound tippet (Angler Error)! Three minutes later we raised a Blue Marlin of about 150 pounds it ate my pink and white CS tube fly, and put on an awesome display of running and jumping in a circle and trying to attack the boat. 14 minutes later that marlin was caught and released on 20 pound class tippet, on fly, my second of this trip and forty ninth of my life time. Between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM we raised 6 additional Blue Marlin Hugh hooked three of them (all over 200 pounds) and broke the 20 pound test class tippet on two while the third Blue Marlin spit out the fly on the 6th jump. 9:15 AM calm seas, calm wind, partly cloudy skies with showers on the horizon. Between 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM we raised two more Blue Marlin which would not eat the fly that Hugh cast to them. The weather at 1:35 PM I sunny, calm wind, calm seas, thunder clouds on the horizon to the south, we have this sea mound to ourselves, waiting for the afternoon bite to start. A striped marlin crashed our long teaser at 2:10 PM unfortunately it never came in toward the boat so we never got a shot at it. Between 2:40 and 5:30 we raised 2 Blue Marlin but got no bites, then at 5:40 PM Hugh Chatham hooked a red hot 110 Blue. That fish stayed on top and wet crazy, jumping in several circles, then charged the boat and went right past the transom before tiring, 10 minutes after sunset Hugh caught his third Blue Marlin on fly. Final Score today, we raised 12 Blue Marlin and 2 Striped Marlin, five Blue Marlin and 1 Striped Marlin ate our fly, we caught two Blue Marlin today all on 20 pound class tippet. Score for the trip so far is 18 Blue Marlin, 1 Sailfish, 2 Striped Marlin raised, 8 Blue Marlin, 1 Sailfish, one Striped Marlin bites, we caught and released 5 Blue Marlin and one Sailfish on fly with a full day more fishing still left. Great dinner and off to bed at 8:00 PM.

July 16, 2016: Woke up late at 5:30 AM to calm seas and light steady rain, along with the smell of fresh brewed Costa Rican coffee. We deployed our teasers at 5:50 AM while we ate breakfast and then at 7:41 we raised our first Blue Marlin. Hugh Chatham insisted that I catch the first fish of the day as he wanted to be present when I caught the 50th Blue Marlin on fly of my lifetime. After I caught that fish we took pictures and video before releasing that awesome 220 pound marlin, our first today and sixth on this trip. Slow in calm seas with some rain and some sun until 9:51 AM when we raised our second blue marlin of the day, it did not tease in. The sun came out and at 10:12 AM another hot fish came in but refused to eat the fly, then at 10:20 a big, blue marlin between 250 and 300 pounds ate the fly presented by Hugh Chatham. That big fish took off at full speed then jumped going along the horizon then it spit the hooks while traveling through the air, WOW what a show!  At 10:51, Hugh cast the fly to a 300 + pound Blue Marlin that fish ate the fly and took off at warp speed, headed down toward china. After ripping off 300 yards of backing, while the line was still heading straight down that big blue jumped 100 yards out on the other side of the boat and the 20 pound class tippet broke as that fish jumped.  At 12:10 Captain James decided to head back over to BMD-X- 7 and 1 hour 15 minutes later we put out our teasers to begin fishing. The next big blue marlin ate Hugh Chatham’s well placed blue and white Cam Sigler popper tube fly at 1:47 PM, that 200 pound fish fought well, jumped a lot, finally it was caught and released at 2:18 PM. This was Hugh’s fourth Blue Marlin on fly, and our seventh of this trip, so far! Next we had some fresh yellow fin tuna sashimi that Hugh caught on fly this morning, it was wanderful.  At 3:00 PM we headed back over to BMD-X- #9 to finish out our day and trip, at 3:40 PM we raised a Blue Marlin which would not bite the fly. As the sun set, in the west, we began our long journey back toward Los Suenos Marina, at 7:30 the dinner was served, Jumbo Shrimp in Coconut  sauce over rice with sauté vegetables, and ice cream for dessert.  Today’s total score was 7 Blue Marlin raised, 4 bites, and 2 were caught and released on the fly.  Our total score for this trip was 25 Blue Marlin, 2 Striped Marlin, and 1 Sailfish raised, 12 Blue Marlin, one Striped Marlin and one Sailfish bites, and 7 Blue Marlin and one Sailfish caught on fly on this awesome fly fishing trip aboard the vessel “Dragin Fly”.   Hugh finally ended his ten year quest to catch a Blue Marlin on fly by not only catching his first but four of these awesome fish, one close to world record size, all on 20 pound IGFA class tippet. I was also lucky enough to cast to and catch 3 Blue Marlin on fly, the last being my 50th during my lifetime.

 
July 17, 2016: We arrived at the dock in Los Suenos Marina resort at dawn, unloaded our stuff and moved into my condo. I just downloaded these pictures and am sending this report before my nap. I love my job, wish you were here. Stay tuned for more reports to follow shortly. Still time to catch your Blue Marlin on fly this season, contact me now.
Regards:
Jake

Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures
PO Box 309
Havelock NC. 28532
Cell- 305-872-6060
Home/office 252-444-3308
www.jakejordan.com
keysjake@aol.com

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 5:27 PM


   Sunday, July 10, 2016  

Jake July report # 1

Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School Report

Log Book, July 6 through 11, 2016

Greetings from Los Suenos Costa Rica:

            July 6, 2016: My friends Don Butler along with his fishing partner Danny Cline, have joined me here in Los Suenos for one of my Blue Marlin fly fishing Schools, aboard the vessel “Dragin Fly”. We woke up to another beautiful day, headed down to “The Hook-up” restaurant, and enjoyed a good breakfast, then went over to Dick Tanner’s “Primo Tackle” to pick up some last minute stuff, then back to the condo. After a swim in the pool, Delta Airlines finally delivered Danny’s lost luggage, and then we packed up and headed down to the boat around 3:00 PM. Captain James Smith, with mates Berto and Roberto greeted us and welcomed us aboard the “Dragin Fly”, then they untied the boat and we headed out to sea at 3:30 PM. We ran for an hour, then slowed to a trolling speed, deployed our teasers, and began fly fishing while headed out toward Blue Marlin Destination-X-#5 (BM-X-5), we raised one sailfish between now and dark. At 6:30 it got dark, we pulled in our teasers, while Roberto prepared a fresh salad and excellent lasagna for dinner; we then went to sleep at about 8:00 PM.

            July 7, 2016: Awake and showered by 5:00 AM, then awesome Costa Rican coffee, before sausage eggs and toast was served. At 5:49 AM we raised our first Blue Marlin, Don Butler got a cast at that fish, however the Marlin wanted no part of that well presented Pink and White Cam Sigler big tube fly. Sea conditions are 2 foot with some rain around us but partly cloudy here, no more fish raised at 9:00 AM; so James decided to head on out another 29 miles to BM-X-6. Around 11:50 we arrived and at 12:01 PM we raised a Blue Marlin, it teased in to the boat, Don made a great cast, and the marlin attacked the fly. Don Butler did a great job, the fish was on for about 4 minutes, ran off 150 yards of backing, then we got some line back, that fish kicked it into over drive took off and when it jumped the fly fell out of the marlin’s mouth and  it was all over. Three o'clock report no more fish seen, overcast skies, 10 knot wind, 2 to 4 foot choppy seas, slow fishing so far for us, expecting afternoon bite. Choppy with rain most of the afternoon, we watched a boat fishing with live bait boat catch 4 or 5 Blue Marlin, all afternoon however we couldn't get any fish to come up to our teasers. At 6:15 we quit fishing, refueled, filled our water tanks, refilled the ice chests from the ice maker tank, deployed the sea anchor, and took our hot showers. The crew prepared dinner, pork chop, rice, red beans, salad, and rum raisin Ice cream, washed down with a glass of Flor de Cana 25 year old rum. We went to sleep at 8:00 PM while it was raining and blowing at fifteen knots.

            July 8, 2016: woke up to great Costa Rican coffee, with Bacon and Eggs, deployed teasers at 5:15 AM, and raised our first Blue Marlin at 5:31 AM. That fish teased in, Don made a good cast the fish circled the fly but would not eat. At 7:16 AM we raised another finicky Blue which did not tease in, then we raised another Blue at 7:42 AM, in the rain, great cast, everything looked good, but still no bite. Pouring down rain, choppy seas, fishing next to another boat that caught a couple on conventional tackle at 7:45 AM. At 7:59 we raised a double, Don hooked the first fish, and it was a Blue Marlin of 200 pounds, classic bite from starboard side. After five minute battle Don had that Blue Marlin in to within 40 foot from the boat, then it took off fast, began to greyhound jump at 200 yards out, reversed direction, jumped and landed on the leader, broke the 20 pound class tippet at 8:09 AM. Danny Cline was up next and at 9:31 AM we raised a 125 pound Blue Marlin. This marlin ran 200 foot of line off of the Mako reel, then stopped and made a jump back toward us, shook it’s head and spit out the hook and fly, raised 5 got 2 bites, broke one off and the other one spit the hook, all before 9:45 AM. The next Blue Marlin we raised was at 10:41 AM that fish was selective and would not bite the fly, and again at 11:50 we raised a big fish, this one hit the teaser hard and then left, again, no bite. At noon the seas are 2 to 4 foot, overcast with 12 knot wind, still no sunshine on this trip, ready to catch some marlin! At 12:09 Don Butler made a perfect cast to a red hot 100 pound Blue Marlin, which pounced on the pink and white CS tube fly and proceeded to take off on the surface, jumping as he went. James had “Dragin Fly” flying backward chasing that jumping marlin, Don did a great job with my TFO BW-HD fly rod, gaining line back onto the Mako #9700 fly reel, and soon had that fish jumping within 30 foot of the boat. After some great angling, at 12:24 PM Don landed that fish, Berto grabbed the leader, took the fly and hooks out of its mouth, and released our first Blue Marlin of the trip, caught on 20 pound test class tippet, on the fly! Slow so far this afternoon, teased in a sailfish at 2:11 PM, it ate Don’s marlin fly, ran out, jumped a couple of times, with the loose drag setting for marlin, the hook was never set good. After 11 spectacular jumps, the fly came out and the fish swam away, (long distance release). At 4:10 we raised another Blue, Danny made a great cast but that fish would not eat, then we raised our tenth Blue of the day at 4:50 PM, it crashed the teaser but we never got a chance to cast the fly to it. At 6:00 we pulled in the lines, took showers, and had an awesome dinner before going to sleep at 8:00 PM. Today we had raised a total of 10 Blue Marlin and a Sailfish, got 4 Marlin and a Sailfish to bite, and Don Butler caught and released a Blue Marlin on fly. 

Danny Cline at attention waiting for Blue Marlin

Danny's Red Hot Blue Marlin spitting the fly while jumping

            July 9, 2016: after coffee and breakfast we deployed the teasers at 5:30 AM, and raised a red hot 110 pound Blue Marlin at 5:42. Don was up first, he made a good cast; the marlin piled on to the pink and white fly, and proceeded to put on an awesome show with six minutes of spectacular jumps. Don did a great job, he had the fish caught at 5:58 AM with pictures and video. The second Blue Marlin of the day came up at 7:16 AM, a bigger fish of close to 200 pounds. Don Butler made a good presentation of my CS pink and white big tube popper fly, again a classic bite and inside of 40 minutes Berto grabbed the leader, Don had released his third Blue Marlin of the trip and his second of the day, all before 8:00 AM. At 9:12 Danny Cline cast to and hooked a 200 plus pound Blue Marlin, our third raised this morning. This was a hot fish, it took off, turned around, and passed the boat at full speed, when the fish got out 150 yards in front of the boat, it surfaced, jumped, and broke the 20 pound class tippet. At 10:30 AM Captain James decided to move to another location, so we took off and headed 24 miles to another FAD, I call it BM-X-7, at 11:28 AM we arrived and deployed our teasers. 12:00 noon report, rain, 2 foot seas, 8 knot wind, slow fishing, so far today we raised 3 Blue Marlin, got 3 bites, and caught 2 Blue Marlin on fly. At 1:00 PM after no fish raised here we headed east at cruising speed, arriving at BM-X-12 at 2:50 PM. There were 2 boats fishing here, and right away James saw marks indicating marlin so we deployed teasers and began fishing. Seas are two foot, light wind, scattered to mostly cloudy skies, with no fish raise by four PM. At 5:01 we raised a mid sized Blue Marlin, it teased in but would not eat Don’s well placed fly. We saw one more Blue Marlin which did not tease into the boat, and then when it got dark we headed in toward Los Suenos Marina. We arrived here at my condo before dawn, took showers and took a nap.

Don Butler fighting second Blue Marlin in 2 hours

Don Butler's tired Blue Marlin one more jump

Happy fly Angler, Don Butler caught 3 Blue Marlin on Fly

            The final score for this “Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” session; during our three days of fly fishing with 20 pound test class tippet was: seventeen Blue Marlin and a Sailfish raised, seven Blue Marlin and a Sailfish bit the fly, and we caught and released 3 Blue Marlin on fly. So far this season, my students at “The Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” after a total of seven fly fishing days have caught and released 10 Blue Marlin and 4 sailfish, all on 20 pound test class tippet, on fly. Fishing here keeps improving; hopefully we will have calmer seas and more sunshine for the rest of the season. Stay tuned for more fly fishing reports from here in Los Suenos Costa Rica, I love my Job (BFF), wish you were here! Team “Dragin Fly” will be heading back out for next session on Wednesday.

Regards:

Jake

Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures
PO Box 309
Havelock NC. 28532
Cell- 305-872-6060
Home/office 252-444-3308
www.jakejordan.com
keysjake@aol.com

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 3:16 PM


   Tuesday, July 5, 2016  

Little James

Good day fishing from Los Suenos the last couple of days, sailfish, marlin and lots of tuna

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 7:51 AM


   Sunday, July 3, 2016  

six more blue marlin on the fly

Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School Report

Log book, June 27, to July 2, 2016

Greetings from Los Suenos Costa Rica:

          Diane and Chris O'Neill booked a Blue Marlin fly fishing school here in Costa Rica, last January after Diane caught her first Blue Marlin on fly, while attending my Sailfish School, aboard “Intensity” at Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala. They arrived on the evening of June 27, and we had dinner at the awesome Italian Restaurant in Los Suenos, then we got a good night sleep.

           June 28, 2016: Chris, Diane and I had great breakfast at “The Hook Up” then went to Jimmy T’s provisions for special snacks and extra provisions. At 2:30 PM we arrived at the Marina, loaded our gear aboard the vessel “Dragin Fly”, met Captain James Smith, along with mates Berto and Roberto, boarded and set out for “Blue Marlin Location X-5, (BMX-5). We ran for an hour and then deployed our teasers, I got Diane & Chris’s TFO BW-HD Fly Rods, with their Mako #9700 BG Fly Reels, Rigged with the RIO Leviathan fly lines, 20 pound class tippet, and CS Pink and White tube flies, and Gamakatsu Octopus 7/0 hooks, ready to fish. At 4:01 PM we raised a nice 80 pound Pacific Sailfish, Chris was up first, he made a good cast, and by 4:22 we released our first billfish of the trip. We ate dinner at 8:00 PM, and went to bed, the run out was more choppy than usual, still much calmer than in the Atlantic.

           June 29, 2016, we woke up at 5:00 AM at BMX-5, there were two other boats trolling there, we put out the teasers and worked the area for the next hour and ten minutes, no fish were raised. At 7:15 Captain James decided to move to BMX-6, which is 29 miles away, we ran until 9:00 AM and then deployed our teasers. During the next hour we raised 4 Blue Marlin, one came in and attempted to eat Diane’s well presented fly, missed it all together. Then at 10:01, Chris made a cast to a 200 pound red hot Blue Marlin, that fish made the classic eat, and after 16 minutes Chris O'Neill, caught and released his first ever Blue Marlin on fly. At 11: 30 we raised another Blue which did not eat, then at 11:59 AM Diane caught and released a 100 pound Sailfish on fly. After that we raised one Blue Marlin which missed the fly completely when he tried to eat it, and then he was gone. At 2:30 a bunch of pilot whales moved in and chased all the bait away, so captain James headed out to BMX-7 which is another FAD about 12 miles away. On the way out we raised two more Blue Marlin, they were finicky, and would not tease in to eat the fly. It had been calm and hot all day, on the way out we ran through a squall with hard rain and a cool 20 knot wind. We trolled back through choppy to rough 4 to 6 foot seas to BMX-6 and raised one more Blue Marlin which did not tease in. At Six thirty it got dark and we shut down and deployed the sea anchor, then had a hot shower, and ate an awesome shrimp and rice dinner. Before going to sleep at 8:00 PM. Raised 9 Blue Marlin, got 2 bites, and caught one 200 pound Blue Marlin and one Sailfish on fly today.

          June 30, 2016: Chris, Diane, and I woke up at 4:30 AM, cleaned up, had a cup of awesome coffee, and sat waiting for our bacon and eggs, while Captain James headed back to the sea mount. At 5:26 AM a red hot 180 pound Blue Marlin came up on the short bridge teaser (the only one deployed), Diane made a perfect cast, and that marlin piled on her pink and white tube fly. She set the hook, the marlin took off, and it made two awesome jumps and dropped the fly during the third jump, and was gone. At 7:10 AM, we raised a 220 pound Blue Marlin on the long teaser, it teased in, Chris O'Neill made an awesome cast, and the battle was on. After 21 minutes Chris wound the leader into the tip top of the fly rod, and caught his second Blue Marlin of the tip and his life, however he wanted pictures. At 8:39 that marlin was caught again and came to the boat, we got pictures, got the fly back, and the release was made. At 9:00 AM we raised another big Marlin, it did not come in for a bite. Sunny skies, 12 knot breeze, 2 foot light chop, with standard swells about a minute apart, what a beautiful day. We raised two more Blue Marlin, and then at 10:16 AM Diane hooked a 130 pound, red hot, Blue Marlin; it stayed on top, took off running and jumped for 10 full minutes. At 10:29, Diane O'Neill, caught and released her second lifetime Blue Marlin on fly, while using 20 pound class tippet. Both Chris and Diane asked that I catch one to show them a few tricks. At 10:50 I made a cast to a 130 pound Blue Marlin, while using Chris’s TFO Fly Rod and Mako Fly Reel. That fish ate the fly, took off, and jumped for 5 minutes, I never let it get into the backing, at 10:57, I leadered the fish and Berto got the fly back before releasing that awesome Blue Marlin. This was my 47^th Blue Marlin on fly, Lifetime! We raised

a couple more which didn't tease in, then a nice 200+ pound Blue Marlin charged in and ate Diane’s fly, then went crazy. At 11:59 AM after a world class battle, Diane released her second Blue Marlin of the day. My mid day report is; 13 Blue Marlin raised, six bites, we caught and released 4 Blue Marlin on fly, on 20 pound tippet during the first ½ of our day. This could get good, which is the reason why I love my job. Raised one at 12:30, no bite, then he wind and seas built to 4 to 6 foot with 18 knot wind. At 2:30 we raised a Blue that would not eat, and then at 5:30 PM Chris cast to a sailfish which he caught and released 10 minutes later. Dinner was served while we swung on the sea anchor, and we went to sleep at 8:00 PM after raising 14 Blue Marlin, getting 6 bites, and caught four Blue Marlin and a Sailfish on day two of this three day school.

Eating Sushi from fly caught YellowfinTuna

          July 1, 2016: Woke up at 4:30 AM as Captain James started the engines, and the mates pulled in the sea anchor, while it was pouring down rain, with 18 knot wind 4 to 6 foot seas. After coffee, at 5:30 we raised a Blue marlin but got no bite. We ate breakfast then raised a double of Blue Marlin at 7:30 with no bites. Now there are three boats here in the heavy rain, seas are down to three to five feet with dark sky. At 10:30 AM, after no more fish were raised, Captain James decided to head for an older FAD which we call “Beer” which is located about 26 miles away. We arrived at 11:30, and ten minutes later Diane cast to and hooked a big Blue Marlin, that fish took off at full speed, got 100 yards out and made 3 awesome jumps, and on the third jump the fly fell out of the fish’s mouth, it was gone. At 11:59 Chris hooked a big Blue Marlin; we estimated this fish to be close to 275 pounds. An hour into the fight that marlin went crazy and jumped dozens of times, after which we got close to catching it several times. At 1:25 PM Chris wound the leader inside of the rod tip and got the technical release, then, the fish took off again. Fifteen minutes later the tip section of Chris’s fly rod came off and slid down the line, five minutes later I grabbed the top rod section and put it back together. At 2:00 PM an exhausted Chris O'Neill released that big Blue Marlin, his third of the trip. I am sure that both the marlin and Chris were happy to be finished with that fight. At 3:04 PM Diane hooked a small Blue Marlin which went straight down, pulled 200 yards of backing from her fly reel, and then headed toward the surface. Diane fought that fish for 7 minutes, got within 100 feet of it, when the marlin turned on it’s after burner, the line came tight quickly, and the 20 pound tippet broke, this was the first fish which we broke off during the whole trip. The seas are calmer here with the wind down to 10 knots, some sunshine but mostly cloudy. As the day came to a close, we pulled in our teasers, washed the tackle and headed into the Los Suenos marina, our daily score was 9 Blue Marlin raised, three bites, and one Blue Marlin caught on fly.

          What a great trip aboard “Dragin Fly” with James, Berto, Roberto, along with Diane and Chris O'Neill and Myself. Our final score for this “Costa Rica Blue Marlin fly fishing school” was: 32 Blue Marlin and 3 Sailfish raised 11 Blue Marlin and 3 Sailfish Bites, 6 Blue Marlin and 3 Sailfish caught and released. All were caught using IGFA 20 pound breaking

strength class tippet, with Chris and Diane’s TFO BW-HD fly rods, and Mako #9700 BG fly reels. I love my Job! Stay tuned for more reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake

Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures
PO Box 309
Havelock NC. 28532
Cell- 305-872-6060
Home/office 252-444-3308
www.jakejordan.com
keysjake@aol.com

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 6:36 AM

 

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