-
Upon arrival to The Zancudo Lodge, we got our first glimpse of the fishing fleet as we were greeted by a row of Contender center consoles outfitted with twin Yamaha 300-hp outboards. These vessels are fast and efficient, the perfect boat for Zancudo's diverse fishery.
-
The lodge offers first-class accommodations, as well as a a range of other activities in addition to fishing, and exceptional food. The grounds are surrounded by Costa Rican wildlife, idyllic jungle foliage and a private beach.
-
We were up bright and early for our first day of fishing. After enjoying a delicious breakfast we checked FishTrack's satellite imagery for any temperature or color breaks. There had been some rain recently and the chlorophyll imagery showed some blue water further offshore. There was also a pretty nice temp break that we located and got the GPS coordinates for the boat's plotter.
-
We ran about 60 miles offshore in the Contender cruising at about 50 mph with the twin Yamaha 300s. We hunkered down in the bean bags, which made the run in calm seas super comfortable.
-
Captain Javier put out a spread of live bonito and teasers. We slow-trolled for a while until we got our first marlin bite. A nice blue jumped on the shotgun bait and I fed it and got the hook up. We released the blue marlin in under 20 minutes and lines were back out for the next bite.
-
Other anglers at the lodge also had a great day. Adrianna and Stan of Anglers For the Cure went three-for-seven on blue marlin. Later in the trip Adrianna released her biggest marlin of 400-plus pounds, when amazingly the marlin ate a dorado she had been fighting.
-
Our next day of fishing was New Year's Eve with Captain Tito who specializes in big tuna. The bite had been pretty epic with the onset of a full moon and we slow-trolled live baits that we had caught at day break. We came across a gigantic school of porpoise and feeding birds mixed in with yellowfin tuna. We all got the jitters as 80-pound tuna launched out of the water in a frenzy.
-
Angler and photographer Adrian Gray hooked the first tuna on a popper and then I got tight to one. Both fish took long runs on the spinning rods. Later on Adrian jumped in the water and photographed the schools of tuna we were slow trolling for. When he came back up he immediately had us re-rig our tackle, dropping from 130- to 80-pound fluorocarbon.
-
It was like magic. Within 30 minutes of tying on the lighter leader we had our first big boy on the line. The tuna slammed the live baits with so much force the Okuma Makaira two-speed lever-drag reels were screaming. After a couple of long battles we were back at the docks and Gregg Mufson declared my fish the biggest yellowfin of the season.
-
After a long day of fishing in the hot sun, it feels great to get back to Zancudo Lodge, take a swim and enjoy the lodge's luxurious accommodations.
-
On lay days, most people opt to relax by the saltwater filtered pool and palapa lounge area or grab a drink from the marlin bar which is tastefully decorated with an assortment of trophy mounts.
-
Guests can also walk the beautiful tropical gardens, play bocce ball or take in miles of black sand beach bordering the Golfo Dulce. You'll never get bored with multiple excursions available such as horseback riding, surfing and hiking. Or you can just kick back in a hammock.
-
For our final day of fishing. The FishTrack satellite imagery showed blue water just 10 miles offshore. Even though the bite slowed after the full moon, we found plenty of opportunity to attract sailfish on light tackle with a couple of flippy floppies.
-
