CRANKY IN COSTA RICA – part three

CRANKY IN COSTA RICA – part three

Miss Behav'in

Well part three means there is a part one and a part two:
http://joeh-crankyoldman.blogspot.com/2016/03/cranky-in-costa-rica-part-one.html
http://joeh-crankyoldman.blogspot.com/2016/03/cranky-in-costa-rica-part-two.html

Catchin

On our first morning in Los Suenos we feasted on scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, coffee and juice and then headed down to the marina and our charter boat.  The walk was a little over a half a mile, it was a good test for my tweaked knee and it passed.

Our charter boat was the “Miss Behav’in.”  It was a relatively small single engine boat, but it was roomy enough and fast enough to get to the fish which were about 20 miles out.

Captain Alex ran the show, and first mate Panther did the hard work.  Alex is a combination of a young southern Captain Quint of “Jaws” fame and the pirate Jack Sparrow.  He learned his fishing in South Carolina.  It is hard to describe Alex’s speech, a slow monotone drawl reminiscent of Richard Christy for any Howard Stern fans out there.

Captain Alex...
I know, I'm not a photographer!

Panther is a stringy muscled Costa Rican with a big smile.  He works fast slowly, like many people south of the USA, as opposed to those in the New York area who tend to work slow quickly.  When it comes to preparing to fish, fast slowly works best.

We motored out where the fish feed and the lines were set to catch sailfish.  The first fish was on a hook in minutes.  It would take too many words to describe the thrill of reeling in one of these magnificent fish, this video will give you an example.  It is taken on the Miss Behav’in and the mate shown bringing the fish to the boat is Panther, the clients are not our charter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oNGJV2YdTQ  

I caught the first fish, and my arms and back felt every bit of about a 15 minute battle.  The captain finds the fish, Panther hooks the fish and then the rod was handed to whoever was next up.  On four occasions we had a double hook up.  The trick to bringing in a fish is to do whatever Panther tells you and to also listen to Captain Alex.  I often heard Alex in his slow pattern holler,

“W a t c h   t h e   r e e e e l!  Y o u   c a a n  ‘  t   h o r s e  h i m   i i n, 

t h e y ‘ r e   t  o o o  f a a s t.”

Sometimes the captain got what passed for angry,

“D a m n   i t   P a n t h e r   d o n ‘ t   c r o s s   t h e   l i i n e s  !

Panther just smiled.  He is a terrific mate.

Lunch was interesting, chicken quesadilla kept warm in foil on top of the inboard engine.  I was so hungry I didn’t even taste it.  Also, I am not much of a beer drinker, but in ninety degrees, after fighting a fish capable of swimming sixty miles an hour and leaping several feet out of the water, dang a cold beer tastes good.

On that first day we each caught four fish, a total of sixteen.  We were bushed.

Older Chris

Younger Chris

Brothers 

Cranky and FBS

Cranky cranking

Mike reeling, Panther clearing the deck



Trying to stretch out my back

We stopped catching at four o’clock and powered in to port.  We all showered, had a nice dinner at the marina, and returned to what became a nightly ritual of a glass of port and a good Costa Rican cigar before turning in and sleeping like logs.

A quick word about Costa Rica.  It is a beautiful country, from rain forests to farms and a spectacular coast.  The people are genuinely friendly and open, not just to those they are paid to be nice to, but in their interactions with other tourists and other Costa Rican citizens.  They wave, smile and honk car horns as if they all know each other and are friends…they probably do and probably are.

For a real taste of the Country's beauty and variety, Google Costa Rica and hit images.

Mike has more pictures of actual fish, but he is catching up at his work.  When he edits and sends I will post.  

 Tomorrow part four – “Fishing”