THE OSA ANGLER: A report on all things fishing

If you test Costa Rica’s cobalt Pacific waters in search of marlin, sails, tuna, or dolphin fish you will almost surely use the method of "trolling" to attract your trophy. There are many opinions as to where the art of trolling for sport fish originated. One night, many years back, my good friend Jon West and I were working our way towards the worm at the bottom of a concoction made from cactus when Jon shared his theory with me. According to Jon, the first marlin caught by this method was taken in Atlantic waters. "Large Nordic men with barrel chests and arms like steel pipes rowed big wooden boats across the Atlantic long before the conquistadores showed up in their wimpy blow boats," Jon began. One such boat was the Nilram, a giant deep V walk-around powered by 40 Norsemen. On its many crossings it was always captained by Dahs Evol Noprat, an angry red-headed Viking with buck teeth and bad breath. Needless to say, Dahs was quite an angler. After pillaging villages and devouring raw meat, he would comb local rivers and piers for record catches.

He lived to fish and fished to live. Being his fishing buddy was akin to golfing with Attila the Hun (who Jon claims was a third cousin of Dahs). In fact, fishing with Dahs could be deadly. He once had a man beheaded for goofing a net job and enabling a trophy salmon to escape. Dahs had heard stories of giant tuna and marlin eating men that had fallen overboard during the transatlantic crossings, but like most fishing stories told by large bearded carnivores, he believed none of them. Only to see it was to believe it. Prior to his next journey across the Atlantic, Dahs ordered the town’s tackle master, LeHork Giba-Leaux, to build him a giant rod and reel capable of whipping any beast in the sea. Including, he joked, his wife. The Nilram’s crew waited at the dock as Dahs picked up his new rod in town. As he was walking out the door, LeHork stopped him. "Wait" he said, reaching out to hand Dahs a package holding a pair of lures about 12 inches long, each consisting of small rounded heads trailed by dyed swatches of horse hair that looked like shrunken Crystal Gayle skulls.

An excited Dahs returned to the Nilram and ordered an immediate castoff. Within 12 hours the boat had crossed three color changes and was cruising a healthy eight knots over the cobalt seas. He began rigging his new rod as the crew rowed in sweltering heat. He carefully tied a Bimini, attaching a 12 foot shock leader, a 12/0 Mustad hook and, finally, the miniature Crystal Gayle head. A shrill cry broke his concentration. "She’s taking water on the port stern!" Dahs rushed to the back of the boat to find a river of water gushing in and a large marlin bill stuck through the boats' hull. He grabbed the ships' handy-man-galley guy Filly, a midget troll from Lutzemburg, and tossed him overboard. Dahs tied an 11 foot rope around the midget’s waist and fastened it to a stern cleat. With hammer and nails in hand, the midget was to remove the spear (it was too big to be removed from the inside) and patch the boat with a large board. "Keep the boat moving," Dahs shouted to his crew as he hurried to get his rod ready. "We're going to catch this beast." Dahs climbed halfway up the flying bridge and scanned the water for the rogue fish. Screams came from below. "Help me! Help me! This fish is trying to eat me alive."

Dahs turned to see the bill-less marlin slashing his stub at Filly the troll. The giant fish lit up in purple with its fin erect. "Keep rowing! Faster! Faster!" Dahs screamed at the crew. "The fish thinks the dumb troll is bait. Keep it going! Faster!" The faster the Norsemen rowed, the angrier the fish got. It tried in vain to slash the poor troll, but there just wasn't any bill there to do it. "Now someone pull Filly from the water!" ordered Dahs. He dropped his lure over the side where the plump troll had been moments earlier, floundering for his life. The fish immediately inhaled the lure and began stripping line from the large reel. It was a display of piscatorial power unlike any Dahs had seen. He ordered his crew to reverse their paddling as line disappeared faster than he could gain it. Dahs pumped and pumped. The fish began tiring. Soon it was boat-side. All 1,243 pounds and seven ounces of it. Several flying gaff sunk into the monster fish and it was hoisted aboard. Emotionless, the proud Dahs admired the giant dead fish. A fearful Filly huddled in a small ball on the stern. "Back in the water Filly." ordered Dahs. "We're trolling all the way to America."

Capt. Todd Staley is a fishing manager at Crocodile Bay Lodge, Puerto Jiménez.

Article courtesy of Captain Todd Staley, Courtesy of El Sol de Osa The Osa Peninsula’s Newspaper