Memories- Casa Mar, Costa Rica 9/2006

With the economy lousy and the fact I barely went out this hunting season, I've been dreaming of trips past. I remembered I'd posted a trip report on a local forum years ago. I figured I'd repost here just in case it ever gets erased from that forum.

This trip occurred in September of 2006. This was my second trip to Costa Rica and the first time landed a tarpon. I didn't mention how many I landed that trip on the report but if I recall correctly it was four. Ranging from 110 lbs to 150lbs.

From the forum back in 2006:



I thought I'd share our fantastic Costa Rican trip. Bryan Webb, myself and company just got back from Casa Mar for some Poon fishing. The trip was truly epic and everyone got multiple shots at them. We managed a mixed bag of Tarpon, Barracuda, Jacks, string ray, ribbonfish, bluerunners, and a mix of jungle fish-snook, machaca, mojarra, tigerfish, a guopote. Here are some pics. Enjoy:

My first fish, I thought it was a tarpon when it jumped. I had no clue that Cudas did that. I did find it strange why it was so easy to reel in:

My first Tarpon:

My CR Whistler. The result of an angry tarpon:

Jumping Poon:

After fighting several poons I was ready to hit the jungle. I actually prefer fishing there. For one it is beautiful and it is more interactive. Rather than jigging blindly for tarpon you actual have to make good casts and place your shots.

Emerson with his Machaca, a fun game fish that makes multiple jumps and has sharp teeth.

One of my several snook (if you notice I did get my T&T 5wt back in time for this Trip. Thank you T&T repairs!)

Emerson with a mojarra, a bluegill looking fish

My mojarra, the guide said that this one was a "true" mojarra (whatever that means, you can tell the difference from Emersons).

Brian and I managed to fish the jungle on the last day. Brian did invent a gurgler derivative fly that I must say is the best popper fly I have ever fished. It is multiple flies in one, part popper, part wiggler, part streamer. It is truly amazing. I will be fishing it more often here locally for Bass. I only regret not bringing more that two to CR.

After sometime in the water we got pounded by the rain

Here is some misc pics:







The trip was made great not only by the great fishing but the company. Fishing with great people make great fishing trips.

More pics that didn't make the original post:

Lunch at the Hotel Hurradura in San Juan on the first day:
Seabass cerviche

Great octopus, very tender Downtown San Juan



The next day on our way to the jungle


Arrival at the jungle airport

Boat ride to Casa Mar


Some lobster at Casa Mar, Thanks to Webb
Flies for the jungle and Tarpon offshore

The smallest of all the Tarpon I caught

Snack of shrimp cerviche at the lodge

Lunchtime at the lodge
Jungle fishing for Snook, Guapote, Machaca, Mojarra and such or monkey watching. All top water fishing

Don with evidence of his first tarpon. Guides take one scale from your first catch. I still have mine.

Emerson and I doing some jungle fishing.

Caiman.
Jungle traffic jam. Yield to crossing cattle.
On our way home was a little wet.
Waiting at Terminal C.

Last meal in San Juan.



I found my notes the other day when I was in my tackle bag:
Arrived in San Juan. Doug, Don and I chose to check out the city while the others took a nap at the hotel. Had lunch at the hotel. I don't blame them our flight was a late one. We checked out a local cigar maker, a shopping center and an outdoor swap meet. Came back and had dinner at the Japanese Benihana style restaurant compliments of Bill and Richard.
Guide Mario.
Day 1
Morning: Barcacuda orange and Black CR Whistler
Afternoon: 80lbs Tarpon Org/Blk CR Whistler
120lbs Tarpon Chart/Blk CRW
90lbs Tarpon Chart/Blk CRW
Day 2
Morning: 80lbs Tarpon Org/Blk CRW
Stingray and Ribbonfish
Afternoon: Jungle Fishing. Over 10 Mojarra on a red popper. Small Jack Crevalle and Sardine.
Day 3
Morning: Fished the Jungle starting with a red popper. Multiple mojarra. No luck with
Gurglers or frog patterns. Changed to Webb's popper and caught snook,
mojarra, machaca. Moved to the ocean late morning. No luck.
Afternoon: Fished with Neil from Texas who just arrived. Fished the ocean with no luck.
Day 4
Morning: Fished with Emerson, using webb's guide Manuel, in the Jungle for Machaca on the main river. Drift the boat downriver. No luck so tried to mojarra in the channels. Fished with Webb's fly. Took several mojarra. Then caught a snook that frayed the line. I was lazy and did not change the leader. Eventually hooked a bigger snook that cut the line and I ripped it out of its mouth. I tied on the last Webb's fly I had. Stupidly I tied on a 7lb leader, much too light. I hooked a good size machaca and got it near the boat. It jumped several times until it cut the line with its teeth right at the loop knot.
Afternoon:Fished with Webb. Rained like crazy. We tried our luck at Guapote. Several small strikes taht the guide believe most likelt Mojarra. Went to fish the same laguna that Mario had me fish. Webb several mojarra and bluegill. I only hade a mojarra on the last cast of the day. Guide Manuel made sure I had at least one for the afternoon.
Day 5
Travel day to San Juan to wait for our flight. The boys managed to get a hotel room until our evening flight. I was not feeling well so I napped while they went to visit a local mountain. The later told me it was freezing cold.

 

Security- Abloy Protec 321

In a few weeks I'll be headed off to Texas for a few days taking with me my AR and a pistol. Since I'll be flying for the first time with a firearm, I'd like to share what I've purchased as a little precaution. When flying with firearms, one is required to transport the gun in TSA approved case and locks must not be pre-approved TSA locks. This is obviously to prevent any TSA goon from stealing your gun. Most people simply attach a Masterlock and call it a day. I still remember Masterlock commercials as a youth, that showed the lock being shot with out breaking or opening. I think Masterlocks might be fine for dometic travel but if you hunt abroad or if you're not paranoid about theft I think you'll need a better lock.

A simple search on youtube will show you how easily a Masterlock can be picked or even bumped open. As such I've decided to pick up a Abloy Protec lock. Currently there is no reported case of this lock ever being picked. Made in Finland, these locks are some of the finest and strongest in the world. They are heavy and not cheaply priced but I figure it is cheap insurance. I believe any world traveling hunter should use these locks particularly if your traveling to Russia. I have known more people than I can count that have had there luggage opened and items stolen out of Russian airports.


These are Abloy Protec 321 keyed the same. If you purchase more than one lock you can have them keyed alike or differently. If you choose alike you will receive 2 keys if you want them different you'll receive 2 per lock. You also recieve a card with information in the event you wish to purchase future keyed alike locks.

The 321 fits perfectly on this Pelican 1720. I believe all lips on Pelicans are the same size. I'll confirm it on my other Pelican cases- 1650 and 1610.

There is plenty of room to rotate the lock so you have easy access to the key hole.

Honestly for domestic travel these locks may be overkill but I'd rather than safe than sorry. For the international hunter I'd highly suggest you use these locks.

Choosing the Right Dog Food

It's always surprising to me how many supposed "dog guys" know about dog food. Not all dog foods are created equal. There are so many brands, so many types that it's not surprising people are confused. Dog food can be bought at Costco, supermarkets, drug stores, pet stores chains, and boutique pet stores. Generally speaking the only places that sell quality dog food are the later.

How does one know if your dog food is quality? A good guideline, though not necessarily guaranteed, is price per pound. Generally quality food should cost at least $2/lbs or more. Think about what goes into a price of dog food (or any product for that matter), the ingredients, the marketing, the production (labor, wages, equipment, the packaging, the transportation, and the profit. I'm sure I might have missed something as well but you get the point. If you just look at ingredients alone, if you pay $1/lbs, what type of ingredient can you really expect? Even at wholesale prices its difficult to find meat for $1/lbs. That is not including all the other determinants mentioned above that go into the overall cost of the food. So the real cost of the meat may only be 50 or 60 cents. And thats not including the 20 or 30 other ingredients in the recipe.

One should always look at the packaging to see the ingredients and the guaranteed analysis. If you have a hunting or active dog both are critical. If you have a house pet that is rather inactive than the former is more important than the later. Ingredients listed are always listed in the order of most to least. So it is important that the first few ingredients be some sort of meat, fish, beef, chicken etc. You may see meal after the meat, that is OK. Meal is just the meat is cooked and the meat rendered is then dried. Since it is meat, it is still good. What you do not want to see is a meat By-product. This is inferior to the whole meats and includes everything such as the hearts, lungs, intestines and other undesirable portions. You may also see digest which is the worst of all. It is basically By-product that is cooked and made into a slurry. Make sure the first few ingredients are either a meat or meat meal to ensure you are getting your money's worth. Otherwise you are paying for filler.

Active dogs are like Olympic athletes and should be feed a quality diet. It's long believed that a minimum of 30% Protein to 20% fat is ideal for working dogs. This ratio keeps your dog cool and helps prevent injury. It will keep your dog healthier and will live longer.

There are many benefits to feeding your dog a quality dog food. One is because the ingredients are quality the dog does not need to eat as much. This helps the pocket book as a 30 pound bag will last longer than a 30 pound bag of inferior dog food. You'll also notice that the dog's stool will likely be less, which is always nice.

Quality always cost more but that is why it is quality. there are a number of quality foods out there. I personally feed Kaiser Adult Dog from Orijen. The guaranteed analysis is 38%/17%. The fat is a little less than ideal but I supplement boiled ground beef and veggies that should up the the fat levels.

One last thing I'd recommend is to buy food that is 100% US or another first world country made. Orijen is 100% Canadian. Make sure of this. Many companies try to short cut ingredients and outsource to cheaper nations. Remember a few years ago, all the dogs that were dying or falling seriously ill? That was a result of ingredients coming from China making its way into the recipes of some dog foods. Don't risk it.

More good info from retriever trainer and DU Waterdog host Justin Tackett:



I realize this article should have been written during the off season rather than the hunting season. That just shows you how little I was able to hunt this year. What a shame although I'll be able to make it one day this weekend. So I should have at least one more report for this season.

The Perfect Repeater

Although I'm a die hard side by side guy, I do have a soft spot for American classics. So I've taken my Winchester Model 12 out of mothballs to be my duck gun this year; its literally been years since I've shot this classic American shotgun. My initial intention when I bought this gun years ago was to use it as my field beater or bad weather gun. Just after I bought it though I found my GDR era Merkel M8. With my love of double barrels and double triggers, the Merkel had basically sidelined the Model 12.

It should be interesting to see how well I end up shooting this gun. Pumping the action and the single trigger pull, I can see myself missing a few followup shots. I have in the past. I'll just have to see what happens. I believe I've only taken this gun out afield twice, once on a snowy duck hunt and the other on a pheasant hunt. On both trips I did not hook up with any birds.

Built in 1933, my Model 12 is now well patinaed. I can only imagine how many American farm fields this gun has seen. This is truly an American classic used by American celebrity sportsmen like Ernest Hemingway, Roy Rogers, Clark Gable, and Peter Hathaway Capstick to name a few. No self respecting American Sportsman of that era would not be seen without one.

One unique feature of this gun I really like is the ability to take down the gun without tools, making it convenient to travel with. This was one of the main selling points for me. The gun can easily be fitted in a duffle bag or an indiscrete gun bag. Neighbors or hotel guests in a lobby would never suspect anything and you can avoid any unwanted attention.

There are several iteration of this gun and there are nearly 2 million in existence. Equally at home afeild or at the clay range, the Model 12 has seen it all. Some even saw some action in world conflicts or in police actions. My gun I highly doubt has seen any of those as it's a 28 inch fixed modify choke in 12 gauge. All parts are original including the plastic Winchester butt plate.

The action is smooth as glass and with its ability to be slam fired, that is firing quickly by holding down the trigger while pumping the action as fast as you can, it makes sense that police and military chose this shotgun for up close battles. It was this feature that Capstick writes about (which book I forget)why he chose it when going into the thickets after a wounded leopard. Obviously this feature does not benefit the bird hunter but it is unique and eventually the legal teams believed it to be a liability and the feature was later removed. Mine still has this feature.

I've read that machining the receiver was not only time consuming but expensive as well. The reciever is forged and required numberous complicated machine operations to complete. Winchester at one point was losing money as the gun was just too expensive to manufacture. Instead of raising prices Winchester in 1964 began cutting corners and rebadged the gun as the model 1200. The new model never had the following like that of the Model 12.

When people say they don't make them like this anymore, they really don't make them like this anymore. The Perfect Repeater or more commonly known as the Winchester Model 12 is worthy of any American Sportsman's collection.

Contour Roam

For a long time I've been interested in finding a good video camera for all the activities I enjoy. Unfortunately typical cameras require, for the most part, the use of one hand. Fly fishing, hunting, shooting, and off roading, all require two hands to safely and accurately perform those tasks so I've never really had a desire to spend money on a video camera. That was the case until I found out about the Contour Roam. These simple video camera is designed for action and with the proper mount it requires no hands to operate (other than turning it on).

I intend on purchasing a head mount soon so I can now record my fishing and hunting trips. I'm trying to figure out a way to mount it to my dog so I can see his perspective when looking for birds.

This Roam was purchased from Grey Group during their 12 days of Christmas sale. The regular price is $200, I purchased mine for $150. That's not bad. I'll be trying it out soon as I plan on a waterfowl hunt and a pheasant hunt in the coming weeks. I'll review it once I get a chance to ply with it. Depending on how much I like this, future posts may contain only videos for now on but I doubt it as I actually like taking still photos.

Lowa Desert Elite and Lowa Renegade GTX Mid

My first real hiking boot ever was a Lowa. I have always been a fan because every pair I've ever worn have been very comfortable. It has always seemed to me that they require little to no break in period. I've never had a blister or hot spot with their boots.

I have acquired two new pair of Lowa boots. My father picked a pair of Desert Elites for me. These boots retail here in the states for over $300 and I've seen them go for over $400. But for some reason, these boots in the UK are going for far less, around $200 USD. I have read that the British SAS and other Special Forces wear these boots. Perhaps there was a contract that was not fulfilled and now the UK has an overrun of these and thus the cheaper price there. My father picked these up from a UK dealer and bought a pair for himself and a pair me for roughly the price of one set that could be bought here.

Other than trying them on, I have not tested the boot. Although on our last hunt my father wore his and said they were very comfortable. One great thing about these Elites are that they are still made in Germany. They are water repellent and breathable and are 8 inches tall. Although these are desert boots they are more than capable for mountainous chukar terrain. Afterall the Brits are wearing these in Afghanistan. One thing I have to get used to is that these boots have closed eyelets. This is because these are designed for paratroopers and open eyelets can get caught or cut up cords. For me this takes some getting used to as all my boots have open eyelets. These boots will be my early season mountain quail boots or hot weather boots.

The boot is a combination of cordura and leather. Tongue is well padded and mountaineer styled.

Eyelets are closed throughout. The tongue is attached to a nice soft leather.

Threads are Vibram and have good grip.

Early models had problems with the toes peeling off. Apparently the knife that cut the rubber had a silicon compound that affected the glue. That has since been rectified. I've read that even with the toe peeling slightly, soldiers were reluctant to turn them in.

These pair are still made in Germany. The quality is excellent. Stitching is nice and tight.

Lowa Renegade GTX Mid

Not knowing that my father picked me up those boots, I picked up another pair of Lowa boots for everyday use or camping. I have a pair or Timberlands I bought years ago because I read that Ed Viesturs wore them. Those were Chinese made junk. I couldn't believe Ed would ever wear a boots like that. I guess he gets them free but since he makes a living mountaineering I would expect that he would go with a more reputable boot company. Maybe he just wears those while in camp and not when hiking to the base camp. Most recreational boots found at outdoors stores are now made in China. Just go to REI and look for yourself. That is just sad. I, for one, will not purchase any of those.

These Lowa Renegade GTX Mids are not German made but at least they are not made in China. It is my understanding that these are Lowas most popular boot selling more units worldwide than some boot companies sell in one year. I can see why. These are some of the most attractive boots on the market.

Like every Lowa I've owned, this pair is out of the box comfortable. The monowrap comes up and wraps to the middle part of the boot which not only provides stability and durability but lessens weight as well.

These boots have trekking style lace ups which wrap around the contours of the foot. These are open eyelets.


There is a stabilizer in the sole that works like a shank. The soles are Vibram.

Made in Slovakia. I'll take that to China any day.

So far I've only worn these around town so I can not yet comment how they will do in the field. These boots will be for everyday wear, hiking, fly fishing, camping, off roading and other. Since I'll likely be hunting in the following months, its unlikely these boots will see any "real" use until the hunting season is over. I will however be bringing these to Texas while I take a CSAT Rifle course with Paul Howe in February.

When I get more "real" use out of these two boots I will make a new entry to report.

Had a Bit of a Scare

Two samples of Kaiser's urine, the bloody urine and one from the following day which appears to have cleared up.

After hunting all day we heading back home for a long drive. Kaiser worked hard the past day and a half. When we finally arrived home I took Kaiser out to urinate. While relieving himself I noticed that his urine had blood in it. I couldn't really tell as it was around 9pm by now and the artificial lights outside made it tough to really see. So I let him in and found a flashlight to check. He had pissed on an empty planter that had some light dried leaves in it. I saw that his pee did in fact have blood.

Having never dealt with anything like this, I freaked out a bit. After I showered him I called the local emergency vet to see if I should have him checked out now or if I should just wait till the morning to see my regular doctor. they told me to come in. So I did.

The vet checked him over. There are a few causes of bloody urine such as eating poison, trying to pass a stone, among others and the vet asked me question so to see if these could be the cause. Another cause is overexertion. When a dog overexerts himself his muscles breakdown and is passed through the body through urine or feces. The doc x-rayed the dog to see if he was trying to pass anything, she also did other tests such as blood and urine analysis.

After some exhausting tests, the main culprit was overexertion. With the results in from the analysis in, it was determined that Kaiser had some abnormal readings that concerned her. She worried that he could suffer from some kidney damage and suggested that he say overnight so she could put an IV in him so he could recover quicker and reduce any chance of kidney damage.
I left him there for the night to pick him up the next morning before 8am.

I arrived at 7:30am to pick up Kaiser and after paying the $710 bill we were off. The vet said he should be fine but have him rechecked in three days to make sure he didn't suffer any damage.

I'm having several hunts that are becoming extremely expensive but as long as my dog is okay, I'll just have to live with it.

Day Two. The Gate and Joel's

The Merkel 47E 20 gauge

Kaiser with the first bird of the day.

The Merkel 47E and my father's 20 gauge French over and under.

Although while at the motel I was beat tired, for whatever reason I could not fall asleep. The last time I checked the clock it was 5am. Managing a few hours of sleep I finally woke up to head out to The Gate. Just like the day previous, within the first 10 minutes quail were flushing. Again for whatever reason these birds were also very wary. They either held extremely tight or they flushed wild far from us. Kaiser gave me 10 points for the day. Some were false points from old scent but many were legit. Of those legit points I only managed one bird from them. I literally shot like shit. Shooting is a perishable talent and since I spent no time at the clay range this summer it was clearly apparent. Most birds were small loose coveys flushing in singles or doubles.

Within a few hours we finally found a large covey of about 25. We chased them through a draw managing a couple and missing more than I care to admit. The birds literally held tight. At one point we rested for 10 minutes, once we began moving again there quail flushed just feet from where we were resting. Talk about holding tight. I lost two this morning. One I hit my father saw the bird go down and then proceed to run into a tree. Kaiser followed but lost the scent as the trees roots were dense. The other we lost cause I hit one bird and while we were moving to retrieve it Kaiser went on point. The hit bird must have ran somewhere and kaiser couldn't locate the scent.

We stopped hunting around 1pm after my dad's over under had trouble closing completely shut so we headed back to the Rover. While heading back we ran into more and more quail. All in all this morning we must have seen at least 150 birds. Incredible.

After taking an afternoon nap we headed to a new area. Quail called in the background. We headed toward them. In no time we were on birds. We spent the last few hours of daylight looking for more birds but didn't find quite as many. Previous years have been spectacular but this year they were hard to find. I know the birds are still there as there was fresh track everywhere. If I were not so tired I'm sure I would have been able to move into the high grounds to find them but I simple didn't have it in me.

This day I took 4 quail losing 2. Dad didn't manage any for the day. Pics to follow.

First Birds of the Season- Moore's Place

The Hubertus Small Game Knife ready for gutting.

The Quails of the day taken with a Merkel 47E and a French U/O.

Kaiser and I take a rest while searching for chukar.

I missed the early dove season. I missed the early season mountain quail. I missed the regular season opener. The Rover was packed last week and I was ready to go up until I hopped in the driver's seat and the truck wouldn't start. As a result the trip was cancelled as I went to go replace the battery. In addition to that I had them do my routine maintenance. They found that I needed to replace my front bushings. Great start to the season.

After a lousy start, I decided to today was going to be the first time out. I was in no mood to wake up early to beat morning traffic I choose to leave the house late morning. We arrived the on the hunting fields at 3pm. Within only a few minutes from the car, we flushed a loose covey of about 8. I took a 30 yard right to left shot. I missed with the first IC barrel of the 20 gauge Merkel 47E but managed him with the second Mod barrel. My intetion was to climb to get some chukar so I was using B&P F2 Classic #6. I with my father through a dried out riverbed where we've had great luck in the past. No other birds appeared. Once through, I decided to climb the mountain for a chance at chukar. I left dad at the flatlands and walked parallel to each other. I climbed higher than I've ever climbed on this mountain. Unfortunately Kaiser and I were unable to find any birds. Unlike me, dad managed better than I. He flushed two small conveys and took two quail for his efforts. We met back at the truck by this time it was alittle after 5. We began driving out, not far from the main road a covey of at least 20 flushed to our right. Stopping the car, we jumped out and pursued the birds. Singles and double flush wild but shots were difficult as we were in some thick stuff along with a forest of cholla, yucca and other desert plants. We managed none of those birds. These birds acted like late season birds. They must be holdovers. After all the rain this spring I'm surprised I didn't see more birds and more dumber young birds.

Kaiser and I are not in hunting shape. This is completely my fault, I should have done alot more to get us ready for the season. Oh well. I'm typing in motel and I'm beat. Pictures for some reason will not upload so they will go up later.

Unique Matching Pistol Pair

Preseason Warm Up At Prado

I got a call earlier this week to see if I wanted to do some dog training at Prado since Lou has trapped a boat load of pigeons recently. Originally I intended to train Tuesday but since Ed called me to fish I decided to fish instead since Lou was hitting Prado twice this week.

Kaiser showed alot or rust and you can tell I have not been keeping up with his training. He is no longer stead to wing and shot as he was before. I really need to work on this and get him back to being steady at least during training. Lou asked if I wanted to come back on Tuesday, I told him I'd have to look at my schedule. If I do I'll bring both my e-collars and attach one to his waist. That should remind him that he needs to be steady.

After the bird session I had Kaiser doing some water drills for duck hunting. He still remembers his hand and whistle commands even in the water. This good so I'll bring him to the blind this year if I end up hitting San Jacinto or Wister with Ed.

I shot my Merkel 147SL today as I've not shot it in some time. The gun as always shoots like a dream. It fits me perfectly so hitting targets is never a problem.