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.