Aguila de Osa our lodge while in Drakes Bay Costa Rica
About a year ago we were approached by Esteban Guetierrez of Black Beard Fishing company to gauge our interest in joining him on a trip to Costa Rica. He offered to work out all the details so we of course couldn’t say no. After a lot of work on logistics by him and his partner Andrei “Drei” Stroman we had worked out a plan with Costa Rica Tourism to shoot a couple of our shows.
We have visited so many great locations around the world while shooting our shows, great not only for the fishing but for the lodging, people and environment. After this trip I think Costa Rica certainly worked its way to the top of our list in all these categories. Aguilla de Osa in Drakes Bay Costa Rica has made it to the list of places I must return when ever I can. By their standards the fishing was slow, but was still amazing, the lodge itself was fantastic, from the rooms, views, meals and even more because of the wonderful staff. It is not often when you go on a trip that every employee at the location makes a point of learning your name and stops to have a conversation with you each evening to ask you about your day, and seem to be genuinely interested in what you have to say.
Swapping stories with Mike at Aguilla De Osa over some Ballast Point Spirits
I have found the people all over Costa Rica are very passionate about their country and love sharing it with visitors. As a whole the country is very clean and everyone seems very protective of the environment. Costa Rica has embraced eco-tourism unlike any other country I have visited and it really shows in how the country has protected vast areas of open space that have incredible bio-diversity. Whether going on a fishing trip or a family vacation I don’t think you would regret a visit to Costa Rica.
For this trip we flew into San Jose then took Sansa, the local airline, to The town of Palmar Sur which is located on the Sierpe River that empties directly into the Pacific Ocean. The Sierpe wetlands has one of the largest mangroves in the world featuring amazing and untouched biodiversity. Palmar Sur is also used as an access to Drake Bay and Caño Island Biological Reserve. Though you can fly direct to Drakes Bay we, like many tourists, landed in this destination to take the tour down the river, a wonderful adventure that allowed us to enjoy the wildlife and the lush vegetation until we get to our final destination. Below are some shots from our river tour.
OK not wildlife but still very cool. This is the owners dog, Coco, taking a nap under the ceiling fan.
Every evening at Aguilla de Osa there is a cocktail hour with fantastic appetizers that included ceviche, sushi, sashimi or any number of other goodies.
Snack time
All meals are served at a large communal table so that all the guests dine together. This made for some great conversations with guests from all over. I must say that the food here was as good as anyplace I have ever been.
We put in a lot of miles every long day of fishing, at times feeling like we were paddling on a treadmill in the strong currents but it paid off with some great fish. The bulk of our catch was Roosterfish which are one of my favorites to catch. We all broke off on some big Cubera but did land some other good fish including Dorado and Amber Jack. I also had a hookup on a sailfish that tossed the hook before we ever got the camera rolling. Even if the fish had not cooperated it is an amazing place to paddle. Just make sure you have plenty of water and the right clothes to keep you covered up, because it is hot and humid.
A great place to paddle and fish.
Some nice smaller Roosterfish
My big Rooster for the trip going around sixty pounds
A beast of a Rooster for Esteban
A big AJ for Esteban
Drei supplying this bid Dorado for dinner.
Our captain and guide Dadee. This guy really knows this fishery and was a blast to fish with.
We can not thank Bradd and his staff from Aguilla De Osa and the Costa Rica board of tourism enough for making this trip happen. Of course we couldn’t have done it without the help from the guys at Blackbeard Fishing company.
It deserves repeating, if you want a little adventure you owe it to yourself to visit Costa Rica.
Kayak Fishing Tales 