(Long Report....with a Lot of Pics)
Since moving to Costa Rica permanently, I have been fortunate enough to enjoy the phenomenal Bill fishery here catching monster Sailfish, Marlin, Mahi, Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, and Roosterfish.
My dilemma is that I am a Bottom Fishing junkie at heart and I have missed dropping a bait on the bottom and that incredible feeling of waiting for that bump, right before a Big Ol' Grouper or Snapper SLAMS the hook and the brawl begins as you duke it out knuckles to reel, and thighs to the gunnel, with a hard fighting, head shaking, back stretching beast from the Bottom. That's my favorite type of fishing!
I knew there was an incredible, untapped bottom fishery here, and not many Captains have made the effort to dial it in. Of course, there isn't a great demand for it by the anglers that travel here throughout the year, who are here to catch Billfish and Roosterfish. I been looking for a Captain or two in this area that has figured out the Bottom fishery, and could could easily put a smile on the face of an addicted Flordia Bottom Fishing transplant and his future guests.
Capt.Brandon Keene called me the other day and invited me aboard his 29' Carolina Classic,the "Fish Whistle, for a "fun" trip to prove to me that he could produce some serious Grouper & Snapper. Finally, I was free to go and Ready!
Stock photo of boat- taken by E. Wickstrom 
The night before dragged on forever as I could barely sleep. I was finally going to into combat with some serious Grouper & Snapper! I had no idea that by the end of this day, I would return back to my bunk a very beat up, sore, and wounded soldier.
We left Los Suenos Resort & Marina at 6:45am. The wrecking crew for the day was his 1st mate Carlos, Capt. Simon from the Marlin Mujer, myself and Capt. Brandon. In the live well were 3 Blue-Runners. On deck were a 25lb Block of whole Squid, and a 25lb block of frozen mackerel. We are stopping to catch more live baits right?
"No..we don't need anymore. Those three are enough and the Squid and Macks will be just fine" he replied
OK...wait a minute. I am a bottom fishing expert from Florida, how the hec are we are going to get it done without more live bait? I insisted that we at least try and catch a dozen more livies. We hit a few spots near shore, only to produce 2 more blue runners. Brandon insisted that we just get going and I respectfully agreed (not happily) and off we went with 4 Live baits, a bunch of Squid and some frozen Macks. I could not help mumbling to myself " I can't believe we are heading out there with only 4 live baits. Sorry, but I wouldn't dare head out to fish back in Florida without at least a few dozen Live baits. Yeah Yeah I know, Shut up Josh..You're not in Florida!
The next thing I noticed was what we were going to be fishing with. Penn International 30's spooled with red Power-Pro! Are you kidding me? What the hec kind of bottom fishing set up is that I thought? Also in the arsenal were a few Tiagra 30's spooled with Ande 80lb Mono. Ok, I felt a little better! Then...I see what Carlos is making up for rigs and I about fell over! A 4 hook chicken rig with 100lb test line, and 10/0 Circle hooks! What the hec is this???? Really, these guys can't be serious?
Even more baffling was the Same style chicken rig that Simon was setting up to use with the Krystal electric reel he brought, but with Nylon leaders so thick, you could have built a ski-lift with them. Total tourist rig I thought. Ha ha ha, I was soon about to find our who the tourist was....ME
As we approached the first stop where Capt. Brandon planned to fish, Carlos insisted on baiting my Christmas Tree rig with some whole squid on 2 hooks and big chunks of squid on the other 2. Okay then, here we go. The motors soon idled back, and Capt. Brandon made a few circles before coming to a stop. "Okay guys..give it a try". How deep are we I asked? "405 feet" he replied. Uhhhhh.. this is going to hurt I thought.
Off go my weights and bait on what seemed like an endless trip to the bottom. As soon as I felt my lead touch the floor of the Abyss, I locked into gear and lifted my rod tip slightly. I felt a few small taps instantly, and thought OK, here come the trash fish attacking my Wal-Mart chicken rig. :nilly: I let out a little slack to allow whatever was nibbling,eat my "Circle Hooked" squid for a second, and all of a sudden BAM!!! After my first 2 cranks, I felt that distinguishable Head Shaking and Hard pumping explosion that only a Big fat Red Snapper offers.
My rod was quickly bowed up and the tip touching the water, when I started cranking like there was no tomorrow! Oh my goodness, I still have about 380 feet of reeling to do! After what seemed like an eternity, I see color. Carlos grabs the Gaff and over the side comes this fine Specimen. They call them Silk Snapper or Silkies here! Absolutely beautiful! Ok, I am psyched at this point, as well as in shock that I caught this fish on this rig. Ok.. again I stand respectfully humbled.
First Stop-First Drop- Big Red Pig-Many more to come! 
Carlos bowed up and bent backwards! Although a skinny fellow, he is one tough Tico! 
Oh YES..that's what I was waiting to see! A Big Ol' bucket mouth, fat nasty GROUPER! 
Simon bowed up with his Rod doing the Red Snapper Rod Tip Tap Dance, and the chonkey donkey that followed 
So now I am back on the bottom, after only about 3 minutes of waiting, SLAM! I nail my first Grouper of the Day! 
The action continued on our first spot for the next hour and a half! Snapper after Snapper, and Grouper after Grouper, until the tide started to go slack. At that point the bite slowed a bit so we moved on.
Cooler with a 1/2 of the 12 Grouper that will be caught this day! Second pic here is a few on deck before being iced 
Next stop, only 380 feet. My muscles are already cramped, and Simon has gotten "The Claw" twice from reeling so much. He gave up the Electric reel after losing 2 fish with it on the first stop. I decided to try one of the Live baits I insisted on having, although everything we caught so far was on Squid. So down it goes, a Big old Blurunner . That poor guy sat down there for about 25 minutes before he finally drown and I realized these fish wanted nothing to do with live bait...Humbled again..No big deal. They wouldn't touch the frozen macks either! All day long and every fish..caught on Squid!
Within a few minutes after the second stop, Simon gets Slammed. My goodness he mutters with his English accent, It's a double Grouper slam on deck! 2 at a time! 
The debauchery continued over the next hour and we crushed the fish in just 3 stops. The last stop offered a little reeling relief as it was only 320 feet deep.
: We had been hand cranking all day, so a 60-80 chang was a releif!
The day’s total bag was 20 Snapper with a 8-12 pound average(some bigger) and 12 Grouper with a 10-15lb average.(some bigger) I was sore and beat up by day’s end!
Pics of the catch for the day! 
Capt. Brandon -Capt. Simon-and Carlos holding up a few! 
Carlos with another one! 
We all walked off the boat with a huge amount of Grouper and Snapper Fillets. The next night, I called a few guests that we had in town , and invited them to Join me and my wife at, "Barco del Los Mariscos"
The Seafood Boat, One of the restaurants where I bring our clients when they have caught Mahi, Wahoo, or Snapper, as they do an incredible job at preparing the fish with several different Delicious sauces and throw in fresh veggies, Salad, and Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Fries as well. (Plus the BEST Ice cream parlor in town is located right next door)
Here's a few pics of the cooked fish. The rest of my take of the fish has filled my freezer, as well the freezers of a few "less fortunate" families in the area that I visited with a few fish filled goody bags. Grilled 
Blackened 
White Heart of Palm & Shrimp Sauce Built to smother over fillets! Second shot is my plate just the way I like it! 
End of report......Buuuurp! Thanks for reading! :toast:
Fishing Fact: There are more trophy fish caught out of Los Suenos year round than
ANY other region in Costa Rica!
The # 1 Costa Rica Fishing & Travel experiences take place with the Hooked On Costa Rica Team of Fishing & Travel professionals!
Los Suenos Costa Rica Bottom Fishing Report-Aug-2008 
