How to lose a grand slam Costa Rica Report

**Down East Guide** · 10-12-2011 03:41 PM

Saturday, October 8, 2011

How to lose a grand slam

We started the morning off with a family of scarlet macaws outside our window, fresh cinamon rolls from the bakery, then off to the Dragin Fly.

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About an hour run straight to several square miles of scattered dophins (the Flipper kind), birds and busting tunas. It didn't take long to get a bite, actually 4 bites, on cedar plugs and casting poppers. On two different occasions we were hooked up with quadruple headers on tuna, landing all 4.

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With a dozen tuna in the box, it was time for Anna to get in the water and swim with the dolphins....she got the underwater view of tunas crashing my popper. We finally coaxed her out of the water when the boat beside us hooked up with a sail. We put the billfish spread out, but continued to have tunas eat our ballyhoo.

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With more in the boat than we needed, we made a tactical error. A hard bite on the right short bait and we locked up the drag, hoping to pull the tuna off the hook.....then it screamed off a hundred yards and hit the air. The 300 pound blue marlin straightened the hook. Ouch, won't make that mistake again. We ended up jumping off a striped marlin, missed several sails and caught 5 sails.......so much for our chance at a grand slam, but a great day.