A Word From Captain Richard

The Gamefisher II is back at her home port of Potrero Bay after fishing three action packed months out of Quepos. It is prime marlin and sailfish catching time up here on the northwest coast of Guanacaste. Rainy season, means time to go fishing! The rains are coming in, hills are greening up and the offshore conditions are coming together for what we hope to be an epic billfish season out of Flamingo and Potrero Bays. Our billfish season here is May through December, peak months being June, July & August.
We are looking forward to having you back on board for for the hunt.

Up North
Opening the season for Flamingo and Potrero on May 4th Chris Atkins and Lauren Hinrichs from South Carolina had 19 sailfish raised, got 18 bites, releasing 15. Getting the green season started, inshore, there's been catch of 30lb - 60lb roosterfish, 40lb snapper, 35lb grouper, along with consistent jacks, skipjacks and more. Most impressive thus far has been the release of a 350lb black marlin caught May 6th by the father-of- the-bride of a 130 guest wedding party. Good Omen for the occasion. Congratulations to the happy couple and happy father! Watch this fun video from the wedding party, a triple sailfish hook up guaranteed to make you smile!

Down South
2016 Highlights out of Marina Pez Vela
January through April: Big Blue - Fishing out of the new Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, a two hour long battle with an estimated 500lb blue marlin pinnacled the experience of a German fishing club. Three-man group Tom Daniels, Dick Dick Berner and Mike Sherrer, set their sailfish goal for 51 to beat out their previous year's catch of 50. They then proceeded to spectacularly supersede that objective, raising a total of 183 sailfish in 5 days with 167 bites and 121 releases!! If you needed any more encouragement to charter the Gamefisher II out of the new Marina Pez Vela in Quepos in 2017, take the lead from the La Grange group out of Georgia who have already booked again for 2017. We set this group of 9 men up with three boats in luxury vacation rental accommodations in Manuel Antonio on their 14th consecutive year fishing with Gamefisher II. They reported BEST accommodations yet. The party had good sailfish action and brought a steady supply of yellowfin tuna of 15-25 lbs range to the private chef hired to prepare all their meals. You can have it all fishing out of Quepos!

Observations at Sea
Underwater cinematographer and marine biologist, Rick Rosenthal, was with us for 9 days in January, exploring and gathering footage for a BBC documentary film in the works. We have worked with Rick over the years on various documentaries, including the Blue Planet series. Always fascinating and educational. Rick was very impressed on this trip with the healthy stocks of pelagic, mesopelagic and mammal species he observed out of Quepos. Rosenthal reported that he has not seen the yellowfin tuna stocks so strong here since 1995. This, thanks to FECOP's victory in leading the movement to changing the law to keeping the seiners 45 miles offshore (previously the limit was 12 miles). FECOP, (Costa Rican Federation of Sport Fishing), is a non profit organization with a full time Costa Rican staff which includes an executive director, marine biologist, accountant, sociologist, media marketing expert, all working toward the common goal of responsible fisheries. Captain Richard Chellemi has been actively involved, serving on the board of directors of FECOP for the past 3 years.

Tournaments
Upcoming: July 29-31, 2016 - Presidential Flamingo Rodeo

Facebook Link - Click Here

We look forward to hearing from you!

Visit our website, call or email Melissa to find out about available dates and start planning your fishing trip now.

www.gamefisher2.com
info@gamefisher2.com
Skype US tel: 904-494-6171

Billfish: Best Time and Place, 2015-2016

A Word from Captain Richard

Offshore of Flamingo we have been raising 20+ sailfish a day, stripe and blue marlin too. The yellow-fin tuna are coming back strong since the new law passed to push the purse seiners out beyond 45 miles. That's right, fresh tuna on the grill!!! If you can drop your hat and go fishing come on with it!

When and Where November and December, 2015

Drop everything; come fishing NOW! Fantastic fishing and conditions out of Flamingo for several weeks running. It's like a sailfish corral out there and there are marlin in the mix too. Perfect situation for fly fishing billfish or hooking your own on conventional. Flight search on Tripadvisor shows super reduced rates to fly right into Liberia, making it feasible to come down even for a weekend. We can hook you up with nice accommodations for as low as $40 p/person, p/nt for a group of 4 or more.

Flight search from Nov 13 through Dec 19:

New York City to Liberia - $289
Houston to Liberia - $341
http://www.tripadvisor.com/CheapFlightsHome

When and Where January through April, 2016

Gamefisher II will be fishing out of the Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, near the popular resort area of Manuel Antonio, from January 15th through April 20th. We still have a few good blocks of prime dates available. Time to start making plans for this billfish hot spot.

News & Updates

Turning up the heat: El Nino has had a very positive effect on the sailfish and marlin bite for us in the past few months. The phenomena is predicted to remain through at least April of 2016. We are looking forward to the upcoming season at the Marina Pez Vela in Quepos and optimistic about seeing those incredible numbers of sailfish and marlin again in 2016!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Visit our website, call or email Melissa to find out about available dates and start planning your fishing trip now.

www.gamefisher2.com
info@gamefisher2.com
Skype US tel: 904-494-6171
 

Gamefisher II Charters

Dear Fellow Anglers, Friends and Family,

We hope that this letter finds you all bordering excellence!

Time once again to share some fishing news and highlights out of Costa Rica. You may remember that Costa Rica had some off-the-charts sailfish action early in 2014 out of Marina Los Sueños in Herradura and Marina Pez Vela in Quepos. The Gamefisher II was in the thick of it then and again this year when the number of sailfish caught surpassed record catches in 2014!!

Impressive Statistics, 2015:

The Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown is a 3 day long, 3 legged tournament series held in January, February and March each year. This year the Tournament reported the following action.

• Leg 1 - January 22, 23, 25 - 39 teams released a total of 2154 billfish, 24 marlin and 2130 Pacific sailfish.
• Leg 2 - February 26, 27, 28 - 40 teams released a total of 1688 billfish, 21 marlin and 1667 Pacific sailfish.
• Leg 3 - March 26, 27, 27 - 37 teams released a total of 1890 billfish, 19 marlin and 1871 Pacific sailfish.

The Offshore World Championship was again held at the Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, April, 2015. This tournament beat another tournament record for Costa Rica with 67 teams releasing 2314 billfish in 3 days.

Presidential Papagayo Cup, was held at the Marina Papagayo May 29, 30, 31 - 4 teams released 20 blue marlin and 17 sailfish.

What Is Happening Now

The billfish action traditionally tapers off for Los Sueños, Herradura and Quepos after April. From May through December the better sailfish and marlin bite are further north, off of Flamingo/Potrero, our home port for these months. In early May we were already seeing double digit sailfish behind the boat each day and a marlin every other day. By late May the blue marlin bite turned on! Inshore we have had some great roosterfish days, twice releasing fish up to 60#. There have also been some nice snapper scored inshore early in the season.

Come On Down

Fish with us this summer or fall. We still have some open dates on the fishing calendar and would love to see you on board. I have stepped down from my Captains position aboard the 74' Tribute "Nemesis" and I'm looking forward to sharing the helm with Junior once again. The Flamingo and Potrero areas are developing slowly and tastefully. You will find beautiful vacation rentals on the beach or with ocean views, new shops and restaurants. There are also many fun activities and day trips from this area. Melissa is always glad to make recommendations or assist you with travel plans and logistics in-country.

Thank you all for your genuine interest in the Gamefisher II. You are the reason that we are still a charter fishing success in Costa Rica 28 years strong!

Sincerely,

Richard & Crew
Captain Richard Chellemi & CREW
Skype U.S. 904-494-6171

Looking Ahead to 2014!

Hi everyone, just a quick update from your friends here at Gamefisher II Charters. We invite you to come see and experience more of beautiful Costa Rica in 2014! New fishing destinations are available January through April:

Flamingo: from now up to January 7, 2014;
Carrillo: January 8th through February 8th;
Golfito: February 10th through mid-March;
Quepos: mid-March through April 10th;
Flamingo: April 12th through the end of the year.

Tournament Dates:
We also have the following tournament dates open. The Gamefisher II is rigged and ready to put you and your team in the winner's circle--we use all top of the line tackle and raise fish with the best of 'em!

January 22-25, Leg 1: Los Suenos Signature Triple Crown
January 29-31, Grey International Fly Tournament, in Quepos
February 26-March 1, Leg 2: Los Suenos Signature Triple Crown
March 12-15, Leg 3: Los Suenos Signature Triple Crown
March 26-29, World Billfish Series Championship, in Los Suenos
April 7-10, Offshore World Championship, in Quepos

We're one of the hardest-working charter teams in Costa Rica so rest assured we'll go the extra mile for you and your party, with not only a friendly, expert crew but all the little extras like tasty and nutritional lunches and snacks, plenty of cold drinks and much more. Give us a call or drop us a line today for more information! Thanks and God bless,

Capt. Richard and Crew

October 5, 2013: Melissa and Kiara Chellemi along with their friend Esteban Blanco from Costa Rica fished for a few hours inshore. They caught three blue runners, two barracuda, four skipjacks and two roosterfish weighing approximately 50lbs and 35lbs respectively.	September 12, 2013: Alex Davis with the roosterfish and Artie Shimek with snapper from a great day Sept 12th where the two caught a total of nine sailfish a beautiful roosterfish and a nice snapper.
August 21, 2013: Dave Harmon Jr. and friend Eric fished a full day offshore catching three skipjack tuna, released three sailfish from four bites and they released three blue marlin for three bites weighing approximately 150lbs, 200lbs and 250 lbs. Oh, and they enjoyed two dorado for the table!	August 28, 2013: Bobby Gatling and friends Robby, Leila and Taylor raised seven sailfish, had six bites while releasing three sailfish. The also got into the yellowfin tuna and caught five of them, the biggest weighting a little over 100lbs.

And don't forget that the surfing is always pretty good in Costa Rica, too. We can set you up with a combination surf and fish trip and maybe you'll catch a few barrels like this one!

We are forever grateful for your faith in us when it comes to fishing and your support in so many ways but most of all we're thankful for the friendships we've built over the years. We are truly blessed to fish with people like yourselves.

Please come see us soon!

Capt. Richard and Melissa Chellemi and
The Crew of the Gamefisher II

Previous Newsletters:

Summer's Here and the Fishing's Good!

A very special greeting to all of our family, friends, fishing colleagues and those who have recently signed on to receive our newsletter-welcome!

The Gamefisher II is presently on her mooring at the corner of Potrero in front of Las Brisas Cantina Restaurant. All of our crew is present and accounted for, too. Junior has been doing a bang-up job as captain on the days that I have not fished, which has been about half of the time. Diego has taken over the cockpit and whether we're rooster fishing, grouper fishing, light tackle sailfishing or fly fishing for blue marlin, his love for his job is apparent in every aspect of the game. Scooby, our night watchman and second mate, still sleeps on the boat at night and is chomping at the bit to go fishing every chance he gets. He has finally come out of his shell, speaking more with everyone; he has even learned some English.

We started the year off in Carrillo with some super fishing (check the fishing highlights below) then the bottom fell right out of it and things got real tough. But when life gets tough the tough we get going so we worked extra hard and managed to keep everybody happy. Little by little the fishing picked up and we had some multiple marlin days and some fair sailfishing here and there. We moved the boat back up to Flamingo in late March and fished there until mid-April when we headed to Quepos to fish the Offshore World Championship tournament.

We arrived in Quepos a week early and fished through the tournament and a couple days after as well giving some of our folks who had never experienced fishing in Quepos the opportunity. The OWC only allowed one mate to fish the event so I sat out and let Junior run the boat with Diego in the cockpit. The boys did an outstanding job and though they did not place in the top three they placed a respectable 8th out of 68 boats.

The fishing here in Flamingo has been excellent so far this season. The sailfish have come in strong with a sprinkling of blue marlin and as of late the yellowfin tuna are blessing us with their presence. I have included some fishing highlights below.

As for 2014, we have more fun and exciting fishing plans. We will start off the year in Carrillo and fish hard until early February when we will do a three- to four-day "Pacific Coast Fishing Adventure." This adventure will start in Carrillo and end in Golfito, giving the anglers a chance to fish their way down the coast, sampling some very productive waters along the way (Cabo Blanco, Herradura Bank, Furuno Bank and Isla de Cano among others) while also having the chance to spend the night at Los Suenos Marina in Herradura, Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Aguila de Osa Lodge in Drake's Bay and finishing up in Golfito at either Banana Bay or Fish Hook Marina. We are planning to stay four to six weeks in Golfito to experience some of their fabulous sail and marlin fishing as well as the incredible inshore fishing. We will offer the "Pacific Coast Fishing Adventure" on the way back up from Golfito to Carrillo as well so check in with us for details if you are interested.

We hope to tease up an ole blue marlin for you soon!

Capt. Richard and Crew

We are forever grateful for your faith in us when it comes to fishing and your support in so many ways but most of all we're thankful for the friendships we've built over the years. We are truly blessed to fish with people like yourselves.

Please come see us soon!

Capt. Richard and Melissa Chellemi and
The Crew of the Gamefisher II

Previous Newsletters:

Happy 2013 to All!

I hope this letter finds you thinking positive, in good health and looking forward to some great fishing in 2013. As you read this, we are wrapping up with final charters out of Potrero and gearing up to move operations to Playa Carrillo with high hopes of catching marlin of all flavors and sailfish galore. The Gamefisher II will fish out of Carrillo beginning January 5th through sometime in April. We still have open charter dates at the end of January and some sets of dates here and there throughout February and March so get in touch with us today and let's go fishing!

Here are some brief updates on some things we've got going down here for your reading pleasure:

Gamefisher II in Quepos - Charter Dates Available.
The Offshore World Championship (OWC) has been moved from Mexico to Costa Rica this year and will take place in Quepos, April 15-18, 2013. The Gamefisher II will be participating in this event. We are prepared to head down early or stay beyond tournament dates if anyone of you would like to fish with us for a few days out of Quepos. The Gamefisher II will be docked at the brand new Marina Pez Vela during this time which means...dockside amenities! Please contact us ASAP if you can make it.

Crew News
The year 2012 turned out to be a better year than expected thanks to all of you. We were able to keep the charter business operating with our full crew intact. We watched our son Max graduate from engineering school in June and our daughter Kiara grow and mature through her work experience. Melissa and I also worked on our continuing education. She acquired her certification in Sports Nutrition and I obtained my USCG Captains license (imagine that?!).

The Blue Revolution
Several months ago we started a "Blue Revolution" campaign on a grass-roots level working with local schools and businesses and a Costa Rican foundation known as FECOP (www.fecop.org). Costa Rica has done a fair job of protecting the country's green resources but has turned her back on the oceans, the blue agenda. So the Blue Revolution aims to promote responsible fishing practices for a sustainable future while creating an awareness of the irresponsible fishing practices going on today. If you would like to learn more, here is a link with a video that shows current fishing practices along our coastline, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToBP-62ocSw&feature=plcp

And for those that would like to do some ocean conservation homework here are a few more links you might find interesting:

Rapidly Rising Ocean Acidity Threatens Marine Life
http://revmodo.com/2012/06/12/rapidly-rising-ocean-acidity-threatens-marine-life/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pez-Vela-como-pez-Nacional-de-Costa-Rica/206974329337863

Purse Seiners Prohibited in Panama
http://www.marlinmag.com/news/panama-first-central-american-country-prohibit-purse-seining-within-its-waters

SAVING BILLFISH, THE LIONS AND TIGERS OF THE SEA
http://www.savethefish.org/conservation_news_Lions_Tigers.htm

Nov. 3, 2012- Dave Harmon and his friends Paul and Mike from Texas raised 12 sailfish, releasing four of them. They also released two blue marlin estimated to weigh 250 and 275lbs respectively.

Nov. 23, 2012- Christopher, Natasha, Rebecca, Alexander and Andres, staying at The Las Catalinas fished a half day inshore enjoying a variety of species: one jack, three barracuda, one grouper, one mackerel, three skipjacks and ending the day with two big roosterfish estimated to weigh 40 and 50 pounds respectively.

Dec. 3, 2012- Ken Pursley and company along with Scott and Mike went roosterfishing, releasing two nice ones on 30-pound tackle estimated to weigh approximately 50 and 55lbs. They also released a small rooster around 10 pounds on fly tackle.

Dec. 6, 2012- Mike Finch and his brother Richard Turner and his son Asa had a special day on the edge raising eight sails with six bites, releasing five. They also rescued a bird off a longline and released a 200lb. blue marlin on 30-pound tackle and finished the day with a nice dorado for dinner.

Jan. 6, 2013- For our first trip of the New Year, Joan Vernon, tournament coordinator for the Presidential Challenge, and James Cambridge from Austin, Texas fished a full day offshore. They raised 15 sailfish, releasing six for 13 bites. They also went one for three on the dorado. Beautiful day on the water and good start for the season in Carrillo!

Jan. 7, 2013- Joan and her friend James Cambridge increased their percentages today and had another fun offshore adventure with us. The boat raised 13 sailfish and had 11 bites. Joan and James released five sailfish each and also caught two nice dorado and a yellowfin tuna.

Please come see us soon!

Capt. Richard and Melissa Chellemi and
The Crew of the Gamefisher II