Off the Hook: Costa Rica trip yields first Pacific sailfish

When Pat Wessner’s husband Dave asked her where she wanted to go for their 25th wedding anniversary, she had a ready answer.

“I said Paris,” Pat said.

Dave had a quick response.

“He said Costa Rica,” Pat said. “I said OK.”

Two weeks ago, the Wessners joined Margaret and Ted Curtis of Kilmarnock at the Crocodile Bay Resort for a 10-day vacation that included five days of angling.

Pat Wessner has been fishing for about six years. The last three have been dedicated to offshore adventures.

As she gained experience and confidence, Wessner and her husband started to entertain the idea of a trip to Costa Rica, a Central American country that is a billfishing mecca.

“It was my first time there and hopefully not my last,” said Wessner, a 61-year-old registered nurse who lives in Virginia Beach.

“The fishing, the resort, the weather – it was all fabulous.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that fishing could be like that.”

Wessner caught her first Pacific sailfish on the first day of angling and finished with five catch and releases. Margaret Curtis also had five. Dave Wessner finished with four sails, and Ted Curtis had one. The sailfish ranged from 100 to 140 pounds.

The four fished offshore for 3½ days, then used the remainder of their five days of fishing for some of Costa Rica’s equally famous inshore action.

Pat Wessner added a pair of rooster fish and a crevalle jack.

As new members of the International Women’s Fishing Association and The Billfish Foundation, Wessner and Curtis racked up nice points in the organization’s annual angling contests.

Wessner said most of the sailfishing was done on relatively light tackle – dropping back circle-hooked goggle-eye baitfish in what is known as a bait and switch.

Teasers run from the back of the boat, attracting billfish. When the fish are in the bait spread, the teaser is yanked away, and the angler tosses a live bait in front of them.

“It was so exciting,” Wessner said. “I learned so much.”

While Wessner enjoys billfishing, targeting species such as tuna and dolphin really gets her going.

“I caught my first marlin last September, and I can see why all the guys like that so much,” she said. “But I do like meat fish. I really love mahi (dolphin). They are gorgeous and very scrappy.

“I love all kinds of offshore fishing, but give me something I can plan a menu around.”

Wessner also has learned to ride a motorcycle and to scuba dive but said she thinks she has found her niche with angling.

“Every time we go out, we see something amazing,” she said. “Dolphins, turtles, pilot whales … it’s so beautiful out there, and you never know.

“One time a submarine surfaced real close to us. You want to talk about amazing.”

Wessner’s anniversary trip and the success she had has her more than ready for action to get under way off Virginia Beach.

“I’m really getting anxious,” she said. “Costa Rica was unbelievable, but I really love fishing here.

“And I’m just getting started.”

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com