Testimonials

201 lb tarpon, caught on a fly!

"We had a great trip. Reserve weeks for us next May and October. We were coming to the end of one of the most rewarding fishing experiences we ever had. The sheer number of fish hooked ( 69 ) , landed only 17 , the raw power on the end of your fly rod , the glint in a guides eye when he knew he did well. All of this and more is what we experienced on a Tarpon trip of a lifetime. I also have to mention we caught about thirty Yellow Wing Jacks ( Yellow fin Kings) , the biggest being 85cm. Again, thanks to Jim, Dolfi, and all our guides and off course our lovely cook."
Ricko Conje, S Africa, Sept 07

John Noreika April 2006: First cast, I hooked and immediately broke off a big fish after a power run on 15 pound tippet. I only had one more set of those flies, so I tied on a new set with 20 pound tippet. After about twenty minutes I had another take, and trout hooked the fish, no hookup. After about another 30 minutes I hooked and landed a 70 pounder after several great jumps, including one at boat side that put the guide eye ball to eye ball with the silver king............ Saw a grand total of one other fisherman and three boats in three days. Not a single pleasure boat and not a single jet ski. What a wonderful, and unfortunately, unique situation. Thank you so much for everything Jim.

"First of all let me tell you that this past trip has been fantastic.

3 of us in 5 days of fishing have jumped 35 tarpon and landed 11, with the biggest at 150 lb. Muche is (in my own opinion) one of the most active and passionate guide that you have at your facility and a good part of our success has been his determination in finding the tarpon. As a matter of fact they were in a different location every day and we had to search for them

very carefully." Simone Pali, Italy, April 2007

"When I first read in Fly fishing in Saltwater Magazine about a new tarpon destination in Costa Rica bragging about 80 to 100 pound tarpon, I said sure ìshow me. But the article did have me think about all the times I've chased tarpon all over south Florida without a hook-up. That need to catch a tarpon had me call Jim DiBerardinis, the owner of Manzanillo Tarpon Expeditions, and I booked a trip for my son Wick and me for early spring.

The first day out and in the first half hour Wick hooked his first tarpon and for the next hour and forty-five minutes, I laughed as he complained about being hot and tired. I thought, I should be so lucky. Well, as fate would have it, the 150-pound plus tarpon took my son and all his fly line to the bottom. The same day, I got to fight my first tarpon, about 120 pounds, which turned out a total success. Well, let me tell you, every tarpon I hooked, after that first one, was over 80 pounds. I probably, hooked 20, of which three I brought to the boat.

There was one morning we found schooling tarpon about a mile offshore. The tarpon were so thick, you could almost walk on top of them, but to our dismay, we couldn't get them to hit. Then there were days when we saw a hand-full of rollers and we managed to get a number of hook-ups.

The guides were excellent and demonstrated skills far greater then their short tenure as fishing guides. I will be back to Costa Rica's southern Caribbean village of Manzanillo for another bout with those big bruising tarpon. I recommend this trip for any avid light tackle fisherman as a must see to believe trip!"

"Here is a little story I want to tell you about my good fortune in catching my first tarpon while in Costa Rica.
I had always wanted to catch a tarpon on a fly. I have a few fishing buddies that are avid fly fishermen. We would always plan to get together so they could teach me but it never happened.

It wasn't until I went to Costa Rica that I had the opportunity to do both. On Monday March 19 my friend
Steve and I met Manzanillo Jim at a little coffee shop in Manzanillo, on the southeast Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We started talking about Tarpon fishing, and I told Jim that I had always wanted to Tarpn fish but that I didn't fly fish. He said no problem, that we could go out tomorrow with Watcho , one of the guides he had trained from the village, and that I could bring my conventional spin casting gear but that he would bring along another fly rod just in case I wanted to try mt hand at flyfishing.

The next day we went out and only hooked a couple of Jacks and a few Mackerel. The conditions for the Tarpon were'nt very good that day so we planned on going out on the next good day.

Thursday came, the sea was calm, and we were heading for the Sixaola River( the Panama/ Costa Rica border) when Jim spotted a tarpon in front of the Gandoca lagoon a major tarpon nursery. I put on a J-13 silver and black Rapala. On the first cast I hooked a very large tarpon, had him on for about 30 seconds and lost him. Jim told me I had to keep the rod tip down when fighting a tarpon. Anyway, after loosing the next three fish on the next three casts, I finally kept the rod tip down.and managed to hold a 100lb + fish on for 20 minutes before losing him. I not only lost the fish but also my last productive rapala.

In the same period Jim had hooked four fish and landed one about 80 pounds. At that moment I decided I wanted to try flyfishing. With a quick lesson from Jim, I realized how difficult it was to cast a fly on a 12 wt rod. I was only able to make 20 foot inaccurate casts which didn't seem to be a great disadvantage. I hooked and lost my first tarpon in about 10 minutes and the action lasted until about noon. In that half-day we had jumped 26 tarpon ranging from 50 to 125 pounds. Jim was able to land 3 of these acrobatic silver devils, I lost my first 10 tarpon on fly. Jim assured me that this was not unusual , especially for beginners

The next week I had to return to the US on business, but planned to return within a few weeks with my son Brian in tow. I returned fully armed the fly fishing gear that Jim had recommended.; a 12 wt rod, a top end reel, spooled with an intermediate sink flyline with 300 yards of 30 pound backing.

The day after I returned, Brian and I scheduled Watcho for a day of fly fishing. Jim was committed to fish with a group of friends visiting from Montana. Watcho, Brain, and I motored down to the Sixaola River. Watch set the boat up in front of the river month and we began a drift out toward the east. About ten minutes into the drift I hooked an 80 pound tarpon, yes, on a fly. After a 45 minute fight I won the battle. With out Jim's assistance and scolding, I was able to hook and land my first tarpon. A proud and unforgettable moment!"