Costa Rican Captain Wins CaptApp”Top Global Captain” Award

from CaptApp Blog

Captain Rafael (Rafa) Solano Gonzalez was the top captain in our Global All Billfish Release points for the month of August 2019 . Rafa is Captain of the 56 Viking Fuggedaboudit owned by Tony Bagliore and crewed by one of captain Rafa’s four fishing sons Rafael Solano Gullien. They released 30 Blue Marlin for a total score of 15,000 points at 500 points per Marlin during the month of August to take top captain, top boat. top crew & top angler. Rafa’s three other sons work on very well known fishing operations based in Marina Pez Vela ,Quepos Costa Rica. Lois Solano Gullien 21yrs is on the Private boat Cracker as mate .Rudy Solano Jiménez 37, is captain on the charter boat Chloe Frijole and Marco Solano Jiménez 35 is mate on the charter boat boat Frenzy .

Around Quepos Rafa is known as a soft spoken guy and always greets everyone with a smile and a “Pura Vida” or (Pure life),always with an approachable and relaxed disposition. He is definitely one of the captains younger crews should aspire to be like. Hard working, responsible and humble. With out a doubt one of Costa Rica’s finest captains.

Rafa …For How many years have you been fishing?

My whole life I guess. I started fishing in the estuaries for Snapper and Snook and in the rivers around Quepos for Machaca

What was your first job that you were paid to be crew?

My first paying job was in Drakes Bay on a twenty foot panga named BARRACUDA in 1984. The boat was owned by Hotel Phantom Island which is now called Aguila de Osa .I was twenty two years old then. I worked there for 5 years before I started fishing out of Quepos

Can you share some positive changes you have seen through the years in Costa Rica ?

Changing from J hook to circle hook and the infrastructure of the new marinas on the Pacific coast. . We now have everything we need right here as a result. Before everything needed to be ordered and shipped or hand carried in by charter guests. Now we can check out a local store first and normally get what we need right here. We now have a more professional environment to carry out our responsibilities. We love it here in Marina Pez Vela and their boat yard with all the amenities. There are lots of sails and of course the seamount fishing offshore for Blue Marlin. We know we are blessed to live and fish here.

If you could travel to fish any destination on earth where would it be and why?
I would really love the chance to fish the Striped Marlin bite north of Cabo San lucas in Mag (Magdalena) bay or to Alaska for some Salmon fishing for something different for me.

What is the technique your team uses most while fishing?
For targeting Blue Marlin we generally use two dredges ,two bridge teasers, two cockpit teasers with two lures or two natural baits behind the cockpit teaser positions. We mostly target Blues with dead pitch baits off the teasers with big ballyhoo and Bonito pitch baits.

Is there one go to teaser that is always behind your boat ?

Yes,a large Halloween color (Black & Orange) wide range .. we call it .. Frankenstein.

How do you feel about the organization FECOP?
I feel they are very important because they help protect our valuable Billfish and especially the Tuna resources . With out FECOP I don’t think we would have as healthy of a recreational sport fishing industry. For us career recreational fishermen they are invaluable.

Have you ever traveled & fished outside of Costa Rica?
Yes….Cabo San Lucas for the Bisbees with Capt. José Reyes on David Finkelstiens’s 58 Garlington two times and on their 61 Garlington once. Also one delivery from Costa Rica through the Panama Canal to the Garlington factory in Florida with them. I really liked observing some different styles of fishing for Billfish also for the Tunas in Cabo. The local guys up there really know how to fish that place. I feel like I learned a thing or two up there for sure.

Who do you think were the most important influences in your fishing career?
First it was charter clients who were very good fishermen themselves who were sharing knowledge with me when I was on the Panga in Drakes Bay..Then when I started fishing out of Quepos it was years of learning a little here and a little there from other fishermen in general . I can’t just say it was one or two influences. I really respected our local community and the visiting captains ,crews and anglers. Everyone was really really good. This was ground zero for fishing here in Costa Rica back then. It was a beautiful time. I love it here now but I have amazing memories of those days long before Los Sueños and Marina Pez Vela marinas were built.

What is the most crazy fishing story you have from fishing here all these years?

Well there are so many but one that happened recently was we had what we thought to be a Marlin turn into a 215 pound Yellowfin Tuna. We backed down on it chasing it all over the surface then had to dump the leader right away when we saw it was a big Yellowfin so not to break it off. That can show as an example of the effectiveness of FECOP here in Costa Rica . Getting blind bites from large Yellowfin Tuna was something that only happened in the past but it just started to happen again here as of recently.

What is your favorite part of CaptApp ? I really like seeing the reports pop up on my phone and following the leader boards. It’s really fun. Especially if I see someone do better haha … It really fires me up Ha, Ha .. Having my logs saved for myself as well as everyone on the team getting the log is nice. It also gives people who don’t normally get to compete in all the big tournaments a chance to show they are good teams too. There are some really great fishermen that rarely get to fish competitively out there.

Some catches of note :
45 sails releases in one day

9 Blue Marlin releases in one day fishing the Furuno Bank drop off out of Quepos on a day trip.

. Best day for Blues:24 releases in one day at the seamounts.

Biggest Yellowfin tuna : Over 300 pounds on measurements.

.Biggest Black marlin was estimated at 600Lbs. It was a pitch bait bite fishing the drop off.

Biggest Blue: Possibly 800 plus Outside of Furuno bank on a lure.

About CaptApp has achieved seamless integration for the power of logging with a smartphone into all sport fishing lifestyles. Whether you’re fishing alone from shore or logging your team on a 70ft Sport fishing in a global tournament We are revolutionary in the fact that we can create, distribute and manage tournaments to all corners of the world utilizing video judges with our exclusive user friendly judging platform.

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