March 25th Meeting – Abe Downs on “Fly Fishing Costa Rica for Marlin”

Abe Downs is the owner of Great Northern Fly Fishing and an Orvis endorsed fly fishing guide on the Upper Wisconsin River fishing for smallmouth bass and musky.  Abe started fly fishing for trout as most fly fishermen do but quickly realized trout are not the only game in town.  Turning his attention to warm water species, Abe soon found himself fishing for bass and musky.  Since rivers and fish are always changing, Abe believes fishermen need to change too so he likes to experiment with new fly fishing techniques.  Abe also has a passion for travel and finding new places in the world to catch fish with a fly rod.

Do you want to become famously known as the next Santiago as in Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Old Man and the Sea”?  If you recall, Santiago is an aged Cuban fisherman who, after 84 days without success on the water, heads out to sea to break his run of bad luck.  On the 85th day Santiago hooks a giant and resolute marlin; what follows is a great struggle between man, sea creature, and the elements.  You can gain some extremely valuable knowledge to help become the next Santiago by attending Abe’s (a.k.a. The Newest Santiago of Costa Rica) presentation on “Fly Fishing Costa Rica for Marlin”.In September 2018 Abe flew to San Jose, Costa Rica and then traveled on to Quepos on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica.  Quepos has a population of about 22,000 people and is the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park.  The city is very tourism-oriented having many bars and restaurants and a vivacious nightlife.  The town is named for the native Quepo Indians who inhabited the area in the colonial era.  Abe’s presentation will be about fly fishing for marlin in the Pacific Ocean off Quepos.  He will include a general overview of his travel to Costa Rica and some of his cultural experiences while in Costa Rica.  Specific to the marlin fly fishing, Abe will talk about the tackle requirements and what it takes to hook into one of the biggest fishes you can fly fish for.  With the knowledge obtained from Abe’s presentation you are guaranteed to catch an enormous marlin well within the 85 days it took Santiago to catch one!!!  Hope you can make it to this month’s meeting to learn how you too can become famous as the next Santiago of Costa Rica!!!  The meeting on Monday, March 25th will be at the Maple Tree restaurant on Highway 51 in McFarland.  The presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. with dinner and conversation at 6:00 p.m.  Visitors and guests are always welcome.

Cordially,

Buzz McFly