Steel in the Mouth

Steelhead counts are looking great so far. I went down with Dave the first weekend in Aug. to try our luck at some chromers. I ended up with one small native.... a "half-pounder" and that was it. Saw some fish on but not too many. Dave had a real close call with a rattle snake, which made-up for some of the excitement we were not having while fishing. Steelhead season is well underway at the mouth and probably up to Maupin by now. There are, however, other fish to fry!
We are leaving this week for our much-anticipated trip to Costa Rica! I can't even tell you how excited we are. I'll be fishing there.... oh yes! Mornings from the surf and one day with a guide (thanks to Annika!!! I love you, honey! Happy birth-day to me!). I am considering two different trips. One is from a 27 ft panga-like boat, outfitted for anything from in-shore species to off-shore big game. Sounds like fun, but I'm not interested in trolling. The fly line is comming out and the new Redington RS4 9 wt is hungry. The other is a fantastic sounding kayak fishing trip - and it's cheap! My goal is to hook (and land) at least one dolphin (Dorado, Mahi mahi). A rooster would an awesome find as well. Also on the menue are jacks, amberjacks, wahoo, snapper, snook, and needlefish. There are hords of other species out there - like pargo, grouper, and all the other structure-hugging rock-type fish. I'm sure I'll see some of that from the surf casting at the reef near where we are staying. But for the record, my main target is a dolphon on fly. I'll post when I get back and we'll see how I did. Wish me luck. Oh - and I should mention (warning - disclaimer inbound) that this is in no way a fishing trip. This is family vacation time, so if I come back completely skunked, it will be because I had more important things to do. :)
Tight Lines!