DAVID Collier was in Costa Rica because he loved to fish and he was doing something that he hoped would one day change the life of someone dear to him. Jumping in the water with a bunch of sailfish was above and beyond.
The Mercury Redbone tournaments take place around the world for one purpose, to raise money to fight cystic fibrosis. Catching fish is just an aside. In Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica, a couple of weeks back, just such a tournament took place over the span of three days.
Collier is both a New York City financial manager and an accomplished fly fisherman who spends the summer and fall months fishing the waters around the East End of Long Island. He and his dad, Calvin Sr., got interested in the tournament because of a nephew/grandson who suffers from CF.
Being the top angler in the tournament with eight sailfish on a fly and a roosterfish on bait paled in comparison to what he did the third day of the tourney.
“We were pretty successful catching sails on the first day and a roosterfish on the second,” Collier said. “We didn’t raise too many fish either day, but we were successful with the ones we did see. Then on the third day, shortly after noon, there was a buzz in the air; the birds began to mass, along with the turtles, the manta rays and then the sailfish.
“Pods and more pods of them developed everywhere, all around and far beyond the boat. They were circling balling baits, like a wagon train. It’s something you read about and hope to eventually witness in your lifetime. It reminded [one] of Montauk Point in October, when all the fish gather before the fall migration.”
It was then that something overcame him. Collier, an accomplished diver, put down his rod, put on a mask and dove into the crystal-clear waters and swam with the sails as they continued to gulp in the sardines.
“They weren’t aggressive like when they’re chasing our teasers or baits,” Collier said. “As I was swimming, they would flare their sails and circle the bait. Then one zipped by me unfettered; I felt like a piece of meat. For the most part, they were too preoccupied with these huge schools of bait to bother with me.
“Seeing all of that marine life in one area was just amazing and something we’ll never forget. But I would throw all my rods away right now if it they could find a cure for this disease.”
The tourney director, Capt. Gary Ellis of Islamorada, Fla., said the six teams raised 309 fish, catching and releasing a three-day total of 51 sailfish and 14 roosterfish.
It was the third event in the 2004 Redbone calendar of 28 charity-fishing tournaments for cystic fibrosis funding research. Another will take place in Montauk in September. So far, these tournaments have raised nearly $6 million for CF research efforts
For information about the Mercury Outboards Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series, call Susan Ellis at (305) 664-2002.