Fishing in Costa Rica

Where I come from, guys fish with a rod and reel off a boat. It's always "bigger is better" and so much money is spent on bigger better fishing gear. They do that here too but the Real Tico fisherman doesn't have all that equipment and fishes "Cuban Style". They use a spool and fishing line. They use their bare hands and the spool to reel in the fish, usually right off the rocks or standing in the water. It's pretty amazing to watch them bring in the big fish with practically nothing but skill and might.

No, this isn't "sportfishing", it's food for their family.

This is Eric. He used to come by my house with his big catch so I could take photos. This day he caught a huge Snook and he KNOWS I love Snook (after Snapper). He cleaned it up right in my backyard and wanted me to have it. I know Eric and I know he must need money, otherwise he would have taken his catch on into town to show it off.
He caught it down around Esterillos near the river (secret spot). I can guarantee you that it wasn't caught using no Shimano either. Just a simple rig, I'm sure. I insisted he take some money for my filets and he still had plenty to take home (or sell). I was happy, he was happy and I got a great photo to show off to my big-time snook fishing brother-in-law WITH ALL the bigger better Shimanos, etc.
Check out his t-shirt. Now that's COOL.