DAN SIMMONS Sportsman's Quest MORE COLUMNS SPECIAL TO THE PVT Two anglers show off their catch on a tarpon-fishing trip on the San Juan River in Nicaragua. Advertisement

This is the story of a river, of big fish and friends.

The river is the San Juan, in Nicaragua. It flows from massive Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean and is a major navigable river, sparsely populated, free running and tropical.

The long-time friends are Dr. Leonardo Chamorro, a renowned Nicaraguan eye surgeon, Attorney Byron Mejia and their fishing pal, Carlos Perez. They were joined by Leonardo's charming wife Anna, who is a champion fisher in her own right.

One would expect, with such an august group, there would be talk of law and medicine, but that certainly would not be the case.

When Dr. Leonardo walks the streets of Managua, or San Juan del Sur, where he has residences, he is greeted not with "Look at my eye," but "How's the fishing and which bait should I use?"

He is a fisherman's fisherman. The others are as serious, thus they headed for the river for some of the best tarpon fishing in the world.

These friends began their adventure from San Juan del Sur, a sleepy fishing village on the pacific coast, which is becoming an international tourist destination, but let's start this story in Granada.

Granada is the oldest city in the Americas and has maintained its beauty, charm and architecture as few others have. It sits on the north-west shore of Lake Nicaragua and is an excellent location from which to head down the lake and to the river.

Our friends, however, entered the lake further south and ran their 28-foot Boston Whaler with Capt. Leonardo at the helm. They traveled through the islands of Solentiname, giving them protection from the often severe windy conditions of the lake, to the town of San Carlos, at the head of the San Juan River.

From there, they headed down the river past the community of Esperanza and Boca de Sabolas to El Castillo, which sits in the shadow of what was a 16^th century fortress.

They settled into the Tarpon Lodge and this is where the fishing begins, but as always the journey is half the adventure.

Carlos caught the first fish on the afternoon of arrival. It was a three-hour battle on 30-pound line using a Rapala Shad Rap lure.

At the first strike, Carlos waited (counting to five), then hit him hard and it came completely out of the water, and then proceeded to put on a show of complete flips and tail walks.

This is the type of man against fish battle that can take as much out of the fisherman as the fish. You think you have him, he seems to be tiring, then he runs and comes completely out of the water and seems to be eyeing you, to see if you are also tiring or is he just playing with you before he spits the hook or breaks off.

Whichever the case, he is certainly in charge. The less determined fisherman gives up.

But, if you have him hooked well, deep in it's boney mouth, don't make a mistake and are patient (three hours?) you may bring him along side and have to decide if he is to be released, or not. This is why we fish and it has always been so. Some have always accepted the challenge; thus, "The Quest."

At 8 p.m., they boated the 90-pound tarpon, but that was just the beginning. They were after the really big one and discussed the next day's strategy while celebrating over a dinner of giant river crabs and Nicaraguan rum.

On the second morning they trolled at 5-6 knots and saw many large tarpon "porpoising" up the river, but no bite. They spent the day on the river, visited the fortress and enjoyed a beautiful river day.

Day three found them on the river early, fishing the lagoon in front of the lodge, catching three fish in less than two hours. There is a rumor on the river that the fish heard Leonardo was on the boat, so they just gave up and swam in to be released. I have heard of this happening. As Byron tells it, "We were catching fish and the mosquitoes were catching us."

They all caught fish; by late morning, they were exhausted, and escaped the mosquitoes by returning to the lodge for a siesta before striking out to catch even more large tarpon in the 100-pound class.

Sound like fun? I think so and I'm looking forward to joining them later in the year, but the call of the river already has me planning on the journey down the less inhabited part of the river to its outlet in the western Caribbean. Then I'll take a ferry up the coast and a flight back to Granada, where it all began.

But, before I go I'll ask Leonardo, "How's the fishing, and which bait should I use."

Upcoming

If you have friends with a connection to the sports fishing industry, now is the time to give them a call. The American Sports Fishing Association's 50th Anniversary ICAST trade show will be in Las Vegas July 11-13.

This is the world's largest fishing equipment exposition and one of Las Vegas's most exciting conventions. This one won't disappoint.

On July 28, the Fraternity of the Desert Big Horn will host its annual banquet at the South Point Hotel on Las Vegas Blvd. This will be the biggest ever with your favorite raffles, silent and live auctions. This is my favorite organization dedicated to "putting sheep on the mountain."

For more information call Paul Harris at 702-596-6849 or go to www.desertbighorn.com.

Recipe of week

Nicaragua and Central America have a unique cuisine. The use of fruits and subtle spices are very common; sauces have a definite European flavor.

I first became aware of this recipe while receiving a lesson on the fine art of tarpon fishing. The only thing that could make it better is preparing it with a fresh self caught 100-pounder. Try this one and make it one of your favorites, too. If you don't have tarpon, halibut, red snapper or cod would work well too.

Buen apetito.

Coconut Tarpon

Ingredients: 6 Tarpon fillets; 2 limes; 8 sprigs of cilantro; 2 fresh red chillies, chopped; 3 tomatoes sliced; 1 red bell pepper, sliced; 1 onion, sliced; 1 cup coconut milk; 4 tbsp palm oil; salt.

Directions: Marinate Tarpon fillets with juice from limes and water for 30 minutes. Drain and dry, place in frying pan with fitted lid. Add cilantro and chillies, add in layers of tomatoes, peppers and onion.

Add coconut milk, cover and let stand for 15 minutes before cooking. Season with salt, place over high heat until coconut milk comes to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer for five minutes. Pour in palm oil and simmer for 10 minutes with lid. Serve over bed of steamed rice.

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If you have an adventure, a story or a comment give me a call (775) 727-9777 or email me at dansimmons@usa.net.