September 28, 2012

Panama Fishing Report - Rainy Season Tunas, AJs, and Cuberas! - September 22-24, 2012

Returning anglers Don Finkell and Carr Newton brought their friend "Wilderness" Todd Braun down last week to experience some bluewater hunting here in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama!

The seas and weather, once again this trip, were unusually nice. I think that we are probably over due for a major October/November wet spell to make up for an unseasonably dry and calm Rainy season so far.
Don was looking to get a Black Marlin this trip and after dragging bridled Bonitos all over Hannibal Bank, Isla Montuosa, and Isla Ladrones we never saw one. The action offshore overall was pretty slow but we did get into some Yellowfin Tunas out between Hannibal Bank/Isla Montuosa.......... that just don't want to leave the gulf just yet. We popped Todd's Tuna Cherry as he was a "tuna virgin" before his trip here. He didn't exactly get "handled gently" either because his first was a foul hooked 65# Yellowfin! Inshore we did ok and released a few nice Cuberas and a monster Amberjack for Todd around Ladrones. Anyway, even though it was a little slow, we still had a great time and I enjoyed fishing with these guys again!

Captain Shane Jarvis
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September 11, 2012

Panama Fishing Report - BIG Cuberas and Tunas! - September 7-9, 2012

Although the "rainy season" here in Panama is supposed to be in full swing it sure does not seem like it. The weather has been unseasonably nice with little rain and sunshine and the seas have been smooth. Don't get me wrong...we have had a few inclement days but at least it was nice for our fishermen last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Friday I loaded up the livewell with Blue Runners I'd caught the day before and picked up Doug Mead in Boca Chica for an inshore day charter. He was hoping to catch his first Roosterfish. We got what he was looking for right off the bat with a small Rooster at Isla Paridas but the rest of the day was pretty slow. We did get a couple of decent Mullet Snappers at Isla Ladrones and missed an unusual amount of fish due to some bad luck with pulled hooks and break offs on the rocks. We saw a bunch of Humpback whales all around Isla Ladrones and got some good photos as well.

Saturday morning I picked up had a group of anglers from Panama City for a two day trip. Saverio, Bob, Paulo, and Greg otherwise known as Thor, Aquaman, The Green Lantern, and Captain America. It was a little rough so went directly to Isla Montuosa the first day and much to our dismay it was dead. No bait, no activity, nothing. I decided to head in the direction of Isla Ladrones because the day before I'd heard that friends of mine had found the Tunas in that direction. We ran around searching for the Tunas and found some birds working with some Porpoises. I noticed some good marks on the sonar with the Porpoises but the Tunas just did not want to eat our baits! We ended up dropping some baits down on a deep seamount near Isla Ladrones and Greg caught a monster Cubera Snapper and Saverio a nice Mullet Snapper. Pretty slow the first day.

Sunday morning the seas were nice so we shot directly to Hannibal Bank. As we pulled up to the high spot around 8:30am, much to my dismay, there was a long line drifting directly over the top of the bank. I had to manuver around and avoid trolling our Bonitio rigs over the longline not to tangle in it. We tried for a good half an hour to catch a few Bonitos for baits but they were scarce and wanted nothing to do with our rigs. We put the jigs down as well, in hopes of getting a Bonito, but no luck. I moved to another high spot that was close and the mark on the sounder was enormous! As soon as we put a Blue Runner down.......BAM! Inhaled by a big Cubera! The Green Lantern (Paulo) managed to get he fish to the boat for a photo and then it was released to fight another day. We missed a few more bites after drifting over the mark a few more times and finally Saverio puts the hook into a BIG Yellowfin Tuna and the fight is on! The Mighty Thor (Saverio) fought the fish for a good hour before relinquishing the rod to Aquaman (Bob) who took another 30 minutes before the fish was gaffed. The superhero duo did a great job tag teaming a 150# Tuna on a light tackle setup with 50# braided line. Not a bad couple of days here in the middle of the rainy season in Panama!
Captain Shane Jarvis


















 
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September 02, 2012

Panama Fishing Report - Hannibal Bank Tunas and more! - Aug 31-Sept 1, 2012

The weather and seas have been unseasonably nice the past two days here in the Gulf of Chiriqui for Pepe, Angel, Fernando, Onofre, and Manuel. The normal cloudy and overcast rainy season conditions were replaced by sunshine and clear skies for our visiting Spanish anglers!

We ran to Hannibal Bank on Friday morning with a livewell full of Blue Runners to find that the Big Yellowfin Tunas are still hanging around. And despite the Full Moon we found that the bite was good! It was a little slow in the morning with the falling tide but in the afternoon, after the tide change, the activity and action started to heat up. We fought two nice fish for over an hour each before they spit the hooks...pretty disappointing. The third time was a charm as Onofre caught his first big Yellowfin Tuna but not before the Shimano TLD 50 reel he was using spit in half! Luckily the fish was close to the boat and we were able to hand line it in. Time for a new reel! We got a couple more decent Yellowfins and we returned to the lodge with plenty of Tuna steaks!

Saturday we stayed close and went to Isla Ladrones to fish the many underwater sea mounts that surround the island. The action was pretty much the same at the day prior as the fish activity really didn't start until after the tide switched. We were preoccupied watching the Humpback Whale family that has been hanging around for the past month or so here around Isla Ladrones until the bite turned on. Once it did it was game on! A nice Amberjack and some Mullet Snappers started off the day and then the Tunas moved in with a school of Porpoises! Pepe caught a nice Roosterfish to end the day. All and all it was a great trip fishing in Panama for the Spaniards!
Captain Shane Jarvis
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