January 05, 2014

Panama Fishing Report - Marlin, Dorado, Cuberas, & Yellowfin Tunas! - Dec 12-26, 2013

We hosted two groups, and fished five days, here at Propiedad de Paradise Lodge, Isla Paridas between the 11th to the 26th December. The bite offshore was a bit slow even though some cool 80 degree water moved in near Isla Montuosa & Hannibal Bank. We did see a few Marlin and got a couple of shots and as usual this time of year there were lots of Dorado around with plenty of opportunities around floating logs and trash lines to catch them by casting poppers or trolling the plastics.
Pepe Vazquez and Joe Basile from South Florida came in first to fish and stay with us for a couple of days on the island. We focused on Hannibal Bank and Isla Montuosa, as the guys were looking to hook a Marlin, and found the majority of the bait and activity at Isla Montuosa. The seas were calm for us and made it easy to look around and make the 13 mile run between the two great Marlin spots here in the Gulf of Chiriquí. The first day we came across a huge floating log, en route to Hannibal Bank, and caught a nice Bull Dorado off to start the trip. When we arrived at Hannibal Bank there was some Bonitos around but they were spotty and the water color was a bit green. We fished the bank for a couple of hours and nothing so we made a run down south of Isla Coiba to Isla Jicarita. We found a concentration of bait and Bonitos but didn't find any billfish after trolling the plastic and liveys around for a while...so we made the move to a submerged rock near Jicarita and caught, took photos, and released a couple decent Cubera Snappers. On the run back to the lodge we came across a huge area of concentrated trash and logs and picked up another Dorado.
On the second day we started out at Hannibal to find more of the same as the day prior...not much. So we decided to run to Isla Montuosa. On the way I notice some Porpoises and birds working the area and we give it a shot. As we are working some live baits in an area of activity we see a huge Yellowfin Tuna skyrocket out of the  water 20 yards form the boat chasing flying fish that must have been 150#s! We try for a while casting poppers and liveys but can't get any of the tunas to eat. After that excitement then disappointment we make the run to the west side of Isla Montuosa and find some good activity of bait and birds at the "Burbuja" or "Bubble" as it's called here by the locals. On certain days you can see the gas bubbles rising to the surface of the water from the seismic activity coming from the bottom of the ocean. After about a half an hour the long Bonito gets eaten and Pepe's got a Striped Marlin on! 20 minutes later he released his first Marlin that went about 180#s. Only five minutes later we get another shot at another Stripe. It comes up on the long Bonito again but when my Mate Johnny goes to get tight on him he spits the hook! We end up with a couple more Dorados to end the day.
 
The next trip we hosted KC and Dan Wenoggle of Colorado for three more days offshore. The first day started off with a bang as we ran into another huge area of floating trash. The probably one mile square area consisted of the biggest concentration of plastic bottles, jugs, sandals, logs, chairs, bamboo, and wood I've ever seen here. Also mixed in with all this trash were a lot of Dorados! We caught at least 10 Dorados as we trolled the plastics on the edge of the trash line and stopped a few times to cast the poppers at sighted fish. We searched for Marlin at Hannibal Bank and Isla Montuosa each each day but no luck. Lots of bait each day at Isla Montuosa with birds and working Porpoises so we concentrated there. The last day started off really slow and by 2 o'clock we hadn't caught shit but as soon as the tide switched the Porpoises and birds starting going nuts chasing bait just north of Montuosa and moving toward the Burbuja. It seemed that there were definitely some Tunas around. We tried the live Bonitos and Blue Runners for a while to no avail so we switched to the plastics and sure enough a monster YFT slams the jet head behind the bird as we trolled our baits in front of the moving pod of Porpoises! Dan and KC take turns on the fish and after 40 minutes or so the tag team gets the fish to the boat. Johnny puts the gaff in him and pulls a 100# Yellowfin Tuna onto the deck! We troll around the feeding Porpoises for another hour or so as the pod moves off the high spot and pick up two more smaller Tunas about 50 and 35 pounds. Great excitement and treat for the guys at the last minute of the last day to end the trip!
Enjoy the pics....
Capt. Shane Jarvis
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