April 02, 2014

Panama Fishing Report - Black Marlin, Sailfish, & Tuna at Isla Montuosa! - February 2014

We hosted 5 different groups here at Propiedad de Paradise Lodge on Isla Paridas, Panama in February 2014. The bite was on one week and off the other offshore as we didn't see much bait around and the water temps soared up to 87 degrees later in the month. We did have some great activity the first week of February around Isla Montuosa but unfortunately, for a couple of groups, the fishing slowed down the second half of the month and it was tough. We did get some great catches but really had to work for it!
Jimmy Vincent booked a last minute trip as a gift for his wife Laura so she could get a Roosterfish that she was looking to catch. He was also looking to target a Marlin for an empty space on the wall of his trophy room back in Orange, Texas. We only had three days to get both done and we succeeded! The first day was a bit slow and we had an issue getting bait...Bluerunners which have been unusually hard to catch this year...and are essential to success when hunting Roosterfish but we still did alright with a nice Cubera and Spanish Mackerel. We did get a few baits the second day after really trying hard to find them and it paid off for a nice Rooster for Laura! On the last day we headed to Isla Montuosa...tagged and released a 400# Black Marlin and caught a few nice Dorados up to 40#s. It ended up being a great trip. Fishing with Jimmy and Laura was a pleasure as they are really dedicated sportsman and great people.
The next group of guys, also from Texas, were great to fish with as well but the action was a bit slow. Jim and Galen Pruett along with Jerry Grubbs fished with me for 5 days primarily offshore and unfortunately the bite was slow. The first day started off with a bang. We pegged a 250# plus Black Marlin for a tag and release for Jim, missed another bigger Marlin that popped the leader, and got a few nice Dorados! It continued to be tough to catch Bluerunners as baits, although we did get a few, and the fishing the days after were slow. The following days we did get a couple Almaco Jacks, a Roosterfish, and a nice Blue Trevalle that Galen was looking to catch. The bite offshore that had been so great the week prior seemed to shut right off and it was tough fishing with these guys although we had a good time. Uhhh-Huh!
 
Kay Larsen and Steve Wightman joined us next and the fishing picked back up a bit. These two, from my home state of Indiana, were glad to be down here enjoying the warm weather. We had some decent action with Pacific Sailfish, Dorado, and even ran into some early season Yellowfin Tunas. Kay had her sites set on a Marlin but we were unable to get it done as they just were not home at Isla Montuosa or Hannibal Bank that week.
Ben, Charlie, Bill, and Doug all buddies from their college days joined us next to search for the Tunas and action offshore. The trip started off on the first day as we pegged a BIG Yellowfin Tuna at Isla Montuosa. Ben, Charlie, and Bill all took turns battling the fish for two and a half hours. Once the fish finally got to the boat...my mate Johnny wired the Tuna boatside and we could see he was close to 200#s! I hit him with my Aftco fiberglass tapered gaff but fish was obviously still green and jetted directly at...and just below the boat at just the right angle with amazing power enough to snap the gaff and then pop the line!! Bummer! The days after that unfortunately we didn't do much better but these guys were good friends, and good sports, and I think had a great time even though the fishing was slow.
Our last group in February with Sandy, Warren, and the boys from Maryland saw the water temps offshore skyrocket and the action was again kind of slow. Warren tagged & released a monster Pacific Sailfish that must have been 150#s but we really a whole lot more action.
Many thanks to all our clients for their business and we hope that they enjoyed the sportfishing experience here at our island lodge in Panama!
Enjoy the pics....
 
Capt. Shane Jarvis
 
Propiedad de Paradise Lodge
Isla Paridas, Panama
Panama Cellular Phone 011-507-6675-7191
 
Visit our other pages.....
 
 
 































 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

March 02, 2014

Panama Fishing Report - Black Marlin Double Header & Inshore Action! - Jan 13-28. 2014

The second half of January 2014 we hosted two different groups here on Isla Paridas at our private island lodge and had some good luck offshore with our anglers! Slightly cooler water from offshore moved into the Gulf of Chiriqui and brought with it some fish!
 
The Jeff and Denny Balkwill joined us to get away from the bitter cold of Canada and get a shot at a Marlin. It was a bit tough for us offshore with the Marlin bite.  We were at it each of the four days we fished but it was a bit slow. We missed a couple of shots but finally did have one nice Blue Marlin eat a live Bonito at Isla Montuosa. Jeff fought hard for this one! If you have ever battled a BIG fish on stand up gear you know what I mean!!! After 45 minutes we had a 300# Blue Marlin boatside and almost ready for the wire, tag, & photo op when the rod tip snaps! My mate Johnny grabs the leader and has the fish boatside almost ready to grab the bill and the 200# fluorocarbon leader pops! Dang it! It's a release...but we want that tag and photo for the record books!  The rest of the week Denny seemed to have more luck at grabbing the rods when the fish hit than her husband Jeff. Offshore was a bit slower than the inshore with these guys and we did well with the Roosterfish and Blue Trevalles.
 
Joe Bussiere and his motley crew of buddies from New Hampshire...Joe, Shannon, and Chad...were the second group of anglers to fish and stay with us. These guys were a lot of fun!! The first day of the trip...things were looking a bit slow after trolling the plastics for a couple of hours at Isla Montuosa. We were targeting Marlin and the conditions were right...blue clear water & lots of bait around. All of the sudden the right long gets hit and a Black Marlin is grey hounding toward the boat! I jam the throttles to get the hook set, pull away from the fish, and get the line tight. He's hooked well... and Chad is strapped into the harness doing work with the 8/0 Shimano Tiagra. As the rest of us are frantically reeling up and getting the other lures out of the water...we see a black and neon blue flash behind the boat and another Black Marlin comes up and hammers Joe B's lure right behind the starboard engine!! Joe acts fast and keeps the rod tip away from the motor's lower unit, to keep the line from breaking, as the fish swims right at him and under the boat. I swing the boat around after the line is clear and we have ourselves a Black Marlin double header!!! Unbelievably both fish cooperate, not wrapping lines, and after 30 minutes or so we have the first fish wired at the boat, and almost ready for a pic and tag, and leader pops! He must have been bill wrapped? A few more minutes go by and the second fish a little bit bigger than the first is at the side of the TOP Cat, tagged, picture taken, and released! What an awesome experience for everybody! It's hard enough to have everything go right and get a single Marlin release...let alone to hook a double header and get both of them to the boat! We have had double hook ups a few times over the years here on Marlin....but never been able to get them both boat side for successful releases.
 
The rest of the days with the boys from New Hampshire were hard to top after the emotional high of the first day! We had a couple of more shots at billfish in the spread the following days but were unable to convert for Marlin. We did tag and release a couple of nice Sailfish. We caught a few decent Dorados while trolling for Marlin but there didn't seem to be many around. Joe Baroni while working a popper on the "high spot" at Isla Montuosa caught a world class size Mullet Snapper that is one of the biggest I have ever seen! A couple of nice Cubera Snappers and a last minute Roosterfish were a couple of other highlights from a pretty productive trip with these guys! Check out the link to the review that Joe B. just posted to our Trip Advisor page...
 
 
Enjoy the pics!
              
Capt. Shane Jarvis
 
Propiedad de Paradise Lodge
Isla Paridas, Panama
Panama Cellular Phone 011-507-6675-7191
 
Visit our other pages.....
 




























 
 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)