Dec/2017 Panama Fishing Report –  We ended 2017 with a bang here at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge! We fished 19 days in December, with 7 different awesome groups, out of our upscale private lodge here on Isla Paridas 12 miles off Panama’s Pacific coast.  Our crew here was working harder than ever as we were fishing, putting the finishing touches on our new guest house, and also christened the newest addition to our “fleet” of fishing boats…another 33′ World Cat the “Sea TOY”.  Although we were super busy we still had a great time with our clients, got a bunch of pictures of smiling clients with big fish, and caught a few monsters!

Our new buddy from Canada Roland came solo and not only did he escape the bitter cold….he caught some nice fish! The bite wasn’t exactly red hot, the 1st week of December, while Roland was here but we ran around and found some good fish of many different varieties. We counted 14 different species over the 4 days we fished with him. He didn’t really have any interest in catching a Marlin but it seems that we caught pretty much everything else! African Pompano, Sailfish, Mullet Snapper, Dorado, Roosterfish, Almaco Jack, Snowy Grouper, Jack Crevelle, Blue Trevalle, Needlefish, Horse-Eye Jack and more! Thanks so much for the biz Roland!

Next up was the crew from Russia. These guys had great luck with the inshore species the week they were here! We did try a few days offshore but the Marlin were not cooperating. In addition…the weather was unusually wet the week they were here and the seas were a bit rough with wind and rain. So most days they decided to stay inshore close to the lodge. They caught and released quite a few Roosterfish including one monster that had to be 60 lbs!!! Also some BIG Cubera Snappers were caught and released . most here near our lodge on Isla Paridas, with the biggest being 50 plus pounds! These guys had a great time fishing and really enjoyed themselves especially around the lodge. The Russians really took a liking to Chef Lee who, like always, prepared some over-the top meals that they were very impressed with! Special thanks to Igor for hosting the group and putting the trip together!

The weather really cleared up for our next client Jose from Panama City. He brought his sons with him to fish for a couple of days out of Boca Chica.  The first day was okay as we got a few decent fish but day two was awesome! We came across a huge current line offshore that had a bunch of floating debris and was stacked with Dorados! Matter of fact…Jose came to load up his cooler with Dorado fillets and that is exactly what he did! We caught Dorado after Dorado of good size on the current rip with solid action all day! Great time with Jose and his boys!

Next group was Thiago and his Mom and Dad. These guys were really relaxed fun people to fish with. They didn’t really have any particular species they were looking to target…they just want to fish and have a good time. And that we did! The fishing again wasn’t red hot but it was consistent with some good catches for these guys. Memorable catches with these guys were a big Cubera Snapper release on the first day, nice Black marlin on day two, a few Roosters including one 40 pounder on the last day. Really a pleasure hosting this nice family…I hope we can do it again!

Regina and John were our next group and these guys were great! Unfortunately the fishing wasn’t all that great when they were here though. We ran all over looking for the action and for some reason it was slow. The first day started off good as we got a few BIG Dorados and Regina muscled a big Rooster for the release at the end of the day near the lodge. But after that it was tough! We did have a great time still rocking out with these guys even though the fishing wasn’t up to par. Thanks Regina and John so much for the business!

The Dec/2017 Panama Fishing Report continued – The Hotsko family returned to join us for the second year in a row…hopefully starting a family tradition. These guys came this time for some revenge as the year before the fishing was a bit slow. This time it was safe to say that they got their revenge. They spent two days offshore with Capt. Juan and they slayed the Dorado, Jack Crevalles, Roosterfish, Tunas, and released a Black Marlin! Way to go guys!!! Thanks again for the business!

Last, but certainly not least, Vanessa and Paul from Washington state were the last group to fish with us in 2017. These guys were looking for a Marlin but the couple of days offshore we fished we didn’t get our shot at the title. We did get a few nice Dorados offshore at Hannibal Bank and Isla Montuosa and the weather/seas were absolutely beautiful but the Marlin were not around. Vanessa did catch and release an absolute monster fish to end the year. A huge Cubera Snapper that was no less than 55 pounds…and it was caught just a mile from the front door of our lodge here on the island! We got a great photo and the fish swam away healthy on the release. Hopefully we will see that big boy back again for a photo-op in 2018!!! Thanks so much Vanessa and Paul for your business!

Enjoy the pics!!!….

Capt. Shane Jarvis

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