Feb/2018 Panama Fishing Report – February 2018 was nothing short of an awesome month here at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge! Please check out all of the photos from the seven great groups we hosted here at our upscale island lodge located 12 miles off the Pacific coast of Panama in the heart of the Gulf of Chiriqui. We had some excellent fishing on our two 33′ World Cats the “T.O.P. Cat” and “Sea TOY” with more solid Yellowfin Tuna action, lots of Dorados offshore, and some very good inshore action as well with a bunch of big Cubera Snappers and Roosterfish releases….most right around the lodge here on Isla Paridas!
First group of the month was the Canadians Gary, Dane, Mark, and Jerry. We had an awesome first day with these guys with some help from our SIMRAD Halo 4 radar. As we were running towards Hannibal Bank I picked up a mark of birds about 6 miles away. Under the birds we found a huge group of Porpoises that were herding and feeding on small Mackerels. We could see huge splashes from a couple of miles away and I knew that it was going to be good! I took this short video in the middle of the action… VIDEO – Live Action! Hooking Yellowfin Tunas in Panama! We caught five nice Tunas in the action…up to 80 pounds and also caught a couple of nice Dorados all with that same pod of feeding Dolphins. Back at the lodge chef Lee made some amazing sushi and sashimi The second day we didn’t have as much luck as the first offshore but we did wind up with a couple of Tunas, a couple of nice Dorados, and then catching and releasing a huge Cubera Snapper (around 50 pounds!) here near the lodge. Check the picture…it’s a MONSTER!
Our friend Tom Brymer of Panama Advisory International Group brought along a couple of his clients Bill and MJ for a couple of nights on the island and a day of fishing with us. These guys were blessed by the fish Gods for sure as we ran into some awesome action offshore! We ran across a log floating near Isla Montuosa that was loaded with bait. And as we ran up on the log we could see a bunch of Dorados and Mullet Snapper chasing the bait and boiling on the surface. We had some awesome action pitching live baits and watching the fish come up and nail them! We wound up with a couple of BIG Bull Dorados a bunch of nice Mullet Snappers. Later that day, as we were running in, we came across a pod of porpoises…pitched a popper…and BAM! Bill hooks into an impressive 75 pound Yellowfin Tuna awesome way to end the day!
Our next group was the Cast group from England. Awesome time with these gents as we slayed the Tunas as well as Dorado, Cubera Snapper, Mullet Snapper, Broomtail Grouper, Blue Trevalle, and Roosterfish! the weather was perfect whwn these guys were here with super flat seas and the Tunas were close….only about 15 miles from the lodge! Looking forward to seeing these guys again in 2019!
Feb/2018 Panama Fishing Report continued – Next up was a great couple from Florida…Milagros and Jose. Of the two days we fished with these guys…one was real good and the other was a bit slow. The first day we started off great catching a double header of Yellowfisn Tuna and Dorado. Then we hooked into a monster Tuna that Milagros fought for at least an hour then eventually pulled the hook! Dang it! The next day was a bit slow but these guys were experienced fisherman and good trooper and still had a great time!
Robert was a solo angler who came and stayed with us on the island and fished by himself 7 days strait with Capt. Juan on the “T.O.P. Cat”. Robert is an experienced fisherman who wanted to catch a variety of species while he was here and that’s exactly what he wound up doing! Capt. Juan put him on the fish! Lots of action for Robert with BIG Yellowfin Tunas (mostly on spinning rods), monster Cubera Snapper. BIG Bull Dorados, Blue Trevalles, Roosterfish, and more. Lots of great fish pics and good times for Robert. Thanks so much for the business and hope to see you back soon!
Last but not least in February….Ralph, his business partner, and his son all from Texas joined us next for a few days with Capt. Juan and I fished with another group of great guys Bob, Bill, James, and Dennis on the”Sea Toy”. As you can see from the pictures we slayed them again as we caught Dorado, big Roosterfish releases, Almaco Jacks, and some impressive Yellowfin Tunas…and a bunch on poppers! Great time with both groups! These guys got to take home a bunch of frozen vacuum sealed Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado fillets in their YETI Hoppers that we prepared for them with our commercial vacuum sealer here at the lodge. Thanks so much to both groups for the business!
A special thanks to to our crew here at the lodge…Chef Lee, Steve, Capt. Juan, Bernabe, Edgardo, Billo, Carlos, and Johnny. It all happens here at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge because these guys work so hard, and take real pride in the jobs they do, to make the fishing trip special for all of our clients.
Enjoy the pics….
Captain Shane Jarvis