After an amazing first week at the Panafishing lodge, things started slowly for the second group: very few fish and no big ones for the first 2 days. The action got much better towards the end, and although the final numbers were not impressive compared to what we are used to, the big ones were definitly out there !

The first boat was not the most lucky one. 3 big cuberas and one big rooster were lost and could have make a huge difference, but luck and some broken popper and failing line played against them. A big amberjack was caught on popper but the rod broke in the first seconds of the fight, due to a "cubera drag". The fish was boated nevertheless but it's a shame for the nice fight it could have been.

Some good fish were taken despite all the bad luck, including 2 nice roosterfish for Andreas:

We started fishing again in Pedasi last week and the first group of the season had a blast ! Panama Tuna Coast delivered once again with lots of action and variety. The Brazilian team of 3 fished 100% on popper and jigs and were very pleased with the results. Despite over 15 fishing trips to Panama between them 3, they had their best days of inshore fishing in Pedasi with Panafishing and decided this was the place to go to for popping and jigging. The first day started with 6 roosters on jig, some nice sized amberjacks, small YFT, sierras, jacks, pompanos, rainbow runners, a grouper and various snappers, and sadly 2 huge cuberas and what was probably a monster grouper were lost. In the end, a lot of really big fish were lost: half a dozen of really big cuberas, 2 roosters that must have been over 50-60 pounds, 3 huge groupers and a striped marlin (on popper !). One must come prepared with some strong line and heavy drag if they want to get the really big ones out there. Our new friend Cuca managed to get 2 cubera to the boat, including a really big one. Well done, this has to be the toughest fish to land on popper.

Nous avons repris la pêche a Pedasi la semaine dernière et le premier groupe de la saison s'est éclaté, avec beaucoup d'action et de variété. Nos 3 amis Brésiliens ont pêché exclusivement au popper et au jig et les résultats ont fortement dépassés leurs espérances. Malgré plus de 15 voyages de pêche au Panama entre eux 3 (l'un d'entre eux est le boss d'une agence de voyage spécialisée), ils ont eu leurs meilleurs journées de pêche côtière a Pedasi, avec Panafishing, et ont unanimement décidés que le Panafishing lodge serait leur nouveau point de chute au Panama. Le premier jour a commencé fort avec 6 poissons coqs (au jig), des belles sérioles, petits thons jaunes, thazards, carangues, african pompano, rainbow runners, un mérou et une belle variété de snappers. Malheureusement, et comme d'habitude, 2 très gros cuberas et ce que l'on pense être un mérou géant leur ont faussé compagnie ce jour la. Au final, c'est une demi-douzaine de très gros cuberas, 2 poissons coqs au-dessus de 25 kilos, 3 énormes mérous et un marlin rayé (au popper !) qui auront été perdus sur la semaine. Il faut venir préparé avec du matos au top et vraiment mettre du frein si on veut avoir une chance de sortir les gros. Notre nouvel ami Cuca a réussi a mettre au bateau 2 cuberas, dont un vrai gros. Bravo, car c'est définitivement LE poisson "challenge" au popper.

We hosted 2 groups at the end of July, after a long break to look after our baby during her first weeks. First were our good friends Troy, Bart and Dan from Canada. The fishing was kind of disapointing in that the big tunas they were hoping for have not shown yet (the first time ever we have no big ones in July according to the locals), and the inshore was shut down the 2 last days due to a combination of big swell and 25 knots winds from the North (again, previously unheard of at this time of the year). Anyway the guys had some good fun on a huge variety of species including yellowfin tuna, almaco jacks, jack crevalle, big eye jack, sierra mackerel, african pompano, black skipjack tuna, broomtail grouper, roosterfish, yellow and lane snapper, rainbow runner, etc... Oh, and even a bonefish caught on a jig in 200 ft. of water !
The guys had no camera with them so all pictures are either from when they were back or from the 2 days I joined them fishing.

The guys were not really lucky as they got no cubera and only a few follows from roosterfish, with only one taker. Meanwhile, i got pretty lucky, hooking that nice rooster on popper from the taxi boat, while waiting at the mooring field for the guests to return from fishing.

Next was Carlos, his 2 sons and his good friend Leo, that came from Puerto Rico to try popping and jigging, a kind of fishing they had never done before. They stayed for just 2 days and caught lots of fish. A few big ones got away... you'lll get those next time guys !

The lodge is still closed at the moment due to our attention being focused on our little girl, but we took Frederic out for a 1 and a half day charter and he got pretty lucky considering the short time he had. As always, all fish were caught on popper or speed-jig. The fishing is always consistent in May and June and the winds are usually pretty calm. Next group will be in July for some tuna action !

On my side, well, it's been hard to find some time to fish but I got a small snook, from the beach next to the lodge, which made me very happy. Unfortunately for him, he was the perfect size for a 2 person meal.
I also went out a day with my friend Nicolas and the highlights of the (rainy) day was a decent roosterfish and a nice grouper:

We have not been fishing for a while as my wife Clemence just gave birth to an adorable little girl called Martha. What a catch ! No release for that one !
Today I went to rapatriate our taxi boat from the south anchorage to the north anchorage. I had the good idea to take a rod, my best tarpon lure and went to the tarpon spot where we jumped quite a few last year at this time of the year. The result was this nice Pacific tarpon. Tarpons remain a rather unusual catch here but we definitely know where to find them when they are around. They are here during all the rainy season but the best time seems to be from mid-May to end of June and again from mid-October to end of November.
Interesting fact, I got a medium-sized mahi-mahi at the excat same spot. I am not sure but I believe catching dorados and tarpons at the exact same spot is almost unheard of. Only in Panama !

Besides this cubera bonanza, quite a few other species were caught. The roosters were here but very lure-shy and it's been 2 weeks since we have not caught a big amberjack. This is Panama ! The fishing here is ever-changing, for the good... and the good.

The action has slow down a little on the Tuna Coast of Panama. A big swell came in and it killed all the feeding action we had very close to shore. The roosterfish disapeared as soon as the swell kicked in and showed again when it died. The guys still had some good fun on popper and jigs. Fish of the week was definitely the amberjack, with lots of fish of all size brought to the boat, and many more lost. Thanks for the good times, guys !

We had great fishing this week and shared some good times at the lodge with a group of Danish, Germans and Finnish anglers. Here are the boys getting their stuff ready on the day of arrival. One could tell they came down here for some serious business ! Preparing the gear at home and on the first day is always a special moment. Choices better be made wisely and I think the guys did just that.

The tension is always palpable on the first boarding... Will the Tuna Coast delivers ? After a few words from the Captains, it's time to move to the fishing spots for the first casts !

Then comes the first strikes and ensuing fights. Here is Bo looking pretty stoked during his first fight. And Richard, very happy with his first roosterfish. When it is the first time you catch that fish on light tackle, you don't need a huge one to get a smile. This is a magical fish...

I think Richard was a lot happier with his next one !

It all worked out pretty well for the guys ! They caught fish of all sizes, shapes and colours. When fishing the Tuna Coast of Panama, variety definitely makes for some interesting action.

Mark got himself a nice range of groupers: a tiny one, a medium one...

...And a real big one ! Congratulations Mark, that's a hell of a big broomtail grouper !

Mads also got 2 real nice ones. Well done buddy !

The waters were boiling with jack crevalle. There was also plenty of amberjacks and silk snapper for everyone. Oh ! And roosterfish !

Should we complain, we did not see a lot of cubera this week. Here is the only one that was boated. 3 or 4 more were lost....Congrats Thomas for bringing in the most difficult fish to land !

I hope you guys had fun ! See you next time !

To finish, here is a short and kind of shitty video that shows some of the topwater action we will have until July...