The American group found their fishing to be slightly more patchy, but still finding some hives of activity which they managed to pluck some fish from connecting with a good variety of species, the roosters were on a weird one this week, visually seeing many throughout the week as they would chase and ambush a lure sometimes in great numbers however no matter what we tried rarely would one commit to a strike, maybe an abundance of baitfish is to blame and them not being too hungry for it! On top of that often the plentiful Jack Creval causing havoc when you are trying for the Rooster. 
Kieren joined the group for one of the days and had some quality Almaco Jacks and Snappers on the slow jigs along with a wicked double shot of a nice size Almaco and Yellowtail Snapper on the same jig! Even he couldn’t believe how fussy the Roosters where being on topwater this week! However at one point during the day we witnessed a true Leviathan of a Roosterfish repeatedly attack Drew big popper but failed to get a hook hold, a monsterous fish most likely of the 80lb+ calibre, it was an unreal sight, a fish of dreams! 

This week down on the Tuna Coast of Panama we welcomed for the first time father and son duo Levi and Dubba and also single angler Omar along with his wife all from Texas, they played their cards right and dodged some horrific snow back home and swapped it for the blistering sunshine of the Panamanian dry season.  

Fishing this week has been a bit of a yo-yo, certainly proved harder at times with some strange conditions for this time of year not helping matters but that being said there was hives of activity to be found of which our anglers got stuck into! 

Roosters had a consistent showing most days, however not in any huge numbers, but present most days to pluck a few fish from, some bigger specimens gave their presence as they investigated the topwater lures but to no avail. Alongside these often we found hungry Jacks feeding, often smashing the lure away from a chasing rooster! 

Some lovely Broomtail Groupers on speed and slow jigs along with plently of Fortune Jacks, some Amberjacks and other species in the mix along with a fair few big fish that got the better of our anglers! 

Levi and Dubba found an aggressive shoal of football sized Yellowfin Tuna bringing many to the boat, although not big, these can be seriously fun as they explode on your popper and make a lightening run on light gear. A few made for some very impressive eating that evening! 

Staff member Kieren joined Omar on a few days and started off with a fantastic hour on topwater where hits were simultaneous, fast and furious action from quality size Sierra Mackerel and feisty Jacks, plently of screaming reels, some were kept for fresh Ceviche and the rest released, a big Sailfish put on a chase and attacked Omar’s stickbait beside the boat but didn’t hook up, certainly gets the blood pumping! They also found a couple of hives of activity from Roosters and Jacks in which you couldn’t cast fast enough.

Kieren also sneaked a few casts from the taxi boat at the moorings before attending to the clients managed some fish including a big croc of a Needlefish and a lovely Rainbow Runner. 

All in all despite a slightly harder week where you really had to work for your fish our clients still managed to tick off some from their bucket lists and they are raring for redemption on their return.

This week we had Americans Chris, Roger and his son Logan join us for their first taste of what our lodge has to offer, they had a good insight of the tactics we extensively use here however they were open minded to learn more and fine tune to make the most of their trip and also get to grips with slow jigging, from the off the guys found consistent action on all methods. 

Throughout the week they found their fair share of big fish opportunities, a super unlucky moment when Chris had a huge cubera spit the hooks on the surface right beside the boat after a back breaking battle! Roger found an excellent specimen yellowtail corvina and Logan bagged a stunning cubera on the slow jig, they also had some solid frenzy action on the roosters and landed a whole host of species throughout the week, nice work guys! 

We also had Mariano’s group of 7 from Argentina, they started their trip steady but not prolific, after some minor adjustments to tackle mid-week and in combination with some solid frenzy action they ended the last few days with some quality action from lots of roosters, jacks and sierra’s! 1 boat landing 17 roosters in quick succession one afternoon. 

Lots of species for the guys throughout with the best fish going to Nacho with a quality Snook on the slow jig! 

We are now shut and reopen again in February ready for the high season, hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year, here’s to hopefully a more positive and promising 2021 🤙🏼 

Tight lines, 

The Panafishing crew

Report - 07/12/20 

Finally our first group of clients could make it to us since the covid craziness, it was great to be back at it and seeing our customers returning to the lodge each day with fishy stories to tell. We had a few calm days but the guys had to battle with some more challenging windy conditions which didn’t make the fishing easy for them! 

Our first group was Americans Pete, Rick and Geoff, avid anglers but their first time with this style of top water and jig fishing. For their first trip these guys done very well, they returned to the lodge on their first day with 13 species already under their belt and the rest of the week followed suit! 

They ended the week on 24 species with plenty of action throughout totalling over 30 roosterfish for the week with some nice ones in mix and a Panafishing 1st - Rooster on the fly, in-fact make that 3! They had a few opportunities at big cuberas but unfortunately each time the cuberas found the better of them, gutting! 

We also had single angler Alexis join us from France this week, he managed an array of species each day but unfortunately had countless big fish opportunities but a combination of factors tackle wise and some seriously bad luck meant it just really wasn’t happening for him, lots of roosters lost and bigger Amberjacks crunching tackle. Both Kieren and Pierre joined him on separate occasions to aid some tuition and good luck which produced lots of activity and some great fish. Regardless some great lessons learnt and he’s eager for redemption come round 2!

After another series of cancellations from Europe due to travel restrictions, we are finally hosting our first group since March. I want to grab this opportunity to remind everyone that we are open for business, that the area is safe, and travelling to Panama is fairly easy. All you need is a negative COVID test, which you can actually do on arrival at the rapid testng facility, where it only costs 50 dollars and takes about 25 minutes to get the results.

Most importantly, I would like to introduce Kieren, ou new staff member. Kieren comes from the UK where he runs the succesful and acclaimed Lo Kie Adventures charter. He is a great guy and a wonderful addition to the Panafishing team. Please check out his website for some of the best fishing Europe has to offer:

www.lokieadventures.com

Kieren was eager to fish and discover the grounds, so we spent 4 days on the water last week. Overall we found fishing to be patchy, more so from the patchy water clarities we experienced from the previous poor weather through November, often having to work hard for our results in the decreased water clarity but each day we found a honey pot of activity which made for fantastic sport from a mixture of species! As the week progressed, seemingly so did the water clarity and therefore the fishing with it. Some mad action on the roosterfish, amberjack, red snapper, yellowfin tuna, Sierra mackerel and some mixed frenzies to note!

Top fish of the week both went to me with 2 big roosterfish, both putting up tremendous reel screaming fights, I also managed a nice cubera as Kieren played a rooster during an incredible top water session! The overall average stamp of roosterfish was very nice this week. On 2 separate occasions this week Kieren had 15-20+ decent roosters all chasing and competing for his popper at once, it simply doesn’t get much more hair raising as you see their iconic dorsal fins homing in on your lure whilst you try to keep your nerve to set the hooks correctly!

On another occasion Kieren had the most incredible moment both to mine and Kieren’s surprise a very large sailfish fish took a particular liking to his popper, numerous casts in a row it ambushed his lure, he really wanted it as it graced the surface behind the popper with its beak open an out the water, adrenaline through the roof as Kieren awaited the moment to commit to the strike, but unfortunately the sail never committed enough to set a hook Incredible, but incredibly frustrating at the same time.

We had our fair share of big fish opportunities through-out , one day I had a truly huge wahoo take flight with my popper out of the blue but again did not get a hook hold, in my own words “It was like a tree trunk” Kieren also had 3 cubera snapper come up and investigate his lure in one day but none committed to a strike much to his despair as is common with this frustrating species.

Day 2 we found a big shoal of feeding yellowfin tuna, out came the light rods and small poppers and the reels began to sing as they simultaneously explode at your popper with unparalleled speed.

The end of the the last day saw us find a solid shoal of quality amberjacks feeding hard on the jigs all in all it made for a happy hour of activity before we had to head back in on the tide but we could of stayed their all afternoon, countless drifts saw us hoop over into feisty fish that put up a terrific fight as they power back down to the reefy bottom, turn up the heat and let the better man win!

We ended the 4 days on I believe 19 species, some magnificent specimens, frenzy action, terrific sport and most of all some fantastic fun! We had lots and lots of fish that wasn’t pictured as we weren’t to fussed and wanted to stay in the action! Can’t wait to get back out again!

I have not been posting a lot of reports recently. The coronavirus crisis ruined our season and it was kind of hurting to go through old pictures of a better time that seemed so far away... Now we really look forward to get back on the water. It seems like throughout the world, anglers are eager to go back to their passion, and very eager to travel again. For most of us the past few months have been spent at home. I'm sure I'm not the only one planning fishing future trips to keep insanity away. Speaking for myself, the realization that traveling can't be taken for granted, really makes me want to "do it while I can". Our passion is stronger than the virus and I expect fishing trips to gain momentum as anglers around the world save the airline industry !

On the positive side, the spots have been put to rest for a good while and the fish were able to happily reproduce without having to come onboard for a quick picture. I expect the first couple of months of reopening to produce great fishing. That would be well needed after a tough February this year. It's fishing... Goes up and down almost as fast as the stock market...

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the last group before we had to close in March:

Late January, we started fishing again at the Panafishing lodge on Panama's Tuna Coast. Dry season started late this year so the abundance of sardines and frenzy has not started to show yet, but overall it's been a good week despite some slow days and some anglers being luckier than others. 100% popping and jigging as always. Here are the pictures:

This goliath caught on slow-jigging gear deserves 2 pics:

Pretty much of the same mid-November for our third week of the mini-season. November is a great month to fish the Tuna Coast of Panama: calm seas and fair weather, unreal variety with some trophy fish mixed in ! This particular week, quite a few big fish have been lost, including big roosters... Panama inshore fish and specially the roosters and cuberas will really put your skills to the test ! Those species don't keep a constant pressure like a GT or tuna would do. They stop, change direction and shake their heads "tarpon-style" underwater. Mistakes are usually not forgiven and boating them can be a challenge ! I also went fishing for a day and got a Goliath grouper on jig. Certainly not a big Goliath given they grow to 600 pounds in these waters but nevertheless a great catch on a slow-jigging setup !

For the second group of the season, we had the pleasure to host a great team from the UK. Fishing was average for the Tuna Coast, which means good by any standards. The guys had good variety, some trophy fish every now and then and there are still lots of yellowfin tunas around.