TOP-WATER FISHING HERE AT THE COIBA ISLAND REGION IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING INSHORE FISHERIES ON THE PLANET. OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS WE HAVE LEARNED THAT TOP-WATER FISHING CAN ALSO BE A SUPER EXCITING AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO PURSUE OFFSHORE FISH! THIS WEEK PESCA PANAMA SAW SOME RECORD SETTING CATCHES THAT JUST A FEW YEARS AGO WE WOULD HAVE NEVER DREAMED POSSIBLE!
LOAD UP THE “RIVER WHISKEY” AND BUDWEISER THE IDAHO BOYS WERE BACK IN PANAMA. FISHING FROM THREE BOATS THE IDAHO GROUP INCLUDED; “RING LEADER” GRANT KOLNES, TODD HENRY, CRAIG BEITHEKT, BOB BASS, BERT “THE BRAINS OF THE BUNCH” BRADLEY, CHRIS GROVES, BILL GUHRKE, DENNIS GASPER AND DAVE “DIABLO BLANCO” NEWMAN.
FISHING WITH TEAM MACHO, WE WELCOMED BACK FRENCH TOP WATER ENTHUSIAST, CEDRIK DJELASSI AND HIS ANGLER BUDDY ERIC LAVDIER.
THE INSHORE ACTION WAS GOOD THIS WEEK BEGINNING WITH HOT WAHOO ACTION AT SECAS ISLANDS. FISHING WITH CAPTAIN TRAVIS, CRAIG, CHRIS AND TODD HOOKED FOUR WAHOO, LANDING TWO, WITH CHRIS’S FISH WEIGHING 60LBS!! BERT, CRAIG AND CHRIS ALSO HAD GREAT INSHORE FISHING ACTION LANDING SOME NICE CUBERA, JACKS AND A MONSTER 75 AMBERJACK ON THE FOURTH DAY AND SIX WAHOO ON THE FIFTH DAY! BOB HAD AN EXCITING CATCH ON FLY ROD (RIGGED WITH BAIT) WHEN HE LANDED A 50 POUND AMBERJACK! THE CASTING “MACHINES”, CEDRIK AND ERIC SAW EXCEPTIONAL INSHORE FISHING LANDING SEVERAL MONSTER CUBERAS…TWO OVER 50 POUNDS, VARIOUS JACKS AND ROOSTERFISH.
OFFSHORE FISHING THIS WEEK WAS SPOTTY FOR PESCA PANAMA, BUT OUR ANGLERS MANAGED TO PULL OFF SOME GREAT CATCHES. FINDING THE PORPOISE AND TUNA THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS THE CREW MANAGED TO LAND SOME NICE FISH. GRANT WAS QUICK TO HOOK UP AND LAND A 211 POUND FISH AND DIABLO FOLLOWED UP WITH A 192 POUND YELLOW FIN. DENNIS HAD A GREAT DAY ON THE THIRD DAY LANDING A 250 POUND BLACK MARLIN WITH CAPTAIN LUCHO. IN PURSUIT OF SAILFISH ON FLY TODD WAS RELENTLESS AND ON THE FOURTH DAY HAD A SOLID HOOK UP ONLY TO HAVE THE LEADER PART A FEW MINUTES INTO THE FIGHT. THANKS FOR PUTTING IN THE TIME TODD!
LOADED WITH THE TOP SPINNING GEAR AVAILABLE AND DETERMINATION TO CAST TOP-WATER LURES INCESSANTLY, CEDRIK AND ERIC HAD ONE OF THE BEST OFFSHORE TOP-WATER FISHING WEEKS TO DATE. LANDING DOZENS OF “SMALL” TUNA (TO 70 POUNDS) THE TEAM WAS DETERMINED TO TEST THEMSELVES AND THEIR GEAR AGAINST LARGER FISH! THE DETERMINATION PAID OFF WHEN ON THE THIRD DAY ERIC HOOKED AND LANDED THE LARGEST TUNA EVER LANDED WITH PESCA PANAMA ON SPINNING GEAR WEIGHING IN AT 193 POUNDS!!! UTILIZING TREMENDOUS DRAG PRESSURE THAT PUSHED HIS TACKLE TO THE LIMIT ERIC HAD THE MONSTER YELLOW FIN TO THE BOAT IN JUST UNDER 10 MINUTES!!!! AS IF A MONSTER TUNA ON POPPER WAS NOT ENOUGH CEDRIK WENT TO BATTLE WITH ANOTHER XXL TUNA LANDING A 277 POUND FISH ON STAND UP TACKLE THE SAME DAY! CONTENT WITH SUCCESS, THE TWO PUSHED THE LIMITS OF TOP-WATER FISHING TO THE MAX THE FOLLOWING DAY WHEN CEDRIK HOOKED AND LANDED A 300 POUND BLUE MARLIN FREE CASTING A POPPER OFFSHORE MONTUOSA ISLAND! CASTING FOR TUNA IN A LARGE PORPOISE SCHOOL THE BLUE MARLIN APPEARED BEHIND THE POPPER OUT OF NO WHERE. MISSING THE LURE THE FIRST TIME, CEDRIK CAST AGAIN AND THE BLUE ATE THE POPPER JUST FEET FROM THE BOW. ADDING TO THE EXCITEMENT A 160 POUND TUNA ATE A LIVE BAIT THE MOMENT THE MARLIN WAS HOOKED AND THE TEAM WAS CAUGHT IN THE DOUBLE HOOKUP OF A LIFETIME! AFTER AN HOUR BATTLE THE MARLIN WAS ALONG SIDE. THE POPPER WAS REMOVED AND THE FISH SWAM AWAY!!! CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!!!!! WHAT A WEEK!!
IT WAS A GREAT WEEK GUYS! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN THE FUTURE!
PESCA PANAMA 02-20-06 
Those are some incrediable photos and catches!
Linear Mode
