[direct excerpt from real fishermen] PANAMA 2021
Finally…Back to chasing tuna in Panama’s Pacific Ocean!!! We all know how challenging the past year has been with regards to normal life. That’s an understatement for us traveling fishermen and the charter operations we support around the world. Luckily and gratefully….Panama Sportfishing Lodge is open for business and handled all the new obstacles with ease. John Delacruz assured me that everything would be smooth and better than ever. Man. Was he right!
This year… 10 of us made the journey and we were stoked for the upcoming adventures. My angling friends from Michigan, Jersey and Florida all met up in Panama and we set off for the sea...
From the very first cast of the day the Yellowfin Tuna were on fire! Everybody was catching all that they wanted. The numbers we caught throughout the week were nothing short of astounding. My rough estimates….750 plus yellowfins landed in 6 days. 10 guys fishing 3 boats. And get this….a rough total weight estimation….37,500 lbs! Other than keeping a few fish to eat on the mothership and some tuna steaks for home. All others were released safely back into the Pacific. Most of the fish were between 50-100lbs. With plenty of larger tuna mixed in. Numerous fish over 150, 6 fish over 200. And 1 fish 250 lbs or so!
There were not a lot of big foaming boils this year. But numerous small bait balls were getting hammered. We stayed on some for an hour or so. Catching fish after fish. There was a lot of chasing the porpoises this year and if you could gather your wits and make an accurate cast as the center console slid into position. You were rewarded nearly every time with a spectacular topwater strike! Siren stickbaits, Tackle House Britts, Heru Skipjacks seemed to be the most popular choices for the guys. My best success was on a Siren Sorry Charlie. I love that lure!
The Anna Cristina mothership was our home base for the week. Spent a couple nights anchored in the lee of Isla Secas. And the rest of the time we spent the evenings down a bit further at Isla Coiba. The fishing grounds were a short 15 minute run in the morning. And the captains would keep us out as long as we wanted to keep casting. We had 3 great captains this year. Chombo, Carlos and Michael. They fished hard for us every single day. As always.
John Delacruz and Panama Sportfishing Lodge stepped their game up this year. The chef on the mothership was out of this world. We ate like kings. Day and night. The rest of the mothership crew was top shelf as well. Always keeping your drink full and providing spectacular service.
Covid has really affected a lot of the charter operators. But rest assured. Panama Sportfishing Lodge is up and open for business. Do not hesitate to contact myself or John Delacruz with any questions about getting a trip together. I have my dates locked in for May 2022 if anybody is looking to join a trip.
You will not regret it!!
Thanks again to the great group of fishermen that joined me. And of course Panama Sport Fishing Lodge