Panama Fishing January 2008

Fishing this month has been excellent, although the weather is strange. It's been raining in the afternoons and generally cloudy. Best part is that the north winds have been quiet....La Nina. We've had a dorado bite that has been incredible, with various occasions that we've boated 20+ before noon and up to 40 lbs...in as little as 15' of water. Freezer is full.




Marlin have been here, but were finicky this week. When they are on, it's crazy. Otherwise we just have to work a bit for them. Small tuna up to 80lbs have been abundant with some big boys starting to show in Montuosa and Hannible Bank. Great for testing the spinning gear and your overall physical condition. We have to search for the schools which are swimming with large pods of dolphin. Sails are everywhere. Inshore species still going strong.



We fished the full moon last month, which i swore only screwed up the fish, and had marlin around us all day. If I tell you we saw 20 marlin and 30 sails on the day of full moon, it's probably an under-estimate. 500 lb Marlin were jumping through our spread 30 feet from the boat. We only hooked 5 and boated 2, but it was spectacular to see them hunting on top all day long. Other highlights were an amberjack that went about 80lbs, and a rooster that swallowed a live bonito that went over 70. What beasts. That's fishing...in Panama. Well, back to rigging gear for my next stint on the water. Look for my next update. Captain Don Marquis

Panama Fishing with Sue and Kirk

Don,
Hi again. What fun we had with you guys. We feel really lucky that things turned out the way they did as we were very pleased fishing with you and Thomas. I’m going to send you some pictures a few at a time in case the file is too big.

Hope all is well with you. We came back to beautiful weather in the high 70’s low 80’s and Peach and Bill had to drive home from St. Luis in a snow storm!

Regards, Sue and Kirk

Panama fishing Sunday July 15, 2007

Sunday July 15; Headed out to Ladrones again. Wind, waves, and rain. The ocean was ugly but the action was hot. Another mixed bag including a 35 lb red snapper, 3 wahoo, 2 dorado, a pair of small yellowfin, and two sharks (white tip.) Capt. Don

Panama fishing Monday July 9, 2007

Monday July 9 : left the dock at 6AM for Ladrones again. The bite was ON today! Several wahoo up to 60 lbs, pargo up to 50 lbs, small football tuna, dorado, and another pair of hammerheads. Double and triple hook-ups with the wahoo, and a 50 lb pargo on the troll! Capt. Don

Panama Fishing Sunday July 8, 2007

Rain delay at the dock. A surprise early morning thunderstorm/downpour left us waiting under the roof at the marina in Pedregal. At 9 AM we decided to head out and it was the right decision. The weather broke, the seas were flat, and the fish were hungry. Ladrones Island provided us a mixed bag of fish. the action was consistent all day with wahoo, dorado, small yellowfin tuna, pargo, and a pair of hammerhead sharks. Turned out to be a great trip. Capt. Don

Panama Game Fishing

Welcome to Panama Game Fishing and Team Escalante, Panama's newest premier big game sport fishing destination. Hannible Bank, Coiba Island, and Isla Montuosa are our ultimate big game destinations with scores of islands and other hot spots in between for inshore species.
The operation is owned and operated by experienced fishermen. Having fished all over the world and despite successful careers they have ultimately settled here, in Panama. Why? Simply put, the fishing is outstanding! They want to share their secret with you and show you why they now call Panama home. Our methods vary from trip to trip, but trolling plastics, slow trolling and pitching live baits, and jigging all produce fish. Test your skills and strength with the top-water action on spinning tackle. The sight of a huge rooster or cubera snapper or even yellowfin tuna exploding on your lure is an experience you won’t want to miss. Don’s personal best is a 150# yellowfin…on a popper! Top-water lures have even hooked sailfish, once within four feet of the boat! If this sounds like fun to you, believe us it is. Be sure to bring plenty of your favorite top-water lures because break-offs are commonplace. We have been using 80# Power Pro braided line and still experience many break-offs. These fish are behemoths, and we have not yet found a way (or line) to keep them out of the rocks. All in all, there is a method that will work for you.

Never will you see a place so full of life with so little fishing pressure or competition. It is sure to top your list of the most pristine, beautiful and most tranquil places in the world. The estuaries, inshore reefs, hundreds of islands and underwater structure are home to a wide variety of gamefish. Here you will find giant cubera snapper, rooster fish, huge amberjack, blue jacks, barracuda, grouper, jack crevelle and pompano cruising the rocky shoreline looking for a meal. Offshore, in the rich, deep blue waters near the Hannible Bank and Isla Montuosa, you will find black marlin, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, blue marlin, blackfin tuna, dorado, sailfish and swordfish feasting on the bait that congregate and thrive on these banks. The best part? You never know what’s next and it very well may be a world record! It’s not uncommon to come home battered and bruised from fighting fish. Fishing is spectacular year-round here, but Dec-May is deemed to be the 'best,' as the largest of the migratory species are here in numbers, and skies are crystal-clear blue.