ON TUESDAY THE BLACK MARLIN BITE AT HANNIBAL BANK WENT OFF! CAPTAIN TOMMY WAS THE FIRST BACK TO THE BARGE AND REPORTED THAT JACQUES AND CAVAYE HAD CAUGHT AND RELEASE TWO BLACK MARLIN WITH WEIGHTS ESTIMATED AT 500 AND 550 POUNDS. CAPTAIN SERIGO WAS NEXT IN AND REPORTED DAVE HAD CAUGHT AND RELEASED TWO BLACK MARLIN ESTIMATED AT 350 AND 400 POUNDS. CAPTAIN TATIN TIED TO THE BARGE AND REPORTED THAT BILL, BRAD AND MARTIN HAD CAUGHT AND RELEASED TWO BLACK MARLIN ESTIMATED AT 450 AND 550 POUNDS. ROBERT AND ANDRES CAME IN LAST AND REPORTED THAT FISHING WITH CAPTAIN MACHO THEY HAD CAUGHT AND RELEASED THREE BLACK MARLIN ESTIMATED AT 300, 350 AND 450 POUNDS. NOW THAT IS GREAT BLACK MARLIN FISHING!

PESCA PANAMA GREETED A MIXED GROUP OF ANGLERS THIS WEEK. RETURNING ANGLERS FROM FRANCE INCLUDED JACQUES HOHBERG, CAVAYE RAFHAEL, GERARD AND GILLES LE BOBINNEC. BILL ROPER WAS FISHING WITH BROTHERS MARTIN AND BRAD SCOTT. THESE GUYS ARE FISHERMEN FROM NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA. DAVE HAMZEH, FROM SAN DIEGO, WAS FISHING ALONE AND ROBERT BRAUNS AND ANDREA GONELLA, WHO LIVE IN PANAMA, WERE FISHING TOGETHER.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK OUR BOATS FOUND GREEN WATER AND SLOW FISHING. THE EXCEPTION WAS JACQUES AND CAVAYE. CAPTAIN TOMMY HAD DECIDED TO FISH IN CLOSE AT THE PARADIAS ISLANDS AND IT PAID OFF. THE ANGLERS LANDED A NICE 45 LB BROOMTAIL GROUPER, 4 CUBERA SNAPPERS, 2 JACK CREVALLE, 1 ROOSTERFISH, 4 POMPANO, 15 MULLET SNAPPER AND 50 MANGROVE SNAPPER WHICH WERE CAUGHT ON JIGS.

AS OUR BOATS MOVED FARTHER OFFSHORE THE ACTION PICKED UP FOR THE ANGLERS. DAVE, WHO WAS FISHING THIS WEEK WITH CAPTAIN SERIGO GOT ON A WAHOO BITE AT ISLA MONTUOSA. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD EVER CAUGHT A WAHOO. LATER IN THE DAY THEY MADE A STOP AT THE "SNOOK HOLE" AND CAUGHT SEVERAL SNOOK. IT WAS DAVE'S FIRST TIME TO CATCH A SNOOK. THEN THE NEXT DAY AT HANNIBAL BANK, AFTER A TWO HOUR FIGHT ON STAND-UP TACKLE, HE LANDED A BIG BLACK MARLIN. IT WAS DAVE'S FIRST BLACK MARLIN CATCH. SO LOTS OF FIRST FOR DAVE THIS WEEK WITH PESCA PANAMA. I DON'T THINK I HAVE EVER SEEN A FISHERMAN SMILE SO MUCH.


ROBERT AND ANDREA WERE CONCENTRATING THEIR FISHING EFFORTS ON MARLIN. THE FIRST DAY AT THE BANK THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL IN CATCHING AND RELEASING TWO BLACKS. THE FOLLOWING DAY THEY HOOKED-UP ANOTHER BLACK THAT HAD EATEN A LIVE BONITA CAPTAIN MACHO HAD PUT OUT. BUT AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES THE HOOK PULLED OUT AND THAT MARLIN SWAM AWAY. BY THE END OF THE WEEK I THINK THEY WENT 5 FOR 8 ON THE BLACK MARLIN.

IT WAS GILLES AND GERARD THIRD TRIP TO FISH WITH PESCA PANAMA. THEY ARE AVID POPPER FISHERMEN. FISHING WITH CAPTAIN LUCHO THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LANDING A LOT OF YELLOWFIN TUNA THAT WENT FOR THEIR POPPERS. THESE TWO ALSO CAUGHT DORADO, SAILFISH, CUBERA SNAPPER, MULLET SNAPPER, JACK CREVALLE, BLUE TREVALLE, ROOSTERFISH, YELLOW SNAPPER AND HORSE EYE JACK. SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF DIFFERENT FISH LIKE TO STRIKE THE POPPERS.

FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW OUR ANGLERS ENJOYED CALMER THAN NORMAL SEA CONDITIONS. WITH THE SUN DIRECTLY OVERHEAD, BEING THAT IT IS THE VERNAL EQUINOX, THE TEMPERATURES WERE HOTTER THAN USUAL. THE MOON PHASE WAS JUST COMING OFF FULL, SO THERE GOES THE THEORY THAT MARLIN DON'T BITE ON A FULL MOON. BOTH THE INSHORE AND THE OFFSHORE BITE CONTINUES TO BE EXCEPTIONAL!

TIGHT LINES,
CAPTAIN JULIAN JAY GUSTIN

FISHING THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: FISH BOXES HAVE BECOME AN ISSUE WITH ME. IT SEEMS LIKE ALL THE BOAT MANUFACTURES LIKE TO PROMOTE THE FACT THAT THEIR BOATS HAVE HUGE FISH BOXES WITH ROOM FOR LOTS OF DEAD FISH. BOXES THAT CAN HOLD 400 OR 500 QUARTS ARE NOT UNCOMMON. THEN THE NEXT THING TO COME ALONG WAS THE, "COFFIN BOX." THIS HAS A NICE COLD RING, DOESN'T IT? TO ME IT ALL IMPLIES THAT FISHERMEN AREN'T SUCCESSFUL IF THEY DON'T KILL EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO FILL UP THESE BOXES. IF THE BOXES AREN'T FULL THEN THE FISHERMEN HASN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL. DOESN'T THE BOAT MANUFACTURES GET IT? IF THE FISHERMEN FILL UP ALL THESE HUGE BOXES WITH DEAD FISH, THERE WON'T BE ANY FISH LEFT TO CATCH. IF THERE ARE NO FISH TO CATCH THEN THE FISHERMEN WON'T NEED TO BUY BOATS. IF NO ONE IS BUYING BOATS THE MANUFACTURERS WOULDN'T NEED TO BUILD ANY MORE BOATS. TO ME IT IS THE WRONG MESSAGE TO BE SENDING OUT. LET'S HOPE WE START SEEING MORE CONSERVATIVE SIZED FISH BOXES. SMALLER FISH BOXES WOULD BE MUCH MORE INLINE TODAY'S REDUCED FISH LIMITS AND MUCH EASIER TO FILL!

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK:


LOOKS LIKE THE OLE MAN OF THE SEA, ROBERT, HAS HOOKED UP ANOTHER MARLIN



BRAD BANISHES A SNAPPER



SMILE BILL, IT IS A NICE DEAD DORADO FOR DINNER



DANGEROUS DAVE AND ONE OF THE WAHOO HE CAUGHT THIS WEEK



GERARD WITH A NICE DORADO



MATE CHICHI AND GILLES WITH A SNAPPER