TOP WATER POPPING AND BOTTOM JIGGING

THIS WEEK'S ANGLERS INCLUDED ANDRES MORALES, ERIVALDO ALVES, ALEXANDR MALAFAIA, VALDIR MILANI, HELIO YOKOTA, CIRO TAKAMORI, JORGE TAMAKE, NEI DAVID, FERNANDO DAVID, JOSE DAVID AND OLAVO HUNGRIA. IT WAS ANOTHER GROUP OF FISHERMEN FROM BRAZIL THAT HAD TRAVELED FROM THE HOME OF THE AMAZON RIVER TO SAMPLE THE FANTASTIC TOP WATER POPPING AND BOTTOM JIGGING THAT PANAMA IS WORLD FAMOUS FOR!

IT HAPPENED AT HANNIBAL BANK

CAPTAIN SERGIO AND HIS ANGLERS HAD MONTUOSA ISLAND IN THEIR WAKE AND WERE FAST APPROACHING HANNIBAL BANK WHEN HE SUGGESTED THEY PUT OUT A BRIDLED BONITA TO SEE IF ANY BLACK MARLIN WERE AROUND. OUT WENT THE EXPERTLY BRIDLED BAIT AND JUST LIKE IT WAS PLANNED, A BLACK MARLIN OBLIGINGLY ATE THE BAIT! THE BATTLE WAS ON FOR THE NEXT HOUR AND THIRTY MINUTES AS FERANDO FOUGHT HIS FIRST EVER BLACK MARLIN.

CAPTAIN TATIN SAW THE NEAR INSTANT HOOK-UP AND RADIOED CAPTAIN TOMMY ASKING IF HE HAD ANY LIVE BONITA IN HIS TUNA TUBES. THE ANSWER CAME BACK, YES. TATIN PULLED ALONG SIDE OF TOMMY'S BOAT TO TRANSFER THE LIVE BONITA. ONE OF THE LIVE BAITS WAS QUICKLY BRIDLED, PUT OUT AND OLAVO WAS INSTANTLY HOOKED UP TO HIS FIRST EVER BLACK MARLIN!

BY NOW EVERYONE WAS EXCITED! CAPTAIN LUCHO, SEEING THAT THE BITE WAS ON, PUT OUT HIS BAIT JIGS OUT IN AN ATTEMPT TO CATCH SOME LIVE BONITA FOR MARLIN BAIT. WHEN HE HAD TWO BONITA ON THE JIGS AND WAS REELING THEM IN, TO HIS SURPRISE, HE SAW A BLACK MARLIN COME UP AND EAT THE FIRST BONITA RIGHT OFF THE BAIT JIG. THEN THE MARLIN WENT FOR THE SECOND BAIT AND ATE THAT ONE! BUT THIS TIME THE MARLIN GOT HOOKED WITH SEVERAL OF THE BAIT JIGS AND THE FIGHT WAS ON! THE STRING OF BAIT JIGS WE USE, WE MAKE UP OURSELVES. LET'S JUST SAY THEY ARE STRONG! THE SHIMANO TLD 30 BAIT REEL WAS SPOOLED WITH NEW 50 POUND MONO, SO THE ANGLER, ANDRES, HAD A CHANCE OF LANDING THE FISH. THAT WAS UNTIL THE REEL FRAME ON THE TLD "EXPLODED" FROM THE PRESSURE. CAPTAIN LUCHO AND MATE CARLOS DEFTLY TRANSFERRED THE LINE TO ONE OF OUR STANDARD MARLIN REELS, A SHIMANO TIAGRA 50, AND THE FIGHT CONTINUED. ALAS, AFTER A TWO AND A HALF HOURS THE MARLIN WON THE BATTLE WHICH WAS FITTING. BUT WHAT AN EXCITING FISHING EXPERIENCE!

IT WAS ALSO HAPPENING AT ISLA JICRON

ON DAY THREE CAPTAIN TATIN'S ANGLERS RETURNED TO THE BARGE WITH SMILES ON ALL OF THEIR FACES. SEEMS THAT THEIR JIGGING AND POPPING WAS PRODUCING FISH. TOTAL FISH CAUGHT AND RELEASED THIS ONE DAY INCLUDED A MIXED BAG OF 3 CUBERA SNAPPERS, 3 ROOSTERFISH, 6 AMBERJACK, 2 BROOMTAIL GROUPERS, 8 AFRICAN POMPANO, 9 JACK CREVALLE, 2 ROCK SNAPPERS, 2 RAINBOW RUNNERS, 3 HORSE EYE JACKS, 2 BLUE JACKS AND THEN THEY STOPPED OFF AT THE SNOOK HOLE AND ADDED 10 SNOOK TO THE CATCH. ONE SIDE NOTE, THE GROUPERS MADE IT TO THE DINNER TABLE. IT'S JUST NOT A GOOD THING TO BE A GROUPER AROUND HERE!

TUNA TIME IN THE TROPICS

JULY IS FAST BECOMING ONE OF THE HOTTEST FISHING MONTHS OF THE YEAR. THIS WEEK WE HAD THE BEST WATER CONDITIONS I HAVE SEEN ALL YEAR! BEAUTIFUL BLUE WATER WAS TO BE FOUND EVERYWHERE! THE INSHORE FISHING, WHICH IS THE TYPE OF FISHING THIS GROUP PREFERS, WAS RIGHT ON TARGET WITH LOTS OF ACTION AND LOTS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES CAUGHT AND RELEASED. OFFSHORE, BLACK MARLIN WERE TO BE FOUND AT HANNIBAL BANK. WE HAD TO LOOK AROUND FOR YELLOWFIN TUNA THIS WEEK, BUT ON DAY FIVE WE FOUND THEM AND ALL OF OUR ANGLERS CAUGHT YELLOWFIN. WHEN THE DAY'S TALLY WAS MADE WE HAD CAUGHT 27 YELLOWFIN FROM 50 TO 130 POUNDS AND ALL ON POPPERS! I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY WERE LOST BUT I DO KNOW ROBERTO REPORTED LOSING A BIG ONE.

NEXT WEEK, ROBERTO VERAS WILL BE RETURNING WITH ANOTHER GROUP OF ANGLERS FROM BRAZIL. THESE GUYS CAN'T SEEM TO GET ENOUGH OF THIS PANAMA FISHING! ROBERTO WILL BE RUNNING THE SHOW AND WRITING NEXT WEEKS FISHING REPORT FOR PESCA PANAMA. I HAVE BEEN INVITED TO JOIN A GROUP OF OUR ANGLERS FOR SOME DUCK AND PIGEON SHOOTING IN ARGENTINA. I WILL SEND YOU A REPORT AND SOME PHOTOS FROM THE HUNT WHEN I RETURN.

CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SMELL THE BURNT POWDER.

TIGHT LINES,
CAPTAIN JULIAN JAY GUSTIN

FISHING TIP OF THE WEEK: THIS WEEK'S TIP HAS TO DO WITH CATCH AND RELEASE TECHNIQUES. I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF DO'S AND DONT'S. BUT THE THING I TELL MY CREW IS, "HANDLE THE FISH YOU ARE GOING TO RELEASE JUST AS CAREFULLY AS IF YOU WERE HANDLING A NEW BORN BABY." THERE IS NO USE IN FISHING CATCH AND RELEASE IF THE FISH DOESN'T SURVIVE THE HANDLING IT RECEIVES WHILE BEING RELEASED!

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK:
BLACK MARLIN AT HANNIBAL BANK














BLACK MARLIN AT HANNIBAL BANK








TWO SMALL DORADO CAUGHT ON A POPPER AT THE SAME TIME