Panama Fishing Report - Black Marlin Sailfish & Tuna at Isla Montuosa! - February 2014

Jimmy Vincent booked a last minute trip as a gift for his wife Laura so she could get a Roosterfish that she was looking to catch. He was also looking to target a Marlin for an empty space on the wall of his trophy room back in Orange, Texas. We only had three days to get both done and we succeeded! The first day was a bit slow and we had an issue getting bait...Bluerunners which have been unusually hard to catch this year...and are essential to success when hunting Roosterfish but we still did alright with a nice Cubera and Spanish Mackerel. We did get a few baits the second day after really trying hard to find them and it paid off for a nice Rooster for Laura! On the last day we headed to Isla Montuosa...tagged and released a 400# Black Marlin and caught a few nice Dorados up to 40#s. It ended up being a great trip. Fishing with Jimmy and Laura was a pleasure as they are really dedicated sportsman and great people.

The next group of guys, also from Texas, were great to fish with as well but the action was a bit slow. Jim and Galen Pruett along with Jerry Grubbs fished with me for 5 days primarily offshore and unfortunately the bite was slow. The first day started off with a bang. We pegged a 250# plus Black Marlin for a tag and release for Jim, missed another bigger Marlin that popped the leader, and got a few nice Dorados! It continued to be tough to catch Bluerunners as baits, although we did get a few, and the fishing the days after were slow. The following days we did get a couple Almaco Jacks, a Roosterfish, and a nice Blue Trevalle that Galen was looking to catch. The bite offshore that had been so great the week prior seemed to shut right off and it was tough fishing with these guys although we had a good time. Uhhh-Huh!

 

Kay Larsen and Steve Wightman joined us next and the fishing picked back up a bit. These two, from my home state of Indiana, were glad to be down here enjoying the warm weather. We had some decent action with Pacific Sailfish, Dorado, and even ran into some early season Yellowfin Tunas. Kay had her sites set on a Marlin but we were unable to get it done as they just were not home at Isla Montuosa or Hannibal Bank that week.

Ben, Charlie, Bill, and Doug all buddies from their college days joined us next to search for the Tunas and action offshore. The trip started off on the first day as we pegged a BIG Yellowfin Tuna at Isla Montuosa. Ben, Charlie, and Bill all took turns battling the fish for two and a half hours. Once the fish finally got to the boat...my mate Johnny wired the Tuna boatside and we could see he was close to 200#s! I hit him with my Aftco fiberglass tapered gaff but fish was obviously still green and jetted directly at...and just below the boat at just the right angle with amazing power enough to snap the gaff and then pop the line!! Bummer! The days after that unfortunately we didn't do much better but these guys were good friends, and good sports, and I think had a great time even though the fishing was slow.

Our last group in February with Sandy, Warren, and the boys from Maryland saw the water temps offshore skyrocket and the action was again kind of slow. Warren tagged & released a monster Pacific Sailfish that must have been 150#s but we really a whole lot more action.

Many thanks to all our clients for their business and we hope that they enjoyed the sportfishing experience here at our island lodge in Panama!

Enjoy the pics....