Panama or ?

Howard,
This is a really nice way to go.......

Comfortable cabins, excellent food, outstanding crew, and the new owner is offering a 10% discount on the December trips!

I have the best memories of the 10+ trips for TUNA that I enjoyed on Bill Poole's gorgeous EXCEL.

You'll head down the west coast of the Baja and fish the secret spots, including Guadaloupe Island. These guys live to find tuna.

Read Bill Erhardt's recent post....he's out there looking!


<<http://www.excelsportfishing.com/>>



[Edited on 12-3-2011 by Loretana]

Howard, you can't go wrong fishing the Hannibal Banks, a short offshore trip off Panama's NW Pacific Coast. It's going to rank as one of your life's best fishing trips, should you decide to go. I have named it my second 'Baja home' because of a move I'm currently making. Sadly for me, Baja's quality of fishing really doesn't compare to Panama's Pacific coast.

I posted a thread back in January about just 1 of 3 trips last winter/spring. I went with Pesca Panama and below is thier fishing report with some great photos. I'm looking forward to returning and fishing until it's dirt nap time.

Nothing can ever replace Baja Sur and it's magic, but Panama sure trys.
Good luck and Tight lines.


http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=50499
January, 2011

"To begin this non-Baja trip report I am posting the email I received a couple weeks ago from a fishing buddy who lives in the Great Northwest. It’s an invitation to fish Panama with him and some other amigos.

Hello Pompano,

I want to do this and need your help (bank account, beer drinking skills, and dim wittedness). Roger, I know you are possibly sick, vertically challenged, and drink more than your share of beer, those are your attributes and we need you, your 2 words of spanish, your quick wit to keep us out of prison and your uncanny sense of who is cooking free food. Kind of like a Lab and always welcome. I need your Norweigen sense of money distribution to keep this show focused, and your status as my blood brother, plus at your age you should have forgotten about nearly drowning in Panama, and if you haven't, that was on the North or Caribbean side, while this is on the South or Pacific side.

Rog, this mail came across while I was looking at Alaska Airlines final day sale of ticket sale to Cabo at $320 that you told me about. It was like a diety talked to me, Possibly Saint Pacifico or Saint Mack and Jack... SCREW COBO, when I can have so much fun in Panama, and I have been told that Juanita, the beautiful girl in the Casino, is still heart broken about letting her Jamal get away.

Betty Page's memorial service is on the 5th of February, 2011. On asking Jamal to attend with me, he said no, as he doubted Betty would attend his. What a clear and insightful thought. Roger Page himself, resting in peace, would insist that we do the right thing and go to Panama. When Nancy Page asked me what I thought about her new car and beautiful remodel (that Roger Page told her not to do} I told her that Roger Page was having a ‘conniption’ fit. I do not know what a 'conniption' is, but I do know that I will be in Panama as soon as I complete my construction projects. No later than the middle of March 2011

Hope you and co-pilot can come. Dr. Mike'

================================================================================

Well, little did Mike know that I have already tested the waters around Hannibal Banks, NW Panama. With a great outfitter, 'Pesca Panama'. As thier following report will show.

What does your imagination conjur up when you think of Panama's legendary Hannibal Banks? Whatever it is, the reality is better!! A real fish trap!
It's a little like the Golden Days of Baja back in the day. Now that was a time period in Baja that I would dearly love to live again.


Copy of my replying email to buddy Mike...QUOTED FROM THE FISHING REPORT OF OUR OUTFITTER..."PESCA PANAMA" just a few days ago.

TO QUOTE THE CHARTER'S REPORT:

"GREETINGS FROM THE TROPICS"

FRESHLY RESTED FROM THE HOLIDAYS, OUR CREW WAS READY TO GET BACK TO THE FISHING ACTION THIS WEEK. WE STARTED OFF WITH QUITE A DIVERSE GROUP OF FISHERMEN. MANY OF WHICH WERE OLD AMIGOS FROM THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.

THIS WEEK MARKED THE IMPLEMENTING OF PESCA PANAMA'S NEW FISHING SCHEDULE. BY THE TIME I ARRIVED IN DAVID SUNDAY EVENING OUR GUIDES HAD THE BARGE ALREADY IN POSITION IN THE PARADIAS ISLANDS AND WE WERE MET WITH A FRESH CAUGHT LOBSTER DINNER. THAT NIGHT WE LOADED UP ON LIVE BAIT. MONDAY MORNING, INSTEAD OF HEADING OFF TO WORK, WE HEADED OUT FULL OF OPTIMISM AND WITH ALL BAIT TANKS LOADED.

WE HAD GOOD FISHING THIS WEEK AND I HAVE A LOT OF GREAT PHOTOS INCLUDED IN THE REPORT OF THIS WEEK'S FISHING. THE WEATHER ALSO COOPERATED AND ALL OF US ENJOYED CALM SEAS AND PLEASANT TROPICAL WEATHER. THE WATER COLOR WAS OFF A LITTLE, TOO MUCH ON THE GREEN SIDE. THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE AROUND HANNIBAL BANK. NOT MUCH MARLIN ACTION THIS WEEK, THOUGH WE DID MANAGE TO HOOK UP TWO BLUES. ONE ATE A PLASTIC LURE BUT MANAGED TO SHAKE IT ON THE FIRST JUMP. THE SECOND BLUE, ESTIMATED TO BE IN THE 450 LB CLASS WAS BROUGHT TO THE BOAT FOR A LIVE RELEASE.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN WEN ALL HAD A PRETTY SPICY WEEK OF FISHING AS WE LANDED 26 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FISH. THE TUNA BITE WAS NOT ON BUT WE CAUGHT A COUPLE OF NICE YELLOWFIN TUNA IN THE 160 TO 180 LB RANGE. SEVERAL BIG DORADO WERE ALSO BROUGHT TO THE DINNER TABLE. BUT THE BIGGEST NEWS WAS THE NUMBER OF COLOSSAL SIZED CUBERA SNAPPERS THAT WERE CAUGHT AND RELEASED. I CAN'T REMEMBER A TIME WHEN WE EVER CAUGHT SO MANY BIG CUBERAS. OUR INSHORE ACTION THIS WEEK WAS GOOD IN ALL THE ISLAND GROUPS NEAR HANNIBAL BANKS.

"WELL, I AM GOING TO LET THE PHOTOS TELL YOU THE REST OF THE STORY OF THE FISHING IN PANAMA. HERE’S A TOAST….TO LOOKING FORWARD TO TW0 GREAT LIFETIMES OF FISHING ..THE FIRST WAS BAJA…THIS ONE’S IN PANAMA.

TIGHT LINES, AMIGOS"


PACIFIC SAIL





ISLAND HEAVEN...TIME FOR LUNCH..THIS IS WHERE THE NEW HOUSE WILL BE LOCATED




BLUE TREVALLE



SMALL WAHOO


ROCK SNAPPER


RAINBOW RUNNER


CUBERA SNAPPERS WERE HITTING GOOD..


A LITTLE DORADO ACTION..


"REEF DONKEYS"


SOME ROOSTER ACTION, TOO...


A COUPLE DECENT YELLOWFIN..BIGGEST WENT 180LBS.



MARLIN ACTION IS ALWAYS A BLAST OF SPRAY...AND A CHARGING SWORD.


SOME GOOD AJ ACTION BY DAVID


HOW'S THIS FOR A NICE CORVINA!!


MULLET SNAPPERS

'Pesca Panama' Outfitters. I highy recommend these great guys to any serious bluewater angler.



THE HANNIBAL BANKS...MY NEXT BAJA.


...BUT IT'S GONNA BE FUN TO RETURN TO THE REAL BAJA IN ABOUT A MONTH OR SO...

Going from Loreto to Panama to find big yellowfin tuna and wahoo is like going from France to California in search of fine wine. A two hour drive across the hill and a couple more hours west on the Pacific to the Ridge will put you on some of the best wahoo fishing in the Americas in the fall/winter. And as Loretana pointed out, the long range fleet out of San Diego has for years been mining the lower Ridge for big yellowfin, including a couple of years ago a 406 pounder that is the world record for sport fishing. Both of these fisheries are available to small boats launching in Mag Bay. It is not a real easy area to fish in a small boat, but that keeps the traffic down.

Both wahoo and yellowfin can also be found in the SOC out of Loreto, although not usually by following the panga fleet and soaking bait. During the 8+ years I've been in Loreto my brother and family from Oregon have often visited for a week in October. During those trips we have always, including last year, gone out at least one day and loaded up on yellowfin. On those trips there is almost never anybody else out looking (the first day). Castnreel Charters is now running trips out of Puerto Escondido with state of the art offshore sportfishers year round for tuna and marlin, and catching fish.

So, if you want to go to Panama, do it, by all means. But if you're going for tuna and wahoo keep in mind the old saw about leaving fish to find fish....

Here's a pic of a yellowfin that taped 190# caught from a small boat on the lower banks off Baja a couple of years ago:

And a 60# wahoo caught out of Loreto and photographed by Alejandro at La Picazon, with Brownie standing guard.

My sister-in-law from Oregon in the bow of my 17' McKee Craft with Isla Coronado in the background and a load of yellowfin caught within 25 miles of the marina in Loreto one October day.

My brother and nephew at the marina with yellowfin and dorado caught another October day more recently. On this day we also released ten sailfish.