I have just got back from my annual pilgrimage to Panama ~ my 6th trip to my happy place with my tropical fishing partner Phil Crank (from the UK), where we throw lures, meet old friends and new friends, eat the best seafood and fish in the most beautiful location I have ever visited. Panamas Pearl Islands are still wild, 90% untouched and full of sea life and wildlife like you cannot imagine! I will keep doing these trips as long as I am fit enough and can afford them lol.
I first met Charles-Henri Canto at the Salon de la Pêche in Nantes in about 2008, and we have stayed in touch ever since. When Charles said he was setting up a camp in Panama I said I would get out to fish with him as soon as I had finished a few trips to Oman first. So apart from the Covid years I have managed to get out to see Charles for 6 trips now, and have a couple more already booked!
The fishing was quite hard. I know it looks like a turkey shoot but believe me there are a lot of casts in a day, from 7am leaving the marina and we get back about 4.30pm. I think this years trip we had a lot of algae and plankton in the water, which is great as it brings out the sardines etc, but this also means the fish have a lot to feed on so makes it just that bit harder to trick them in to taking your lure. I really wouldn't care if I hardly caught anything though, I have been going long enough to know you are only a cast away from a tough day to a trip making fish..... and this is what happened on my final day. NEVER GIVE UP!
After a few trips out there and managing to catch most of the fish I wanted to get there, my target this year was for two "red" fish that had eluded me. The Anchotillo Snapper and the Silk Snapper. Well Well I got the "Anchot" on day one, which made me happy, but the silk snapper (the one below with the white stripes) took me nearly all week but got a couple in one day. I switched out and started using a sinking hard lure (Duo Blazin 110) because it weighs 60g and I was counting it down to run it along the bottom in about 75ft of water. This takes practice and patience but at least you are getting a small profile lure right down on the reef and mis-water.... it works! You can see my light rod set-up behind me with the Duo Blazin on the eye, that Sardine Red Belly is a great colour.
This Silk Snapper below, was taken a few days later but using the same method, but on my intermediate rod.
So the lodge always loans you the rods as they are sponsored by Tenryu. A very handy thing to know, as it is a nightmare travelling with rod tubes for all sorts of reasons. But this year I wanted to "test" a new rod that I love the feel of in the shop, so I took one with me and seeing I had a tube I thought ~sod it~ I will take my intermediate, heavy and jigging rod too! So my new Tenryu Red Light gat to travel. I normally use a Tenryu Diablo GR Evo, a brilliant rod albeit softer due to more fiberglass, a handy thing to have when lending the rods to so many visitors. Charles said he loves the Red Fisht but it is too fast and too much carbon to lend to excited customs, it just wouldn't be forgiving enough to risk with the punters, and I get it.
Well, what rod! Light, crisp, sensitive and I used all lures on it from softies, diving lures and metals being cast and vertical. Here is the rod, if you are wondering then click HERE
It states it is a 60lb class rod, I personally don't know where they got that rating from, in my opinion it is a 40lb heavy spinning rod, but in all fairness it caught me some big fish by the end of the week and I think it could have taken more. Maybe it is just the slimness of the blank that makes me think more 40lb than 60lb.... I don't know. Anyway, for an 8ft slim rod that casts 90g and jigs 180g (120g I found OK I didn't jig more)
So here are a few fish I got during the week, there were lots more of course but I only take pictures of fish I have not caught before, or if they are my PB or if they gave me a good scrap lol.
This Bonito went well and I had never seen one so white, so took a picture. It took a shallow running Tackle House K-Ten BKS 140, a great lure out in the hot places.
I took the picture below of a jack crevalle because it was the first fish I hooked on my new Malosi Staple Tyrant popper. I had taken 3 sizes with me, this is the small version at 120mm and weighing 35g. Outstanding lures that I hope to be stocking very soon.
A couple of other fish on the first couple of days that gave me a good scrap and I was happy to catch. I had rigged some Madness Mad Shad 130s on some 80g jig heads just to try. Well they worked a treat on a slow straight retrieve. Basically how I fish for pollack at home, just keep a steady wind on and let them hook themselves. A nice broom tail grouper and amber jack on this method.
So to wrap it up I shall tell you what I learnt from this trip. The Tenryu Red Light is my new favourite light rod out there. I need to take more 60g, 80g and 100g vertical slow/fast jigs with me (as I only had 120g upwards but the skippers have found some shallower reefs for jigging), and lastly.... NEVER GIVE UP!! I had two very slow days with very little caught, it wears you down, makes you think you are doing it wrong or the place has no fish. Well, continue doing what you do, have confidence.
The last day was my red letter day, I'd not caught much for two days but the Dunkirk spirit was in me. Always stick to the plan. First reef the skipper says "Do you have any 80g metal jigs?" No, but I have a 60g Savage Gear Psycho Sprat that I brought for a casting jig. Anyhoo, I strapped that on and first drop I must have landed in the Broom Tail Groupers mouth as it was on instantly. What a scrap on my Red Light! Took me a good 20 minutes+, the fish held me on the bottom, I'd get some line back then it would sod off back to bottom. Well I eventually got her to the boat and saw she was just lip hooked! The lure just fell out. One very happy camper after two days of next to nothing I assure you! 44lb on the light rod was epic I will never forget this fish.
So a good start, then a few more fish here and there as we moved about the islands, then out to one of my favourite reefs that is deeper so I popped over to a 120g metal that I had bought off Terry at Jigabite. It didn't take long and I was into a decent AJ, and very happy with this one of about 25 to 30lb I suppose. They are dogs, they fight so well I do love them.
And to round off a great last day I switched back to the Red Fight and Duo Blazin and only went and winkled out a nice Cubera Snapper ton the light set-up.
I do love Panama, am so lucky to be able to do this as part of my job lol. I always say to lure anglers, treat yourself one day to one of these kind of trips, we are a long time dead boys x