MACHO AND THE MANTA RAY

CAPTAIN MACHO KNEW WHAT EVER IT WAS IT HAD TO BE BIG!  THE ANGLER, EVERT, WAS GIVING IT HIS BEST. THE 50 TO 80 POUND CLASS STAND-UP ROD REMAINED BENT OVER THE GUNNELS UNTIL IT STARTED TO SPLIT.  STILL THE ANGLER FOUGHT THE UNKNOWN MONSTER IN THE SEA.  WHEN THE HOOKED OBJECT NEARED THE BOAT IT WAS A MAMMOTH  SIZED MANTA RAY THAT HAD SOMEHOW MANAGED TO GET THE 18/0 CIRCLE HOOK IN IT'S MOUTH. WHAT IS SO STRANGE ABOUT THIS IS, FOR THOSE OF YOUR WHO DON'T ALREADY KNOW,  MANTA RAYS ARE PLANKTON EATERS.  AFTER THE MAMMOTH SIZED MANTA RAY WAS RELEASED  CAPTAIN MACHO WAS ASK, " HOW MANY OF THESE HAVE YOU EVER HOOKED?"  HE REPLIED, "THIS WAS MY FIRST ONE IN MY 32 YEARS OF FISHING!
 
ANGLERS THIS WEEK INCLUDED BRUCE HASKINS, MIKE COLVILLE, EVERT BROWN, ROBERTO AMATUZZI, WERNECK BERTO, GUSTAVO VAQUERO, HERBERT SCHMEIL, THRAGO AND CAIO CARRANO, NICK PATSALOS AND NICK MARAVEYIAS.  A MIXED GROUP OF ANGLERS FROM BRAZIL AND THE U.S.  HALF OF THE BRAZILIAN ANGLERS WERE HERE FOR THEIR SECOND TIME HAVING FISHED WITH PESCA PANAMA LAST SUMMER.

SO FROM MANTA RAYS TO MANGROVE SNAPPERS OR ANGLERS THIS WEEK CAUGHT JUST ABOUT EVERY KIND OF THE THIRTY SOME ODD FISH THAT SWIM IN THIS AREA.  WHERE AS FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS OUR ANGLING EFFORTS HAVE MAINLY BEEN OFFSHORE, THIS WEEK WE HAD TWO GROUPS OF ANGLERS THAT LIKE TO THROW POPPERS AND DROP JIGS, THIS WAS THE BRAZILIAN BOYS. THE TWO GREEK ANGLERS, NICK AND NICK,  LIKE TO BOTTOM FISH AND OUR FOURTH BOAT HAD SALMON ANGLERS FROM OREGON THAT WENT FOR THE BIG OFFSHORE STUFF, LIKE MANTA RAYS AND BLACK AND BLUE MARLIN.

INSHORE CASTING WITH POPPERS WAS PRODUCTIVE AS ROOSTERFISH WITH THEIR RAISED COMBS ATTACKED THE POPPERS.  LIKEWISE THE COLORFUL CUBERA SNAPPERS WERE NOT BASHFUL THIS WEEK AS THEY ALSO CRASHED THE BAITS.  JACK CREVALLE, BLUE TREVALLE, HORSE EYE JACK AND POMPANO HELPED OUT AS THEY ALSO TOOK THEIR SHOT AT THE POPPERS PRESENTED TO THEM.

BOTTOM JIGGING PRODUCED A WHOLE HOST OF FISH BUT THE MOST KNEE BUCKLING WAS THE AMBERJACKS, AKA REEF DONKEYS.  ONE OF OUR ANGLERS ASK ME, "HOW DOES A FISH ON THIS SIZE MANAGE TO HAVE SO MUCH POWER?"  ALONG WITH AMBERJACKS OUR BOTTOM FISHERMEN LANDED SIERRA MACKEREL, YELLOW SNAPPER, ROCK SNAPPER, WHITE TIP SHARK, MULLET SNAPPER, MANGROVE SNAPPER, FORTUNE JACK, RED SNAPPER, SILK SNAPPER, RAINBOW RUNNER, SPOTTED GROUPER, WAHOO AND BARRACUDA.

OFFSHORE THE BLACK MARLIN THIS WEEK WERE ALL IN THE 500 LB CLASS WHERE AS THE BLUE MARLIN WERE IN THE 300 TO 350 LB CLASS.  HANNIBAL BANK WAS THE SCENE OF THE OFFSHORE ACTION THIS WEEK.  LOTS OF BIG SAILFISH CONTINUE TO BE IN THE AREA AS WELL AS BIG DORADO.  SEVERAL YELLOWFIN TUNA WERE CAUGHT THIS WEEK AND CAPTAIN LUCHO'S ANGLERS MISSED HOOKING TWO GIANT YELLOWFINS ON POPPERS. TWO YELLOWFIN, ONE 120 LBS AND THE OTHER 150 LBS WERE CAUGHT BY JIGGING.

THE WEATHER ONCE AGAIN WAS COOPERATING THIS WEEK AS WE FISHED IN LIGHT BREEZES AND CALM SEAS.  GREAT ACTION, GREAT FUN AND A GREAT TIME FISHING WITH PESCA PANAMA.  THANKS TO OUR ANGLERS FOR COMING AND HOPE TO SEE FISHING WITH US ON ANOTHER TIDE.

TIGHT LINES,
CAPTAIN JULIAN JAY GUSTIN

FISHING TIP ON THE WEEK:  THIS WEEKS' TIP IS NOT ABOUT THE FISH OR THE TACKLE BUT CONCERNS THE HEALTH OF THE ANGLER.  THIS COMES TO MIND FROM A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE HAD HAPPEN THIS WEEK.  THE FIRST WAS ONE OF OUR ANGLERS CAME DOWN WITH A HIGH FEVER AND A TERRIBLE SORE THROAT.  HE DID NOT HAVE ANY MEDICINE WITH HIM.  WE DOCTORED HIM THE BEST WE COULD BUT IT WAS DECIDED THAT HE NEEDED TO BE REMOVED FROM THE BARGE AND TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.  IF HE HAD THE MEDICINE HE NEEDED HE MIGHT JUST HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP THE INFECTION BEFORE IT ENDED HIS FISHING TRIP.  THE SECOND ANGLER HAD ANOTHER TYPE OF PROBLEM COMMON TO PEOPLE WHO TRAVEL.  HE WAS CONSTIPATED.  HE WAS NOT REALLY WORRIED UNTIL THE THIRD DAY WHEN HE NOTICED HIS BLUE EYES STARTED TURNING BROWN.  I GAVE HIM A GOOD DOUBLE DOSE OF EX-LAX WE HAD ONBOARD AND IN ABOUT EIGHT HOURS EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO WORKING AS NORMAL.  SO MY TRAVELING TIP TO YOU IS THIS,  BRING THE MEDICINES YOU MIGHT NEED WHEN TAKING A TRIP.  IF YOU ARE RUNNING A FEVER OF 104 AND ARE SO FULL OF SHIT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD EXPLODE AT ANY MOMENT, MY GUESS IS YOU AREN'T GOING TO BE HAVING A GOOD TIME FISHING NO MATTER HOW MANY FISH YOU CATCH!