THE AREA AROUND JICARITA ISLAND WAS WHERE THE YELLOWFIN TUNA BITE WAS GOING OFF THIS WEEK. SEVERAL OF OUR BOATS WERE IN THE AREA INSHORE FISHING WHEN THEY HAPPENED UPON SCHOOLS OF TUNA BREAKING THE SURFACE. OUT CAME THE POPPERS, THE CASTING BEGAN AND OUR ANGLERS WERE HOOKING UP. MOST OF THE YELLOWFIN WERE IN THE 20 TO 60 LB. RANGE WITH THE LARGEST CAUGHT AROUND 90 LBS.. THIS IS WHAT I CONSIDER A FUN SIZE TUNA TO CATCH ON POPPERS AND A SPINNING ROD. AT THE END OF THE WEEK OUR ANGLERS HAD SOME SORE ARMS AND ACHING MUSCLES. IT WAS A GREAT WEEK FOR CATCHING YELLOWFIN TUNA ON A POPPER!

THIS WEEK WAS LIKE OLD HOME WEEK WITH A FEW NEW ANGLERS MIXED IN. FROM CALIFORNIA WE WELCOMED BACK BOB WAIT AND GARY CHANEY. IT WAS THEIR FIFTH TIME TO FISH WITH PESCA PANAMA. THEN FROM NEW YORK WE HAD THE TWO DOCS, MIKE PELL AND TED MARLETTI, IT WAS THEIR SEVENTH TIME TO FISH WITH US. IN THIS SAME GROUP WAS TOM ROUSSEAS, HIS FOURTH TIME, AND HIS FISHING PARTNER AL ALBANO. NEXT WAS OUR NEW ANGLERS FROM THE PACIFIC NW: DAN LETT; GARY KISSLING; LES, SANTA CLAUS, THORSEN; FRANK LAMB AND JIM SHAFFER.

THE "NEW" GUYS HAD BROUGHT A LOT OF THEIR SALMON TACKLE WITH THEM AND WANTED TO TRY IT OUT ON OUR INSHORE FISHING. IN FACT INSHORE FISHING WAS THEIR THING. OF COURSE I ASSURED THEM THEY WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF FISHING. SOME OF THE OTHER ANGLERS WERE ALSO INTO THE INSHORE FISHING THIS WEEK AND THE FISH WERE COOPERATING. LES CAUGHT SEVERAL ROOSTERFISH WITH THE LARGEST WEIGHTING 75 LBS. HE ALSO HAD SEVERAL CUBERA SNAPPERS WITH THE LARGEST IN THE 50 LB. RANGE. BOB LANDED A ROOSTER THAT WOULD ALSO GO IN THE 50 LB. CLASS. BOTH AL AND GARY LANDED CUBERA SNAPPERS IN THE 50 LB. RANGE. THESE ANGLERS EVEN MANAGED TO LAND A COUPLE OF WAHOO, WHICH ARE SCARCE THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.

DORADO WERE TO BE FOUND OFFSHORE THIS WEEK. TOM AND AL BOTH CAUGHT SEVERAL GOOD SIZED DORADO IN THE 40 TO 45 LB. RANGE. THESE GUYS ALSO GOT IN ON THE TUNA BITE AND TOM LANDED THE LARGEST YELLOWFIN OF THE WEEK, A 180 LB. TUNA CAUGHT AT MONTUOSA ISLAND. THEY ALSO CAUGHT SEVERAL GOOD SIZED ROOSTERFISH.

MARLIN WERE TO BE FOUND THIS WEEK BUT NOT IN THE HIGH NUMBERS WE HAVE BEEN SEEING. TED CAUGHT AND RELEASED A BLACK MARLIN THAT WAS IN THE 600 LB. CLASS. GARY AND BOB HOOKED UP SEVERAL BLACKS BUT THEY MANAGED TO GET OFF BEFORE THEY COULD GET THE LEADER AND MAKE IT A CONFIRMED CATCH. ON ONE OF THE BIG BLACK MARLIN, THEY HAD THE LEADER CLEAR OF THE WATER, THE DRAG WAS BUTTONED ALL THE WAY DOWN AS THEY PUT MAXIMUM PRESSURE ON THE FISH TO GET IT TO THE BOAT. JUST AS THE MATE REACHED FOR THE LEADER THE MARLIN PUT ON A MASSIVE SURGE OF POWER AS IT SOUNDED AND THE LINE PARTED FASTER THAN THE CREW COULD REACT TO THE RAPIDLY CHANGING SITUATION. BUT THESE TWO FISHERMEN MADE UP FOR IT WHEN THEY LANDED 28 YELLOWFIN IN ONE DAY! OH, THEY ALSO HOOKED ONE YELLOWFIN THAT HIT A POPPER AND NEVER STOPPED. THEY SAID THE TUNA WAS JUST HITTING THE TOP OF THE WAVES AS IT IT SPOOLED A STELLA 10,000!

TIGHT LINES,
CAPTAIN JULIAN JAY GUSTIN

FISHING TIP OF THE WEEK: DAVE BERTOLOZZI OF YO-ZURI LURES HAS JUST NOTIFIED PESCA PANAMA THAT THEY ARE COMING OUT WITH A NEW LINE OF LURES CALLED THE, "SASHIMI LURES." THERE ARE THREE NEW DESIGNS IN THE SASHIMI LINE; THE SASHIMI MINNOW, THE SASHIMI SLIDER AND THE SASHIMI BULL. IT IS THE BULL MODEL THAT REALLY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. IT IS A 6" POPPING LURE THAT WEIGHTS 2 1/2 OZS, CHANGES COLORS, HAS RATTLES, FEATURES THROUGH WIRE CONSTRUCTION AND COMES WITH 2X HOOKS. NOW I ASK, WHAT ELSE COULD AN ANXIOUS ANGLER WANT? TO GET A LOOK AT THESE LURE VISIT THEIR WEB SITE AT WWW.YO-ZURI.COM. BRING SOME WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME FISHING, THEY GOT TO BE GREAT!