A ROWDY CROWD ARRIVED AT PESCA PANAMA THIS WEEK. WHILE MOST OF THE CHARACTERS WERE FROM COLORADO, WE HAD ANGLERS WHO HAILED FROM AS FAR AWAY AS CUBA. IT WAS DR. TOM DALSASO AND HIS SON DR.TOM JR'S THIRD TRIP TO FISH WITH PESCA PANAMA. THE ANGLERS THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM INCLUDED TIM DALSASO, MIKE THIBAULT, JEFF FERGUSON, DEAN VENEZIA, DOUG FOOTE, JIM BEE, CHRIS BEE, JIM MCCLELLAN, DAVID PETERSON, TIM MASON, RAMIRO RAMIREZ, TOM COBB, MATT CRADDOCK AND STUART RANNEY. WE HAD A BARGE LOAD!

"THE TUNA WERE FLYING THROUGH THE AIR"

IT WAS A YELLOWFIN TUNA WEEK! CAPTAIN TATIN'S ANGLERS CAME IN WITH THE FIRST GOOD FISHING REPORT, ELEVEN YELLOWFIN TO 180 LBS. THIS "BITE" WENT OFF FIVE MILES SOUTH OF ISLA LA DRONES. THE TUNA WERE PICKY EATERS THIS DAY AND POPPERS AND JIGS WERE JUST NOT GETTING HIT. BUT THE TUNA WERE JUST, "LICKING THEIR LIPS," FOR LIVE BLUE RUNNERS AND CAPTAIN TATIN HAD A BAIT TANK FULL OF THEM!

THE NEXT DAY THE TUNA WERE HUNGRY FOR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU THREW AT THEM. AGAIN CAPTAIN TATIN WAS ON THE "BITE" AND HIS ANGLERS CAUGHT SEVEN YELLOWFIN TUNA TO 180 POUNDS WITH THE LARGEST FISH TAKEN ON A POPPER. CAPTAIN TOMMY'S ANGLERS CAUGHT TEN YELLOWFIN TUNA, CAPTAIN MACHO'S ANGLERS HAD BOATED TWO YELLOWFIN, ONE WEIGHTED 130 POUNDS AND THE OTHER 150 POUNDS, BOTH CAUGHT ON JIGS. THIS WAS AFTER THE TUNA HAD BROKEN TWO OF OUR SMALLER JIG RODS! CAPTAIN SERIO'S ANGLERS, WHILE JIGGING, HOOKED-UP THREE MORE YELLOWFIN WITH THE LARGEST WEIGHTING 180 POUNDS. SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF 180 LB YELLOWFIN THIS WEEK. THEN THEY ADDED SEVERAL JACK CREVALLE, TWO AMBERJACKS AND A COUPLE OF GROUPERS TO THE MIXED BAG. CAPTAIN LUCHO REPORTED HIS ANGLERS CAUGHT THIRTEEN YELLOWFIN AND THEN FINISHED OFF WITH A NICE ROOSTERFISH ROUNDING OFF THE DAY. IT WAS ONLY DAY TWO AND THE ANGLERS ARMS WERE ACHING, RODS HAD BEEN SNAPPED, REELS SPOOLED AND EVERYONE WAS HAVE A GREAT TIME!

DAY THREE AND A LOT OF THE ANGLERS WANTED TO MOVE INSHORE SO THEY COULD GIVE THEIR A BATTERED BODIES A REST FROM THE TUNA ACTION. SO THIS DAY MOST OF THE BOATS HEADED FOR A DAY OF INSHORE FISHING IN THE ISLANDS OF JICRON AND JICARITA. BUT IT WAS NOT TO BE. CAPTAIN TOMMY AND HIS ANGLERS WERE THE FIRST ONES BACK TO THE BARGE WITH THE REPORT THAT ONCE AGAIN THEY WERE INTO THE TUNA, CATCHING 15 YELLOWFIN TO 130 POUNDS. RAMIRO TOOK A 20 POUND YELLOWFIN ON HIS FLY ROD. JIM WAS ALSO SUCCESSFUL ON LANDING A YELLOWFIN ON A FLY.

ROOSTERFISH UP AND GROUPERS DOWN

LOTS OF ROOSTERFISH WERE CAUGHT THIS WEEK WHILE POPPING AROUND THE ROCKS. BUT THE STRANGE THING WAS WAS THERE WERE NOT A LOT OF CUBERA SNAPPERS MIXED IN WITH THE ROOSTERS. WE ALSO CAUGHT MORE GROUPERS THAN USUAL. BUTTERFLY JIGS WERE THE LURE OF CHOICE FOR THIS. CAPTAIN TOMMY'S ANGLERS CAUGHT TWELVE GROUPERS ONE DAY AND I AM PROUD OF ANNOUNCE THAT NINE OF THEM WERE RETURNED LIVE TO THE OCEAN. OF COURSE THE OTHER THREE FOUND THEIR WAY TO THE DINNER TABLE. TO ME THERE IS NOT A BETTER EATING FISH THAT FRESH GROUPER!

THOUGH THE SEAS WERE CALM THIS WEEK, OUR CAPTAINS FOUND COLD, GREEN WATER ON HANNIBAL BANK AND IN MOST AREAS. WE ALSO ENCOUNTERED RED TIDE AROUND MONTUOSA ISLAND. THESE WATER CONDITIONS DO NOT HELP THE FISHING. BUT JUST THE SAME OUR ANGLERS FISHED HARD AND CAUGHT A BOAT LOAD OF FISH THIS WEEK. THANKS GUYS!

TIGHT LINES,
CAPTAIN JULIAN JAY GUSTIN

FISHING TIP OF THE WEEK: IF YOU ARE GOING TO COME TO FISH WITH PESCA PANAMA, I HELPS IF YOU GET IN SHAPE. THIS IS EVEN MORE SO IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE FISHING FOR YELLOWFIN TUNA. WE CAUGHT SOME TUNA THIS WEEK WHERE THE ROD WAS PASSED OFF AS MANY AS FIVE TIMES. NOW I AM NOT CRITICIZING ANY OF OUR ANGLERS THAT ARE NOT IN SHAPE. I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT!

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: