The Crew from Gass Productions came down last week to shoot a episode about spearfishing for there series “Rod and a Ruckack” which will air on major networks in the US and the UK. We went out to Isla Montuosa for 6 days, and unfortuanetly the weather just would not cooperate. December’s weather down here can be a roll of the dice as it is the tail end of the rainy season. For us the dice did not roll in our favor, but we made the best of the trip and got some diving in as well as some Rod and Reel Fishing. We boated Amberjack, Trevally, Mullet snapper, Mahi Mahi, some small yellowfin and had a hook up with a billfish. I saw a nice wahoo on one of the highspots off of Montuosa, but they just didn’s seem to be around in numbers. The Crew from Gass (Andy, Guy and Dan) were a pleasure to be around and had some amazing stories from there travels in search of fish for the filming of there series. They are some truely talented characters, and i look foward to watching the series when it airs. You can check out there website at this link: http://www.gassproductions.co.uk/ Its also worth checking out the trailer from there first episode which aired on WFN in the US. Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/7431831 Enjoy the photos and stay tuned for more trip reports!
We hit up my favorite local spot again today to shoot some fish to put on the dinner table. I love diving this spot when it is really murky, you never know what is going to materialize out of the gloom. I was able to shoot three snook and a decent pargo. Nothing massive, but plenty of table fare for us and the neighbors. We are going offshore for a week soon, so stay tuned for the trip report.
We are currently gearing up for our first Isla Montuosa/Hannibal bank trip of the season. The weather has been good and so have the fishing reports. I jumped in on a local spot today and was able to pop a few snapper for dinner in just a couple of dives. Stay tuned for some offshore reports.
This is definetly one of my favorite photos from this past season. I took this photo on the first day of one of our trips with a group of clients who came down from Mexico. The Bank was loaded with bait that day and we all witnessed mother nature at her finest.
Here is a overview of the equipment that I have used to land many yellow fin tuna, ten of them being over 100 pounds, the biggest weighing in at 269 pounds. Though this set up has worked for me, everyone’s personal set up varies, and there is no real right or wrong way. The set up I use could be considered a minimal set up. The advantages being that it is a little easier to travel with and get in and out of the boat. I will start with a description of the gun I use. The main gun I use for shooting yellow fin tuna is the Andre Gold 160. It is made out of teak, has a wing kit, a open track and is 64 inches long. It comes stock with 4 5/8th bands, and a 5/16th shaft that is 67 inches long. I add a fifth band to the gun, as well as a shorter shaft. I like to shoot a 65 inch shaft with a 5/16th slip tip. A 5/16th shaft can be considered kind of thin for shooting tuna with, but I feel I get a bit more distance with the lighter shaft versus a thicker one. The obvious draw backs to the thinner shafts are the fact that they bend a lot easier and don’t gain as much momentum after leaving the track of the gun. I rig the gun with stainless cable instead of mono. Now onto my floatline/float set up. I use the Riffe 2 atmosphere float coupled with a 75 foot hard float line attached to a ten foot bungie that stretches to 40 feet. I love the riffe 2 atmos float, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to shoot big pelagic fish. It is built very tough, is easy to travel with, has 95 pounds of lift when fully inflated and can be submerged up to 66 feet (2 atmospheres) deep before it “implodes”. The one drawback to this float is the fact that in order for it to be filled to its full capacity, a compressor must be used. Though the floatline/float set up I use has been successful in landing some large tuna, I will say that the biggest one I killed (269 pounds) buried the riffe float down to about 40 feet and at one point I thought I was going to lose all my gear. This being said I’m not sure what would happen with a larger fish in the three hundred pound range. I have often thought about making the switch to a 75 foot bungie versus the hard float line. I know a lot of guys who prefer the bungies over the hard float lines, and when perusing large game fish it is always smart to beef up your equipment as much as possible so as not to lose the chance at a once in a lifetime fish. To play it safe, I would recommend a bungie in the 75 to 100 foot range coupled with a riffe 2 atmos float as well as a second float to trail the riffe float.
Last winter was the first full season for Spearfishing Panama. Though there were some kinks to be figured out, it was a succesfull season with big fish and happy clients. Many first time tunas were landed, as well as personal bests. We had some truly incredible days out on The Hannibal Bank and around Isla Montuosa. Many of our clients were lucky enough to bear witness to mother nature at her finest. Giant schools of spinner dolphins with tuna in tow. Bait balls as big as a house being picked to peices by apex predators, and dramatic underwater pinacles surrounded by dozens of different species of fish. The beauty surrounding Isla Montuosa and the area is unparralled. Please enjoy the following collection of photos from this past season…….
Welcome to the spearfishing panama blog. The plan with this blog is to keep all interested spearos up to date with our current happenings including fish reports, available trip dates as well as gear reviews and video footage that we put together.
