It’s sailfish time!

Panama’s waters are starting to cool down, which means the edge where the reef meets the open sea becomes our favorite fishing zone. Why? Because huge schools of baitfish, minnows, sardines, and our favorite, blue runners, start to form. They become a magnet for big fish.

As we get closer to the islands, we move from waters deeper than 60 meters to structure averaging between 24 and 12 meters. The abundant upwelling creates nutrient-rich waters.

As our fishing guides suggest, always work these areas before heading in to swim at the islands. In our trolling spread, we mainly use sinkers and deep-diving lures; however, we always leave one surface lure out, either a teaser lure or a fake squid with a nice skirt for the occasional pelagic like mahi-mahi, tuna, or billfish.

Sailfish – Catch and release

This time, sailfish was the species of the moment. It was a monster weighing over 45 kilos! It struck our outside surface lure in about 18 meters of water. Our client grabbed the rod immediately, and we reeled in all the other lines. As always, the rest of the family started cheering the angler on so the sailfish wouldn’t get away.

It was an intense battle with several strong runs on the line, but our angler never gave up. We managed to bring the sailfish alongside the boat and take a few photos with our trophy monster; the crew grabbed it by the bill, removed the hook, stabilized it in the water, and moved slowly ahead until we saw the fish was lively again, then released it successfully.

We decided to stay a little longer trolling around the structure, reefs, and bait balls, and we managed to get a few more bites, including tuna and mahi-mahi.

What a magical day at sea aboard Gem Charters! Watch the video of the catch-and-release experience here.

Our captain knows the best fishing spots. Want to book a trip? Contact us on WhatsApp

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