FISHING PANAMA

[Jay Hammer]

Many years ago, I read a story in a fishing magazine about a remote area of Panama, called Pedasi. Richard Castaneda who runs Cass Tours was the author of the article. Cass put together an organized trip to go and further explore the Panama small boat fishing. Unfortunately I was still teaching and the trip was also in the middle of Track season. However in the summer I lucked out, finding a cheap one way ticket to Mazatlan after which I hopped buses to Antigua, Guatemala where I stayed for about a month working on my Spanish. Arranging my return trip to LAX took me through Panama hence I decided to take a stopover, rent a car and discover Pedasi. I picked Cass’s brain for basic information; motel, guide, etc. before I departed since very little English was spoken in the town. What I discovered was a wonderful little pueblo with excellent fishing. The top guide was “El Negro” who I found by just walking down the main street asking “Where can I find El Negro”? In short order I was directed to his house and met the legendary guide. We fished for three days, catching tuna, Jacks and many other kinds of fish. After fishing I would be invited into his house where his wife would cook the catch in a variety of ways; con ajo, veracruzana, frito, etc. Negro would also show me all his pictures/articles from different fishing magazines where he had photos of him guiding on the Hannibal Bank around Coiba Island with other famous fishing operations.

This was ten years ago.

Last June 2008, I retired from teaching. Now I was able to travel and fish through out the year rather than just during vacations. I promptly signed up for Cass’s Tours Pedasi Fishing trip for May 2009. Cass also has a trip called “The Bad Boys Trip” which they fish Loreto and La Paz in Baja California for some “Bad Boy Fish”. I booked a Copa direct flight out of LAX. I prefer this to having to change planes in Houston and having go through immigration, customs and make a connection on the return. Leaving at Midnight, I arrived in Panama at about 10:00A.M. the next morning. Entering Panama we were all photographed which later I found out was actually a camera, which determined our temperature. People with high temperatures were pulled aside to be checked for flu as there was an influenza epidemic. Also the health department was handing out surgical masks. After passing through customs and immigration I was picked up by the Riande Aeropuerto hotel shuttle and checked into the hotel for the night. The rest of the group dribbled in throughout the day and night. In the morning at a breakfast buffet we met all the other members of the group. Ironically there were people from Indian Hills, Chino, Corona and another retired teacher from Rubidoux, Terry Snell. Small world. We also had Fly fishermen from Colorado, Salmon fishermen from Washington and fishermen from Pennsylvania; quite a mix. Well we loaded into a fairly comfortable bus and headed for Pedasi. In route we stopped at Penome to make some local purchases and a small cigar factory run by an ex Cuban. It was a nice break from the four hour ride, even though I was really not really too interested in the attraction. Arriving at Pedasi, I observed little had changed. Negro now was living in a larger house was the only major change. An interesting fact was the former female President of Panama was from this little town and her sister still ran a Panderia where the bread and cookies were always a stop. Traveling on we arrive at Hotel Villa Marina on Playa Venado. This was a wonderful small hotel on the famous Playa Venado; well known in surfing circles. After a great breakfast each morning we would meet the pangas on the beach for our fishing adventures. Highlights of my adventures was the hooking up on 500 lbs Marlin, which in 30 minutes made short work of me; broke off the line at the swivel. I actually was kind of glad it broke off as the alternative was a 6-8 hour battle in a small boat which it was towing all over the place. The down side was I lost my favorite custom Baja jig , which I may not be able to replace. Another exciting day was when I lost a 50 lbs Dorado, which straightened the treble hooks on a rapala. It would have easily won the jackpot; mala Suerte. As it was I lost the jackpot the previous day by 1/10th of a pound with a yellow fin tuna. So much for my fishing adventures on the “Tuna Coast”. After four days of fishing the salt we packed up and headed back to the city. In Panama City we checked into the Riande Continental Hotel & Casino; a most wonderful Hotel. The next day we took off for the Lago Gatun and some Peacock Bass fishing on the Canal. In little small boats with local guides we navigated the lake for the wily Peacock Bass and another fish they called Os car. The boats we fished in were very marginal. In fact the guide started the day out having engine problems; the gas he had did not have oil mixed and as a result the engine stopped. Eventually with help from his buddies, tools and advice , he was able to get it started again and head into some remote fishing area s. Then he runs over a stump creating a hole in the stern of the boat. When asked about it , he replied “the hole last week was larger”. He tore up a t shirt and plugged the hole and we continued fishing. We caught numerous fish with the little live minnows on # 4 trout hooks, which we used for bait. Others fly fished and pulled plugs; most had a very successful day. We could say we had caught Peacock Bass. That night we went out to a restaurant overlooking the locks and watched ships going through as we enjoyed our last dinner in Panama. The next day we checked out of the hotel, went to the airport and headed home. It had been a most wonderful adventure.