Back from Pesca Panama

Just got back from Pesca Panama after joining my nephews, Bobby Correll of Bay Head, N.J. and Todd Correll from Fort Lauderdale on a charter for family and friends. Bobby and I got off to a great start as we released six roosterfish up to an estimated 45 pounds on live blue runners we had caught on Sabicki rigs last Sunday morning on the way out with one of the Oceanmaster center consoles from David to the barge.
The next morning we got into some yellowfin tuna at famed Hannibal Bank. God must have been looking out for me as I caught two tuna suitable for an old man on stand-up conventional tackle (about 45 and 80 pounds), but Bobby had no luck casting poppers. The following morning we were into tuna in very deep waters off Jicaron where I got involved with a 100-pounder that hit a live blue runner on a relatively light Shimano spinning tackle. It went straight down and tied me up for 1 1/2 hours before I could stop the runs down by holding on to the braid and turning the tuna. Later in the morning, Bobby and Todd made short work of an exciting double of 60-to-70-pounders on poppers. The most unusual catch was yet to come. I’ll post that tomorrow.