I've never been fishing on the sea before so this was all new to me. I departed Panama City for David then up the river and offshore to the Hannibal Bank.

This is the ship I stayed on. Its called the Coral Star. It was actually rather old but the people were nice and the food was above average.



I fished out of this Pursuit. It had a skipper who did all the thinking and a mate who did most of the work.



I was surprised to see that there were islands this far off shore.



I caught this Rooster fish near one island.



Here is one of the Dorado that I caught. They turn different colors - greens - blues etc. This one is now in its silver mode. I think its a female.



My Amberjack - caught while trolling for bait.



Here is the most fun I had. I caught this snapper on a fly rod. Unfortunately I later learned it might have set an IGFA record for fly rod - 15 lb. leader - another fisherman told me this as we were eating it.



These fellows were always around when we were in an area of fish. They like the bow wave for some reason - I guess because they are flipper and they can.



I'll not bore you with the others - nothing really special anyway.

I tried to catch a Black Marlin and we had one on for about 30 seconds but he threw the lure.

This trip was a lot of fun and Panama sure has been cleaned up since we grabbed Noriega in 88. I will probably never go back but everyone should try it once.

How much did the fishing cost you?

Boilerroom,
It was $2,750 and I think I spent another $500 or so on meals, casino loosings in Panama City (shouldn't have had that last drink), single malt scotch at the duty free shop in Panama City, tips etc.

My cost included airfare from Missouri to Panama City then to David and the return trip. It also included the Hotel in Panama City (A Weston - Caesar Park) and all meals except those in Panama City. It also included all transportation both ways from the airport to the hotel-they meet you at the airport and guide you through, retreive your luggage etc.

It included liquor "in moderation" on the ship - in short it included everything except the meals in Panama City and tips to the skipper, mate and staff on the Coral Star.

The trip included 5 days of fishing. I actually only fished 4 1/2 and took an afternoon off to do some sea kyaking and walking the beach on an island. Those beaches are full of glass fishing balls and other junk that has floated over from China, Japan and Vietnam. Im not a diver but they would take you diving if you want.

Here is a link to the Coral Star site. There are probably better firms though - at least it would bear some looking into.

http://www.coralstar.com/coral_star_faqs.html

Thanks

Great pics. Thanks for posting. KMule and others highly recommend Costa Rica too.