Rio Casiquiare System..Giant Peacock Bass

 

Rumors are abound that the Rio Casiquiare system in Venezuela which includes the Rio Pasiba and Rio Pasimoni, will soon open for sport fishing.  This system was popular in the 1990s and was known to produce giant peacocks surpassing the magical 20 lbs.  The Casiquiare is a tributary of the Orinoco flowing southward to the Rio Negro.  It forms a canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems.  Unfortunately, I was not able to go with a bunch of friends who were some of lucky anglers to wet a line there.  These rivers have not seen a lure for decades!  So, hopefully the rumors are true.  Contact columbiapesca@gmail.com for more information on this amazing peacock bass destination.  

PANAFISHING LODGE, PEDASI PANAMA JUNE 2023

 On June 16 I set out from Milwaukee to Panama City on American Airlines for a 7-day fishing trip with Panafishing Lodge.  After flight cancellations and delays, I finally flew on United Airlines out of Houston to Panama City on June 17.  Once I arrived, I found out that my rodcase holding all my fishing equipment was lost.  Luckily, Dereck Platt, new owner of Panafishing, had equipment for rent.  This was my second trip with Panafishing.  My previous trip was fantastic with many giant roosterfish exceeding 50 lbs with 1 enormous rooster pushing toward the 90lbs mark per guide Javier.  

The reports on Panama fishing in general were poor as El Nino was having a great influence on water temperatures. My three friends who came with were first timers to Panama and never caught a roosterfish previously.

Guide Javier motored us inshore near wave breaking rocks.  Friend, Etan had the first hook-up and landed a decent cubera snapper estimated at 30 lbs.  Cubera snappers are exceptionally strong and dive straight to the bottom to rocks.  

Roostefish simply would not attack.  We saw numerous roosters follow our poppers to the boat and turn around.  Etan landed a few small roosterfish.  We both were constantly getting attacked by nuisance needlefish which caused some line issues.  We all landed numerous mackerel,   bigeye jacks, rainbow runners, and small yellowfin tuna throughout the trip.  All of us hooked into big cuberas which were too much to handle.  The day before leaving my rodcase finally showed up.  Amazing that the airlines could misplace a 6ft long black rodcase!  I decided to give slow pitch jigging a try.  I bought the equipment for Papua New Guinea but could not understand how this light equipment could handle large fish.  We used a small 80 gram jig in about 50 foot of water when a rod pulling strike took place.  The slow pitch jigging rod was bent to the water and the drag on the reel was screaming.  After about 10 minutes we saw a black and white stripped figure coming to the surface, finally a decent rooster weighing about 35lbs.  

3 anglers from France were having good success trolling and jigging offshore.  The last day after lunch we decided to give it a try.  Etan spotted tuna breaking the surface, so it was a strike cast after cast for about forty five minutes.  About 10 minutes into the bite, Etan saw a huge mahi mahi streak toward my small Yo-Zuri popper.  It struck so hard that the rod nearly jerked out of my arms.  After a few jumps my largest mahi mahi to date was landed about 45 lbs.  Javier tossed it into the cooler which was already full of yellowfin tuna.

About 45 minutes into the frenzy, the bite slowed somewhat.  However, I noticed a few tuna breaking the water behind the boat.  I made a long cast with the popper and had a huge strike.  This fish was much stronger than the others.  After many drag pulling runs, we saw a decent yellowfin coming to the surface.  Javier gaffed the brute and somehow tossed him into the cooler.  The yellowfin was estimated at 55 lbs.  

For the afternoon, Etan and I landed about 35 yellowfin.  Our friends landed a few yellowfin and wahoo trolling while the French anglers hooked into a few marlin and sailfish which broke off.  

The best lure of the trip was without a doubt the     4 3/4 inch Yo-Zuri magnum popper in silver and black.  

The trip was a success especially given the difficult fishing conditions we were handed.  The giant roosters evade us but the yellowfin and mahi mahi were fun to land on light tackle. 

Panafishing Lodge is a small lodge run by Dereck Platt and his family.  There are 4 bedrooms and 4 boats of which 3 are used and the other is kept as a backup.  We did not see other fishermen other than a few locals.  Pedasi is about a 5-hour drive from Panama City where Dereck arranges the transportation.  We stayed at The Executive Hotel in Panama City.  The meals at the lodge were great.  Mostly freshly caught fish is on the menu along with sushi from tuna or wahoo!  Delicious!  

So, if a big roosterfish in a quiet family-oriented lodge is on your to do list, consider looking at Panafishing in Pedasi, Panama.