Trip Log Febuary 18 thru 23, 2006 

Well I am now back at sea and out of the cold snowy winter of Wyoming. It's great to be back on the Coral Star and fishing the great waters of Panama. This week I have on board a small group made up of some seasonal Coral Star veterans and a few first timers to Panama. The Crew of the Coral Star is welcoming back Jack Causa, Bill Nelson and Richard Weaver. Don and Diane Lindeleaf are here for the first time. Also Sean Gilles, Jerry Jacobi and Scott Braun also decided to get out of the cold for some fishing fun on World Renowned Hannibal Bank here in Panama! Fishing, fishing, fishing???..there's just nothing better! At least it is better than WORKING!

On Saturday, the group loaded onto the Coral Star's fleet for a ride out to the Mothership. I should also note that guest are no longer meeting at the old Marina in Pedregal, but at the new TAS Marina. The Coral Star Landing is located across the street from the ice plant and half way between the airport in David and the old Marina. Coral Star has moved its whole fleet to this new location to provide faster service and a safer docking location for our fleet and guests. Our docks are new and safe to walk on without the worry of falling into the water or hitting a rusty old bolt!

After a short ride to Boca Chica the guests were welcomed aboard the ship with a cold drink and light lunch. The group was eager to meet their sport boat crew and ready their fishing equipment. The day was then spent fishing inshore for Roosterfish, Snappers and anything else willing to attack their bait! It should be also noted that this group was eager to fish the rivers for Corvina and Black Pacific Snook. The Coral Star Staff of guides have been spending a lot of extra time exploring the many rivers and back waters of this part of Panama. We have found some surprising amount of great inshore light tackle fishing. On this day Jack Causa would be the one who brought back the dinner for the BBQ. Jack would hook into a mixed bag of small Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo with an average weight of 30 lbs. per fish. The BBQ grill was full of Wahoo for dinner! Yummmmmm! Thanks Jack!

Moving on to our first full day of fishing, which would be SUNDAY, all guests were up early at 5 a.m. re-checking their tackle and rods. Sean Gilles, who is also a custom rod maker, was setting up an assortment of test rods that he hoped would stand up to the Monsters at Hannibal Bank. At 6:30 a.m. all boats were loaded and heading to Isla Montosa. I would also be getting the ship underway for Coiba Island and Playa Hermosa. At 8:00 a.m. the ships anchor was hoisted and the Mothership was headed for sea. On the radio I started to hear reports of Snappers and Jacks. The best report was from Star VIII, Captain Alexis's boat. Jack Causa had just caught a 300 plus lb. Black Marlin. Later that day I would hear that Jack also caught a Yellowfin Tuna that was over 100 lbs. Six hours later I anchored the Coral Star in a quiet bay on Coiba Island.

Today is Monday and another FULL day of fishing. At 5:30 a.m. the smell of fresh coffee signaled that breakfast was ready. Chef Vegas had a fresh batch of hot muffins, eggs to order, bacon and plenty of fresh fruit. The sun just started to come up over Coiba Island and flocks of colorful Parrots flew over head as we started to load all the sport fishing boats. Later that day I talked with Captain Lalo with Don and Diane Lindeleaf. They had caught 2 Sailfish and were trying for a third. The best story was Star V, with Captain Sergio. Sean, Jerry and Scott had hooked up 2 Black Marlin in the 500 lb. class. Sean would also break a custom rod to the intense strain from these Monsters! Jack also got into 2 Sailfish in the 100 to 130 lb. class. Richard and Bill would also come back to the ship with stories of Sails and Marlin coming up to the live baits AND plastics! At the end of the day, everyone was ready for a good meal so the Chef fixed up a full course Italian meal and a full 10 lb. baked Snapper for dinner. Today being Tuesday and yet another FULL day of fishing, we are still anchored off Coiba Island. The sport boats will head today to Montosa. I will also move the ship to the Island so that the ship can better serve our guests. Isla Montosa is the farthest offshore island that we can go to. Jerry will be the real lucky one today as he releases a Blue Marlin that weighs in at 350 lbs. Sean would be testing his new rods to challenge Dorado which will supply some really great filets for the BBQ. Scott would release a nice 120 lb. Sailfish. Don and Diana would be after another sail to add to their total. At 5:30 p.m. all boats were back to the ship. The group headed to the "Fantail Bar" with many stories from the day. After another great dinner and with the sky full of stars another day ends on the Coral Star. The ship sits at anchor gently rocking to the roll of the sea, 50 miles away from any other ship.