THE GREENER PASTURES OF PANAMA! Part Two

The Tackle Source Panama adventure continues as we head into the third day of the trip. The topwater bite has been tough but that was soon to change...

We had no shortage of gear to take all challengers. They were prepped and ready daily...

Not an expected encounter on the large FEED CONE popper but this foul-hooked beautiful Longfin Pompano was a welcome break of the monotony...

Finally after a few days of hard casting it pays of with a big take ad before long we had this fat fish in the boat. It was a nice Cubera Snapper, what we had come for...

It had smashed the FEED PIN150 popper with zero hesitation. It was lodged deep in its gob...

Cuberas typically fight hard and dirty, this bruiser was a real test for the new prototype rod we were testing and it did the job without much fuss...

At lunch break in the shallows we would prospect with smaller lures like the Jackson Pintail, this one found a beautifully marked Sierra Mackeral...

We tried out the brand new DUO Blazin 110 lure and found a curious Orange-side Trigger on the first cast...

It was a fish a cast with the DUO Blazin 110. A Yellow Snapper joins us onboard...

And then another Orange-side Trigger...

Next we were back to the serious jigging and an encounter with a few of these very special looking species - the Rock Snapper! This one fell for a Xesta Slippy jig...

Shortly after followed by another on the light jig Major Craft Giant Killing outfit and the Evergreen Caprice Kid jig...

Almaco Jacks were always present and they liked the Kanji Free Slow jigs...

But the Rock Snappers were the stars...

And the Silk Snappers never failed to disappoint. The Evergreen Javelin Jet nails another...

Yellow Snapper on the FEED FALL jig...

Another new specie of Snapper, the Spotted Snapper on the Xesta Slippy jig...

This little Sierra Mackeral got snagged by a Xesta Slow Emotion Flap jig...

While another juvenile Snowy Grouper comes aboard courtesy of the Jackall Knuckle soft plastic...

The African Pompano is a great fighter on any tackle. Here this one gets fouled by the SFC Scout jig in its body...

Another Yellow Snapper is fooled by the Jackall Knuckle plastic worked on the Saltworx Offshore casting rod in shallow water...

An SFC Gawky jig finds another beautiful Rock Snapper to end the day's fishing...

Early next morning and we are back on the Silk Snappers, this one on the FEED FALL jig...

This tiny one reacts to the SFC Rector...

In a funny twist a Sailfish takes a jig on the fall and the fight is on...

Against the Evergreen High Pitch Jerker Poseidon rod it was an easy win. The Sail was revived and release after this quick pic...

And it was back to Silk Snappers on FEED FALL jigs...

In quick succession...

The FEED FALL proved to be the perfect profile for these waters and proved their mettle even without colour...

After this Silky on the SFC Gawky jig we moved on to some topwater casting...

After much hard work, a nice Cubera Snapper obliges...

The FCL Labo CSP stickbait is well lodged...

Then things heat up in relatively shallow water with jigs. A beautifully marked Roosterfish gets everyone excited when it took a prototype jig...

Very soon another one is hooked on a Shout! Cradle jig. The fish weren't huge but they fought hard for their size...

Its a Rooster parade as the Xesta After Burner jig gets in on the act with another nice fish!

This cute Puffer bit off more than it could chew...

One more Roosterfish for good measure on the Xesta After Burner jig...

Then its back to other reefies like this Spotted Snapper on the Xesta Flap jig...

And a Yellow Snapper on the prototype jig...

And the amazingly beautiful Rock Snapper is always a welcome catch. The FEED FALL jig was this one's downfall...

The surface bite is on again with a nice Cubera Snapper which went for the FEED SLASH sinking stickbait. What a fish...

And a fish we will never get tired of seeing - a big Rooster which sucked down the FCL Ebipop popper with gusto...

A huge surface explosion was followed by an epic fight on the FCL Labo 81EXT popping rod...

Turned out to be a huge Shark on the FCL Labo Ebipop...

A quick pic for posterity before spearing it back in the water...

More topwater action ensued with a nice Rock Snapper on the FEED SLASH sinking stickbait...

Followed by a good Jack Crevalle on the Shout! Engra stickbait...

And how about this greedy Sierra Mackeral which slashed at the FEED SLASH stickbait and got pinned...

With the topwater bite slowing we could always rely on the jigging to keep busy. The Xesta Flap scores a Silk Snapper...

And you know the fish are thick when a FEED FALL jig nails an Almaco Jack and Silky Snapper at once...

We never had trouble finding the Silkies. They loved the FEED FALL jigs...

Then occasionally we would get rewarded by some bruisers like this Cubera Snapper. Not all could be stopped but we tried our best...

The FEED FALL jig seemed to be the chosen design as all the Cuberas for the trip were only landed by this jig...

Of course the Silk Snappers loved the FALLs just the same...

The Kanji Free Slow jig found a Yellow Snapper...

And we were very lucky this FEED FALL jig wasn't snipped off by this big Sierra Mackeral...

The schools of Silkies were almost everywhere. The FEED FALL pulls one from its friends...

Having fun with the light Saltworx jig rod and the IMA Ro gets this Silky Snapper's attention...

From the bottom, the FALL jig finds this Scorpionfish...

Its another species to add to the growing list...

It was never boring with the Silkies. They go hard and loved the FEED FALL jigs...

The IMA Gun Peki jig also does the damage...

The Triggerfish didn't want out of the action, they would attack the large jigs like the FEED FALL and occasionally one would get hooked...

It was always good to pull a bigger Silky from the schools, like this FEED FALL victim...

But there were many small ones to get through too. This one took an SFC Spunky jig...

Beautiful Rock Snappers were always a welcome addition. The Kanji Free Slow scores...

And the SFC Spunky nails a nicer Yellow Snapper...

The jigging was awesome and the icing on the cake would be beautiful fish like this Rooster on the Kanji Free Slow jig and Evergreen Poseidon rod combo...

The SFC Rector bounced off the bottom got a quick reaction, another Silky gets landed...

Was good to have a few nice Groupers thrown into the mix. The Kanji Free Slow jig does the job...

The new FEED FLINT jig in a new funky colour style shows the results...

With two fish in quick succession...

The afternoons were devoted to the topwater chase and whilst no monsters were encountered this big Sierra Mackeral was a nice surprise on the FEED PIN popper...

Another surface explosion later the FEED Saltworx Popping rod loaded up but it turned out to be a frisky Jack Crevalle which smashed the FEED PIN popper...

The last day of the trip came in a blink of an eye and the morning popping session started with a good sized Bigeye Trevally on the PIN popper. But it wasn't what we were after...

So it was on to the jigging, and in the shallows the Jack Crevalles were hot on the chew. This one took an SFC Cranky jig...

And it was two for two with a couple on the FEED FALL jigs...

So to escape the Jacks we headed for deeper grounds and were immediately rewarded with this rare Mullet Snapper after a good fight...

The FEED FALL jig is proudly pinned...

There were no monster Amberjack encountered but even smaller ones were a thrill to hook. The FEED FALL jig shines again...

The Silk Snappers were super aggressive even when they were juveniles...

Gleaming in the light after an awesome fight is the beautiful African Pompano which fell for a FEED FALL jig...

It was then joined by another which took an IMA Gun Peki jig...

The IMA Gun Peki also accounted for an unidentified Trevally to add to the species list...

The beautiful markings on the Spotted Snapper was hard to ignore. A nice catch on the Kanji Free Slow jig...

As the jigging drew to a close it was good to pull a good one out of the Silk Snapper school. This one took an SFC Spunky jig...

We dedicated the late afternoon to a surface session and found this Jack Crevalle which couldn't resist the PIN popper in the special Abalone finish...

Then on the very last cast on the last day the FEED PIN popper is taken and with some quick rod work courtesy of the FEED Saltworx 83GTH popping rod a nice Cubera Snapper is in the boat...

After many disappointments from the past couple of days due to thrown hooks and failed strikes this was a perfect way to end the trip. This bruiser was safely revived and released after the obligatory pictures...

It was a long way home, and it was hard to leave. But plans for a return were already in place...

For enquiries please email

tacklesource@live.com