Trip Log January 12 Thru Janury 17, 2008:
Capt. Donald is back in Panama and at the helm of the Coral Star. "Its great to be out of the cold snowing North and back on the warm waters of the Pacific."
This weeks trip we have six guests from across the United States, David J. Saenz, David A. Gahn, Norman M. Weast, Doug Cajacob, Michael J. Romisher and Michael C. Williams. Some of these guests have been with us over the years and also with the old Coiba Explorer. We also have a few guests that are just finding out what great fishing Panama has to offer.

The Guests arrived to the David Airport at 10:30 via the "Air Panama" flight. After a quick ride down to the Coral Star Landing the group was heading down the river and out to the Ship. Today, the group will be fishing for about 6 hours mainly fishing for in-shore species such as roosters and Snappers. That night, Chef Andy cooked up a great welcome dinner with some of the fresh fish caught that day.

The Guests arrived to the David Airport at 10:30 via the "Air Panama" flight. After a quick ride down to the Coral Star Landing the group was heading down the river and out to the Ship. Today, the group will be fishing for about 6 hours mainly fishing for in-shore species such as roosters and Snappers. That night, Chef Andy cooked up a great welcome dinner with some of the fresh fish caught that day.

The Morning was clear as the Coral Star boat crews loaded the 28 footer Albemarle's with bait, lunch and gear for a full 11 hours of fishing today. During the day I was in contact with the boats via the VHF Radio and what I was hearing sounded great. It is now 5:10PM and Star VII with Capt. Alexia came along side the ship with his guests talking about the day. Norman Weast had hooked up a 450 pound Blue Marlin but lost it when it was right at the boat. They did have some great photos of the fish and it was a good release. Some of the other fish they caught were Snappers, Sailfish, and Dorado. Star VII with Capt. Juan came in with another great report that David Saenz and David Gahn caught a 350 pound Marlin and a Sailfish. Capt Tito on Star V with Doug Cajacob and Michael Williams reported a hook up on plastics to a Marlin but lost it, also reported were 2 big snappers (40 & 50 lbs.) and a Dorado (35 lbs.).

Monday would bring another wild day of fishing, this would be a day of Marlin fishing, that people read about in newspapers and fishing journals. Star VII with David Saenz and David Gahn reporting that the bite started at about 12:00 noon. Using 8 to 10 pound live bonito bait and a number 16 circle hook they hooked up to 3 blacks and 1 blue marlin. The biggest black was reported ate 800 lbs and the Blue at 300. It took them 50 minutes to reel in the 800 pound black Marlin. Star V with Capt. Teto with Doug and Michael reported 2 marlin, a 450 and 500 that were reeled to the boat. They did report many steady hits by marlin all day. On Star VIII with Capt. Alexia with Norman and Michael were busy with 3 black Marlin. It should be noted that Michael caught his first Black Marlin, a 600 pound fish. It took him 1 ?? hours to land this fish. All of these fish were released back into the sea.

On Tuesday, January 15, the weather had turned gray with winds out of the North and some late rain during the night. Today, Norman and Michael would be going a shore to see the Coiba Park HQ and the old Prison. During this shore hike they viewed 14 Red Macaw Coiba Parrots. Russ Point took a break from his duties on the ship to go fishing with Juan and Star II. He hooked up to a 275 pound Yellow Fin Tuna. Star V with Doug and Michael hooked into 2 black Marlin each weighed in at about 500 pounds each and a Dorado for the dinner. Star VII with David and David caught a nice 35 pound Dorado and a Snapper.

Wednesday, Star VII came back to the ship with a report of 2 sailfish and a Dorado. Star V came in with a story of a Rooster that Doug hooked up that weight in at 60 pounds. Star VIII, Norm and Michael tied into some Dorado that hit the scales at 35 to 40 pounds.

The totals reported for the week , these are fish reeled back to the boat and landed was 7435 pounds of fish. Total Marlin caught and released back into the sea was 12.

Trip Log January 26 Thru January 30, 2008:
Greetings from Sunny and warm Panama, this trip was one that magazine editors would have loved to do an article on. Our guests this week, John Mathleu, Donald J Moyer, Jr., Joe M. Bryan, Jack G. Campi, Karl H. Angersback, Richard D. Whipple, Jeff R. Whipple, Russ C. Miller and Carl Richards were from the East and West coast. The group consisted of seasoned fisherman and others that were just getting started in the sport.

Saturday, the group fished around Isla Paridas and its many small islands. The reports for this half day of fishing were mixed with Rooster Fish, Jacks, Snappers, and a few Pompano.

Sunday
The Sport Boat crews where up at 4:00 AM getting bait for the day. Today the Fleet will move to Cobia Island. I was listening to the radio reports from the boats and it sounded like the day was going to be a good one. Star II with Capt. Chaka, John Mathleu, Don Moyer, Joe Bryan where very excided. Don had caught his first Blue Marlin that measured out to a nice 450 pounds. It took Don, 51 minutes to reel this nice Blue to the boat. Star II also caught 7 Dorado and hooked or lost 8 Sails. Star 5, with Capt. Tito, Jack Campi, and Karl Angersback reported 4 Sails, Jacks, and some small Tuna. The best story was from Karl, he caught a 70 pound Bull Dorado. Star VII with Capt. Juan, Richard and Jeff Whipple caught some nice Sails in the 140 to 120 pound range along with some Dorado. One of these Bull Dorado was caught by Richard and it weight in at over 50 pounds. Star VIII with Capt. Alexia, Russ Miller and Carl Richards also had some good stories. Carl caught his first Sail that weight in at 120 pounds. The group also caught Dorado and a few Jacks. The day ended with a great dinner on the upper deck with lots of stories.

Monday
Star V, with Jack and Karl will be going Scuba Diving to the Twin Peaks dive site. This dive site is great for White tip Sharks and Barracuda. They did this dive in the morning and where back to the Ship by 9:30. They reported that it was a great dive with a lot of fish life. Star II reported that they had hooked and lost 3 Marlin but had hooked up with 7 Dorado and some Sail fish. Star V reported that Karl had hooked up his first ever Black Marlin. It took him 55 minutes to reel it in and release this beauty back into the ocean. The bait that Karl was using to catch this fish was small 8 pound Bonito. This pair also hooked and lost 2 other Marlin during the day. During the day they also had hooked up with 5 Sail fish, one with a double hook up. The color of the plastic that they were using was pink and black. Star VIII with Russ and Carl best story was about a 70 pound Rooster Fish and a 65 pound Cubera Snapper caught on poppers.

Tuesday
Star V, with Jack and Karl did another great morning dive. They reported lots of sharks, turtles and large schools of fish. After the morning dive this pair went out and caught 4 sail fish and a few nice Dorado. Star VIII got back to the Ship late, as they were working the in-shore fishery of Coiba Island. They reported hooking up to some nice Black Snook in the 15 pound range along with some Sails and Dorado. One of the best stories for the day was from Star VII with Richard and Jeff. Jeff had hooked into a Yellow fin Tuna, one hour and 22 minutes later he reeled in a 160 pounder. During the day they would also hook up with two sails, Dorado and a nice 50 pound Rooster fish. On Star II, John, Don and Joe hooked up with 3 sail fish and some Bull Dorado that weight in at over 40 pounds each. That night the dinner was BBQ tuna. Thanks to Richard for the help on the BBQ and his special sauce.

Wednesday
The in-shore-fishing team on Star VIII with Russ and Kent hooked into over 4 nice Black Snook each over 10 pounds each. They also went on to catch some Dorado, snappers and some small Yellow fin tuna. Star II, with John Don and Joe hooked and lost a real big Marlin but made up with a real fat 130 pounder Sail Fish. Star V came back with reports of 3 Sail Fish, 2 Dorado, one Rooster and 2 Marlin Hooked and lost.

Thursday
Today is half day fishing as the group will be heading back into port. The group spent the morning getting a mix bag of fish. The best story was from Star V with Capt. Tito, Jack and Karl, this group headed out to the Ladrones Island where they fished the deep blue waters. Star II was also along trying its luck with John, Don and Joe. Star II report that a real big Blue Marlin swam right past the boat heading towards Star V?s bait. Sam, the mate on Star II just about jumped on to the back of this Monster Marlin as it was right by the boat. Star V hooked up the 700 plus pound Blue Marlin and 2 hours 22 minutes later this fish was reeled to the boat and released. What a way to end a trip!

The Summary for the trip, as total fish weight caught and reeled to the boats 6347 pounds. Sailfish, Pacific total caught 32, Dorado total caught 35, Marlin 4. This is a report that reflects the number of fish reeled back to the boats and released. The report does not total hook ups and lost fish.
Trip Log Trip Log February 9 Thru February 14, 2008:
Panama's weather this time of year is nice and the water temperature is about 83 F. This year we have seen a lot of Sailfish, Marlin, Dorado and some of the large Yellow fin Tuna. This weeks 15 guests are from the Carolina and Georgia areas. Ray O. Boyd, Jared Boyd, Thomas Lytton, Yorke Pharr, Ruben McMullan, Todd Helf, Brian Richard, Robby Dial, Forrest Taylor, Tony McRae, Richard McRae, Todd Schad, Robert Hughes, Brant McMullan and Barrett McMullan. The group will be running a daily high point fishing tournament. To make the tournament more equal everyone will be fishing on a different boat each day.

On Saturday, the group went out fishing around the Isla Paridas group of Islands. The 5 sport fishing boats caught a mixed assortment of Roosterfish, Jacks, and Snappers.

Sunday
With the weather being so nice, a plan was made to head the ship and fleet to Isla Montuosa. The five sport boats headed out to sea by 6:15 AM. During the day Star III with Capt. Kid, Forrest Taylor, Tony McRae, Richard McRae, reported releasing 4 Sails in the 120 to 140 pound range along with 2 Dorado. All the other boats reported shots at Marlin, Sails, Dorado and Tuna in the 100 pound class.

Monday
Today the water is a clear gin blue color and we can see the sand bottom under the ship at 50 feet. Everyone was up and getting ready by 5:30 with the boats loaded and out fishing by sun up. As the day went by I could hear by the ships radio that the boats were busy. The first boats did not get back to the Ship until 6:00 with the last hard core team getting back at 6:45. This group had put in over 12 hours of fishing this day. The report was good for Star VIII Capt Alexis, Forrest Taylor, Tony McRae, and Richard McRae. 7 Dorado in the 30 to 35 range, and a Black Marlin that measured out to 450 pounds. The Marlin was reeled in by Richard McRae. Star VII Capt Alexis, Ray Boyd, Jared Boyed and Brant McMullan had a good day. Jared got a 400 pound Black Marlin that took him 1 hour 15 minutes to reel in. Ray got a 300 pound Black Marlin that took 30 minutes to reel back to the boat. This team also hooked and released a 130 pound Sail. For bait they were using 10 pound Bonito and some Blue runners. Star VI Capt.Tito, Todd Helf, Brian Richard, and Robert Hughes reeled in 3 Sailfish that were in the 125 pound class. Star II Capt Chaca, Thomas Lytton, Yorke Pharr and Todd Schad caught one Black Marlin that measure out to 500 plus pounds, 2 Sailfish in the 125 to 130 class and 9 Dorado that weight in from 25 to 35 pounds. Star III Capt. Kid, Ruben McMullan, Barrett McMullan and Robby Dial caught the most Dorado for the day, 10 fish that had an average weight of over 30 pounds. This group also got on Sailfish and lost a big black Marlin.

Tuesday
One thing about being anchored at Isla Montuosa there are not any long boat rides to get to the fishing grounds. It only takes 5 minutes and you are on some of the best fishing in the area. Being this close to the fishing also lets any of the group to come back to the ship to have lunch or take a nape between the 12 hours of fishing. Today, 12 of the group came back to the ship for a Panama style Lunch with soup, rice, beef, vegetables and desert. Star III Capt Kid, Todd Helf, Brian Richard and Robert Hughes caught before lunch a 400 plus pound Marlin and a 250 plus pound Yellow fin Tuna. The tuna was brought back to the ship so that it could be prepared for the dinner that night. Star VII Capt. Juan, Forrest Taylor, Tony McRae, Richard McRae caught a 550 plus pound Black Marlin and two Sails that weight out at 125 pounds each. Star II Capt. Chaca, Robby Dial, Brant McMullan, Barrett McMullan hooked onto a 350 pound black Marlin was just about in front of the Ship near the 260 foot drop off. This Team also hooked a nice 275 pound Yellow fin but lost it right by the boat. The day was getting late as the last boats came up to the Ship as the sun was setting into the Pacific Ocean. Happy hour had started and the plates of fresh tuna and Wasabi were being serviced at the Fan-Tail-Bar. Fresh Tuna Steaks were being marinated and readied for the Barbeque. What a great way to end a day!

Wednesday
The weather has held up well with the sea conditions comfortable. The boat crews came along side the ship to pick up their fishing teams for the day. Today, the Ship will head back to Isla Paridas. The highlights for the day are; Star VI Capt. Tito, Ray Boyd, Jared Boyd, and Robby Dial caught a fat 500 plus pound Black Marlin. This Marlin was reeled in by Jared Boyed. Star VIII Capt. Alexis with Ruben McMullan and Barrett McMullan reeled in a 300 pound Blue Marlin. This fish was reeled in and released with in 30 minutes. Star III Capt Kid, Robert Hughes, Yorke Pharr, Thomas Lytton caught a nice fat Sail that measured out at 140 pounds along with 3 Dorados ranging from 35 to 40 pounds.

Thursday
All boats were gone fishing by 6:00 AM with some of the boats heading out to Ladrones group of islands and reefs. Today the boats will be fishing from 6:00 AM and have to be back into port by 2:00 PM this will give the fishing teams an extra 8 more hours to catch that extra tournament point. The Ship will be heading back up the river and into port to take on fuel and supplies for its next trip. A Bar-B-Q lunch will be service at the ship's Fan-Tail-Bar. At 3:30 the guest will be heading to the airport for their flights back to Panama City. The group caught well over 8000 pounds of fish with 11 Marlin and over 17 Sails. This report counts fish that were landed and release by the Sport Boats All Marlin, Sail and many of the other fish caught were released back into the sea.
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