Here we are again, it's that time to book trips! Come see us at the Mat-Su Outdoors Show. We will be booking halibut and combo charters until Sunday so visit us in Wasilla or next weekend at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage for the Great Alaska Sportsmans show. We have new spring special prices- check us out!!
Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show
2013 SHOW DATES!
MARCH 22, 23, & 24th
Friday - noon to 7 pm
Saturday - 10am to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm
LOCATION:
Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center
The Great Alaska Sportsmans Show
2013 Show Schedule
Thursday, March 28th 4:00pm to 9:00pm Friday, March 29th Noon to 8:00pm
Saturday, March 30th 10:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday, March 31st 10:00am to 5:00pm
After fishing in Wyoming we jumped on a plane to Panama City. We took off for the villa we would be staying in for the first two weeks on Perico Island, just outside Panama city. From there we were able to access various fisheries in the area. Our first trip was with Rich from Panama Canal Fishing. We entered the Panama Canal and worked our way into Lake Gatun. Lake Gatun is known for excellent Tarpon, Snook and Peacock Bass fishing. We were warned that the Tarpon fishing was going to be slow but Matty and I still wanted to give it a shot. We saw 2 Tarpon but they would not take to the fly. In the afternoon we trolled around the lake trying to hook a Snook. Matty hooked one up but the fish immediatly spit the Rapala lure. Slow start to the day but the sights were amazing and our guide Rich was extremely knowledgeable about the area as well as the history of the Panama Canal.
In the afternoon, Rich routed us to one of his well known Peacock Bass areas where we found great success. We hooked and retained at least 30 1-3lbs bass. We used 5-7 weight fly rods equipped with small top-water poppers. It was a great trip, we both had always wanted to catch a peacock bass and we did...a whole lot of them.
After fishing the canal, Rich introduced us to one of his good friends; Jim Dertien. Jim is also a local, an American at birth who relocated to Panama in the late '60s. Jim has a 62' yacht called "The Cheers," which he uses primarily to run charters out of Panama City and around the Gulf for Tuna, Sailfish and Marlin. Jim took all 12 of us out on his boat for a great day of fishing. The weather was perfect and the fishing was pretty hot. We caught 5 nice 30lb tuna and 1 Bluefin Jack.
We quickly learned that Jim is an amazing guy, he pilots 100' to 1200' ships through the Panama Canal. Jim informed us that the canal's daily revenue is between 4 and 12 million dollars a day and his job of piloting submarines through the canal is impressive. Jim continued to show us a great time by inviting the crew to his great beach house 90 Kilometers away from the city. We surfed and relaxed for a few days on a secluded beach.
Dorado (Mahi-Mahi)
My Pet Sloth
Matty and I were both getting the itch to fish so we departed Casa Del Jim and headed to a small local fishing village called Pedasi. Pedasi is an undeveloped area that has access to the Tuna Coast. Against everything I have ever learned about the ocean, we decided to trust a non-english speaking commercial fisherman with our lives as he took us on his 22' open panga 28 miles off shore. We were a little uneasy about the idea at first but Matty and I prepared for at least a week at sea by packing 16 sandwiches and 6 gallons of water. I figured if we were dumb enough to get ourselves into this situation we should at least be prepared for the worst.
40lb Yellow Fin Tuna
In just two days of fishing out of the panga, we hooked up on 12 Dorado; 1 of which I hooked on a fly
rod, and 5 nice Yellow Fin Tuna. Great trip so far, and it's not over yet.
My friend Matty and I are in pursuit of fish in warmer climates. I left Alaska last friday for Denver and headed straight for the Platt River in Wyoming. The Platt is known for its epic 'Brown Trout' and 'Rainbow Trout' fishing. We timed the weather perfectly arriving just after the first snow fall of the season.
The Platt seemed to be as productive as the Kenai River and between the two of us in four days we had caught over 150 trout. Morning seemed to be the consistant hot bite. By the time the sun was over the horizon the frenzy would die off. We didn't have much use for dry flies or streamers because the orange beads were on fire. The use of up to three hooks is allowed so we spaced a series of 2 orange beads trailed by a San Juan (red worm imitation). This setup has proven to be the ticket for the Platt in the fall.
This 'particular' area we fished has a reputation for monster Brown Trout exceeding 30 inches. On day 2 of the trip I hooked and landed a 30 inch Brown and Matty caught a 28 inch Brown on day 3. We talked to a few guides whom all claimed to have not seen a Brown over 27" all season. If that's the case, I'd say Team Alaska represented well. The fishing techniques we use on the Kenai River produced the same successful results in the lower 48.
30"x16" Wyoming Brown
Tomorrow morning we take off for Panama for three weeks of bone fishing. We plan on targeting an array of species including Tarpon, Permit, Tuna, Giant Trevally, Cubara Snapper, Snook, Peacock Bass, Marlin and Sailfish. We are equipped with 5 - 14 weight fly rods and various conventional gear along with over 400 new saltwater flies to toss at multiple species of pelagic and non-pelagic fish. It should be a good time and we are excited to get back in the deep blue.
I'll be sure to keep you up to date with our journey with photos and reports. PESCAR EN!!
Miles and I were worried that we wouldn't catch a fish over #200lbs this season. Better late than never! Local fisherman, Kaleb hooked into this barn door on a lightweight jig rod rigged with a 16oz Disco Jig. After about a 20 minute fight we were able to harpoon and subdue this behemoth of the deep. Great end to another awesome season fishing with Alaska Northern Outfitters. FISH ON!!!
Great trip today! We've had a few slow days of fishing but today's trip brought us out of our slump. Weather was calling for wind but we didn't experience any until the ride home. Our first spot was a rockpile in 100' of water. One of my favorite spots for this particular tide. It took 1.5 hrs to get the bite going but after a long and patient wait, we ended up with 2 fish over 100 lbs and 4 more in the 35-60lb range. After the tide slowed down a bit, we moved a few miles to a pinnacle to catch some yelloweye and lingcod. We slid too far back on anchor to really get into them but we still managed to hook a few. Our last spot of the day we parked in 180' of water over a massive school of bait and within minutes of dropping our lines we had fish on everywhere! By 4:30 we had successfully loaded the boat up with a nice average of halibut and a few lings and even rockfish. Way to go to this patient group of fisherman- it sure paid off! Thanks again for coming out. Fish On!!
We went to the same area as yesterday in persuit of some more big halibut. They were biting good there yesterday but today was a different story. Although our first fish of the day was 80lbs the bite never seemed to pick up for us. We ended up with 9 at our first spot and 1 80 pounder at the next fishing spot. We gave it a good shot but the fish didn't want to bite for us leaving no choice but to pull anchor and try our jigging rods. We drifted the same general area picking up 9 big lings in the process. We later moved out to the honey hole and filled the boat up quickly. Blue skies and no wind made up for the slow fishing. Looks like tomorrow will be a good one too. Thanks guys. FISH ON!!!
