An absolute dinosaur of a Cubera caught by my brother

Mariato, Panama

November 2004

After two successful trips to Panama in the Spring, I decided to return with my brother and a good friend in the Fall.  We were back at the Rio Negro Lodge, about 4 hours away from Panama City.  With beautiful weather we were about to jig, pop, troll, and cast live bait and we caught fish on everything.  The biggest fish, not surprisingly, came on live baits although we did troll up a big Sailfish on a Rapala.  Here are some popper fish:

While trolling for Wahoo we caught a big Sailfish.  Unfortunately it was tail-wrapped and died during the fight so we brought it back and ate some and gave some to the local villagers.  We did get some Wahoo which were delicious.

A double header of Wahoo

An average size Wahoo for the trip.

My brother even trolled up a Roosterfish on a Rapala.  All Roosters were released.

We fished various jacks for bait and got some nice fish on those:

We were catching 10lb Snapper hand over fist one day and I looked over at my brother and he was pinned to the rail.  I was teasing him for getting worked so hard by the small fish, but then when he finally got it up with was the Cubera at the top of the page.  What an absolute monster.

One day our boat broke down.  Fortunately the lodge had a spare boat and sent it out.  While we were waiting, we drifted over a reef and I managed this nice Cubera, which came onboard for a photo and then was released.

I was really hoping to get a Roosterfish, and I still hadn't caught one on the last day.  Fortunately, we were able to find one and make the trip complete.  My first ever Roosterfish.  My friend Steve got a nice one as well.

My first ever Roosterfish

Some Mackerel came to play as well and made great Ceviche:

All in all it was a fantastic trip with a lot of action, a lot of big fish, and a lot of variety.  The Rio Negro Lodge delivered again!