Fishing

[Jovietal]

Can anyone recommend fishing equipment that I should purchase for catching fish in Central America/ Pacific Panama cruising area?

Lynda SV
Jovietal

[PBzeer]

We had good luck trailing a lure from a bait casting reel on a 6' pole with 50 lb test line in the Gulf of Mexico. Brought in a large King Mackerel and Wahoo, as well as a smaller King, and some Little Tuneys (bait fish).

[fishstick]

A good all around reel for trolling and bottom fishing would be a Shimano TLD25. Slap it on a 6 foot 30-50lb rod with roller tip and roller stipper and spool it with 40 lb mono. If you want to spend more money go with a Shimano Tiagra 30, 30 Wide or 50. In central america there are some fish that will spool you no matter what you are fishing with, so don't feel you need to get the biggest, baddest 130 wide in the catalogue. Tight lines!

[Omatako]

Depends on whether you're fishing for fun or for food.

We use 100 metres of 50kg line on a hand line reel, an assortment of lures (one at a time) a piece of bungie cord and a small bell.

Fasten the line to the pushpit, a loop in the line of about three metres and the bungie cord tied in with a bell on the bungie cord. When a fish hits, the bungie cord "strikes" and hooks the fish up and then spends the next 20 minutes tiring the fish out. If the fish is a big'un, the bungie will go tight and then the loop of line takes over the effort. Eventually, inexorably, the bungie "reels" the fish back in. The bell will ring to alert you of the hit and if the bell drives you nuts, just remove it. When the fish is shagged out, wind the line in using a decent pair of gloves.

There is no sport involved here you understand, this is fishing for the pot. And unless you lose lures, it's filthy cheap, no fancy tackle costs.

Try it, it works a treat.
Andre

[Jovietal]

Thanks this is exactly the infomation I am looking for.
I plan to fish for the pot!

[svs3]

Try:
The Cruisers Handbook of Fishing

[soul searcher]

If you can afford a tiagra just make your chef fish
Good call on tld 30 just about indistructable gears. If you dont want to spend that much get a penn 9/0 at the first water front pawn shop you come by they're tough as .... and easy to work on and get parts for. You can use the rod clamp and clamp the reel to the base of you stern rails If your worried about a marlin taking you rail off use light leaders 60# You can run it just like the hand line. only you have a drag and a good way to store the line. I still prefer a rod. get a few black and purple , blue and white, blue and pink Orange and anything skirted lures I like Islanders rigged on seven strand wire you wont get as may bites on wire but you will loose fewer lures. bright colors on sunny days dark colors on cloudy days. you can't drag them too fast. remember fish with burst speeds of fifty to seventy mph will have to slow down to hit anything going less than 12 knots. 4.5knts is ideal for mackeral,tuna and dolphine. 7.5 is bill fish speed wahoo will hit anywhere from 4.5 to 15knts. put the lure out were it's riding on the face of the wave not the back of it and its ok if it jumps out of the water regularly as long as it doesnt foul its self. We catch alot of fish on Yozuri bonitos in orange and black its a diving plug so will work better on a rod. at 6 to 7 knts It will have to be rerigged often. and the big ones will probably take speed off your boat
your lures dont have to be the big ones either Elaphants do eat peanuts
If you really want to get serious learn how to bridle live baits, Five pound tunas work really good. If you want your tuna to grade out at sushi level you will have to bleed out the fish right after you catch it when its done bleeding fillet it off and get the meat as cold as you can as fast as you can. line caught tuna will actually over heat during the fight. the lactic acid and the temp of the fish will actually cook the meat from the inside out if you don't get it chilled down fast it will be mushy. when your handling small tunas turn them upside down (belly up) and they will lay still. a tuna has to swim to live if you hold them still in the water they will drown and if you pull them backward they will drown. so if you catch a haundred pounder and get a tail rope on her just pull her along for a few minutes and then bring it on board.
hope this helps

[wildcard]

"Yozuri bonitos in orange and black its a diving plug so will work better on a rod. at 6 to 7 knts It will have to be rerigged often. and the big ones will probably take speed off your boat"
The exact advice I was going to offer. Get a couple of 8 inchers as you will loose one once in a while. I like to drag one hard plug and one soft head surface lure. Soft heads fish as well as the pretty hard heads and are far cheaper but they will get torn up overtime and you cant replace teh skirts on them. Still better IMHO.
Im going to give away one of my secrets here. In calm weather sailing slow take a trolling dodger like you use for salmon ahead of a hoochie, get the 00 or 000 size and put a hook on the back. Best slow action spoon I know of.
Like was mentioned before, face of the wake, three to five wakes back and keep as much line out of the water as you can.
Dont forget to check for cig if it's a high risk area/species like cuda.

[GGman]

lots of great books on fishing for cruisers... all types of waters as well.

[merttan]

Use heavy duty fishing lines offshore... Select the color according to water color. In LIS red lines are better to use since the water can be lurky.
Keep a couple of rolls of spare fishing lines at hand... You can re-spool your reel or fish with the bare line if necessary...
Use artificial lures. if they are scented keep them in their package in a cool place.
Use previously caught fishes' non-edible parts...