The Tuna Coast

The waters around the Azuero Peninsula have been dubbed "The Tuna Coast" because of the abundance of Yellowfin Tuna. It is no coincidence that the Inter American Tropical Tuna Comission´s Achotines Laboratory is located at Pedasi. The laboratory features massive tanks where Yellowfin Tuna are studied in captivity from the larval stage onwards.

For inshore fishing tours off the peninsula the company to contact is Pedasi Fishing which specializes in 4 day/ 3 night packages (can be longer). Some of the fish to be caught from their well-equipped pangas are Amberjack, Bigeye Tuna, Roosterfish/ Papagallo, Snapper, Yellowfin Tuna, Bluefin Trevally, Grouper, Dolphin and Dorado.

The Azuero Peninsula is also celebrated for Wahoo. The website of Pedasi Fishing comments: "When a Wahoo hits your lure at 60 miles an hour and runs your 30 lbs test line for a few spurts of 100 to 150 yards, you have discovered an allure that no other fish will give you". The Wahoo or (Acanthocybium Solanderi) is a lean, sleek, torpedo-looking fish normally found in deeper blue water zones where tuna are often running, as is the common case in the Azuero Peninsula. In Panama, fishing for Wahoo hits a peak in October but begins as early as May.

Contact: (507) 6673-1112
www.pedasifishing.com
Toll free in US 1800 783 8847.

Cebaco Bay

Many fishing enthusiasts "in the know" head for Cebaco Bay and the Cebaco Bay Sport Fishing Club which is actually a floating hotel. Capt. Jim Wiese of Intercoastal Marine Inc. discovered the area in the early 1990s. He founded the club which in 2004 moored a 110ft lodging and fuelling vessel at Cebaco Island. Fishermen get there by flying or driving to Santiago in the Province of Veraguas. From there it is a 25-minute drive to board a boat to be ferried to what they call "the mother ship" where they sleep comfortably in air-conditioned rooms and enjoy meals prepared by the on-board chef.

In this area the ocean floor drops off within a half mile. World class catches are reported for Black Marlin at nearby Hannibal Reef and the high spots around the island of Coiba. The club offers a 47 foot Buddy Davis boat, the Aguja, and also pangas rigged for cast fishing which, the club´s general manager Michael Young explained, some fishermen prefer since they are "closer to the action in the water".

For more information Tel. (507) 317-6670 or email info@cebacobay.com