Panama it's on!

[AlexV]

Recent trip to Panama.

[Behslayer]

Wow. Nice photos. Is that Tuna Board Fiberglass?

[Marcus]

That first pic is Incredible!

[AlexV]

Originally Posted by Behslayer

Wow. Nice photos. Is that Tuna Board Fiberglass?

Divinycell with fiberglass, Phil Herranen glassed it for me. I based the dimensions on a float that Alex Franko uses in Mexico for large 200lb+ YFT. I use a 75' Riffe Bluewater bungee. It's really cool to see it disappear straight down and then pop up 30-60 seconds later. Then you work them up to the shooting line using the cleat, super easy. I watched a lot of guys with multi-float systems lose fish because of too much floatation pressure. The only change I'm going to make on the next one is to make it self-righting when thrown in. The placement of the hole was based on a Tommy Botha tuna board. The board doesn't submarine when towed behind a boat.

Alex Franko's post - https://forums.deeperblue.com/thread...s.64916/page-2

[Straz]

I just purchased a Tommy Botha board. Looking at buying a bungee now. Did the cleat damage the bungee at all?

[AlexV]

No damage to the bungee. I used a 75ft Riffe Bluewater bungee, it worked great. You need to make sure the material on the outside of the line will not slip through the cleat. Originally I bought a Neptonics Foam Filled line but the outside of it was too slick for the cleat to hold.

I was going to buy the Botha board but ended up going with something much smaller based on feedback, less tear-outs and never goes down for more than a minute, even on 100+ lb tuna.

[Straz]

Thanks man!! I'm trying to gather up my gear to go to Panama. The Botha board does look a bit large. Maybe I will cut 10" off of it...I am not sure what the type of foam it is maybe someone can chime in about it. I am super stoked about it though. I am going offshore twice this month at least so I will try it out. We have large bluefin here currently. That's the main reason why I got the board. Well that and it will push me to actually drop the dough to go to Panama. Lol.

[Diverman2013]

Awesome photos !!!

[snapper1]

Amazing photos!!! Are you chartering a boat or do you have one there? How much is a day trip for spearfishing roughly? Would you mind sharing your point of contact? I am considering a trip to Panama looking for Tuna.

I havent ever shot tuna but i hear Panama is a great place to do it. I have a Riffe 130, 100 foot float line and 15 liter float. What more do I need to purchase?

Is it a massive sit and wait game or is there some action between? How about fishing rod and reel for them then slipping in the water?

[AlexV]

www.hookedonpanama.com , It's non-stop action once you arrive at the tuna grounds, you are jumping from a moving boat in front of the moving schools of tuna chasing the dolphin, bait, and birds. The boat for the day is about $1300 + tips. These are 33ft twin engine boats, super nice and fast. May sound like a lot but split between 4 people it's not bad considering the mileage you do in one day plus the experience of the crew. You ideally want a gun in the 150 range with some power (4 bands) and a good float setup to handle a powerful fish swimming straight down. You can rod and reel it too, the boat is yours from 6:30am until 3pm, it's a 2 hour ride to the tuna grounds one way, so you are diving/fishing for 6 hours.

[snapper1]

Thanks alot for the link! If I ever make it out there I will let you know. It makes all the difference having an experienced Captain to put you on the fish. Especially since I have never even attempted to hunt Tuna! Any recommendation on a multi banded budget gun in the 150cm class? I can only think of Rob allen but pretty sure those only take 2 bands. Also are you using a break away system with a ice pick style tip? Thanks again!

[AlexV]

An RA 150 with a sliptip/break-away setup would work, just make sure you can load it. I brought a new RA 150 as a backup, and I could barely load it. Those bands are stiff new.

[virgili]

Pretty interesting report congrat,s
been using a TB board for years
I resized the stuff so that the max linear dimension is 62" for checked luggage
the best floatting system ever made...

[dirkbeachman]

DOPE!!! awesome pics!