Panama

  How many young guys would want to spend five days in a confined space with their father-in-law and mother-in-law?  UGH ! BARF!  But if you like to shoot fish, and the confined space happens to be a small boat, and your father in law also likes to spearfish, and your “hotie” mother-in-law thinks she can shoot a bigger fish than you, then the idea becomes more interesting. Our great sport of diving, especially in warm water conditions, is one of the hobbies that you can share with almost any family member, regardless of their age or water skills, because of the variety of activities that are possible. For the three of us, we had family members in the 20’s, 40’s and 70’s and yet, all of us were equally thrilled to return to the ocean and hunt big fish together as a team. Suspended in the 3D world, 20 feet down, on a breath hold, together in the silence, gun ready, waiting and watching for game, is a wonderful nature trip to do with the family.  When we invited Kent, my son in law, already an avid spearfisherman, hunter, surfer and climber, to join us on a five day trip, we knew that nobody would be held back and that we all could dive, pedal to the metal. My daughter Tessa, also a good diver, decided to pass on the shooting, and then join us the following week with their two young girls. So we loaded up our live-a-board panga for our 5 day trip, knowing that on this cruise ship, nobody gets fat, and we would all probably return a few pounds lighter and in better shape than before.
    We prefer to start our diving in shallow water to get our ears, our equipment and all our systems operating in good order. Two other diver buddies, Greg and Ricky had joined us on this trip and came in Ricky’s boat. On the first day we had the good fortune of finding big pargo but the misfortune was that they had perfect cover. Since spears and slip tips are so expensive, I have learned not to shoot big pargo unless they are out in the open—which is hardly ever. But the taunting beauty and size of these magnificent, orange, powerful fish was too much to resist for Greg and Ricky. By noon of the second day, however, their five day trip was over, all the arrows for both guns were lost or broken. They were out of ammunition. The last straw was when Greg lost a mid-water battle to a big pargo that he successfully pulled out of the cave. With the shooting line wrapped around the gun barrel for better grip, he kicked for the surface with full power and the fish swam for the bottom with full power. Greg was stuck at 15 feet, swimming up as hard as he could, with his red fins pumping, but he could not overpower the pull of the fish in order to reach the surface. His motor was on full rev, his body starved for air with only a few seconds left, and he wasn’t going up.  Seeing Greg was out of air and not going to make it, Ricky kicked down to help. Greg was almost at black out, watching the fish 10 feet below him as he kicked for his life, and he did not see Ricky coming down to grab the line. Just at that moment when Greg decided the fish was not worth dying for, and let go of the cable, Ricky reached out, and missed the cable by only six inches. The fish took the spear, slip tip and cable, never to be seen again, and Greg saw stars on the surface and knew that he came too close. One or two seconds more would have been shallow water blackout time. Their dive trip was over but there were some valuable lessons learned. I think there is something to that expression, “You have never lived till you have almost died” and I could see the joy in Greg and Ricky as they jumped in the water, knowing they were alive to dive, another day.
    We resisted the temptation to shoot at big pargo but Kent got a good shot on a smaller one that he knew he could stop. Over the next few days we covered about 280 miles, hit tons of high spots, and had some awesome diving moments. . Kent and I shot some small fish to start with, he a bohala and I shot a bocipenda or golden travally as this is one of my favorite eating fish. Michelle started with a small Bohala to make sure she still had the touch.  Then she shot a big boy that she had to ride, to administer the coup de grace. As mother-in-law Michelle held up her big fish, she looked great in my favorite Panama style speedos——a trainer bra, and junior jockys, both for $1.49. It just proves that if you dress well, you shoot well.

      The weather was on our side with mild wind and only drops of rain at night. We all got to shoot nice fish and by the third day we had enough and our coolers were almost full, so we would only shoot if the fish was larger than our best one. There were bonita on the surface, so we fished for them and then cut them up for chum to carry with us in the water. In one place we found numerous Bohala in the 40 and 50 pound range and it was beautiful to see them come within 5 to 10 feet of us as they ate the bonita. The water was clear at that moment and deep and we could see them coming from far below to within a few feet of the surface. I could see four or five big fish at a time and they would take the bonita within a few feet after it left my hand. It was spectacular to watch the big fish.  In the same area we were lucky to see and shoot the rare pargo seda that are normally deep water fish that almost never come into shallow 80 foot water. They are a beautiful color and delicious to eat. We also encountered one or two big schools of pargo seguero in the open seas. They can be seen feeding on the surface but the minute you get close, they go down and usually stay out of range.  Kent shot his first but we did not see any the size of Michelle’s 37 lb fish.

    We left our anchorage one morning, in the dark, and headed out to some far spots.  One risk of running at night is the chance of hitting a big log and destroying the motor. Some of the trunks are huge and float right at surface level, so they are hard to see. In another month the Dorado will be underneath, but we always jump in and check. If there are no fish, it is still fun to see who can get up and stand the longest. I think Kent took the honors for surfing a medium log for a few seconds, before he crashed. Standing on a log is not as easy as it looks. Arriving at the far place, at first light, it turned out to be a beautiful, calm time to dive, and it only lasted about two hours. We saw no big fish but the water was clear and the schools of bait and bonita were going off.  I think the big fish were there and we were just off the spot by a couple of hundred feet, and that is all it takes.

    Mother-in-law Michelle was neck to neck with Kent in the family Bohala Blasting competition, both with fish over 55 lbs. What sometimes happens, with two people diving with one gun like we do, is that the diver coming up from his dive is followed by a big fish. The diver on the surface dives down and is passed off the gun by the returning diver. He is then fresh and has time to wait for a good shot. Kent finally took top honors for big fish with one fifty nine pounds, just three pounds bigger than Michelle’s best. However, she jokingly claims it was her fish since she brought it up.

    Later that afternoon we decided to hit the beach and look for cocos and do some exploring. It was a beautiful unspoiled, primitive location and playfully the native, Michelle, threatened to spear the white Gringo son-in-law to teach him some respect for his elders. We swam back to the boat, showered on the swim step, ate our sandwiches with a can of beans, drove around and did a little shooting practice to keep any bad guys away and then anchored up for a great 10 hours of sleep. What another fun day.

    The forth day we headed back north, diving various spots along the way, so we would be closer to home if the wind came up. Just when we were ready to quit for the day, about 4:30 PM, we found something that was, for me, the most fun part of the entire trip. We found a massive school of sardines, pushed up against the rocky shore by a cold current. The school was probably two hundred yards long and extended out from about five feet deep to about twenty five feet deep. The birds were diving in, but I could not imagine any big fish in such shallow water. The bait fish were tiny, maybe two inches long, but they were so packed that it was dark and eerie beneath the school. The mass was moving and swirling so I dove to ten feet and grabbed a rock on the bottom in the clear area and looked around me. The dinner bell was going off and it brought everybody for miles. All the predator fish were amped up, speeding around, and paid no attention to me. In this shallow water, I saw lots of bohala, pargo, bonita, sierra, golden travelly, and rooster fish as they would charge through the bait and then come back down to cruise the clear area below. Since we had enough fish it was great fun just to watch the action. Michelle and Kent thought the diving was over and had taken off their gear but I encouraged them to get back in the water before dark as this was a once in a life time experience. Michelle jumped back in with no wetsuit and thought she would just stay a minute, but half hour later she was still there, shivering, but captivated by the feeding frenzy and the variety of fish below us. To witness this event was a first for me. In the past few years the cold water and the sardine run has failed to materialize so for the three of us to experience this brief but memorable happening on our last dive day was a welcome gift from the Gods.

    When we arrived back at the Bridge of the Americas, over the Canal, after such a successful family trip we felt both relief and joy. Our trusty steed had AGAIN dependably carried us on another night-sea journey to other worlds that few get to visit.  We were all stoked to have seen so many fish and to have lived a few more unforgettable days in Neptune’s magical kingdom. For me diving is a wonderful family affair, full of awe and surprises for everyone involved. As we envision new plans and trips for the future, we look forward to their unfoldment, knowing that we will be sharing ocean time, not only with immediate family members, but with our friends that are part of our greater family of water brothers and sisters. All of us, that like to take that one big breath,  INHALE , and slide into the 3D liquid world, where we can fly, see nature close up, and partake of the bounty provided, are part of that one big family. It is a wonderful sport————and   IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR.

Dix and Michelle Roper     .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)      May 25, 2011