Incredible Billfishing and Peacock Bass
text and photos by Mary L. Peachin and courtesy of Tropic Star Lodge and Guy Harvey
January, 2010 Vol.14 No.5
Sail unfurled, the billfish exploded out of the water. Less than half a mile off Panama’s Darien coast, sailfish gorge on migrating Pacific sardines. During the winter months, black and blue marlin school around Zane Grey Reef, a seamount rising from a depth of 300 to 110-feet beneath the ocean’s surface. Covering about 200-yards, marlin, sailfish tuna and other pelagics congregate to feast on an abundance of baitfish found in its upwelling current.