Black Skipjack

Black Skipjack are what we all call Bonito

Black Skipjack are our #1 bait and likely you will be reeling many of them in.  Find where the Black Skipjack routinely hang out, and you’ll be in the right spot to catch  other larger species. 

On our way to the Hannibal Bank, we’ll want to pick up four of these bonitos, (Black Skipjack) to stuff into the tuna tubes. It’s best to arrive to our fishing hole with these baits ready to pitch out, rather than having to fish for our first bonitos, over the spot.

Black Skipjack are the bait that caught maybe 75% of the marlin and Cubera Snapper, Big Tuna, Almaco Jacks, Roosterfish, Sharks, you see on this site.

While we are slow trolling these Black Skipjack over the Hannibal Bank, you will likely have a line or two in the water with lures to hook more Black Skipjack. When the bait rod is going off, you know we are trolling our baits in the right spot.  You want to have your bridled Bonito  swimming in with the bait ball. A marlin, same as any predator will pick the weak easy prey out of thousands. 

You will want to keep dead bonitos to fillet and make strip baits from. Kept clean, dry and cool these strip baits out fish ballyhoo many days. Once made only from the belly strip, Panama Bait production always impressed our guests. But  I find a simple strip baits stuck on a circle hook and trolled, works great cut from any part of a Bonito. The belly meat has more fat / oil also it holds up better, so probably the belly is the best. But all of the skin gets lots of bites.

Cut up chunks of Black Skipjack have caught countless big fish. Chunking big pieces and tossing them over unhooked, have conjured up Black Marlin for us while drifting over the Hannibal Bank. We drop a few chunks over the sweet spot each time we pass over while slow trolling live bonitos. It gets the black marlin eating and holding on the spot till we pass over again, I think.

This bait is fun, a little thrill to catch, and there are a lot these fish here. 

Pin them to a little circle hook swiveled to bigger one, snelled with 300# leader.

Marlin might have squashed this one in half.

Book your next sport fishing trip in Panama with us!

Black Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna and general sport fishing trip dates to Isla Coiba in Panama tend to fill up quickly each year.  Contact us NOW to book your trip of a lifetime with Marlin Panama! We have so many fishing opportunities available. You are assured of having a fantastic sport fishing adventure in this beautifully exotic and remote part of Central America.  Don’t wait, call now to help assure yourself of getting the dates you want!  We supply everything you will needs as far as food, drink, bait and tackle are concerned. We are very knowledgeable in fishing this area and have been doing so for decades. Join us soon! You will be glad you did!