Fishing Clothing & Accessories
Buy and sell fishing clothing and accessories in Panama.
By mid-morning on a boat off Bahía Piñas there is no shade left, and the glare off blue water tires an angler long before the fish do. Polarized sunglasses and hooded sun shirts, new and pre-owned, do most of the work against that, and a cooler that still has ice in the afternoon does the rest. Much of it comes from people who kitted out for one big offshore trip and now fish from the shore. With sunglasses, the lenses are what a buyer is really paying for, so they are the part to photograph and the part to inspect.
Polarized sunglasses and the colour of the water:
the tint should follow where you fish. Blue mirror over a grey base is the lens for open ocean, the hard glare you meet running out past Las Perlas. Green mirror over copper, or plain copper, gives more contrast inshore and in changing light, along a mangrove edge or up the Chagres. Glass lenses are sharper and shrug off scratches but sit heavier on the nose; polycarbonate is lighter and takes a knock better. A cheap polarized pair cuts glare too, but blurs at the edges and scratches quickly.
Hooded sun shirts, gaiters and gloves:
this close to the equator a T-shirt and cap leave too much skin out, so people who fish all day wear a long-sleeved hooded shirt with a UPF rating on the label, a neck gaiter and fingerless gloves. Huk, Pelagic and Columbia PFG cut theirs loose and quick-drying, with hoods that stay put when the boat is running. Thin sun gloves are for casting; padded jigging gloves are for grabbing a leader with a heavy fish on it. Pliers and lip grips sit with fishing tackle, and a fighting belt belongs with the stand-up outfit in rods and reels.
Rain shells, deck shoes and the cooler:
a Pacific squall arrives fast and passes fast, so a light packable shell earns more days aboard than heavy Grundéns bibs, which suit deckhands who live in them. On a centre console, non-marking siped soles keep you upright on a wet deck where flip-flops will not. The cooler takes the hardest use of all: a rotomolded Yeti or RTIC holds ice through a long hot day, while a basic Igloo or Coleman needs topping up much sooner.
Costa and Maui Jim against a generic polarized pair:
nearly every dollar worth discussing goes on the sunglasses. A pair from Costa or Maui Jim costs around $200 to $300 new in Panama, while a generic polarized pair runs under $15 and is fine for a first trip. A branded pair with clean lenses and its case fetches around $90 to $150. What sets that price is the lens: it is the part you paid for, one scratch across the middle sits in your eye line all day, and replacement lenses cost a good share of a new pair. Shirts and gaiters hold little resale value and mostly go as bundles.
Scratched lenses, sunscreen stains and a cooler that smells:
tilt the glasses slowly against a window and hairline scratches, a crazed mirror coating or film lifting at the edge all show up. To test the polarization, look at a phone screen and tilt your head sideways: a polarized lens darkens it. Costa and Maui Jim are both widely copied, so the model name printed inside the arm should match the case, and salt on the hinges shows how the pair was looked after. On a shirt, the usual wear is sunscreen yellowing on the collar and cuffs, hook snags and a stretched hood. A rain shell that feels tacky inside has a coating that is breaking down. On a cooler, work the latches, press the gasket, pull the drain plug and smell inside: a fish smell that has soaked into the walls stays.
Passing on glasses, shirts and a cooler after the big trip:
give the brand, the lens colour and whether it is glass or polycarbonate, and photograph the lenses against a bright background with the case in the shot. Wash the shirts and give the label size; a few with a gaiter and gloves make a sensible bundle for someone getting ready for a first trip to Coiba or Bocas del Toro. For a cooler, give the inside measurements and say whether the gasket is original. Whoever comes for a pair of glasses will want to wear them outdoors and look across a car windscreen before paying, so arrange to meet in daylight.