I have been collecting in rivers, and lakes in Panama since the pandemic restrictions let up, back in Dec of 2022.
The first couple trips, nothing was caught, a few months later some fish species were caught, but not the cichlids I was targeting.
I average 2 collecting forays per month, the basic cost of a collecting trip for me (I live in Panama) is about $125 each whether anything is caught, or not.
This includes a combination driver/guide, and local ferry cost. No hotels, no flights, its bare bones.
This minimum expense applies to anyone who collects wild fish, so take that into your wild fish price evaluations.
The first time I spotted a cichlid I was after, was in April of 2023, it was a half dead Darienheros calobrensis that just happened to float by.\To me it looked like it was injured, from an attack by a fish eating bird.
This was a golden moment, because it meant we had finally hit on a river the ones I was after, were living in.
A month later, we moved south on that river, near the pueblo of Las Margaritas, and finally caught some live ones.
And also caught, another of my target species (Isthmoheros tuyrensis).
This Tuesday we went to 2 rivers in search of my final target species, Geophagus crassilabrus, the actual (sort of) point of this diatribe.
The first river, Rio Canita had heavy current as a result of rains in the nearby mountains, water was cold, and even after about a dozens casts, only a few tetras were found, nothing else.
I was hoping to at the very least get underwater footage, but as you can see, the water was muddy, cold, and nothing was to be seen.
We moved west to the old standby, Rio Mamoni, under the highway overpass, but the current was even stronger, and although water temp was warmer, no fish were netted.
My point......sometimes you eat the bar (a collecting trip is successful), sometimes it eats you (sometimes you come up empty handed), but the cost remains.
The first couple trips, nothing was caught, a few months later some fish species were caught, but not the cichlids I was targeting.
I average 2 collecting forays per month, the basic cost of a collecting trip for me (I live in Panama) is about $125 each whether anything is caught, or not.
This includes a combination driver/guide, and local ferry cost. No hotels, no flights, its bare bones.
This minimum expense applies to anyone who collects wild fish, so take that into your wild fish price evaluations.
The first time I spotted a cichlid I was after, was in April of 2023, it was a half dead Darienheros calobrensis that just happened to float by.\To me it looked like it was injured, from an attack by a fish eating bird.
This was a golden moment, because it meant we had finally hit on a river the ones I was after, were living in.
A month later, we moved south on that river, near the pueblo of Las Margaritas, and finally caught some live ones.
And also caught, another of my target species (Isthmoheros tuyrensis).
This Tuesday we went to 2 rivers in search of my final target species, Geophagus crassilabrus, the actual (sort of) point of this diatribe.
The first river, Rio Canita had heavy current as a result of rains in the nearby mountains, water was cold, and even after about a dozens casts, only a few tetras were found, nothing else.
I was hoping to at the very least get underwater footage, but as you can see, the water was muddy, cold, and nothing was to be seen.
We moved west to the old standby, Rio Mamoni, under the highway overpass, but the current was even stronger, and although water temp was warmer, no fish were netted.
My point......sometimes you eat the bar (a collecting trip is successful), sometimes it eats you (sometimes you come up empty handed), but the cost remains.
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