In just a few short days, Pete and I are headed back to fish with Captain Shane Jarvis at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge. We’re bringing six first-timers with us, but I’m also toting a few new items. When we went for the first time in April we were mostly prepared, especially since we didn’t have to bring any tackle, but there’s always a way to pack more efficiently and completely. I’ll report back after with my findings, but here are the new things that are making the trip south:

Cablz Sunglasses Retainers

Would you drive your car without any car insurance or walk around without health insurance? Then why would you not wear Cablz to save your sunglasses?

Quality polarized sunglasses are critical to fishing success and long-term eye health and you get what you pay for. They need to fit your face, make sure sweat doesn’t collect in the lenses, the temples don’t cause you to have headaches, etc. Then when you find the perfect pair, you don’t want to lose them. And let’s be honest, anything worth having typically isn’t cheap.

I always bring two sets of polarized sunglasses with me when I go fishing in case a pair falls off my face or I take them off and sit or stand on them. I don't particularly like my second pair, so I’d really prefer not to lose my favorites. To ensure I don't lose them I now have a pair of Original Cablz Zipz adjustable in black, the universal 14 inch length. For just a few dollars you can potentially save hundreds, and save your eyes, too.

Weedline Tank Top

Weedline Hola Fishes tank top for women racerback

Some people talk to angels -- I talk to the fish. That’s why Pete knew that I’d like my Weedline “Hola Fishes” tank top. As we get older, we prefer to spend money on experiences versus gifts, but we still get each other fun little things. Who would have thought Pete would be buying me clothes, let alone fishing apparel? As we know, from pictures and from my blog, I'm well-endowed, although my shirt size is a medium (sometimes even small). I was so excited to get this new tank from Weedline, but unfortunately a medium was too small. Pete contacted Weedline and they were very apologetic, sent out a large and told us to just keep the other shirt and gift it to another lucky lady angler. My replacement tank showed up within a few days. This time it was the right size but the wrong design! Pete and I giggled and he felt terrible but really wanted me to have the right design so he contacted customer service again and once again they had no issue with sending me the right design and I was able to hang onto the shirt that showed up by mistake. Mistakes happen, we're all human, but it's how we fix those mistakes that makes or breaks a long-time customer.

Mammoth Frontier 50 Dry Bag

Luggage plays a huge getting your belongings to and from home safely, organized and DRY. We’ll ride multiple planes, vans and boats get us to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge, and then our gear may be exposed to the elements for the boat rides. Our bags will be stacked up and rain or shine we are boating over to the island for our EPIC trip. I'm excited to use our new Mammoth Frontier 50-quart capacity cooler/duffle bag to make sure our things stay dry and protected. It’s the perfect size to keep our raingear, some electronics and a few other items safe and sound. The zipper is actually kind of tough to open and close, but I have a feeling that’s a feature, not a big – it’ll keep our stuff DRY. The bag also has a molded bottom and an anti-microbial liner. We already own several dry bags that we’ve taken on trips, but this seems to take it to the next level. You can even wear it like a backpack.

Salt Life Clothing

Live the Salt Life silver long sleeve performance tee shirt

There’s no such thing as “too much clothing” for the traveling angler. When visiting our good friends at the beach in South Carolina, all I saw were Salt Life car stickers. It finally dawned on me to check their apparel out to see if they offered a flattering fit for ladies, so I acquired the Sun Wave Long Sleeve Performance Tee in silver. Its fabric is 88% polyester and 12% spandex with a slim fit, which is visually appealing and it feels different than my other sun shirts. Maybe it's the fabric but a large fits my athletic, busty body the best. It's treated for UV 30 sun protection and made from wicking fabric that pulls moisture from your skin and evaporates it through the shirt into the air. It should be perfect for Panama weather, allowing me to stay cool in the occasionally blistering sun. Additionally, I like the palm trees and the waves, they make it different than my other fishing clothing.

Salt Life Legend Long Sleeve Performance Fishing Shirt in Aqua Sea for women

I also obtained their Legend Long Sleeve Performance Fishing Shirt in Aqua Sea. It too is treated for UPF 30 sun protection and is designed to keep you comfortable and safe from the sun's harsh rays. It has a vented back and buttons inside the sleeves in order to roll them up. I don't normally like the way I look or feel in a button-up shirt but I am pleasantly surprised in the medium fit, the tapered sides and the roll-up sleeves. I initially wasn't sure about the Aqua Sea-minty color but now I love it. The best part is that my biggest and most honest critic (no, not me, Pete) told me it's one of the best-looking fishing shirts I own.

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These new items will make me more comfortable, look fashionable and will keep my gear dry, but all of that is worthless if I don’t perform on the water. My number one goal on this trip is to use the Yo-Zuri popper and catch me a yellowfin tuna on topwater. When the fish are boiling and the tuna are feeding, the boats make a mad dash for the boils. At the same time, you need to hang on, cast, pop and reel.

Last year I struggled popping the lure on the long rod both on the upper deck with the bars that came to the top of my ribs or standing in the deck with the high boat sides. It became apparent that I was getting frustrated and Captain Shane saw this and gave me the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow suspending lure to cast out and fish it like a jerkbait. I caught lots of tuna this way but for some reason I feel the fish that were caught on the popper were bigger and the explosion was more intense so I want to catch the fish the way everyone talks about catching them: POPPING!

I am determined to figure out my stance, position on the boat, a way of getting down the popping motion and catching a giant cow (that’s what veteran anglers refer to yellowfin tuna that top 200 pounds). At this point I’m not quite a veteran, but I’m getting closer with every cast.