the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the panama spadefish
how to recognize it
Fish with a disc-shaped, laterally flattened body, from shallow reefs and rocky bottoms. On the same coast, the Pacific spadefish (Chaetodipterus zonatus) is similar and lives on the same reefs, but it reaches 65 cm, much larger than this one, which reaches 31 cm. Size is the main difference for telling the two apart.
Also called: enxada-panamenha, curaca, palma, pollera panameña, panama spadefish
don't confuse with:
We don't have tips on season, bait or technique for this species yet.
where found
open on the large mapWhere to look: Coral reefs and rocky bottoms in shallow water, close to the coast.
Eastern Pacific of Latin America, from the Gulf of California to Peru, on shallow reefs and rocky bottoms.
rules for the panama spadefish
Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
estimated weight
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how we calculate
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.03236, b = 2.94; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
more about the panama spadefish
Fish of the family Ephippidae, with a disc-shaped, compressed body, which reaches 31 cm and has a common size of 20 cm. It can weigh up to 793 g. It lives over coral reefs and rocky bottoms in shallow waters, from the Gulf of California to Peru. It always stays close to the bottom and feeds on invertebrates. It is commercially fished. It is of little interest to sport fishing and is often seen on the same reefs where the much larger Pacific spadefish lives.
Family: Ephippidae · predator
similar species
sources and references (2)
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Parapsettus panamensis (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Parapsettus panamensisNames by country and language.
how we calculatewhere each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: