“HOLD ON!” yells Capt. Shane Jarvis, and you’d better listen because he’s spotted diving birds and spinner dolphins on his Simrad radar. That means just one thing: surface-busting yellowfin tuna. He points the boat in their direction and guns the twin outboards in search of sashimi.

Jarvis has established an island retreat in Panama’s Gulf of Chiriquí, 30 miles from the Costa Rican border. No purse seiners are allowed in Panamanian waters, so the fishery remains fertile. Anglers can chase billfish, mahi and inshore species, often in the same day, but the marauding tuna are typically the biggest draw. Massive schools thunder around and anglers who can intercept them reap the benefits. His base on Isla Parida, 10 miles offshore, puts him closest to the action.

“The tuna are here year-round, but the bait really moves in with huge pods of dolphin from April to August,” he said. He’ll locate the action with his radar, and attempt to cut it off. “You want to figure out the direction they’re moving. When they’re in super-tight groups, you can do that, but some bait — like flying fish and squid — can’t be herded. They’re more erratic.”

Upon arrival to the action, anglers try to launch a Yo-Zuri Bull Pop or Mag Popper into the midst of the frenzy. At first, some are too awed by the airborne tuna to act. If the fish go down, it’s time to start all over again, searching the radar for action that could have moved miles away in the blink of an eye. All too often, though, one or more anglers hook up.

“The key is to loudly pop the lure one or two times so the fish can hear and see it,” Jarvis explained. “Then move it faster … pop-pop-pop-pop. When you hook up, apply as much pressure as you can from the get-go. It pays to be in good shape.” That’s because while the tuna tend to school up by size, a 200-pounder can suddenly appear in a group of 20- to 60-pounders.

Jarvis, as part of Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge, has outfitted his three World Cats and one Freeman with custom front casting platforms and protective rails. The latter prevent anglers from going in the drink when casting or battling a giant yellowfin. He uses specialized popping rods from Blackfin and Shimano Twin Power 14000 spinning reels spooled with 65-pound test Yo-Zuri Superbraid and a shock leader of 80-pound test Super Fluoro.

At night, anglers return exhausted to the lodge’s compound on Isla Parida, and the biggest decision for the following day is whether to go on another hunt for tuna, or to focus on billfish and inshore species. Fortunately, it’s not a single decision that must be made. In fact, while this may be tuna popping paradise, and there’s nothing wrong with chasing them exclusively, variety is the region’s true calling card. Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the other species will give you a rest. Befitting the Jurassic Park-style scenery, everything here is prehistoric, mean, and willing to fight to exhaustion.

Planning a Trip

When to Go

The yellowfin are in the Gulf of Chiriquí year-round, and can be caught on surface lures any month, but prime popping takes place from early April through the beginning of August, when the bait is bunched up the best and the seas are calm. The rainy season starts in late summer and runs through the end of October, plus Jarvis closes down the lodge in September and October. The fishing is still good, but it may be uncomfortable to be out there. Opportunities to catch billfish and mahi increase on the edges of the rainy periods. Inshore fishing for species including roosterfish and cubera snapper is good all the time.

Where to Go and How to Get There

Getting to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge. Anglers fly into Panama City’s Tocumen Airport, the largest in Central America, which is served by numerous major airlines and has direct flights from over a dozen North American cities. From there, the package includes expedited immigration, all transfers, and a night at the Hilton. The next morning, anglers fly to the city of David on a Copa jet, take a five minute ride to the airport, and an hour boat ride through the estuary to Isla Parida.

Panama City is exceptionally cosmopolitan and safe. During the stopover, tours can be arranged of the Panama Canal or Casco Viejo portion of the city. Isla Parida is in a national park, which includes World Heritage Site Isla Coiba, known for its incredible diving and whale watching.

The post Panama’s Topwater Yellowfins appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Panama’s Tropic Star Lodge is renowned as a world-class fishery for a variety of species. And visiting South Carolina angler Mark Davis, 54, whole-heartedly agrees – especially for oversize Pacific cubera snapper.

Fishing on Dec. 14, Davis was filming a segment for his BigWater Adventures TV show when a giant of a cubera snapper ate a live hardtail bait near some shoreline rocks.

“We were 10 miles south of Pinas Bay, in about 80 feet of clear water when the fish hit,” Davis explained in an to Sportfishing. “It was a bright and sunny day with light wind, and we were fishing on a camp 31-foot Bertram boat. The snapper crushed a slow-trolled bait about 50 feet off shoreline rocks, and the battle was on.”

Davis used a 6-foot Penn rollered trolling rod, coupled with a Penn reel spooled with 80-pound test Seaguar braided line with a top-shot of 150-pound Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon Leader. A 6/0 Gamakatsu circle hook was used with the live bait, says Davis.

“The snapper took a bait off a downrigger, trolled down about 50 feet,” says Davis. “I had 40-pounds of drag pressure and boated the fish in about 5 minutes.”

Davis reports that cuberas all make hard, powerful runs, and the bigger they get the more extreme the run and fight.

“I bring that tackle to Tropic Star specifically for the bigger fish, 50-pounds and up,” he says. “It greatly increases the chances of getting cuberas out of the rocks, so you can actually turn them (into open water). We call that ‘beating the brakes of ‘em’ when referring to cuberas.”

The fight with the giant cubera was filmed for a later TV show, photographed and promptly released.

“It was a great fish, and Captain Jose and his mate Manuel estimated the fish at better than 75-pounds,” says Davis. “All cubera snapper are released at Tropic Star Lodge, and that’s a good rule to maintain the remarkable fishery there.”

The current IGFA All-Tackle world record for Pacific cubera snapper is 78-pounds, 12-ounces, caught in Costa Rica in 1988 by angler Steven Paull. It’s also the IGFA Men’s 30-pound line class record for cubera

Whether Davis’ big cubera would have bettered that Costa Rican fish, or claimed another men’s line category for the species is not known since Davis’ fish was released without weighing or measuring it.

Davis also caught two more oversize cuberas that day live-bait trolling, a 40- and a 60-pound snapper.

“They’re such incredible fish, and so tough to fight— they’re just awesome,” Davis says.

When asked about the possible IGFA record for his biggest snapper, he shrugs it off.

“I’m not much of a record-seeker anyway,” he said.

The post Near Record 75-Pound Cubera Snapper Caught and Released appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The French appreciate a good Bordeaux, a wedge of Camembert, a fresh baguette—and throwing poppers tirelessly for hours. Given that I haven’t spent much time in France, that description might well reek of stereotyping; however, I can vouch personally for the last item in the list.

French anglers who travel to fish tend to be all about popping and jigging.

Ditto French fishing-resort owners I’ve known, most recently Pierre-André Demauge in Pedasi, Panama.

A group of us flew down there for a week with a good idea what to expect, per the Panafishing website home page: “Our fishing lodge is the only one in Panama that caters exclusively to popping and jigging enthusiasts.”

More explanation on the fishing states that throwing “artificials is definitely the most exciting and rewarding way to catch a fish, but it is also tiring and demanding, so one should come prepared and willing to cast and jig all day long.”

Each day, Demauge fished with our group, and we couldn’t help but be impressed with his enthusiasm and tenacity as he heaved heavy poppers from our first hour to our last. Though he lives here, his focus on hooking big fish was no less fanatical than that of us visitors.

Explosive Testing Grounds

There’s nothing wrong with sitting back and watching a slow-trolled rod pulling a live blue runner, which no one can argue is damned effective. But that’s a very different kind of fishing. It’s hard to beat seeing a massive boil or blowup behind a big popper or shallow-running stickbait.

The promise of just such heart-stopping action out of these waters near Pedasi (about 100 miles due southwest of Panama City) that consistently produce massive cubera and huge roosters lured seven gringos here this past July. Among our group were Magnus Gunnarsson, Sam Root and Jose Chavez, all with Savage Gear, and Adrian Gray with the International Game Fish Association. Chavez’s main responsibility with the tackle manufacturer is designing lures, so he was keen to try out some of his creations in these tropical testing grounds. With a total of eight anglers, including Demauge, we divided up each day into three Panafishing boats—two 26-foot Twin Vees with twin Suzukis, and one of its two Caribe Pro 25s.

After an early breakfast, we piled into a pickup, with some ridiculous number of rods and reels strapped to racks on top, and headed the few minutes to the beach from which we would launch.

Don’t look for any marinas anywhere along this coast; except where broken by rocky headlands, sandy beaches extend endlessly. Pangas, used mostly for artisanal fishing, lined the beach where a road from Pedasi extends. Once there, we hopped down and helped transport tackle, coolers and insulated water jugs to the waiting panga that would ferry gear and anglers to one of the Twin Vees tethered to mooring buoys just beyond the beach.

Panafishing crew and staff helped hold the panga at the surf’s edge while being loaded. Then, with impeccable timing, they pushed the boat forward through the swells as the outboard operator quickly dropped and cranked up the engine. Fortunately, seas here seldom loom large. During a week’s stay, we had no problem getting out or back in.

The Tuna Coast

One of Gunnarsson’s goals for this trip was to catch his first cubera snapper. While cubera were caught every day, the prize snapper eluded Gunnarsson during his first three days of fishing. I joined him on day four, the choppiest morning of all.

About midmorning, our skipper, Eduardo, moved us into friendlier water closer to shore, near a rocky point just south of the beach where we had launched. Gunnarsson, throwing a big Savage Gear Panic Popper, let out a shout, and I looked over to see a large, dark shape charging it near the boat. The fish missed but circled back, and this time nailed it.

With considerable effort, Gunnarsson managed to keep the snapper from the rocks, and soon he released his first cubera, a respectable if not monster 30- to 35-pounder. By trip’s end, cuberas up to 50 pounds had been released, and some considerably larger—and unstoppable—hooked.

Not long after, the breeze began to die out, and we moved south and offshore to a large island, essentially a great, sheer rock. Here we were reminded, as we had been on previous days, why some refer to this area of the Azuero Peninsula as the tuna coast. Yellowfin tuna swarmed in large areas, jumping after sardines. The schoolie-size fish all but made up for their modest heft with sheer numbers and lively action on top. We had great luck on smaller Panic Poppers and Savage Gear Mack Sticks (a stickbait introduced in 2019).

We had hoped to run 30 miles or more offshore to the serious tuna grounds, where schools of yellowfins well into three digits typically forage. But early on, conditions weren’t flat-calm, as is often the case, and Demauge suggested we wait for the right day. Unfortunately, that day didn’t come—maybe next trip!

While I had brought mostly serious gear, as anyone bringing tackle here should, I also brought a fairly small and light spinning rig with 30-pound braid and had a blast using it for these tuna. But one should be judicious using anything that light in these waters.

Later that same afternoon, back near Pedasi, in a shallow, sandy, quiet cove, I cast a tiny pink Savage Gear Sandeel from that rig, hoping for a corvina or small rooster. Naturally, I hooked what had to be an oversize snapper. I hadn’t a prayer of stopping its rush out to some rocks that I couldn’t see, but I felt when the line parted.

Surprise Party

Every day seemed to have its surprises. While casting a Mack Stick stickbait right against shoreline rocks, one angler hooked a respectable mahi. On our last day, we ran into a pack of large bull sharks roaming the same shoreline in quiet water.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, they aggressively rushed poppers and stickbaits, and when 300 or 400 pounds of bull shark explodes on a lure, it’s a major rush. Each one we hooked quickly proved a losing proposition—not surprisingly—and, after four break-offs, we resisted the urge to hook others or feed them any more lures, and moved on.

Several in the group spotted tarpon unmistakably rolling nearshore. They had no chance to hook them, but Demauge says it’s become fairly common for anglers to hook silver kings here, as it is along much of the Central American Pacific coast.

Besides cuberas, most in our group had roosterfish as an item to scratch off their lists, and most met that goal using various sorts of lures. Root caught one of the biggest roosters of the trip while throwing a Panic Popper. (While impressive, the 45-pounder couldn’t match the 80- to 90-pounders that have been caught on Panafishing boats.)

Mine came on the last day, when I decided to try a large Savage Gear Pulse Tail Mullet Swimbait. I was glad I did; the damned thing looked more like a swimming mullet than an actual swimming mullet, and apparently a rooster thought the same because, about 15 feet from the boat, it surged up to grab the soft lure. In another boat, Chavez landed a good rooster of 30 pounds or so when it struck a metal jig in about 90 feet of water.

Miscellany on Metal

Most popping enthusiasts, it seems, are also fans of jigging. We had come fully prepared to do both, and we soon figured out that drifting and working jigs offered a welcome use of some alternative muscles from those used to throw large lures. And, as jigging always seems to, it got results, particularly for a variety of species.

Jig-caught fish included broomtail grouper, roosters, skipjack tuna, African pompano, cabrilla, yellow snapper, rose snapper, orangemouth and yellow corvina (at one point, on a large school in 90 feet, offering nonstop action), barred pargo, almaco jacks, jack crevalle and others.

We variously fished these metal lures as speed jigs or went with the finesse of slow-pitch jigging. Both methods caught fish. This gave us the chance to try out several varieties of Savage jigs, particularly the venerable Squish jig, as well as some newly introduced designs, generally in 50 to 200 feet.

Interestingly, on some days we drifted through dark clouds of bait that showed up on the sounder, even marking some larger targets around the bait, but didn’t get much. In other cases, even where not much showed, we hooked fish. The biggest prize for jiggers would have to be the broomtail grouper up to 50 pounds that we caught. At least one hefty grouper went for a soft-bodied TPE plastic 3D Swim Squid that Gray worked over the bottom.

At the end of a busy week, after an early breakfast, we all loaded into the large van provided by Demauge for the six-hour drive to Tocumen Airport in Panama City for our afternoon flights back home, tired but happy. The Savage team, particularly, felt they’d gotten their money’s worth, having fished so many new or recent designs, and even prototypes, with so much success. For anglers who love the thrill of throwing big poppers and stickbaits, as well as speed- and slow-pitch jigging, Panafishing on Panama’s Azuero Peninsula merits a visit.

Planning a Trip

Most fishing resorts in Panama do a lot of live-bait fishing. Panafishing is all about lures and jigs. A visit to its webpage—panafishing.com[[please make link active]]—will offer immediate visual proof that the resort’s skippers put anglers on fish without ever bothering to bridle up live baits.

The six-hour air-conditioned van ride (with a stop for lunch) from Panama City means that if anglers can arrive in the country before midafternoon, they can go right to the lodge and skip the hassle of an overnight hotel stay.

The boutique-size lodge, which has been here since 2006, and its four boats can accommodate up to 11 anglers. Many guests bring their own gear by preference. Arriving by van means anglers can easily carry all their gear with them; that can be difficult—and costly—when flying from Panama City on a small regional-air flight. As an alternative or supplement to anglers’ tackle, the resort rents gear for a modest price—quality gear such as Shimano Stella and Saragosa reels and Black Hole rods.

Many fishing resorts in Panama provide tackle; however, most charge more for a week of fishing (sometimes considerably more) than Panafishing.

The absence of ports or access to the coast in the entire area helps keep fishing pressure low. Panafishing is closed only during September. During the dry season, January through April, anglers need not worry about rain, though the winds might kick up some days, which can limit fishing to various semi-protected areas, depending upon wind direction.

What Demauge calls the “green season” runs from May through November. At least some rain is likely, but so are the lightest seas of the year, with the Pacific often flat-calm. This is the best time of year to pursue surface-feeding yellowfin, from footballs to industrial-size fish.

Most of the captains have been with the resort for more than 10 years; they don’t speak much English but definitely speak fishing. Still, anglers lacking rudimentary Spanish can use a list of the most useful and essential words and phrases, which is available on each boat.

The post Panama’s Popping Paradise appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Line ran off the reel on the right rigger at an alarming rate as we jumped to our stations and prepared for the fight. Capt. Bill “Wild Bill” Wichrowski grabbed the rod out of the gunwale rod holder; the mate, Juan, ran to clear the other line; Ozzy Delgado strapped Wichrowski into the harness; and I grabbed my camera and aimed it toward the point where the line disappeared into the angry gray waves.

“Hang on!” Capt. Shane Jarvis shouted while he goosed the throttles of the 33 World Cat to ensure a solid hookup.

Behind the transom, an enormous black marlin rocketed to the surface and began greyhounding toward the horizon. Jarvis barked instructions, jockeying the throttles to help Wichrowski get control of the powerful fish.

We’d had a couple of earlier bites come ­unbuttoned, and with this being our final day of fishing Panama’s Hannibal Bank, the whole crew was on pins and needles. “This is a good fish,” Jarvis said. “Take your time, keep the line tight, but don’t force it.”

Finally, after a stressful 30-minute back-and-forth battle, the mate grabbed the leader, and Wichrowski, known for his role on Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, got a close-up view of his first black marlin — a bruiser estimated at more than 400 pounds. The hook popped free just as the marlin eased up beside the boat, but it was an official release. Wichrowski could cross one more billfish species off the list on his quest for a royal slam.

Private Island Hideaway
I had traveled to Sportfish Panama Island Lodge on remote Isla Paridas, 12 miles off the mainland, in July 2017 because of an invite from Delgado after a chance meeting at the Miami Boat Show. Delgado, who was the senior marketing and community manager for Grundéns performance apparel at the time, was scheduled to tarpon fish after the boat show one night with a co-worker of mine. After a last-minute change of plans, I stepped in as a substitute host for the trip. Through the course of the evening, I learned that both Delgado and I needed only two more species — black marlin and spearfish — to claim all nine billfish species required for a royal billfish slam.

“You’ve got to come to my buddy Shane’s place in Panama to get your black,” Delgado said. “The big fish are there in late July on Hannibal Bank. It’s one of the most incredible places in the world to fish. I’m going down with our spokesman, Capt. Wild Bill, and I want you to join us. It’ll be a trip of a lifetime.”

How could I say no?

Jarvis originally arrived in Panama in the late 1990s from Florida, after his father bought property there to build a vacation home. He intended to ship his boat down and stay for a year while he helped his father. During that year, he took the time to fish and learn the area, and eventually earned his captain’s license.

Jarvis officially opened Sportfish Panama Island Lodge in 2005. Accessible only by boat, the facility on Isla Paridas lies inside Panama’s Gulf of Chiriqui National Marine Park. Paridas is the largest of the 25 nationally protected tropical islands that make up the Paridas Archipelago and enjoys close proximity to some of the best fishing grounds in Panama, including our target destination: the notorious Hannibal Bank.

Keep It Simple
Known for reliably holding big tuna, Hannibal Bank also offers spectacular marlin fishing using live bonito bridled to large circle hooks. On average, anglers can expect two to three shots per day at big blacks off Hannibal. A respectable number of fish to 800 pounds are landed each summer, with a few over that mark on occasion.

“We normally fish for black marlin with live bait, especially this time of year,” Jarvis told me. “Hannibal Bank is a couple of miles wide by about 5 miles long. On the west side of the bank, there are a couple of high spots within a few hundred yards of each other. This one little area is almost always where all the action is. That’s where the bait stacks up and the fish are coming in to feed.”

While we got lucky one day and were able to throw jigs to a school of bonito in open water on the way out, the most productive method to quickly fill the tuna tubes involves running to the high spots and trolling bonito rigs — half a dozen pearl dusters or small squid heads attached to a cigar weight and a planer. Once you fill the tuna tubes, it’s time to fish.

After securing the live baits, Jarvis sets up a slow-trolled spread with two bonitos on the riggers and one off a flat line. He uses Accurate 80 reels spooled with 100-pound mono and 300-pound wind-on leaders, terminating with a 12/0 Mustad demon perfect circle hook. To bridle the bonito to the circle hook, Jarvis takes a slightly different approach than other captains in the area.

“Back when I started fishing here, a lot of the guys liked to use floss,” he says. “I like to use 20-pound mono instead because sometimes we have problems with these black porpoises that come and rob our baits.

“The floss is so tight that the bait won’t pop off. The porpoises grab the bait behind the hook. They’re smart; they see the hook and they’ll pull, and you’ll waste a bunch of time. If you use the mono like I do, it’ll pop off real quick so you don’t have to mess around with them and can move to another spot to keep fishing.”

While we trolled with only live bonito for blacks during my trip, Jarvis does break out lures or dead baits when targeting other species. July through September signals peak black marlin time, but November through February brings more blue marlin and sailfish into the region. Changing tactics allows him to cover more water.

“We get just as many bites on the plastics as we do on the live baits, but we get a lot more hookups on the live bait,” Jarvis says. “I also think fishing with live bait is a little more exciting and unique for most clients because they’re not used to catching marlin on live bait.”

More Than Marlin
During our time in Panama, we stayed laser-focused on targeting big blacks, but there are other pelagic punishers available to bend an angler’s fishing rod. From April through June, big yellowfin tuna in the 100- to 200-pound range frequent the same areas as the marlin. Anglers looking for a physical challenge can try their hand with these beasts on spinning tackle, but be warned: It requires a strong lower back to tangle with a 200-pound tuna in deep water. Jarvis prefers to use a 30-pound ­conventional reel spooled with 80-pound mono and Dacron backing.

“I like the mono over braid because a lot of times, we’re hooking these big tunas in the middle of a frenzy or near a pod of dolphins,” Jarvis says. “There’s a lot of tension on the line, and if another tuna or a porpoise hits that line, braid will break under the pressure because it doesn’t stretch.”

On our first day out, the marlin wouldn’t ­cooperate, so we took a break from trolling to track down a large school of porpoises rumored to be in the vicinity. The tunas and porpoises often swim together in the Pacific Ocean, with schools of both species numbering in the hundreds.

If he doesn’t see tunas actively busting bait on the surface, Jarvis keys in on the behavior of the porpoises to determine if there are tuna below and how to best approach them.

“If the porpoises are moving really fast, shoulder to shoulder, that’s the behavior you look for because it means they’re feeding,” Jarvis says. “Nine times out of 10 when they’re doing that, you can pitch a bait in front of them, and the tunas will hit it.”

The timing of our midsummer trip had us fishing past the peak season for the really big tuna, but we did manage to land three feisty fish in the 65-pound range, providing plenty of tasty sushi and sashimi back at the lodge.

Whistle Fish
With daylight dimming on our final fishing day, and only one live bait left, we were about to call it quits when 20 yards off the portside transom corner, a bonito broke the surface as it was simultaneously sliced in half by a large bill.

Jarvis corrected our course, and moments later, chaos ensued when another hefty black crashed the last bait. Delgado held tight to the rod while the fish put on an impressive aerial display before settling in for an all-out slugfest.

“Keep cranking,” Jarvis instructed. “Don’t rest. If you’re resting, the fish is resting, and it’s just going to take that much longer to get him in.”

After 45 minutes, Delgado began to tire, but he dug deep and ratcheted up another level of heat on the stubborn marlin. “Stay smooth and steady,” Jarvis warned, as the fish slowly came into view below the surface. “What a beauty!” he exclaimed. “This one has got to be close to 500 pounds!”

The mate leadered and tagged the fish. An exhausted Delgado posed for some pictures, and the marlin was released back to the depths. “Amazing! That’s why you come to Panama and fish with this guy,” he said, as he high-fived Jarvis. “The last day, the last two baits, and we crush back-to-back blacks over 400 pounds. Unbelievable!”

By week’s end, we had raised eight black marlin in the 400-plus-pound range, getting our hooks into five and releasing two. The handful of other boats fishing the bank reported similar numbers, with one lucky boat releasing a black estimated at 800 pounds.

Read Next: Massive Black Marlin Caught By Solo Kayaker

While I came up short in my quest to land a black on this trip, I was happy for Bill and Ozzy, who moved one step closer to completing their slams. Besides, it just gave me another excuse to return to this stunning destination and try again.

About the Author:
Mark MacKenzie is the Digital Content Director for Sport Fishing, Salt Water Sportsman and Marlin, and is a lifelong saltwater angler. Originally a devout striper fanatic from Maine, he now lives in Florida, and has traded in his waders and surf rod for a flats skiff and fly rod.

The post Panama Black Marlin: One Angler’s Billfish-Slam Quest appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Panama Resorts by the Numbers

Most serious saltwater anglers in the United States (and beyond) probably fall into one of three categories, I suspect: those who would like to fish Panama, those who are planning to fish Panama, and those who have been there and are already making arrangements to go back.

When it comes to fishing trips to Panama, I have to plead mea culpa many times over; that experience allows me to feel confident saying that without question, Panama has become one of the world’s very top destinations for saltwater fishermen.

Why should that be so? Six reasons come to mind (most applying to the Pacific, though outstanding fishing is available on its Caribbean coast as well).

WORTH THE TRIP

Reason 1: Panama’s Great Variety of Game Fish

Notching marks for marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, roosterfish and cubera snapper in one trip is not only feasible but also common. Add to the list wahoo, mahi, bluefin trevally, snook (and increasingly Atlantic tarpon migrants), grouper, amberjack and almaco, and quite a few more.

Reason 2: Panama’s Trophy Fish

An awful lot of those “fish of a lifetime” have been taken along Panama’s coast, from marlin more than 500 pounds to 200-plus-pound yellowfin tuna and roosters 70 pounds and more. A check of the IGFA World Record Game Fishes book shows Panama with multiple records for a number of game-fish species, including mahi (11 records), black marlin (four), roosterfish (six), rainbow runner (nine), Pacific sailfish (12), mullet snapper (16), Pacific cubera snapper (14), Pacific snook (four) and many others.

Reason 3: Panama’s Productive Coastal Waters, Islands and Seamounts

Big-game pelagic enthusiasts enjoy some of the world’s most consistent action around renowned seamounts like Hannibal and Zane Grey banks. The waters around islands such as Coiba, Jicaron, Montuosa, Secas and Las Perlas are well known for action from wahoo, trevallies, snappers, sierra and more. Fishing along the country’s coastline offers action from riverine estuaries to blue water offshore. Many areas offer pelagics surprisingly close to shore.

Reason 4: Panama’s Calm Waters

While the Pacific isn’t always flat, of many trips here, I’ve never had one blown out, and on a majority of days out, the ocean has been calm.

Reason 5: Panama’s Ease of Entry and Access

Panama’s Tocumen Airport is Central America’s busiest and largest, the only one with two active runways. Getting to Panama City isn’t a crazy-long flight from most of the United States (from Miami, it’s less than three hours). The country is served by Air Canada, Air France, American, Copa, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa, United and others. Local air service extends to most part of the country. No visa is required for U.S. citizens.

Reason 6: Panama’s Profusion of Coastal Fishing Resorts

Another convenience for those planning to fish Panama is manifested in this feature: It has a wealth of great coastal resorts that cater mostly or exclusively to sport fishermen. Anglers can choose from various locations on both coasts and from a range of prices and styles (land-based, floating barges, large motherships).

Pretty much all of the 11 operations spotlighted in coming pages in this gallery are geared up to target anything and everything, whether anglers are after big pelagics or nearshore game fish.

Sport Fishing‘s Comparative Guide to Panama Fishing Resorts

The decision isn’t whether or not to go to Panama: If you’re all about memorable action, you’ll go. The tough decision is which of many fine resorts will best fit your needs and finances, and toward that end, this unique Sport Fishing comparative guide should help.

Catch ‘em up! (Lodges are listed alphabetically. Because prices are time-sensitive, please check with each lodge for updated rates.)

COIBA ADVENTURE (800-800-0907)

Coiba Adventure is the only operation based on Coiba Island, where it has been since 1998, giving it unique immediate access to the Gulf of Chiriquí’s most renowned spots. Owner/skipper Tom Yust has been guiding in these waters since 1991.

From Panama City: A chartered one-hour flight takes anglers directly to Coiba Island.

Accommodations: Two cabins, up to eight guests; typically one group of four at a time.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: Bertram 31 with twin 240 diesels, and a 22-foot Mako with 225 Suzuki (for both offshore and nearshore).

Tackle: Conventional — Shimano Tiagras (chair rods) and Penn and Shimano 50s with heavy braid for big bottomfish, and Talicas on Terez rods with light braid; spinning — Shimano and Penn reels in various sizes with braid.

Primary Fishing Grounds: Coiba Island, Hannibal Bank, and Montuosa and Jicarita islands.

Distance to Fish: Nearly all areas are within a 5- to 60-minute run of camp.

Season: Open year-round, but June through December the preferred period.

Comments: The Coiba National Park includes more than 30 uninhabited islands protected from commercial harvest; their location makes access difficult for many other sport-fishing boats.

COME FISH PANAMA (888-497-4311)

Come Fish Panama is located at Boca Chica, near David, less than 50 miles east of Panama’s border with Costa Rica. Its first year of operation was 2009. Contact Kerry Leggett, owner, captain and avid angler.

From Panama City: A 45-minute flight to David (from Tocumen or Albrook airports) or a 6 ½-hour drive. From David, Come Fish Panama arranges the short ride to one of the lodges it uses.

Accommodations: 20 rooms in total; 28 guests maximum.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: 39-foot custom walkaround sport-fisher, 31-foot Pursuit center-console with twin Yamaha 225s, 31-foot Eduardoño center-console with twin Yamaha 225s, and 29-foot Pursuit center-console with twin Yamaha 225s.

Tackle: Reels — Stella, Saragosa, Tiagra, Torsa, Tranx and others; Rods — Shimano, Ocean Tackle International (OTI) for popping and jigging, and Seeker marlin and tuna rods.

Primary Fishing Grounds: The Gulf of Chiriquí including Hannibal Bank and the gulf’s many islands, plus estuaries west of Boca Chica.

Distance to Fish: Most inshore/nearshore fishing is a run of 5 to 30 miles; the best offshore fishing is 35 to 55 miles from the lodges.

Season: Open December through August.

Comments: Come Fish Panama arranges for clients to stay at any of three different lodges.

HOOKED ON PANAMA (888-733-5368)

Aqua Adventures’ Hooked on Panama is the easternmost of all operations listed, located on the small peninsula that separates Costa Rica from Panama. The lodge opened in 2005. Contact Fred Stephens, U.S. reservations manager.

From Panama City: Fly to David, and then it’s a two-hour drive to the lodge.

Accommodations: 12 double-occupancy ocean-view bungalows for up to 24 guests.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: Three 35-foot Deepsport boats with 12-foot beam and twin turbo-diesel engines.

Tackle: Shimano conventionals with 30- to 80-pound mono for trolling, live-baiting; Shimano spinners for popping. (Reel models not specified.)

Primary Fishing Grounds: Nearshore, most often around Punta Barica and Islas Ladrones.

Distance to Fish: Typically five to 20 miles to fish coast and out to Ladrones; offshore trolling can begin within 10 miles of the lodge.

Season: Open all year. (Late November through April best for billfish; April through August for yellowfin.)

Comments: The beachfront lodge sits amid a large grove of tropical trees in a parklike setting.

PANAFISHING ADVENTURE (011-507-6498-1503)

The Panafishing lodge, open since 2006, is near Pedasi on the Azuero Peninsula. Contact Pierre-Andre Demauge, the owner.

From Panama City: Fly (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays only) to Pedasi in 45 minutes or arrange with the lodge for a five-hour van ride.

Accommodations: Four rooms accommodating up to 11 guests in total.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: Two 25-foot Caribe Pro center-consoles with twin Suzuki 70s, and two 26-foot Twin Vee center-console cats with twin Suzuki 140s.

Tackle: Many anglers bring gear, but the resort offers Shimano Stella and Saragosa reels with Smith Ichiban or Black Hole rods for popping and jigging. Reels are spooled with 50-, 65- and 80-pound Jerry Brown braid.

Primary Fishing Grounds: Up and down the eastern and southern coasts of the Azuero Peninsula, including river mouths, submerged and emergent rock piles and wrecks, and blue water (typically near the coast) when yellowfin are on.

Distance to Fish: For coastal game fish, anywhere from five minutes to two hours in either direction. For tuna, usually 10 to 30 miles.

Season: Open October through July. (January through May best for topwater action and feeding frenzies nearshore; summer and fall similar, but better odds for yellowfin tuna fishing offshore.)

Comments: Panafishing specializes in jigging and popping. A lot of very big roosters are taken in the area, and of course there’s the aptly named Tuna Coast just to the south. A lack of other fishing resorts or large marinas in the area keeps competition minimal.

PANAMA KAYAK ADVENTURE (011-507-6322-2855)

The name Panama Kayak Adventure tells the story of this operation, which began in 2013. The wilderness camp has been carved out of the remote jungle wilderness in the heart of the Tuna Coast on the lower Azuero Peninsula. Contact Pascal Artieda, owner/operator and kayak-angling fanatic.

From Panama City: Artieda will arrange a van for the five-hour drive to Cambutal, the end of the road at the bottom of the peninsula, where a panga will meet you for the one-hour ride to the camp.

Accommodations: Four new bungalows that sleep two each.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: Seven Hobie kayaks (four Outbacks, two Pro Anglers, one Revolution) and two super pangas (23- and 27-foot).

Tackle: Most bring their own favorite gear, but Shimano Saragosa outfits available with 60-pound braid for rental at $25 per day.

Primary Fishing Grounds: The Tuna Coast in the vicinity of the camp, both along the rocks and farther out for both coastal and blue-water game fish.

Distance to Fish: From right in front of the camp to several miles up, down or away from the coast. Tuna are often caught within a half-mile of shore. Sometimes Artieda will “mother-skiff” anglers and kayaks to more distant areas using the pangas; in any case, a skiff remains in proximity of kayakers when on the water.

Season: December through June.

Comments: A unique chance to experience some of the country’s most exciting fishing and some of its most remote coastal jungle wilderness at a bargain price. Most of the effort involves slow-trolling live bait, casting poppers and working jigs.

PANAMA SPORTFISHING LODGE (843-816-7663)

Located at Boca Chica on the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama Sportfishing Lodge opened its doors in 2008. Contact owner John de la Cruz.

From Panama City: Fly to David, where hotel staff will drive you to the nearby marina, where a boat will take you fishing or to the lodge first.

Accommodations: 14 double rooms can accommodate 28 guests.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: Nine boats: a variety of center-consoles, expresses and convertibles from 29 to 34 feet.

Tackle: For trolling, live-baiting, or jigging and popping, Shimano reels: Tiagras, Torsas, and Trinidads and Stellas. Rods are Shimano, OTI and Black Hole.

Primary Fishing Grounds: The Gulf of Chiriquí including Hannibal Bank, Coiba Island and the gulf’s many other islands.

Distance to Fish: 15 to 60 miles from the lodge.

Season: Open year-round.

Comments: Recently the lodge introduced a mothership option that sleeps eight and offers anglers multiday trips to Coiba and the outer Gulf of Chiriquí.

PANAMA YACHT AND FISHING CHARTERS (011-507-6780-3346)

PYFC, the country’s newest fishing lodge (since 2014) is also its most diverse, with a mothership that fishes both Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Panama. Contact manager Hennie Marais.

From Panama City: Varies depending upon where anglers will be meeting the mothership.

Accommodations: Five guest cabins on the mothership and two more on a 66-foot sport fisher can sleep 10 to 12 anglers in total.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: 98-foot Knight & Carver yacht (the mothership), accompanied by a 66-foot Buddy Davis, a 37-foot Strike walkaround and a 17-foot skiff.

Tackle: “Full range for spinning and trolling, much of that new Shimano gear.”

Primary Fishing Grounds: Las Perlas Islands and Coiba in the Pacific; Bocas Del Toro and the San Blas in the Atlantic, depending upon time of year.

Distance to Fish: Highly variable depending upon where the mothership is anchored and what anglers are targeting. Very generally, likely to be from 5 to 20 miles.

Season: Trips can be booked year-round.

Comments: One of Panama’s high-end fishing options and certainly the most flexible. In 2015, PYFC also became a Guy Harvey Outpost.

Pêche Panama

Pêche Panama‘s lodge, smaller and more intimate than most, has been operating since 2008 in Boca Chica. Contact owner Olivier Charpentier.

From Panama City: As with other Boca Chica resorts, most visitors fly in to David, though some prefer the 6½-hour drive.

Accommodations: Three rooms for up to six anglers.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: One 28- and one 26-foot Caribe Pro center-console with twin Suzuki 140s and 115s.

Tackle: 50- and 80-pound-class trolling outfits; Shimano Stellas and Saragosas with 80-pound braid for popping and jigging.

Primary Fishing Grounds: Primarily islands in the upper Chiriquí (including Secas, Ladrones, Parida) for roosters and cubera, and Hannibal Bank and Montuosa Island for billfish and tuna.

Distance to Fish: 20 to 60 miles.

Season: Open December through June.

Comments: Adventurous anglers should see Pêche Panama’s website for the option to stay at and fish from the lodge’s base camp on Montuosa Island, in the heart of some of Panama’s wildest big-fish waters — a long run from most land-based lodges.

PROPIEDAD DE PARADISE LODGE (866-245-1492)

Propiedad de Paradise has a proximity advantage: Its location, on Isla Parida in the Gulf of Chiriquí, shortens the run to Hannibal, Coiba and Montuosa. It’s operated here since 2006. Contact Shane Jarvis, skipper and co-owner.

From Panama City: As with other area resorts, most anglers fly in to David; from the marina there, it’s an hour to Isla Parida by boat.

Accommodations: The lodge uses a guesthouse with two bedrooms, each with four beds.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: A 33-foot World Cat with twin Suzuki 300s, and a 25-foot Seacraft center-console with twin Suzuki 140s.

Tackle: Shimano: conventionals — Tiagra 50s and 80s and Talicas; spinning — Saragosas with Terez rods.

Primary Fishing Grounds: The entire Gulf of Chiriquí.

Distance to Fish: From in front of the lodge to Islas Ladrones (15 miles) to Hannibal Bank and Isla Montuosa (approximately 40 miles).

Season: Open year-round.

Comments: PDP Lodge works with only one group at a time.

TRANQUILO BAY ECO ADVENTURE LODGE (719-589-6952)

One of the few lodges catering to anglers who want to sample Panama’s productive Caribbean coast, Tranquilo Bay is the largest resort in the pristine Bocas del Toro. It’s been operating since 2005. Contact Jim or Renee Kimball or Jay Viola, owners/operators.

From Panama City: A 50-minute flight to Isla Colón followed by a short boat ride to the lodge.

Accommodations:Six cabanas for up to 12 guests.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: One 25-foot SeaVee center-console with Yamaha 200, and one 25-foot Caribe center-console with Yamaha 200.

Tackle: Abu Garcia 5500 baitcasters with St. Croix rods (15-pound line), and Shimano Tekotas for offshore (30-pound line).

Primary Fishing Grounds: The mouth of the Changuinola and Sixaola rivers for tarpon and snook.

Distance to Fish: About an hour run.

Season: May through June, September through October.

Comments: Minimal fishing pressure in the region; owners built their impressive resort themselves.

TROPIC STAR LODGE (800-682-3424)

If any one lodge seems synonymous with “Panama fishing,” it’s Tropic Star, located since 1963 on the edge of the Darien jungle, about 30 miles from Panama’s eastern border, near Piñas Bay. Contact Bonnie in the United States or fishing director Albert Battoo in Panama.

From Panama City: An hour flight from Albrook, Panama City’s domestic airport, to Piñas Bay, and then a short boat ride to the lodge.

Accommodations: Four two-room cabins, a house with eight rooms, and a three-bedroom “Palace.” In total, 38 guests can be accommodated.

Sport-Fishing Fleet: 16 Bertram 31s with twin diesels.

Tackle: Shimano — Tiagra 30s and 50s; Tyrnos with 16- to 20-pound mono; Spheros spinners with 65-braid for popping near the coast.

Primary Fishing Grounds: Adjacent coast and blue waters offshore, which include famed Zane Grey Bank, where large black marlin and yellowfin tuna come to feed.Distance to Fish: Typically 6 to 20 miles.

Season: December through September.

Comments: Tropic Star prides itself on being a world-class resort, widely renowned and multiple-award-winning. It offers a long list of amenities (see its website). Many big names have shown up on its guest list (e.g., John Wayne, Fuzzy Zoeller, Guy Harvey).

EVEN MORE FISHING OPERATIONS

While most major fishing resorts are included in this gallery, at least a couple resorts I’m aware of were unable to get back to me with information for this article, but they’re worth a look!

One is Pesca Panama, a small, hospitable floating resort which puts anglers in the heart of Gulf of Chiriquí action. Another is the Panama Big Game Fishing Club, located on Isla Boca Brava on the upper (northern) coast of the Gulf of Chiriquí.

The post The Angler’s Guide to Panama appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The Caribbean? Must be some mistake. This photo has to be the Seychelles or some remote island paradise in the tropical Pacific. But no: It’s one of hundreds of San Blas Islands off the northern (Atlantic) coast of Panama. A group of anglers — two shown here casting from a flats skiff — recently joined Panama Yacht & Fishing Charters to spend five days exploring these astoundingly beautiful waters. Enjoy a taste of the spectacular San Blas in this photo gallery.

On site: Panama Yacht & Fishing Charters‘ operation in the protection of the San Blas Islands, as seen from a drone flown by Ryan Danoff. Accompanying the 98-foot, luxurious mothership Ms. B Haven on all (Atlantic and Pacific) Panama destinations is a 66 Buddy Davis and a brand-new Strike 37.

Gear Galore

Gear for Any Occasion

In this drone’s-eye view, the PYFC skiff runs up a channel in clear, pristine flats that characterize the San Blas Archipelago.

First Casts

AFTCO CEO Bill Shedd prepares to unhook a yellow Shimano Waxwing lure from a mutton snapper.

River in the Flats

Big (and tough) horse-eye jacks seemed to outnumber the usually more common crevalles on this outing. Here, Sport Fishing‘s publisher, Dave Morel, admires a horse-eye that struck a Shimano Orca.

Hook Crusher

Dave’s Revenge

Start Melting That Butter

Enticing Salon

Crustacean Feast

As It Ever Was

Whence Tomorrow?

Having a Swell Time

These anglers would maintain that a bit of swell isn’t so bad — Bill Shedd (left) and Marc Mills enjoyed simultaneous strikes from lovely dog snapper on their Shimano FlatSide fishing jigs on the first drop of the morning.

Toothy grin from a school-sized king mackerel for Dave Morel, after it struck his speed jig on the way down.

Following Sea

Jigmeister’s Decision

Very Red Nassau

Speedy Cero

They’re everywhere: lionfish, a toxic-tipped reef dweller not found outside the Pacific until recently, are now established in most tropical Atlantic waters. This one went for a large Butterfly jig.

Island Outpost

Colorful Custom

Traditional and Modern

Why, How Do You Do?

The reason Shedd asked for one of AFTCO’s Release Fishing Gloves: The better to grab this feisty dog snapper that he caught on an Orca stickbait.

Endless Flats

Fly-Rod Surprise

Contrasts

Although the rainy season here was running late in late July, some rivers still had a clear and clean if modest freshwater outlflow. Here, Henny Marais puts the inflatable into position as Dave Morel casts along a cutaway bank.

River Snapper

Horse-Eye Attack

Omnipresent Doggy

Schoolmaster snappers don’t get a whole lot larger than this one that Marc Mills nailed using one of Shimano’s new Pop Orca topwaters.

Muy Tranquilo

A serene scene — as dusk approaches lights begin to come on in boats at anchor in the protection of Panama’s San Blas Islands.

An orange sky paints the surface of the Caribbean in the islands on the trip’s last night.

The post Panama’s Spectacular San Blas Islands appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

In an exclusive report to Sport Fishing, Panama fishing-resort manager Olivier Charpentier shares a photo of his catch — leaving no doubt of its identity as a giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis)— that he caught on a popper off Montuosa Island (clearly visible in the background).

Historically, GT have been limited to the western Pacific, found as far east only as Hawaii. GT, one of the world’s most powerful nearshore game fishes, are also one of the post popular among anglers from Hawaii to Australia. They are known to reach weights in excess of 160 pounds.

Ross Robertson, Ph.D., and colleagues have termed the vast distance between Hawaii and islands far off the coast of Central America as the “eastern Pacific barrier,” noting that it presents a formidable open-water obstacle, discouraging transpacific migration of shore-bound species.

However, upon seeing the photo of Charpentier’s catch, William Smith-Vaniz, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading experts on carangids — the family of jacks and trevallies — agrees that “This fish is definitely a giant trevally.” Smith-Vaniz tells SF that a comprehensive search of all electronic fish-collection data bases would seem to confirm this as the first GT caught along the coast of Central America.

Recently, a GT was reported sighted well off the coast of Ecuador in the Galapagos, says Robertson, an expert on fishes of the tropical Eastern Pacific.

Scientists now have documented evidence supporting a dramatic giant trevally range extension.

Several western trevallies have made it across the eastern Pacific barrier, becoming well established and today common off Panama and Costa Rica, including bluefin and bigeye trevallies and black jacks. Atlantic tarpon, having crossed into the Pacific through the Panama Canal are also becoming increasingly numerous in these waters, apparently breeding in the Pacific now.

Will giant trevally join their ranks as yet another great game fish available to anglers off Central America? That remains to be seen, but it is an interesting and for many fishermen tantalizing prospect.

(Any angler catching what he or she believes to be a giant trevally off Central America is encouraged to contact editor@sportfishingmag.com.)

Giant Trevally Invade the Easter Pacific

The post Capture of a Giant Trevally Off Panama Makes History appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

That tranquility proved short-lived. Minutes later, one of the other five kayak anglers around me, each bobbing about on a brightly colored Hobie Outback in the muted late-afternoon light, shattered the peace.

I took in the hard bend of his live-bait rod as well as several yellowfin crashing the surface just beyond. As I pedaled toward the action like a maniac, I flipped the bail on an Okuma Raw II 80 spinner, filled with 80-pound braid, ready to cast.

Other _kayakeros _were hooking up. I made it a point to stay well clear of Kevin Nakada, fishing-team coordinator with Hobie, fighting a yellowfin on the popper he’d cast off his bow, while leaving his live blue runner trailing behind: He now had two crazily bent rods, each pointing off opposite ends his kayak!

Chaos Amid Busting Tuna

As I neared the area where I’d seen the commotion, nothing broke the surface. Had I missed a fast-moving school? I recalled that Pascal Artieda, who operated his “wild coast” kayak-fishing camp, had advised us to make casts with poppers even when tuna weren’t busting.

I did, and halfway back to the kayak, a tuna burst from the surface 20 feet behind the Yo-Zuri Sashimi Bull. I gazed in awe as it chased down the lure and clobbered it.

A yee-haw! battle ensued that had the kayak variously sleigh-riding ahead and spinning, toplike, as I pedaled around the circling tuna in an effort to keep the rod pointing off a bow quadrant and never behind me.

Ultimately, I released a 40-pounder or so (that release made easier and safer since I’d replaced the treble hooks on most lures with strong singles).

Then I pedaled quickly over to Chris Russell of Denver, with my GoPro in hand and ready to shoot the 60-pounder he was easing into his kayak to disengage a popper.

In fact, all anglers were busy hooking, fighting or releasing yellowfin — the best sort of chaos.

Bad Place to Be a Live Bait

That tuna bite capped off quite a day. Early on, we’d pedaled out of the small, protected cove where Artieda and his associate, fellow Frenchman Aurelian Perez, have set up their remote camp. A small river flows into one corner of the picturesque cove.

One rule of thumb we found in the two-and-a-half days we fished here: A live bait isn’t safe anywhere at any time except in a livewell.

With that in mind, shortly after sunup, I had dropped a live runner over the side barely outside the bay, planning to slow-troll it out to deeper reefs. But I didn’t get more than 200 feet or so before something slammed it, and right there in front of the camp, I had one hell of a fight on my hands. My adversary turned out to be a large roosterfish.

That day and the next, we caught more roosters, cubera snapper to 60 pounds, Colorado snapper, barred pargo, amberjack, African pompano, Pacific crevalle, bluefin trevally, Sierra and more. We caught fish while trolling live bait and lures, and while drifting — dropping jigs or tossing poppers. We caught ’em a mile offshore (where the water is very blue and very deep), over reefs closer to shore, and right along the surf-washed rocky headlands of the wild coast.

Wilderness Camp in Style

As the sun fell, everyone pedaled back to camp and carried kayaks well up on the beach for the night. In the clearing marking the outpost camp, showers were available, though I chose the cool, clear fresh water flowing out of the river for a welcome cleanup.

After sashimi appetizer and a great dinner (with the day’s catch as the main dish), we sat and sipped our wine (hey, these guys are French; I liked their version of roughing it), and relived the day’s many exciting moments. Even a half-hour torrential downpour couldn’t dampen our heady spirits.

Before long, most were ready to get some shut-eye; each angler crawled into his own tent, where an air mattress, sheets and a towel waited. They were good tents, and the rain fly had kept mine dry inside. I slept amazingly well both nights we were there.

Yes, we had to contend with a few mosquitoes. And at times, we had to hunker down under a tarp to stay dry. But all participants agreed that they wouldn’t have traded the experience for a plush resort.

Over Land and Water to the Wild Coast

About eight years ago, Artieda opened his Panafishing Adventure Lodge near Pedasi. From 26-foot cats and 25-foot super pangas, anglers caught all the species mentioned above plus good numbers of sailfish, at times mahi and more.

Then Artieda tried kayak fishing and was hooked — so much so that he bought a fleet of Hobies (five Outbacks and two Pro Anglers) and started offering kayak fishing around Pedasi (where it usually remains calm when the ocean gets breezy) for roosterfish, in particular. (Artieda had fished Hobies and said he recognized the almost-effortless and hands-free pedal system as the only way to go for serious fishing.)

Soon he was taking anglers to multiday adventures based out of his secret cove on the wild coast.

To get there requires about a five-hour drive (some of that smooth and easy, some w-w-w-washboard) from Pedasi to Cambutal, where the road ends at a large bay rimmed with an immense sand beach, on the southernmost Azuero Peninsula. From there, anglers transfer with their gear to pangas for another hour-and-a-half scenic cruise west along this “tuna coast” — as remote as any you’ll find in Panama — to the outpost camp. As to why it’s called the tuna coast, and why it’s so productive, search Google Earth for “Azuero Peninsula” and note the precipitous drop to abyssal depths almost at the shoreline!

Waiting at the camp: a central cooking/lounging tent, a large patio tent with mosquito netting for dining and tents. (At press time, a new and improved base camp is under construction, which will feature huts on wooden platforms with showers, a bar, tables and other amenities.)

And of course, there were the kayaks, ready for us to hop onto and go. Sometimes Artieda and Perez will load kayaks onto skiffs to travel up or down the coast to specific reefs or areas where they’ll find feeding tuna and other pelagics, but the grounds just in front of the camp are hard to beat, and one need only jump into a kayak and pedal a few minutes to start fishing.

Return Trip

We ended up spending only a couple of full days off the Azuero Peninsula, with Artieda deciding we should head back just before the groundswell was predicted to grow considerably. (Though running through some squall lines still made for an exhilarating ride back to Cambutal.)

That was in late May, when things can (as they did) get wet at times, though Artieda cites spring as a good time for big yellowfin. Most of the season, winds and seas are light here, but if a wind does blow in spring or summer, it will be from a southerly quadrant and can rough things up. In that case, it’s a fine time to fish for big roosters in the calm waters around Pedasi.

On the other hand, in winter, if a wind comes up, it generally blows from the north, Artieda says. That means the high cliffs of the wild coast offer great protection, so most of the time, kayakeros pedal out onto a flat sea.

And as long as the weather remains cooperative, Artieda will schedule wild coast adventures for five days and nights — or longer or shorter per a group’s wishes.

For anyone who appreciates the unique pleasures of fishing from a kayak, I’d have to call this ultimate adventure a must, based on our trip this past spring. In fact, I already scheduled a return trip for this winter.

Planning a Kayak-Fishing Trip to Panama’s Wild Coast

Who: Experienced kayak anglers. These are big fish, and this is not a place for novices to try their hand. (Experience notwithstanding, Artieda keeps one skiff, with VHF, out on the grounds for every two or three kayaks, for both support and safety reasons. Also, skiffs may be used to run kayaks and anglers to spots farther up the coast.)

When: December through May (seasonality discussed in text of feature)

Travel: A number of major airlines fly into Panama City. Copa offers direct flights from several U.S. cities, and I’ve generally flown Copa. (However, while I’ve had no problems thus far, I must point out that the airline’s contradictory baggage rules for fishing gear allow a “container” up to 115 total linear inches but then specify that no gear may exceed 80 inches; my efforts for some clarification have gone unanswered. For those who travel with 7-foot rods, note that United, American and Delta — all of which fly into Panama City — allow for up to 115 linear inches.)

Once your group arrives at Tocumen International Airport, you can overnight in Panama City, or you can arrange to leave for the wild coast right away (especially if you can arrive before midday). Artieda will have a van waiting — and a truck as well, if all anglers have a load of gear, as we did. It’s a bit more than five hours (with a lunch stop), a ride I didn’t mind since it meant we didn’t face the severe gear restrictions that flying in via a small, regional, in-country airline would have meant.

Depending on timing and logistics you’ll arrange with Artieda, you might overnight at the lodge or head right out to the wild coast.

What to bring: Your favorite rods/reels. The resort has limited gear. A range of 30- to 80-pound braid should serve you well. We used conventionals (Okuma’s Andros for jigging and Makaira for slow-trolling live bait), and big spinners for throwing poppers. Pack a selection of poppers, deep-diving and shallow minnow lures, and metal jigs, as well as various hooks (see “Hook Swap”) including large live-bait circle hooks (we had good results with Eagle Claw Lazer Sharps) and fluoro leader. Definitely bring a camera. Something compact and waterproof, such as a GoPro, will serve you best for shooting from a kayak. I’d also recommend good, open-fingered fishing gloves and pliers you can attach to yourself or to your kayak with a lanyard. A heavy-duty lip-gripper is a must; for some fish, a lip gaff might be useful. I consider a small waterproof VHF essential. A PLB (personal locator beacon) such as ACR’s compact Res-Q-Link is worth packing with your tackle. For camp, a flashlight comes in quite handy (or a headlamp even handier). Of course a couple of dry bags are essential.

Cost: For three or more anglers, $1,600 each covers five nights and five days of fishing on the wild coast. Add just $220 per person, and you’ll have van service from and to the airport. You may also opt for one or more overnights at the Panafishing Lodge in Pedasi, either en route to the wild coast or just to fish that (very different) area/fishery, for $100 per night.

For more information, visit panamakayakadventure.com and panafishing.com.

Trophy Colorado Snapper

Kayakeros’ Arsenal

The Journey West

Tuna Below the Kayak

The Outpost Camp

Old Man of the Trees

The Junkyard Dog of Eastern Pacific Reefs

An Abundance of Roosters

Mighty Big Rooster

Hook Swap

One Last Yellowfin

The post Kayak Fishing Panama appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Kiritimati: Disconnect and Fish!

Kenya: November Sails Balling Bait

Panama: In-Country Travel Getting Faster

Bimini: Special Packages for Wahoo Season

Australia: Exploratory Trip Starts Near New Guinea

Colombia Fishing Trip

The post Traveling Angler: December Issue appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Monster cubera snapper!

At the beach, Pedasi

A ton o’ tackle

Last-minute outfitting

Time to fish!

Where pez gallo lurks!

Rooster country!

Trophy rooster!

Time to re-bait

Pedal power: perfect trolling machine

Snapper for dinner

Breakfast at the lodge

All this on one kayak!

Caravan to a southern beach

Moo!

The end of the road

Panga time

Fearless leader

Base camp on the “wild coast”

Off the “wild coast” — time to fish!

A speck on the ocean

Stretched to the limit

The wild coast — a.k.a. the tuna coast

Tough to the end

Towed by a tuna

Tuna on top — doesn’t get much better!

Kayak seat = fighting chair

Bluefin trevally

Roosters always likely

Wild coast base camp

The jungle’s beauty

Early-morning rigging at base camp

Preparing to launch

The fleet

A wild coast indeed

100 yards out from base camp

Cubera snapper: tough customers

Kayak catch of a lifetime!

Fearsome fangs

Jigging up jacks

Whole lotta houndfish

African pompano surprise

Barred pargo

Another trophy cubera!

Reluctant rooster

The post Phenomenal Panama Kayak-Fishing Adventure appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.