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| The Wild Coast of Panama |
In the last ten years, I've been fortunate enough to travel around the world in my search for adventure and prolific fishing. It didn't always go to plan and there have often been times where I've followed up snippets of information or trusted my instincts and been disappointed. As a travelling angler, you just have to take everything in your stride. The flip side, of course, is when you stumble upon some fishing that totally blows your mind. In recent times, Central America has provided some incredible experiences with the Republic of Panama being top of my list.
It's a small country of only 3 million people with a stunning, varied coastline on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans - It provides world class saltwater game fishing. As an angler, you are completely spoilt for choice with many exciting species to target. Over the last 3 winters I have made the journey down to the Azuero Peninsula on the Pacific coast to fish with an excellent organisation by the name of
'Panama Kayak Adventure'.
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| The location of the lodge |
Owned by a Frenchman, Pascal Artieda, his lodge is way out in the wilderness and many miles from civilization. It’s a remote fishing paradise located in the Cerro Hoya National Park. The landscape and scenery are incredibly beautiful; it’s a rainforest coastline backed by mountains that plunge into the turquoise waters of the Pacific. There are no roads and the only way in is by boat, it's a very special place. He calls it......‘The Wild Coast’.
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| A nice Corvina for Mark from USA |
My first trip to the lodge was as a guest for a week back in early 2017 and I completely fell in love with the place. The stunning off-the-grid location and incredible fishing were everything I look for. Using the kayaks was also a game-changer. The silent, stealthy approach was very effective and added a whole new dimension to the fishing. It’s a real thrill catching big fish from a kayak and it comes with a great sense of achievement. You have to do everything yourself and I think that is why it’s so appealing.
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| Back she goes! |
The following year I organised 4 groups of anglers to take back to the lodge, spending a total of 6 weeks there acting as a host and fishing. At the end of this period, I was very lucky to be offered the fantastic opportunity of becoming the head guide at the lodge by Pascal. I have just recently completed my first full season; it’s been an incredible journey and experience so far. A decision I don’t regret making one single bit.
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| A beautiful Rainbow Runner |
The lodge is the ideal base for small groups of adventurous anglers looking to immerse themselves in nature and world class fishing. Pascal provides kayak fishing packages of 6 nights with 5 full days of fishing. Many of the anglers that visit the lodge are seeking the mighty Cubera Snapper, Roosterfish, Amberjack and Yellowfin Tuna. All of these species are incredible sporting fish that that grow huge and provide an exciting challenge from a kayak!
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| Big livebait destroyed by a Cubera Snapper |
There are also 5 other different species of Snapper, several Grouper species (including the Goliath and Broomtail), Dorado, Wahoo, Pacific Snook, Blue Trevally, Golden Trevally, Pompano, Jack Crevalles, Rainbow Runner, Sierra Mackerel, Corvina, Black Marlin, Sailfish, Sharks and many more. Some groups of anglers have had in excess of 30 species in a week, such is the variety available on the ‘Wild Coast’.
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| Stunning Blue Trevally are plentiful along the Wild Coast |
The lodge specialises in popping, jigging, lure fishing and live-baiting for these amazing beasts, catching many trophy fish every season. There’s not much in fishing that can beat the experience of watching one of these apex predators chase down and smash a popper right by the kayak. It’s insane, exciting and terribly addictive!
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| A selection of 'retired' poppers! |
They have a simple self-sufficient set up at the lodge; off the grid, run on solar and bottled gas. It’s amazing what has been achieved so far away from the modern world. With beautiful wooden cabins to sleep in and a communal central rancho where all the cooking and eating takes place, it really fits in its environment well. This is adventure fishing as it should be!
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| Exploring the Wild Coast for fishing adventure |
Every morning, the kayaks and anglers are loaded into a custom built panga boat and dropped off at some of the most incredible looking fishing spots you could imagine. There is over 40 miles of deserted, jaw-dropping coastline to explore and fish from the lodge. The boat is close by at all times for back-up, safety reasons and to offer help and advice where needed.
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| Unhooking a Dorado caught on a lure |
The lodge is open during the driest months of the year between December and June. It’s more comfortable for everyone. The wet season can be unpredictable with bad weather and electric storms, not the best time to be on the water with your rods!
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| Big Pacific Jack Crevalles NEVER disappoint! |
December is a stunning time to visit. The dry season is just coming in and everything is lush and green from the previous months of rain; the 'Wild Coast' is looking at its best. The larger Yellowfin Tuna are around (they come closer to shore in the rainy season) and there are also good numbers of Dorado and some Wahoo to be found. The changing of the seasons really fires up the Cubera Snapper and Roosters inshore. The tail end of the rainy season is also the best time for big Pacific Snook.
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| Big Cubera Snapper like this are plentiful....but never easy! |
January through to April is the dry season proper and the bait schools up along the coastline then. Cubera Snapper are at their most numerous and can provide excellent sport. Top water fishing with poppers and stick baits is generally very good during these months and the Roosters can show up at any time, with some very big specimens thrown in the mix.
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| Quality Roosterfish like this are abundant on the Wild Coast! |
During this period, there are upwellings of cold water which can concentrate the fish on the reefs and structure just offshore. The jigging sport can be very good at this time. Good numbers of Almaco Jacks and Amberjack, Broomtail Groupers, Yellowtail Snappers, Pompano and many other reef species can be expected.
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| Exploring the ocean on a sea of glass |
There are often large schools of Yellowfin Tuna around close to shore during the dry season, in fact they are present most of the year. These large schools tend to be the smaller fish, up to 40lb. Chasing these and throwing poppers at them provides exciting sport. However, bigger bonus fish can show up at any time.
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| A fine Pompano taken on a jig |
From March/April, Sailfish are starting to show with their numbers peaking by June. As the rains start to ease their way back in at this time of year we find it brings the bigger Tuna back inshore and within reach of our kayak anglers. With fish that can be pushing 100lb, they present a serious challenge. The Dorado are also not far behind. April/May also seems to bring some very big Roosterfish inshore.
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| The beautiful cabins at the lodge |
This is merely a guide to the main species and seasons. With fishing being fishing, there are often surprises throughout the year and you never can be too sure exactly what's going to turn up which makes it exciting fishing for everyone.
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| Big Cubera in the final moments of a tense battle |
This season in particular was an excellent year for Dorado. They have not been a common catch previously but we saw some superb catches through December, January, April and May. This is due in part to recent cuts to the commercial quota for the longline fleet in Panama. Dorado are possibly the fastest growing fish in the world's oceans. They can grow up to 2.7 inches in a week and reach a weight of around 40 lbs in a year. It doesn’t take long for the stock to bounce back with growth rates like that.
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| Our biggest Dorado of the year! |
These fish provide excellent sport. They are famed for their strength, acrobatic qualities, incredible colours and fantastic eating. They really are a huge amount of fun to catch on top-water lures from a kayak. They provided many thrills and spills for the anglers at the camp throughout the season.
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| Hooked up to a big fish in the livebait |
Many people make the journey down to Panama specifically to target the Cubera Snapper and Roosterfish. These fish are synonymous with the region and the Azuero Peninsula offers perhaps some of the best opportunities on the planet to come face to face with these top-flight game fish. These are the big hitters of the ‘Wild Coast’, the freight trains of the ocean and some of the best lookers. Catching them from a kayak poses a real challenge and is a test of any anglers skill, whatever their level of experience. These fish are the bread and butter of the lodge.
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| Huge Rooster caught on a popper! |
This season has seen some spectacular catches with Roosters around the 70 lb mark and Cubera Snapper in excess of 50 lb too. The most exciting way of catching these stunning specimens is undoubtedly on top-water lures or artificials but livebait has been very effective also. The catch rate this season has been more or less 50/50 between the bait and the lures, it all depends on the conditions at the time.
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| Big Rooster thrashes about by the yak! |
Poppers and stick baits have been working well for both species. The Cubera have taken a real shine to deep diving trolling lures though, proving very reliable. When it comes to the livebait then bonito or small black skipjack tuna are hard to beat. These baits are bridled up using a 12/0 circle hook to a long 150 lb monofilament leader. This is serious gear for serious fish. The baits used tend to be 3 or 4 lb in weight and they are freelined and slow trolled 30 meters behind the kayaks. You never know what's going to hit the bait, it’s very exciting. All about the anticipation with this style of fishing.
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| Biggest Tuna of the season! |
The Yellowfin Tuna fishing has been consistent right through the season. We are very lucky to have a couple of marks where there are deep drop-offs running very close to the cliffs and these speed demons can be caught within 100 yards of the shore year-round. These fish never disappoint with their blistering, drag screaming runs and obliging nature. A consistent stream of grade-A sushi on the dinner table also never fails to put a smile on the face of many a guest. The best that was caught this year was an estimated 50lb class fish that has given memories to last a lifetime for one lucky angler with his spinning tackle and popper. These bigger Tuna are great fun and a real handful from a yak!
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| Quality stamp of Mahi around this year |
Top-water sport in general has been excellent this year and is without doubt the most exciting way of catching a huge variety of the resident species. The Jack Crevalles never fail to disappoint and many an angler has been in awe of the power of these incredible fish. Hunting in packs and forming large schools, the competitive nature of these brutes leads to fierce bust up’s and explosions behind your popper. It really gets the heart racing!
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| Terry with a lump of a Snapper |
Also from the Jack family, there are large schools of Blue Trevally all along the ‘Wild Coast’ and pound for pound there’s not much to top these. Being the smaller cousin of the Giant Trevally, they pack a powerful punch and have many an angler thinking they are attached to a fish twice the size. With their stunning electric blue flanks, they are a desirable catch for many. They top out around the 30 lb mark and are just a joy to catch.
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| Sailfish on a popper. WOW! |
Top-water catch of the year must surely go to Gerard Bultink from Holland who came down for a week and caught the lodges first Sailfish on a popper. We’ve seen many of these incredible billfish chase our lures this season, often striking at them too. The problem is they just don’t stick, it’s very difficult to get a purchase in their tough bill with a treble hook. Gerard got lucky and was treated to a real thrill and an epic fight from his fish, jumping many times and making many fierce runs on his spinning tackle. It was a joy to watch.
When we came alongside in the boat to help unhook and handle the magnificent creature, we found just one point of a treble bedded in and the leader neatly knotted around the bill, ensuring the positive hold required to tame the fish. You need a little luck in a situation like this and it was Gerard’s day. We’ve not heard of another billfish caught on popper from a kayak anywhere, it just goes to show how unusual it is. A great achievement.
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| Gently does it! |
Another epic top-water catch was a Black-tip Shark of well over 100lb for a Swedish guest, Anders. The shark smashed his popper close to the rocks and he was very lucky that the rear treble was perfectly lodged in the corner of the mouth, keeping the razor-sharp teeth away from the mono leader. A long drawn out battle of over 20 minutes gave Anders a serious sleigh ride in his kayak and a fight he’ll never forget. A truly stunning fish!
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| Back she goes! |
Jigging action came in waves through the season, usually on the back of the cold water upwellings. The cooler water brings with it inshore many other species of fish. We had some excellent action from the Pompano species and numerous different snapper species, all of which make excellent table fare. The best fish of the season on a jig was undoubtedly the 45 lb Broomtail Grouper caught by one of our guests, Mike. It was a brute of a fish and quite an achievement when you consider he had never fished in a kayak before, never fished in the sea and never used spinning tackle! Top-job by the freshwater fly angler from Montana, USA. Anyone can do it!
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| Mike with his BIG Grouper! |
Fishing the jigs also finds all manner of weird and wonderful, brightly coloured reef species. Some notable oddities this season included a stunning looking Mexican Hogfish which I had the pleasure of catching from the safety boat. Also, some Pacific Creolefish, many different types of Triggerfish and Pufferfish, Snowy Groupers, Pacific Burrito Grunts and even a Lenguado Flatfish and a Stingray!
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| My nice Mexican Hogfish on the jig! |
It’s a species hunters paradise with a bio-diversity the likes of which I have not come across anywhere else. For those wishing to pursue these fascinating mini-species and psychedelic rarities then there really is no better place. Scaling down to LRF tactics would be sure to bring some real surprises, I’ve no doubt.
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| Sushi time back at the camp! |
The other marine life is incredibly vibrant also. Through the season we have been treated to some superb natural spectacles. The annual migration of Humpback Whales and Pilot Whales is always a joy to behold as they pass through in pods. The cold water also brought huge Whale Sharks very close to the shore, hoovering up plankton as they lazily passed by. There are also lots of turtles, massive 3 metre plus Manta Rays and big pods of Dolphins. It’s difficult to keep your attention on the fishing at times, especially when a pod of killer whales passes by. This was a very rare treat for us here in Panama, they’re not regular visitors at all.
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| Biggest Rooster of the year! |
It’s been an incredible season with so many amazing things happening, it’s hard to squeeze them all into one article. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. There aren’t many places like this left in the world and it’s a real treat to have the opportunity to enjoy this special place. It’s a bucket-list destination offering a very special experience with a fantastic mix of adventure, escapism, world-class fishing and so much more.
If you’d like to find out further information about ‘Panama Kayak Adventure’ and what’s on offer then send an email to panamakayakadventure@gmail.com
