Anglers worldwide consider fishing in Panama as a bucket list entry and for those who have experienced it understand why. The journey to Panama city from Miami, Houston, or Los Angeles is a direct flight that is between 4 and 6 hours depending on the airport. The Accurate crew flew out of LAX to Panama city which took us approximately 6 hours flight time and with our host Shane Jarvis of Panama Sport fish Island Lodge setting up the pick up it couldn’t have been easier.

Once we arrived we were met at the gate by a gentleman that led us through customs in a VIP line then to a private club upstairs that had food, drink, plus several large screen tv’s for our viewing pleasure.

He took our bag tickets from us and as we waited in this comfortable club he got our bags, loaded them into a waiting van, and our whole time leaving the airport was maybe 40 minutes.

Once we were on our way they took us to the new Hilton in Panama city which had a Ruth Chris Steak house in it, were we settled into a great dinner. The arrival into Panama means you are usually spending the first night in the city prior to continuing onto your final destination. The accommodations offered by Shane Jarvis had exceeded any of our previous visits to Panama.

Next morning we had a phenomenal breakfast down stairs before boarding the van to the domestic airport for our trip to David. The fight to David is approximately 30 minutes where Shane met us at the airport to start the adventure.

Once in David you are shuttled to a waiting boat in our case it was a 35 foot World Cat which was our taxi to the island as well as our fishing platform for the next week.

Isla Parida is a beautiful setting for the Sport Fish Panama Island lodge located about a 45 minute run from David among the nearest island group to the mainland. He has two small guests houses that sleep up to 8 persons each with a shared bathroom and shower in each building. The Lodge is nestled in the middle of the trees with a great view of the bay. Its definitely an island experience with the walks through the lush foliage to the boat and back daily.

As for food, Chef lee made us the best appetizers and the main coarse every night was to die for. You are eating fresh fish caught daily in a variety of recipes with a Panama flair. Looking for a cocktail after a hard day of fishing, Shane has a full bar to meet your libation needs. Service on the island is excellent with the guys taking your tackle and rods back and forth if needed. They make sure you time on the island is one to remember.

As for fishing, they have a full species list of inshore adversaries that include Rooster fish, Cubera Snappers, Horse eye jacks, Amberjacks, Pink amberjacks, and a myriad of other fish living around the island in the rocky terrain. The islands to fish include all around Isla Parida, Isla Secas, Boca Chico, Isla Montuosa, Jicaron, and Coiba. The boat ride to the bank is maybe an hour and a half but most of the time you are stopping short to fish the porpoise schools which hold good size tuna. The islands are on either side of you as you travel to the bank so fishing opportunities are vast in this area.

Not only do they have a full slate on the inshore side of the spectrum they fish the infamous Hannibal bank for Dorado, Yellowfin Tuna, Black Marlin, Sailfish, and Wahoo depending on the time of year.

Our trip saw a full speed tuna bite on the hannibal with fish up to 180 lbs with the bulk of the fish between 40 to 80 lbs in the porpoise schools. If bonito are present, there is no better bait to bridle and troll for big tuna as well as world class Black Marlin that occupy the waters around the bank. There is something to target pretty much any day in Panama either inshore or offshore for your fishing pleasure.

Some more Panama photos from our trip:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if you are looking for a trip of a lifetime, you have to visit Panama and its surrounding Islands. Its a definite waterman bucket list adventure no manner what your your favorite sport is.

More more information visit: sportfishpanamaislandlodge

 

Tight lines.

 

Team Accurate