Casting Bonds in Panama – Jim and James Farwell
On our recent trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge we met the nicest father and son, Jim and James Farwell. Each day they seemed to be having the best time together – TRULY BONDING – as they told stories of the big fish they’d been catching. Although they were not with our group, their obvious connection and joy led me to introduce myself. I wanted their story on our website. Here’s what they had to say and get to know them and have them be a part of my Casting Bonds series.
HPFC: What inspired you to plan a fishing trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge together?
Jim (father): I heard about SFPIL about 12 years ago from a work colleague who had visited the lodge previously. He described the lodge, the great food, the friendly laid-back atmosphere and the tuna fishing. He said this was the “place to go” for topwater tunas, roosters and cubera snappers. We both grew up freshwater fishing, but over the last 10 years have been drawn more to saltwater fishing. There’s nothing quite like the action of a saltwater fish on lighter tackle.
James (son): We’ve been interested in planning a fishing trip for a while now, but with my dad starting a new business and myself finishing up school we found that this was the right time to finally do it.
HPFC: Who proposed the idea of a fishing trip – father or son?
Jim: It was me, but we talk about fishing and trips we want to take, all the time. Fishing is something that we both have in common and has helped keep us connected.
James: My dad proposed it I think, but he knew I would take no convincing to go.
HPFC: How old are each of you and how long have you been fishing together?
Jim: I’m 54 and James is 24 – we’ve been fishing all our lives. Fishing has been a lifelong thing for our family going back a few generations. James says he has been fishing with Dad since he was 3 years old.
HPFC: How did you decided to go to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge for your fishing trip?
Jim: We’ve done plenty of daily charter fishing in Florida. Don’t get me wrong, any day on the water is a good day, but we wanted to step up our game with a multiple day saltwater lodge experience. SFPIL offers a great topwater bite. We’ve done a bunch of surf fishing during the Florida mullet runs and love that type of action. We chose SFPIL on the prospect of catching multiple yellowfin tuna, and maybe a roosterfish or cubera snappers on topwater. Nothing quite compares to physically seeing the hook up and feeling the fish’s power and speed on that first run.
James: I’ve seen all of the YouTube videos and social media posts about it and knew it was a special place.
HPFC: What preparations did you make before heading out for the trip?
Jim: We’ve been following SFPIL for a while on Instagram and the internet. With the VIP package, SFPIL does everything start to finish, from when you land in Panama City to when you depart the Lodge to go home. We really didn’t bring anything special, other than a Yeti cooler. I’d recommend the larger size; we could have used it.
James: We focused mainly on apparel and sun protection. Other than that, SFPIL mostly took care of everything else.
HPFC: Did you have any specific goals or expectations for the fishing trip?
Jim: We wanted to catch tuna on poppers. This was accomplished within 30 minutes into day one offshore. Fishing is not always catching. Our expectations were high, we were not disappointed. Fishing is more about the memories made than the fish caught.
James: We really just wanted to catch fish, sure we wanted to catch big tuna, roosterfish and cubera, but our main goal was just having a good time and having a lot of action. We were able to accomplish all of our goals except the roosterfish, but that gives us a reason to go back.
HPFC: Did you learn anything more on this trip about each other or about fishing techniques?
Jim: I improved my popper skills. Note to self…work on shoulder strength and sea legs.
James: We both learned how to fish the popper so much better. I know on day one I was thinking that there was no way we were going to be able to hook up on popper: it was tiring; we couldn’t get the distance on the cast; and our sea-legs weren’t great as I think we were both uncomfortable on the front of the boat. By day three we were throwing the popper all day and catching fish which led to our last day almost exclusively throwing the popper.
His strength both mentally and physically surprised me, we had one day fishing inshore where we were casting all day with very few bites. I think both of our shoulders were dead sore, and you get to a point where you just don’t think you’ll get the bite anymore, but he kept trying, casting over and over again. We never ended up with the bite we were looking for but we can’t say we didn’t give it our all.
We also reinforced the mindset that it isn’t all about the fishing – it’s sometimes just about spending time together.
HPFC: Can you share any particularly memorable moments from the trip?
Jim: Some of the most memorable moments include the interaction with Captain Carlitos and his mate, Daniel. Those guys work so hard getting you on fish and handling the never-ending deck duties with a smile and great sense of humor. Daniel can fillet a tuna in minutes while running 30 in heavy chop, definitely a learned skill. For the fishing, catching 30 plus tunas in the 25-40 pound range in the span of about 2 hours was both amazing and tiring.
James: Everything was memorable on the trip, from the scenery from both the airplane coming in and the boat going out to the fishing grounds, to the big tunas we caught to the blowups on topwater. Everything was great!
HPFC: How did the father-son dynamic influence your fishing experience?
Jim: It was great! We could not have asked for a better trip. James and I are on the same page when it comes to fishing and everything else.
James: Our fishing relationship was complicated at one point (around 13 years old) when I started taking it more seriously, started to compete in bass fishing. I only wanted to catch bass using only specific techniques. He only cared about catching fish and the techniques and spots I would want to fish didn’t suit his strengths. So at that point we didn’t fish a lot together. Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve realized it’s not important how we catch fish or what we catch, but just getting out there together.
As far as this specific trip, it was great we didn’t care who caught the fish. We passed the rod back in forth. That allowed us to get right back out there and catch another one, plus we can each say we caught the big ones.
HPFC: Were there any challenges you faced during the trip, and how did you overcome them?
Jim: No challenges – maybe just getting to breakfast on time. 😊
HPFC: Did the fishing trip strengthen your bond as father and son?
Jim: For sure! We always had a strong bond. Fishing has just reinforced it.
James: Definitely. It’s a lot to be out on a boat with someone for 4.5 days, but we did it and really didn’t have any issues. We’ll remember this trip for the rest of our lives and we’re already thinking about the next one.
HPFC: Did you catch any remarkable fish or have an exciting encounter with wildlife?
Jim: The commercial boat/sportfishing boat/tuna interaction was very interesting, especially how the commercial boats help push the tuna towards the sportfishing boats. Daily friendships are made, bait from underneath the commercial boats are traded for liquid refreshments. Goodwill among captains is exchanged with tunas, celebrative shouting among crews and lots of whistling. That was freakin’ awesome, let’s do it again!
James: The porpoises were really cool. I’m not sure if either of us have seen them before and just seeing them swim with the boat was really cool. But I don’t think either one of us could get over the schools of tuna blowing up. That was awesome to see.
HPFC: Were there any funny or lighthearted moments that occurred during your trip?
Jim: Chef Lee had numerous English/Spanish combination one liners that were especially entertaining and eye watering funny.
James: Hanging out with Captain Carlitos and Daniel was a blast. Daniel had his signature “meow” he would make at the most random times and it would always bring a laugh. Seeing my Dad attempt Spanish was also pretty funny.
HPFC: What did you enjoy most about the fishing trip?
Jim: “Doesn’t have to be about the fishing” is our motto, but this time it was the fishing. This is the place to go if you want acción!
James: I just liked spending time together with no distractions. Now that I live in Florida, and he’s in Ohio we don’t get a lot of one-on-one time anymore, especially without work or other aspects of life getting in the way.
HPFC: What advice would you give to other fathers and sons who are considering a fishing trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge?
Jim: Do it. Don’t wait 12 years.
James: Enjoy every minute of it, it goes by fast and before you know it you’ll be back in reality and caught up with everything else life throws at you.
