My Fishy Wish List for Panama

Pete and I, along with six of our friends, leave for Panama next Tuesday. After all sorts of COVID-related craziness, we’re finally headed to the legendary Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge. Of course, Pete is a planner and I like to wing it, so until a few days ago I had done no thorough research on this destination. I knew that we’d be chasing yellowfin tuna, but I didn’t know if that was the only game in town.

But then I woke up really early this morning and decided to get on the computer to research if there will be different species to catch. I wanted to know my options – or whether there even were options.

I quickly learned that there are over 50 species of gamefish in the Gulf of Chiriqui so I don’t think I am asking for much if I list five that really excite me. With the exception of the first one, here they are in no particular order:

Number one is of course yellowfin tuna. April is the prime time for them, when the water temperatures get right and the bite heats up. I am hoping to see what is called a “Tuna Frenzy” or a “Tuna Boil” where they are feeding on bait balls that they have pushed to the surface. I’d especially like to catch one on an oversized topwater popper. Everyone who has caught them says that you’d better be in good shape as they put up a tremendous fight. Hopefully my gym membership will pay off.

The best part of catching the tuna is that we’ll get to eat them. Pete and I are coming prepared with our Yeti Hopper tote bag so we can bring back fish to restock our freezer after our salmon was depleted.

Since we returned to Guatemala for round two with sailfish earlier this year I have had my heart set on a marlin -- black or blue I am not picky. Although April is not one of the key months for marlin in Panama I have been told there is still a possibility. SFPIL recently hosted Marlin University and they caught some beautiful billfish. You can troll with artificial lures or if there are some small tuna, bonitos or skipjacks around to be caught we’ll put them in Tuna Tubes to kept alive, and use them as live bait….marlin candy!

Roosterfish are also on my list, and if I’m lucky enough to land one that might be my next replica (if we can find room in our house). Unlike tuna and marlin, you catch them inshore. One nice thing is that they’re available there year-round, often right in front of Island Lodge. They like rocky shoreline and sandy beaches to hunt their prey. Thank goodness they aren’t good to eat. They don’t reproduce in great numbers so I will gladly release mine back to be caught again.

On our honeymoon to Tahiti we had incredible freshly-caught wahoo one night. We chose the piece we wanted and then the chef grilled it to perfection. I never thought about that fish again until this morning. It would be really cool to catch one and bring back those great memories almost 16 years later. Wahoo are one of the fastest fish in the ocean and once hooked they take off like a freight train, so again I’d be glad that I have been upping the weights at the gym. They have zebra-like stripes, vertical bars and are greyish-blue in color. If I catch one, I hope we can keep it for dinner, picture first, of course. Unfortunately, this is not the best time to catch them in Panama, but you never know.

One of my New Year’s goals was to start looking into a trip to catch GTs (Giant Trevally). I haven’t crossed that bridge yet, but their relative – the Bluefin Trevally – exists in Panamanian waters, so catching one would be a start. From the pictures I’ve seen, they have electric blue spots on their body that run down to their tail. I’m sure they’ll be fun to catch, and they’ll be a nice preview of my future trip to the Seychelles.

Of course, there are many more desirable species I might luck into. If I happen to catch a Cubera Snapper, a Horse Eye Jack, a Rainbow Runner or an African Pompano I will not shake them off. It would be fantastic to catch all of them. I big part of what I love about fishing is the mystery of what will appear at the end of your line. Stay tuned. When we get back I’ll fill you in on how many of these bucket list species I capture. They’ll ALL be new to me.