The Travel Blog
Exotic fishing travel may be our driving passion, but we love a good road trip just the same. It’s all about leaving work behind, seeing new things and expanding our horizons.. Each new trip is a chance to catch new species and meet people who make us more complete.
Fishing Travel Links – Early May 2022
Fishing travel news for early May 2022 — Canada has reopened to vaxxed travelers and it’s still a bad idea to carry bat meat in your luggage. All the blurbs that are fit to print.
Eleven Things You Shouldn’t Do During an Airport Layover
I recently provided a look into how to productively and/or comfortably spend a mid-length or longer airport layover. That list derived from a lot of experience in and near airports, some of it with a frown on my face. Here’s a follow-up list of things that’ll make the layover worse for you – or for others. Engage in any of them at your peril.
Things to Do During a Layover
Unfortunately, there are fewer direct flights to our desired locations these days. If you live in or near a major city, particularly an airline hub, you may not have to connect as much as some others, but layovers are a fact of life for most travelers – and especially for those headed to remote or underserved locations. Here are some ways to make the time pass quickly or productively.
Kodachrome Moments in Panama
We can capture our trips with photography like never before, but the benefit of travel is imbibing those experiences with all five senses. Until you’ve watched a lion dissect a cape buffalo from close-up, or stood in front of the Coliseum in Rome, or had bears traipse past you while you’ve fished at Brooks Falls, you’ve only lived part of the experience. That’s why Panama was so enlightening for me.
Fishing Travel Starts With a Full Inbox
If you’re like me, you already get way too much email: Work emails, chain letters from friends, unsolicited messages promising Russian brides and harder boners. No matter how many times you avoid them or press “unsubscribe” they always seem to return, and each annoying email brings two friends with it.
Is Fishing Travel to Russia Permanently Off the Table?
Fishing in Russia for trout, Atlantic salmon, pike and — most of all — taimen is reportedly unbelievable. However, due to recent global tensions it’s off the table for now. Will it remain that way permanently?
Eleven Ways to Make Every Fishing Vacation Better
The fish don’t always cooperate. Nor do the airlines. Things go wrong that are outside of your control. If you wanted a more reliable hobby or vacation, you should have chosen something other than fishing. Nevertheless, for several years I’ve been working on a road map that I believe helps every trip come close to maximum enjoyment.
How Bill Lowen Fishes for Northern Smallmouth Bass
Bill Lowen is a shallow water expert, and rather than figure out how to fish like they do in other places, he’s continued to do his own thing whenever possible. It has worked pretty well, as he’s fished 11 Bassmaster Classics and earned an Elite win in 2021. Here’s how he approaches northern smallmouths.
The Worst Thing You Can Do Before a Fishing Vacation
The worst thing you can do before a fishing trip is to base or expectations on the best possible scenario. Don’t get me wrong. It’s ok to hope for a personal best. It’s ok to hope for the day of a lifetime. It’s more than acceptable to overprepare. Just know that the numbers and sizes that you hear about might not happen.
Four More Mexican Dream Fishing Trips
Other than the United States, Mexico is the country that I’ve fished in the most. My Spanish hasn’t gotten much better, but my appreciation for the natural resources and the diverse cultures within the country has grown exponentially. I’d like to see more of it. I’d like to eat more of their food. I’d most definitely like to catch more of their fish. Here are a few places that I need to check out.
Ascension Island: A Supposedly Great Fishery that I’ll Likely Never Visit
While superlative fishing is the top priority on most of my bucket list trips, I’m also tempted by any place that’s hard to reach. Limited accessibility not only adds to the adventure, but also makes the experience rarer and the club a little more exclusive. Unfortunately, there are some that may be permanently out of reach.
Flight News For Fishing Travelers – March 2022
Good news for travelers this month — new carry-on possibilities, biometric scanning, and an easy way to join the Mile High Club.
Turn a Business Trip into a Fishing Trip
Business travel can be hell on earth, but if you add a fishing trip to the front or back end of the work effort it can make all of the difference in the world. You might be surprised to find out the cities that have great angling. Here’s how to make it happen.
Guatemala 2022 – Notes About Our Travel Experience
Getting to Casa VIeja Lodge from the United States is remarkably easy but there have been slight wrinkles and differences on each of our tree trips. Learn from our experiences so your next journey will be flawless.
How to Get the Most out of Attending a Bassmaster Classic
I believe that every red-blooded fan of the sport should attend at least one Classic. It’s our Super Bowl and Woodstock rolled into one. For one snapshot in time, a (usually) mid-sized city becomes entirely consumed by the relatively fringe sport of bass fishing. If you’re going to go, here are a few things to consider.
Brand Nubian Fishing Goals
I had heard the word “Nubian” before, and knew that it had some connection to Africa, but I’m not embarrassed to admit that beyond that I was clueless about the place. My only prior knowledge of Sudan was through the late Manute Bol, who played for hometown team when I was in high school, and later worked as an activist for Sudanese refuges. But now I know it’s a flats fishing hot spot.
Fishing Travel News and Tidbits – February 2022
We know that many of you come here for original hardcore fish stories and gear recommendations, and we try to provide plenty of that, but we also scour the web for fishing-related news every day – and in particular, news that will inspire or help traveling anglers. Here’s a list of links we’ve found recently that might get your ass out of the chair and on the water.
Travel Notes from Our January 2022 Trip to El Salto
After nearly 20 fishing trips to Mexico, you’d think that the process would be remarkably routine by this point, bordering on boring. On the contrary, there’s something about the route from the US to Mazatlán, and then on to the lake, that’s ever changing, and fraught with potential missteps. If you’ve been there multiple times, you likely know what I’m talking about.
The Ten Commandments of Tough Times – El Salto Edition
In approximately 20 fishing trips South of the Border, we’ve had approximately 10 that were “trips of a lifetime,” maybe seven that were very good to exceptional, and three where we had to work for our bites. I hope that your next trip to Mexico is as good as or better than one of our best ones, but in case it’s not – here’s how to turn unmet expectations into a successful trip.
Best Fishing Spots in the Gulf of Chiriquí
We’ve now made two trips to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge and we’ve been amazed by the incredible fishing and scenery in the Gulf of Chiriquí. The many islands and rock formations give you a sense of why this fishery is so good. It has a wildly changing topography that creates currents which bring in baitfish. A few islands are particularly well-known.