A travel report by Lennart Düring:
I myself flew to Panama without having done much preparation for the trip or having informed myself in detail. With the appropriate saltwater equipment in my luggage, I set off and already on the first day I realised that the town of Padasí with Dereck’s “Panafishing Lodge” is simply something special. Without having been on the water, you were suddenly and naturally part of the lodge family. This feeling was reinforced from day to day, as we were provided with everything we needed around the clock. There was even plenty of after sun lotion and aloe vera. The lodge owners are expatriate South Africans with local kitchen helpers from Panama. Accordingly, the cultural diversity, the food, the languages and the humour are of a very high standard! As already mentioned, you can simply be a customer who lets yourself be pampered. But you can also be part of the family, help with the cooking, go on beach walks at night and simply experience something. I didn’t know this very positive side of travelling like this before and I think it’s something very special. 🙂
But now let’s talk about fishing:
I myself was on a boat with a now very good friend, Florian Kahnt (guide on the Peenestrom and cook), and a non-angler, and the fact that the non-angler caught almost as well as we did says it all. The guides know exactly what they are doing and have always brought us to the fish using a variety of methods. This included jigging with 60-200 g jigs, heavy popping, but mainly fishing in shallow water (5-20 m) with stickbaits. Our boat alone had 15 different species and we saw many more. The feeling of not knowing what has bitten this time is indescribable. The element of surprise is high and the adrenaline is boiling when, for example, a large Jack Crevalle suddenly pulls 50 metres of line off your reel after a bite on the surface.
To name just a few species that we have caught regularly: Jacks, Roosterfish, Needlefish, Snapper (varieties), Pompano, Yellowfin Tuna, Sharks, Spanish Mackerel, Bonitos and many more …
Freedom becomes a reality on this tour and is also written in capital letters: The feeling of sitting on a pickup truck and driving across the beach at night, hunting tuna among billions of dolphins after a two-hour drive on the eternally wide Pacific Ocean over 1,500 metres of water … All of these are indescribable and, above all, unbelievable feelings that you simply have to experience.
I personally enjoyed inshore fishing the most: Hunting among large flocks of birds for predators that push the schools of sardines to the surface. Fishing on sight with brutal attacks on the surface. It is particularly nice when the roosters chase after the lures with their large combs.
The last day was a variable fishing day. Everyone in our group was actually saturated with fish, so we decided to go on an excursion to Isla Iguana, a small island with lots of iguanas. A dreamlike beach with crystal-clear water. Many pufferfish and parrotfish were spotted while snorkelling. We also observed the iguanas, but you should be careful with them and never feed them. 😀
The crowning glory was the first fish for a member of the lodge staff on the boat trip back to the mainland. A beautiful needlefish showed once again that family is very important at this lodge and that the fishing there is simply fantastic.
Finally, a few tackle and bait tips from me:
– Rod and reel: 120/150 gr spinning rod with 4000/5000 reel (SW) and a 20 kg line
– Baits: 10-12 cm pink stickbaits, jigs in pink, everything in pink … it was THE colour, at least when the sardines were there.
…and here some more impressions apart from the fishing:
If you have any questions or require further information, simply contact us. Find more pictures on the Travel2Fish Instagram profile or directly on my site (Instagram: lennart_drg).
Hasta pronto,
Tu amigo de la pesca Lennart.
This travel report by Lennart makes it clear once again why Panama has been inspiring our customers time and again since 2007.
If you would like to experience Panama for yourself and join us on one of our tours as a single angler or in a small group, just take a look at our “Upcoming Trips” page:
Would you like to plan your tour individually and without a tour guide in a small group?
No problem, because we are happy to plan the tour according to your wishes. Just get in touch with us!