THE WILD COAST
Wonderful scenery and exotic species providing battles in a kayak that you will never forget…
In the last 10 years, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the world in my search for adventure and prolific fishing. It didn’t always go to plan and there have often been times where I’ve followed up snippets of information or trusted my instincts and have been disappointed.
As a travelling angler, you have to take everything in your stride. The flip side, of course, is when you stumble upon some fishing that totally blows your mind.
In recent times, Central America has provided some incredible experiences, with Panama being top of my list. It’s a small country of only three million people with a stunning, varied coastline on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It provides world-class saltwater game-fishing.
As an angler, you are completely spoilt for choice, with many exciting species to target. Over the last three winters I have made the journey down to the Azuero Peninsula on the Pacific coast to fish with
Panama Kayak Adventure. Owned by Frenchman Pascal Artieda, his lodge is way out in the wilderness and many miles from civilization. It’s a remote fishing paradise located in the Cerro Hoya National Park.
The landscape and scenery are incredibly beautiful; it’s a rainforest coastline backed by mountains that plunge into the turquoise waters of the Pacific.
There are no roads and the only way in is by boat, it’s a very special place. He calls it ‘The Wild Coast’.
INCREDIBLE FISHING
My first trip to the lodge was for a week back in 2017 and I completely fell in love with the place. The stunning off-the-grid location and incredible fishing were everything I look for. Using the kayaks was also a game-changer. The silent, stealthy approach was very effective and added a new dimension to the fishing.
It’s a real thrill catching big fish from a kayak, and it comes with a great sense of achievement. You have to do everything yourself and I think that is why it’s so appealing.
The following year I organised four groups of anglers to take back to the lodge, spending a total of six weeks there acting as a host and fishing. At the end of this period, I was lucky enough to be offered the fantastic opportunity of becoming the head guide. I have completed a full season; it’s been an incredible journey.
The lodge is the ideal base for small groups of adventurous anglers looking to immerse themselves in nature and world-class fishing. Pascal provides kayak fishing packages of six nights with five full days of fishing. Many of the anglers are seeking the mighty cubera snapper, roosterfish, amberjack and yellowfin tuna. All of these species are incredible sporting fish that grow huge and provide an exciting challenge from a kayak.
There are also five other different species of snapper, several grouper species (including the goliath and broomtail), dorado, wahoo, Pacific snook, blue trevally, golden trevally, pompano, jack crevalles, rainbow runners, Sierra mackerel, corvina, black marlin, sailfish, sharks and many more. Some groups of anglers have had in excess of 30 species in a week.
The lodge specialises in popping, jigging, lure fishing and live-baiting for these amazing beasts, catching many trophy fish every season. There’s not much in fishing that can beat the experience of watching one of these apex predators chase down and smash a popper right by the kayak. It’s insane, exciting and terribly addictive.
They have a simple self-sufficient set-up at the lodge. It is run on solar power and bottled gas. It’s amazing what has been achieved so far away from the modern world. With beautiful wooden cabins to sleep in and a communal central rancho where all the cooking and eating takes place, it really fits in its environment well. This is adventure fishing as it should be.
Every morning, the kayaks and anglers are loaded into a custom-built panga boat and
dropped off at some of the most incrediblelooking fishing spots you could imagine. There is more than 40 miles of deserted, jaw-dropping coastline to explore and fish from the lodge. The boat is close by at all times for back-up, safety and to offer help and advice where needed.
BEST TIMES
The lodge is open during the driest months of the year between December and June when it’s more comfortable for everyone. The wet season can be unpredictable, with bad weather and electric storms.
December is a stunning time because the dry season is starting and everything is lush and green from months of rain. The larger yellowfin tuna are around (they come closer to shore in the rainy season) and there are good numbers of dorado and some wahoo. The changing of the seasons really fires up the cubera snappers and roosters inshore. The tail end of the rainy season is also the best time for big Pacific snook.
January through to April is the dry season proper and the bait schools up along the coastline. Cubera snappers are at their most numerous and can provide excellent sport. Topwater fishing with poppers and stick baits is very good, and the roosters can appear at any time, with some very big specimens thrown into the mix.
During this period, there are upwellings of cold water that can concentrate the fish on the reefs and structure just offshore. The jigging sport can be very good. Good numbers of almaco jacks and amberjacks, broomtail groupers, yellowtail snappers, pompano
and many other reef species can be expected.
There are often large schools of yellowfin tuna around close to shore during the dry season. In fact, they are present most of the year. These large schools tend to be the smaller fish, up to 40lb. Chasing these and throwing poppers at them provides exciting sport. However, bigger bonus fish can show up at any time.
From March/April, Sailfish are starting to show, with their numbers peaking by June. As the rains start to ease their way back in at this time of year, we find it brings the bigger tuna back inshore and within reach of our kayak anglers. With fish that can be pushing 100lb, they present a serious challenge. The dorado are also not far behind. April/May also seems to bring some very big roosterfish inshore.
This is merely a guide to the main species and seasons. There are often surprises that make it exciting fishing for everyone.
TOP TACTICS
Many people make the journey to Panama specifically to target the cubera snappers and roosterfish. These are synonymous with the region, and the Azuero Peninsula offers some of the best opportunities on the planet to come face to face with these top-flight game fish.
These are the big hitters of the Wild Coast, the freight trains of the ocean and some of the best lookers. Catching them from a kayak poses a real challenge and is a test of any angler’s skill, whatever the level of experience.
There have been some spectacular catches, with roosters around 70lb and cubera snappers in excess of 50lb. The most exciting way of catching these stunning specimens is undoubtedly on topwater lures or artificials, but livebait is very effective. Poppers and stick baits have been working well for both species. The cuberas have taken a real shine to deep-diving trolling lures.
When it comes to the livebait, then bonito or small black skipjack tuna are hard to beat. These baits are bridled using a size 12/0 circle hook to a long 150lb mono leader. This is serious gear for serious fish. The baits used tend to be 3-4lb and are freelined and slow trolled 30 metres behind the kayaks. You never know what’s going to hit the bait; it’s all about the anticipation with this style of fishing.
We are very lucky to have a couple of marks where there are deep drop-offs running very close to the cliffs and the yellowfin tuna can be caught within 100 yards of the shore yearround. These fish never disappoint with their blistering, drag screaming runs and obliging nature. The best that was caught in 2019 was an estimated 50lb-plus fish for one lucky angler using spinning tackle and a popper. These bigger tuna are a real handful from a kayak.
TOPWATER ACTION
Topwater sport is without doubt the most exciting way of catching a huge variety of the resident species. The jack crevalles hunt in packs, and the competitive nature of these brutes leads to fierce bust-ups and explosions behind your popper. It really does gets the heart racing.
Also, from the jack family, there are large schools of blue trevally and, pound for pound, there is not much to top these. Being the smaller cousin of the giant trevally (GT), they pack a powerful punch and have many an angler thinking they are attached to a fish twice the size. With their stunning electric blue flanks, they are a desirable catch for many and top out around 30lb.
Catch of the year must go to Gerard Bultink, from Holland, who caught the lodge’s first sailfish on a popper. We’ve seen many of these incredible billfish chase our lures, often striking at them too. The problem is they just don’t stick. Gerard got lucky and was treated to a real thrill and epic fight. I’ve not heard of another billfish caught on a popper from a kayak anywhere.
Another epic top-water catch was a black-tip shark of well over 100lb for a Swedish guest. The shark smashed his popper close to the rocks and he was very lucky that the rear treble was perfectly lodged in the corner of the mouth, keeping the razor-sharp teeth away from the mono leader. A long drawn out battle of more than 20 minutes gave Anders a serious sleigh ride in his kayak and a fight he’ll never forget.
Jigging action comes in waves throughout the season, usually on the back of the cold water upwellings. The cooler water brings with it many other species of fish. We had some excellent action from the pompano species and numerous different snappers, all of which make excellent table fare.
The best fish on a jig was a 45lb broomtail grouper. It was a brute and quite an achievement
when you consider the angler had never fished in a kayak before, never fished in the sea and never used spinning tackle.
Fishing the jigs also finds all manner of weird and wonderful, brightly coloured reef species. Some notable oddities have included Mexican hogfish, Pacific creolefish, many different types of triggerfish, pufferfish, snowy groupers, Pacific burrito, grunts and even a lenguado flatfish and a stingray.
VIBRANT PARADISE
It’s a species hunters paradise. For those wishing to pursue fascinating mini-species and psychedelic rarities, there really is no better place. Scaling down to LRF tactics would bring some real surprises.
The other marine life is incredibly vibrant. Through the season we get treated to some superb natural spectacles, such as the annual migration of whales, which is a joy to behold.
The cold water also brings huge whale sharks very close to the shore. There are also lots of turtles, massive manta rays and big pods of dolphins. It’s difficult to keep your attention on the fishing at times, especially when a pod of killer whales passes nearby; a very rare treat.
There aren’t many places like this left in the world and it’s a real treat to have the opportunity to enjoy this special place.
It’s a bucketlist destination offering a very special experience with a fantastic mix of adventure, escapism, world-class fishing and so much more. ■