An April/November Romance With Panama
When the opportunity arose to fish at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge for a second time in the same year, I was a bit nervous. Honestly, our April adventure in Panama was life-changing, so I knew that the potential was there, but I had no idea if the fishing in November would be anywhere as good. All of the seasoned veterans of this trip seem to jam their efforts into the March-through-June timeframe, and if you search on YouTube, that’s when most of the videos were taken and/or posted.
Were we making a mistake by heading back during one of the less celebrated time periods, at the conclusion of the rainy season?
Well, now that we’re back, I’m not going to say that one trip was better than the other. They were both exceptional, with incredible fishing, but there were some slight differences worth noting. Remember, I’m dealing with a small sample size here, so nothing is definitive, but this small bit of information may help you plan your own trip.
We caught MORE tuna in April – There were a couple of days when we landed 20 or 25 yellowfins per boat on our first trip. We didn’t approach that on this trip. The best day tuna total was perhaps 10.
We caught MORE tuna on POPPERS in April – I’d guesstimate that in April 60 percent of our yellowfins were caught on poppers, 30 percent on jerkbaits and swimbaits, and 10 percent on natural bait. This time around, we probably caught 50 percent on natural bait, 40 percent on swimbaits and jerkbaits, and 10 percent on poppers.
The BOILS were different – In April we spent more time chasing explosive tuna boils using SFPIL’s Simrad radar units. The fish would pop up a few miles away and we’d haul ass to get to them before they moved. This time there was some of that, but typically we used the commercial fishing boats and their chum lines as the means of locating the fish and then chasing them.
The AVERAGE SIZE was better in November – In April the majority of the tuna we caught popping were 20 to 40 pounds, and our group landed one triple-digit fish (130 pounds). This time around, most of the tuna were 40 to 70 pounds, with a handful of smaller fish, and even more opportunities for giants. Our group landed four over 100 pounds and another that pushed 205, and we had another one no one saw that broke a circle hook in two and escaped.
The WEATHER was about the same – Highs in the upper 80s every day, lows in the 70s, make for great shorts weather, as long as you remember the sun protection and a Buff. I expected that there would be a little more rain on this second trip since it was the end of the rainy season. In April, it rained for an hour on one of our four fishing days. This time it rained for an hour on the half day we added on the front end, plus an hour on one of our four full days, plus a momentary sprinkle a couple of times. One nice thing about their radar is that they can see the storms coming and run around them to the fishing grounds.
The WAVES were not bad at all – We had near-glass conditions in April, which made maintaining our balance while popping on the front deck easier. On our first two full days of this trip, there were long rolling waves out there. It occasionally required that we run slower out to the fishing grounds, and forced us to be a little more careful when casting, but no one got sick and there was never a time when we could not run to the most distant fishing areas.
Equal Opportunities for MULTIPLE SPECIES – In April, I focused on tuna almost the entire time, although some of our group members went inshore and caught roosterfish, Cubera snapper and other options. This time around we went inshore on the initial half day and landed numerous roosters, including my personal best. Our boat alone caught six that afternoon. We also caught Jack Crevalle on both trips. We also added multiple dorado (none on the first trip), plus quite a few bluefin trevally. Our group of eight landed one Cubera.
There are some distinctions in that list, but not enough to make a meaningful difference to ME. I suppose that if you were dead set on catching your fish on a popper, that might weigh in favor of April, and if you wanted true monsters, November might be better, but again, this is only a limited sample of days on the water. This trip gave me confidence that the right question is not “When should I go?” but rather “When can I go?”
As an addendum, here are some things that were exactly the same on BOTH trips:
The VIP travel service in Panama City
The World Cat Boats
The top-quality tackle
The length of the runs to the fishing grounds (usually 1 to 2 hours)
The hard work put in by the captains and the mates start to finish
The ability to bring home a cooler full of yellowfin tuna.
Update: We’re headed back in LATE MAY in 2024 to get in on what we expect to be the height of the tuna popping season, with bait balls and diving birds living rent-free in our head. If you’d like to join us, email Hanna asap.
