What Happens at a Fishing Lodge When the Anglers are Gone?

Most traveling anglers only get to see how a fishing lodge operates when the guests are there. It makes sense – we travel in, enjoy our stay, and leave. We never think about what goes on when the staff is “off.” Of course, some fishing destinations never close because groups of guests overlap, but many have a turnaround day, when one group leaves and before the next anglers arrive.

I got better insight into what happens during my May/June 17-day stay at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge. Hanna and I hosted a group of 20 from May 23 through May 29, but when they left, I stayed on. I was one of the five Ambassadors for “The Experience” from June 4 through June 9. That meant I had some time on the island to work, relax and observe the operations from behind the curtain.

For much of that time, there were groups of anglers staying at the lodge and fishing, but toward the end they’d all departed. I figured that there would be some downtime for the staff, but if anything the opposite occurred – they kicked it into overdrive.

Now it makes sense why everything runs so smoothly when we’re there.

I set up a makeshift office outside one of the guest houses and as I caught up on my writing, the staff went to work. I figured they’d wash the sheets, tidy things up, maybe sweep, but it was more of a deep clean than that. Two guys worked for the better part of two hours to get the small place done. All of the above was just the tip of the iceberg, but there was far more – they disinfected the bathroom, vacuumed, swept, restocked the individual bar. They even got up on a ladder and dusted and wiped down the numerous fish replicas hanging on the wall.

Down at the beach, some of the workers raked and cleaned up the beach. I doubt any guest would have noticed had there been a bit of debris on the white sand. Other than transiting to and from the fishing boats, few anglers even walk the beach or go swimming. Still, the goal was to make it pristine and inviting. Not necessary, but a nice touch that likely goes unnoticed, but now that I’ve seen it I can’t unsee it.

With no guests to cook for (except me), you’d think the kitchen staff would get some time off. They did not. They worked just as hard as if the lodge had been loaded. They chopped ingredients, prepared bases that would make their cooking easier, and generally made sure that no meal would be delayed and that no dish would be overlooked.

Meanwhile, the boats took the last groups back to the marina, where they’d await the team for The Experience. Captain Shane Jarvis has his own marina and technical team back in David, so all five catamarans get the once-over. When it’s time to return to the island, there’s not a loose crew, a faulty wire or a drop of fish blood to be found. Obviously things go wrong on boats all the time, often unexpectedly and in ways you can’t prevent, but these precautions result in an absolute minimum of down time.

It’s likely that none of these things get noticed by most visiting anglers. They probably shouldn’t. When you pay to fish at a premier fishing lodge you should expect the majority of things to go smoothly – so if you go somewhere and there are more than a few minor glitches, you should definitely ask why.