Have you ever traveled someplace, had a fabulous time, and no matter how long you stayed when it came time to go home it was just too short? As we prepared to leave Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge, I felt a pit in my stomach. We loaded up the dinghy with our luggage what felt like moments after we’d arrived. I remember thinking, “I don't want to go home. When are we going to come back?”

f you’ve read our “Ultimate Guide to El Salto and Picachos” it should be pretty obvious that we’ve spent hundreds of hours trying to figure out how to maximize every trip South of the Border, developing systems for everything from what to pack, to how to pack, to what to eat and lures to throw. Despite all of those best-laid plans, however, we still screw up at times. We’ve decided to be transparent about our mistakes, hoping that you don’t end up repeating them.

As a longtime member of the fishing media as well as a consultant to several leading fishing lodges, I think that I’m uniquely situated to tell you why you need to bring your pro staff together at a fishing lodge – with or without media. Executed properly, one of these gatherings can jumpstart your media campaigns and build brand knowledge and loyalty that a paycheck alone does not provide.

Our trip home from El Salto was scheduled for an otherwise innocuous weekend that turned out to be one of the worst travel experiences of our lives. We were scheduled to travel home on American Airlines, leaving three hours to transfer our bodies and our luggage in Dallas, but we unknowingly stumbled into a minefield --- American canceled over 400 flights and we were caught up in the chaos.

Every time we go to Mexico I learn or relearn certain things, or get an opportunity to test out new products and theories. This may seem like a bunch of disconnected mumbo-jumbo, but I’m hoping that some of you can benefit from my experiences. Here are eleven notes from our June 2021 trip, in no particular order.

We were warned prior to our recent trip that Lake El Salto was at record low levels, and while we can’t confirm the historical accuracy of that statement, we can confirm that the lake is lower than we’ve ever seen it – and that’s over the course of 15-20 trips, with one or both of us visiting during the low water season every year since 2013. Here’s a gallery of some of the scenery.

It’s critical to stay hydrated when you’re fishing. That’s especially true in the Amazonian heat, or when we fished in a drier 114 degrees in Zambia. If you’ve been drinking for hours and haven’t had to pee, you’re already behind the eight ball. The best way to prevent it is to drink early and drink often.

I’ve been fortunate to land fish in 25 states, and Hanna and I have traveled to numerous countries and multiple continents in pursuit of finned glory. That leaves a lot of water and species left to cover. Of course, it also leaves us with a bit of a conundrum – do we return to proven venues or seek out new options, with the possibility that they won’t be quite as good. I hope that we’ll be able to find that balance going forward.

I actually like my family. They don’t know a Carolina Rig from a Hula Grub, but otherwise they’re good people, with pleasant demeanors and a lot of interesting accomplishments. I wish I could share my passion for with them on a regular basis, but it’s not meant to be. I know not to force the issue. At the same time, on rare occasions I have gone on fishing trips with them, and as far as I can tell we’ve all had a good time.

A corporate fishing trip is our kind of work outing. Even if not all of the members of the group have prior fishing experience, by going to a fishery when the angling is expected to be off-the-charts, you’re likely ensuring that their first experience will be a good one – which means they’ll want to go again and again.

Despite my thirst for pre-trip knowledge, I always manage to be surprised by at least a few things. Below are ten things that I learned in Panama, despite my copious efforts to be prepared. This is not a spoiler alert per se, but rather a series of pleasant warnings that will help you enjoy your trip….and yes, you definitely want to go.

Hanna and I love fishing Mexico’s Lake El Salto in May and June, when the water level is typically at its lowest, The bass get schooled up on offshore structure and both the numbers and average size can be mind-blowing. Low water is no guarantee of superior fishing, but the great trips this time of year clearly outweigh the merely good ones. Of course, you’ll want to “make hay while the sun shines.” Here are strategies I’ve developed that I feel give me a leg up.

You paid the money, you took the time off work, this is YOUR VACATION. That doesn’t mean that you should not respect your guide or outfitter, but it does provide you with a certain amount of leeway.

I don’t need motivation to want to go to El Salto. Hanna and I refer to the Anglers Inn facility there as our second home, and I’ve been fortunate to go enough times that I’ve lost count. Every time I buy my plane tickets the countdown to the next trip starts — and I always have some sort of goals.

Just about a week before leaving for Panama, we both received the first Pfizer shot. While that didn’t guarantee us immunity, it gave us a bit more confidence about venturing out. I could see that being both a positive and a negative, because while the vaccine couldn’t have hurt our immunity, it might give us the bravado to take unnecessary risks.

While Hanna and I have embarked on this project to make fishing travel our raison d’etre, we recognize that not everyone can or will travel long distances to chase fish. Perhaps it’s your budget, or family obligations or work, or maybe you just don’t want to get on a plane. That’s ok, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t derive great satisfaction with a rod and reel.

In the Gulf of Chiriquí where Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge is located, there are as many as fifty species of sportfish to be caught. If you read my blog about goals prior to the trip my five targets were as follows: yellowfin tuna, marlin, roosterfish, blue trevally and wahoo. The tuna were plentiful and the hardest-fighting fish I have ever caught.

Heading back to Casa Vieja this year we weren’t sure we’d get the same kind of air show we experienced in 2020, but true to form each one of our 44 sailfish jumped multiple times. It’s something you have see to believe — and then you need to see it again and again.

We’ve amassed enough material about our trips to Casa Vieja Lodge that we figured it was time to put it all on one page --- so check out our constantly-evolving body of work about one of the happiest places on earth.

Clearly we don’t need a specific reason beyond what we’ve already experienced in Guatemala to make a third trip there. In two three-day trips we’ve caught 37 and 44 sailfish, respectively, and more of the same would justify the effort of getting there. Nevertheless, we’ve only seen and done a small sliver of what the place has to offer.