Coiba Island Panama fishing lodge with sportfishing charters.

Phone: 1-800-800-0907
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Coiba Island Fishing

The waters off Panama's Pacific coast are famous for extraordinary abundance of gamefish, especially near the remote jungle island of Coiba and the fabled Hannibal Bank. Some say there is no finer fishing in the world. All the classic bluewater and inshore species are here. Black Marlin and huge yellowfin tuna cruise the steep drop offs and underwater pinnacles. Only minutes away you can find roosterfish, cubera snapper and the rare Pacific tarpon. But, experienced anglers know that there is more to catching fish than just knowing where they might be. You also need an experienced American captain...one you can rely on. Captain Tom Yust pioneered sportfishing on the remote Hannibal Bank and secluded river mouths of the Isla Coiba region. Tom's years of experience and his skilled handling of his superb 31' Bertram will keep you in the chair until your muscles ache.

Experienced anglers also know that there is more to an adventure than just boating fish. At some point during your stay, you will want to sit back... relax a bit and just consider where you are. More than 30 tropical islands dot the sea. The diversity of life defies description. Exotic birds fill the air ...crocodiles lie motionless on the banks of unnamed rivers ...primeval rainforest encroaches on a remote stretch of forgotten ocean ...yet you are here and not another human is in site.

Just off the Pacific coast of Panama, the sea is dotted with small jungle covered islands. Their green slopes rise steeply from the blue waters which surround them. At first glance, they almost appear to float on the placid surface of this half forgotten stretch of ocean. In reality, each is just the peak of a massive undersea mountain. Many soar hundreds of fathoms from the ocean floor below. For every mountain which makes it to the surface, there are many which fall just short creating some of the most extraordinary sub-sea topography in the world. Underwater pinnacles, shallow banks and sheer ledges abound. The magic "100 fathom line" is often only a few miles from a pristine white sand beach.

These remote, uninhabited islands and their sub-sea cousins are teeming with life. In the mornings, you awake to the roar of howler monkeys and squawking parrots, yet you are only minutes from some of the most exciting sportfishing and freediving in the world, where massive black marlin hunt frantic baitfish and schools of giant yellowfin tuna make the water boil. Here, "swimming with the fishes" takes on a whole new meaning. On the islands, narrow footpaths twist through the dense rainforest. Life here is much the same as it has been for thousands of years. Every square inch seems to be alive. The exotic birds, small mammals, and reptiles are too numerous to name. Saltwater crocs sun themselves on the banks of deserted rivers waiting patiently for a careless pelican to land nearby. Still, even today, from the center of the jungle to the edge of the horizon, there is not another soul in sight ... except of course, for a couple of intrepid explorers and their trusty guide and captain.

Coiba Islands Sportfishing, Freediving and Hunting

Usually, our primary focus is classic sportfishing inshore and offshore. We use both conventional and fly tackle. The options are almost limitless. We will live bait and fight Black Marlin. We will cruise the coastlines for Roosterfish. You will cast at top water feeding Dogtooth (Cubera) Snappers. You may cast a fly or strip bait at Sailfish after teasing them up with Panama Baits. We will slow troll live blue runners where Tarpon live. We may chum the Wahoo mindless before sore lipping a dozen or so. We may anchor on the Hannibal Bank all night with lights and hook into God knows what.

We are so in awe of this amazing world that it is often difficult to describe it adequately. You will encounter wildlife everywhere, often unexpectedly! We have seen gray whales, humbacks, sei whales, schools of killer and pilot whales. Thousands of brown and yellow sea snakes mating in a mile long stretch of weedline; sea lions, massive schools of cubera snapper in mating frenzy, frothing up white water on the surface and giant manta rays as wide as the boat. Sea turtles are common. The only thing you can be sure not to see much of is other people.

Additionally, freediving on the offshore rocks and reefs will get your blood moving for sure. You can freedive into schools of fish so thick and immense that it can be disorienting. Big schools of Snappers, Amberjacks and Wahoo can almost always seen, but you never know when a shallow water loving Black Marlin may cruise by. Some of the best diving areas within the Coiba National Park. There you can look but cannot shoot. Outside the park, blue water freedivers & spearfishermen will have world class opportunities to take big Yellowfin Tuna which range up to 300lbs.