FISHING INFORMATION
PANAMA
At Los Buzos we offer a variety of options for anglers of all types from offshore group kayak fishing package to more traditional boat fishing packages that offer trolling, jigging, and fly-fishing variations.
Panama translates to “an abundance of fish” and the waters surrounding the country live up to the name. Panama located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and Panama’s coastline offers year-round game fishing for more than 20 species.
The Pacific coast of Panama, along the Azuero Peninsula, is called the Tuna Coast and has an abundance of black marlin , blue marlin , sailfish, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, roosterfish, cubera snapper mahi and more.
Signature Offshore Group Kayak Fishing
Some anglers prefer to use their own gear and tackle but to make our fishing packages accessible to everyone we offer rental gear options and tackle sales.
Our kayaks include: Hobie Outback Mirage Drive Kayak, Jackson Kayak Coosa FD , and Lightning Strike Kayaks.
Mixed Sportfishing
Mixed sportfishing weeks are from our custom built 27 ft pangas and can include our typical popping, jigging and live baiting along with trolling and can include a limited amount of kayak fishing via panga as well.
Fly fishing and Slow Pitch Jigging
These fishing trips include either specialty guides or equipment for that trip type. These trips are for specialists who want to focus predominantly on one of these specific techniques.
Surf and Surf/Fish Combo Vacations
The Surf and Surf/Fish combo trips cater to surfing and fishing enthusiasts looking for something different from the run of the mill surf trip. By combing not just the famous local breaks but also remote ones only accessible by boat we combine our specialized marine fleet and local boat captains knowledgeable in the entire coastline to create an unmatched experience.
When is the best time for a Fishing Trip to Panama?
The best month to visit Panama depends on the type of fishing that you are looking for. The Azuero region of Panama has three basically three distinct seasons and Los Buzos is the only lodge perfectly positioned to take advantage of all three.
January – April – Spring Season
January is the first full month of the dry season in Panama and generally mid-month strong winds from the north and cooler upwellings from near shore deep water. While many Panama locations are blown out by the high wind Los Buzos is perfectly positioned to shift our focus to the west where we have 22 miles of pristine coast with near shore deep water all in the lee of the mountains. Generally, schools of bigger yellowfin tuna start showing up early in this season peaking in March and waning towards the end of April. These beasts make a great addition to our year-round varieties including the football-size tunas, Roosterfish, Cubera Snapper, Grouper, Marlin, Sailfish, Sierra Mackerel, Bluefin Trevally and many more reef fish.
We limit our kayak trips to the first and last few weeks of this period and use our custom pangas to target the full range of the coastline to our west for the rest of the season. A typical trip will run offshore following the protections of the Cerro Hoya range out several miles in search of roving pods of dolphins which lead to the tunas. Once found we target them run and gun style casting poppers and jigs or flies ahead of the packs. Afterward, we work our inshore to the many seamounts and lumps scattered along the protected coastline back to the lodge.
February, March, and April also bring in some nice seasonal additions – Corvina and Snook along with generally roving packs of smaller Roosters. Pacific Sails and Black Marlin are present along the reefs with the occasional Striped Marlin and Blue Marlin around offshore
May – August – Summer Season
May brings much calmer seas out front and to our east opening up all of our options out front of the lodge and to the East and West. Kayaking season starts full swing with groups daily out front and running mothership trips east and west alongside out panga anglers. Overcast skies cool things off for everyone and afternoon showers are generally a relief from the heat. This is prime trophy Roosterfish and Cubera snapper season when the big mean ones are prevalent on all of our reefs and seamounts. Live baiting our nearshore structure with big baits simultaneously targets our top Species – Trophy Roosterfish, Giant Cubera Snappers, Black Marlin and Pacific Sails. Jigging is also productive on these same structures and also moving off into the deeper 300ft and up the range to target the big Gulf Coneys, Damsel bass, and Tilefish.
July usually brings the first few wahoos of the season and of course Humpback Whale season is in full swing making every trip offshore a spectacular event. As the rains increase and the rivers start to flow Mahi also shows up in greater numbers and size.
September – December – Fall Season
September usually includes an Indian summer where there is a dry season like window which is one of the most pleasant times in Panama. As the rains pick up so does the action. October brings more erratic weather, but the top anglers are rewarded with probably the largest variety of options of the year. Virtually every fish we regularly target is around in October and November. Catches of Broomtail and Goliath Grouper, Almaco Jacks, and a variety of snappers heat up during this season making for some great nearshore jigging.
November rains bring some big offshore weed lines and with them big schools of Mahi we target trolling, casting jigs and poppers and with our fall flyfishing season. While the quick storms can be intense they are generally followed by beautiful flat calm periods that make for some of the most satisfying trips of the year. December winds down the rains and we ease into another cycle.
Email [email protected] for pricing and reservations. Deposits to reserve a spot are $750 out of the total package price. The balance will be billed about 60 days prior to your trip. All payments on site are cash or credit card (Visa or Mastercard Only).
Check out our calendar and reserve your spot now!
