The tuna frenzy. There is perhaps nothing more exciting in the world.
Not just a more exciting thing in fishing. Not just the most exciting thing offshore. But in the world.
Certainly, there exists a fair bit of subjectivity as to what constitutes “most exciting.” And you may, at first glance, think this statement an exaggeration.
To see and understand its truth, however, all you must do is experience one tuna frenzy. Sling a topwater Yo-Zuri or a live blue runner into it…. And watch what happens.
Tuna frenzies are true spectacles of nature. They are madness. They are unpredictable and they are wild.
When you find one, the lead up is incredible. You’ll watch frigates swooping toward the water, boobies diving into the madness. From the sea erupt explosions and fish that are bigger, faster, and powerful enough to change your perspective on size, speed, and power.
Others on the boat will be pointing. Voices raised in excitement. There will be exclamations and likely curse words. When a big fish mashes through bait the exclamations will be louder.
As the boat nears the madness, anglers will grab rods and take their positions. The captain will say, “Hang on guys.” And you better hang on.
White water. Froth. Chaos.
Tuna—sometimes 40 pounds, sometimes 200—most often ranging anywhere between—crashing through the surface of the ocean. Flying completely out of the water, busting balls of hapless, terrified bait. Equal parts marauding rampage and strap on the feed bag, the buffet’s open.
The Gulf of Chiriquí is the home of the tuna frenzy.
At Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge we see and interact with these spectacles regularly. We are fortunate to experience, and to put clients onto, things that, if they occurred most other places, would be once in a lifetime.
That we see these things often inform many things at the lodge. Tuna frenzies influence our choice of boat and how we outfit them. You can see proof of the great tuna fishing during happy hour and on the dinner menu as well. Our chefs transform a great day’s tuna fishing into mountains of the freshest, tastiest sushi and sashimi you may ever enjoy.
Our boats, the gear we use, and how we fish are specifically tailored to the incredible displays. Our catamarans have wide, stable casting platforms and rails on the bow. The space along the rails and in the cockpit is great for fighting one, two, three, four, or even five (yes, it happens—that’s four anglers and the mate all hooked up—and yes, it’s awesome) at the same time.
The twin Suzukis that power our World Cats and Freeman are mounted on the back corners of the boats. This helps us spin around when fighting big fish and stay with schools of fish when they are moving.
We use heavy duty Shimano spinning reels spooled with 80-pound braid. Nothing makes them sing quite like a big yellowfin. It’s a song that you will love to hear. When you are throwing poppers into a writhing mass of whitewater—a mass that can be measured in acres—you need heavy drag and line capacity
We’re super thankful for our friends at Yo-Zuri.
There’s nothing quite like the sight of a Mag Popper disappearing into the white water explosion of a big yellowfin bite.
Sometimes the tuna air out when they blast the popper. An 80-pound tuna six feet out of the water, popper somewhere within its closed jaws, will reset your definition of “epic” or “incredible: or whatever your favorite, go-to excitement phrase might be. Again, this might sound like exaggeration. It’s not.
If you’re anything like me, the sight might elicit a string of curse words too. They make about everyone curse.
Tuna frenzies are wonderful sights. When you hit them right, you can literally catch more tuna than you and everyone on the boat care to reel in.
Sometimes this means catching 25, 50 pounders. Other it just takes one—a 275-pound rhinoceros—to tire everyone on the boat out.
An 80-pound yellowfin, six feet in the air? Catching 25, 50 pound tuna in an afternoon? One 275-pound monster.
Sound like fishing stories? Marketing talk…. Exaggeration. Nope.
Mind you we can’t guarantee you a tuna frenzy. What we can promise? We’ll turn on the bird mode on or Simrads… we’ll talk to our friends in the fleet… and we’ll cover some water looking for them.
Sure, things like this don’t happen every trip. But they happen here, with frequency. Right here in the Gulf of Chiriquí. And we’ve got receipts—videos, pictures and posts to prove it.
We’ve put lots of our friends onto tuna frenzies.
Here’s just a few:
Salt Water Sportsman Magazine
Sport Fishing Television
Our reformed bass fishing friends Pete and Hannah from Half Past First Cast
And there are plenty others on our Instagram feed.
We’d love to do the same for you. But be careful what you wish for.
When you hit the tuna fishing right, you’d swear these things are trying to pull your arms off. And if you hit it right, there will be a time or two during the fight, you’re likely to think that they might succeed.
We’d love to show you what it’s all about. It’s just a click or two away….
