Inshore Fishing Species

In terms of size, action, and diversity of opportunities, the Gulf of Chiriquí is home to one of the best inshore fisheries in the world. With hundreds of islands and incredible bottom structure, you can do it all.

Inshore

This is one of the best places in the world to catch big roosterfish and cubera snapper.

It is also one of the best places to catch lots of roosterfish and cubera snapper.

These are the headliners, but there is much more. Mullet snapper, bluefin trevally, sierra mackerel, amberjack, rock snapper, grouper, all manner of jacks. We even sometimes catch wahoo inshore.

In being prepared for this incredible diversity of species, our boats are equipped with a variety of tackle. For big snapper and roosters, we’ll troll live bonito on 50-pound conventional tackle (this sounds like overkill until it’s not!). We’ll drift chunks of bonito over high spots for cubera.

We’ll bump troll live blue runners and goggle eyes on smaller conventional tackle. You can cast poppers and stick baits on spinning tackle.

We have jigging outfits to drop vertical jigs on bottom structure. We can even break out the fly rod if you are so inclined.

No matter which areas we target, much of our inshore fishing takes place around some of the most beautiful, tropical islands you’ll ever see. It is a wonderful experience.

Ability to Fish Inshore and Offshore in the Same Day

Another thing that makes the Gulf of Chiriquí so incredible is the ability to fish inshore and offshore in the same day. In many regions, the places you fish inshore and the places you fish offshore may be separated by 50 miles or more.

Because of the incredible bottom structure and the many islands that rise from the depths, a day of fishing at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge might well include some time fishing for marlin, tuna, and roosterfish or snapper.

This is a really great feature of the fishing here—one that is not available in most other places.