The first Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge Experience is in the books.
Part Tournament, Part Brand Showcase. All Party. The Experience featured three and a half days of fishing in the Gulf of Chiriquí’s world-class combination of inshore and offshore opportunity, nightly brand experiences, and cultural and culinary showcases of Panama—rum and cigars. We also hosted 5 Fishing Ambassadors—friends of the lodge who provided context and insider access to some of sportfishing’s most interesting brands.
How did it go? We had a time.
We had such a good time, in fact, that we’ll make it annual event. The spots for the 2027 edition are not for sale quite yet (we promise to let you know when they are), but here’s a rundown of the event.
First, a Thank You
Before getting into the specifics of how it went down, we’d like to thank the anglers. They came from across the US and Canada and put faith in an event that nobody had seen before.
The fishing was pretty good. But the atmosphere was better and perhaps that’s the point. That doesn’t happen without people coming down intent to have a good time.
We’d also like to thank our partners and the ambassadors who came down for the Experience. From left to right: Jack Vitek, editor-in-chief, Marlin Magazine; Elliott Stark, author, The Book on Travel Fishing; Capt. Shane Jarvis; Chris Bishop, VP Yo-Zuri North America; Pete Robbins, Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and writer; Alex de Santos, Simrad Latin America.
The brand experience aspect of the event was a really fun touch. Grundens outfitted the anglers with hats and performance wear. Yo-Zuri sent everyone home with a pile of lures and some fluoro-carbon. Yeti outfitted us with soft-sided Hoppers for each angler to bring home a pile of yellowfin.
Alex de Santos ran through the latest and greatest from Simrad and outfitted the anglers with hats and buffs. Jack Vitek provided some context as to the inner workings of two of the best publications in fishing, and comped a year’s subscription to all of the anglers.
Our buddy Pete Robbins was on hand, too. Pete’s great. He’s been to more than 15 Bassmaster Classics and written more published articles than perhaps anyone else in fishing. He provided plenty of context.
A Breakdown of a Really Good Time
The party kicked off in style, long before we got to the lodge. Capt. Shane Jarvis, videographer Tyler Freeman and I met everyone at the hotel bar on the 13th floor of the JW Marriott in Panama City.
With plenty of cold beer and an infinity pool overlooking the Gulf of Panama, there’s lots to like about this hotel. It’s where most all the guests who opt for the VIP package stay before flying to David.
After a few introductory beers, we all hopped in the charter vans that took us for dinner. Magoo’s Fish Tacos is a really fun place. Walls decorated with fish pictures, and an incredible variety of tacos and burritos, Magoo’s was ready with welcome margaritas upon our arrival.
Tacos first, tequila second. The drinks were cold, the company good and the booze made the excitement that much more palatable… and openly discussed.
The crowd was a fun one. This was a good way to meet everyone.
The vans took us back to the JW Marriott with plans to meet in the lobby at 5:30. They did, we did. Off to the airport, shuttle transfers included. This is the way it should be.
To The Island
We got to the island around 12. After a quick lunch, we boarded the boats and got after the inshore fish.
Anglers were divided into five teams of three. Teams stayed the same, but rotated boats each day. Ambassadors stayed with the same boat all tournament. They were half host, half second mate—an extra hand to throw poppers and an excited voice to talk fishing, explain what was to come, and generally add to the atmosphere.
The highlight of the first day was perhaps a roosterfish. We caught it on a popper and it turned out to be the biggest roosterfish caught on a popper during the event. Ron Hall, a hell of a nice guy from Minnesota, didn’t know it at the time, but the fish was good for a $500 gift certificate to Yo-Zuri courtesy of Chris Bishop. It’s good to have friends.
At dinner the first night, we explained the tournament rules and what everybody might expect. We brought out a whiteboard that listed teams, daily boat assignments, and the leaderboard. It was placed just down the patio from the bar…. A pretty good spot for it.
Check out Captain Juan’s take on a shotgun start. This opened the first full day of the fishing…
Happy hour the second night of the tournament brought the first of our cultural events—a hosted rum tasting at the Isla Parida Bar and Grill. We brought out a rum expert from Panama City and piles of Ron Abuelo of a variety of vintage.
Abuelo Rum is perhaps the most widely known and influential Panamanian rum brands. We were glad to have them.
He explained how rum is made and what to expect at different ages. For those who enjoy bourbon notes, there was Three Oaks—a variety that is aged in bourbon barrels. He described the difference between anejo, 7 year and 12 year.
After his talk, we had an open bar during happy hour. He mixed cocktails and poured drinks, as assembled guests ate appetizers—it was rib night—at the beach bar. It is a beautiful place for such things.
We also had a pile of tuna to weigh. A cayman came up to watch the proceedings from the lagoon that stretches next to the beach bar.
Chris Bishop was the night’s brand experience. He talked about Yo-Zuri’s process and his role in bringing some of the finest lures on the market— proudly and passionately made in Japan—into the US market.
Come Fishing. We’d love to show you what it’s all about.
The third and fourth days of fishing were uncharacteristically rough. The remnants of a named storm that pounded parts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica passed through the Gulf of Chiriquí. Our catamarans are made to handle such things, but the conditions made throwing poppers a bit more difficult than normal.
The fourth night featured a hand rolled cigar exhibition. We brought out an expert from Panama City who has been making cigars for 20 years. He took a break from his craft to explain the process and generally what to look for in good cigar.
As it turns out, he ages his wrappers (the outside layer of tobacco) in used rum barrels. And they paired pretty good with a glass of 12 year Abuelo. We were fully stocked from the previous night’s tasting.
The patio was thick with cigar smoke and fishing stories. You could cut through it with a knife. It was parted often by laughter. It’s the kind of thing that you find yourself hoping to experience more often.
Night three was sushi extravanganza. It’s the kind of happy hour that folks remember. It was about standard issue for the lodge– mountains of rolls, sashimi, seared tuna, poke and all manner of other fresh tuna preparation. The sushi boards are big enough that we need two guys to carry them.
The Last Night
The last night of the experience featured the awards. Biggest tuna, longest roosterfish, longest cubera, most billfish, and $500 for the longest roosterfish and cubera caught on Yo-Zuris.
The tournament trophies were carved hardwood examples of each fish. And man were they cool.
The last morning of the trip, anglers woke up to a Yeti Hopper soft cooler full of vacuum sealed yellowfin they’d just caught. A parting gift, something to remember the Experience by, and an invitation to share an incredible meal or two with family and friends back home.
We’d really like to thank everyone who was part of this. It turned out great.
We’re excited enough to do it again in the future… See you in May of 2027.
