The jury is in: Panama has better sport fishing than Costa Rica.
Lance landed a five pound AND a seven pound Sierra mackarel. I landed a bizarre looking Mexican crocodile needlefish. Adore Fishing Charters, Santa Clara beach.
The deciding factors include my own personal experience, but more convincingly - comments by three different fishing guides in Costa Rica (each with over 20 years fishing-guide experience) who asked separately why we would come from Panama to Costa Rica to fish, when the fishing was so much better in Panama!!!
Long-term readers may recall my extrodinary fishing experience at Tropic Star Lodge in Panama's Pacific coast/ Darien jungle region, and my brother's fishing sucess here at Santa Clara beach.
Last month my brother Dan and I travelled to Costa Rica to fulfill his six month visa requirements. We decided on the Golfito area on the southern Pacific coast - well known for it's fishing.
The local guides quoted rates from $500 - $1,200. We found one for $400, and booked for the next day. Despite four hours of trolling, we had zero hits. Suddenly Dan hooked onto a monster 35 pound red snapper (pargo in Spanish). The rod bent like mad, shook as he tried to haul it in.
My brother Dan Brown landed the only fish of the day- a huge pargo (red snapper)
The reel didn't move when he tried to reel it in. As soon as he got the fish even close to the boat, out it ran again, the line alarm screaming loudly. Everyone's adrenaline was pumping. Dan was sweating profusely, his arms aching before the guide managed to gaff the monster and haul him on board. He was huge and beautiful. Dan was exhausted.
Interestingly, none of the other boats caught anything that day - despite the almost triple cost.
The chef at the Las Guaitas resort weighed it, filleted it and cooked half in garlic and butter and the other half he grilled. Dan and I both agreed - grilled was best.
We learned something new as well - red snapper needs to be cleaned and gutted immediately, right on the boat after being caught to prevent the meat from turning red.
We ate our fill, shared half of it with the other guests at the resort, and still took enough snapper back to Panama to feed my wife and her brother as well.
Yesterday my brother-in-law Lance, my wife and I went out fishing in Santa Clara beach, Panama.
It was a full moon on the lunar cycle - a good time to fish, even during the day.
The first strike hit within the first hour. Lance caught his first ever deep-sea fish; a beautiful five pound Sierra. About an hour later, just as I handed out the BBQ chicken - the second strike hit. Here we all were - hands full of dripping BBQ chicken when Lance got his biggest hit. This time it was a seven pound Sierra mackarel (which is a great eating fish, especially when cooked the same day they are caught).
It is a white, light and meaty fish. Once frozen, it tends to get mushy. Fresh is the ONLY way to sample this delectable fish. The captain cleaned and filleted the fish for us.
Lance used a light seafood spicing, coconut oil, lemon, lots of black pepper and in a happy accident - the grease from my early morning chicken BBQ flared up - blackening the filets and giving them a gorgeous slightly smokey flavor.
Ten mintues after Lance's second fish, I caught a bizarre pre-historic looking sawfish - long snout full of vicious-looking teeth, snapping wildly. We decided he was too boney - and too dangerous - to bring onto the boat, so we let him go.
My wife was then asked to reel her line in. She began, and suddenly squealed - she had a fish! She struggled to reel it in, shrieking, laughing, calling for help. At one point the struggle became too much for her and she placed the rod in the rod holder and asked one of us to take over.
That is against the rules - she has to land her own fish, we told her - so she reeled it in - as we burst out in laughter. The pressure of the trolling engine combined with reeling it in made the lure feel like she had landed a "gigante pescada" as she had screamed out when reeling.
In her defense, the six inch diving lure at full trolling does have a big pull. We laughed for hours. Just mentioning the word "gigante" can send Lance into fits of laughter. She takes the teasing well.
We all agreed - Sierra is now our favorite fish, followed by red snapper and Dorado (Mahi Mahi). We are now addicted to fresh fish - despite the hundred dollar per fish price tag when you add up all the costs. LOL
We are also satisfied that we have retired to one of the greatest fishing destinations in the world - right at our doorstep.
I am switching website systems soon so that I can load up pictures more easily - I have a great shot of Dan's red snapper and a glorious one of Lance holding up his two fish at the beach - but for some reason, they will not upload. I will post the pictures when I am able to.
See you on the water! Roberto
