The Fish are Jumping in Panama

© John Richardson

Although this is changing, Panama is still all-but closed to the sport fishing community. There’s simply little infrastructure the kind of which you find in the other more popular destinations like Los Cabos or Costa Rica. That makes for some very rich waters and some of the best fishing in the world. Just ask John Richardson, he’s been fishing there for more than twenty years.

Because there are few resorts, and even fewer marinas, Richardson keeps his entire operation on the water. His two boats – the “Mothership,” called Mamanido, which means “nest” in Spanish, and a second 43-foot fishing vessel called Picaflor, which means “hummingbird,” or “pick a flower,” in Spanish – become both his home and his arena. The group lives on Mamanido and plays on Picaflor, taking the smaller vessel out into the shallows of Pineas Bay where they fish for black Marlin, or off the coast of the Pearl Islands to fish for pacific sails, striped marlin and swordfish.

© John RichardsonGot one!Richardson and his group, which usually involves some combination of family and friends, leave the Mamanido early each morning. First, they catch their bait – usually ballyhoo and other small fish – and then they take to rod and reel, fishing with live bait and the “bait and switch” tactics that Richardson says are just plain fun. “There’s just so much activity in the ocean. Everyday’s a new day and you’re never disappointed.”

But all of this great fishing comes at a price. “You are so remote that if you have a medical situation, you have to be self-sufficient.” That’s why his son, Wade, who lives in Panama full-time and runs the boats, is trained as a paramedic. “People who don’t travel a lot don’t think about that. There’s no coast guard to save you. So you always try to keep boats in pairs.”

But, while you may be on your own, Richardson says that, “when you get away from the city, you’re in virgin, pristine area. It’s like fishing in paradise.”

And that paradise is, slowly, becoming more accessible to more people as marinas and eco lodges like the Hacienda del Mar open up one at a time. While they’re giving the sport fishing community access to the pristine waters of Panama, they’re also giving the people of Panama a new start.

Richardson tells the story of his first mate, who paddled a dug-out canoe out of the Durian Jungle to one of© Neil Cunningham the marinas to find work. That man’s daughter, who was just a child then, is now on scholarship at the University of Geneva.

“That’s the real story, not that I’m fishing in Panama, but what fishing in Panama has done for the people.”

In the evening, after a long day of fishing aboard the Picaflor, Richardson and his companions drive back to the Mamanido, eat dinner, and “sit around the back and lie to each other.”

After the trip is over, Richardson flies back to Texas, where he runs a well-drilling company, armed with more stories of a place few fishermen have gotten to see. Yet.