Black Marlin Fishing in Panama: Guy Harvey’s 5th Tagging Expedition

Our 5th Black Marlin Tagging Expedition at Tropic Star Lodge

Our 5th black marlin fishing in Panama tagging expedition this year was at the very end of the season for Tropic Star Lodge. It also coincided with the notorious Pirates Tournament. We were greeted at the Piñas International airstrip in the Darien by Ross and JJ in the rig of the week. All the staff greeted us on the dock suitably attired, with props spread all along the dock, tackle room and Marlin Bar. The theme for the week was evident and the staff did a great job of creating and keeping that atmosphere going every day.

The rules for the tournament included having to fish for inshore species as well as offshore fish, with points awarded accordingly. Each evening suitable pirate attire was preferred. Ladies were challenged to be “wenchlike”!

Not actually participating in the tournament, I was relying on a staff member to be my angler each day. Targeting black marlin for tagging, we had been allocated Captain Candelo and mate Weimar on "Miss Texas." Keishmer Hermoso was filming with us every day, as he had done all year. He has been the record keeper of all our expeditions, gradually building the content for a documentary.

Day 1 - September 21

There were many bonito at the Reef so that was our first stop. Resident photographer John-Austin Gallardo was the angler, and he had never caught a marlin.

The ever-present bait-stealing dolphins, called Chupacabras by the locals, forced us to run offshore before we could start fishing for black marlin. The rest of the fleet were in the same area. The radio was full of exciting chatter as the blue marlin bite was on. We were in an area with lots of logs, trash and bait with boobies overhead. John-Austin was tight on his first marlin at 10:40 am, 275#. Congrats!

A blue marling caught on camara at Tropic Star Lodge

We ran back into the Reef hoping the Chupas would have left. There were yellowfin tunas as well as bonito, so we fished for black marlin for 30 minutes before we got nailed by the Chupas! So aggravating. Back offshore and pulling live baits, John-Austin hooked and caught an 80# sailfish followed by his second blue marlin for the day at 250#. The fleet was 18/29 on blue marlin, but no black marlin were raised.

Day 2

My angler was Juanjo (JJ) Boschetti, the GM at TSL. We had the same procedure getting bait, avoiding the Chupas and then fishing outside the reef. We fished for black marlin for 4 hours without a bite. The radio was full of action, so we ran offshore. Finding fresh bonito bait, Candelo set up following the widespread school of feeding fish. A boat, "Darien," nearby released 2 blues in quick succession.

At 12:30 the flat line bait was really scared and the left rigger bait was taken by a marlin. It jumped right away and we could see it was a massive black marlin, the target species. After several more massive jumps which Keishmer and I got on film, JJ settled into the fight. We backed on the fish and it came up again after 15 minutes doing some explosive jumps, head shaking and throwing massive amounts of water. We estimated this marlin to be 600-700#.

Black marlin jump caught on camara by the crew on the Guy Harvey 5th tagging expedition of the year.

After 25 minutes with the marlin down, the hook pulled. Ugh! I really wanted to tag that beauty. From my photos I could see the hook had been in the lower jaw rather than in the corner of the mouth.

Right away a blue marlin swam up to the boat and ate a pitch bait. JJ had not even left the chair! It put on quite a show, both Keishmer and I were capturing great action. We released that blue around 250# and soon had another on that wrapped its bill in the leader and came off.

Lots of great action today. The fleet was 10/20 on blue marlin and one other boat had a black marlin bite but also lost it. The Pirates Tournament was going well. They very kindly threw a surprise birthday party with cake for my 70th that evening. After all, I had spent half my life at Tropic Star Lodge!

This trip once again reminded me why black marlin fishing in Panama remains one of the most thrilling experiences in sportfishing.

Day 3

My angler was Adrienne Reeve, just returned to TSL after a break of several years. John-Austin was along for another day of photography.

On another sunny calm day, the fleet continued to do well. But we could not keep a hook in the fish and were 0/2 on blues and 0/3 on sailfish. What was most exciting was finding a school of bonito which were in a “breezer.” Suddenly the school tightened up in a black spot, two marlin were harassing the school. Candelo got us right there. It was an incredible scene and I really should have jumped in to film it, though everything was moving so fast. The fleet had some exciting action with a quad of blues all at once on the "England," 11/21 on blues and 11/24 on sails.

Day 4

The last day of the torneo had several teams in a tight race for the top. That night was entertaining as the rain and lightning set up conditions for a rainy rough day.

Day 4 was as predicted, and we spent the day in rain gear, not raising a marlin. The fleet did well again, with 9/16 on blue marlin, which did not seem to mind the rough conditions.

The final prizegiving and dinner for the Pirates Tournament was an experience to be had. Everyone made such an effort; costumes were amazing. The Marlin Bar proved to be a great venue for the awards. 3rd place team were the SKALLYWAGS, 2nd place team the HARD ARRS, and the winner by a wide margin were THE TREASURE TICKLERS, who sensibly fished as much inshore as they did offshore. Top boat was the "Darien" with Captain Walter.

Cristy Kelso, Juanjo "JJ" Boschetti and Guy Harvey at the Pirates Tournament prizegiving celebration.

Final Thoughts

I really recommend the Pirates Tournament to everyone. It’s one of the best times of year for black marlin fishing in Panama, offering an incredible mix of inshore and offshore action.

How about getting an inshore slam and an offshore billfish slam in the SAME DAY!!!!

Tight lines.

Guy Harvey

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