Pearl Islands, Panama

Fishing in Panama

We finally caved into the pleas of our alumni and added a Panama session in 2009. Our host resort, the Hacienda Del Mar on the Island of San Jose offers the utmost privacy and makes a gorgeous base camp for our anglers to get a taste of Panama’s legendary marlin fishery. We came here on the advice of Capt. Trevor Cockle, the captain of the world-famous Hooker, who’s been crushing the blue and black marlin here every summer during his breaks from Costa Rica.

The rugged coast of Panama, dotted with undersea reefs, mountains and small islands, provides a rich offshore environment that attracts and holds good numbers of all the pelagic predators. Giant tuna, dorado, blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin and sails inhabit these prolific waters, making it a playground for the offshore angler. Join us for this exploratory trip to some of Panama’s virgin waters.

This new class accommodates only 16 students, so book now!    

Trip Information

San Jose Island is the second largest of the Pearl Islands, located in the middle of the Gulf of Panama and just 90 kilometers from Panama City. It can be reached by boat in 2 hours or propeller plane in 20 minutes.

The Island of San Jose is a private island with no native population. There are over 3,000 wild pigs, large quantities of deer, black and green iguanas, toucans, parrot and over 100 species of birds on the island and neighboring waters. The toucans are friendly and you can even hand feed them from your cabana! Panama is an active migration route for many species of fish and mammals. Humpback whales can often be seen right from the Hacienda Del Mar beach – an awesome sight! There are many fresh water rivers and streams on the island and the beaches are used by many sea turtles which are raised from birth by the resort.

Students are met at the Panama City Airport by a Marlin University representative. From there, we’ll travel by private charter on a 20 minute flight to San Jose, Island. The views of the Pearl Islands on this flight are breathtaking! Once we arrive on the island, we’ll have a welcome reception, dinner and then settle in for the night and get ready for 4 days of fishing. On our last day, we depart for Panama City in the morning and students can take the opportunity to tour the Panama Canal area or depart for home!