I first met Jim Sammons at the 2011 Fred Hall Show in Del Mar, California. Jim was sitting in his booth and I was drawn to a video he had playing on a loop. The video showed him fighting a marlin in a kayak. At that point, I hadn’t fished from a kayak, and the idea of fighting a marlin from that kind of a fishing platform seemed, well, insane. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to fish a little from a kayak. It’s a completely different experience from the sport boat fishing I’m used to doing.

Having some perspective on it, I’m sure now that Jim is insane! Here’s a trip report from one of Jim’s recent excursions to Panama.

Quiet moment of Jim on his kayak
Quiet moment of Jim on his kayak

I have been to Panama to kayak fish three times, twice with Pesca Panama and most recently with Paddle Panama, and I can say honestly it is one of my top destinations.

The quantity, quality and variety of fish is like no other place I have been. Unlike my first two trip with Pesca Panama, the trip with Paddle Panama is a land based “camping” trip in a remote area known as Bahia Honda.

On the trip with me were James McBeath from Jackson Kayak and Ben Roussel one of my Jackson Kayak teammates. Both James and Ben have already written up their reports on the trip as seen below.

Photos: Jim Sammons