Hooked on Deep Sea Fishing? Hooked on Panama has the Answer

Hooked on Panama is a family operated fishing lodge located in Punta Burica, a small town 17 km south of Puerto Armuelles. Situated on the Costa Rican border, the lodge offers 3000 square feet of lush tropical beachfront, a wealth of wildlife, access to empty surf breaks and some of the best deep-sea fishing in the world. The country’s best known fishing destinations, Hannibal Bank, Isla Montuosa, Isla Ladrones and the 1000 Fathom Drop are only a short boat ride away from the lodge. In 2004, brothers, Mike and Dan Peavy and their father Don purchased the 20 hectares of beachfront in the sleepy town of Punta Burica. Nautical charts for the region showed some of the best surfing and fishing in Panama.  For about 2 years, the two brothers and their father worked together to create plans for the lodge, where they themselves would like to stay and play.

Construction began 2006, 2 years before the road to Punta Burica was built. Without a road, all of the materials had to be brought in at low tide down the beach.  While things were coming together at the lodge, Mike and Dan were combing the southeastern US, looking for a boat builder to build their fleet. Little did they know their boat builder was already in Panama. Dan says, “We really lucked out when we met Rex and Connie Hudson.”

Rex and Connie Hudson were living in Puerto Armuelles at the time, just 17 km from Punta Burica, where the Peavy family was building the lodge. The Hudsons were running a small fishing operation in Panama. They were also the owners of a boat building business in Texas called Shallow Sport Boats, before turning it over to their son, Wes Hudson.

Since The Peavy family was already building the lodge and Rex was building boats, the two families thought instead of being competitors why not become partners?

With 58 years of family experience in manufacturing fiberglass boats, the Hudson’s built a fleet of 3-36’ twin inboard diesel boats for the lodge. The boats are roomy, comfortable, fast, and ready to jet you off to a nearby surf break or fishing hole.

The lodge offers ten cabins with 2 queen beds, and free Wi-Fi throughout. All of the cabins have an ocean view, private bathroom, hot water and AC. While the rooms are clean and cozy, most of your time will likely be spent on one of the custom-built sports fishers, or at the dinner table enjoying the catch of the day!

April and May are great months for fishing on the Pacific Coast; they offer ample opportunity to catch billfish (Blue Marlin, Black Marlin and Sailfish) and bring forth the start of the tuna season. Recently at the lodge anglers have been pulling up Giant Yellowfin Tuna, a couple of them weighing up to 200 lbs! If it’s a trophy Marlin you’re after, you’ll be happy to know the big ones are definitely biting.

Puerto Armulles is about a 6 hours drive from the Coronado area. Currently the road is being widened to 4 lanes from the Paso Canoas boarder to Puerto Armulles and, the road to the lodge from Puerto is being paved as you read this.

For reservations, e-mail aquaad@ptpanama.com or call 6465-4124/777-9244

For more information including, rates and driving directions visit the website at: www.hookedonpanama.com