Jared Cyr
Another amazing adventure at Tropic Star Lodge in Panama is in the books as a participating member of The Legends of Fly series, commemorating the life achievements of the great Florida guide and angler, Stu Apte. This was my second year here and it just keeps getting better. Stu was responsible for bringing light tackle techniques in 1964 to the Club de Pesca when the club was owned by Ray Smith, an oil tycoon. Stu still holds two of the longest-standing IGFA records from the lodge. A 136-pound sailfish on 12-pound tippet and a 58 pound dorado on 12-pound tippet. The fishing in Panama is really special. I was so honored to share a boat with my buddy Rex Ito from Los Angeles and Patrick Hollister from Seattle, WA. Helping these guys achieve their goal of landing their first sailfish was very humbling for me. We spent the first three days offshore chasing billfish and the last day inshore exploring the species list by trolling live baits and throwing popper and rapalas. We are still dialing in the inshore fishery on fly. There are so many great opportunities for multiple species inshore on fly especially the roosterfish. This is one of the premiere saltwater locations in the world. I believe it holds the most IGFA world records than any other destination. It is a five-star operation from the minute you land till you check in your bags an the lodge. If you are serious about catching quality billfish, dorado or yellowfin tuna on fly I highly recommend traveling here as a bucket list destination. –Al Q
flies, sand & surf 