6th Annual CAF Week on the

Mothership

March 13-20, 2027

Spend the week 50 miles off Panama’s Pacific Coast and enjoy some of the best inshore & offshore fishing in Central America.

I will personally be your host on the 78′ floating fishing lodge as we fish for five days in some of the most remote and productive waters in Panama.

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About The Mothership

A 78′ floating fishing lodge that offers air conditioned rooms, hot water showers, great food, a full bar and an incredible crew.

With over 200 operations across eleven countries, the Panama mothership is the most unique and fishing-intense trip that we offer – not to mention a personal favorite. The mothership will allow you to spend the week fifty miles off of Panama’s Pacific Coast as she anchors in the protected bays of the famed Coiba Island. Once home to Panama’s most feared penitentiary, Isla Coiba is now it’s most prized and untouched national park. Better yet, by staying here you are a quick run to the world famous Hannibal Bank (17 miles) and have easy access to fish the shorelines of 38 islands inside the Coiba Island National Park that receive little to no fishing pressure from other operations.

Despite the exotic location, we won’t be roughing it out here as the mothership features two full bathrooms, each with a hot water shower. Enjoy breakfast, dinner, and a full bar on the open air fantail of the barge, which is a great place to share laughs, fishing stories, and memories. The mothership offers just FOUR air conditioned rooms, each of them with four beds. Each individual group will have their own private room, you will not be sharing accommodations with strangers. Each room is also assigned it’s own private 27′ Ocean Master center console for the week, so you’ll fish with the same crew each day.

Out here there is no cell phone service, no wifi, and no TV. That’s the point. Disconnect and immerse yourself into a small group of like-minded anglers who also think spending a week fifty miles offshore and fishing f days in a row sounds like a dream vacation. To see what it’s like, check out our YouTube video:

The Fishing

Inshore. Offshore. Marlin & Tuna. Roosters & Cuberas. Live Bait. Chunk Bait. Poppers & Jigging. Bottom Fishing. Fish for what you want, the way you want.

Fishing Tackle Review – Okuma Nomad Travel Rods [Updated in 2020] img

This operation would not have been around for 25 years if it didn’t put anglers on fish year after year after year. While Panama’s other top lodges lie 40-50 miles away from the Hannibal Bank, the mothership will allow you to be just 15 miles away. This means shorter run times, more hours with lines in the water, and an early morning and late afternoon bite with the place to yourself as boats from other operations will still be making their long runs.

The CAF hosted week of March 13-20, 2027 was strategically picked to put us there right in the middle of the peak yellowfin tuna season. The season, which runs from March through July, is always at it’s peak in April and May and therefore those are the two busiest months of the year to fish Panama. I pick the dates for CAF Week a year in advance to make sure we have the best shot at great fishing.

Besides incredible top water tuna action, the real claim to fame of the mothership is that we routinely catch up to 20-30 different species of fish in a week. The inshore fishing for multiple species of snappers, jacks, groupers, mackerel, snook, sharks and of course everyone’s favorite – cubera snapper and roosterfish – is as good as it gets. No other operation in Panama can fish these remote waters inside the Coiba Island National Park, which might offer the best inshore fishing in all of Central America.

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The mothership offers a fleet of four identical 27′ Ocean Master center console boats. These boats are fast, agile, and versatile to be able to do any kind of fishing you want to do. All boats are equipped with the best Shimano spinning tackle, heavy duty Penn International 50# and 80# conventional reels, live wells, tuna tubes, fighting belts, and all the lures & gear you’ll ever need. The captains are experienced, energetic, and have been with this operation for years so they know these waters as well as anyone. Troll for marlin, run & gun after yellowfin tuna, fish light tackle for a variety of inshore species, do some jigging or bottom fishing, or if you are like me – cast poppers & crank baits towards the rocks until your arms fall off. No other trip offers more fishing or more variety than a week on the mothership.

Schedule & Pricing

2 Anglers per Room/Boat = $6,966 per person

3 Anglers per Room/Boat = $6,452 per person

4 Anglers per Room/Boat = $5,810 per person

NOT Included:

International Airfare
Dinner your first & last night in Panama City
Alcoholic drinks on the mothership (beer IS included on the fishing boats however)
Tips for mothership crew ($500 pp recommended)
Coiba Island National Park Fee ($150 pp)

Below is the day-by-day outline of how our week will look:

Day 1 (Saturday) – Arrive into PTY where you will be met and taken to your private transfer. You’ll stay at the new Hilton Panama in Panama City.

Day 2 (Sunday) – We'll wake up early and take the first flight of the morning to David in Western Panama. The flight only takes 50 minutes, then after a short ten-minute ride to the Pedregal Marina you'll see the mothership for the first time. You'll unload your luggage, get settled into your room, and can enjoy a light breakfast as you enjoy a scenic cruise down the river as we head towards the Pacific Ocean.

Once you are ready, the barge captain will call your fishing boat up and you'll head out for a half day of fishing. You'll fish around the Islas Paridas Marine Reserve, a set of over 20 islands located about 12 miles off the coast. This serves as a great warm up day so you can get to know your crew, the tackle, and how we fish in Panama. Your main targets today will be jacks, mackerel, snappers, and roosterfish. After fishing for 5-6 hrs, you'll return to the mothership which will be anchored close to the small town of Boca Chica. Enjoy a great dinner, cocktails and get ready for an amazing week of fishing that lies ahead of you!

Day 3 (Monday) – Head offshore for a full day of fishing! The fishing boats will leave the barge at 7:00 AM and head out to the Hannibal Bank and Montuosa Island in search of marlin, sailfish, and of course - yellowfin tuna boils. Once all the fishing boats depart, the mothership will make her 50-mile run over to the Coiba Island National Park. We will meet up with her in the evening after a full day of offshore fishing. Welcome to Coiba Island!

Day 4 (Tuesday) – Enjoy a full day of offshore, inshore, or bottom fishing – it’s your choice! Stay at Coiba Island.

Day 5 (Wednesday) – Enjoy a full day of offshore, inshore, or bottom fishing – it’s your choice! Stay at Coiba Island.

Day 6 - (Thursday) – Today you can go inshore fishing as you head north along Coiba Island’s coastline or head offshore again for more tuna, marlin, and mahi action. The mothership will make her way back to the first set of islands off the coast, so we will meet her there at the end of our day.

Day 7 (Friday) – You’ll have a full breakfast on the barge, then we'll ride the fishing boats back up the river to the Pedregal Marina. From there we'll transfer you to the DAV Airport and you'll take a one-hour flight back to Panama City. This day is yours to explore and shop on your own, or we can set up a private guided tour of Panama City and the Panama Canal.

Day 8 (Saturday) - We’ll take you in a private transfer back to the PTY Airport for your flight home. Adios Panama!

*Additional nights before or after this week can be added if you want to tour the Panama Canal, fish for peacock bass on Lake Gatun, visit the cloud forest near Boquete, or relax in the Caribbean archipelago of Bocas del Toro.*