By David Graham: March 6, 2025
I recently had the great privilege and opportunity to join my brother Matt and my Dad fishing Colombia's dynamic Darien coast. Having chatted it up with operator/owner Alberto (Beto) Mejia for the better part of the last decade, we finally lined up times and made a trip to this bucket-list location happen.
I am a freshwater guy at my core - but I absolutely love rounding out my experience as an angler in the salt whenever I can. This was a unique chance to get my Dad out on an adventure as well... and Darien Lodge really checks all the boxes - the perfect mix of a remote jungle atmosphere but comfortable accommodations, security, and great food!
We flew into the Colombian city of Medellin. A surprisingly big city nestled in the valleys of the Andes mountains, home to some 2.5 million people. All arrangements for pickup and transportation were made by Fish Colombia - and we were well taken care of every step of the way. Picked up at the airport and transported to a nice hotel in the city. We were able to meet up with Beto (Alberto) for dinner, get rested up, and head out early in the morning towards Bahia Solano.
We flew a small plane into a rustic airstrip in Bahia, a small coastal town on the Pacific where fishing and ecotourism are critical economic boosters. The small town is marked by conditions and people hardened by a 'simple' life that probably isn't so simple. Working hard to provide without many luxuries. The people were all very welcoming and friendly, and military personnel seemed prevalent at every corner... maybe that's why everyone was so well behaved!
We loaded up all of our gear among the hustle and bustle of a busy fishing harbor and began our trek north towards another small oceanside fishing community of Punta Ardita. Our movement north was intentional but not direct, as we meandered our way north stopping to fish the incredibly scenic coastline along the way. Massive cascading chimney stack rocks spring up out of deep turquoise blue waters... the tops capped with lush green vegetation and palms. One would wonder how certain foliage and trees even seeded at the top of these towering rock structures - until the view of various waterbirds come flying over. Frigates, boobies (yes thats the name), pelicans, anhinga's, cormorants and more abound. Its clear that some of the seeds, nuts, berries etc also consumed by the various birds were 'fertilized' digestively atop these mounds.
The captivating site of the sheer beauty here may distract from the grinding nature of launching surface plugs for hundreds or thousands of casts. I am not an ocean guy... never have been, and my tendency to get sick on the sea is pretty legendary. Even here where the water is relatively calm - I had the shake off some sickness on the first half day. We managed to bring a few roosterfish in hot on poppers but failed to get a committed bite from them. This was one of my 'target species' if I had one at all.
The point of this trip wasn't about what I wanted to catch, it was an opportunity to spend time with family. A lot of my quests center around primary targets, things I have long dreamed of catching all wrapped up in unique places around strange new people. This time those stressors were off... I didn't care all that much what was caught, but if I did have any target(s) it was #1 a cubera snapper on topwater, and #2 a roosterfish. We managed to jig up a small grouper and a few little spanish mackerel on a mostly uneventful first 1/2 day fishing.
We arrived at the lodge a little parched and sunbeaten... ready for solid ground. The setup of the place is a unique contrast between utter remote isolation in pristine jungle and the detailed architecture of a luxury lodge. A stilted compound that does leverage the tropical feel of its surroundings but pops with its modern build. I felt spoiled just looking at it and the effort the team at Darien Lodge put in to making a real experience is evident as soon as your feet touch the sand. Even the local dogs there are part of a full staff greeting team. I've always loved interacting with local dogs wherever I go, here... the four-legged locals live a life dogs can only dream of. Meandering about freely on a coastal paradise... loved and cared for without the confines of a chain linked fence and tether.
The staff awaited us at the lodge with a cold dampened towel and small cups with what I came to call "jungle juice"... maybe the best part of each day for the next five! Fresh fruit juice iced and poured like a smooth and they just hit different after long days of bombing hundreds of casts. The lodge is laid out with a number of bungalows that each have two beds. Inside of each was themed with a mounted species of local fish that could be caught (mine was the cubera) fresh sheets on beds with mosquito netting. My brother, Dad and I were the ONLY guests there and we had the entire place to ourselves. The grounds are well landscaped with tropical foliage, fruit trees and shrubbery where chickens and roosters waltz around pecking at the ground and different species of tropical birds and parrots comb the treetops and palm fronds overhead.
The next morning started what would be five days of inshore and offshore fishing that would offer me chances at new species on every cast. We loaded up in a panga and launched directly from the sand to shuttle out to our primary fishing boat anchored just a distance away.
Being in a tropical climate where moisture just seems constantly captured and held between mountainous jungle peaks meant having rain gear nearby was essential. We spent most days with atleast a looming threat of being rained on if not being consumed under total downpour. We'd typically start each day fishing nearby beaches and river mouths - casting along the muddy current line where murky river outflow clashed with the clear blue Pacific waters. Predators patrolled the mud line where panicked baitfish were more easily corralled. Here the jacks seemed to dominate. Pacific jack crevalle similar to those I'm used to in my home-waters of Florida could be seen pushing schools of white bait to the surface where water birds would dive on them. It wasn't hard to find where the fish were... and it was not hard to convince a jack to eat, it never is.
The jacks were a good warm up... always got the juices flowing and the arms loosened up. Their characteristic assault on a popper was unmistakable every time but on the first day after a handful of jacks I was popping in the area when a monstrous red flash exploded from beneath my popper. Immediately I knew the main fish I wanted to see was at hand and buttoned tightly. I had my first encounter with the 'king of the reef', a cubera had just SMASHED the lure, and with authority.
After a spirited battle I got the fish boat side where it was landed... and, in short order I had the fish I wanted! Any stress, if there really was any to begin with, was lifted and what was already bound to be a pretty relaxed and enjoyable adventure became even freer.
We thoroughly combed sand beaches, river mouths, and rocky coastline for hours - finding hardly any success among the rocks where every spot looked like it MUST have fish, but generally yielded no real results. There was some idea that because we were there during a full moon phase the fish were getting fat at night and being lazy during the day. Whether there is merit to that argument or we just weren't making the lures dance right I do not know.
Offshore though seemed more alive. We headed offshore every day patrolling grounds im assuming the guides were familiar with but just seemed like aimless wandering in a blue abyss to me. We'd search for pods of dolphins and water birds as visual indicators... as the birds meant forage fish and often the bigger yellowfin tuna seemed to travel alongside the dolphins. As hard as the inshore fishing tended to be, the tuna were absolutely willing participants every single time, no questions asked.
We caught more yellowfin than I could hope to count... doubling and tripling up to the point of total exhaustion. There were times my arms were so warn out I may have secretly hoped the fish WOULDN'T bite, or would come off when I casted. I had more fun watching my brother and my Dad under tow of a tuna blow up than anything though, it was fantastic. Eventually we'd caught so many tuna we switched to single hooks on every popper to encourage fish to shake free or be easier to shake loose at boatside.
We clearly caught more fish than we could hope to eat on our own... so one rewarding part of our days was stopping by local fishing communities that dotted the shoreline and giving back to them. These small communities are built around fishing... in the mornings we typically saw fleets of pangas fishing around the river mouths where the men in the boats used spools of line, handlining fish to feed their families with. Often we would stop to get bait from these people and while I don't speak much Spanish at all the transaction seemed to be paid in fish caught with the bait later.
Something about being near this kind of 'salt of the earth' fishing... the core of what fishing originally was and is, is largely why I like to fish in these places in the first place. We're spoiled by fishing back home to the point that it is considered a pastime, even a sport. Its something we do for leisure, and 'fun'. Its been taken, and even bastardized by various forms of media and spun into a means of selling product or making a name for ourselves... we've largely forgotten the root of fishing. So, being in proximity to these people who work hard for a fish, where the FISH is the purpose, and it has great meaning is very impactful. When I hold a fish, it means a lot to me... but it doesn't mean as much as it does to these people and there is power in the realization of that. It humbles me, grounds me... and serves as a 'reset' of sorts that keeps me close to where I need to be mentally with my approach to fishing and how I should value it.
The Darien coast is a magical place... its as advertised. A unique 'gem' tucked away in a place that seems lost in time. There's as much that stands as a matter of fact and reality as there is left to the imagination with each and every cast. We caught a broad assortment of species - and took away more valuable intangibles on our conscience.
Commenti