Best Times & Seasons to Fish Panama (A Complete Guide)

With a staggering number of IGFA world records caught, Panama is a must-visit destination for recreational anglers. Knowing the best seasons and times to fish Panama can deliver you the vacation of a lifetime during the peak biting windows of the year.

The best time to fish Panama is from January through March for yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi, from April through August for all species of marlin and sailfish. For wahoo, the peak time is November in Panama.

Fish Species	Best Times & Seasons to Fish in Panama
Black Marlin	Year-round availability; August is the best fishing month in most years.
Blue Marlin	Year-round availability; May through August are the peak fishing months.
Striped Marlin	Year-round availability; March through August are the peak fishing months.
Sailfish	Year-round availability; August & September are the 2 peak fishing months.
Yellowfin Tuna	Year-round availability; January-March are the best months with March being the peak.
Pacific Jack Crevalle	Year-round availability. Can be caught off-shore as well as in-shore near rock formations.
Wahoo	Year-round availability; The peak fishing month for Panama wahoo is November.
Mahi Mahi (Dolphin)	Year-round availability; January-March are the best months with February being the peak.

Panama is a small country linking Central and South America. In this article, we will really break down the best times and seasons for each major species of gamefish in Panama waters and tell when you should come to fish them.

Panama Fish Species Breakdown (Best Times to Fish)

Black Marlin: Can be found year-round however August is the most action-packed month for this epic trophy gamefish. Off-Shore.

Blue Marlin: Can be found year-round but May through August are the best months. Off-Shore.

Wahoo: Active year-round but peak season is in November. Off-Shore.

Mahi Mahi: Available year-round with peak season from January to March. Off-Shore.

Pacific Jack Crevalle: Year-round activity. Can be caught off-shore as well as in-shore near rock formations. 

Sailfish: Active year-round but peak season is August-September. Off-Shore. 

Striped Marlin: Year-round with action picking up in March and peaking in August.  Off-Shore.  

Yellowfin Tuna: Active year-round. Peak season January to March, with March being the best month of the year. Off-Shore. 

Best Time to Fish Panama

Panama has a warm tropical climate and really only has two seasons. They have a “dry season”, which is also the hottest and most popular for tourism which starts mid-December and runs through May. They also have a “rainy season” which starts in May and runs through November.

Being in Panama during the rainy season doesn’t mean it rains all the time everywhere though. The rains are usually short in duration and so if it rains in the morning it probably won’t still be raining in the afternoon, or conversely, if it’s dry in the morning you may experience an afternoon shower.

Most of the time the duration of the showers is quite brief. For example, if you stop at a restaurant to get lunch and it is raining when you arrive the rain will often be done by the time your meal is over.

There’s not a bad time to head to Panama for fishing as so many different species can be found there year-round, but some months are better than others for different species.

So, if you’re just looking for a good time fishing and aren’t worried about whether you’re going to catch a Marlin or a Yellow-fin Tuna, you can confidently book travel any time of the year and have a great time.

If you’ve got a specific species in mind, you’ll want to be a little more particular with your agenda, but don’t worry we’ve got all the research covered for you a little bit further on in this article.

I recommend this Penn Pursuit Spinning Rod & Reel combo (available on Amazon) for inshore and nearshore fishing. It can handle everything from redfish to snapper and king mackerel. The Penn Battalion Series Spinning Rod and the Penn Battle Spinning Reel are fantastic if you want to create your combo.

Recommended Fishing Charters in Panama

These Panama-based charters have earned great reviews from anglers and will offer you a tremendous service. The captains are knowledgeable, friendly, and are sure to put you on fish. By clicking the links below, you will be taken to the charter’s respective profile on Fishing Booker where you can read reviews, learn more about the charter, view photos, and book online at the best rate.

Recommended Fishing Charters	Type of Fishing Offered
Sunrise Charters Panama	Inshore & Offshore
Out Of Control Fishing Tours	Inshore & Offshore
Panama GEM Charters – 27’ Proline	Inshore & Offshore
The Pearl Island Charter Company	Wreck, Reef, Nearshore & Inshore
Panama Fishing Trip	Lake, River & Inshore
Fish In Panama Charters	Wreck, Reef, Nearshore, Inshore & Offshore

Best Season to Fish Panama

The great thing about Panama is that it is really close to The Continental Shelf. Within about an hour you can reach the really deep channels that game fish love to travel in. They call the coast of Panama “the tuna coast” and for good reason, there’s tons of fish here year-round.

If you’re not too picky about what you catch December is the most beautiful month of the year to be in Panama, there’s plenty of action and the dry season has just begun and the winds and waters are calm.

The real tuna action kicks off in January and continues through most of the summer so if you’re after Yellowfin look to plan sometime in the spring with March being the best month for you.

The Marlin and Sailfish start to arrive in numbers in February and continue through the summer as well with August being a truly exceptional month for big Billfish. If you’re looking for the calmest seas and also the least likelihood of rain, but still have plenty of fish to catch, May is the month for you.

The month of October is typically the most intense when it comes to storms and wind, so if there is a month to avoid, that’s the one I’d pick.

There’s really not a bad time to head to Panama from the perspective of catching fish, but there are months that are more prone to rain so just keep that in mind when booking and pack accordingly and you’ll be just fine. 

Best Time of Day

The nice thing about Panama is its proximity to deep water channels and the continental shelf. This gives you the advantage of being able to get to the game fish quickly and start reeling them in. The earlier you head out the more time you’re going to have to get on the fish and make some catches.

Game fish are migratory predators that follow schools of baitfish so they don’t stay in one place for very long. That means that you want to give yourself as much time as you can to look for them by getting out early in the day and maximizing your chances to catch some exceptional fish.

Morning vs. Afternoon

During the dry season, you’ll have your pick of morning or afternoon if you have a preference because the weather tends to be the same most of the day.

During the rainy season, you may have days where it’s going to rain in the morning but not the afternoon and vice versa, so you’ll want to go with whichever is going to give you the best conditions on the day.

Granted during the rainy season, you may occasionally have a rare full day of rain in which case you’ll just have to make the best of it, but that doesn’t happen often.

It is always a great idea to get out earlier than later just to give yourself the most time possible to get onto the fish, but if you’ve got a storm in the morning and clear seas in the afternoon you may be better suited waiting out the rain and having a go at a later departure. 

Tidal impacts on Panama Fishing

The tidal impacts in Panama are not significant for most species of gamefish because the fishing is being done so far offshore.

More impactful aspects of the experience will be water temperature and the lunar cycle which can both heavily impact the migratory patterns of the baitfish which are being pursued by the gamefish we’re after.

There is a good amount of inshore fishing to be done in Panama as well but the tidal impacts will be marginal due to the water depth in the best fishing spots.

Storms & Panama fishing

Unlike much of the world, Panama has just two seasons: wet and dry. The dry season runs from December through April and is referred to as “summer” by the locals.

The rainy season makes up the rest of the year and will see various levels of storm ranging from scattered hourlong showers to thunderstorms lasting all day.

The all-day storms are rare and most of the rainy season will see a light shower in the morning or afternoon followed by clear skies for the rest of the day.

The impacts on fishing will depend on the severity of the storm however it’s generally accepted that you’re going to get rained on a little bit at some point on a trip during the rainy season and that it will generally pass quickly.

For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish for roosterfish in Costa Rica, please check out this helpful guide.

Winter fishing in Panama

The climate in Panama is such that they don’t really have what we’d call a winter. It never really gets cold there, they just have typically mild daily rain showers about 8 months out of the year. 

Some of the best Tuna fishing can be had in what North Americans would call their winter in January, February, and March with March being the peak of Tuna fishing season. If you’re looking for a break from dreary winter weather, it’s warm and dry in Panama that time of year.

For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish Costa Rica, please check out this helpful guide. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish Aruba, please check out this helpful guide. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish Barbados, please check out this helpful guide.

Night fishing in Panama

Because most of the fishing to be done in Panama is for trophy fish many miles offshore, it’s not really a great night fishing destination.

You can certainly charter an in-shore trip and try your hand at night fishing for numerous species of Crevalle that can be found near rock formations close to shore but that should be seen as a secondary activity to the prime reason to head to Panama which is to pursue some really massive gamefish offshore.  

Shore/Surf fishing in Panama

There is some great fishing from shore that can be done in Panama’s Gulf of Chiriqui. With over 200 islands and 30+ species of fish including the famous Roostertail, Trevalle, Pompano and Cubera Snapper you can find yourself in a real fight with some massive and powerful fish in no time at all.

There are over 2,000 square miles of fishing grounds in the Gulf and tossing live bait out from any one of those islands or trolling live bait behind a fishing kayak can readily get you into some action.

You can hire a boat to take you to and from an island and be well into the fishing adventure of a lifetime before lunchtime.  Between the mild climate, abundant fishing grounds, and multitudes of options year-round, you really can’t miss with a fishing excursion to Panama.

Top Five Panama Fishing Spots (Best Times)

Hannibal Bank: 15 square miles of Yellowfin Tuna and Marlin feeding grounds are fed by the Pacific Humboldt current and yield some of the best game fishing on the planet. At about an hour boat ride from shore, you really can’t beat this spot.

Isla Montuosa: Huge billfish and plentiful Yellowfin Tuna make this spot a can’t miss opportunity for tight lines and serious action.  

Isla Secas: This spot is a short ride from the marina and sports a remarkably diverse fish population. Wahoo, Amberjack, Roosterfish are found here in abundance. 

Isla Parida: This is a nice mangrove island that is home to smaller gamefish and is a great spot to scuba dive. Mackerel and Wahoo are frequently caught in this area. 

Isla Landrones: This is a beautiful island with a lion-shaped green mountain overlooking the ocean. Here you can catch Tuna, Roosterfish, Jacks and Snapper.

Booking Charters in Panama

Charter fishing in Panama is easily accessible, abundant, and relatively inexpensive. You can book anything from half-day bare-bones inshore excursions to fully catered multi-day trips and everything in between.

You’ll have no trouble finding English-speaking fishing guides, in fact, many charter companies have native English speakers on all of their trips.

There are sport fishing tours available that can take you out to the Pearl Islands or the Gulf of Chiriquí that will put you on to some truly exceptional action.

One thing to keep in mind is that while there is charter fishing available to the Caribbean side, the marinas and infrastructure are not as developed as they are on the Pacific side, and also the best fishing is on the Pacific side as well. If you wanted to you could hire a local boat for a quick Caribbean trip, but the best action really is on the Pacific side of the country. 

Trip Length

Since Panama is only about an hour-long ride to the continental divide and really deep channels where gamefish love to hang out, you can get a lot of action packed into a half-day trip. You may not be able to go after as many species but you’ll definitely get some tight lines and come away with a memorable experience.

If you can spare the time and take a full-day trip you’ll open up more possibilities and allow yourself the chance to catch even more fish.

During the rainy season you may have bad weather for part of the day so taking a full day trip gives you an opportunity to offset that by being out there when the weather clears up, or conversely you can book a half day and go when the weather is good.

The more time you can spend fishing the more time you can spend catching, but sometimes if the weather isn’t great, you make the best out of what is available to you. A half-day trip is still a great trip in Panama, but a full-day is ideal because it gives you more opportunity to catch more fish. 

For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish in Guatemala, check out this guide. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish in Ecuador, check out this guide. For the best times to fish in Uruguay, check out this guide.