I've learned in life that acceptance is the answer to all my problems, and if I find some person, place, thing or situation unacceptable to me I am the problem. Tropic Star Lodge is the journey and destination. It's a place where I've made friends, ate great food, and told stories about life. It's where I find peace, serenity and solitude among the jungles of Panama. When I visit, I have no expectations, if I do i put myself in a position to be let down, therefore I sit back, Relax and enjoy the experience. I've thought about it often, in the beginning when I first started going down to the lodge, I shared with people I was going fishing, my reality is I am going catching with people who take pride in their work, and it shows in the quality of the experience I have when I go there. I'm not baiting hooks, putting out lines or setting hooks. I leave that to the professionals. I was recently there on April 6th to April 11th. Took a friend who i have known for 46 years. For me there is no better place to be with a lifelong friend and speak about where we started in life and where we are today. As usual we get to the lodge and have our meeting about the fishing conditions, Richard White goes around and asks us what we want to catch. Being a wise guy i say Blue Marlin! There is a laugh and smile from Richard. And he shares that they will do whatever we want but the Blue Marlin bite was slow only having seen a couple and landed one, so i heed the warning. Probably not a good idea to fish for Marlin, so its decided tuna offshore and then inshore for rooster fish and cubrera snapper. I have never gone to the lodge and had a say in what I should fish for. I leave it to the professionals. Thats why i pay them.

On a personal note, I have struggled with life for a long time, I was never able to live life on life's terms. I always had to put a little twist on it and as usual pushing everyone away from me at one point, except for 2 people one who is no longer alive and the other the friend I spoke about earlier. 7 years ago, my life has changed, when I go to the lodge, I get a chance to leave life behind, concede to my innermost self and reboot among nature and the thing I love to do the most is catching fish. The person that helped me 7 years ago turns out I am finally in a place to help him, not financially, but emotionally and mentally. And we get to have an experience second to none. I can't think of anywhere else in the world that i would rather be than Tropic Star Lodge.

We caught everything that was there to catch, we ate everything they had to offer, We saw everything there was to see. I've caught black marlin, blue marlin, sailfish, Dorado, tuna, cubrera snapper, rock snapper, amberjack and many other fish over the years. I will continue to go back. I'm booked for January 2025 and will be at it again. with people I want to be around.

Thank You Tropic Star Lodge for an experience, destination and journey.

If you come down to the lodge and don't have fun, its your own fault.

I'm living beyond my wildest dreams, are you living beyond yours?

Thanks,
Big Love

This was our first “Black Marlin” trip to tropic star but our actual fourth return visit. As always Tropic Star Lodge delivered a FIVE STAR PLUS experience. Richard has truly fine tuned his fleet of outstanding captains and mates and the service and food was phenomenal. Anyone that fishes understands there is a big difference between fishing and catching. Weather, wind, water temp etc all come into play and it’s unfortunate that some previous visitors have had bad “catching” weeks. Everyone experiences fishing from a different perspective. Personally, spending time on the water is one of the most relaxing, enjoyable, pleasant , and exhilarating parts of life. Fishing just adds to the experience and catching makes the experience absolutely incredible. It’s unfortunate for those whom had a poor week of “catching” fish. My friends and I have had bad “catching” days like everyone else and if and when it occurs multiple days in a row it can be very disappointing. These trips are expensive and expectations can be very high. Mishaps will happen and fish will take “vacations.” I think the most important part of the trip is the overall experience and the incredible level of service. Not everyone will leave Tropic Star satisfied regarding their “catching” experience. Most, however, will find the experience itself to be a fantastic way to spend 3, 4, 6 days on the water. Our “Black Marlin” week was one for our record books. 5 Blacks, 12 sails, and 34 dorados (25 plus pounds each). Our fifth return trip is booked and my gratitude and thanks to all that work at Tropic Star Lodge for an incredible level of service. Thank you for the great “experiences” and the “amazing memories” in regards to the fishing and the “catching.”