We had an amazing fishing trip in the Gamboa Reserve with Captain Rene! From the start, he was incredibly responsive and set clear expectations, which made the whole experience, from pick up to drop off, smooth and enjoyable.

Captain Rene has a wealth of knowledge about the area, fish behavior, and water conditions, and he was more than happy to share insights with us throughout the trip. His expertise showed right away — our first cast brought in a nice Snook!

He had all the right gear — plenty of rods, lures, and bait — which made the trip even more enjoyable. One of the highlights was also a video Rene put together for us just a couple of hours after the trip!

Overall, it was an amazing trip, and we can’t recommend Captain Rene enough for anyone looking to fish in Panama City!

I am not a fisherman. This was my first fishing trip in years. My girlfriend who is from Minnesota and the first time in Panama wanted to go fishing. So we went . Half my catch I had to through back to conserve the planet( or something like that). The other part my catch was to small, according to my girlfriend.
She had a great time. I was upset because I could only get over 10 lbs of great fillets. Don’t tell anyone they might make me through those back.
Great time by all. I wish I could have kept the real big ones. I guess somebody has to save the fish!!

We had one day booked to fish and the weather was very complicated.  There was rain one hour followed by blistering sun the next.  Rene knew exactly what to do, everything.  He was able to read the water an immediately change how we fished.  The proof is in the catch.  We trolled for Snook, jigged, cast live minnows and bait casted surface plugs.  Not only could Rene read the water and the fish, but he could also read the people and keep us on the fish and excited.  All I know is we had a monster Snook for dinner and several pictures of tournament size Peacock Bass.  I will be back!!!!

We had an amazing trip with CPT Rene Him out of Gamboa. Taxis were just plain difficult to reserve at 5am, so we had Rene pick us up at our hotel in PC for an extra fee. Ended up cheaper and way faster than a taxi. We were on the water before sunup, and the boat is a bay skiff and super stable, which is important on the canal with giant ship wakes. We caught a trophy Peacock up under the jungle canopy, plus Jack, Snook, Tigerfish, Ladyfish, and spent an hour casting to Tarpon which were finning along the surface after bait, but not aggressive a few days before the full moon. Rene has hundreds of lures which we fished about 90% of the time, but as the sun came up at midday we used live bait, or trolled some crank baits for Snook. Rene knows the back waters of Gatun like the back of his hand, is very conscious of the environment, and knows the local ways. From beginners looking to explore the rain forest from the lake, to more experienced fishermen, this is the charter and boat you want. Rene even had lefty reels for us. He provided fantastic fresh sub sandwiches plus water, cold drinks, and even a celebratory beer. We will fish with Rene again next trip.

Rene is an honest guy when he says whats bitting and skill set getting fish. It takes more than a line getting wet to catch fish. We moved around to catch target fish, but the full moon might have messed with fish hunger. Non the less the catching on the peacocks and tiger fish was good with the tool provided. Rene helped by throwing rooster tails and poppers to try to activate the fish interest which worked. Very honest and enjoyable person to be around and the views were great! There is a reason for his great reviews, and his photography make the trip special and remember able.