Nicarauga

Tapam Lodge

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Accommodations

Comfortable Single Occupancy Lodge Rooms // Capacity - 4 Anglers

Season

February-June

Species

Large Tarpon, Snook

Ideal For

Solo Anglers & Friends

Finding Tapam

The waters of Tapam encompass an extensive inland system of lagoons, creeks, rivers, and a unique canal. While resident tarpon can be found year-round, the larger migratory tarpon begin entering the system early in the year, spreading to many prime fishing spots by mid-February. The peak season typically runs from March through May, with predominantly dry and sunny weather in March and April, transitioning to short but intense showers by late May. Mornings often start in "The Canal," a man-made link between a large river and the lagoons. Here, anglers search for bait-busting tarpon while the jungle comes alive with the sounds of howling monkeys and singing birds. When schools of mullet inadvertently enter the canal, feeding frenzies erupt, with tarpon leaping through the air and mullet even jumping onto dry land in their desperate escape. As the day progresses, boats move to other areas in search of rolling or feeding tarpon. Tarpon in Tapam range from smaller resident fish to larger migratory specimens, with most exceeding 50–60 pounds. Larger tarpon average 80–120 pounds, and some giants between 150–180 pounds are hooked, with a few successfully landed. With only two or three boats on the water, the fish experience minimal fishing pressure. Other species, including snook, powerful jacks, and grunting catfish, add variety to the experience.

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Lodging Details
The Tapam Lodge is nice, clean – and simple. This isn’t the Hilton but a hardcore fishing camp. Anglers stay in six single rooms with comfortable beds (including all linens and bedding), electricity and fans and there are two shared bath rooms. There is a larger well-lit dining room, a porch with hammocks for napping during the siesta. Access to the boats is right in front of the lodge.

Food and Beverages
The day starts with a very early breakfast so we can be on the water at first light. The boats will have cold drinks and cut tropical fruit on board and around noon we will be back at the lodge for a delicious hot lunch. Dinner is served after dark and is a mix of local cuisine with a more international touch. We have access to fresh shrimp, great steaks, chicken and fish.

Typical Length of Stay
The total time in Nicaragua is nine (9) nights / eight (8) days. The time at the Jungle Tarpon Reserve is seven (7) nights / seven (7) fishing days, with fishing consisting of six long days with two sessions on the water and one day with one 7-hour session. Anglers overnight in Managua upon arrival before a domestic flight to Bluefields the following morning followed by a speed boat transfer to the Tapam Lodge. The last night is at a hotel in Bluefields before flying domestic to Managua the next morning and continuing on your international flight. It’s possibly to request slightly shorter or longer stays. Please contact Yellow Dog for more details or customized itinerary options.

Non-Angling Activities
The Tapam Lodge is a fishing-focused destination and there are no activities for non-anglers. That said, the wildlife, the smell and the sounds of the jungle is a welcome bonus when chasing tarpon.

Internet /Communications
There is Starlink Wi-Fi at the lodge cell phones will have some reception but you should check with your local provider about rates and coverage.

General Information
Tapam will have new pangas for 2025, designed with fly fishing in mind. There will be casting decks fore and aft so two anglers can fish at the same time, and the pangas will be rigged with front mounted trolling engines and top-notch electronics.

Fishing situations are varied but most often it is casting to rolling fish, waiting for tarpon to violently smash bait on the surface or blind casting in known hot spots or likely areas. In many situations casting a reasonable distance is all it takes. But when tarpon is busting bait getting the fly to the feeding fish quickly is important. And since the fish can show up anywhere around the boat, the ability to present the fly with a back cast is a major asset. That is equally useful when you are fishing two out of the boat, often covering water in different directions. Anglers are encouraged to practice casting 11 or 12 weight rods before the come.

While we sometimes find good action for baby tarpon, most of the shots will be at adult fish from 50-100+ pounds. Every season a good number of 150+ lbs are hooked and landed. Forget about small flies and lighter leaders – these fish see very little fishing pressure and don’t care. When they’re on, they’re really on and flies will be sucked way in to that bucket of a mouth.

We rarely fish lighter tackle for snook or jacks. They are mostly welcome bycatches while tarpon fishing and even if we have a few spots where we know is a chance of hooking a snook there is always a chance of a big tarpon hanging around in the same spot. Since you need to fight a good snook pretty hard to stop it from going into sunken trees or other obstacles it makes more sense in most spots to stick with the heavy rod and be prepared for anything. We sometimes fish lagoons with small to medium sized tarpon and here a 10 weight would be fine.

Should the tarpon fishing slow down we might bring a spin rod in the afternoon and try to jig a couple of nice snook, most for catch & release but occasionally keeping a mid-sized one for dinner.

Water levels are consistent during the prime season and conditions don’t change much. Fishing success often depends of finding schools of active tarpon and hoping they stay in the same area for several days.

Fishing for big fish can be challenging. Sometimes, they’re hard to find at other times they’re hard to feed. Some weeks can be extremely exciting and very productive, others need hard work before you succeed. But every cast in these waters holds a real chance of hooking up with a fish of a life time. Bringing the right mindset is important.

Boats and Equipment
The guides run 23-foot long pangas with casting decks fore and aft and plenty of room for anglers and gear. The tarpon come in all sizes (10-200 lbs) and the bigger ones require 11 or 12 weights to tire them quickly before release. Sink tip lines work best in most scenarios, but intermediate lines can also be very useful if tarpon are in shallower parts of lagoons or flats, or if they are found on top. Having two rods with both sink tip and an intermediate rigged onboard is preferred so that each fishing scenario can be efficiently handled. If you’d like to bring a 3rd line then bring a second sink tip as we often rig two rods with identical sink tip lines and two different flies, and only change one of them to an intermediate line on certain occasions. Reels should hold 150 meters of backing and have good drags that will hold up during longer fights. Leaders are pretty standard tapered with a 125 lbs bite tippet (1,05 mm Seaguar Big Game is the best we have tried). Over the years we have lost several big fish on lighter bite tippets.

In terms of flies, the tarpon feed on anything from catfish, sardines and mullets to shrimp and blue crabs. Fortunately, they are opportunistic and even during a feeding frenzy on bigger mullets they don’t pass up on a smaller baitfish fly or even a shrimp pattern. We have found that casting length is more important than fly length so over the years we have downsized our flies somewhat. We fish a lot of shrimp patterns, and our baitfish are tied with reverse bucktail and nayat (goat) or synthetic fibers to minimize material, making them hollow and much easier to cast while maintaining great movement in the water. Custom tied flies are available for sale on-site.

Package Rates 
Remember that Yellow Dog’s services are completely free! When you book a trip with Yellow Dog, you never pay more than when you book directly with the lodge or outfitter.

2025 Rates

$5,490 per person (based on single occupancy accommodations / double occupancy fishing)
$8,800 per person (based on single occupancy accommodations / single occupancy fishing)

What’s Included:

Lodging at the Tapam Lodge (single occupancy lodging – double occupancy fishing)
Private ground transportation from Bluefields
All meals on location
Non-alcoholic drinks, limited beer, fruit, and snacks for each day of fishing
Six (6) long days with two daily sessions and one (1) shorter day (morning session, 7 hrs) of fishing
Hotel in Bluefields (single occupancy – last night)
Local fishing license

What’s Not Included:

International flights to Managua
Lodging in Managua on first night
Meals, drinks, or additional costs in Managua
Domestic flight between Managua and Bluefields
Dinner in Bluefields (last night)
Flies (available for purchase on-site)
Insurance (travel or medical)
Beer or alcohol
Souvenirs
Gratuities for guides and lodge staff

Tapam Lodge (Nicaragua) TERMS AND CONDITIONS – CANCELLATIONS A non-refundable deposit of 50% per person is due at the time of booking for all Tapam Lodge lodging and fishing packages, and final payment if due 120 days prior to arrival. For cancellations, all deposits and payments are non-refundable. Because of the operator’s no refund and no credit policy, we highly recommend the purchase of trip cancellation insurance. In no event will Tapam Lodge be responsible for any cancellation of services or operations due to inclement weather, any event of force majeure, airline delays or flight cancellations, or any other reason beyond the control of the outfitter. If your flights are cancelled and connections are missed, Tapam Lodge is not responsible for alternative travel arrangements including flights, hotels, meals and any other expenses incurred. If a cancelled package is resold by either the operator or by Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, then a full refund will be issued minus a $100.00 per person cancellation fee charged by Yellow Dog. Receipt of deposit and/or final payment is acknowledgment that registrant has read and accepts the deposit, cancellation, refund and responsibility clauses for these packages. Once again, Yellow Dog strongly recommends that anglers and guests purchase travel insurance for these Nicaraguan packages.