“Hallucinatory—that’s just the way everyday life is in Colombia. All the time, you say to yourself, did I just see that?”
—Barbet Schroeder

It’s a blazingly hot midweek afternoon when John first voices the nickname. Nico is up on El Bizcocho’s bow with Ashley, his teasing rod ready for action as the boat glides into another school of surface-feeding yellowfin tuna. Nico casts the teaser lure, calling out as he does: “Right side!” The school begins to pass under the hull. “Left side!” He’s teasing in fish for Ashley, but I’m working random shots off the back of the boat too—a program which has been working nicely. It’s chaos in the best of ways and John, hanging out in the stern with me, grins.

“We’re the War Wagon.”

To this day I still don’t know if he was referencing the old John Wayne movie or was simply inspired by the fact that we were utilizing every bit of the 36-foot center console as a targeted yellowfin attack platform. Either way the name sticks, and for the rest of the week we are designated Team War Wagon.

We’re a motley crew, in a motley sort of place. The coastline of the infamous Darién Gap in Colombia is one of the most storied, wild regions of the world. Medellín-based angler Beto Mejia has built a fishing lodge in this improbable land called Darién Lodge. The relatively new undertaking is only a few years in operation but is quickly carving a name for itself among saltwater sportfishing lodges. Most guests who have been here are traditional tackle guys; fly is still a relatively new game in these waters.

It’s that reputation and promise of a solid fishery which has drawn our crew. None of us knew each other beforehand, but now we’ve found ourselves sharing a boat for the week. Ashley and Jason are a New Jersey-based husband-wife duo, and John—wonderfully calm, cool and collected—is traveling solo, and also from the Garden State.

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