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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 13
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009 - 8:52 am: | |
OFFSHORE Fishing Reports Guatemala
Guatemala ~~~ We had our first trip today to start the season in Guatemala. The Strike Zone has been getting ready for this year's season and she had her debut today...With a group that had never been blue water fishing, it was a treat. Capt. Edgar, my partner said that the bite started at 9:00am and didn't stop until 2:00 pm. It was non-stop...They had 5 Sails and 16 Dorado's and were back at the marina at 3:00pm. They had a blast....Edgar has our private villa ready for this season with a new 60'' TV. One of the finest clubs in Central America has just opened and is five minutes from our villa. It is open just for gringos and it has swimming pool, jacuzzi, card tables, pool tables, indoor and out door bars, etc....It is a show place...and a great place to go after a great day of fishing. Mike Lane and his crew will be going back to do another TV show and we will have six spots for fishing stars. This is a great time and you can be a part of the show. The date for the trip is somewhere in the first two weeks of November so give us a call and put you name on the list...the spots will go FAST....I think they are going to let me go this time'''''
As you can see we are ready to take you and your group fishing on one of our luxury sportfishing yachts in either the Gulf or the Pacific.
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS Louisiana & Guatemala
CELEBRATING 21 YEARS IN THE CHARTER BUSINESS
225~279~3800 CAPT GARY OR 225~205~3766 CAPT. DANNY
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 10
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 10:58 pm: | |
CAPT. GARY BONANNO/STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS Venice, LA USA
WHAT A TWO MONTH RUN....This has been the best July and August that I have had in the 21 year history of Strike Zone Charters. The weather, the anglers and the fish have been cooperating. We have had to run a lot further than the norm but the reward has been GREAT catches of Yellowfin and Blackfin Tuna. The average 24hr trip on the 55' Strike Zone Too has been 12 to 15 Yellowfin with the largest in the last two months being a 141 pounder that came on the slowest trip of the Two Month RUN. We have tagged eight Blue Marlin with three of them coming in the past three weeks. Lots of Bull Dolphin in the first part of July. And the AJ's have been the big hogs as usual. And let's not forget the red icing on the top of the fish box...THE RED SNAPPERS (Who are in danger..... of killing themselves from over population)
We are now waiting for the Blue Water and the big Yellowfin to move back home. It will be nice to start fishing seven to twenty miles out of the pass. I know this will make the oil companies sad but it will sure help our fishing pocket books.
Guatemala has been slow....Everyone is waiting for the up coming season (Oct to May).....When we have had boats out they have done very good....The last trip was with a local group and they went 5 for 10 on the Sails and had 16 Dorado's. The problem is the same as it was in Venice years ago...It was only a few of us fishing from October to April(Capt Mike Fernett and Capt. Mike Adam's)....Now we have found this is some of our better months as long as the weather stays in tack. Next year we are going to promote the slow months with some great specials on three day fishing trips. to Guatemala...We are getting ready for the Guatemala Run:::Seth Is heading down on Monday to bring some supplies and to make sure the boats are ready for October. Capt. Kevin Aderhold and Seth Holl and going to start running one of the boats in Guatemala the latter part of this year. They are not good on their spanish but they are real good on the Sails and the Spanish ladies.
Get a group and come join us on a fun fishing trip on one of our luxury yachts, either in Louisiana or Guatemala. If you can't find a group give Capt. Danny Pate a call and he will try and get you on one of the trips...WE WANT TO TAKE YOU CATCHING.
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA~~~~Celebrating 21 years in the charter business
225~279~3800 or Capt. Danny 225~892~4790
www.strikezonecharters.net |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
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Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 26
Registered: 2-2006
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 3:38 pm: | |
What Rainy Season ?
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
August 17th 2009 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing Company
operating out of the new Pez Vela Marina.
Guatemala is often called the land of the eternal spring – in fact it is the unofficial National Slogan, although for a while it became the formal footnote for the country – as from 1935 and continuing for the next forty years, it was used as the text in four languages for the cancelling of all stamps and postage coming in and leaving the country. This familiarity persists today, although it can be misleading.
The term itself “Land of Eternal Spring” was first used to give the image of a country and countryside that was in perpetual bloom. The name however is a bit of a misnomer as In Guatemala there are two seasons, as is common in the climate of the northern tropics: the dry season and the rainy season. The longer season is the rainy season, which lasts from May through October. The rainiest months are usually June and September – which often means a pleasant interlude in August – with some great fishing !
The rains have raised the water levels in the rivers flowing down to the coast from the highlands, and have washed out a lot of the fallen branches and debris out to sea. This has provided excellent cover and perfect breeding cover for baitfish – which in turn has attracted predators. This is a great time of year to find lots of Dorado in Guatemala for exactly this reason – plenty of cover providing plenty of “targets” in the water to find the fish.
Most days over recent weeks, we have found almost as many Dorado as you would like within a few miles of the coast – and often these have been accompanied by good numbers of billfish.
The “Summer” fishing so far has been remarkable steady and strong – raising high single digits (so 7-10) sailfish per day, but mostly close to shore, with good blue water being spotted some days as close as 3.5 miles from the dock.
Barry Jackson and Ron Corsan fished with us this last week and had what has become a “typical” days fishing for recent weeks – raising 5 sailfish and lots of Dorado (even had a Wahoo in the mix !). They both hail from Texas and are avid redfishermen –so sails and wahoo was a high speed change for them ! They are down in Guatemala helping out on a mission to support an orphanage, but managed to find the time to spend a day with us at the coast fishing – we sent them home with a five gallon bucket of fresh fish to share at their table.
If you are considering a trip to Guatemala, but are perhaps a little unsure about what to expect – we have the answer for you !
We have compiled a 40 page eBook with our experience of fishing in Guatemala for the last eight seasons. There are 16 chapters full of tips and insights that will help you to plan and to make the trip as easy as possible – hopefully it contains all of the answers to your questions. You can get this COMPLETELY FREE by clicking here : http://www.greatsailfishing.com/Anglers_Guide_to_Guatemala_Offer.html
Now is the time to be booking for the coming season – especially if you are looking for the most popular times. . Please call us at 1-877-763-0851 or email me at kevin@GreatSailfishing.com
 |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 7
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 13, 2009 - 12:52 am: | |
I would like to share this post with you and give you some update fishing reports on Louisiana and Guatemala::::::
Ryan Dicharry "GUATEMALA with STRIKE ZONE" Baton Rouge, LA USA
Just got back last week from a trip of a lifetime. We chartered a Guatemala sail fishing trip with Captain Gary "Strike Zone Charters". Gary had been talking to me for several months about how great Guatemala was. We decided to go see what all the fuss was about.
All I can say is WOW.
We were treated like kings. We had our own private villa, cook, driver, and cleaning crew. After a long day of fishing we would be greeted with cocktails and finger food as soon as we arrived at our villa. After a relaxing dip in the pool we were summoned for our elegant meal. While we were fishing our maid even cleaned and folded our dirty clothes. (If I could only get my wife to do that).
About the fishing....
We knew up front that it is the slowest time of the year for sails but we managed to catch and release three. This was better then any boat in the marina. Gary always said the the original "Strike zone" raises bill fish. Well he made me a believer. The dorado were non stop. We ended up with 32.
Also included it the package was a night at the Casa Santo domingo in Antigua, Guatemala. Let me tell you that experience alone was worth the price of the whole trip. This is a 5 star hotel created in an old monastery. You have to see it to believe it.
Thanks again Gary.
Don't forget to sign me up for March 2010.
Ryan
Thanks Ryan..we got you on the books....
I just got a email from Capt. Edgar in Guatemala and one of the boats today had 30 Sails and over 20 Dorado's. He was going out on Monday for a fun trip with his family...he will have a report Monday night on his trip...
Venice, Louisiana:::::Thursday/ Friday ~~~Capt. Kevin Aderhold and Seth Holl had a great group of anglers from Baton Rouge on a 24 hr trip that end up being a 36 hr trip....They had to run OFF THE MAP but they found the fish...They had 8 Yellowfin ,over 30 Blackfin and a limit of Red Snappers. Capt Kevin said it was a good group of guys and they FUN TRIP.
I have this weekend open on the 55' because my wife had the boat booked for the Baton Rouge Ladies tournament....the tournament has been moved to August....Get a group and let Capt Kevin put you on some Yellowfin Action.
Give us a call for your next FISHING FIX...we have some dates open for Guatemala trips as well as some 24hr trips on the 55' and 39' luxury sportfishing yachts....
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
225~279~3800 OR CAPT. RANDY AT 985~966~2666
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 16
Registered: 4-2008
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 9:16 am: | |
June 26th-28th and Pacific Fins hosted a father and son group from North Carolina consisting of 8 dads and 12 boys who had just graduated from high school. An end of an era, and what a way to celebrate it than a billfishing trip to Guatemala and 3 days of friendly 'competitive' fishing. With 5 boats going out with the group it meant that at least we could get a bit of
coverage and find a reasonable bite amongst the boats.
On ALLURE day one we hosted father and son John and Darren Ash along with Ladd Hamrick and Matt Houchins. We fished a little away from the fleet today getting some bites inshore and to the west of the other guys and sticking to it, 16 sails raised today and 14 good bites, we had some problems getting the hooks to stick though and released 5 out of the 14 bites and boated 20
mahi mahi to 15lbs. Good light tackle fun. The other boats fishing together were on to a bit better action though a fairly similar number of bites accross the fleet with a Perla Del Mar getting the best ratio and bites releasing 16 from 18 bites, congratulations on a great day!
Day 2 Matt Houchins stuck with us and was joined by George Haddock and father and son team Jack and Jim Carrol. The blue water had moved a good
10NM to the west and it took a little time ot find it though we were the first in it and had a sail bite soon after. Working the area hard produced steady action through the day with 6 sails released from 9 bites and 14 mahi
mahi. Perla Del Mar again headed out the day with 7 releases.
Day 3 Matt Houchins and George Haddock stuck with the team on ALLURE and were joined by friends Michael Watterson and Andrew Leggett. The blue water had moved today 12NM further to the west and we were 41NM from the marina
when the water was good enough to put the teasers in the water. Close to the edge we headed offshore working 500 through to 1200ft of water trolling to the west, we released a sail soon after lines in and the second fish of the
day was the one we were lookng for, a nice fat blue in the 300lb class came up hot on the Joe Yee Super Plunger and switched to the pitched mackeral perfectly. Solidly hooked the blue jumped more than any seen this year and didn't stop, pulling hard as well. George Haddock did a great job on the 50lb stand-up gear though and got the release after a hard workout. The guys
ended up top of the comp with 3 sails released today, 1 blue and 10 mahi mahi. Good fishing all round for the group with over 60 sails released and 2 blue marlin along with plenty of mahi's.
May 4th-6th Brad Sears hosted customers Jeromiah Jones, Miller Vaughan, Sean Harigan and Craig Wieland for 3 days of offshore fishing aboard ALLURE. Finding the blue water just 10NM offshore we put them out at the bottom of
the 'pocket' and trolled east along the eatern edge working the edge hard trying to find bait and bills. After lunch we'd raised 2 sails that would not switch to the baits and things were looking grim. With just and hour and half left we found some sailfish up the edge and had good action raising 9 sails and releasing 4 from 6 bites to save the day including this double:
Small mahi's were also everywhere and we boated 14. A late start on the 5th and we concentrated our efforts at the bottom of the pocket and up the west side hoping for a marlin, again, plenty of small mahi's around and a fairly steady bite through the day with 5 from 7 bites though no marlin seen.
June 6th the blue water was pushing in closer everyday and with it the bite seemed to get better, we only fished a half day today with the guys opting to see Antigua in the afternoon. We had a good morning working the bottom of the pocket 10NM out releasing 6 sails from 8 bites and boating 5 mahis' to boot. A great trip with good fishing and excellent weather with the only
issue being a bit of wind on the last morning. We hope to see more of this crew down here next season!
June 8th we hosted Jean Louis Trombetta from Antigua and Bob Stevenson of 'El Pescador' Fishing Lodge fame in Belize. The guys are planning flats fishing expeditions out of the Rio Dulce, Guatemala for bonefish, permitt
and tarpon aboard a mothership fishing the untouched keys toward Honduras and plan to offer the incredible billfishing we have here on the Pacific side to clients as well. We left the dock at 1000 and returned at 1400 fishing the deep water out front and to the west, the water colour was good and in this short time of fishing we raised 3 sails on the teasers getting 2 bites and Bob released his Pacific sailfish on the fly.
We can offer some very good summer specials and the fishing here is Guatemala is great year round so make the most of the deals and check it
out.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 2
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 1:50 am: | |
Fishing Report for Venice Louisiana and Guatemala:::::
Two years in a row former Strike Zone Charter Captains win the biggest cash prize at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. Last year it was Capt. Jason Buck and this year Capt. Mike Gordy. Both of these captains started out with me on the 40' Strike Zone many years ago. They are not only great fisherman but are super guys.
I would like to Congratulate Capt Mike Gordy and the crew of "Four Reel" for their big win in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. Capt. Gordy's crew took home the biggest cash prize ($287,000)...NOT A BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE....
I did not get to fish the tournament...So I did the next best thing.....I took my 2 1/2 year old son, Christopher Thomas on his first overnight blue water fishing trip...of course his mother came along to make sure dad did everything right and to catch the fish. We also invited our neighbors Brent and Renata Mahana and their son Charlie. This was their first blue water fishing trip also.
Capt Kevin and Seth did the honors as we took the 55' Strike Zone Too down the river at 4:30 pm on Saturday. Trying to find out who was winning the tournament and cooking steaks going down the Mississippi River.
We got out of South Pass to Capt. Kevin's Red Snapper honey hole to find the snapper very hungry. My little man was doing good checking out the Red Snapper. After a short time the sun was starting to go down but the moon was so bright it never got dark. Capt Kevin had us pick up the lines and we were off to go Sword Fishing. He had marked on his GPS the spots that he had caught Sword Fish in the pass so their was no wasting time looking for a good drop off. As soon as we got to the spot Seth had the lines in the water....Everything was rigged so professional that I was impressed. The seas were dead calm but the current put us in a side sea. It was not rough but for first timers it would have made them sick by morning so we had the crew pick up the line and headed back to Port Eads for a good night sleep. Capt. Kevin and Seth really wanted to fish for Sword BAD....
As 5:00am rolled around Capt. Kevin had the engines fire up and the boat headed Southwest....again flat seas....we ran forty miles out looking for something to fish on....nothing but small patches of grass. We then went to a floater to find one of my other former captains working the Yellowfin. It was Capt. Hunter. Capt Hunter's picture is on my business cards for being the crew that caught the largest Yellowfin in the Gulf, 240.4 lbs. on our charter boat the Stress Management. He was having good luck catching Yellowfin . We were trolling around the rig looking for a Marlin. NO luck so we pointed the boat to the west in search of a rip line. 10 miles later ..Nothing....small patches of grass...at that point Capt Kevin said let go north and hopefully the rip has formed.....after 10 miles of trolling north their it was.....a good rip with lots of current, bait and birds working.....By now my neighbors thought we were crazy to spend this much money and time to go boat riding. It was 3:00 pm and no fish in the boat other than the Snapper we had caught the night before. After five minutes on the rip line ,BAM ...the right rigger was off...Big Bull Dolphin....after 30 minutes on the line we had four Dolphin and a Wahoo......It was time to go.....but My wife, Laura and Capt. Kevin said let's troll to the next little spot of grass.....It never falls.....Seth went APE SHIT....I thought he cut his arm off.....MARLIN MARLIN MARLIN and sure enough a big 400 to 500 lb Marlin jumping like crazy...Seth had watch him hit all six baits before he feed him on the flat line.....What a show he put on for the crew.....Brent jumped in the fighting chair for his first fight of a Marlin.....the line screamed out as the Marlin keep taken line....we finially got him calmed down and started to fight this big animal...we started to back down and get some of the line back as he went crazy again...Brent was doing a good job on the fish but all at once the line went limp and he was off to fight another day.....
This was a great trip and my little man did real good...He didn't get to fight a fish but I promise he knows what a fish is ..NOW
Guatemala: I had two charter captains from the USA fishing Monday in Guatemala, William Hitch from Mandeville and his friend from Carolina. They were fishing 20 to 25 mile from the marina and were targeting Blue Marlin. They had one hook up and two more in the baits. They also went 3 for 8 on the Sailfish. On Saturday we had some locals that party until 9:00 am when they departed the marina. They had a great time with Capt. Tyson. They had 3 Sails and 31 Bull Dorado. The Dorado are will in shore and the Blue and Black Marlin or on their tails.
I have the 39' open Saturday and Sunday and the 55' open for a 24hr Sunday and Monday...the seas or 1 to 2 for the next seven days.....We have some openings for the trip to Guatemala in July~~~~~GIVE US A CALL~~~ 225~279~3800 or Capt. Randy 985~966~2666
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 15
Registered: 4-2008
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 - 10:38 am: | |
April 6th saw Frank Vago and Les from Denmark make the long migration to the Guate fishing grounds for six days of fishing. The 28ft Super Panga “Que Vela” was able to oblige by raising 17 sails consistently over the day. Casting a fly and honing technique was the order of the first day. With so many sails willing to offer
their services we ended up with 4 bites and a release.
The next day the boys decided to go conventional to get up close and personal with more sails.
The action was at least 35 miles out so after a bit of a ride out we ran into some action. At the end of the day we ended up releasing 3, off of 7 bites, raising 9 all day.
The third day saw the winds pick up and create some chop. So we stayed a bit closer to shore and worked the western edge of the Pocket to try to work something up from the depths in some greenish water. Also known as the “green water lottery”. Occasionally you win, but not this day. The sea flattened out around 1:00 so we
picked up and ran out twelve more miles where we ran into a lot of birds working big schools of small bonitas. We let out the lines and were immediately rewarded with raising a double.
There were so many birds it made one wonder if you were in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. After an hour and a half we had raised 7, had four bites
and released 3 to save the day at the buzzer.
Day four we were back on the fly for Frank and Les would finess them in on some light weight conventional tackle. Again the blue water was 30+ miles out. But calm seas led us to raise 13 sails.
An occasional dorado led to some fine sashimi morsels dipped into fresh wasabi and sashimi soy sauce(from Japan).
On morning of the fifth day my mate, Victor, remarked how he liked my new shirt. It was made here in Guate. with a nice Guatemala logo and sailfish embroidered on it. I said it’s your’s if you tease in a marlin today. Well that set the stage for the day.
Though we were pulling teasers in the spread for sails we did have a nice mackerel ready to pitch on a Penn two speed with 60lb line..…just in case.
Again calm seas and blue water 30+ were the scene and we worked the occasional diving bird patch. Through the day Frank released a
couple of sails on the fly and “Finess Les” was able to coax a sail to the boat on the light tackel. The day was nearing it’s end… half an hour and we’ll have to pull em I remarked to Victor.
Victor being undaunted, rigged up a fresh teaser, marlin size, with a dorado belly embedded into a Senior Wide Range. I told him he must really want this shirt! As Victor dropped the teaser back an explosion of water erupted on the left long rigger teaser. We
screamed MARLIN!!!!!!!!!! in unison and Victor quickly started to tease him in. I grabbed the mackerel and let it back. Sure enough WHAM! Mr Mackeral is doing his “Jonah” imitation inside the marlin. That didn’t stop the feeding frenzy as the marlin next went after the squid chain teaser. He engulfed at least four of those before turning and heading out. The squid one by one pop, pop, popped back out of his mouth as he ran. Then the bite of circle hook on the mackerel was felt and he skied! He went
ballistic and tail danced across the water seeming to be doing 30mph. We could see he was an angry black marlin and weighted about 300-350lbs. Frank got the honors and began his Guatemalan marlin workout routine. That fish was ornery and very reluctant to come near the boat. After an hour of sweating, grunting and
enjoying life to it’s fullest, Frank handed the baton off to “Finess Les”, who became a muscle man and took over. After about twenty minutes we were just seeing the leader and then without
>> warning and a swipe of his tail the marlin jumped out of the water and came right at the boat at high velocity. He slammed off the
>> front of the boat like a pinball bouncing off a bumper with flashes of brilliant blues and purples and then dove down to deeper waters. Finally Les prevailed and he tired. Victor got the leader and off he went. High fives and some primal whoops were had.
Frank was so psyched that he did a little Danish jig on the deck.
We did arrive a bit late at the marina. Since Semana Santa was in full celebratory mode the restaurant at the end of the dock was packed with folks and even some of the famous lightly clad “Gallo Girls” were shaking some booty. But committed to my offer I took off my shirt and gladly gave it to Victor, who beamed a big
toothless smile, and I walked to my car down the dock, past the boats, past the curious crowds…. shirtless and content. There are some good fish stories going to go around in Demark.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 14
Registered: 4-2008
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - 11:24 am: | |
Fishing in Guatemala
Rods & Reels Sportfishing >>> Fish Report through April
The bite mid March through early April has been great here in Guatemala with the boats fishing baits late in the month and the first few days of April having big days releasing up to 50+ sails in a day and averaging around 30. The boats fishing the fly were having some good days too though the fish were very tough to tease all
the way to the back of the boat, with the amount of bait out there the fish were just not as aggressive as you’d like to see them when casting the fly. Still, it has been good fishing all ‘round since the last report and this looks likely to continue through the rest of April.
On ALLURE from April 7th-9th we had a great time fishing with Mike and Mona Blake from New Orleans and Melba and Ronnie Murphy from Houston, the bite was steady and the drinks were cold equaling 3 great days on the water with plenty of laughs. The 7th was our first day out for a couple of days and it took a little while to get a
feel of what was going on out there. Meaning…… we had a slow morning. By 2 PM we had 5 sailfish releases on the board from 7 bites, then, getting into the bite where the majority of the fleet was we started getting into them releasing 13 sails in the last hour and a half of fishing time making up the days total of 18 from 25 bites.
Mona and Melba caught 4 double headers in the last hour of fishing today really getting into it with plenty of enthusiasm. The next day blew stiff from the ENE making conditions a little tough for all on board, though we still got into double figures releasing 10 from 19 bites on the sails, Mike boated a nice 35lb yellowfin
tuna and Ronnie got into the action boating a nice mahi from the same group of spinner dolphin that we got the tuna off.
The next day the weather settled making perfect conditions for the last day out. Mona and Melba moved up another gear today releasing all 17 sails from 26 bites while Mike and Ronnie yelled instructions from various (seated) positions while
supping freshly blended lime margaritas. Another flurry in the afternoon helped the girls release a total of 8 double headers of the 9 we had in 3 days of fishing with Mona’s personal total hitting 23, and 18 to Melba…..nice going girls!!
Melba and Mona with one of the 8 double headers....
Hill Dishman fished the 31’ Jupiter for two days, 7th and 8th releasing 17 sails the first day out and 11 on the 8th, he also raised another blue marlin making it the 4th blue marlin in as many days fishing on Jupiter, the fish teased in close to the boat though didn’t switch to the pitched mackerel.
April 3rd and 4th Steve Goodchild introduced Guatemala’s fishery to Tim Leonard, Greg Lusk, Gerald Lusk, Tom Harfield and Robert Dame, all from Houston. Steve has fished down here several times now and hoped he hadn’t talked it up too much with the guys expecting more than could be delivered……No worries though, on their
first day out they fished with Capt Tyson aboard Strike Zone and had a good introduction releasing 6 sails from 8 bites. Aboard ALLURE the next day we went solo out to the west, the moved seemed to pay off as we got into steady action including
a quadruple hook up, 3 sailfish and a nice 45lb mahi mahi. We released the sails and then concentrated on getting ‘lunch’ boated.
We ended the day with 16 releases from 32 bites. 10-15NM to the east of us the fleet saw some good action also with the boats releasing up to 30 sails, we got into where they were at the end of the day though the bite seemed to have slowed down, the move not paying off for us.
MARCH 29th-APRIL 3rd ON THE FLY
Cor blimey…..All the way from London, England, Eric Wright and Steve Massenhove joined us on ALLURE for 6 days of fly fishing. The guys were experienced freshwater fly fishermen though absolute first timers at billfishing, they came out specifically to learn what it took to catch big blue-water fish on the fly. The crew aboard ALLURE had been looking forward to this trip for a while as we hadn’t done many fly charters this year and there is nothing like the thrill and team work involved in getting the bite out of well teased billfish on the fly. Also with a 6
day charter we knew the chances of getting into some good fishing for the guys were better. Cammy Sigler sorted Eric out with a Cam Sigler 14wt fly rod coupled with a Tibor Pacific reel before the trip while Steve used our top quality gear on board, a Cam Sigler 14wt rod coupled with a Billy Pate Bluefin reel. After a briefing on the
morning of day one we got off to a flyer with first Eric, then soon after Steve releasing their first sailfish on the fly from their first bites, a perfect start! The day slowed down from there on in with the fish raised very lethargic till later in the afternoon when they turned on again. We ended up with 13 sails raised into the spread, 5 of those biting the fly and releasing 3. Day two we ran further off-shore where the Sheeder brothers had found some good action the previous day to the west, we had steady action all day raising 20 sails, and Eric and Steve continued on their good form, doing everything right and releasing 5 sails from 8 bites. There were some big fish tough fish in the mix today including these two fatties pictured.
Day 4 in the hope of finding some good aggressive fish on the teasers we went further to the west, we started the day breaking out the 12 wt fly rod and catching 6 mahi mahi off some flotsam, good fun and good eating. When we got into the sails
later in the morning the fish we saw did tease in a little better though the bites were not great and hard to convert into solid hook-u bites and 4 releases as well as another double for the guys who were becoming more familiar, aware and better as the trip went on. With just a couple of days left we kept up the talk of a couple of goals set at the start of the trip, 10 releases in a
day and a blue marlin on the fly. The previous day the guys on baits had an excellent day with some big numbers further to east off the edge, we worked this area hard trying for 10 releases, we raised 31 had 11 bites and the guys did
everything right releasing 7. Unfortunately we jumped off one of a double and had some bad luck on another. Either way, a great day on the fly.
On our last day out Eric started the day perfectly, with a release from our first bite, we raised another 2 fish missing one on the bite. Later in the morning the fish we had been waiting for came up on our long flat teaser, the blue marlin teased in aggressively and in no time mate Julio had the teased the fish in, the boat was
knocked out of gear and Steve cast the fly. The fish turned and came up for a perfect bite from left to right, Steve struck against the bite and it was on. After the initial fireworks and the 20lb tippet still holding together we knew we were in for a chance, Steve had learnt enough and when the fish peeled off deep into the spectra backing the drag was backed off. When things settled down he put the heat on palming the reel and with short pumps unsettling the fish. Still this was one tough customer, we pulled different angles on the fish and it came up 8 times during the fight, 6 of these times jumping and head shaking, amazingly all the knots held and
the tippet remained intact, every time we got near the fish on the surface it just pulled away diving deep and into the backing again. With the fish hooked at about 1110 and Steve hitting different stages of exhaustion during the heat of the day he held tough and pumped the fish up for the last time at around 1450 to get it boatside. 3 ½ hours on the end of the rod with a big tough fish is something else and Steve was elated when he finally beat the blue of a good 250++lbs. From a novice to achieving one of (if not the) the pinnacles in blue water flyfishing it was a
great way to finish the trip. Eric’s only regret was that he didn’t book 10 days instead of the 6……With 25 sails released from 45 bites on the fly, 1 blue marlin and a few mahi mahi it was a helluva introduction to blue water flyfishing, great job to the guys and we hope to see them back next year.
Eric and Steve with blue marlin release flag on the fly.
27th-28th March Hal Boggs organized a 2 day trip for Glen Mericle and Joe Barnwell, in 2 days of fishing we released 14 sailfish from 24 bites. By the end of the trip they were hooking their own fish and this helped contribute to a few doubles and a triple hook up at the end of the second day. Nice job and a good introduction to
pitch baiting to billfish!
23rd-25th March, first day out Heather Rose, and father and daughter team Bill and Rachel Long joined us on ALLURE, it was a bit testing today with another stiff ENE wind making conditions a little tough on everyone in the morning, the girls fished well with 8 from 14 bites and 3 mahi’s. The big disappointment was early in the
day with a sailfish hot on the short teaser and another sail coming up on the rigger bait then seeing a nice sized blue marlin crash the flat teaser, with all hands on deck trying to bait sailfish the marlin got a hold of the teaser and disappeared before we could get to the teaser rod…..On day 2 Nate McAllistar and Ashley
Erekson joined us, they did everything right releasing 12 sails from 15 bites, we
also missed a blue of about 250lbs and landed a nice mahi. On the groups last day out we live baited for a few hours trying for a blue, while pulling a live bonito around a school of spinner dolphin the spinners suddenly panicked and speed off in the opposite direction to where they were coming from. We soon saw why when a group
of about 8 false killer whales chased the back corner trying to split the group. We looked on though flipper got away…….this time, still, it was sight to see! We got back to trolling later in the day and released 7 sails from 10 bites, and
ironically soon after quitting the live baiting raised a blue on the Joe Yee Super Plunger and got the bite on the pitched mackerel though our bad blue marlin luck continued for this group with the hook pulling……
As April moves on the blue marlin bite should get better and the sails as always consitently biting well. If anyone wants to target blue marlin on conventoinal light or heavy tackle we have all the gear on board. The rainy season starts late May and can mean some off-shore squalls though nothing too bad with most of the rain falling
in the late afternoon and evening. Get in touch for further info with Rods and
Reels.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in Guatemala
or to make a reservation |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 13
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 11:16 am: | |
March 16th-17th Dan Wheat took along son Pat and his friend Clay Raven, both 17yr old seniors to start off their last High School Spring Break with 2 days of fishing on ALLURE here in Guatemala. They timed their trip well with
great weather, blue water and plenty of billfish action keeping adrenaline levels high for the majority. Neither of the boys had caught billfish before though at the end of day one they were angling like pros with 15 sailfish releases from 25 bites and a nice 30lb mahi mahi.
Dan got in on the action as well and was a true natural at pitching baits to the fish off the teasers and came tight on them all. Things slowed a little for us on day 2, we found the fish further up the ledge and had good action
in the morning though it slowed down in the afternoon, still a good day missing few fish with 9 releases from 11 bites and another nice mahi in the 25lb range. The highlight of the trip came in the last 10 minutes when we raised a nice blue on the short teaser, an aggressive bite on the pitched mackeral saw Pat Wheat hooked to a solid 320lb+ blue marlin.
The fish went ballistic and put on a spectacular show before going deep, great work on the rod by Pat had the fish up in 20 mins and released. Great
job and congratualtions on first sails and marlin to Pat and Clay. Dan's only regret with the trip was that he booked only 2 days instead of 3......
JOHNSON GROUP SPRING BREAK '09
17th-19th the Johnsons arrived with college friends for their Spring Break in Guatemala for 3 days of off-shore fishing and every night beer drinking down at the Sailfish Lodge and Casa Vieja for their last night. Apart from the partying the group had a great time here catching plenty of....
I think everyone here on the dock hopes they choose Guatemala for Spring
Break 2010!
19th March, Hill Dishman and Terrell Meaux came in a day before their group arrived and took the 31' Jupiter down to the west to check out the fishing, they did well with 7 from 9 releases on the sails and beauty 350lb blue marlin on the 30lb tackle for Hill, at over 10 to 1 on the line class that's a helluva a catch.
The next day John Codrington, Todd Mucha and Jim Nance came into town and joined Hill and Terrell aboard ALLURE for the day, we raised 18 sails, got
15 to bite and released 10. On the 21st the group was complete with Mike and Steve Sledge, Tim Witt and Keith Tennison joining the crew. The group were in Guate to celebrate John's last weekend before getting married with a few days of fishing. The group split between ALLURE and Jupiter and on Saturday 21st we went 14 from 19 bites, great numbers from the guys, we also had a
blue marlin up that didn't bite, on the Jupiter they did get a blue marlin bite though missed it. On the last day out Sledge was true to his word and didn't miss a fish all day adding to the good numbers 9 from 11 bites. The Jupiter was hot with a 3rd blue marlin bite in as many days though
unfortunatley it didn't stick, they also got into the sails with 7 from 12 and several mahi mahi in the mix over the 3 days of fishing.
The guys finished off their trip going to Antigua for their last night here in Guatemala and dinner at Nokiate followed by a big night out at the
legendary Cafe No Se, trying out the assortments of tequilas and mezcals......ouch.
The fishing has been steady with plenty of marlin in the mix and things are looking good for the coming week. There is still availability in April and May and we'd love to get out there, contact Rods and Reels for a customized package, great specials to be had May through November.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation |
Kevin Bones (Bonesrocks)
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Username: Bonesrocks
Post Number: 1
Registered: 3-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 23, 2009 - 8:39 pm: | |
The "Mojo" is still on fire since it's arrival to Central America. 685 Sailfish, 4 Blacks and 5 Blues! The fishing has slowed down the last 2 weeks in Guatemala, but the Marlin bite has just started to speed up!
For more info on the Mojo's Central American Tour, you can visit [url=http://www.paparada.com]MOJO - Central American Tour[/url]
disclaimer: The Mojo is a private boat, not a charter. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 12
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 12:33 pm: | |
Rods & Reels Sportfishing - Fish Report to March 15th
5th-6th March had Chief Tuazin back in the Guatemala this time with Matthew Jeter both from Houston. After a 12NM run we put out the spread and inside 15min we had a small blue marlin hot on the small Pakula flat line teaser.
Acting on instinct Chief pitched the ballyhoo bait back, he was politely told to remove it as it was a marlin, not a sail, while the mackerel on the 50lb gear was pitched. All a little late though the marlin crushed the ballyhoo with a great bite and all was good as we watched him come tight, it was the perfect size for the 30lb gear at around 150lb’s. We lost use of an engine while on the fish so it took a little longer to get the release though Chief did well on the rod and had the fish boatside after around 35mins. After that it was back to the marina where the guys transferred to the Jupiter for the rest of the day. They raised 3 sails in the afternoon
and caught a mahi. The next day on the Jupiter raised 7, and released 3 from 5 bites and boated a couple of mahi mahi.. Mike Jeeter had a great first time down here in Guatemala plans to get back here soon.
D. Scott Wise and son Harry from New York on an early Spring Break hooked up with Steve ‘Doc’ Sanford from Vermont and Townsend Hilliard from Houston for 3 days of fishing on ALLURE from the 9th through 11th for their first trip to Guatemala. For the first day we looked for blue water and found it about 30NM to the west and gave the guys a great introduction to Guatemala raising 11 sails in the first hour and half of fishing! We ended the day with 25 sailfish in the spread and 13 releases from 23 bites.
Here today gone tomorrow seems to be the theme for most of the season so far and it was today, we trolled back to where we’d had the best action the day before to find the best bite was 15NM back to the east. 7 releases today from 15 bites. With marlin on the mind we concentrated our efforts on the last day on the western edge and bottom of the pocket, it was kind of tough
for the whole fleet today with little action though we did get into a couple of nice mahi mahi and released 3 from 5 bites on the sails. The guys
finished off their trip in style staying at the El Convento in Antigua for the last two nights and enjoyed a full day visiting the Azotea Coffee Farm and a walking tour of the town.
From Alabama we had Dr’s Lee Franklin, Tom Canthon and Chris Duggar along with Hospital Boss Don Henderson from the 13th through 15th of March. Lee and Tom are Guatemalan veterans though it was Don and Chris’ first offshore experience here. Also our first time east in sometime today and we got called into some action off-shore of where we started late in the morning to find a reasonable sailfish bite. 15 raised and 8 releases from 11 bites had the guys back in the swing of things. With the satellite report showing a nice temperature break way out the west we decided to go that way for day 2.
The reports from most of the fleet indicated a slow bite so we trolled our way down the west along edge. Early in the day a small marlin in the 150lb range came into the spread, it refused the pitched mackerel though dropped back and ate the trolled ballyhoo, we came tight on the fish though unfortunately pulled the hook. Around lunch time further down the edge we raised a nice blue in the 300-350lb range on the short teaser. The fish stayed in the spread for sometime and we got a couple of nice bites on the mackerel though missed it…….ouch. In extra time at the end of the day the 3rd blue marlin for the day was red hot on the same teaser, a great bite resulted in a solid hook-up and Don Henderson’s first blue marlin of around 220lb’s put on a great show before getting the release and heading home.
We also released 4 sails from the 5 sails that did bite for the day. The guys started their last day out with 9 mahi’s to about 12lb’s ensuring fresh mahi sandwiches for lunch and sashimi at the end of the day. To the east a bite was found and we ran into it later in the day, plenty of free jumpers indicated a lot of fish in the area though it was tough getting them into the spread, a triple from a quad was the highlight of the 7 releases from 10 bite for the day. Great fishing Dr’s!! See you back here next year…….
Settled weather, blue water, it's all looking good out there. The marlin bite traditionally gets better from late March on and we have some openings so get in touch to get into it. The bite is picking up, today we went 15 from 25 and there were several blues seen......
--
Posted By Kiwi to
<http://fishinginguatemala.blogspot.com/2009/03/fish-report-to-march-15 th.ht
ml> Fishing in Guatemala - Rods & Reels Sportfishing at 3/18/2009
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
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Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 25
Registered: 2-2006
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 6:22 am: | |
Guatemala Fishing report March 17th 2009 – Paddy’s Day
It may be St. Patricks Day…………
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
March 17th 2009 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing Company
operating out of the new Pez Vela Marina.
Yes – it may be Saint Patrick’s Day – but we are pleased to report that the water in Guatemala is not green!
We reported last week how a stream of weather fronts had pushed green water close into shore, which had been causing us some difficulties in finding consistent concentrations of bait and the predators that feed on them. Since then, the weather has been kind to us, and we have had consistent warm days and calm seas that have enabled the blue water to push in and drive that nasty colder green water to one side.
If you take a look at the geography of the region, it is easy to see how the currents coming down from Mexico collide with the coastline and reflect back to form huge eddies that attract and hold large quantities of bait. These fast moving currents mean that water conditions – in particular the location of blue water – can change dramatically in as little as 48 hrs…..so even when the fishing has been tough going, as it was towards the end of last month, there is always hope that tomorrow could be an angling bonanza !
We have had several groups visiting us this past couple of weeks from the Northern States – glad to be out of the cold and the snow for a week or so – basking in the sunshine. An opportunity to rid the system of those winter bugs and microbes that linger far too long and cause the sniffling and blocked up noses !
I read this past week with some envy that Great White Sharks are about the healthiest animals on the planet – they have natural antibodies that make them immune to just about every bacterium known to science, they are also immune to cancer ! Seems to me that they should go and live in North Dakota for a while and see how they get on instead !
The fishing for these groups has been consistent at about 30 miles from the dock, and have been raising in the high teens of billfish per boat per day. Still a lot of Blue Marlin around – which is great news, as we usually anticipate if anything, the Marlin bite to pick up from here at this time of the season.
Feel free to give your opinion on our blog : http://www.greatsailfishing.com/Fishing_Guatemala/
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the season fishing with http://www.greatsailfishing.com/
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates this season, so don’t wait, give us a call
at 1 877 763 0851or send us an email (below) to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
" Even a fish wouldn’t get into trouble if he kept his mouth shut."
~ Unknown
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html
 |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 11
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 09, 2009 - 5:53 pm: | |
Guatemala Fishing Report - to March 1st, 2009
Captain Chris KIWI
As mentioned in the last report things were on the change with blue water moving in from the west, though still a little cooler and off-color out wide. Because of this we ran out to the west most days looking for an incoming bite. This week we started with Edward Barnhill and his good friend Paul Proffitt on the Feb 24th to Feb 26th and after a long run to the west we found some good water, still a little slow with 3 releases from 5 bites and 4 mahi's. The boats fishing out front today had a pretty good marlin bite with 5 raised amongst 4 boats and a couple caught. Still with what we saw to the west we persisted and went back though a little more in-shore.
First fish in the spread today was blue of around 200-250lb's, we got the bite on the mackeral though the fish got bill wrapped and pulled off on the first jump.....that hurt. For the rest of the day we raised 8 sails had 7 bites and released 4. Out front here the marlin bite continued with 3 being released, 2 to the Circle Hook and Capt Eddie, nice going as he got the 2
yesterday as well!! He was in the zone for sure, congrats to Eddie and his anglers.
Still things were looking better and better to the west so we stayed out that way and on our last day with Edward and Paul things turned on a little more. In beautifull blue 84'+ water we raised 17 sails today getting 8 from 14 bites. There were some finiky fish out there though most of the boats raised a fair amount of fish and things were looking better every day with
lots of bait at around 50ft-75ft on the sounder and a few jumpers around.
Feb 27th to March 1st, owner Hill Dishman hosted good friends Robert Blevins, Bill Fisher and Haig Wright from Alabama.
L-R, Haig Wright, Hill Dishman, Robert Blevins and Bill Fisher, these guys know how to party AND fish and had a blast for the 3 days aboard ALLURE.
Back 30NM to the west we had a slow start to the day with our first fish being released at 1130 with a double of sails, the next fish in the spread was an est 120+lb blue that went from teaser to teaser though refused the pitched mackeral. For the day we released 7 from 11 bites on the sails and had another blue in the 250lb-300lb class bite the trolled rigger bait
though unfortunatley pulled off after showing it's size with a greyhounding jump. Add 4 nice sized mahi's to the days total and a great day!
The next day we left the fleet and went solo 40NM down to the west though not more than 20NM off the beach. We had steady action all day covering a
large area as we trolled back to the east. 30 sailfish raised today, 26 bites and great averages with 19 releases.
Our last day out with the Alabama boys and after trolling the deep water in the pocket looking for a marlin we headed back to where some sails were
being seen just 20NM from the Marina to where the fleet was fishing, we got into them a little late though still had a great day with 17 raised 14 bites and 10 releases.
The good life....Robert, Hill and Haig enjoying Cuba Libres on the way home.
By all accounts it looks as though March could turn on big time as the weather settles and the blue water pushes back in. We are booked fairly
solid fishing most days this month though there are a few openings in April and into May, both great months and traditionally more marlin are seen as well. Get in touch with us here at Rods and Reels Sportfishing for more info on personalised packages...
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in
Guatemala or to make a reservation |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 10
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 02, 2009 - 10:40 am: | |
Guatemala Fishing Report - February Wrap-Up
Captain Ron Hamlin
Well I don't like to write a report like this, but you have days like this,
at least that's what Mom told me. On Feb. 18-19 I was Blue Marlin fishing.
There's been as many blues as sails lately. I raised two, one didn't bite
and we jumped off the other after getting some great jumps out of it, we
also raised three sails on the lures.
Feb. 20-26: The first day we had a group of Missionaries here giving their
time to the orphanages in Guatemala City and Antigua. The stories they told
me were heart wrenching, but I'll save that for a special report when I have
all the facts correct. Anyway we fished five miles out in the only good
water and raised 10 getting 8 bites and releasing 5. The next six days was
more of the same. Raising 37 getting 28 bites and releasing 15. I again
fished close to shore rarely going over 10 miles out. Some of our other
boats did better later in the week running a long way and finding better
fishing as the good water got closer. There were a lot of Blues in close at
least 15 or more were caught in there but by the other boats, I had a cold
hand.
I did go to the Miami Boat Show, my mates and I received the Top Tagging
Boat Overall for Billfish and also Top Sailfish Tagger. My crew and I have
won these awards a few times and I felt it was time to step down and hope
the younger Captains would take over tagging more and get the Honor of
receiving this Award from The Billfish Foundation. I still intend to tag for
the Anglers that care to, but just not participate for the awards.
Good Luck and Good Fishing.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in
Guatemala or to make a reservation |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 9
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 11:48 am: | |
Filed Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A big body of cooler green water moved into Guatemala and it has been hard work though through it all there has still been some reasonable fishing with plenty of marlin in the mix. Mahi's have been thick and the sails have been finiky though they are still around and as this is written the warmer blue water is moving in and things look as though are on the change.
On the 14th and 15th we had Dr Rihl Buckley and his son John along with friends and another father and son team Ken and Andrew Ruddy all from
Houston Texas. There was a pretty good marlin bite the day before to the east so we concentrated our efforts there. It was hard work with the best water being a clean green and under 81'. Plenty of big mahi-mahi kept the action going through the day with 11 being landed to over 30lb's. We also raised 4 sails getting 3 to bite and releasing 2. One blue charged the short
teaser though faded before the bait could be pitched and came back on the rigger bait pushing water though didn't eat. A few blues were caught today and plenty were seen. The following day proved better for the guys fishing on the 31' Jupiter, they released a nice blue of around 300lb's, 2 sailfish and a couple of mahi's to boot.
15th and 16th we welcomed back on ALLURE Jon Theaukauf, he has been fishing with us here for the past 5 years in Guatemala and this time with friends from Switzerland Christian Machalf and sons Dominic and Yanic. Jon was on form hooking all the fish for his friends and even hooking a triple and passing the rods on which was pretty work. We ended day one with 14 sails raised and releasing 8 from 9 bites, the last fish of the day breaking the line. Plenty of mahi's today as well with 10 to around the 27lb mark. Nice
work by Dominic and and Yanic who are 12 and 9 respectively and fished extremely well. 12NM to the east of us today there was reasonable marlin
bite going on with Bill O'Keefe and grandsons Matthew and Jay on Fishy Business releasing a small stripey and a nice 350lb black marlin though
missed out on the slam by a sail. Unlucky though congrats in a helluva day.
The next day started off with a blue marlin hot on the short teaser that we got to bite though unfortunately missed. We had an early day back at the dock though Jon kept up good form on the sails going 3 from 3 bites and plenty of big mahi's.
17th and 18th, all the way from Utah we welcomed back Andy and Mitch Johnson, Dean and Mary Hope Mortenson and Chris. A long run off-shore
looking for good water paid off as it was tough fishing for the majority of the fleet. We got everyone into some fish with 5 from 7 bites on the sails and 4 big mahi-mahi. The next day a long way to the west things were slow, though some whale watching with 4 humpbacks broke up the day. Fishing wise we did OK with mahi's to 25lb's and 2 from 4 bites on the sailfish. Hard work though we had a great time with this very enthusiastic group. Looking forward to seeing you guys back!
20th and 21st Craig and Kathy Johnson were joined by Mike and Julie O'Brien. With the best water being just off-shore, about a 4 mile wide stretch of blue water just a fewmiles off the beach we worked it hard for a couple of bites. The next day on the 31'Jupiter we went off-shore getting into Mikes first sailfish and nice 30lb+ ahi-mahi.
Mike and Alex with Mike's first sailfish. As mentioned, things are on the up out there with still plenty of marlin bites and the sailfish are moving back in with the warmer, bluer water. More reports next week.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
<http://www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com/> to learn more about fishing in
Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
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Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 24
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 5:52 am: | |
Guatemala Fishing report February 18th 2009
Mixing it up in Guatemala
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
February 16th 2009 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing Company
operating out of the new Pez Vela Marina.
This is the time of the season for billfishing in Guatemala when we expect to have some predictability. Our clients return on a regular basis at the same time each year, expecting the same results. That’s what January to March down here is supposed to deliver.
Good concentrations of billfish nice warm days and calm seas – and consistent action throughout the fishing day.
We are now approximately half way through the peak season, and we have seen hardly any of this – we have had days raising up to 80 sailfish, we have had days raising only (high !) single digits. We have raised Blue Marlin and Black Marlin – we have even been seeing plenty of tuna. Variety is usually a good thing, but normally we get variety on top of a strong and consistent billfish bite. The weather has been similarly inconsistent, with cold fronts (yes …cold fronts !!!! ……in Guatemala…………) coming through on a fairly regular basis, and pushing the fishing action out from 30 miles to 50 miles.
The fishing this past week has slowed down from the fishing frenzy that we experienced in late January, and the blue water has pushed out again to about 40 miles. We have been consistently raising 10-15 billfish per day on the back of (another) cold front, but it does seem to be settling down to a more predictable pattern
We welcomed Mike Northcott down late in January, followed by Linda Gould for her return trip. I mention this because the last person we had taking a swim with the fish was Cindy Garrison, who clearly couldn’t control her excitement at bringing a beautiful pacific sail to the transom – and promptly donned a mask and hiked over the side to take pictures and carouse with nature. Obviously Mike………followed in quick succession with Linda Gould’s group – were inspired by this, as they took the first dip of this season with the billfish and got some great pictures.
In some ways this is better than classic “catch and release” as the fish forgoes the last manic dash for freedom and instead is released gently in the water – but on the other hand if you have ever seen one of these creatures lit up in hues of blue and leaping towards the stern (and angler) with a glint in its eye and aiming its bill at the quarry……..you may pause to question the wisdom of being in the same proximity.
Not a tactic that we would endorse, and neither would our insurance…..but great pictures nonetheless.
Feel free to give your opinion on our blog : http://www.greatsailfishing.com/Fishing_Guatemala/
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the season fishing with http://www.greatsailfishing.com/
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates this season, so don’t wait, give us a call
at 1 877 763 0851or send us an email (below) to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
"The fishing was good, it was the catching that was bad."
~ A.K. Best
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 23
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 8:47 am: | |
The Billfish are kicking in the New Year in Guatemala !!
Happy New Year – Feliz Navidad !!
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
January 4th 2009 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing Company
operating out of the new Pez Vela Marina.
It’s great !! It’s awesome……………it’s warm down in Guatemala !!!!
While we poor folks up North have been trying to work off the Christmas excess by shoveling snow, raking roves and cracking ice – the fortunate few have been down well South of the Mason-Dixie experiencing lots of bluewater action.
We welcomed the Britt party over the Christmas period and quickly showed them just how good the fishing down here can be. There had been a brief cold front just before their arrival – which is often a trigger for the fish to really start feeding. Their first day out saw the blue water at 40 miles – but raising plenty of billfish – their second day the warmer currents had moved closer inshore – and so it was lines in at 20 miles or so.
Plenty of action ensued, and over the course of a couple of days, they managed to bring 23 sailfish to the boat, 10 decent sized Dorado – and 2 Blue Marlin raised, with one hooked up and a 2 ½ hour fight…………now that’s good fishing !!
One of the great things about fishing this time of year is just the variety of fish – we see everything from the staple of sailfish to huge schools of raging yellowfin tuna to plenty of bull dolphin to cast a fly to – and all in the sunshine, calm seas and warm breeze of Guatemala……………I was reading just today that on the same day on a bone-chilling day of 15 degrees in 2006, 71-year-old Wisconsin angler Tom Gelb, a field editor for Musky Hunter magazine, was rowing a lure across a favorite lake in Vilas County when the pole slumped with a strike. It was the last day of the muskie season, and Gelb was hoping for a big one. He got what he wanted and then some. The 51-pound 2-ounce muskie was the largest caught in Wisconsin in twenty-seven years and the first 50-pounder landed in Vilas County since 1975. It was also Gelb’s first-ever 50-pound muskie.
Of course Muskies are nice – as all of our friends from Canada can attest – but to me, it doesn’t beat a 100lb raging Sailfish on the longwand !
The fishing continues to improve and each day becomes more consistent - and with more of the fleet going out each day, locating the pods of sailfish is also becoming quicker and more predictable. If you want to catch a billfish - or even a Blue Marlin - on the fly, now is a GREAT time to come down and give it a go.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the season fishing with http://www.greatsailfishing.com/
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates this season, so don’t wait, give us a call
at 1 877 763 0851or send us an email (below) to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
"The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span the hours spent in fishing."
~ Babylonian proverb
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html
 |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 8
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 22, 2008 - 3:17 pm: | |
Catch Report 4/Guatemala - December 2008
We just returned from Casa Vieja a couple of days ago. We are looking for a new billfish destination to take our clients after Golfito Sailfish Rancho closed. Capt. Jake Jordan had been after us for years to check out this lodge. Glad we did --it was everything he said it was. Super lodging and the best boats and crews i have fished with. We fished for four days and the fishing over all was slow by Guatemala standards. We ended up with 18 releases in four days. I will take it!
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 7
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 22, 2008 - 3:17 pm: | |
Catch Report 3/Guatemala - December 2008
The fishing has really picked up in the second half of December with some great days on the water with marlin, sailfish and plenty of mahi mahi's and the odd yellowfin tuna for the table.
On the 18th we welcomed back on ALLURE the Fred Herring group from Houston, Texas. Fred Snr and Jnr were here with great memories of last years December trip and wondering if it could be matched. They obviously have some great mojo about them because the fishing went off, again! This time they brought with them Fred Jnr's partner Mel and friends John and Nancy Keely also out of Houston for their first trip to Guatemala. Things got off to a slowish start on their first day out though picked up after Fred hooked and landed the first sail of the trip, next up was John Keely and what an introduction to billfishing for him as the next fish in the spread was a blue marlin pushing the 200lb mark. He did an excellent job on the rod and we got the release after a short tough fight on the 50lb stand-up gear. The fishing got hot in the middle of the day with doubles, triples and a quad adding to the total of 27 sailfish releases from 38 bites and a couple of mahi mahi to 20lbs. Great job crew!!
Their last day out on the 19th was more of a challenge with a cold front moving in and making conditions a bit sloppy out there. Still they hung in with a couple of triples keeping everyone on their toes with 24 releases from 35 bites and two big mahi mahi for fresh sashimi at the end of the day. The group are finishing their trip to Guatemala in Antigua for a couple of nights enjoying the sights with a couple of organized tours around this beautiul little city. We had a good time fishing with you guys and gals and we look forward to seeing you all back next year.
Dec 15th-16th had Mike Shores with Toby Solis and Gene Roberts on ALLURE for two days of fishing. Toby and Gene were both billfish virgins and they were blown away by the quality of the fishing with 28 sails in the spread and 17 releases from 25 bites. They also got 3 nice big mahi mahi to 32lbs. The next day they figured they'd caught enough sails and wanted tuna and a marlin......we left the sailfish bite looking for spinner dolphin and the yellowfin tunas. We found two big groups of spinners though the tuna weren't on the bite unfortunately. At the end of the day lots of bait including big blue runners and bonitos were busting around a log, we live baited a couple of bonito tunas and got Toby on to a nice blue marlin pushing the 250lb mark. The fish put on a great display and he got the release on the 50lb tackle. A great way to end the trip! We also caught 4 out of 8 sailfish and another 3 mahi's for the day. We hope to see Mike and the crew back down here for April.
Posted by Capt. KIWI of the ALLURE
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 6
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 22, 2008 - 3:16 pm: | |
Catch Report 2/Guatemala - December 2008
CATCH REPORT 2 GUATEMALA DEC 08
05-09 Dec - The Mitchell group of 12 anglers descended on Casa Vieja for their annual trip. Boats fishing their mini-tournament were the "Release" with Capt. Nico, "Spindrift" with Capt. Nicho and "Cañaso" with Capt. Chico. First day, they had 22 fish released, the next day they saw one or two in the spread, but wouldn't eat. The third day was cut short by bad weather only releasing 5 fish. Not rain, just wind. I believe we caught 35 fish in three days - not our best trip, but the Lodge made up for it!
07-11 Dec - Craig Zoufaly and his two brothers fished the "Twenty" with Capt. Jason. First day out, it was a bit rough, heavy swells and winds from the SSW making the day uncomfortable. Fished three days caught 28 fish. Loved the Lodge and Antonio.
10-15 Dec - Dr. Shuler and his brothers fished "Finest Kind" with Capt. Erik and "Rum Line" with Capt. Chris. First day caught 37 fish, days 2 and 3 - caught 7 fish including two blue marlin around 200-250lbs. Lost a larger one est at 400+. Final day they decided to fly fish as the storm had moved on and the water flattened - caught 3 more on fly. 45 sails and 2 blues. They loved the Lodge and would return. They had high praise for the captains and mates. (Posted by Al Schaefer of the “Legend” Dec/2008)
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 5
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 10:22 am: | |
Fishing Report Guatemala Dec 15 2008
The 2008 – 2009 season is moving into full swing now and you can expect the action to be hot through next June. The weather is beautiful right now with very comfortable and dry conditions, which will remain through most of April.
We welcomed the Randy Peifer Group along with sons Will and Jason for their first visit to Pacific Fins. Fishing aboard “Fishy Business”, with Capt. Tito, the first day they raised 22 sails and released 15. They also added 3 large dorados. Day two they raised 7 sails, released 4 and added a nice 200lb blue marlin. Some beautiful yellowfin tuna in the 40 to 50 pound range are also being caught and of course these usually end up on the dinner table that same night!
Larry Ekey returned for his second visit and brought friends Tim Bennett, Rick Rennell and Brock Walls. The first day they fished on “Hooked Up” and released 6 sails. The second day they switched to our new 50ft Topaz “Captain Hook” and released 6 more sails and fought a blue thought to be around 500lbs but lost it near the boat.
Yesterday, aboard the Captain Hook, the Lee Orgeron group saw excellent sailfish action. The group raised 16 sails, had 13 bites and managed to release 9.
The marlin bite continues to be strong and there a lot of blues in the 200 to 600 pound range being caught every day right now. December is usually one of our better months for marlin and this year that is no exception. (Filed by Pacific Fins, Guatemala)
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Post Number: 4
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 08, 2008 - 7:11 pm: | |
Fishing Report - Guatemala
THE PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE OF GUATEMALA
November 21-22-23, 2008 - The Presidential Challenge of Guatemala presented by INGUAT historically provides red hot action which produces a close finish. This year we were not to be denied a final day of nail biting lead changes.
Daniel Espinosa fishing aboard the Super Fly got the tournament started by releasing a sailfish at 8:44am on Day One. Unbeknownst to our anglers, an 5.9 earthquake hit off the coast of Guatemala which sent the billfish out of the area and made fishing very slow. Team A-Fin-Ity with anglers Davis Clapp, Henry Riggs-Miller and Gerber Chavez got off to a good start on the first day releasing a black marlin and some sails to top the daily leader board. A-Fin-Ity and Capt. Juanga Lopez earned top boat honors for the day.
Anglers arrived at Marina Pez Vela on the second day ready to get out to the fishing grounds and find the large schools of sails that make Guatemala famous. Team Decisive and anglers Bill Easum, Jimmy Taylor and Mike Vivieros made their move up the ladder by releasing thirteen sails by the 3pm lines out call. Capt. Brad Philipps led his team to the top spot for the day and claimed the tournament lead.
Boats traveled far to find the fish and the long trip paid off for the Casa Vieja team fishing with Capt. Chris Sheeder on the Buddy Boy. Anglers Jim Turner, Roy Cronicher and Mike Wnek found the fish and started their upward climb. The IWFA team, Gwen Hahn, Diane Locke and Martha McNab made a move led by Diane’s blue marlin release.
At stake in the PCCA Guatemala was the prize for the Bertram/Evermarine Grand Champion Team and the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler Awards. Going into this event A-Fin-Ity had a sizeable lead due to an incredible catch in the Caribbean Cup tournament in Venezuela. Team Decisive was coming off a win in the PCCA –El Salvador and the luck was carrying over to Guatemala. On the final day of fishing, Decisive, was red hot. They added 2100 points to their total which gave them the win making them back to back PCCA champions.
Decisive angler Bill Easum won the top angler honors with his 1300 points. Casa Vieja made it back to Marina Pez Vela just under the wire for scores to count. Their long run paid off and they claimed second place. Jim Turner accumulated 1200 points and took third place behind Henry Riggs- Miller from A-Fin-Ity on time. Not to be denied a top three team finish, A-Fin-Ity scored enough points to give them third place.
When the scored were tallied and recorded, scorekeeper Joan Vernon had to call in chief judge, Bill Boyce, to verifiy the results. Only one sailfish made the difference for the 2008 Grand Champion Team. After careful review, it was official – A-Fin-Ity won the Bertram/Evermarine Grand Champion Team award for the third consecutive year with a record 15,300 points.
Decisive gave them a good run and was awarded second place with 15,200 points! The Costa Rica team, Maverick Sport Fishing with anglers Larry Drivon, Bim Lebo and Daniel Espinosa slid into the third place Grand Champion slot.
Anglers fish all year for points toward the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler honors.
This year Henry Riggs-Miller won this prestigious award by accumulating 5300 points fishing in all four PCCA events. Jimmy Taylor also fished all of the PCCA tournaments and claimed second place angler with 3900 points. Right behind him as his teammate, Mike Vivieros, who fished three PCCA tournaments for a total score of 3750 points.
It was an exciting conclusion to an action packed Presidential Challenge Season. We conquered foreign governments, illnesses, earthquakes and weather but the Series Teams stuck it out to make this a successful year. The four tournaments raised $50,000 for various conservation projects. We thank our sponsors, anglers and observers for their loyal support of our Presidential Challenge Conservation Series events.
FINAL RESULTS
RESULTS: 210 Sailfish / 1 Blue Marlin/1 Black Marlin - ALL ON CIRCLE HOOKS!
WHERE: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
TEAMS: 10 teams/30 anglers
CONTENDER BOATS TEAM DIVISION
Trophies Sponsored by Marina Pez Vela, Quepos, Costa Rica
1ST PLACE TEAM: DECISIVE 3400 PTS – IGFA Offshore World Championship Invitation
2ND PLACE TEAM: CASA VIEJA 3100 PTS
3RD PLACE TEAM: A-FIN-ITY 2600 PTS
BAPTIST HEALTH INTERNATIONAL ANGLER DIVISION
1ST PLACE ANGLER: BILL EASUM 1300 PTS World Billfish Series Championship Invitation
2ND PLACE ANGLER: HENRY RIGGS MILLER 1200 PTS
3RD PLACE ANGLER: JIM TURNER 1200 PTS
KING SAILFISH MOUNTS BOAT DIVISION
TOP BOAT: DECISIVE 3400 PTS
2ND BOAT: BUDDY BOY 3100 PTS
3RD BOAT: A-FIN-ITY A-FIN-ITY 2600 PTS
BERTRAM EVERMARINE GRAND CHAMPION TEAM
1ST PLACE: A-FIN-ITY 15,300 POINTS
2ND PLACE: DECISIVE 15,200 POINTS
3RD PLACE: MAVERICK 6450 POINTS
EAGLE CLAW GRAND CHAMPION ANGLER
1ST PLACE: HENRY RIGGS-MILLER 5300 POINTS
2ND PLACE: JIMMY TAYLOR 3900 POINTS
3RD PLACE: MIKE VIVIEROS 3750 POINTS
Filed by Capt. KIWI of The ALLURE
NOTE: THE 2009 PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE CONSERVATION SERIES KICKS OFF
MARCH 20-21-22, 2009 IN CARRILLO, COSTA RICA
NOTE: The Stu Apte's Tournament has moved from Costa Rica to Guatemala. South Fishing & Casa Vieja Lodge are hosting the 4th annual event to be held Jan. 10-15, 2009. For more information visit www.stuapteflytournament.com
NOTE: You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
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Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 22
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 9:10 am: | |
Winter is coming (or has it arrived ?)
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
Nov 22nd 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
Some of our best clients (and best anglers !) come from Canada; Guatemala has been featured quite widely and has deservedly gained a reputation for great fishing as soon as the ground hardens up North. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise then that we welcomed two groups from Canada concurrently – Dr. Tim Blight and (welcome back !) Kim Graham.
Unfortunately the first group arrived at the tail end of a cold front, and although managing to catch decent numbers (high single digits per day), we found it hard to find good concentrations of bait – having to travel as far as 45 miles from the dock before putting lines in.
The fishing was relatively difficult as we were also faced with unseasonably strong currents combined with wind from the end of the front – combining to whip up the seas. It is a tribute to the skill and concentration of the Blights that they managed a very good hookup ratio under such conditions. The seas did calm down towards the end of their trip – but not before the “Fishing Gods” had wreaked some havoc on our boats – one taking some damage to the trim tabs that caused a “Boat Dollar” and a day to fix (editor note : current exchange rate is 1 Boat_Dollar equals approximately 1000 usd).
As the sun came out and the seas laid down – we were happy to welcome Kim back to Guatemala fishing aboard the “Joint Venture” and “Reel Diver”. They found some good consistent action as well as pleasant seas and a warming breeze – with lines in at 22 miles. Clearly the billfish were happy to find concentrations of bait as well, for once discovered, they stayed around until they had decimated the school – and we hung around as well ! Our boats most days over the week raised low twenties in sailfish and Kim and his fishing teams brought high teens to the transom – some decent dorado and yellowfin tuna for the table a satisfying trip for all !!
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the season fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates this season, so don’t wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Anglers...exaggerate grossly and make gentle and inoffensive creatures
sound like wounded buffalo and man-eating tigers”
~ Roderick Haig-Brown
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 3
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 24, 2008 - 11:27 am: | |
Fishing Report – Guatemala:
Nov. 20, 2008 - The season is just getting started but so far we have had some great action. On November 11, we hosted a film crew from The Presnell Sporting Collection. They came down to film a new promotional DVD. Fishing aboard the Hooked Up with Captain Haron Valdez, the group was treated to some great Guatemalan action. On the first day they raised 14 sails and had 11 bites and caught 8. They also caught a nice dorado and a yellow fin tuna, both of which ended up on the dinner table that night back at the Resort.
Capt. Ron Hamlin of Pacific Fins/Guatemala
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 2
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 24, 2008 - 11:26 am: | |
Fishing Report, – Guatemala:
Nov-5,6 & 8 (Casa Vieja Lodge) - The Casa Vieja Fleet started off the new season fishing the Club Náutico International Light Tackle Tournament.
Captain Chris Sheeder aboard the "Buddy Boy" Finished the tournament in second place releasing 31 sails in the three day tournament and a blue marlin, not a bad finish taking into consideration that Chris went looking for the mother load the first day and did not release a fish on day one. Congrats to Chris and the crew for a job well done!
Captain Chico Alvarenga aboard the "Canaso" Had a very nice showing during the tournament releasing 27 sails and a blue marlin of about 300# on 20#, The Canaso and crew finished the tournament in third place, and was in the bite all three days.
Captain Nico Melendrez aboard the "Release" also had a very good tournament and was the boat that found the bite that was fished during the tournament. Nico and his crew finished in a not so distant fourth place releasing 27 sails, Lady Luck was not to be seen on day three of the tournament aboard the "Release" but the opportunity in bites was ever present for the anglers.
Aboard the "Finest Kind" we released 14 sails and a blue marlin during the three day tournament and finished in a very distant 10th place. I think something along the lines of being a hero or zero sums it up best, but we will be looking to redeem ourselves during the upcoming Presidential Challenge of Central America tournament taking place Nov 19-21.
Nov 9-10 we have Carl, Adam, and Fisher Van Rooy along with family friend Jason Robertson aboard the "Finest Kind" Four year old Fisher Released his 2nd sailfish in two cosecutive years and got to watch his 'Uncle' Jason release about a 225# blue marlin ON 20#. The group also caught 9 yellowfin tunas up to 30 lbs. And if I am not mistaken, even Carl was in on the yellowfin action. Congratulations to Fisher Van Rooy from all of your friends at the Casa Vieja Lodge on your sailfish Releases'.
Nov 13-15 finds Austin Hepburn, Scott Schoettley, Julie Cowhey, Carrie Hulburd and Leslie Jenkins from the good state of Mississippi, aboard the "Canaso" with captain Chico. The group Raised 50 sailfish had 38 bites and released 29 sails, and two blue Marlins between 225#s and 275#s. The group also brought home dinner for the lodge catching 8 Dorodos between 25-30lbs, and 7 football size yellowfins.
Nov 14-15 finds the Foster group aboard the "Release" with captain Nico. The group raised 23 sails had 22 bites and released 16 sails during there two day trip and also caught 6 yellowfin tunas and 4 dorodos all in the 30 lb range.
Nov 15-16 finds Phil and Chip Lloyd, from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Aboard the "Buddy Boy" with Captain Chris. The pair raised 17 sails had 17 bites and released 9 sails in there two day trip.
You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation. |
Chris Van Leeuwen (Kiwichris)
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Username: Kiwichris
Post Number: 1
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 8:04 am: | |
Fishing Report - Guatemala
The season is getting off to a great start. In the past week, most boats have been raising between 12 and 21 sailfish, with one boat releasing 61 sails in 2 days. Most boats are also catching 10 to 15 dorado and 8 to 10 yellowfin tuna. The tuna have been nice sized with the average being 30 to 50 pounds. Perfect for Sushi! No real marlin action to speak of yet, but we
normally do have great marlin action between now and the end of December.
The weather and fishing is great this time of year, and we still have some openings in the next couple of months, so come on down and join in on the action.
Capt. Ron Hamlin of Pacific Fins/Guatemala
Rods and Reels Sportfishing Adventures / Guatemala
www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com
info@rodsandreelssportfishing.com
Te;. (502) 52514809 / 55025353 |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
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Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 21
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2008 - 1:59 pm: | |
Guatemala Fishing report Nov 1st 2008
Fish or Ski ??
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
Nov 1st 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] [/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
Sometimes you almost have just too much choice. We welcomed back Augusto and his family to Guatemala this week, a little tired after a long flight from Italy, but enthusiastic all the same. This is the third time that Augusto has fished with us, and so he is an “old hand” and knows well what to expect.
The blue water early in the season can move in and out very rapidly – and so it proved, moving from 25 miles one day to over 40 miles from the dock a couple of days later. This means a LOT of water to cover as the fleet looks for signs of productive fishing.
The positive side of this is that there is a good chance of finding a variety of fish as the Bertram skims over the deep blue.
And so it proved; it was tough to find a concentrated sailfish bite for Augusto and Filippo averaging low double digit raises per day, but we did manage to find some good size bull dolphin and a couple of times schools of feeding Yellowfin Tuna.
So plenty of variety to choose from – and as the title of the report suggests, another important decision was whether to fish or (water) ski on the flat calm water of the Pacific 40 MILES FROM SHORE !!!!!!!
Of course they chose to fish, but have a look here at the detailed pictures of the water behind them as they pose for pictures –this is one of the GREAT BENEFITS of fishing this part of the Pacific coast – the vasy majority of the time during fishing season, we are BLESSED with FLAT CALM SEAS.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the season fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates this season, so don’t wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Some go to church and think about fishing, others
go fishing and think about God”
~ Tony Blake
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 20
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - 2:33 pm: | |
Guatemala Fishing report July 10, 2008
The Running of the Bulls
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
July 10, 2008 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
As many of you who have fished in Guatemala will know,
we keep a “weather eye” on two key indicators first thing in
the morning on the dock.
The first is whether the volcano “Pacaya” is swathed in mist
and high cloud – a sure sign of moisture at high altitude and
often a cold front coming through.
The second is a quick glance at the steam rising from the
condensing towers in nearby Puerto Quetzal – an obvious
indicator of current wind strength and direction.
The integration of these two data points generally forms the
“Dock weather forecast” for the day and the successive couple
of days – albeit with diminished accuracy.
This “Dock forecast” is generally very good from October until
June – when the Pacific Coast of Guatemala is blessed with
light winds, calm seas and mostly sunny days for weeks and months
at a time…..a remarkable correlation to the weather forecast.
This time of year however proves to be more of a challenge to
the sages of the dock, for as fast as they can cast an eye over
distant Pacaya and so voice their opinion of the weather to
come………. it will have changed. The onset of the rainy season
means that the winds can come up and change direction quickly –
causing the bait and the billfish to scatter and much less concentrated.
Largely because of this, we have been raising only 5-10 billfish
per day for the last few weeks, and the Blue Marlin have been
noticeable only by their absence.
On the positive side, the rains in the mountains have caused
their regular flooding of the rivers and tributaries – pushing debris
out to the ocean. Trees and crates are to be found floating at
10-15 miles from the dock – and provide perfect ecosystems for
juvenile fish to flourish. These in turn attract one of the most
prolific and efficient predators of the ocean, Coryphaena hippurus
AKA Dorado/Mahi-Mahi/Dolphin.
Once the Dorado start to feed, there is little that will stop them ! They
will consume almost anything as juveniles – achieving remarkable
growth rates of as much as 3 inches/week and doubling their weight
every six months. This makes them not only prized fare for the table, but
also a great sport fish particularly on light tackle.
This can be a great time of the year to come down and take advantage
of the plethora of fishing that is available – from billfish to dorado to
roosterfish…………and also to take advantage of our Summer Special :
Fish 3 or more days and receive one day FREE
http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/specials.htm
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates next
year, so don’t wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Some go to church and think about fishing, others
go fishing and think about God”
~ Tony Blake
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 19
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 8:31 am: | |
Guatemala Fishing report May 6th 2008
Sailfish and a good Blue Marlin bite !
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
May 6th 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
We highlighted in last weeks report the strong Blue Marlin
bite that we have had for the last several weeks in the rich
blue water of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
Two groups in particular had an extremely memorable experience;
John Bottone fishing in saltwater for the first time successfully
released his first saltwater fish and billfish (a good Sail of about
100lbs !) on his inaugural day – but on his second day hooked into
a monster Blue Marlin ! Fishing with him was Steve Robinson, an
experienced (ex) charter captain from the Florida Keys – he recounts
the battle here.
Fishing at the same time on board the Reel Diver was the
Styles party – with another member Bryn Jones also attempting
to release his first billfish. The first day was slow, with only 3
Sailfish releases – but things heated up dramatically from then on !
After crossing the barrier of his first release, quickly followed by
a half dozen more, Bryn was first to the 50lb outfit as the a decent
sized Blue Marlin appeared in the spread. Johnny the mate on
the Reel Diver in a flash heaved the rigged Dorado belly into
the teaser stream perfectly to the side and slightly behind the fish –
and the Blue inhaled it without hesitation. The fight lasted a
relatively short, but memorable, 15 minutes – and Bryn successfully
released his first ever Blue Marlin as well……see the picture right…
he looks like a Happy Camper !
The next two groups fishing with us – the Mueller and Kano
parties saw consistent Sailfish action on both conventional
and fly – raising 15-20 Sailfish per day and having very good
hookup rates as the fish were extremely aggressive.
The blue water was swirling around a lot – ranging from a
relatively close in 25 miles to as far as 50 miles from the dock –
But we were able to find good action every day. The season is
still strongly underway !!
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the rest of the season fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates next
year, so don’t wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Some go to church and think about fishing, others
go fishing and think about God”
~ Tony Blake
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 18
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 10:06 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
April 28th 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
Overall, we have had a great spell over the last few weeks of
consistently strong numbers of billfish raised day after day.
The only downside has been that the blue water has been
consistent as well - hovering between 40 and 50 miles
offshore. This makes for a long run in the early morning and
evening, but a small sacrifice to have to make for the great
fishing to be enjoyed.
We have had a few exciting episodes over the last couple of weeks;
mixed in with the concentrations of Sailfish have been good numbers
of Marlin, some as large as we have seen in Guatemalan
waters. Steve Robinson came down with his group, one of whom
had never caught a saltwater fish, never mind a billfish !
First day John (that angler !) easily made that hurdle, catching
and releasing a feisty Sailfish early in the day. Now he could
relax ? Not so……second day out, lines in the water, a marlin
bite on the flatline and John was in the seat. A good hookup, and
the captain estimated a good fish in the 500lb class – unfortunately
it had chosen to bite on the 25lb class gear, and was now firmly
attached to a Shimano TLD and 450yds of backing !
Over the course of the next 51/2 hours (yes 51/2 hours !), the captain
pitched his experience and skill in boat maneuvering against the fish,
while John tried to gain line at every opportunity. As time wore on,
and the Captain managed a couple of glimpses of the Blue – he
raised the stakes several times, until his final estimate at the boat
of a Blue Marlin of 850-900lbs. After all this time, it was important to
achieve a quick release at the boat, so a touch of the leader and
the huge fish swam away – not sure now who was the most grateful
that the fight was done ! Congratulations to John on what was truly
a world-class angling performance – 850lb Blue Marlin on 25lb gear.
Soon after this escapade, we welcomed pro angler Mark Maus down
to fish a couple of days and film a show with us for The Outdoor Channel.
You know…..the thing about fishing, is…You just never know……so
we were under some pressure to find Billfish in sufficient numbers to
accommodate all the camera angles, shots, perspectives, underwater film
etc etc required nowadays of a professional show.
Fortunately, it was lines in – and 4 minutes later Mark and I had a feisty double
underway…..while Jason our cameraman worked like crazy trying to get the
appropriate batteries in the appropriate microphones, lenses on cameras etc
etc.
This pattern continued over the next days fishing as well – and by lunch
on day 2 we pretty much had it “in the can”.
Mark – as a pro-fisherman, had an interesting perspective on the fishing
in Guatemala, that while “I have traveled all over the world billfishing and making
shows – from Costa Rica to Baja to Panama – this is BY FAR, the BEST
BILLFISHING THAT I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED” , he also commented
however, that as a (primarily) “Traveling Anglers’ Destination”…..when is
“Enough is Enough” ????
He calculated that we had raised a billfish every 6 minutes while we were
trolling to raise fish for the show – which while ideal for us filming for TV,
may in fact be too much action for a group of guys fishing for fun or a
family just getting together. Good Point……Nice Problem to have I replied !
Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Sheri Larkin who fished
With us earlier in the year, and submitted one of her pics
of a particularly acrobatic bull Dorado to Sportfishing Mag
for their photo competition and promptly secured an
excellent third place ! You can see the winning pics here.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the rest of the season fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates next
year, so don’t wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Fishing is such great fun, I have often felt, that
It really ought to be done in bed”
~ John Voelker
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 17
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 2:03 pm: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
March 15th 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
Opportunity knocks ! This has been a remarkable season – consistently
strong numbers of fished raised almost every day, regardless
of the moon phase, time of day or current. The only thing that
has really mattered has been finding good blue water.
This past week we have seen the deep blue water move out further
to between 30 and 40 miles – but once we have the baits in the
water, the fish have been there.
The boats have been raising 20-40 sailfish each day – giving plenty
of shots both on conventional tackle and the fly. With so many fish
chasing the teasers, there is inevitably competition between them to
get to the bait – and this has resulted in some spectacular scenes
of pods of billfish slashing at the ballyhoo being trolled close to
the transom.
By the time they have good sight and timing on the teaser, and it
has been yanked away – the sails are fully lit up and ready to
pounce on the fly as presented to the side and just behind their
last attack.
This is a great time to come down and hone those flyfishing skills
to catch 100lb+ pelagics on a 13wt.
There have been fewer [b][url=http://www.GreatMarlinfishing.com] Marlin[/url][/b]
showing, but they are still around and every trip has the potential
to deliver not only large numbers of sailfish, but a Blue
Marlin as well !……….things are fishing well in the
rich fishing grounds off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the rest of the season fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We still have availability for some of the popular dates, so don’t
wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ The fish is not so much your quarry as your
partner”
~ Arnold Gingrich
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 16
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 03, 2008 - 10:42 am: | |
Guatemala Fishing report Feb 24th – it’s HOT down here !
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
February 24th 2008 and is prepared by
The Great Sailfishing Company operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
The “common wisdom” is that when the full moon lights up
the night sky, the predators can find their prey and continue
to feed throughout the night – and so are less aggressive
the following day. Perhaps it was the eclipse of the moon that did it…
…..but if anything the billfish are hungry – and getting hungrier every day !
We welcomed back Jody V. and his group to Guatemala – and
of course even though we wish all of our clients good success, it
is very pleasing when old friends come down and first day out
from the dock enjoy great sport.
First day results :
Joint Venture 29 Billfish caught and released
Balena 37 Billfish caught and released
Reel Diver 42 Billfish caught and released
The weather has been clement, calm seas and very warm – blue
water temperature over 80deg at 24 miles. The fishing has been
consistently getting better, with regular raises for all boats in excess
of 50 per day.
A strong Marlin bite, good numbers of Sailfish raise and
caught – and even food for the table……….things are
fishing well in the rich fishing grounds off the Pacific Coast
of Guatemala.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
what is turning out to be a great season fishing with The Great Sailfishing Company
We still have availability for some of the popular dates, so don’t
wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ Men and fish are alike. they both get into trouble
when they open their mouths”
~ Jimmy D Moore
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 15
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 8:28 am: | |
Guatemala Fishing report Feb 3rd 2008
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
February 3rd 2008 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
So far so good – this has been a great season to date,
with a strong and steady bite since early November.
It’s always great to welcome back old friends to
Guatemala, and to be able to reward their loyalty and
perseverance with outstanding fishing.
The rich Pacific waters off the coast of Guatemala are
regularly mentioned in fishing magazines and TV shows
as consistently some of the most productive billfishing
in the world - witness the February 2008 issue of Sportfishing
magazine (right) that discusses the strength of the
fishery (and The Great Sailfishing Company in particular !).
They also talk about Bluefin off the Outer Banks….we
can only manage Yellowfin in good numbers as well as
Sailfishing and Marlin……….but the weather is a lot
more clement.
The boats have been putting lines in at only 22 miles
or so – or as soon as they crew spot billfish either
breaching or lounging on the surface. There is plenty
of bait in the water, so it is really a question of sighting
the fish to set lines in the most productive areas.
We have been averaging >20 raises of billfish almost
every day, with regular catches of Blue/Black Marlin
included in the mix as well as good sized dolphin.
There seems to have been little regard or effect from
different moon phases this season – perhaps an
indicator of the sheer volume of billfish that are hanging
on the boat all along the blue water line.
A strong [b][url=http://www.GreatMarlinfishing.com] Marlin[/url][/b]
bite, 20+ raises per day being the norm at the moment – and even
food for the table……….things are fishing well in the
rich fishing grounds off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the buildup to what we hope is going to be a great season
fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We still have availability for some of the popular dates, so don’t
wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ Some go to church and think about fishing, others
go fishing and think about God”
~ Tony Blake
Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 14
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 2:33 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
December 10th 2007 and is prepared by
The Great Sailfishing Company operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
It’s dark up there at the moment – there is just about no moonto facilitate feeding at night, and that seems to have made
the billfish concentrate in packs. If you’ve ever seen the
wonderful footage on natural history programs of pods of Sailfish
working together corralling bait into tighter and tighter balls, you
will have a good image of what the fishing in Guatemala is like
at the moment.
Finding the bait and the blue water is almost guaranteed to find
sails (and sometimes marlin) in good concentrations. Sometimes
these bait balls are relatively close to each other, and sometimes
they are widely dispersed. The fleet has been finding them this
past week at distances ranging from 10 – 40 miles from the
dock – but once a working area is found, it has been possible to
fish it the whole day with continuous action.
Our groups fishing this week had consistent action throughout the
day, and for the most part after a relatively short run of about 12
miles. Talk about consistent fishing – on Friday we had 3 groups
out on our boats, and two boats returned in the evening having
brought 20 sailfish to the boat (thankfully they were all members
of Kim Graham’s party !) so the betting had to be deferred to the
next day. The Buchel party, not to be outdone, wished that they had
been part of the sweep, returning to the dock a few minutes later
with a final tally of 24 sailfish caught.
Amazing (fun) Fishfact of the week :
Starfish have eight eyes – one at the end of each leg………..amazing
but true !
A strong marlin bite, good numbers of Sailfish raise and caught – and even
food for the table……….things are fishing well in the
rich fishing grounds off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the buildup to what we hope is going to be a great season
fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We still have availability for some of the popular dates, so don’t
wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ There is certainly something in angling that tends to
produce a serenity of mind”
~ Washington Irving
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 13
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 11:31 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
November 26 th 2007 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
Fishing over the last few weeks has been steady, with
raises in the high double digits the norm. – a slight dip over
the full moon last week, but numbers of releases for both
Sailfish and Marlin have been strong since.
The bite has been especially vigorous first thing in the morning,
and this has been made easier and more convenient for
anglers with the blue water moving in as close in as only
10 miles.
We welcomed the Schafferius party to our new villa this
week – complete with swim-up bar, satellite TV and amenities
…….all the comforts of home without the washing
up !
More importantly, we welcomed them aboard the Joint
Venture for their first days fishing, and put lines in at
9 miles from the dock.
The action came thick and fast, with Sailfish aggressively
pursuing the teasers. They raised 20 Sailfish on their first
day out – with 15 bites and 8 releases. Also in the mix, and
brought to the boat was a 350lb Blue Marlin and some
good sized Dorado for the table.
The season has now started in earnest, and the early
indicators are good for plenty of billfish this year – hopefully
the marlin will hang around as well !
Correction : I reported last week of “Grand Slams” being
released (Blue/Black marlin and Sailfish). I regret that
this was in error and due to my poor translation (literally)
of the Captain’s report. In fact they reported several “Slams”
of Blue Marlin, Sailfish and Dorado. Apologies for that – we
like to be accurate in our reporting.
A strong [b][url=http://www.GreatMarlinfishing.com] Marlin[/url][/b]
bite, good numbers of Sailfish raise and caught – and even
food for the table……….things are definitely looking up in the
rich fishing grounds off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the buildup to what we hope is going to be a great season
fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We still have availability for some of the popular dates, so don’t
wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ The Gods do not deduct from man’s allotted
span the hours spent fishing”
~ Herbert Hoover
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 12
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 12, 2007 - 2:03 pm: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
November 3rd 2007 and is prepared by
www.GreatSailfishing.com The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
A strong Marlin bite (www.greatmarlinfishing.com), good numbers of Sailfish raise and caught – and even
food for the table……….things are definitely looking up in the
rich fishing grounds off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
Groups fishing last week found blue water ranging from
20 to as far as 70 miles from the marina; but the good news
was that the strongest and most consistent bite was found
closest to shore at around 25 miles. In fact at the beginning
of this week, boats were getting their first bite as close in as
5 miles !!
The weather has been kind, and warm days coupled with calm
seas made the relatively short run to “lines in” a pleasant
experience – even sipping coffee to make sure the adrenalin
was on full standby.
Most boats were raising between 10 and 15 billfish per day, and
the Blue Marlin showed consistently in the spread as well some
even taking the fly without hesitation.
There is plenty of variety in the water at the moment, with
Dorado and Tuna readily available to provide fresh Cerviche
on the boat as well as a good fillet for the evening meal prepared
by the chef in the villa.
The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy
the buildup to what we hope is going to be a great season
fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
We still have availability for some of the popular dates, so don’t
wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below)
to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to
some of the finest fishing anywhere.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ Why do people go fishing ? Some say they fish
to get fish. This is obviously false.”
~ John Randolph
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 11
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 - 3:45 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
September 24th 2007 and is prepared by
The Great Sailfishing Company operating out of the
new Pez Vela Marina .
This is the time of year when there is a real buzz down in
Guatemala. You can sense that the season is about to start
with vigor. Most of the heavy preparation has been completed –
boats that have languished for some time on stands while
their innards were refurbished are now floating again.
The docks are busy with crews doing maintenance and
cosmetic work : triple spreaders lay on the dockside like
hurdles, clouds of dust hang in the air from power tools
preparing for paint.
The weather is falling back to its more predictable pattern
of light winds, calm seas and blue skies. ….however not
yet everyday.
We welcomed the Crosby party to fish with us this week
onboard the Joint Venture – and their first day out faced
one of the exceptions; a strong Southeast breeze was
whipping up 2-3 feet seas with some white tops. The Joint
Venture at 23000lbs dry is a sturdy fishing and cruising
platform in such conditions, but the buffeting does make the
positioning of the boat with finesse more difficult, particularly
for fly-fishing.
Perseverance paid off however, and the group raised 7 good
sized Sailfish, bringing 4 to the boat for obligatory pictures.
They started their second day just where they had left off : lines
in at 40 miles …. but much calmer seas. During the course
of the day they managed some specimen fish.
As well as the anticipated Sailfish, they raised and hooked up
to 3 Blue Marlin, one estimated at 600lbs. We will be posting
pictures on GreatMarlinFishing . Also in the mix were
Bull Dolphin up to 35lbs and Wahoo.
We kept our eyes open for schools of Spinning Dolphin that
would indicate the presence of Tuna to try and add to the species
caught, but none were seen in the grounds being fished that day.
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ Scholars have long known that fishing eventually
turns men into philosophers. Unfortunately, it is
almost impossible to buy decent tackle on a
philosopher’s salary”
~ Patrick F. McManus
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 10
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 - 7:50 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
September 9th 2007 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
It’s times like this that we are glad to have a mountain range
and substantial land mass between our boats nestled in the
Pez Vela Marina and the warm currents of the Caribbean.
First Dean decided to make an appearance, but thankfully
stayed on a true ENE track – but then Felix called and said
he wanted to visit. We knew from experience that by the time
the storm made it to the volcanoes guarding the coast, the
winds would have subsided – but several inches of rain over
the highlands can become a torrent as they flow down to the
coast and can easily overwhelm the flood infrastructure and cause
devastation.
The town of Puerto San Jose next to the marina was battered
by heavy rain for 6 hours, and many of the culverts were quickly
overwhelmed – but the multiple inlets cut into the town absorbed
the bulk of the flood and directed it into the floodplain and from there
out to sea.
No serious injuries, minor damage – but tons of debris being
washed miles out to sea. This quickly became a sanctuary for
smaller fish to hide below – and so the food chain took over.
This was apparent as soon as the boats headed out after the
storm. A minimum of two pairs of eyes were needed on the
flybridge to look out for “floaters” (almost a misnomer as they
are large logs that actually float just below the surface) that may
lurk and can rip a hole through even the heaviest of hulls.
Beneath almost every log however, the Dorado schooled – and
so provided sport and dinner for all. In my opinion, casting a
9wt to a 15lb dolphin is at least as much fun as swinging to
a 13wt to a 100lb sailfish. You have the spectacle of the
aerobatic fight, but frequently get to sight cast to a targeted
fish 60ft away and really flyfish.
This is the time of year when almost all species can be found
in the bait rich water. One day fishing brought 10+ sailfish to the
boat as well as a full complement of dorado and tuna – the only
thing missing was a Marlin…..maybe this week !
[b][url=http://www.GreatMarlinfishing.com] GreatMarlinFishing[/url][/b]
day !
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“ Scholars have long known that fishing eventually
turns men into philosophers. Unfortunately, it is
almost impossible to buy decent tackle on a
philosopher’s salary”
~ Patrick F. McManus
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here : |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 9
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 13, 2007 - 5:29 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
August 11th 2007 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
It is a truism that you have to fish where the fish are – and
it is also true that you have to tailor your technique and
tactics to the bite of the day.
While the primary focus of the fleet remains the everpresent
abundant sailfish population – within 2 miles of the blue water
this week,the boats had aggressive Blue Marlin in the spread.
They were interested in the ballyhoo, but there didn’t seem
to be enough meat for them to target – and so the bigger baits
and the large bubble heads came out to create pandemonium
in the wake.
This certainly did it ! A slightly higher trolling speed was enough
to switch on a marlin bite that even for the bait rich waters of
Guatemala is unusual.
The boats returned to dock, with both boats having raised 8
Blue Marlin for the day – one brought 3 to the boat, the other
managed an impressive 5.
Total then was 8 Blues caught (and released) for 16 bites; a
[b][url=http://www.GreatMarlinfishing.com] GreatMarlinFishing[/url][/b]
day !
There has been a consistent marlin bite even through the
normally quiet summer season – which we hope bodes well
for great sportfishing as we build up to the full coming season.
If you are planning on making a trip in 2007/8, we suggest that
you contact us soon, as there is a limited supply of boats and
experienced crews – and the popular dates are filling in fast !
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“There he stands, draped in more equipment than
a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism
with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and
getting licked in the process.”
~ Paul O’Neil
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 8
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 5:37 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
August 5th 2007 and is prepared by
[b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b]
operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
Even charter boat captains have to take a vacation at some
point – and so it is even down in Guatemala. The billfish
are still fairly well concentrated (which is more than can be
said for the Captains) – but with fewer boats venturing
out each day, it is harder to have enough scouting capacity
out on the water to find them efficiently.
This is particularly the case when the blue water only starts
at about 35 miles from port.
One of the great attributes of a 100% catch and release
fishery is that there is hardly any selfishness between the
boats. When the bite is found, the only limitation to getting
the co-ordinates is the ability of the ear to decipher the
“Guatamaltique” chatter over the radio at full pace !
Both the Joint Venture and the Reel Diver headed out
from the dock in search of both billfish and fish for the
table (Dorado and Tuna). We welcomed the Hamer party
to fish with us over the weekend.
The Captains found a strong bite at about 45 miles from
port, and fished reasonably consistently – raising single
digits of sails. Each boat also managed a good sized
Blue Marlin in the 350-450lb class, which occupied crew
and clients alike for some considerable time !
The weather cooperated and remained calm and warm for
this time of year.
It seems like the Marlin are hanging around much more
than they have in past years – a consistent bite all the
way through the normally quiet summer months.
Hopefully a good omen for the coming season – we hope
you will come and give it a try !
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Fishermen are born honest, but they get
over it”
~ Ed Zern
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 7
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 25, 2007 - 4:46 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
June 24th 2007 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing
Company operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
We were pleased to welcome Michael Brennan and his two
sons to Guatemala this past week to experience The Great
Sailfishing adventure. They were inspired to fish with us after
watching Cindy Garrison’ s ESPN escapades on the Joint
Venture.
The weather and seas were calm as they set off on their
first morning with Capt. Marvin. We hadn’t ventured out of
dock for a couple of days, so were a little uncertain about the
prospects, but with good blue water starting at 22 miles the
crew was optimistic.
Shortly after lines in the first Sailfish was in the spreads.
This was a good sign – the fish was lit up and aggressively
chasing the teasers, first on the port side, then rapidly
switching to the starboard. As soon as the freshly rigged
ballyhoo was in the water however, it quickly switched attention
and pursued the meal with venom. An easy hookup and release
followed in short order.
While this had been going on, Capt. Marvin had been
surveying the surrounding water, and had observed Sails
free jumping a short distance away. He kicked the Reel Diver
into gear and started to troll the mile or so to the last jumper
he had seen. Didn’t get far however before two hungry sails
started following the short line – and more action ensued.
This continued almost non-stop – eventually raising over
40 Sailfish for the day, bringing over half to the boat and
release. Could this continue ?
The second day proved that it could – even in the “low
season”. A similar catch rate for Sailfish, many Dorado
and many more smiles occurred the second day out –
the final day was capped off with two Blue Marlin.
To quote the crew : “There are Sails all over the place !”
Come and experience The Great Sailfishing adventure
for yourself – try our “Off Season” !!! We even have a
SPECIAL running to make it easy for you !
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“If fishing is interfering with your business, give
up your business.”
~ Alfred W. Miller
Contact us at: |
kjs (Marlinkjs)
New member
Username: Marlinkjs
Post Number: 6
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 5:50 am: | |
This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
June 17th 2007 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing
Company operating out of the new Pez Vela
Marina.
The great thing about summer fishing in the bait rich waters
off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala is that just about anything
can happen, and frequently does.
The size of the fleet fishing each day is diminished, and so it can
be more difficult to find the concentrations of Sailfish that are a
hallmark of the region during the peak of the season – but they
are there.
We welcomed the Lunquist party this past week and both the Joint
Venture and the Reel Diver went out looking for the bite. The
Captains worked together to find good blue water and steady fishing.
Lines in at 30 miles produced a steady pick of good sized Dorado which
provided fantatstic action on light tackle.
The rains in the previous week had washed out debris from the land,
and this provided good targets to aim for while still continuing the search
for billfish.
Each boat came in with a release record of 2 Sailfish for the day – but
everyone was happy as there had been continuous action with Bonita
and some good sized Dorado. The Joint Venture brought 24 Dorado
to the boat and the Reel Diver had 12 – so plenty of good fish for dinner.
As the summer progresses, we anticipate more “Bull” dolphin as the bait
becomes more concentrated under some of the large logs that float out
to the fishing grounds from the estuaries – so come an enjoy some great
fishing as well as a fine dinner, with billfish action mixed in !
Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:
“Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job.”
~ Paul Schullery
Contact us at:
enquiries@greatsailfishing.com
or to register for our weekly fishing report and other
> information please click here :
> http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html |
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