GREAT JANUARY BITE 22nd & 23rd

Morris Jones, Bill Gouldin, John Hantak, Chris Boeker and Brad Miller

Friday 22nd welcomed back to Guatemala Brad Miller bringing in first timers to Guate, Bill Gouldin, Morris Jones, John Hantak and for his first ever billfishing experience Chris Boeker. Two days of fishing and 3 nights at the Sailfish Oasis were on the cards and the trip got off to a great start when during 'briefing' we released 4 sails in 20 mins. From there on in we had a great morning bite which included a couple of triple headers and doubles before things slowed down to a steady bite late in the morning. A great day out and an incredible introduction to billfishing for Chris and Guatemala for the rest of the crew, by the days end we had raised 53 sailfish had 47 bites and released 36 and a couple of nice mahi-mahi including this one for John Hantak.....

Saturday 23rd and we had a slow start to the day, it took most of the morning to get on to an area that was worth working. After fresh mahi burgers the fishing got better for us and a steady afternoon bite had guys release 18 from 26 bites and another good sized mahi-mahi. 54 releases in 2 days of fishing, looking forward to seeing you guys back here to try to better it!!

The fishing has remained good with an average of 15 releases a day up till yesterday the 25th. We are back out again tomorrow and counting down to the start of the biggest tournament of the year, 2010's NO SANCOCHO SAILFISH SHOOTOUT which gets underway this Friday 29th.

We still have some availability in March, April and through into May there are some weekend dates to choose from. The season is shaping up to be a good one so get in touch with us to secure your booking.......

Fishing January 12th-18th

Just about the perfect end to Tim's first day out, he was attached to this nice blue putting on a great series of jumps and pulling hard...

Wives and girlfriends take note!! Tim Hood's wife Christine knows how to lay on the perfect surprise birthday present, she woke him on Friday morning, early, to tell him his buddies were waiting at the door to take him to Guatemala for a 3 day fishing adventure onboard ALLURE staying at the Sailfish Oasis. She organized and paid for the whole trip as a 40th birthday present for Tim who was joined by good friends Doug Shotweld, John Speights, James Barborak and Mark Ruggles. What a gift!!
First day out with the crew we went wide looking as the bite from the previous day had disappeared, a good sized mahi-mahi and only a single sail to show till around 1pm, then we got into some good action releasing 6 from 10 bites in the last 2 hours of the day to end with 7 from 11, as we trolled in up to the edge just before pulling lines in we had a nice blue pushing alot of water on a lure in the stinger position, a great bite ended in a solid hook-up to this big fish....

Tim was locked into this very tough fish for about an hour when bad luck struck and the line broke.....the fish won this time. Still it put on a great display for us and fought hard.
Day 2 proved to be pretty good and steady with 13 releases from 17 bites and the last day out ended with some great activity, a couple of singles, a triple from a quad and a double before pulling lines in with 11 from 14 bites.

Jan 15th and 16th had Tim Goudeau joined by his son Steve and friends Mike Gilbert, Howard Kemp and Jimmy Tindal. This was the guys first trip to Guatemala and their first time billfishing. They are spoiled for life now and any other bill fishing trip won't be the same unless it is back here again..... first day out ended with 10 releases from 15 bites the second turned on even more with 3 double headers adding to the 14 releases from 18 bites. Steve Goudeau also got himself this reasonable mahi...


JAN 12th & 13th HANGING ON IN GUATEMALA...

Chief Tauzin, Jim Braniff, Johnny Braniff, Tommy Fatjo and Philip Evans holding on...

Jan 12-13th the Braniff group joined us for a couple of days aboard ALLURE. The severe cold front that swept through the States hit us in the form of a very stiff ENE'er and 6-8ft very step short period waves making life tough for all on board, excluding Alex the mate/chef who can flip burgers without touching the spatula or the pan in these conditions and loves being turned in a beam sea while cooking......The rest if us had a bit of tough time in these unusual for Guatemala seas. First day out proved tough going, not with just the conditions though slow fishing as well. We worked hard to get 3 from 5 bites on the baits. The next day out we went further to the east into rougher seas though we did find a reasonable bite out there, the guys fished well and even got into bait and switching their own fish while hanging on. Good stuff guys, and great fishing with 17 from 25 bites including a quad released in the afternoon.

Also out was ADIOS with the Ed Stein group for 4 days, unlucky with the weather though what can you do except try. Any try they did with several sails released and to top things off a nice strip marlin of around 150lbs for Ed being the last fish of the trip. Congratulations Ed on a beauty stripy.

The fishing has been good and still is out there right now. In the coming week everyone here is getting ready for the main event, 3 rounds of heavyweight fishing with 11 teams shooting it out in the NO SANCOCHO SAILFISH SHOOTOUT. It is going to be huge so keep a lookout for the results of this IGFA Rolex WS Qualifying Event being held here 29th-31st of January.....

27th Dec through 5th Jan '10

First up Happy New Year, 2010 got off to a good start here at the Sailfish Oasis with local Antigua blues maestro's Tom and Willie coming down to the coast with the full entourage to see the New Year in. A great evening was had by all with the Lodge filled to capacity enjoying good food, good company and of course great music.
Before this we hosted Brett Johnson's big group who came down for his bachelor weekend, or, "BJ's Despedida de Soltero" fiesta. Another great time here at the Lodge and good fishing all round.
Here is the breakdown.....

Jan 4th-5th. Regular to Guatemala Rob Derrick was joined by first timers, his son Robby, brother in-law (out-law) Louis Courtin and his son Caleb along with friend Ron Gagnon. The weather had cut up a little with a ENE'er blowing through to make it a little tough in the morning session's though generally flatten out in the afternoon. Steady action both days saw them release 21 sailfish and boat a nice sized mahi-mahi, caught by Caleb and enjoyed by all. The guys finished of their trip in Antigua staying at the Casa Santa Domingo and promised to be back soon.....looking forward to it!

Ron, Rob, Louis, Robby and Caleb.

Dec 31st-Jan 3rd we were joined by the Dishman group of 11 over the New Year, first day out on the 31st we had a super sized group of 8 anglers on board, the fishing was great out there, we released 20 from 29 bites before heading back to the dock early in preparation for the big night. Adios also fished today releasing 12 sails. After a huge night we left the dock after 10am the next morning and encountered sailfish who seemed to be hung-over as well, just 4 from 6 bites from a short day relaxing day. Feeling better on the 2nd we had good steady action through the day releasing 21 sailfish from 25 bites before pulling lines early to run to Monterrico and pull up in front of 'Johnny's Place' where the crew jumped over-board, swum to the beach to enjoy cocktails and the later on the sunset before being met by our driver and heading back to Sailfish Oasis. Our last day out Hill Dishman joined us solo to have a crack at some sails on the fly. Another late start today saying farewell to the rest of the group we left the dock at 10am...Once out there alot of fish were difficult to tease in all the way with several fish coming in most of the way before peeling off and never seeing them again, or refusing the fly once teased in. Still, Hill made the moat of few opportunities releasing 3 from 4 on the fly and 1 on the conventional tackle.

Hill and Donelle Dishman.

30th Dec. Chief Tauzin introduced his girlfriend Amber Crockett to Guatemala, staying in Antigua and then heading to the coast for a day of fishing with us on ALLURE and later spending New Year eve with us at Sailfish Oasis. A great introduction to this fishery for Amber with good action right through the day, we raised 40 sails and released 23 from 35 bites.

Chief and Amber...

Dec 27th-29th BJ's DESPEDIDA DE SOLTERO, group of 14 hit the Sailfish Oasis for 3 days of fishing and a bit of sightseeing in Antigua. Fishing aboard ALLURE and ADIOS we also chartered Capt Eddie aboard CIRCLE HOOK for a couple of days while some of the group opted to head toward the sights of Antigua on day 2 and enjoy a wonderful lunch at the spectacular Casa Santa Domingo. The rest of the guys enjoyed great fishing with over 60 sails being released over the 3 days and several slammer mahi-mahi boated and enjoyed as dinner at the Sailfish Oasis and hot lunches aboard the boats. A great time was had by all and congratulations to Brett Johnson who is making it formal tomorrow the 9th, good luck and best wishes to you both!!

Craig Johnson showing how it's done with a nice mahi.

The fishing is still good out there so look out for more reports next week. We still have openings on ADIOS and a few on ALLURE so get in touch with us to secure bill-fishing at its finest......