Great fishing through 5th January

We had the week off from the 20th of December though the fishing was great right up to 24th and the 26th with the boats that did fish releasing 20-30+ sailfish and a few marlin seen as well. Since the 27th we have been fishing and the action has been steady with good fishing all round and some great days as well. Today we were called in from the west to the bottom eastern corner of the pocket by some of the fleet who had found some pretty good action. Guatemala is great like that, there are no secrets and everybody shares information, we trolled over the bottom of the pocket and sure enough there was bait and birds working the east side, mahi's were feeding on the surface and sails free jumping with regularity. On ALLURE we saw about a 30lb bull mahi mahi jumping with exhaustion as a 500lb+ marlin chased it down and after several attempts engulfed the worn out mahi. What a sight! We rigged up a 15lb mahi as live bait soon after with no luck though crushed the sails in the afternoon as we got into the bite. After lunch, just before 1300 we had just 5 sailfish releases and by lines out at before 1600 we had released 30 sails from 48 bites and boated a couple of nice mahi mahi with the Thomas Stephenson group from Wyoming. The other boats working the same area raised a few blues though none were released, let's hope they are a bit more aggresive in the spread tomorrow. The boats that ended up way out to the west experienced some reasonable blue marlin fishing though less sailfish action. This has how things have panned out the last week or so:

Mike Marshall into a blue on ALLURE.
January 2nd through 4th we hosted the Pacific Fins based 'Chesapeak' group with 3 rotating anglers for the 3 days. This group normally fish Cabo San Lucas, though with the great accomodations and hospitality, not to forget the incredible fishing, have decided to re-book Guatemala as their annual fishing trip. On ALLURE alone 35 sails from 51 bites were released along with some big mahi's to 30lbs boated. The action was about the same accross the board for the other boats with the exception of a 250lb blue released by the Captain Hook.


Photo by Mike Shores of Toby Solis' live-bait caught marlin.

December 30th-Jan 1st ALLURE shareowner Hill Dishman was joined by his wife Donelle and their friends. The fishing was great with 14 releases out of 21 bites on day one. The group started on the Jupiter on the 31st getting a couple of sails and finished the day on ALLURE, we left the dock at 1330 and fished just 5NM off the beach releasing 4 sails and boating a nice mahi. On our last day out the fishing picked up off-shore with 17 out of 21 bites. After spending New Years Eve on the coast enjoying an incredible firework dispaly the group finished up in Antigua for a great dinner at Panza Verde and the beautiful accomodations of Vista Real. Antigua has to be experienced while on any fishing trip to Guatemala!
January 2nd and 3rd, Hill Dishman, after deciding to stay on a couple more days, fished solo with Capt/Mate Richard Bowan on the 31ft Jupiter had a great time releasing 5 from 7 in close and out wide on the edge 12 sailfish from 14 bites respectively....good numbers.

December 27th and 28th ALLURE co-owner Craig Johnson introduced his family to Guatemala for a couple of days of great fishing. On day one after a late start the group enjoyed typical Guatemalan conditions, flat seas and plenty of billfish action! 13 sails released from 20 bites and some mahi's to boot. The next day on ALLURE we stayed in a bit closer as the bite from the previous day moved further off-shore. There were a bunch of big mahi's caught today with 8 from 12 bites, all the fish were in the 20lb to 30lb weight range! They also released 9 from 12 sailfish bites before hitting the dock early.

Guatemala 25-Dec, 2008 Fishing Report

---

The sailfish fishing here in Guatemala changes after the second week of December. Good numbers have been reported as 20 sails in the spread per boat to 50 bites in the last couple days, fishing an average of 5 or 6 boats per day.

I went out aboard the LA PENULTIMA as the captain, we run more of 25 miles without finding clear or blue water, finally we find the blue water in the 30 miles to 170 degrees from the Puerto Quetzal about 9:00 am. We fish for about 30 minutes and have a 125 lbs marlin bite in the flat line butt the mate sancocho with the medium size ballyhoo, after that we pass more than 1 hr without a bite.

10:30 am we raised 6 sails in the spread and hook 4 in the same time, we release the 4 sailsfish – a good start…

…last night I got a report that the CAÑASO had over 35 sails within the spread only 4 teaser in the water because they have Tony Luduvico taking pictures and video.

The DROP IT release 35 sails yesterday from more of 55 bites, another 2 boats caught 25 sails. >>> Filed by Sancocho (La Penultima)

You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation.

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.

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.

Catch Report 2/Guatemala - December 2008

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.

Catch Report/Guatemala - December 2008

My buddy Jeff just got back from a 4 day sailfishing trip in Guatemala. He said the fishing was sick. Here are a few pics they got that he said I could share with you guys. I am still salavating after looking at them for the 5th time.

My favorite one is when they had a 350 lb black marlin on and they were backing the boat on him because he got tail wrapped, look at all the water in the boat and the mate with the bucket. If that doesn't get your juices flowing, I don't know what will. (Posted by Onemoredrift on Noreast.com, Dec. 12, 2008).

You can visit www.rodsandreelssportfishing.com to learn more about fishing in Guatemala or to make a reservation.

Fish Report to December 20th

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 on the short left teaser. 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 town. 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 to try for tunas and a marlin......so we left the sailfish bite looking for spinner dolphin and the yellowfin tunas. We found two big groups of spinners through the day though the tuna weren't on the bite unfortunately. At the end of the day we found lots of bait including big blue runners and bonitos busting around a log so we tried live baiting a couple of bonito tunas on the birds working the area 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 stand-up 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.

Dec 12-13th Chief Tauzin brought down clients Whitt Broussard and Joe Pappenfort for a couple of days aboard ALLURE. The fishing previous to this trip had been good though a cold front that pushed in a 20knt ENE wind changed things and the fish were not biting all that good. We did get 6 sail releases from 8 bites and caught a bunch of good sized dodado/mahi-mahi to keep the action going. All in all they guys had a blast down here and Chief is due to come back down in January with Whitt also planning a return trip early in the next year.

Dec 8th-11th. The Mike Marshall organized group consisting of himself and 3 generations of the Bockmon family with Alan and his sons Greg, Steve and Jeff and Jeff's son 13 year Ryan. The group split between the two boats ALLURE and super panga QUE VELA with Capt Tom Boice for the 4 fishing days. They came down to Guatemala with 3 coolers planning to take home as much mahi-mahi and tuna fillets that they could and they weren't let down. The mahi's were biting good with well over 20 doarado landed, all in the 15 to 25lb+ weight range. We also got into some small yellowfin tuna and of course the billfishing was good especially the last two days. Alot of goals were achieved on this trip with everyone of the group catching their first sailfish with Greg Bockmon getting a horse of a 150lb sail on the first day out with Tom on QUE VELA. They all caught multiple sails on the baits and keen fly-fisherman Alan really only wanted one on the flyrod, on his last day on ALLURE we got him a beauty that tested his indurance though after a hard 20min workout he landed the big fish. On the previous day Alan also landed a 20lb mahi-mahi on the fly while fishing with Tom on QUE VELA. Young Ryan as well as releasing the first sail of the trip after just 10mins of fishing on ALLURE, achieved his goal in landing a 20lb rooster fish while fishing inshore on QUE VELA. Mike Marshall's goal was to beat his previous biggest fish, a 320lb yellowfin tuna, on day 3 while fishing aboard ALLURE he got his wish with a solid 350lb blue marlin. It was a spectacular bite on the pitched mackeral off the short right teaser that left everyone on board open mouthed in awe of the speed and power of the fat blue. Mike did well with the Black Magic stand-up gear and we got the fish boat-side after a hard 45min fight. We raised 3 blues in the 4 days getting the one release from 2 bites with the other spitting the hook as it came jumping toward the boat. QUE VELA also raised 2 blues though did not get the bite out of either of the fish. Congratulations all round, it was a fantastic trip for the group from California with lots of billfish action and 3 coolers full of fresh iced down fish to take home!

Previous to this ALLURE owners Craig Johnson and Hill Dishman showed their skill going 11 from 12 bites while here on a short trip. Also the Jupiter took out a local group for a half day of fishing and released an est 250lb blue, a couple of sails and landed 4 dorado.....not bad for a half day with the boat being back at the dock for 12.30!! The Jupiter and ALLURE have availability through January and into April and May. Contact Rods and Reels for more info on how to charter either of these proven fish catching boats.

Guatemala Fishing Report dec 15

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.

November 2008, Preisdential Challenge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE OF GUATEMALA
PRESENTED BY INGUAT

THREE IS A CHARM FOR A-FIN-ITY

DECISIVE SWEEPS FINAL TWO ’08 PCCA EVENTS

WHERE: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
WHEN: November 21-22-23, 2008
TEAMS: 10 teams/30 anglers
CATCH: 210 sailfish/1 black marlin/1 blue marlin

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
210 Sailfish / 1 Blue Marlin/1 Black Marlin
ALL ON CIRCLE HOOKS!
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

THE 2009 PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE CONSERVATION SERIES KICKS OFF
MARCH 20-21-22, 2009
IN CARRILLO, COSTA RICA

Guatemala Fishing Report NOV 20

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.