Fish Report through March 20th...

Tom Preston's small blue on 30lb test
March 12th-13th John Lindley came back for his second visit this year, this time with son's Joseph and Justin and good fishing buddy Tom Preston. Fishing was still a little tough by Guatemalan standards though they all got into a bit of action releasing 4 sailfish, a feisty little blue of around 140lbs for Tom and boating 3 nice mahi-mahi. A good effort and a good time had by the Lindley group.

Justin Lindley with his sail...

March 14th we welcomed back Martin Harrison, this time with his family, wife Carolyn and son Arron. They were down for a Spring Break excursion which included a day's fishing, some time in Antigua, a couple of nights at Lake Atitlan and visiting the Mayan ruins in Tikal. To the fishing and and from 8 sailfish raised they caught 2 from 4 bites, raised a blue that did not bite and caught 2 nice sized mahi.

Martin and Arron, great mahi and sails..



Monday the 15th we welcomed the Johnson clan for their Spring Break vacations here at the Sailfish Oasis and a couple of days fishing aboard both boats. Todd Johnson and family did well releasing 8 sails from 13 bites, boating a nice mahi and raised a nice marlin in excess of 400lbs that pushed alot of water although swiping at the bait a couple of times the big fish did not eat the pitched mackerel. Craig and crew released 6 sails, caught a couple of nice mahi's and got into some good tuna action boating 5 yellowfin for fresh sushimi and and sushi rolls back at the lodge.

Todd and son's also enjoyed a round of golf at the beautiful La Reunion Golf Course on the side of Volcan Fuego and a few days in Antigua with the whole family.

March 19th and 20th another return visitor Chris King who last year came with his eldest son Alan came back this time with twin sons Wilson and Lee for a short Spring Break visit. They got into some good action here catching mahi's and releasing a total of 9 sailfish from 12 bites....


AS previously mentioned the bite is not what it had been up till a couple of weeks ago, not what we are used to here in Guatemala, the El Nino is perhaps leaving it's effects felt. We had good fishing up till early/mid March so we expect things to turn around again. What we consider slow is still good bill-fishing comparatively so we are looking forward to the next month. Right now there is some reasonable action out there and the marlin are starting to show up more as we slide into April, more reports to follow with both boats fishing the next few days before a short Easter break.

March 1st-8th 2010

Team 'Senior Citizens' Tom Bender, Tom Hudson, David Johnson and Earl Long.

March 1st we welcomed to Guatemala for their first visit Tom and Dina Bender and Tom and Mimi Hudson who were down visiting with the Johnson's and the Long's......Team Long Johnson consisted of the Seniors Mr David and Sally Johnson and Mr Earl and Betty Ann Long, along with sons (owner) Craig and Clayton Johnson and Forrest and Bennett Long. The Seniors fished with us aboard ALLURE while the Juniors fished ADIOS with Capt Julio. The wives enjoyed their stay visiting Antigua, shopping, seeing the sights and enjoying great lunches at Casa Santa Domingo while returning each night to the Sailfish Oasis.
First day out it was a matter of finding them, and it didn't take long for the crew on ADIOS to get into the action with a sailfish and then a strike on the rigger bait for Craig Johnson which turned out to be a nice blue marlin of around 200lbs. On the 20lb tackle it was quite a battle though Craig got the release in a little under an hour. It was a slow start for us in ALLURE though after working to the east we found some reasonable action and Tom Bender and Tom Hudson were into it and had the technique down in a short matter of time missing only a few fish, we ended the day with 7 releases from 10 bites and a nice mahi-mahi for Earl Long while on ADIOS the guys had the marlin and 3 from 5 bites on the sailfish.

Earl Long with his beauty mahi.
The next day in flat seas we knew where to run and started getting into the fish right off the bat. A steady morning saw the Snr's dropping back and hooking up like pro's, things slowed down some in the middle of the day though we got into some good action in the afternoon with a few multiples coming into the spread. A great day for the guys to finish their trip with 16 releases from 24 bites and a couple of nice mahi's. On ADIOS the action was hot in the middle of the day though slowed down in the afternoon and released 8 from the 16 bites from the 20 sailfish raised. A good day all 'round. The next day the Snr's left to Antigua for a couple of days while the ADIOS went out for another day. They kept their red-hot marlin streak up raising another blue that didn't bite and released another 8 sailfish and landed a nice mahi of around 35lbs.

On the 5th we welcomed Bruce Aikens and good friend Scott Adams from Michigan to Guatemala for 4 days of fly-fishing. You got to tell it how it is and the fishing turned off unfortunately for their stay here, we tried like hell and covered alot of water for little action. On their first day we worked up the eastern edge though could not get a fish to tease in, late in the afternoon we ran to where the guys on baits found a little late in the day bite and decided to change to conventional fishing with the baits to get a little action. In the last hour and half we released 5 sails on the baits to make something from the day.

Scott Adams with one of the many sails......
The sailfish were lethargic and not even coming up on the teasers so the next day we went wide to the west and trolled the whole way down the edge looking for better action and aggressive fish. Beautiful blue water, birds, bonitos, and lots of blue runners were busting though we only raised one sail that did not tease in. The guys fishing baits back to the east had a little action going though it was very slow fishing all round. Back on the baits the next day we raised 4 sails and released 2. For the final day it was back in the fly and we worked hard to raise 4 sails, 2 teased all the way to the back of the boat and we got one to bite the fly. It is what it is and sometimes it turns like that. We still had a great time with Bruce and Scott even though the fishing was tough and the guys humor helped to ease the pain. It was hard work for the whole fleet out there though there were a few marlin seen so it looks like the marlin bite maybe on the turn as it traditionally gets better through the spring and into summer. Right now there is plenty of great water and the current is pushing in so we are expecting things to turn around soon. No worries!!

Fish Report through February 27th

The Jimmy Thompson organized group out of Lafayette, Louisiana has just come through Guatemala fishing 2 days February 26th and 27th on both ALLURE and ADIOS and enjoying a few nights and the SAILFISH OASIS. The group had a great time here, with a steady sailfish bite and even a couple of blue marlin seen in the spread....

George Jordan, Bernard Habetz, Mac Moore, Alex, Albert Habetz and Chad Habetz. MIA Jimmy Thompson and Seb Patout.
A long run to the fish the first day out which was no problem for the crew on ADIOS for the day cruising at 30+knts for a bit more fishing time in the day. Flat seas and blue water meant great fishing conditions and the bite in the afternoon was pretty good. ADIOS with Capt Julio Morales found some spinner dolphin with no tunas though they did catch a nice mahi-mahi of the group and raised a nice blue of around 400lbs, pushing alot of water on the teaser though not eating the pitched mackerel. The rest of the day they had steady action releasing 11 sailfish from 16 bites. On ALLURE we had steady action right through the day though our catch to bite ratio was a bit tough with the fish not seeming to bite aggressively, still the guys on the rods did their job well and released 12 out of 23 bites.
On Saturday 27th ADIOS got off to a flyer, after another long run on flat seas they started east of the fleet and raised 3 sailfish and a blue marlin soon after putting lines in. A great bite on the pitched mackerel saw them hooked to a nice blue of around 300lbs and a sailfish for the double header. They released the sail first and Seb Patout concentrated on the marlin releasing the fish after an hour on the 50lb stand-up. Nice job Seb!! For the rest of the day they caught a few sails releasing 5 from 8 in total.

On ALLURE it was slow to steady though picked up nicely in the afternoon with a couple of triple headers adding to the 15 releases from 21 bites. We changed to the fly for the last hour of the day and raised 4 fish, though getting them to tease was tough and the one that did tease all the way in refused the fly. Worth a try though with all the bait out there it was hard to keep them on the teasers for any amount of time. A great introduction to Guatemala for the group all the same and we hope to see them back here soon!!

10th through 14th February......

From back Stefan Boden, Christian Machate, Jon Theuerkauf and Dominik and Yannick Machate.

Snr Jon 'No Sancocho' Theuaerkauf came down for his 7th annual Guatemalan excursion from Feb 12th through the 14th. Christian Machate and sons Dominik and Yannick came back for their second trip all the way from Switzerland and brought with them good friend Stefan Boden from Hamburg, Germany. It is always good to fish with regulars and they started off well, even though it took us a while to get on to the fish when we finally did the afternoon bite more than made up for the very slow morning. Jon kept up to his form from last year, when he didn't miss a fish, and showed the mates up today as well not missing a fish all day. Great job seeing he is only down once a year! For the day we raised 24 sails and released 14 from 20 bites.

Yannick with his first fish of the trip.
Things kind of slowed down for us the next day. It blew from the east and made the run and first couple of hours fishing hard work, we got into a couple of fish early though with a few blue marlin being seen out wide we went out looking and got off the sail bite. 3 from 7 bites for the day and a nice sized mahi meant going out wide and to the west the next searching for the new 'bite'. Beautiful water and bait meant high expectations, near the end of the day we finally got on to an area and raised 10 sails releasing 3 from 8 bites before having to return early to meet the guys return chopper ride to the City. Christian and Dominick got into the action on the last day trying their hand at bait and switching, they had it down and are ready for next years trip for sure.....

10th of February we welcomed long time local 'Antiguans' Korey and Linnitt Peterson along with Korey's brother Kary and friend Pete Wood, both from Washington State and down for a few weeks R&R in Guatemala. A trip to Guatemala cannot be complete without sampling whats on offer in the "Sailfish Capital of the World"......an often and deservedly repeated quote from Kary during the day. The crew had an awesome time with pretty much consistent action through the day and heating up in the afternoon to finish with a triple hook-up, two in the baits and one on the fly.....We started the day on conventional tackle and just after lunch with 14 releases under the belt we changed to the fly. the afternoon bite heated up and we teased in some red-hot sails that resulted in some incredible bites right behind the boat. The day ended with 18 from 25 bites on the bait and 4 from 7 bites on the fly. A truly memorable day for all on board.....

Korey and Linnett hooked up to a double header...

Pete Wood and his first Pacific sail.....

Kary and a billfish on the fly!!

Korey and one of the bigger fish of the day caught with his first cast of a fly rod to a sailfish....

I'll be featuring some great shots taken from Stefan Boden that the has kindly left with us in the coming weeks. Appreciate the shots Stefan!
The bite out to the west we found looked promising for the short amount of time that we were out there so we are looking forward to the next few days on the fly with Guatemala regular Jim Williams and his crew. There is still some availability in the coming months so get in touch to experience the "Sailfish Capital of the World"!!

NO SANCOCHO through 5th Feb

Last weekend January 29th through 31st saw the 2010 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout roll through Guatemala. The event was a great success and the fishing kept up right through the moon phase resulting in 525 sailfish releases from the 10 teams over 3 days of fishing. Great fishing and a great tourny though it was overheard from a few of the mates on the dock that the tournament should be renamed the "Si Sancocho".
Read on for the official tournament breakdown below our last few days report....

Straight after the No Sancocho we welcomed back Butch Barnhill and father and son team Bruce and Robert Shaw to Guatemala from the 1st through 3rd of February.

L-R, Robert and Bruce Shaw, Butch Barnhill.
The fishing kept on after the tournament and we had steady action through the day resulting in 15 releases from 24 bites, a nice "reintroduction" to Guatemala for the guys. Their second day out got off to a great start with steady sailfish action and a few big mahi's bursting into the spread as well, Bruce got himself this beauty and we had a bit of bad luck pulling hooks a few near the boat.

The sailfish were biting funky today resulting in a few more 'sancochos' than normal, still 21 releases from 34 bites meant an action packed day.
With so much sail action over the last couple of days the guys opted to work the edges looking for a blue marlin, we worked up the western edge of the pocket and out wide hunting with no success, inevitably we ended up back with the fleet just 18NM offshore where the sailfish bite was going off. Despite getting into the action late in the day we still managed 12 releases from 18 bites. A great trip for the guys and we look forward to seeing you back here soon!!
On Friday the 5th we spent the day with Mike Callahan, Chris Seabald and Jose Steadman, the bite had slowed a little so we worked the eastern edge looking for the 'bite'. It looked great out there with birds, small bonitos and dolphin everywhere, we had flurries of action including a great blue marlin bite for Jose that we had on for a while before the bad luck struck and the hook pulled. We raised 14 sails for the day and released 7 from 11 bites.
All in all the fishing this year has been great and continues to be right now, we have a couple of days in and are back out again and steady through the month. There are still some openings scattered through the coming months so get in touch for more details. Read on for the official tournament report....

Here is the recap of the 2010 No Sancocho:

Day one started out with high expectations………some heads hurting for the Opening Ceremonies party at Casa Vieja the night before, and those expectations were met with a total of 213 sailfish released on Day One. The seas were calm, the water was blue, and the sailfish were snapping. All day long the radio was abuzz with releases being radioed in to the Committee Boat. It was a dogfight all day between Decisive, Rum Line, and Yo No Cuido but when the dust settled it was Rum Line taking the Day Money with 32 releases, followed by Decisive with 31 releases, and Yo No Cuido (aboard Circle Hook) with 30 releases. Rum Line pocketed $5,800 in day money, Decisive knocked down $1,500, and the Circle Hookers aboard the Allure where able to spot the first whale of the tourney, so they took the $400 whale pot. Chris Sheeder put $400 in his pocket for Top Captain on Day 1, and Brad Philipps won $200 for second place. Here is how it looked after Day 1:



Rum Line 320

Decisive 310

Yo No Cuido (Circle Hook) 300

Reel Nasty (Finest Kind) 200

Circle Hookers (Allure) 190

Four Fat Boys (Intensity) 180

Los Menirosos (Canaso) 170

Club No Minor (Release) 150

Team Penguino (Pelagian) 150

Tenacious (Adios) 130



Day 2 the bite slowed down just a little for everyone. Teams were allowed to fish baits only, which awarded 10 points for a released sailfish until 12:00 noon. At that time, the fly became optional and a sail released on the fly was worth 20 points, with an additional 5 point bonus if the fish was billed and the fly successfully retrieved. It was as close as it could get for Day 2 pot money, however the Circle Hookers made a charge late in the day releasing 4 sails on the fly. When the lines out call came at 3:30 the Circle Hookers had held off Team Decisive and Team Rum Line to take $4,200 worth of day money with a total of 240 points edging Decisive who had 230 points, and Rum Line who had 225 points. Chris “Kiwi” van Leeuwen took home the Top Captain pot, and Philipps took home the second place Top Captain’s money. Team Decisive’s second place finish on Day 2 was worth $2,700. The overall lead saw Team Rum Line holding the top spot, but with a very, very slim 5 point lead over Team Decisive. Yo No Cuido was in 3rd, and Circle Hookers moved up one spot to 4th. Perhaps the biggest shock of the day was at the Gringo vs Guatemalan soccer game at the local school. We handed out clothes and toys to the local kids, and then had a heated soccer match that saw the Gringos tie the Guatemalans 2-2. The first time the Gringos have ever come close in this match. The standings looked like this after Day 2.



Day 1 Day 2 TOTAL

Team Rum Line 320 225 545

Team Decisive 310 230 540

Yo No Cuido (Circle Hook) 300 140 440

Circle Hookers (Allure) 190 240 430

Club No Minor (Release) 150 185 335

Reel Nasty (Finest Kind) 200 120 320

Four Fat Boys (Intensity) 180 120 300

Los Menirosos (Canaso) 170 110 280

Team Penguino (Pelagian) 150 100 250

Tenacious (Adios) 130 30 160



Day 3 many it boiled down to a two team race for the top spot and a two team race for third place. The boats headed out a little further than the previous two days. There was a $600 consolation pot on line today for the bottom 5 teams after Day 2 results. Day 3 teams had the option of fishing the fly, the baits, or a combination of the two. The fishing started out hot and Decisive and Rum Line were constantly calling in releases. It was a see-saw battle between these boats all day. At the 1:30 pm update given by the Committee Boat, amazingly both teams were exactly tied with 805 points. With two hours left, it was anyone’s guess who would win the top prize. Rum Line quickly called in a release to take the lead, but Decisive answered right back with a double…..one released on the baits and one released on the fly. It was a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the tourney. Decisive went on to capture the 2010 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout, and also picked up some hefty day money. They ended up with 370 points on Day 3, followed by Rum Line with 320 points. Their victory earned them $15,400 for first place in the Calcutta pot, and also an additional $5,800 in day money on Day 3. Rum Line took home $6,600 in Calcutta winnings, and also $1,500 in day money on Day 3. Canaso and Team Los Menirosos finished strong on Day 3 and took the Consolation Pot for $600. Yo No Cuido and the Circle Hookers finished in a dead heat for third. Philipps took home $400 for top captain on Day 3, and Haole pocketed $200 for second place captain on Day 3. For the tournament the ten teams released 525 sailfish on the baits, and 34 on the fly in the three day tourney. Decisive and Rum Line tied for the most releases on the baits with 73. Circle Hookers and Allure had the most releases on the fly with 9. At the award ceremony Sunday night at Casa Vieja….the cherished Rich Smith Memorial “No Sancocho” Game ball was awarded to my friend Antonio Valdez. What a deserving recipient. Also, each team had to contribute $20 per missed bite (sancocho) to the Sancocho Pot, and we were able to raise $5,800 for the local school to help pay for books and supplies to these kids, who would otherwise be left without. Congratulations to Team Rum Line for their second place finish….Jim Turner, Rick Murphy, and Juan Cruz Anon, and also to Captain Chris Sheeder. Congratulations to Team Decisive…..Steve Cothron, Scott Lund, and Harvey Steinhagen and also to the Captain of the Decisive Brad Philipps….Champions of the 2010 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout.



Final Standings looked like this:



Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 TOTAL

Team Decisive 310 230 370 910
Team Rum Line 320 225 320 865

Circle Hookers (Allure) 190 240 230 660

Yo No Cuido (Circle Hook) 300 140 220 660

Los Mentirosos (Canaso) 170 110 305 585

Four Fat Boys (Intensity) 180 120 260 560

Reel Nasty (Finest Kind) 200 120 210 530

Club No Minor (Release) 150 185 165 500

Team Penguino (Pelagian) 150 100 140 390

Tenacious (Adios) 130 30 40 200

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......

Guatemala Dec 11th-16th '09

Jean Mark "Giallo" as the sun sets on a great day off-shore fishing aboard "ADIOS"

December 16th and we had the UN aboard ADIOS with Jean Mark "Giallo" representing Europe/Guatemala, Javier Burga from Peru and Craig Jull from New Zealand joining us on an off-shore excursion in the hunt for yellow-fin tunas. Things looked promising from the get go when we found a small group of white belly dolphin working bait. Tunas were busting on the bait though not the size we were hoping and we caught a 25lb tuna and about a 30lb mahi-mahi off them. From there we covered area and near the end of the day had good action raising 11 sailfish, releasing 6 from 7 bites, we also missed a stripped marlin, raised a good sized blue that didn't bite and caught 6 yellow-fin tunas off a small group of spinner dolphin. A great day on the water on the go fast ADIOS, a 38' Jupiter with triple 250HP 4 stroke Yamaha's. The perfect boat to get out to the deep water fast and enjoy more fishing time in the day.

December 13th-15th. Welcome back to Guatemala Carl Lehner, this time joined by his lovely wife Sandra for 3 days of fly-fishing aboard ALLURE. The fishing was kind of slow, especially for December which has been traditionally one of the better months of the year. Carl continued on his good form from his last trips down though, missing very few fish on the fly, day one we raised 12 sails got 5 of them to tease in and bite the fly and Carl released 4. With 2 of these fish being on the + side of a 100lb's it was a good start to the trip.

Carl Lehner with the smaller of the 2 big girls for the day.
On the 14th we returned to the same area about 35NM off-shore though it was tough today, we raised 6 sails and teasing them in was hard work, we did manage to get 2 bites and released 1 on the fly. Hard work for the whole fleet today with beautiful water though not much going on anywhere.
15th we ran to the middle of the pocket and covered as much area as we could. It paid off and in the latter part of the day we raised a couple of doubles, some red hot fish that you love to see while on the fly and Carl had another great day with the averages going 2 from 3 out of the 7 sails raised. Sandra got into the action today releasing her first sailfish on the fly as well. Kind of slow, though still better than most destinations in the world with 25 sails raised and 7 released from 10 bites. Carl and Sandra had a great stay here in Guatemala, enjoying the first class facilities and a wonderful last night at Antigua's El Convento and we hope to see them back in the near future. Thanks for the e-mail Carl:

Dear Chris and Liz
Sandra and I had a great time. The new Lodge was great, it was a delightful, private, quiet tropical retreat. The food was wonderful, probably the best I've ever had one of these trips. The fishing was a bit slow but Chris managed to find the fish nonetheless, and I believe we were the top boat at least two out of the three days we fished. Chris has a great crew, they do all the real work. All I had to do was throw out the flies and then hang on for the ride. BTW Sailfish are wonderful, they are the only fish I know it will throw a fly and then go back and take it again while you reel it in.
Thanks again for a great trip,
best regards,
Carl and Sandra

December 11th and 12th welcomed back regular Chief Tauzin with guests Andre Fuetch and for his second visit to Guatemala Josh Fink. Our first day with them could only be described as a day of two halves, before lunch we raised 8 sails and released 0 from 6 bites. You'd hope that things could only get better, and after a great fresh mahi mahi burger for lunch, things did with the guys releasing 6 from 7 bites in the afternoon session to save the day. Nice comeback!!
On the 12th we went out wide and after a slow morning came across one of the biggest groups of spinner dolphin that I have seen out here, there were spinners from horizon to horizon and we soon came to an area where the group tightened and the birds working. From there on in was pretty much non-stop yellow-fin tuna action and with 14 tunas aboard we decided enough, rigging the last 2 as live-baits we tried for a marlin for sometime as to the west of us on another group of spinners Capt "Haole" Chris Sheeder witnessed a blue marlin tossing around a small yellow-fin before engulfing it. No luck for us though and we went back to trying to catch out first sail for the day. We ended up raising 6 sails, releasing 1 from 5 bites and plenty of fresh sashimi aboard.

Andre Fuetch and Josh Fink.

The last day out there on ADIOS was promising with plenty of life seen at the end of the day, most boats headed where we were on Thursday and encountered marlin and had better action on the sails as well. Things are on the turn here and we are looking forward to fishing straight after Christmas and through into the New Year. Happy Holidays to everyone, and get in touch with us if you have any queries at all.
Kiwi

Fishing Report Dec 4th-7th

Flat seas and great fishing has been the theme here in Guatemala the past few days, both Adios and Allure were out there. On Allure we hosted Dave Valtierra's fishing show 'Inshore Fishing with Super Dave', who broke away from the inshore fishing to experience some great offshore action for 3 days.

First up on the 7th we fished with part of a group traveling Central America who stopped in Guatemala for a few days, Scott Emery, Dallas Davidson, Nick Wright and Chris King joined us for one day of fishing. Chris King organizes the big money tournaments Sailfish Cup and World Championship out of the Miami Beach and the Key West every year. It was a late start for the group who flew in late the night before, we left the dock at 0900 and after running 24NM to the SE put lines in at 1000. It wasn't long before the action started with the fish mostly coming up in multiples, only 4 singles out of the 17 releases from 21 bites, the rest in doubles, a triple and a quad. We also boated 3 nice mahi-mahi before pulling lines in early a little after 2pm and heading back to the dock. A great day out for the guys and congratulations to Nick who not only caught his first ever sailfish, though 2nd through 5th as well....

Dec 4th-6th we had a group of 9 staying down at the Sailfish Oasis enjoying the great setting and food along with awesome fishing. Both boats were out, on Adios owner Craig Johnson was joined by friends Don Milner, Steve Goodchild and Chris Collins, on Allure, as previously mentioned we fished with Dave Valtierra and his camera crew and co host Leroy Gonzales and Tony De Hoyos III along with Allure co-owner Hill Dishman.
First day out Adios ran out wide finding green water before heading back in and to the east, they eventually found a great bite about 33NM from the marina and had steady action for the rest of the day releasing 18 from 22 bites from the 26 raises and a nice 30lb mahi. On Allure we found a few fish to the east though 14NM out and although hearing the better action out wide elected to stay with the pick that we were on and it paid off, a few misses has to be expected with the sharp learning curve though the crew got some great footage, both above and below the water with 11 releases from 21 bites and a nice mahi.

With all the great conventional action from the previous day we changed to the fly and returned to the same area, after a quick briefing on how it is done on the fly we raised a red hot double, Dave hooked the first and mate Alex the second, both on the fly.....a great start! From there on in the fish were a little finiky and we tried on the fly though pitched baits back to the ones that wouldn't tease. Still a great day with 24 raised and 4 from 7 on the fly and 7 from 10 on the baits. There were a lot of fish around today on the surface tailing in pairs and groups though very hard to get them into the spread. Adios made the most of the ones that came in releasing 8 from 15 bites.
Things slowed some the last day, a small front pushed through making a chop on the water and the boats spread out looking as the fish seemed to have gone down. Adios went west and off-shore and ended with 4 from 5 bites, on Allure we stuck with the fly and east, though heading off-shore more than the previous days, it was a slow start for us though the afternoon picked up, we raised 12 sails, though getting them to tease and bite the fly was hard work, we did release 1 from 3 on the fly and 3 from 4 on the bait as we pitched back again to the lazy ones. A great trip was had by all and the camera crew were excited by all the footage accumulated over the 3 days, all commented on the outstanding facilities and food at Sailfish Oasis and we are all looking forward to the up-coming season. The fishing picked up again on Monday as previously mentioned and is good out there right now.
We still have openings so get in touch for the trip of a lifetime on either of our boats and a great stay at Sailfish Oasis....