[whiterhino]

I recently made a trip to Guatemala for some fishing. The west coast of Guatemala has some of the best sail fishing in the world. We had 4 guys who went down and stayed at a private fishing lodge in the sleepy little town of Iztapa. http://www.bluebayouguatemala.com/

Over the course of 3 days on the water we caught 28 sail fish, 5 yellow tuna and 5 Dorado's. (commonly called Mahi Mahi) Each day started with coffee @ 5:30, breakfast @ 6:00, leave for the boat @ 6:30 and be leaving the dock at 7:00. We were on the water all day and back to the docks around 5:00 pm.

Blue Bayou does it right. We were met at the airport by their driver who spoke perfect English. We piled into a van that had a cooler filled with good beverages including local beer and rum. :beerbang: Then a 2 hour drive to the coast. The lodge is located in a guarded/gated community. 6 bedrooms, a pool and a canal side thatched eating area. Each meal was prepared on site by a couple great cooks and were different each day. Lunch on the boat was awesome and each day on our return to the docks we were served fresh sushi from the day's catch. When we returned from fishing, we hopped in the pool and were served drinks and finger food @ poolside. Then dinner and drinks in the evening.
pics to follow

 

[Lousypirate]

I recently made a trip to Guatemala for some fishing. The west coast of Guatemala has some of the best sail fishing in the world. We had 4 guys who went down and stayed at a private fishing lodge in the sleepy little town of Iztapa. http://www.bluebayouguatemala.com/

Over the course of 3 days on the water we caught 28 sail fish, 5 yellow tuna and 5 Dorado's. (commonly called Mahi Mahi) Each day started with coffee @ 5:30, breakfast @ 6:00, leave for the boat @ 6:30 and be leaving the dock at 7:00. We were on the water all day and back to the docks around 5:00 pm.

Blue Bayou does it right. We were met at the airport by their driver who spoke perfect English. We piled into a van that had a cooler filled with good beverages including local beer and rum. :beerbang: Then a 2 hour drive to the coast. The lodge is located in a guarded/gated community. 6 bedrooms, a pool and a canal side thatched eating area. Each meal was prepared on site by a couple great cooks and were different each day. Lunch on the boat was awesome and each day on our return to the docks we were served fresh sushi from the day's catch. When we returned from fishing, we hopped in the pool and were served drinks and finger food @ poolside. Then dinner and drinks in the evening.
pics to follow

Sounds like a great time, Jim!

Went 70 miles out from Puerto Vallarta 2 years ago, was doing fine until we stopped to jig for tuna. I have an equilibrium problem when my balance goes out of phase with the boat and I have to lie down until we get back under power.

Fought a 5' tuna for 3 hours (the other guys did) before it broke off...

Looking forward to pictures! Dorado is on my bucket list, which is pretty short for saltwater fishing

 

[whiterhino]

Lunch on the boat

Dolphins all around. They were a highlight to the trip.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[whiterhino]

We were out anywhere from 20-50 miles. I've never had a problem with getting sick on the water. The first day was almost dead calm (see pics of dolphins) and the last day was pretty rough with 4 foot rollers. That gets interesting when trying to stand up and fight a fish while the captain is trying to maneuver the boat. LOL
We had multiple fish on occasions and at one time we had 4 sailfish on and landed them all. It's important to note that all sail fish are catch and release, even for a trophy fish. I've got lots of video and other pics on my good camera but it would take effort to upload them.

 

[JohnnyJ]

Cool pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lousypirate]

We were out anywhere from 20-50 miles. I've never had a problem with getting sick on the water. The first day was almost dead calm (see pics of dolphins) and the last day was pretty rough with 4 foot rollers. That gets interesting when trying to stand up and fight a fish while the captain is trying to maneuver the boat. LOL
We had multiple fish on occasions and at one time we had 4 sailfish on and landed them all. It's important to note that all sail fish are catch and release, even for a trophy fish. I've got lots of video and other pics on my good camera but it would take effort to upload them.

There was only like 2-3 foot waves, but there were huge tuna netting boats (6 or 7 of them) trying to net schools of tuna that were making a funny cross chop. Couple that with huge rollers (like 15-20', but the period was like a half mile or more) and it makes for some balance issues for me. This was on a 24' twin engine center console with a fairly narrow beam.

The guys running the boat thought it was crazy, as soon as they got the boat up over 5ish mph, I jumped right up and was fine the whole ride back. I get the same thing on lk mi trolling for salmon/trout. I just pick my days to go or not go. Same for sea duck hunting.

Was in islamorada last feb, was fine on a 35' boat with a 16' beam. I just stayed on the main deck and below, didn't go up to the flyway for more than a few minutes to check out some schooling fish in the distance. Ginger hasn't helped, but drinking powerade to get the potassium seems to help.

 

[SHARPMACHINE]

Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing your information.

 

[greygoose]

Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing your information.

:thumb: Agreed. Thank you!

 

[frdboy]

Looks like an awesome trip, thanks for sharing!

I lived near Punta Gorda, Belize for almost 3 years when I was a kid, all we did was fish. Lived on the Rio Grand river and then right on the Caribbean. Put a motorhome on the beach via barge... no road access. I would love to go back sometime and revisit it.

 

[shawn]

That looks like an amazing time, how sweet!

 

[whiterhino]

This was my morning coffee. Note the volcano 30 miles away.

There are several volcanos in the area. This one is always smoking.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Lousypirate]

Looks like an awesome trip, thanks for sharing!

I lived near Punta Gorda, Belize for almost 3 years when I was a kid, all we did was fish. Lived on the Rio Grand river and then right on the Caribbean. Put a motorhome on the beach via barge... no road access. I would love to go back sometime and revisit it.

sounds like a childhood dream.

I spent whole days across the street all summer at the creek. when we moved to a small lake I was on it daily for years.

 

[srlbotanical]

Cool Trip!

 

[Bones]

outstanding

 

[jthomp]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bones]

So how did this trip come to be? bucket list? Group of friends that always goes on trips together? What gives? I don't picture you as a big charter fisherman (or fisherman in general) so I'm curious what the motivation was for the trip.

 

[whiterhino]

I went as a guest of my boss. You are correct, this was not a bucket list trip for me. However, it was certainly a lot of fun and I'm glad to have had the experience.

For me, the fishing was not the highlight of the trip. Rather, the spinner dolphins were. Each day we came across a pod of dolphins and when we got close, they would rush the boat much as a pack of puppies would run to greet you. It was like "hey, our buddy is here, let's go play" On the first day (when it was calm) they stayed with us for close to an hour. There were HUNDREDS around us along with a big flock of sea birds. It was simply amazing. I've got tons of video and am going to make my first attempt at creating a youtube video. It should be out in the next 6 months. LOL

As per being a fisherman, I grew up going into Canada north of Lake Superior every year for about 15 years straight fishing for Northerns. I also grew up on a lake and did my share of pan fish fishing, which I still do most springs with my Dad. I have tons of fishing gear and should probably get back at it.

 

[tweak]

This is awesome - thanks for sharing your trip Jim!

 

[chevotass]

A+

very cool trip

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I just bought my license last night. Got the boat and dock in this past weekend. Excited for a good year on the water! Hopefully find some big fish, too