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We went fishing in Guatemala and (nearly) caught a submarine !!


This Guatemala fishing report is for the week ending
May 10 2009 and is prepared by The Great Sailfishing Company
operating out of the new Pez Vela Marina.

It is on days such as we have endured recently that we are thankful for not only moderately fast (22knots +) boats, but also for the calm seas and heavy hull that sometimes are able to make the trek out 50 miles to decent blue water seem like an extension of the comfortable queen sized beds we abandoned at the villa not more than an hour before.
With moon come the currents. Sometimes they work for you, often they conspire to push the blue water out almost beyond reasonable reach. We tried lines in our first day out at just 20 miles, although the water was more grey than blue (at least not green !). The fishing could best be described as slow – a couple of raises and half-hearted bites from sailfish and one to the stern; time to get on the radio and check the scorecard with the other half of the team that went out another 20 miles or so.
By all accounts they were doing slightly better, but not really a strong enough bite to warrant another hour (each way) run and then have one a couple of hours decent trolling time when we got there. Seemed like a much more sensible plan was to switch some small feathers and plastics into the spread in the hope of catching some dinner for the evening (or the next few evenings !)

It’s amazing sometimes how just a tiny blemish on the vast ocean is enough to attract large predators – when I saw the captain idly troll by a piece of wood that couldn’t have been more than 2feet long, the reaction was immediate. Out from somewhere deep below (or at least deep enough that my Costas couldn’t penetrate to), the big bull dolphin charged the ballyhoo on the long rigger and we hooked up to what turned out to be a 38lb bull Dorado. No more worries about dinner for the rest of the week then.

The next morning we made a quick decision to be patient – and if running 50 miles was what it took to raise fish, that is what we were going to do. Maybe by the time we got back to the dock, fuel prices would have come down………

Sure enough it took 47 miles under the hull of the Bertram before we found deep blue water and we slowed to trolling speed and the riggers went out.
I’d like to report that we were appropriately rewarded by nonstop action for our efforts – but by Guatemala standards, we had a lot of “beer time”…….which is ok in the afternoon, but Gallo with cornflakes just doesn’t cut it. The bite was certainly better and consistent – we and other boats were consistently raising double digit sailfish with the odd Blue (and Black) marlin thrown in.
We tried different ranges with groups over the next few days, and the story (at least) was consistent; the further out, the better the bite. One day the “Reel Diver” ventured out nearly 60 miles in the hope of “fishgold”, and found good action. Other boats from the fleet followed her out, but didn’t find much to report until rendezvous. Late morning the (small) fleet was buzzed for about an hour by a US Coastguard C130. We have experienced this before when we have been moving boats up the Pacific Coast for relocation – I guess anything moving out there becomes a “target of interest” until demonstrated otherwise.
Reading up on it later in the week, I came across very recent articles that recounted stories and reports of “narco-subs” having been spotted and in some cases apprehended by the Coasties. Coming up from Columbia en route to San Diego or Mexico, these guys are now travelling in “home grown” submarines using bales for ballast and hope for navigation. While reports mostly place them 300+ miles off the coast of Guatemala (look at the geography when you join a straight line !), it is understandable that the C130 would be interested in anything that moved (or not) en route to a patrol area off Panama and Costa Rica.

We only came back with a couple of flags flying and some more good sized Dorado in the cooler. Works for me every time !


Read our latest blog entry here with more about the fishing for submarines

We are still fishing hard, but have availability going forward – so if you are considering a trip, now is a great time to go. Please call us at 1-877-763-0851 or email me at kevin@GreatSailfishing.com


Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week:

"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." ~ Doug Larson

Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim
The GreatSailfishing Company

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