Guatemala Fishing report April 28th 2008

Overall, we have had a great spell over the last few weeks of consistently strong numbers of billfish raised day after day. The only downside has been that the blue water has been consistent as well - hovering between 40 and 50 miles offshore. This makes for a long run in the early morning and evening, but a small sacrifice to have to make for the great fishing to be enjoyed. We have had a few exciting episodes over the last couple of weeks; mixed in with the concentrations of Sailfish have been good numbers of Marlin, some as large as we have seen in Guatemalan waters. Steve Robinson came down with his group, one of whom had never caught a saltwater fish, never mind a billfish ! First day John (that angler !) easily made that hurdle, catching and releasing a feisty Sailfish early in the day. Now he could relax ? Not so……second day out, lines in the water, a marlin bite on the flatline and John was in the seat. A good hookup, and the captain estimated a good fish in the 500lb class – unfortunately it had chosen to bite on the 25lb class gear, and was now firmly attached to a Shimano TLD and 450yds of backing ! Over the course of the next 51/2 hours (yes 51/2 hours !), the captain pitched his experience and skill in boat maneuvering against the fish, while John tried to gain line at every opportunity. As time wore on, and the Captain managed a couple of glimpses of the Blue – he raised the stakes several times, until his final estimate at the boat of a Blue Marlin of 850-900lbs. After all this time, it was important to achieve a quick release at the boat, so a touch of the leader and the huge fish swam away – not sure now who was the most grateful that the fight was done ! Congratulations to John on what was truly a world-class angling performance – 850lb Blue Marlin on 25lb gear. Soon after this escapade, we welcomed pro angler Mark Maus down to fish a couple of days and film a show with us for The Outdoor Channel. You know…..the thing about fishing, is…You just never know……so we were under some pressure to find Billfish in sufficient numbers to accommodate all the camera angles, shots, perspectives, underwater film etc etc required nowadays of a professional show. Fortunately, it was lines in – and 4 minutes later Mark and I had a feisty double underway…..while Jason our cameraman worked like crazy trying to get the appropriate batteries in the appropriate microphones, lenses on cameras etc etc. This pattern continued over the next days fishing as well – and by lunch on day 2 we pretty much had it "in the can". Mark – as a pro-fisherman, had an interesting perspective on the fishing in Guatemala, that while "I have traveled all over the world billfishing and making shows – from Costa Rica to Baja to Panama – this is BY FAR, the BEST BILLFISHING THAT I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED" , he also commented however, that as a (primarily) "Traveling Anglers' Destination"…..when is "Enough is Enough" ???? He calculated that we had raised a billfish every 6 minutes while we were trolling to raise fish for the show – which while ideal for us filming for TV, may in fact be too much action for a group of guys fishing for fun or a family just getting together. Good Point……Nice Problem to have I replied ! Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Sheri Larkin who fished With us earlier in the year, and submitted one of her pics of a particularly acrobatic bull Dorado to Sportfishing Mag for their photo competition and promptly secured an excellent third place ! You can see the winning pics here. The boats are ready, the crews are primed – come down and enjoy the rest of the season fishing with [b][url=http://www.GreatSailfishing.com] The Great Sailfishing Company[/url][/b] We are booking strongly already for some of the popular dates next year, so don't wait, give us a call at 1-877-763-0851 or send us an email (below) to check on dates – we would look forward to welcoming you to some of the finest fishing anywhere. Our Favorite Fishing Quote for the week: "Fishing is such great fun, I have often felt, that It really ought to be done in bed" ~ John Voelker Les, Carlos, Kevin and Jim The GreatSailfishing Company Contact us at: enquiries@greatsailfishing.com or to register for our weekly fishing report and other > information please click here : > http://www.greatsailfishing.com/en/register.html