What’s better than fishing with your kids? Maybe nothing.
With all due respect for catching bass or snapper, putting your kids on sailfish and dorado is even better. Guatemala generally—and our operation at Sailfish Oasis particularly—is ideally suited to fishing with young anglers. What follows is equal parts inspiration and invitation.
Why here? Why Guatemala?
It’s more than just the calm seas and consistent numbers of fish in the spread. But those two attributes are fundamental.
It’s more than the calm, patient presence of our captains. But that’s certainly a big part of it.
It’s not just that we’ve fished with lots of parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, with kids from seven to 17. It’s not just that we’ve caught many young angler his or her first billfish. It’s not just the pictures that will hang in the homes and offices of so many clients for years and years, long after that little guy smiling in the photo is little.
It’s not just the lifetime memories that these experiences provide to those who partake of them. You see, it’s not just any of these wonderful reasons that we so enjoy taking kids fishing in Guatemala. It’s a combination of all of these things and more.
Here’s some context.
Visual, Exciting, Accessible
There’s something about sailfish that capture the hearts and minds of anyone who catches one. Incredible fish, among the fastest in the ocean.
Theirs is a fight that’s intensely visual. With most of their kind, when hooked they spend about as much time out of the water as within. Lit up, streaked in wonderful neons of blues dark and light, a dancing sailfish is a sight to behold.
There are more sailfish in Guatemala than perhaps anywhere in the world. The numbers of fish that we catch and the consistency with which we encounter them are part of the reason why so many anglers come here. And they’ve been coming since the 1980s, from all over the world.
And this accessibility piece is very important for young anglers. But we’ll get to that in a second.
COME FISHING. IT’S MORE FUN THAN VIDEO GAMES.
That sailfish jump and fight at the surface them an ideal target for young anglers (and older ones too). The sight of a fish putting on such a show is incredibly well suited to captivating the sense of wonder that children are so naturally drawn to.
That these fish spend so much of their fight at the surface, cartwheeling and greyhounding, not only makes them visible, but it makes them accessible for a wider variety of anglers. An 8-year-old can’t catch a 150-pound tuna, they’re not physically strong enough. The same with a 300-pound blue marlin or a 150-pound swordfish.
But an 8-year-old can catch sailfish. With a bit of help he or she might reel in six or seven in a day. The fish jump on the surface and we use the boat to help. Backing down gently on the fish, you helping your youngster as much or as little as they need—with an eye on them, a hand on the neck of the rod, supportive and excited words.
“You can do it buddy. That’s your fish! You’re doing great.”
Sure, he or she might need a bit of help reeling. But that’s half the point. They’re here with you partaking in something that is so exciting, so exuberant, so full of wonder. It’s very possible that they’ll be talking about what happens on the boat today for the next 80 years.
And this… This is what it’s all about.
Calm Seas, Comfortable and Safe
Most parents who enjoy fishing bring their kids out with the hope they too will enjoy the experience. A shared love of the outdoors creates an incredible platform for sharing time together, seeing the world together, and creating core memories.
But for a kid to enjoy the experience of offshore fishing, two factors really help:
- Comfort
- Action
Guatemala’s abundant sailfish, blue marlin, and dorado take care of the action part. You might save the “fishing for two bites a day” offshore fishing lesson until they’re a bit older and already hooked.
Seeing birds, sea turtles, spinner dolphins, and all of the wonderful things that live in the Pacific is part of the charm. But raising a bunch of sailfish into the spread, watching them attack teasers and pile onto pitch baits or those fished in the rigger, provides the consistent action piece that is so necessary for holding the interest of a kid—and sparking the kind of enjoyment and passion that will make them want to come back for more.
But action is only part of it. Calm seas are really, really important for this kind of thing.
For a young angler (and for most anybody really), a day on the water is supposed to be fun. And if you drag your kid 30 miles offshore in 3-5 foot seas, no matter how many fish you catch, they’re liable to be skeptical of your next invitation.
White knuckling the rail, holding off queasiness all day is no fun for anybody. Especially a young angler.
If your goal is to impart a fun experience today—and one that the kids will want to do more often, calm seas are a critical component. And Guatemala is characteristically calm (of course, it’s the ocean and it’s fishing, and we can’t guarantee such things, but on the whole it’s calm).
COME SEE US. BRING THE KIDS.
This allows kids to relax and take in the day. When they’re not on a fish, they can take a nap in the salon of the Allure II or grab a snack.
If your goal is for your kid to want to come with you next time you head offshore, starting them in a place like Guatemala is a wise move. If it turns out that they love fishing and they spend time doing it, they may well learn that not all places are like Guatemala (calm seas and lots of fish), but that lesson is best taught once they are invested.
Patient Expertise
When it comes to fishing with kids, there is no substitute for patience. Our captains have it in spades. It also really helps that both Kiwi and Jono really love fishing and appreciate helping others learn how to do it.
The expertise starts long before you and your young ones ever step foot on the boat. We’ve taken lots of kids fishing and really enjoy doing it.
We understand the dynamics. We’ve got harnesses and rod butt cushions to make it comfortable. A good captain will adjust how he runs the boat on a hooked fish in relation to the angler.
If you’re an experienced angler and you’ve got a marlin on, we’ll back down aggressively and work together to get the fish in. If your little girl has a sailfish hooked, we’ll be easy on the way back—using the boat to help take pressure, but being gentle to keep things dry and the line tight.
Everyone has a story about a captain who gets excited and screams when there’s a fish around. That doesn’t happen on the Allure II. Sure, we get excited, and we love to catch fish, but we’re here to have fun—especially when there’s a young angler on the rod.
Our captains are expert. Our mates know fishing and are good with people. They provide pointers to make the process smooth and they appreciate watching anglers (young and old) get better through the trip.
These things might sound trivial. But they are not. Attention to detail becomes that much more important when you’re trying to catch dad and the kids a bunch of sailfish and a blue marlin or two.
Come See Us. Bring the Kids.
But we warned. If you bring them once, they’re likely to want you to bring them more often!
10 year old Nick took got this Go Pro footage of his dad’s blue marlin.
