On March 1, 2026, with Captain Jono Nicholas at the helm, our guests broke the single-day sailfish release record at Sailfish Oasis Lodge. In the midst of a historic bite, a team of four anglers released 81 sailfish from 101 bites.
This was not the first time that Captain Jono has found himself in the midst of a remarkable billfish bite. In fact, his globetrotting sportfishing career has prepared him for just such an occasion, imparting remarkable perspective along the way.
And you see, this is among the best and most fulfilling things about fishing in Guatemala. Spend enough time on the docks and you’re likely to find that one of billfishing’s greatest charms lies in talking with the men and women that you meet along the way. Spending a couple days talking with Nicholas in between sailfish bites provides context for the claim that travelling sportfishing captains are often among the most interesting people in the world.
What follows is an introduction to Captain Jono Nicholas. A hell of a nice guy—and a super accomplished fisherman, for much of the year he runs the Allure II for us at Sailfish Oasis.
Jono has seen quite a bit. Patient, kind, and full of perspective, Jono is the type of captain that can not only put you on the trip of a lifetime, but invite you to participate and experience every part of the process.
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As he puts it, “We’re here to have a good time. I always hope that clients leave the boat saying, ‘Man. That was fun.’”
Background and One of History’s Great Blue Marlin Bites
A career sportfishing captain, Jono learned his craft in his native Kenya. Nicholas’ father was among the wave of captains who first opened sportfishing on the east coast of Africa.
Fabled as a land of fantasy slams and mahogany-hulled sportfishers, Nicholas started running boats at 15. After graduating from university in Switzerland, Nicholas returned to Kenya and fished out of the world-famous Hemingway’s Hotel.
In the early 1990s, Jono was invited to fish Madeira with Captain Roddy Hays. Today, Madeira is widely recognized as one of the Atlantic’s best big blue marlin destinations. In the early 1990s, there were two boats fishing there.
In the best of his two seasons in Madeira fishing, Jono released 74 blue marlin with an incredible average weight of 650 pounds. Captain Roddy Hays was an early proponent of catch and release. He wouldn’t kill fish.
The biggest fish he released in Madeira, Nicholas estimates to have been north of 1,000. “We kept an 18’ beach caster two-piece rod that we used to measure fish. From the fish’s eye to its tail, it was 18 feet. Its short length was 19.5 feet,” Nicholas recalls. “We caught it on an 80. It took 45 minutes, the fish was exhausted.”
“I fished two full seasons in Madeira. I delivered a boat from Portsmouth, England to Madeira. It was a single screw,” Nicholas recalls.
Google map the route. The stretch of open, unprotected North Atlantic calls to mind the Age of Discovery. It provides context to the claim that old-school, world-travelled sportfishing captains often have the best stories.
Traveling the World
From Madeira, Nicholas spent a season fishing in Tanzania. Next, it was two full seasons fishing in India. Based out of Goa on a 45’ Hatteras, Nicholas manned the only sportfishing operation on the west coast of India.
“We fished a bank that was 120 miles offshore. It was an overnight trip. We’d leave at midnight, 10-knot out, make a straight line to the bank. We’d have two or three marlin bites before getting to the bank,” Nicholas recalls. “The bank was 22 miles long and four miles wide. It came up to 122 feet out of 4,000.”
From there, Nicholas returned to Europe, splitting seasons between India and Spain. He fished out of Tarifa, Spain, targeting white marlin and bluefin around Gibraltar. Next it was two seasons in Canary Islands and the big blue marlin of La Gomera.
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About this time, Jono met Central American billfish pioneer Tim Choate. The two started talking about Guatemala, and before long, Nicholas, like Captain Chris “Kiwi” van Leeuwen, was among the first wave of international sportfishing captains to ply the sailfish and blue marlin-rich waters of this part of the world.
After some time in Europe and a couple of years fishing in Mauritius, Nicholas returned to Guatemala and has been fishing out of Sailfish Oasis Lodge for the past three years.
These days, he’s often joined by his son, and incredible videographer, Tristan. Check out our Facebook page for some of Tristan’s work—blue marlin on teasers, hook ups, and plenty of jumping billfish.
Experience and Perspective: Captain Jono’s Approach to Fishing
The fishing in Guatemala is incredible. It is home to one of the world’s most storied and productive charter fisheries in the world. Sailfish Oasis is blessed to make this fishery accessible to clients from around the world.
But for those who join us, there is an additional context to the experience. Whether fishing with Captain Jono Nicholas or Kiwi van Leeuwen, our captains have made a life and career of traveling world’s great fisheries.
Each is the kind of guy that can put you on the best day of marlin or sailfishing you might ever have, but is also the kind of person you’d like to drink a beer with. After all, a great day of fishing when fully and most completely expressed is a combination of many things—catching fish, enjoying good company, boat lunches, and having the experience unfold in a way that suits where you are on your fishing journey.
If you spend enough time fishing in different places, you might come to understand that quite a bit depends on the fish, but quite a bit also depends on the people. As Captain Jono puts it, “Client satisfaction is more important to us than numbers. When it comes to hooking fish, we want you to do as much as you’d like.”
When fishing with groups new to dropping back and hooking billfish on circle hooks, there is a learning curve. Jono is expert teacher- kind and patient. He shares his perspective and experience in a way that helps clients learn the process—imparting confidence and keeping it fun.
“On the first day, new clients might hook 20% to 35% of the bites. And that’s ok. By the start of the third our goal is 65% and for the clients to know exactly what to do and where to go,” Captain Jono explains. “Our boat is calm. There are no issues with people missing fish. We’re here to have a good time. My goal is always for people to leave the boat saying, ‘Man. That was fun.’”
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Come down to Guatemala. We’d love to fish with you.
Sure, you can read a fishing story. But this is the type of deal that is more fun in person, over a cold beer, on the bridge between billfish bites.
